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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
LIFE AMONG THE CHINESE : 
 
 CHAEACTEEISTIC SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS 
 
 MISSIONARY OPERATIONS AND PROSPECTS IN CHINA. 
 
 7 
 • / 
 By Kev. E. S. MACLAY, M.A., 
 
 THIRTEEN YEARS MISSIONARY TO CHINA FROM THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 
 wmrrmmm 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PORTER, 
 
 200 MTJLBERKY-STKEET. 
 
 jh *y*y i86i. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by 
 CARLTON & PORTER, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Southern District of New-York. 
 
 2-/ 14 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 v 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 The important events which have transpired 
 in China during the past few years have awak- 
 ened, both in Europe and the United States, 
 an unprecedented interest with reference to 
 that ancient and remarkable empire. 
 
 In the spring of 1858 the government of 
 China formed treaties of amity and commerce 
 with the respective governments of England, 
 France, Eussia, and the United States. The 
 provisions of these treaties are of the most 
 liberal character, and initiate a new and most 
 auspicious era in foreign intercourse with China. 
 In 1859 the treacherous attack of the Chinese 
 on the English fleet at the mouth of the Peiho 
 seemed to jeopardize these cheering prospects ; 
 but in 1860 the brilliant successes of the allies 
 in the north of China, commencing with the 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 destruction of the Taku forts, and terminating 
 with the burning of the imperial summer 
 palace near Pekin, dissipated all anxiety on 
 this subject, and, by procuring additional priv- 
 ileges and guarantees from the Chinese govern- 
 ment, placed foreign relations with China on a 
 basis which is likely to prove permanent and 
 satisfactory to all parties. 
 
 Coincident with the dawning of this new era 
 in Chinese politics, we notice that the won- 
 derful triumphs of steam navigation and tele- 
 graphic communication are bringing into close 
 proximity the most widely separated portions 
 of the human family. There is now direct and 
 continuous steam transit from New York to 
 Jeddo. Calcutta, by telegraph, is only six days 
 from London; and, by the proposed Pacific 
 railroad through the United States, with its 
 supplementary line of steamers across the Pa- 
 cific, the traveler will be able to pass in twenty- 
 two days from New York to China. 
 
 The volume herewith offered to the reader 
 contains the results of observations and re- 
 searches during a residence of about twelve 
 
PEEFACB. 7 
 
 years in China. Familiar intercourse with the 
 people, the ability to converse freely with them 
 in their own dialect, and personal visits to 
 nearly all the cities open to foreign trade, gave 
 the author ample opportunities for forming 
 reliable opinions on the subjects he has dis- 
 cussed, and he ventures to hope that the 
 information communicated may prove accept- 
 able to all classes of readers. 
 
 The author begs to express his indebtedness, 
 in the preparation of this volume, to the writ- * 
 ings of Sir John Davis, Kev. Dr. Medhurst, 
 Dr. S. W. Williams, Eev. M. S. Culbertson, 
 Eev. J. EdMns, W. C. Milne, Esq., and others 
 who have preceded him in this department 
 of literary effort, and to their entertaining 
 works he would refer the reader for fuller 
 information concerning some of the topics dis- 
 cussed in the following pages. 
 
 To those whose earnest and oft-repeated sug- 
 gestions induced the author to prepare this 
 volume for publication, to those who are inter- 
 ested in the evangelization of the Chinese, and 
 to all who desire information concerning the 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 oldest nation in the world and one of the 
 
 grandest empires on which the sun has ever 
 
 shone, the following pages are now presented, 
 
 in the earnest hope and with the fervent prayer 
 
 that they may contribute somewhat toward the 
 
 ushering in of that glorious period when China, 
 
 clothed and in her right mind, shall be found 
 
 sitting at the feet of Jesus. 
 
 E. S. Maclay. 
 
 New Yoke, April 26, 1861. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 Geographical Position — Internal Resources — Population — Farmer — 
 "Holding the Plow" — Land-tenure — Farming Implements — Artisans 
 
 — Gunpowder — Mariner's Compass — Variation of the Needle — In- 
 flammable Gas — Table-turning, etc. — Scholar — Chinese Literature — 
 Merchant — Early Intercourse with Foreign Nations — Exclusive Policy 
 
 — Modern Foreign Intercourse — Scene on the Peiho — Soldier — Char- 
 acteristics — Illustrative Incident Page 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 Apparently anomalous Traits of Chinese Character — Ancient Chi- 
 nese Civilization — Its Bible Origin — Traditional Knowledge of Bible 
 History and Doctrines — Mythological History — Classics — Prayers to 
 Shangti — Proverbs — Filial Piety — Marriage Institution — Longevity 
 of Chinese Nation 34 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 HISTORY OF CHINA. 
 
 Chinese Chronology versus the Mosaic — Opinions of Sir John Davis 
 Rev. Dr. Medhurst, etc. — Summary of Chinese History — Embassies 
 from Foreign Countries — Northern Tribes — Knowledge of China 
 among Western Nations — Intercourse with the West — Portuguese, 
 Dutch, English, Russians, and Americans in China 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 The Emperor — Privy Council — Public Council— Board of Civil 
 Oflice — Board of Kevenue — Board of Rites — Board of War — Board 
 of Punishments — Board of Public Works — Colonial Oflice — Cen- 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 sorate — Court of Eepresentation — Court of Appeals — Imperial Col- 
 lege — Provincial Governments — Nobility — Literary Degrees — Mu- 
 nicipal Eegulations — Popular Outbreak in Pubcb.au Page 60 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 Classification — General — Civil — Fiscal — Eitual — Military — Crim- 
 inal — Tbose relating to Public Works — Opinions on — Edinburgh 
 Review — Dr. Williams — Administration — Safeguards — Official Cor- 
 ruption — Magaillan's Testimony — Native Testimony — Illustrative In- 
 cidents 84 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RELIGIONS : CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 General Classification — Confucianism — Eationalism — Budbism — 
 Purport of eacb, and their Eelations to eacb otber — Sketch of Confu- 
 cianism — Confucius — Doctrines — Worship — Account of Annual Wor- 
 ship in Confucian Temple at Fuhchau 87 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 Sketch of Eationalism — Tau Teh King — Influence of the System — 
 Budhism — Introduction to the Chinese — Doctrines — Priests — Tem- 
 ples — Visit to the Zushan Monastery 100 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 Traits of Chinese Character — Permanence of Chinese Institutions — 
 Cbinese Colonies — Emigration — Defects of Cbinese Character — Illus- 
 trative Incidents 121 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 Situation — Scenery — Walls — Public Buildings — Tartar Quarter — 
 Nantai — Changchau — Southside — Bridges — Boat Population — Cli- 
 mate — Foreign Trade — Methodist Episcopal Mission — Schedule of 
 Missionaries 140 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 
 
 First "Wants of a Mission — Native Houses — Building Materials — 
 Foreign Title to Property in China — Copy of a Deed — First House 
 fitted up by the Mission — First House built — Process of Building — 
 Mission Compound Page 158 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 Outfit — The River — Upper Bridge — Night Anchorage — Infanti- 
 cide — Sugar Manufactory — Scene at Minching — Sunrise among the 
 Mountains — The Rapids — Mountains — Return 178 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 Preaching in China — First Clapels — First substantial Protestant 
 Church built in Fuhchau — The Building — Dedication — Second Church 
 
 — First Convert — Progress of the "Work — Notices of Converts — Plan 
 of the "Work — First Parsonage 193 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 Day Schools for Boys — Boarding School for Boys — An Evening 
 with the Scholars — Annual Reports of the School — Day School for 
 Girls — Boarding School for Girls — Appeal for the Enterprise — Letters 
 from Miss "Woolston 231 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 Extracts from Journal — Edict from Pekin — Distributing Books, etc. 
 
 — Incidents — A Cantonese killed by a Fuhchau "Woman — Singular 
 Burial — Box from Home — Translations of Chinese Documents — Itin- 
 erating in China 258 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 Sketch of the Peach Farm — First Visit — Preaching — Incidents of 
 the "Work — Baptism of first Converts — A Sabbath at the Peach Farm 
 
 — Pastoral Visits 287 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 Incidents — Bible our Compass — Faith — Loving the Saviour — 
 Learned Blacksmith — Swearing for the Family — "Whipping in 
 Church — How much Money? — Influence of a Christian Life — Father 
 Hu Page 303 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 INCIDENTS. 
 The OrphanBoy— The Young Artist— The Young Basket-maker. . 320 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 Provisions of recent Treaties — Present Condition of China — Brief 
 Resume" of Missionary Operations in China — Eesults — Encourage- 
 ments 335 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 APPEAL TO THE CHURCH. 
 Wants of China — Demands of China— Reasons for Action 368 
 
 ADDENDUM. 
 Christian Chinese Wedding 395 
 
 I PAGE 
 
 Fibe Wells 26 
 
 City or Fuhchau 141 
 
 Changchau Island — First Methodist Episcopal Mission Premises 168 
 
 First Dwelling-House built by the Mission 171 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Mission Compound 176 
 
 Iongtau Church. 196 
 
 Interior of the Church at Iongtau 201 
 
 English and Chinese Church at Tienang. 208 
 
 Kgu Kang Parsonage. 223 
 
 First Premises tor Boys' Academy 233 
 
 First House for Girls' School 243 
 
 Waugh Female Seminary 254 
 
 Father Hu S15 
 
LIFE AMONG THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 A glance at a map of the world will show the 
 interesting geographical position of the Chinese Em- 
 pire. It occupies the southeastern portion of the 
 continent of Asia, comprising an extent of territory- 
 greater than that of all modern Europe, or about one 
 tenth of the surface of the habitable globe. It 
 stretches through some thirty-five degrees of latitude 
 and about seventy degrees of longitude, from the 
 Beloor Mountains on the west, to the sea of Jeddo on 
 the east ; and from the great Altay Mountains on the 
 north to the Gulf of Tonquin and the Himalaya Mount- 
 ains on the south. The superficial area comprised 
 within these limits is five millions of square miles, of 
 which about one fifth lies within the tropics, and all 
 the rest within the north temperate zone. It pos- 
 sesses about two thousand miles of seacoast, affording 
 some of the finest harbors in the world. Nearly one 
 half of its southern frontier touches on the great 
 empire of British India ; its northern and western 
 
14 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 boundaries are formed almost entirely by the Asiatic 
 possessions of Russia; a few days' sail to the south- 
 ward lies the vast continent of Australia ; while east- 
 ward, across the Pacific, and within some ten days of 
 its coast by steam navigation, it faces the western 
 coast of the United States of America. 
 
 The internal resources of China are almost bound- 
 less ; the treasures of the mineral, animal, cereal, and 
 vegetable kingdoms have been lavished upon her with 
 profuse liberality. Gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, 
 coal, gypsum, limestone, the ruby, diamond, amethyst, 
 garnet, opal, agate, and other stones, abound. Most 
 of the animals, birds, and fishes found in the temper- 
 ate zones, and many of those peculiar to the tropics, 
 exist in China. Lions, tigers, leopards, etc., are now 
 rarely met with; but the domestic animals, as the 
 horse, cow, goat, sheep, pig, dog, cat, etc., abound. 
 They have also the camel, wolf, fox, wild-cat, hare, 
 rabbit, martin, ermine, silver-fox, ratel, wolverine, 
 sea and land otter, squirrel, porcupine, hedgehog, 
 marmot,* weasel, rat, mouse, etc. Less is known of the 
 hwds of China than of its mammiferaa. "We may men- 
 tion, however, the eagle, hawk, crow, magpie, pheas- 
 ant, owl, butcher-bird, grackle, thrush, goat-sucker, 
 swallow, sparrow, robin, cuckoo, jay, kingfisher, par- 
 rot, peacock, dove, goose, duck, chicken, pigeon, 
 snipe, plover, rice-bird, (a species of ortolan,) heron, 
 egret, stork, curlew, cormorant, grebe, pelican, etc. 
 The ichthyology of China is, perhaps, one of the rich- 
 est in the world, comprising shark, ray, sturgeon, 
 porpoise, torpedo, a kind of cod, salmon or bynni- 
 carp, pomfret, sole, mackerel, shad, carp, eel, gold- 
 
GRAMINEOUS PLANTS. 15 
 
 fish, sun-fish, yellow-fish, pipe-fish, pike, mullet, file- 
 fish, anchovy, oyster, clam, prawn, shrimp, crab, 
 craw-fish, cuttle-fish, etc. Among the gramineous 
 plants cultivated in China we enumerate rice, wheat, 
 barley, oats, millet, buckwheat, Indian-corn, sugar- 
 cane, a coarse grass used for weaving floor-matting, 
 and another kind used for fuel, hemp, tobacco, bam- 
 boo, and palm. "The bamboo is cultivated about 
 villages for its pleasant shade and beauty, and a grove 
 furnishes from year to year culms of all sizes for the 
 various uses to which it is applied. No plant imparts 
 so oriental and rural an aspect to a garden or village 
 as the clumps of this graceful and stately grass ; the 
 stalks shoot up their wavy plumes to the height of 
 fifty feet and upward, and swaying themselves to 
 every breeze, form an object of great elegance, well 
 befitting so useful a plant. 
 
 "This plant may well be called useful, for it is 
 applied by the Chinese to such a vast variety of pur- 
 poses (some of them indeed better accomplished else- 
 where by different materials) that it may justly be 
 called their national plant. It is reared from shoots 
 and suckers, but after it has once rooted is not much 
 attended to. The common yellow species extends 
 over all the southern and eastern provinces, but the 
 varieties mentioned by Chinese writers amount . to 
 sixty, of which the black skinned sort, used in mak- 
 ing furniture, and the low, fine-branched one, afford- 
 ing the slender twigs employed in the manufacture 
 of writing pencils, are the best known. The tender 
 shoots are cultivated for food, and are, when four or 
 five inches high, boiled, pickled, and comfited; but 
 
16 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 not the ' tender buds and flowers, cut like asparagus,' 
 as represented by Murray. The roots are carved 
 into fantastic images of men, birds, monkeys, or mon- 
 strous perversions of animated nature, cut into lan- 
 tern-handles and canes, or turned into oval sticks for 
 worshipers, to divine whether the gods will hear or 
 refuse their petitions. The tapering culms are used 
 for all purposes that poles can be applied to in carry- 
 ing, supporting, propelling, and measuring, by the 
 porter, the carpenter, and the boatman ; for the joists 
 of houses and the ribs of sails, the shafts of spears and 
 the wattles of hurdles, the tubes of aqueducts, and 
 the handles and ribs of umbrellas and fans. 
 
 " The leaves are sewed upon cords to make rain 
 cloaks, swept into heaps to form manure, and matted 
 into thatches to cover houses. Cut into splints and 
 slivers of various sizes, the wood is worked into bas- 
 kets and trays of every form and fancy, twisted 
 into cables, plaited into awnings, and woven mats 
 for scenery of the theater, the roofs of boats, and the 
 casing of goods. The shavings, even, are picked into 
 oakum, and mixed with those of rattan, to be stuffed 
 into mattresses. The bamboo furnishes the bed for 
 sleeping, and the couch for reclining ; the chopsticks 
 for eating, the pipe for smoking, and the flute for 
 entertaining ; a curtain to hang before the door, and 
 a broom to sweep around it ; together with screens, 
 stools, stands, and sofas for various uses of conven- 
 ience and luxury in the house. The mattress to 
 lie upon, the chair to sit upon, the table to dine from, 
 food to eat, and fuel to cook it with, are alike de- 
 rived from it : the ferule to govern the scholar, and 
 
TEEES. 17 
 
 the book lie studies, both originate here. The taper- 
 ing barrels of the sang, or organ, and the dreaded in- 
 strument of the lictor, one to make harmony, and the 
 other to strike dread ; the skewer to pin the hair, and 
 the hat to screen the head ; the paper to write on, the 
 pencil handle to write with, and the cup to hold the 
 pencils ; the rule to measure lengths, the cup to guage 
 quantities, and the bucket to draw water ; the bel- 
 lows to blow the fire, and the bottle to retain the 
 match ; the bird-cage and crab-net, the fish pole and 
 sumpitan, the water wheel and eave-duct, wheel- 
 barrow and hand-cart, etc., are one and all fur- 
 nished or completed by this magnificent grass, whose 
 graceful beauty when growing is comparable to its 
 varied usefulness when cut down."* 
 
 The trees of China embrace the pine, yew, cypress, 
 willow, oak, chestnut, walnut, hazlenut, banian, cam- 
 phor, olive, juniper, thuja, and some others. The 
 vegetables comprise a large variety, though the qual- 
 ity is inferior to that of the same kinds in the United 
 States. Those most generally cultivated are peas, 
 beans, tomatoes, cabbage, radish, cucumbers, onions, 
 celery, carrot, water-caltrops, spinach, cockscomb, 
 green basil, rhubarb, sweet potato, yam, etc. The 
 fruits are abundant, but in most instances defi- 
 cient in flavor. Orange, pumalo, pomegranate, pear, 
 peach, plum, apple, (very inferior,) plantain, pineap- 
 ple, mango, custard-apple, lichi, lungan, and other 
 kinds abound. 
 
 The population of China, according to the latest 
 and most reliable information on this subject, 
 
 * Middle Kingdom, vol ii, p. 216. 
 
 2 
 
18 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 amounts to four hundred millions. It is difficult to 
 form an adequate conception of snch a mass of hu- 
 man beings. Comparing it with the populations of 
 other portions of the earth's surface, we find that it 
 exceeds the combined populations of Europe, Africa, 
 and the entire continent of America. It constitutes, 
 in fact, more than one third of the human race. 
 This estimate is derived from the official papers of 
 the Chinese government. In China the people fur- 
 nish the data for the census returns of the govern- 
 ment ; and as the government avails itself of these 
 statistics of population in levying conscriptions for 
 military service, and in demanding subsidies to re- 
 plenish its exhausted exchequer, there is everything to 
 induce the Chinese to understate rather than overstate 
 the amount of their population. "We accept, then, as 
 correct and reliable, the statement that there exist to- 
 day within the Chinese empire at least one third of 
 the human race. Says the Rev. M. S. Culbertson, 
 while writing on this topic : " The mind cannot 
 grasp the real import of so vast a number. Four 
 hundred millions ! What does it mean % Count it. 
 Night and day, without rest, or food, or sleep, you 
 continue the weary work ; yet eleven days have passed 
 before you have counted the first million, and more 
 than as many years before the end of the tedious 
 task can be reached." He also supposes this mighty 
 multitude to take up its line of march in a grand 
 procession, placed in single file at six feet apart, and 
 marching at the rate of thirty miles a day, except on 
 the Sabbath, which is given to rest. "Day after day 
 the moving column advances, the head pushing on 
 
POPULATION. 19 
 
 far toward the rising sun; now bridge the Pacific, 
 now bridge the Atlantic. And now the Pacific is 
 crossed, but still the long procession marches on, 
 stretching across high mountains, and sunny plains, 
 and broad rivers, through China and India, and the 
 European kingdoms, and on again over the stormy 
 bosom of the Atlantic. But the circuit of the world 
 itself affords not standing room. The endless col- 
 umn will double upon itself, and double again and 
 again, and shall girdle the earth eighteen times be- 
 fore the great reservoir which furnishes these num- 
 berless multitudes is exhausted. Weeks and months 
 and years roll away, and still they come, men, wo- 
 men, and children. Since the march began the little 
 child has become a man, and yet on they come, in 
 unfailing numbers. ISTot till the end of forty-one 
 years will the last of the long procession have 
 passed." 
 
 Four hundred millions ! "Who are they ? Our 
 brethren; bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. 
 What are they ? Heathen, athwart whose gloomy 
 night of error no ray of light ever shines ; idolaters, 
 bowing down to senseless images, the workmanship 
 of their own hands. What are they ? Men, created 
 by God ; fallen, ruined, helpless ; victims, morally, of 
 a foul and relentless malady ; sinking into guilt and 
 woe unutterable, inconceivable ; immortals, objects of 
 the divine compassion, subjects of Christ's mediation, 
 into the mysteries of whose redemption angels de- 
 sire to look, and for whose eternal salvation all heav- 
 enly intelligences are moved with a profound and 
 ceaseless solicitude. 
 
20 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 How are we to classify the Chinese ? What char- 
 acter and position shall we assign them among the 
 nations of the earth ? They are not savages ; they 
 are not barbarians. Yiewed from a heathen stand- 
 point, we mnst call them a civilized people ; viewed 
 from a Christian standpoint, they are at least semi- 
 civilized. They are a fixed, stationary people, not 
 migratory or nomadic. They dwell in hamlets, 
 towns, and immense cities, snccessive generations fol- 
 lowing each other on the old manor or homestead. 
 They possess social order, an educational system, and 
 political government. They practice most of the in- 
 dustrial arts, and produce nearly all the necessaries, 
 together with many of the luxuries of life. Their 
 writers on political economy distribute society into 
 five classes : farmer, artisan, scholar, merchant, and 
 soldier. 
 
 The farmer is, theoretically, the first or most hon- 
 orable class in Chinese society. At a very early 
 period of their history the Chinese turned their at- 
 tention to agriculture ; and in subsequent ages they 
 apotheosized those ancient monarchs who first taught 
 their subjects the rudiments of the art. Each suc- 
 cessive dynasty seeks to stimulate the agricultural 
 spirit and enterprise of the people, and to this day 
 every emperor is required annually to perform the 
 ceremony of "holding the plow" in a small plat of 
 ground near Pekin, the capital of the empire. But, 
 notwithstanding these advantages, Chinese agricul- 
 ture, even in our day, is still in a primitive state, 
 and, as a class, the farmers are not distinguished for 
 enterprise or influence. As generally characteristic 
 
LAND TENUKE. 21 
 
 of the members of this class, we may say they are ig- 
 norant, superstitious, industrious, frugal, deferential to 
 superiors, and furnish the nearest approximation to 
 honesty that we meet with in Chinese society. 
 
 "Notwithstanding the encouragement given to 
 tillage, vast tracts of land still lie waste, some of it 
 the most fertile in the country ; partly because the 
 people have not the skill and capital to drain and 
 render it productive, and partly because they have 
 not sufficient security or prospect of remuneration to 
 encourage them to make the necessary outlay. 
 
 " Landed property is held in clans or families as 
 much as possible, but it is not entailed, nor are over- 
 grown estates frequent. The land is held as a free- 
 hold so long as the sovereign receives his rent, which 
 is estimated at about one tenth of the produce, and 
 the proprietors record their names in the district 
 magistrate's office as responsible for the tax, feeling 
 themselves secure in the possession while that is paid. 
 The paternal estate and the houses upon it descend 
 to the eldest son, but his brothers can remain upon it 
 with their families, and devise their portion in per- 
 petuo to their children, or an amicable composition 
 can be made. Daughters never inherit, nor can an 
 adopted son of another clan succeed. A mortgagee 
 must actually enter into possession of the property, 
 and make himself personally responsible for the pay- 
 ment of the taxes before his mortgage is valid. Un- 
 less explicitly stated, the land can be redeemed any 
 time within thirty years on payment of the original 
 sum. Sections XC to C of the Code contain the laws 
 relating to this subject, some of which bear a resem- 
 
22 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 blance to those established among the Hebrews, and 
 intended to secure a similar object of retaining the 
 land in the same clan or tribe. 
 
 " The Chinese are rather gardeners than farmers, 
 not only in the small size of their grounds, but in 
 their ignorance of those operations whereby soils 
 naturally unfruitful are made fertile, those which 
 produce few kinds of plants made to bring forth a 
 greater variety, and their natural fertility sustained 
 at the cheapest rate by a proper manuring and rota- 
 tion of crops. They make up for the disadvantages 
 of poor implements by hard work, repeatedly turning 
 over the soil, and sustaining its productiveness by 
 constant manuring. Their agricultural utensils are 
 few and simple, and are probably now made similar 
 to those used centuries ago. The broad hoe, a less 
 efficient tool than our spade, is used more than any 
 other ; the edge of the large wooden blade is guarded 
 with iron, and the weight adds impetus to the blow. 
 Spades, . shovels, and mattocks are employed in 
 kitchen gardening, and the plow and harrow in rice 
 cultivation. The plow is made of wood, except the 
 iron-edged share, which lies so flat that it cannot 
 penetrate the soil more than five inches. The whole 
 implement is so simple and rude that one would think 
 the inventor of it was a laborer who, tired of the 
 toil of spading, called the ox to his aid, and tied his 
 shovel to a rail ; fastening the animal at one end, and 
 guiding the other, he was so pleased with the relief 
 that he never thought of improving it much further 
 than to sharpen the spade to a coulter, and bend the 
 rail to a beam and handle. The harrow is a heavy 
 
FARMING OPERATION'S. 23 
 
 stick, armed witli a single row of stout wooden teeth, 
 and furnished with a frame-work to guide it, or a tri- 
 angular machine, with rows of teeth, on which the 
 driver rides. 
 
 " The buffalo is most used in rice cultivation, and 
 the ox and ass in dry plowing ; horses, mules, cows, 
 and goats likewise render service to the farmer in 
 various ways, and are often yoked in most ludicrous 
 combinations. But the team which Nieuhoff de- 
 scribes, of a man driving his wife and his ass yoked 
 to the same plow is too bad for China often to pre- 
 sent, though it has been so frequently quoted that 
 one almost expects on landing to see half the women 
 in the harness." * 
 
 In the Fuh-Tcien province, and perhaps elsewhere 
 in China, the farmer raises three crops of grain from 
 the same soil within twelve months. It is done in 
 this way : about the middle of April the first crop 
 of rice is set out in the fields, after the manner of 
 transplanting cabbages, beets, etc., in the United 
 States. This crop grows till about the middle of 
 June, when the second crop is set out in the same 
 fields, the rows coming between those of the first crop. 
 The two crops then grow together till about the mid- 
 dle of July, when the first crop is harvested. After 
 the removal of the first crop, the second comes 
 forward rapidly, and about the middle of Sep- 
 tember it is gathered. The ground is now plowed, 
 and prepared for the winter crop of wheat, 
 which is sowed about the first of October, and is 
 reaped about the first of the following April, thus 
 
 * Middle Kingdom, vol. ii, page 102. 
 
24 GENEBAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 leaving the soil to be prepared for the summer rice 
 crops. 
 
 Artisans constitute a most numerous class, and 
 their efforts are directed to almost every conceivable 
 branch of human industry and enterprise. Their 
 skill in many departments of handicraft is universally 
 recognized, and some of their fabrics and wares com- 
 mand the admiration of the world. It is worthy of 
 remark that what are considered by Europeans as the 
 three great discoveries or inventions of modern times, 
 the art of printing, the manufacture of gunpowder, 
 and the mariner's compass, had their origin in China. 
 Printing was practiced in China during the tenth cen- 
 tury of the Christian era. The Chinese name for 
 gunpowder is fire-medicine, or fire-drug ; and though 
 it is probable they received from western nations the 
 knowledge of applying it to firearms, it is neverthe- 
 less certain that its composition was known to the 
 Chinese in very ancient times. There is reliable evi- 
 dence tkat as early as the third or fourth century of 
 the Christian era the Chinese were acquainted with 
 the properties and use of the mariner's compass ; and 
 even the variation of the needle had not escaped their 
 observation. 
 
 The use of inflammable gas for artistic and 
 other purposes is with us a very recent measure ; and 
 as we look at our dwellings and cities thus lighted, 
 we take to ourselves great credit for ingenuity 
 and enterprise. But here, also, it appears the Chi- 
 nese have anticipated us, though they have failed to 
 apply it on as grand a scale as their western 
 brethren. 
 
Fire Wells. 
 
INFLAMMABLE GAS. 27 
 
 " In the province of Sze-chueu, one of the western 
 provinces, there are very deep wells, the water of 
 which is like brine, from flowing through beds of rock 
 salt. This brine is boiled down in great pans. In 
 some parts of the province there are hot salt water 
 wells, and what are called fire-wells. The months of 
 these wells are closed, and a bamboo pipe is passed 
 into the well. Through this a large quantity of gas 
 passes, and if a light be applied it takes fire and 
 burns constantly, just like the gas-pipes in our towns. 
 ]S"ow the Chinese are very clever, and therefore they 
 make use of this natural gas manufactory for lighting 
 the villages near it, conveying it to them in hollow 
 bamboos instead of iron pipes. 
 
 " The chief use, however, which they make of the 
 gas is to lead it, by tht, pipes, under the salt-pans ; but 
 to keep the pipe from burning they fix an earthen- 
 ware nozzle in the end of the bamboo pipes, and thus 
 the water is evaporated or boiled away. In this man- 
 ner salt is produced very cheaply, because there is no 
 expense for fuel, and in this district the quantity of 
 gas is so great that as many salt-pans can be worked 
 as the people choose to make. The gas is something 
 like our coal gas. It is produced by some volcanic 
 action under ground, and probably comes from some 
 burning layers of coal, which throw off gas in greater 
 or smaller quantities. Perhaps there is no other in- 
 stance where so much gas flows continually from the 
 ground as in this." 
 
 Even "table-turning and spiritual manifestations 
 are not unknown in China. In this, as in many other 
 things, they are in advance of the practitioners among 
 
28 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 ourselves. The mode of carrying on this operation is 
 somewhat different from that in vogue in the United 
 States. The table is turned upside down upon a pair 
 of chopsticks laid at right angles over the mouth of a 
 mortar or bowl filled with water. Four persons lay 
 one hand upon each leg of the table, while the other 
 clasps the free hand of one of the four, and thus the 
 circle is completed. An incantation is now chanted 
 by the ' medium,' and soon the table begins to move. 
 The ' circle ' move with it, and in a minute it is whirl- 
 ing violently upon its axis, until it is thrown violently 
 off its balance, and falls upon the floor. The motion 
 of the table is universally attributed to supernatural 
 agency, but it seems not to have been used as a means 
 of communication with the spiritual world. 
 
 " There is no necessity for resorting to so clumsy a 
 method of communication with the dead. The spirits 
 have been induced to write their communications. 
 A table is sprinkled with some kind of powder, or 
 flour, Or bran, or dust. Then a small basket, without 
 a handle, is armed with a pencil or chopstick, which 
 is tied to its edge, or thrust through its interstices. 
 The basket is then turned upside down, its edges rest- 
 ing upon the tips of one or two fingers of two persons 
 standing on opposite sides of the table, and in such 
 a manner that the pencil touches the powdered sur- 
 face. In a short time the pencil moves, leading after 
 it the basket and the fingers on which it rests, and 
 tracing upon the dusty table lines and figures in which 
 a good linguist easily recognizes the characters of the 
 Chinese language. In this way information is com- 
 municated on subjects of which the operators have no 
 
THE SCHOLAR. 29 
 
 knowledge. Sometimes, indeed, a ghost thus invoked 
 may be unable to write Chinese, or may be unwilling 
 to exercise its powers, and then nothing can be discov- 
 ered but unmeaning lines and angles. But in general 
 the composition is good and the information valu- 
 able." * 
 
 The scholar has always been held in very high esti- 
 mation by the Chinese. It is interesting to notice at 
 what an early period they directed their attention to 
 letters. Before Cesar led his conquering legions into 
 Britain, or Cecrops introduced the first colonies into 
 Greece, the Chinese had their schools of learning, 
 whose halls were crowded with ingenuous youth. 
 Their written works on natural history, mathematics, 
 agriculture, silk-weaving, tea-culture, and kindred 
 subjects, contain in a crude state a considerable 
 amount of curious and useful information. Their 
 national history is voluminous, minutely elaborated 
 and generally trustworthy. Their poetry furnishes 
 some fanciful conceptions and neat similes, though in 
 dreary settings of vapid commonplace and attenuated 
 sentimentalism. Their metaphysical writings afford 
 some specimens of searching criticism, subtle analysis, 
 correct generalization, and the occasional enunciation 
 of sound principles in morals and politics, inter- 
 woven, however, in all these departments, with much 
 that is empirical, vitiating, and false. Their genial 
 atmosphere and brilliant sky early invited their at- 
 tention to the motions of the heavenly bodies ; and 
 we find their oldest historic records associated with 
 notices of eclipses and other celestial phenomena. 
 
 * China: Its Religions and Superstitions. Pp. 186, 187. 
 
30 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 The Chinese, however, have never made much prog- 
 ress in scientific investigations, and in view of the 
 advanced position of modern Christian nations in 
 these departments, an acquaintance with the higher 
 sciences can scarcely be predicated of them. They 
 are eminently a practical people, and have made 
 quite creditable progress in most of the useful and 
 many of the fine arts. 
 
 The merchants of China comprise a large and 
 highly respected class of society. They are character- 
 ized by tact and shrewdness in business transactions, 
 fertility of resources and expedients, and by patient 
 energy and perseverance in overcoming difficulties. 
 The great varieties of their climate, soil, and produc- 
 tions, soon excited the spirit of trade among the 
 Chinese, while their admirable facilities for internal 
 navigation furnished every encouragement to the de- 
 velopment of commercial enterprise. "While Jehosh- 
 aphat was building his ships for the gold trade with 
 Ophir, Jhe counterparts of those specimens of naval 
 architecture were sailing on the rivers and estuaries, 
 or along the coast of China. The maritime position 
 of the empire, and the value of its productions, early 
 attracted the attention of other nations ; and even 
 during the first centuries of the Christian era we find 
 evidences of its commercial intercourse with foreign 
 countries. In subsequent ages the Chinese fostered 
 this trade with other nations, and it was not till the 
 accession of the present dynasty, A.D. 1644, that the 
 government of China introduced its exclusive policy 
 on this subject. Not withstanding this governmental 
 opposition, and the embarrassing difficulties it origi- 
 
SCENE IN THE PEIHO. 31 
 
 nated, foreign trade was never wholly extinguished ; 
 and to-day merchants of all lands resort to China, 
 and the ships of every civilized nation enter her 
 ports. So important, indeed, are the productions of 
 China in the world's commerce, that recently the 
 four great representative nations of Christendom 
 combined their flags and their diplomacy in a grand 
 effort to open up the empire to foreign intercourse. 
 The scene enacted in the Peiho during the spring of 
 1858 is probably unparalleled in the history of na- 
 tions. There, side by side, lay the splendid frigates 
 of England, France, Russia, and the United States, 
 their national ensigns floating out in the breeze of 
 that northern gulf. The smoke had scarcely rolled 
 away from the battlements of Sebastopol, the graves 
 were still fresh that had closed over the victims of 
 the ensanguined battle-fields in the Crimea, the 
 divergent and frequently conflicting home policies of 
 their governments were still active and unharmo- 
 nized ; and yet there in the extreme east, the high 
 embassadors of those lately contending nations now 
 meet in friendly council, and combine their prestige 
 and power to draw within the circle of Christian na- 
 tions the oldest and mightiest heathen nation in the 
 world. 
 
 The soldier occupies the lowest position in the Chi- 
 nese classification of society, and this arrangement, 
 we think, is in accordance with the true sentiment 
 of the nation on this point. The Chinese do not re- 
 gard it as at all derogatory to their character to be 
 told that they are deficient in the elements of warlike 
 strength. " We are not a military people," say they, 
 
32 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 
 
 " we are a literary nation. "With us reason, and not 
 force, defines rights and privileges ; argument, and 
 not the sword, decides controversies." It is not 
 strange then that in China the military art is lightly 
 esteemed, and that their soldiers are indifferently 
 trained, poorly paid, ludicrously inefficient, and fre- 
 quently disgustingly vicious. 
 
 During the summer of 1854 the western portions 
 of the Fuh-kien province were greatly disturbed by 
 local banditti, who, taking advantage of the great in- 
 surgent movement, and sometimes following in its 
 wake, proceeded to pillage the people and devastate 
 the country. To put down these disturbances the 
 governor sent out occasional detachments of troops, 
 who invariably returned after a brief campaign, re- 
 porting the troubles all settled. In one of the detach- 
 ments thus sent out were a goodly number of persons 
 who lived near one of our chapels. It was quite in- 
 teresting to see them robe themselves in military 
 costume, and bidding adieu to their families and 
 neighbors, start for the scene of danger. About two 
 months after their departure, as I was closing the 
 services in the chapel, it was announced that the sol- 
 diers were returning, and everybody rushed to the 
 street to see them. As the beggarly looking squad 
 came straggling along I noticed that all my neigh- 
 bors were home again, and to all appearances un- 
 harmed. " What !" said I, with some surprise, " are 
 you all back again ?" " Yes," they replied, " all 
 save two or three who died of dysentery from eating 
 too much fruit." " And what of the campaign V I 
 continued. " Ah, we had a dangerous time of it." 
 
AMUSING INCIDENT. 33 
 
 " What !" said I, " did you succeed in finding the 
 enemy ?" " Finding tliem," they replied with some 
 earnestness," why we fought some fifty pitched bat- 
 tles !" " Fifty battles," I exclaimed, " and nobody 
 hurt." " Hurt !" they indignantly rejoined, " why 
 just look here !" and they held up their tattered gar- 
 ments and scratched skins with an expression of 
 countenance at once doleful and ludicrous. The ap- 
 peal was irresistible, and I dropped the subject. 
 
 3 
 
34: ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 Any one who carefully analyzes the character of 
 the Chinese must notice its unique and, in some 
 respects, apparently anomalous traits. This charac- 
 ter is manifestly the product of forces, some of which 
 at least are now extinct, the result of influences, 
 some of which are now inoperative. Confucianism, 
 Rationalism, or Buddhism, acting either singly or con- 
 jointly, could never produce such a character. Ra- 
 tionalism and Buddhism are palpably incompetent to 
 perform such a work ; and with regard to Confucian- 
 ism, its influence in this direction is due quite as 
 much to those ancient principles which underlie and 
 antedate it as to the ethical and political maxims 
 which Confucius has deduced from them. Conced- 
 ing to the three religious systems of China all the 
 influence in the formation of the national character 
 which can fairly be claimed for them, there still 
 remain mental and moral traits for which these sys- 
 tems indicate no adequate cause, furnish no satisfac- 
 tory explanation. It is, we think, to what might be 
 called the ancient religious faith of the Chinese that 
 we must look for the true type of their character. 
 Much has been written with reference to ancient 
 
THE BIBLE AND CIVILIZATION. 35 
 
 Chinese civilization ; and modern infidelity, with its 
 accustomed avidity and recklessness, seized npon it 
 as an argument against the Bible. " The Bible," 
 said they, " is not essential to human progress ; man 
 can civilize himself. There is in man an innate 
 power by virtue of which he rises from barbarism to 
 refinement ;" and to substantiate the truth of these 
 propositions they referred to China. " There," said 
 they, "is a vast people who have grown up from 
 barbarism to civilization without any contact with or 
 influence from the teachings of the Bible." Within 
 the past few years Europeans and Americans have 
 enjoyed unprecedented facilities for studying Chinese 
 character and history ; and, as one gratifying result, 
 we are now able to explode errors and enunciate cor- 
 rect views on subjects formerly distorted by exuber- 
 ant fancy or polished malice. Without wishing to 
 deny or undervalue the just claims of ancient Chi- 
 nese civilization, we do deny most unequivocally the 
 statement that it has been obtained independent of 
 " any contact with or influence from the teachings 
 of the Bible." We assert that all the elements of 
 progress and conservatism which have given to Chi- 
 nese civilization its high character and position have 
 been drawn directly or indirectly from the primitive 
 teachings of the Bible. In support of this assertion 
 we present the following facts and considerations. 
 
 In view of the ascertained and reliable facts of 
 early Chinese history, it is, we think, entirely proba,- 
 hle that the founders of the Chinese empire possessed 
 a traditional knowledge of some of the ancient doc- 
 trines and facts of the Bible. We shall hereafter see 
 
36 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 that the early authentic records of the Chinese carry 
 ns back to a period just sufficiently remote from the 
 deluge and the dispersion to account for the eastward 
 migration, through central Asia, of this ancient 
 colony, and its permanent political organization in 
 the great plain of China. It is not improbable that 
 some of the founders of this great empire were the 
 immediate children of those who started from west- 
 ern Asia on the great eastward migration. Coming 
 thus directly from the primeval seat of the race, these 
 colonies must have taken with them some knowledge 
 of the early teachings of the Bible, and some recollec- 
 tion of the more prominent events of sacred history. 
 This view is corroborated by the references to these 
 topics which we find in the mythological history of 
 the Chinese. Their account of the creation of the 
 heavens and the earth by Pwanku is only a 
 reflection of the Mosaic narrative of that stupen- 
 dous creative act by the Almighty; and with ref- 
 erence to the subsequent events of sacred history, 
 says Dr. Medhurst, "the coincidence of ten gen- 
 erations having passed away, the institution of 
 marriage, the invention of music, the rebellion of a 
 portion of the race, and the confused mixture of the 
 divine and human families closed by the occurrence 
 of the flood in the time of Tau, might lead us to con- 
 clude that, in their allusions to this period, the Chi- 
 nese are merely giving their version of the events 
 that occurred from Adam to Noah." " The mention 
 made in their early history of the draining of the 
 land as one of the first acts of the primitive rulers of 
 China, and the allusion to the discovery of wine 
 
CHINESE SHANGTI. 37 
 
 about the same period, show that their first kings 
 must have synchronized with the immediate descend- 
 ants of Noah ; and the recorded fact that a seven 
 years' famine took place in China nearly coeval with 
 that of Egypt, proves that their chronicles are enti- 
 tled to some degree of credit." 
 
 But we have still stronger evidence on this subject. 
 Some of the oldest and most reliable books of the 
 Chinese furnish conclusive evidence that in ancient 
 times they possessed some correct knowledge of the 
 true God. This Being is designated Shangti, (Upper 
 Ruler,) and to him are ascribed many of the attri- 
 butes which we predicate of the true God. "We ad- 
 mit that subsequent Chinese philosophers have sought 
 to explain away all these allusions to the Upper 
 Ruler, and that in our day this ancient knowledge 
 has utterly faded from the national consciousness of 
 the Chinese ; but there stands the record on the sub- 
 ject, embalmed in their sacred writings, as a sure wit- 
 ness against them; "because 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 them- 
 selves 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 fourfooted 
 beasts, and creeping things." Sir John Davis, refer- 
 ring to this subject, says : " Notwithstanding the 
 general aspect of materialism that pertains to the 
 Chinese philosophy, it is difficult to peruse their sen- 
 timents regarding tien (heaven) without the persua- 
 sion that they ascribe to it most of the attrifcrates of a 
 
38 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 supreme governing intelligence." In the ritual for 
 public worship in what has been termed the state re- 
 ligion of China, there are certain prayers, used by the 
 emperor, which afford light on this subject. The 
 following is a translation of the ancient form of 
 prayer with which the emperor, at the round altar, in 
 the southern suburbs of Pekin, the capital of China, 
 greeted the approach of the spirit of Shangti to the 
 sacrifices offered at the winter solstice. The transla- 
 tion is by the Rev. Dr. Legge, of the London Mission 
 at Hong-kong, China. 
 
 " To thee, O mysteriously working Maker, I look 
 up in thought. How imperial is the expansive arch 
 (where thou dwellest.) ISTow is the time when the 
 masculine energies of nature begin to be displayed, 
 and with the great ceremonies I reverently honor 
 thee. Thy servant, I am but a reed or willow ; my 
 heart is but as that of an ant ; yet have I received thy 
 favoring decree appointing me to the government of 
 the empire. I deeply cherish a sense of my igno- 
 rance and blindness, and am afraid lest I prove un- 
 worthy of thy great favors. Therefore will I observe 
 all the rules and statutes, striving, insignificant as I 
 am, to discharge my loyal duty. Far distant here, I 
 look up to thy heavenly palace. Come in thy pre- 
 cious chariot to the altar. Thy servant, I bow my 
 head to the earth, reverently expecting thine abund- 
 ant grace. All my officers are here arranged along 
 with me, joyfully worshiping before thee. All the 
 spirits accompany thee as guards (filling the air) from 
 east to west. Thy servant, I prostrate myself to meet 
 thee, and reverently look up for thy coming, O Te 1 
 
IMPEEIAL PEAYEE. 39 
 
 O that thou would vouchsafe to accept our offerings, 
 and regard us while we worship thee whose goodness 
 is inexhaustible !" 
 
 In A. D. 1832 China was visited with a long and 
 severe drought, and the emperor, Tau-Kwang, thus 
 prays for relief: "I, the minister of heaven, am 
 placed over mankind, and am made responsible for 
 keeping the world in order and tranquilizing the 
 people. Unable as I am to sleep or eat with 
 composure, scorched with grief and trembling with 
 anxiety, still no genial and copious showers have as 
 yet descended. ... I ask myself whether, in sacrificial 
 services, I have been remiss ; whether pride and 
 prodigality have had a place in my heart, springing 
 up there unobserved ; whether from length of time I 
 have become careless in the affairs of government ; 
 whether I have uttered irreverent words, and de- 
 served reprehension ; whether perfect equity has been 
 attained in conferring rewards and inflicting punish- 
 ments ; whether, in raising mausoleums and laying out 
 gardens, I have wasted property and distressed the 
 people; whether in the appointment of officers I 
 have failed to obtain fit persons, and thereby have 
 rendered the government vexatious to the people; 
 whether the oppressed have found no means of ap- 
 peal ; whether the largesses conferred on the afflicted 
 southern provinces were properly applied, or the 
 people left to die in the ditches. . . . Prostrate, I beg 
 imperial Heaven to pardon my ignorance and dull- 
 ness, and to grant me self-renovation; for millions 
 of innocent people are involved by me, a single man. 
 My sins are so numerous that it is hopeless to escape 
 
4:0 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 their consequences. . . . Prostrate, I implore impe- 
 rial Heaven to grant a gracious deliverance !" 
 
 While the ancient writings of the Chinese show 
 conclusively that they possessed, originally, some 
 correct knowledge of the nature and attributes of 
 God, it is interesting to find that in the consciousness 
 of the Chinese, even in our own day, there lingers a 
 tradition or impression of the divine law. In preach- 
 ing to the Chinese the missionary frequently refers 
 to the decalogue, and presents its requirements and 
 enactments as the divine law. Speaking one day on 
 this topic in the chapel of our mission, in the city of 
 Fuh Chau, a Chinese gentleman present interrupted 
 me with the remark, " We also have a heavenly 
 law." The expression "heavenly law" (tien teu) 
 was new to me at the time, and I eagerly inquired 
 about it. "We all know," continued the speaker, 
 " about the heavenly law," and the entire congrega- 
 tion corroborated the correctness of the statement. 
 
 " Where is this statute or law ?" I inquired. 
 
 They replied : " We cannot tell where it is." 
 
 " Is it not found," I proceeded, " in some of your 
 books '?" 
 
 "No," they answered; "our books give us no in- 
 formation on the subject." 
 
 " Cannot some of your scholars or learned men ex- 
 plain the matter ?" 
 
 " They know nothing more on the subject than we 
 do." 
 
 " How then," I asked with some earnestness, " do 
 you know there is such a law as that to which you 
 refer ? You have never seen it, have never read it, 
 
HEAVENLY LAW. 41 
 
 are ignorant of its precise import ; how do yon know- 
 there is snch a law?" 
 
 "Why," said they, "every one says there is a 
 heavenly law, and we never heard of one who had 
 any donbt on the subject." 
 
 Pursuing these inquiries, I ascertained that all 
 with whom I conversed were informed on the sub- 
 ject. This statute is a kind of unwritten higher law 
 to them ; they accept it as the standard of morals, 
 the authoritative rule of faith. They consider it a 
 sufficient condemnation of any man or enterprise to 
 say, "Ah, he or it violates the heavenly law !" When 
 urged to give the import of this law, their reply is, 
 "We know it enjoins the performance of virtuous 
 actions, and forbids vicious conduct ;" and those who 
 have some knowledge of Christian doctrines say that 
 it must be similar to the precepts of the decalogue. 
 
 Whence did the Chinese obtain this profound 
 impression of a heavenly law? and how happens it 
 that the abrasion of successive centuries has failed to 
 obliterate it from their minds? From the Bible 
 standpoint alone can satisfactory answers be given 
 to these inquiries. The sublime scenes enacted on 
 Sinai rise before us as we dwell on this subject, 
 where, we are told, " all the people saw the thunder- 
 ings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trum- 
 pet, and the mountain smoking : and when the people 
 saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they 
 said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will 
 hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. . . . 
 And the people stood afar off; and Moses drew near 
 unto the thick darkness where God was." We can 
 
42 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 conceive somewhat of the impressions this terrific 
 scene would produce on the minds of all present on 
 that occasion; and when we add the influences of 
 those stupendous miracles by which, subsequently, the 
 law was magnified, and of those terrible judgments 
 by which all violations of its statutes were punished, 
 it is not strange there even now exists among the 
 Chinese a recollection of the "heavenly law." 
 
 I was preaching one day to a Chinese congregation 
 on the fourth commandment, and while endeavoring 
 to explain and enforce the claims of the Sabbath, a 
 Chinese gentleman present in the congregation start- 
 led me by saying : 
 
 " May I inquire whether your Sabbath is the same 
 as our ' heavenly day V " 
 
 " Heavenly day !" said I in reply ; " what do you 
 know about a heavenly day?" 
 
 " Why," responded the speaker, " we have always 
 heard of a heavenly day, but we cannot say much on 
 the subject." 
 
 Following up this interesting topic, I ascertained 
 that there is in general use among the Chinese of Fuh 
 Chau a proverb which runs thus : " Ah, you are igno- 
 rant of the heavenly day !" This proverb is employed 
 by old men when reproving the youth of the land. 
 ISTo one seemed to have any clear idea of the proverb's 
 precise meaning. 
 
 " What is this heavenly day ?" I inquired. 
 
 The uniform answer was : " We cannot tell what 
 it is." 
 
 " When does it occur ? Does it come once a year, 
 once a month, or how often ?" 
 
THE SABBATH. 43 
 
 The same answer still met me : " We cannot tell 
 yon anything abont it." 
 
 " Do yonr books say nothing on the subject ?" 
 
 " Nothing, so far as we know." 
 
 "And why," I proceeded, "in the absence of all 
 direct evidence on the subject, do you believe there 
 is a heavenly day ?" 
 
 My effort to develop any latent skepticism was ut- 
 terly futile. " Every one believes it," said they, " and 
 it must be true." 
 
 We should not be authorized, perhaps, to infer from 
 this proverb that the Chinese once had some acquaint- 
 ance with the fourth commandment; and yet the 
 fact is interesting and suggestive. Pertinent to this 
 subject, let us now notice a few other illustrative and 
 corroborative circumstances. 
 
 In the ancient history of China we are told that 
 when a certain king ascended the throne he instructed 
 the different portions of his subjects, " On the seventh 
 day come and pay your obeisance." Chinese physi- 
 cians, in their diagnosis of diseases, lay it down as an 
 axiom that every case of sickness assumes a new phase 
 on every seventh day. Again, when a Chinese dies, 
 his friends, if able to do so, will employ priests to cel- 
 ebrate mass for the repose of the departed spirit on 
 the seventh day after the death of the party, and this 
 mass is performed on successive seventh days for seven 
 times. This use of the number seven by the Chinese 
 is the more remarkable because in China everything 
 goes by decades or decimals. Their dozen is ten ; 
 their sets of plates, cups, saucers, etc., comprise 
 ten pieces or pairs ; in fact, you constantly hear of 
 
4A ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 tens. But in the instances to which I have referred 
 we find the number seven introduced. JSTow, connect- 
 ing this singular fact with their proverb about the 
 heavenly day, are we not authorized to infer that, in 
 some former period of their history, the Chinese were 
 acquainted with the divine command, " Remember 
 the Sabbath-day," etc. ? 
 
 The filial piety of the Chinese has an important 
 bearing on this view of the subject. The doctrine of 
 filial piety, that is, respect of children for their parents, 
 is one of the most important and prominent features 
 of Chinese civilization. It is scarcely necessary to 
 remind the reader that the Chinese have pressed their 
 theories on this subject to an unjustifiable extreme ; 
 that their filial piety is rank idolatry; and that, in 
 genuine regard and love for their parents, the theory 
 and practice of the Chinese are utterly divergent and 
 hopelessly conflicting. Notwithstanding these sad 
 drawbacks, however, it is still true that the position 
 of the Chinese on this interesting question is far in 
 advance of that of any other heathen nation in the 
 world. The doctrine underlies and supports their en- 
 tire social and political systems, and it has developed 
 that form of idolatry to which, of all others, the Chi- 
 nese are most firmly and sincerely attached. We may 
 say, indeed, that the Chinese are the only heathen 
 people who have given to this doctrine an important 
 place in their civilization and government. While 
 other heathen nations entirely ignore this subject, or 
 openly sanction practices utterly opposed to its benefi- 
 cent teachings, the Chinese have accepted it as a pri- 
 mary truth, and have invested it with all ethical and 
 
MARRIAGE INSTITUTION". 45 
 
 political honors. In this regard their civilization is 
 unique among all the heathen nations of the world. 
 What has given to the Chinese this distinguishing 
 characteristic % There can be, we conceive, only one 
 answer to this question: It has sprung from their 
 early connection with the old Bible records, and par- 
 ticularly with the fifth command of the decalogue. 
 
 The marriage institution, as recognized in the laws 
 of China, contributes evidence on this subject. The 
 intelligent reader is prepared for the statement that 
 in this respect, also, the Chinese stand entirely above 
 all other heathen nations ; but it is probable even he 
 will be surprised to observe how nearly the Chinese 
 view of this subject harmonizes with the one con- 
 tained in the Pentateuch. A Chinese husband can 
 have at one time only one legal wife. At her death, 
 the bereaved husband may make a second marriage. 
 This wife is taken with established ceremonies, and 
 she is the recognized head of the domestic household. 
 Concubinage is allowed, and freely practiced in China ; 
 but the concubine cannot take from the wife her 
 authority or position in the family. His marriage is 
 one of the most important events in the life of a 
 Chinese. Its preliminaries are arranged with anxious 
 solicitude, and with profound deference to all the in- 
 fluences, terrestrial and celestial, which are supposed 
 to affect so important an enterprise. The nuptials 
 are celebrated with all the display which the re- 
 sources of the -parties can command, and the cere- 
 mony is invested with judicial sanctions, social festiv- 
 ities, and ancestral honors. It is certainly as remark- 
 able as singular to find such sentiments on this 
 
46 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 subject prevailing so extensively among a heathen 
 people, and the bearing of this fact on the question 
 before us is sufficiently evident to the reader. We 
 might refer to other sources of testimony on this 
 point. The industrial and fine arts, agriculture, com- 
 merce, architecture, literature, jurisprudence, polit- 
 ical economy, proverbs, social system, and the man- 
 ners and customs of the Chinese, all furnish evidence, 
 palpable, cumulative, and convincing, that the orig- 
 inal Chinese came from the old homestead of the hu- 
 man race, in Western Asia, and were acquainted with 
 the doctrines and facts of the early Bible records. It 
 does not fall within the plan of this work to present 
 this evidence in detail. We simply indicate the 
 sources from which additional testimony on this sub- 
 ject may be drawn, and now pass to notice another 
 remarkable feature of Chinese civilization. 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact, that of all those ancient 
 empires founded immediately subsequent to the del- 
 uge China alone remains. The Assyrians, Egyp- 
 tians, and, in later times, the Grecians, have severally 
 attained to a comparatively high degree of intelli- 
 gence and refinement ; but their star soon culminated 
 and sank into utter darkness. China, however, has 
 never been wrecked, her civilization has never retro- 
 graded; paradoxical though it seems, her star has 
 remained in its zenith for at least three thousand 
 years. Through all this long lapse of centuries the 
 Chinese have kept up, fairly and steadily, to their 
 original civilization ; and to-day they present all the 
 essential elements of those social, literary, and politi- 
 cal traits which characterized them in those early 
 
NATIONAL LONGEVITY. 47 
 
 epochs when the Assyrians built their magnificent 
 cities, the Egyptians developed their subtle theory of 
 the metempsychosis, or the Greeks were thundering 
 at the gates of Troy. It must certainly be interest- 
 ing to inquire how such a result has been reached, 
 and to ascertain, if we can, at least some of the causes 
 which have contributed to it. In solving this inter- 
 esting problem we observe that the civilization of the 
 Chinese is distinguished from all other heathen civ- 
 ilizations by the fact that its primitive elements were 
 derived from the Bible, and that the necessary tend- 
 ency of these elements is to conserve and perpetuate 
 the system. A prominent characteristic of Chinese 
 civilization is the total absence of those revolting and 
 cruel rites which form the leading traits of other 
 heathen systems of civilization. As illustrative of 
 this remark, we may refer to the deification of vice 
 and the offering of human victims in sacrifices, prac- 
 tices which, though characteristic of nearly every 
 other heathen nation, constitute no feature of Chi- 
 nese civilization. The connection between these 
 abominations and the destruction of the nations 
 guilty of them, is shown in Leviticus xviii, 24, 25 : 
 " Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things : for 
 in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out 
 before you ; and the land is defiled : therefore I do 
 visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself 
 vomiteth out her inhabitants.". As a further contri- 
 bution to the solution of this question we refer to the 
 length of days promised by the Almighty to those who 
 observe the command : " Honor thy father and thy 
 mother." No heathen nation has ever approximated 
 
48 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH. 
 
 the Chinese in their respect for parents; and not- 
 withstanding the wide divergence of the Chinese, 
 both in theory and practice, from the true import of 
 the fifth commandment, we conceive it is neither fan- 
 ciful nor farfetched to suppose that even their imper- 
 fect observance of it has had much to do with the 
 permanence of their institutions and the perpetuity 
 of their national existence. Finally, on this topic, 
 we observe that God may have preserved the Chi- 
 nese nation in its integrity for the elucidation of 
 some great principle, or the fulfillment of some 
 prophecy connected with the progress and triumph 
 of his Son's kingdom in the world. There are inti- 
 mations that in the latter days the Church, in her 
 graces, accomplishments, and triumphs, will be sur- 
 passingly beautiful and glorious. "Therefore thy 
 gates shall be open continually; they shall not be 
 shut day nor night ; that men may bring unto thee 
 the forces of the Grentiles, and that their kings may 
 be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not 
 serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be 
 utterly wasted." " Behold, these shall come from far : 
 and lo, these from the north and from the west ; and 
 these from the land of Sinim." (China ?) " Who hath 
 heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? 
 shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? 
 or shall a nation be born at once ?" For the accom- 
 plishment of these and similar prophecies no nation 
 has ever furnished such grand and essential elements 
 as the Chinese, and in no age of the world have the 
 signs of ultimate and immediate success been so 
 grand and auspicious as at the present hour. 
 
HISTOEY OF CHINA. 49 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTOEY OF CHINA. 
 
 The history of China has proved to many writers 
 a fruitful source of perplexity and misconception. 
 While some have decried it as altogether unworthy 
 of credence or study, others have lavished upon it 
 the highest encomiums. It has had, indeed, the some- 
 what singular fortune of being alternately unduly 
 extolled or indiscriminately disparaged. Disgusted 
 with its harsh and unintelligible nomenclature, and 
 with the outre garb in which its scenes and heroes 
 appear before us, the man of refined taste has usually 
 dismissed the subject from his thoughts ; while the 
 skeptic, eager for plausible arguments in support of 
 his views, has seized with avidity on its high-sound- 
 ing claims to antiquity as a triumphant refutation of 
 the claims of the Bible. Some of our readers can 
 doubtless remember the confident utterances of the 
 infidel oracles in France and Germany on this sub- 
 ject not many years ago : " The Bible chronology 
 unreliable ;" " the Bible history contradicted by the 
 authentic records of ancient nations ;" " the Bible 
 proved to be false !" These and kindred statements 
 supplied at once the text and key-note for innumer- 
 able philippics against the Christian religion. " The 
 
50 HISTORY OF CHINA. 
 
 Mosaic record," said these writers, "is utterly at 
 fault, for the ancient records of China assure us that 
 the ancestors of that people were laying the founda- 
 tions of the Chinese empire at the time when, accord- 
 ing to the Mosaic narrative, the Almighty was creat- 
 ing the heavens and the earth ; and that the Chinese 
 husbandman was tilling his farm at the time Adam 
 is represented as cultivating Eden." The issue was 
 thus fairly presented, and, admitting the premises as- 
 sumed, the conclusion is inevitable. If the ancient 
 annals of China are authentic, the Mosaic record is 
 invalidated. The only question is, " Are the ancient 
 records of China authentic ?" This question has now 
 been thoroughly investigated, and a unanimous ver- 
 dict has been given by both Chinese and foreigners, 
 missionaries and diplomatists. The substance of this 
 verdict is that all the historic records of China an- 
 terior to Fuhhi, supposed to be B. C. 2852, are ut- 
 terly fabulous; that from Fuhhi to the commence- 
 ment of the Chau dynasty, about B. C. 1100, they 
 are extremely vague and uncertain, and that it is not 
 till you come to the times of the Chau dynasty, about 
 B. C. 1100, that they become entirely reliable. 
 
 Sir John Davis, referring to this subject, says : 
 " The period of authentic history may be considered 
 as dating from the race of Chau, in whose times Con- 
 fucius 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." Says the 
 late Kev. Dr. Medhurst : " It has been generally sup- 
 posed that the Chinese maintain an antiquity of 
 
MYTHOLOGICAL HISTOEY. 51 
 
 myriads of years, and that their historical records, 
 stretching far back into the vista of more than a 
 thousand ages, are at such variance with the com- 
 paratively recent account of Moses as to oblige us 
 either to question the one or the other. The fact is, 
 however, that the Chinese, like most other heathen 
 nations, have a mythological as well as a chronolog- 
 ical period ; the one considered by themselves as fabu- 
 lous, and the other as authentic ; the one connected 
 with the history of their gods, and the other with 
 that of their men. In the former they speak of their 
 celestial emperor, who reigned forty-five thousand 
 years ; their terrestrial emperor, who reigned eighteen 
 thousand years, followed by their human emperor, 
 who reigned as long ; without condescending to en- 
 lighten us as to the names, characters, events, or cir- 
 cumstances of these wonderful individuals, or their 
 still more extraordinary reigns; nay, without so 
 much as telling us whether their dominions were 
 established in heaven or on earth, or whether they 
 referred exclusively to China, or included other 
 nations. In short, the vague account they furnish us 
 of these fancied emperors shows that they were 
 merely the figment of the imagination, introduced to 
 supply a deficiency and to amuse the credulous. In- 
 deed, so little credit is attached to this fabulous period 
 by the Chinese themselves, that one of their most 
 respectable historians, Chu-Fu-Tsz, does not .venture 
 to allude to it, but, passing by these extravagant 
 assumptions, commences his relation at a much later 
 period, when events and circumstances of a connected 
 character stamp the records of the age with greater 
 
52 HISTORY OF CHINA. 
 
 marks of credibility." Another Chinese historian 
 waxes indignant over these absurd claims to an- 
 tiquity, and declares they " are contrary to all sense 
 and reason." 
 
 The entire period from Fuhhi, supposed to be 
 B. C. 2852, to the beginning of the Chau dynasty, 
 B. C. llOOj is so full of the marvelous, its notices are 
 so vague, its dates so arbitrary, and the general 
 character of the period so fanciful and obscure, that 
 it is impossible to receive its records as reliable 
 history. We are not authorized, perhaps, to reject 
 this period of Chinese history as fabulous, and yet 
 we are utterly unable, from its dim historic lights, 
 to ascertain with certainty the chronological posi- 
 tion and order of its events; and we can only 
 hope that future researches and discoveries in the 
 lands of the East may multiply the lights of these 
 shadowy centuries, and guide the honest inquirer to 
 truthful and reliable conclusions on this interesting 
 subject. 
 
 Such, then, is the verdict which stern historic truth 
 has given with reference to the vaunted antiquity of 
 the Chinese empire. The ante-mosaic pretensions of 
 Chinese records vanish into thin air, while all the 
 facts of their reliable history are in beautiful and 
 perfect harmony with the teachings of divine revela- 
 tion. 
 
 It does not come within the plan of this work to 
 give a detailed account of the history of China, and 
 for full information on this subject we would refer 
 the reader to the excellent works of Sir John Davis, 
 Dr. S. Wells Williams, and others. It is sufficient 
 
EAELY SETTLEMENT. 53 
 
 for our present purpose to state that according to the 
 Chinese records, commencing with Yu the Great, 
 about B. C. 2205, there have existed twenty-six dy- 
 nasties, covering an entire period of about four thou- 
 sand years to the present time. The earliest records 
 of China point to the province of Honan as the orig- 
 inal seat of its founders, and a glance at the physical 
 geography of the country suggests the route over 
 central Asia, through the mountain passes on the 
 northwest of China, and down the waters of the Yel- 
 low River, along which they passed in reaching that 
 position. From this point the Chinese gradually ex- 
 tended to the northward and southward over the 
 area of their present empire. At times, as we pursue 
 their history, they present the appearance of a con- 
 solidated government under a central and authorita- 
 tive head ; and then, again, they appear split up into 
 petty and frequently contending states or kingdoms, 
 of which at one time the number was one hundred 
 and twenty-five. It is a noteworthy circumstance, 
 that at the time our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
 was born into the world, China was under the sway 
 of an emperor whose name was Peace. In A.D. 
 585, the territory north and south of the Yajstg-tsz 
 River, the Mississippi of China, was united in one em- 
 pire. Taitsung, one of the most celebrated emperors 
 of China, reigned at this period, and " during his 
 reign the limits of the empire were extended over all 
 the Turkish tribes lying west of Kan-suh, and south 
 of the Tien-shan, as far as the Caspian Sea, which 
 were placed under four satrapies or residences. 
 West of these many smaller tribes submitted and 
 
54 HISTOKY OF CHINA. 
 
 rendered a partial obedience to the emperor, who 
 arranged them into sixteen governments under the 
 management of a governor-general placed over their 
 own chieftains. His frontiers reached from the bord- 
 ers of Persia, the Caspian Sea, and the Altai of the 
 Kirghis steppe, along those mountains to the north 
 side of Cobi, eastward to the inner Hingan. Sogdiana 
 and part of Khorassan, and the regions around Hin- 
 du-kusk, also obeyed him. The rulers of Nipal and 
 Bahar in India sent their salutations by their embas- 
 sadors ; and the Greek emperor, Theodosius, sent an 
 envoy to Si-ngan in A. D. 643, carrying presents of 
 rubies and emeralds, as did also the Persians. The 
 Nestorian missionaries also presented themselves at 
 court. Taitsung received them with respect, and 
 heard them rehearse the leading tenets of their doc- 
 trines ; he ordered a temple to be erected at his capi- 
 tal, and had some of their sacred books translated for 
 his examination, though there is no evidence now re- 
 maining that any portion of the Bible was done into 
 Chinese at this time." 
 
 The empire has been twice overrun and subjugat- 
 ed by the northern hordes, who for centuries have 
 hovered along its northern frontiers. In A. D. 1280 
 the Mongolians, under Kublai-Khan, obtained the 
 ascendancy, and for ninety years governed the em- 
 pire. Marco Polo visited China during the reign of 
 H/ublai, and on his return to Europe gave a glowing 
 description of the splendid magnificence of that east- 
 ern monarch's court. Possibly this description had 
 something to do with Coleridge's poem, which, he 
 says, was composed while he slept : 
 
EAELY FOREIGN INTERCOUESE. 55 
 
 "In Xana-du did Kublai-Khan 
 A stately pleasure dome decree, 
 Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 
 Through caverns measureless to man 
 Down to a sunless sea." 
 
 In A. D. 1644 the Manchu Tartars, from Man- 
 churia, obtained the throne and founded the dynasty 
 which governs the empire to this day. 
 
 The Chinese have not grown up in complete inde- 
 pendence of the other nations of the earth. There is 
 sufficient evidence that some of the ancients were not 
 ignorant of the existence of such a nation. Arrian 
 speaks of the Since or Thince, in the remotest parts 
 of Asia, who exported the raw and manufactured 
 silks which were brought westward by way of Bac- 
 tria or Bokhara. It is recorded in the Chinese 
 annals, that in A. D. 94 an envoy was sent by 
 the then reigning emperor of China to seek inter- 
 course with western nations. Marcus Antoninus, 
 A. D. 161, made an unsuccessful attempt to send, by 
 sea, an embassy to the eastern country which pro- 
 duced the splendid silk fabrics so much admired and 
 coveted by the luxurious Latins. ISTestorianism was 
 introduced into China, about A. D. 635, by some 
 bishops of that faith who had been driven eastward 
 by persecutions in the Roman provinces. Two Ara- 
 bian travelers visited China in A. D. 850 and 8YV, 
 and published their itineraries, which Renaudot has 
 translated, giving an account of the extensive com- 
 merce then carried on between Arabia and China. 
 In A. D. 1246 Pope Innocent IV. dispatched, by the 
 overland route through Russia, Giovanni Carpini, a 
 
56 HISTORY OF CHINA. 
 
 monk, to the court of China to labor for the conver- 
 sion of the emperor to the Roman Catholic faith. 
 Carpini, it is said, was astonished at the immense 
 treasures everywhere displayed, and having been 
 courteously treated, was sent back by the emperor 
 with a friendly letter to the pope. He was pleased 
 rather than scandalized by the near resemblance of 
 the rites of the Chinese Budhists to the forms of 
 Roman Catholic worship, inferring from thence that 
 they either already were, or very soon would be, 
 Christians. Matthew and Nicholas Polo, two noble 
 Yenetians, visited China, were kindly received by 
 the emperor, and on their departure for Europe were 
 invited to return to China. ^h.ej did return . in 
 1274, carrying with them letters from Pope Gregory 
 X., and accompanied by young Marco Polo, son to 
 one of them. Young Marco became a favorite with 
 the emperor, lived at his court for seventeen years, 
 obtained liberty with some difficulty to return to 
 Europ'fe, and on his appearance in Yenice gave an ac- 
 count of the vastness, resources, and splendor of the 
 Chinese empire, which at the time was received with 
 utter incredulity, but is now regarded as trustworthy. 
 " Abundant evidence," writes Sir John Davis, " is 
 afforded by Chinese records that a much more lib- 
 eral as well as enterprising disposition existed in 
 respect to foreign intercourse than prevails at pres- 
 ent. It was only on the conquest of the empire by 
 the Manchu Tartars, 1644, that the European trade 
 was limited to Canton ; and the jealous and watch- 
 ful Tartar dominion established by this handful of 
 barbarians has unquestionably occasioned many addi- 
 
THE POBTUGUESE. 57 
 
 tional obstacles to an increased commerce with the 
 rest of the world. "We have already noticed the Chi- 
 nese junks which were seen by the Arabian traveler, 
 Ibn Batuta, as far west as the coast of Malabar, 
 about the end of the thirteenth century. Even be- 
 fore the seventh century it appears, from native rec- 
 ords, that missions were sent from China to the 
 surrounding nations, with a view to inviting mutual 
 intercourse. The benefits of industry and trade have 
 always been extolled by the people of that country ; 
 the contempt, therefore, with which the present Tar- 
 tar government affects to treat the European com- 
 merce must be referred entirely to the fears which it 
 entertains regarding the influence of increased knowl- 
 edge on the stability of its dominion." 
 
 The Portuguese led the van of modern European 
 nations in opening up trade with China. They ap- 
 peared at Canton soon after their discovery (A. D. 
 1516) of the passage to the far east by way of the 
 Cape of Good Hope ; and their government sent, 
 in 1520, the first embassy to the Court of China 
 ever dispatched by sea from a European court. It 
 was most unfortunate that the character and perform- 
 ances of nearly all these early adventurers were not 
 calculated to give the Chinese a very exalted concep- 
 tion of foreigners. Thirsting for wealth, and often 
 reckless as to the means of acquiring it, they usually 
 scrupled not to resort to any practices, legal or ille- 
 gal, that promised to fill their coffers. Eager to mo- 
 nopolize the tempting harvest before them, they were 
 extremely jealous of all competition, and by the 
 hostile attitude which they assumed toward the 
 
58 HISTORY OF CHINA. 
 
 efforts of other European nations who sought to es- 
 tablish commercial relations with the Chinese, they 
 taught them to fear and discountenance all inter- 
 course with foreigners. It is truly wonderful to ob- 
 serve with what stern impartiality evenhanded justice 
 commends the poisoned chalice to the lips of those 
 who have mixed its contents. The Portuguese, 
 through the entire period of their intercourse with the 
 Chinese, have reaped the bitter fruit of the narrow 
 and unjust policy toward foreigners with which they 
 so unwisely contributed to indoctrinate the rulers of 
 China ; and at this day their position and influence 
 in China are but little in advance of what they were 
 centuries ago, while other nations, who sought to ini- 
 tiate a more magnanimous and truthful policy, have 
 risen steadily in importance and influence, and to-day 
 their counsels are almost omnipotent in the imperial 
 cabinet. 
 
 The Dutch, in 1624, established themselves on the 
 west "coast of Formosa, a large island on the coast 
 of China, but were finally driven from thence by 
 the Chinese, and in 1662 they returned to Java. 
 At the present day they have an extensive and lu- 
 crative trade with China. The Russians, as early as 
 1693, sent overland an important embassy to China ; 
 in 1719 another was sent by Peter the Great; in 
 1727 Catharine I. dispatched an embassador extra- 
 ordinary to China, who concluded a treaty with that 
 nation, and to the present time they have always 
 wielded a powerful influence in China. 
 
 The English early directed their attention to China. 
 Unsuccessful attempts to open a trade with the Chi- 
 
ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 59 
 
 nese were made in 1637 and in 1664; but in 1670, 
 just eight years after the Dutch had been driven from 
 that island, they succeeded in establishing trade with 
 the Chinese on the island of Formosa. 
 
 In 1685 they opened trade at Amoy and Can- 
 ton, two important cities on the seaboard of China. 
 Since that time England has always occupied a 
 prominent position in the foreign commerce and 
 diplomacy of China, and, in the main, her policy 
 toward that government has been magnanimous, 
 honorable, and just. It is chiefly due to her influ- 
 ence and efforts that the Chinese government is lay- 
 ing aside its exclusive policy, that China is rapidly 
 coming to take her position in the circle of Christian 
 nations, and that now the empire is thrown open to 
 foreign commerce and Christianity. 
 
 The trade between the United States and China 
 commenced in 1784, and has continued to expand 
 quietly and rapidly to the present time. The prac- 
 tical energy and peaceable proclivities of the Amer- 
 ican character, complementing in the Chinese mind 
 the more stately and powerful resources and char- 
 acteristics of the English, have doubtless contributed 
 much toward giving the Chinese an adequate and 
 worthy conception of foreigners. 
 
60 GOVERNMENT OP CHINA. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 "Extremes meet," says the old proverb, and every 
 department of knowledge and experience corrobo- 
 rates tib.e truthfulness of the sentiment. We doubt, 
 however, whether any one ever fancied that a com- 
 parison between the respective governments of China 
 and the United States of America would furnish a 
 striking illustration of this popular adage. And yet, 
 incredible as the statement may seem, we are pre- 
 pared to show that, in form at least, an analogy ex- 
 ists between the most recent system of representative 
 government and the oldest political despotism in the 
 world. The existence of a central government as the 
 supreme authority in the empire, the division of Chi- 
 nese territory into provinces or states, counties, town- 
 ships, and wards ; the presence of regularly organized 
 provincial or state governments, their independence 
 as between themselves, and their subordination to the 
 central government ; the brief tenures of office pre- 
 scribed for state officers, and the regulations control- 
 ling rotation in office; the existence of municipal 
 organizations among the people, and the large 
 amount of freedom and authority they exercise in 
 the management of local matters ; all these features 
 
CELESTIAL RULER. 61 
 
 of tlie Chinese government, and others to which we 
 might refer, find, partially at least, their correspond- 
 ences in the government of the United States of 
 America. The contrasts, however, between these 
 two governments are obvious and radical. The gov- 
 ernment of China is thoroughly despotic. The em- 
 peror is the sole and supreme head of the Chinese 
 constitution and government. He is regarded as the 
 vicegerent of Heaven, chosen by divine authority to 
 govern all the world, and is called " The August 
 Lofty One," u Celestial Ruler," " Sacred Sovereign," 
 " Son of Heaven," " Sire of Ten Thousand Tears," etc. 
 Theoretically he is supreme in everything, possessing 
 without limit or control the highest legislative and 
 executive powers ; practically, however, there are 
 limits to this apparently irresponsible authority. 
 Although the emperor is the fountain of all power, 
 rank, honor, and privilege to all within his domin- 
 ions ; although he is the recognized head of religion, 
 the only one qualified to adore Heaven, the source of 
 law, and the dispenser of mercy; still the people 
 regard him as bound to rule according to the pub- 
 lished laws of the land, and his power is yet further 
 circumscribed by public opinion, the want of an effi- 
 cient standing army, poverty, and the venality of his 
 own official agents. 
 
 There is in the Chinese government nothing fully 
 analogous to a congress, parliament, or tiers etat ; still 
 necessity compels the emperor to consult and advise 
 with some of his officers. There are two imperial 
 councils, which may be regarded as the organs of 
 communication between the imperial head and the 
 
62 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 body politic ; namely, the Cabinet or Privy Council, 
 and the General or Public Council. Subordinate to 
 these two councils are the administrative parts of the 
 supreme government, consisting of the six boards, the 
 Colonial, Office, Censorate, Courts of Representation 
 and Appeal, and the Imperial College. 
 
 The Cabinet or Privy Council is composed of six 
 chancellors, under whom are six grades of officers, 
 amounting in all to upward of two hundred persons, 
 more than half of whom are Manchus. The im- 
 perial statutes state that the duties of this cabinet are, 
 " to deliberate on the government of the empire, pro- 
 claim abroad the imperial pleasure, regulate the can- 
 ons of state, together with the whole administration 
 of the great balance of power, thus aiding the em- 
 peror in directing the affairs of the nation." 
 
 The General Council is of more recent organiza- 
 tion, and is probably the most influential body in the 
 Chinese government. It is composed of princes of 
 the blood, the chancellors of the cabinet, the presi- 
 dents and vice-presidents of the six boards, and the 
 chief officers of all the other courts in the capital, 
 selected at the emperor's pleasure. The number of 
 members in this General Council probably varies ac- 
 cording to his majesty's pleasure ; but as no list of 
 them is given in the Red Book, it is impossible to tell 
 the proportion of Chinese and Manchu officers con- 
 stituting this mainspring of the Chinese government. 
 
 Under the foregoing two councils at Pekin, the 
 national capital, are the six boards, departments of 
 long standing in the government, having originated 
 during the ancient dynasties of the empire. 
 
CIVIL OFFICE, KEVENUE, ETC 63 
 
 1. The Board of Civil Office " lias the government 
 and direction of all the officers in the civil service of 
 the empire, and thereby assists the emperor to rule 
 the people." It farther takes charge of "whatever 
 appertains to the plans of selecting rank and grada- 
 tion, to the rules of determining degradation and 
 promotion, to the ordinances of granting invest- 
 itures and rewards, and the laws for fixing schedules 
 and furloughs that the civil service may he supplied." 
 
 2. The Board of Revenue " directs the territorial 
 government of the empire, and keeps the lists of pop- 
 ulation, in order to aid the emperor in nourishing the 
 people, controls whatever appertains to the regula- 
 tions for levying and collecting duties and taxes, to 
 the plans for distributing salaries and allowances, to 
 the rates for receipts and disbursements at the gran- 
 aries and treasuries, and to the rights for transporting 
 by land and water, that sufficient supplies may be 
 provided for the country." 
 
 3. The Board of Rites " examines and directs con- 
 cerning the performance of the five kinds of ritual 
 observances, and makes proclamation thereof to the 
 whole empire, thus aiding the emperor in guiding all 
 the people. Whatever appertains to the ordinances 
 for regulating precedence and literary distinctions, to 
 the canons for maintaining religious honor and fidel- 
 ity, to the orders respecting intercourse and tribute, 
 and to the forms of giving banquets and granting 
 bounties, are reported to this board in order to pro- 
 mote national education." The five rites referred to 
 are the propitious, the felicitous, the infelicitous, 
 the military, and the hospitable rites. 
 
64 GOVEKNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 4. The Board of War " has the government and 
 direction of all the officers within and without the 
 provinces employed in the military service of the na- 
 tion, for the purpose of aiding the emperor in protect- 
 ing all the people. "Whatever appertains to the ordi- 
 nances for taking away, giving, and resuming office 
 or inheriting rank, to the plans of the post-office de- 
 partment, to the rules of military examination and 
 discipline, and to the rates and enrollments of actual 
 service, are reported to this board in order to regulate 
 the hinge of state." 
 
 5. The Board of Punishments " has the govern- 
 ment and direction of punishments throughout the 
 empire for the purpose of aiding the sovereign in 
 correcting the people. Whatever appertains to meas- 
 ures for applying the laws with leniency or severity, 
 to the task of hearing evidence and giving decisions, 
 to the rights of granting pardons, reprieves, or other- 
 wise, and to the rates of fines and interest, are all 
 reporfed to this board, to aid in giving dignity to 
 national manners." 
 
 6. The Board of Works "has the government 
 and direction of the public works throughout the 
 empire, together with the current expenses of the 
 same, for the purpose of aiding the emperor to keep 
 the people in a state of repose. Whatever apper- 
 tains to plans for buildings of wood or earth, to the 
 forms of useful instruments, to the laws for stop- 
 ping up or opening channels, and to the ordinances 
 for constructing the mausolea and temples, are re- 
 ported to this board, in order to perfect the national 
 works." 
 
CENSORATE, REPRESENTATION. 65 
 
 The Colonial Office, or court for the government of 
 foreigners, " has the government of the external 
 foreigners, orders their emoluments and honors, ap- 
 points their visits to court, and regulates their punish- 
 ments, in order to display the majesty and goodness 
 of the state." This office has the superintendence of 
 all the tribes in Mongolia, Cobdo, Hi, and Koko-nor. 
 These tribes are called external foreigners, to dis- 
 tinguish them from the tributary tribes in Sz Chuen 
 and Formosa, who are called internal foreigners. 
 
 The Censorate, or " all-examining court," has " the 
 care of manners and customs, the investigation of all 
 public offices within and without the capital, the dis- 
 crimination between the good and bad performance 
 of their business, and between the depravity and 
 uprightness of the officers employed in them ; taking 
 the lead of other censors, and uttering each his senti- 
 ments and reproofs, in order to cause officers to be 
 diligent in attention to their daily duties, and to 
 render the government of the empire stable." 
 
 The Court of Representation is composed of six 
 officers, whose duty it is to receive memorials from 
 the provincial authorities, and appeals from their 
 judgment by the people, and present them to the 
 cabinet. This court is also the channel through 
 which the people can appeal directly to the emperor, 
 and it is not a rare occurrence for even women and 
 girls to travel from remote places in the empire to 
 present their petitions for redress before the throne. 
 
 The Court of Appeals has the duty of adjusting all 
 the criminal courts in the empire, and somewhat re- 
 sembles a supreme court in the government. 
 
66 GOVEBNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 The Imperial College is intrusted with the duty of 
 drawing up governmental documents, histories, and 
 other works ; its chief officers take the lead of the va- 
 rious classes, and excite their exertions to advance in 
 learning, in order to prepare them for employments, 
 and fit them for attending upon the sovereign." 
 
 The provincial or state governments of China have 
 "been constructed with considerable ingenuity, and 
 have proved to be remarkably stable and efficient. 
 The territory of China proper is divided into eighteen 
 provinces or states, and each province is subdivided 
 into what may be termed counties, townships, and 
 wards or tithing s. The high civil authorities in each 
 province comprise the viceroy or governor-general, 
 lieutenant-governor, treasurer, judge, literary chan- 
 cellor, and commissioners of rice and salt. In each 
 province there are also what are termed intendants 
 of circuits, who act as deputies for the viceroys and 
 lieutenant-governors. The county authorities are the 
 prefects, and in some cases the superintendents of 
 customs. At the head of each township is the dis- 
 trict magistrate, and at the head of each ward is the 
 constable or centurion. The military officiary in 
 each province is thoroughly organized, and has 
 charge of both the land and sea forces. The highest 
 military officer in the province is the Tartar-general, 
 who resides in the provincial capital, takes rank with 
 the viceroy, but whose jurisdiction is usually limited 
 to the city where he resides. Inferior in rank, but 
 superior in power to the Tartar-general, is the major- 
 general, who, in conjunction with the viceroy and 
 lieutenant-governor, directs the movements of the 
 
NOBILITY, CIVIL OFFICEES. 67 
 
 forces. Under this major-general are various grades 
 of officers, corresponding in the main to the organiza- 
 tion of armies in Europe or the United States. 
 
 The nobility of China comprise the members of 
 the imperial house and clan, of which there are 
 twelve orders, the five ancient orders of nobility 
 designated duke, count, viscount, baron, and baro- 
 net, and, finally, some other orders which, in conse- 
 quence of rarity or peculiar privileges, are deemed 
 even more honorable than the preceding, and cor- 
 respond in some degree to the orders of garter, this- 
 tle, bath, etc., in Europe. The nobility of China, as 
 a body, is destitute of power, land, wealth, office, or 
 influence. The members of the imperial house and 
 clan comprise two branches : the lineal descendants 
 of the first emperor of the reigning dynasty, and the 
 lineal descendants of his uncles and brothers. The 
 management of the clan of imperial relatives apper- 
 tains solely to the emperor, and he has constituted 
 what may be called the clansmen's court, whose 
 duty it is to direct whatever pertains to the imperial 
 kindred. 
 
 The civil officers in the Chinese government are 
 chosen by the emperor from the literary class of soci- 
 ety, and in nearly every instance from those who 
 have obtained the three literary degrees correspond- 
 ing to our bachelor of arts, master of arts, and doctor 
 of laws. The highest civil officers of the government 
 are generally selected from those who have received 
 the fourth, or highest literary degree known in China. 
 It is not surprising, then, that the great majority of 
 Chinese officials are men of good natural abilities, 
 
68 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 thoroughly trained in their schools, and intimately 
 acquainted with both the theory and practice of 
 their own government. Literary attainments are 
 considered absolutely essential to official position and 
 preferment; they constitute, in fact, the only aris- 
 tocracy that exists among the Chinese. The literary 
 class in China is first in social position, civic honors, 
 and political influence ; it is a power behind the 
 throne greater than the throne itself. The state 
 papers of China, written by her officers and covering 
 every department of legislation, will compare favora- 
 bly, in many respects, with the diplomatic produc- 
 tions of any government in Christendom. Some of 
 the most accomplished statesmen of Great Britain 
 and the United States have been sent as ministers to 
 the Court of China, and they have invariably returned 
 from their Eastern mission with a cordial respect for 
 the business talent, logical acumen, and general intel- 
 lectual ability of their Chinese diplomatic confreres. 
 
 The foregoing sketch of the government of China 
 would be incomplete without a brief reference to 
 some of the practical anomalies with reference to 
 this subject which exist among the Chinese. The 
 government of China is intensely despotic, and yet, 
 coincident with this unmitigated despotism, there 
 exists among the Chinese a strong democratic ele- 
 ment, which finds expression and scope for action in 
 their municipal regulations. Every ward in China 
 has its elders, its public hall, where the people meet 
 for the transaction of business, and its placards or 
 public manifestoes, in which the popular sentiments 
 are boldly expressed ; and both unpopular officers and 
 
WARD MEETINGS. t>9 
 
 offensive acts of government are sometimes criticised 
 and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelm- 
 ing ridicule. These elders are chosen by the people, 
 either by seniority or by the sentiment of the ward, 
 and their authority is potent and generally ultimate 
 in adjudicating the cases brought before them. In 
 all important festivals and processions, whether civic 
 or religious, these elders, in appropriate costume, 
 march at the head of the people and act as their rep- 
 resentatives. The government regards them as the 
 patriarchs of the people, and holds them responsible 
 for the acts of the ward in which they reside. If a 
 riot or serious casualty occurs in any ward where the 
 enforcement of the laws is difficult, the government 
 will require the elders to arrest and hand over the 
 guilty parties for punishment ; and in case of failure 
 to comply with these demands, it will proceed to 
 arrest and confine the elders until the guilty or sus- 
 pected parties are delivered up to the proper authori- 
 ties. Public meetings may be convened in the ward 
 at any time, and notice is usually given by sounding 
 a gong through the streets, or by written placards 
 posted in public places. At these meetings all the 
 people may be present and participate in the pro- 
 ceedings. Tea, tobacco, wine, and sometimes a sub- 
 stantial feast, form the accompaniment to these gath- 
 erings of the people. The presence of the literary 
 class in these meetings gives additional dignity and 
 authority to their proceedings ; but it is a rare thing 
 for a literary gentleman to take part in any meeting 
 where either the acts or officers of the government 
 are to be criticised and opposed. During the earlier 
 
TO GOVEKNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 years of our missionary operations in Fuhchau we 
 had most convincing evidence of the existence and 
 influence of these ward meetings. Instigated and 
 controlled by a few crafty and interested parties in 
 the ward where we lived, the people assumed an atti- 
 tude of decided hostility toward us and our opera- 
 tions. Meetings innumerable were held by them to 
 discuss the subject and arrange their plans ; interm- 
 inable remonstrances against us were sent up to 
 the government authorities, and formidable commit- 
 tees were appointed to take charge of the matter. 
 The result was that for about two years we were 
 utterly unable to do anything in the way of obtain- 
 ing residences for additional families of missionaries, 
 or even native houses for chapels and school-rooms 
 in that part of the city. 
 
 In the spring of 1858 there was a popular insurrec- 
 tion in Fuhchau, illustrative of the reserved sover- 
 eignty claimed and exercised by the Chinese. The 
 government officials in that city had obtained large 
 sums of money from the people for the purpose of 
 protecting the place against the insurgents, who were 
 approaching from the westward ; but instead of using 
 the money for the object designated, it was ascer- 
 tained that the greater part of it was embezzled by the 
 officers. At this juncture the imperial commissioner, 
 on his way from Pekin to Canton, arrived at Fuh- 
 chau. On the morning of his intended departure 
 from the city, the authorities were desirous of dis- 
 playing the troops provided for the defense of the 
 city ; but, as the force in actual service would furnish 
 a most startling contrast to the official reports on the 
 
MOB IN" FUHCHAU. 71 
 
 subject forwarded to the emperor, they resorted to 
 the following device to meet the emergency. A large 
 quantity of military caps and coats were purchased 
 or hired for the occasion, and then the occupants of 
 every shop in the entire line of streets along which 
 the -commissioner would pass were ordered to furnish 
 a man to wear the uniform, and stand in front of the 
 shop while the procession was defiling through the 
 street. The plan was ingenious, and thoroughly Chi- 
 nese ; but unexpected difficulties were encountered in 
 endeavoring to enforce it. The people cried out 
 against such barefaced imposition, and one man per- 
 sistently refused to comply with the requisition. 
 The police arrested him and proceeded summarily to 
 punish him. This was too much even for the Chi- 
 nese, and all the people promptly united to resist the 
 execution of the odious order. This precipitated a 
 collision with the government, and the excitement 
 instantly spread throughout the whole city. Busi- 
 ness was suspended, all the shops were closed, the 
 streets were filled with the excited populace; the 
 government offices were surrounded by vociferating 
 crowds, unpopular officers were attacked in the 
 street, their sedans were broken and their sedan- 
 bearers were beaten. The imperial commissioner 
 was unable to leave the city, the people declaring 
 they would capture him if he made the attempt ; the 
 people forced their way into the viceroy's palace, 
 defacing the furniture and rudely jostling his excel- 
 lency; and thus, for about two days, the people 
 defied the government, and the city was entirely in 
 their power, During all this time the great mastj 
 
72 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
 
 of the people were quiet and orderly, and even those 
 who were active in the insurrection demeaned them- 
 selves with studied propriety, stated calmly and care- 
 fully the circumstances necessitating their present 
 proceedings, and, availing themselves of this favor- 
 able opportunity, presented a list of their griev- 
 ances for the consideration of the government. The 
 issue of the movement was that the government 
 authorities promised free and full pardon to all who 
 were engaged in these violent proceedings, and also 
 agreed to redress promptly all the grievances of 
 which the people complained. 
 
 We have seen that the Chinese believe their 
 emperor to be the vicegerent of Heaven, and that he 
 rules the empire by divine right. In case of a local 
 disturbance, where the conflict lies between the peo- 
 ple and the local authorities, the friends of the move- 
 ment will seek to justify it by charging the author- 
 ities with defrauding and oppressing the people 
 against the instructions of the emperor, and without 
 his knowledge, and that hence this popular outbreak 
 is only an appeal to the emperor against the treachery 
 of his agents. But any direct and avowed infringe- 
 ment of the imperial prerogative, any organized 
 resistance of the imperial mandates, they characterize 
 as both treason and sacrilege. All who participate 
 in such movements are called thieves, and their lead- 
 ers head-thieves or robbers. When the rumors of 
 the great rebellion first reached Fuhchau in 1852, 
 the people spoke of the movement with evident dis- 
 approbation ; but when it began to assume gigantic 
 proportions, when half the empire had succumbed to 
 
EMPEROR'S DIVINE RIGHT. 73 
 
 its prowess, I observed that the people gradually- 
 changed, their nomenclature and began to use respect- 
 ful language in speaking of it. Conversing one 
 day with an intelligent Chinese on the subject, I 
 inquired : 
 
 "How does it happen that the insurgent chief 
 makes such rapid progress, if the emperor holds his 
 authority and position by divine right ?" 
 
 After thinking a few moments he gravely replied : 
 "The emperor claims to be the vicegerent of 
 Heaven, ruling the empire by divine right, and he 
 proves it by keeping possession of the empire against 
 all enemies ; but if the insurgent chief can defeat the 
 imperial armies and seize upon the throne, that dis- 
 proves the emperor's claim, and shows that with the 
 insurgent chief now rests the divine right to govern 
 the empire." < 
 
74 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 " The laws of China," says Dr. "Williams, " form 
 an edifice, the foundations of which were laid by Li 
 Kwei twenty centuries ago. Successive dynasties 
 have been building thereon, adding, altering, pulling 
 down, and building up, as circumstances seemed to 
 require. A history of the changes and additions 
 they have undergone, if there were materials for 
 such an account, would contribute much to show the 
 progress of the Chinese in civilization and good gov- 
 ernment." The Chinese entertain a profound re- 
 spect for the laws contained in their national code. 
 Sir George Staunton remarks that " all the Chinese 
 seem to desire is the just and impartial execution of 
 these laws, independent of caprice and uninfluenced 
 by corruption. That the laws of China, on the con- 
 trary, are very frequently violated by those who are 
 their administrators and constitutional guardians, 
 there can be, unfortunately, no question; but to 
 what extent, comparatively with the execution of 
 laws in other countries, must at present be very 
 much a matter of conjecture. At the same time it 
 may be observed, as something in favor of the Chi- 
 nese system, that there are substantial grounds for 
 
CLASSIFICATION. 75 
 
 believing that neither flagrant nor repeated acts of 
 injustice do, in point of fact, often, in any rank or 
 station, ultimately escape with impunity." 
 
 This code of laws is called by the Chinese Ta 
 Tsing Liuh Li, that is, Statutes and Rescripts of the 
 Great Pure Dynasty, and contains all the published 
 laws of the empire. The laws are classified under 
 seven leading heads, namely, General, Civil, Fiscal, 
 Ritual, Military, Criminal, and those relating to pub- 
 lic works ; and are subdivided into four hundred and 
 thirty-six sections, called liuh, to which are appended 
 the li, or modern clauses, which limit, explain, or 
 alter them. These li, or modern clauses, are now 
 much more numerous and voluminous than the orig- 
 inal statutes. The clauses are attached to each stat- 
 ute, and have the same force; but there are no au- 
 thorized reports of cases and decisions, either of the 
 provincial or supreme courts, published for general 
 use, though a record of them is kept in the court 
 where such decisions are made, and in some instances 
 these adjudged cases have been published as a guide 
 to officers. A new edition of this code is published 
 by imperial authority once in five years, and to the 
 edition published in 1799 an extensive collection of 
 notes, comments, and cases illustrating the practice 
 and theory of the laws was appended. A very brief 
 sketch of this body of laws is all we can here present 
 to the reader. 
 
 The General Laws, in forty-seven sections, contain 
 the principles and definitions which guide the ad- 
 ministrator in the construction and application of 
 the entire code. 
 
76 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 The Civil Laws, in twenty-eight sections, are di- 
 vided into two books, one of which refers to the 
 system of government, the other to the conduct of 
 magistrates, etc. 
 
 The Fiscal Laws, in eighty-two sections, contain 
 rules for enrolling the people, for succession and in- 
 heritance, for regulating marriages between different 
 classes of society, for guarding granaries and treas- 
 uries, for preventing and punishing smuggling, for 
 restraining usury, and for overseeing shops. 
 
 The Ritual Laws, in twenty-six sections, contain 
 the regulations for state sacrifices and ceremonies, 
 for the worship of ancestors, and for whatever per- 
 tains to heterodox and magical sects or teachers. 
 
 The Military Laws, in seventy-one sections, pro- 
 vide for the protection of the imperial palace, for the 
 government of the army, the guarding of frontier 
 passes, the management of the imperial cattle, and 
 the forwarding of dispatches by the couriers. 
 
 The Criminal Laws are arranged in eleven books, 
 containing in all one hundred and seventy sections, 
 and constitute the most important division in the 
 whole code. These laws relate to robbery, high 
 treason and renunciation of allegiance, to homicide 
 and murder, quarreling and fighting, abusive lan- 
 guage, indictments, disobedience to parents, and 
 false accusations, bribery and corruption, forging 
 and frauds, incest and adultery, arrests and escapes 
 of criminals, their imprisonment and execution, and 
 lastly, miscellaneous offenses. 
 
 The laws referring to public works and ways, 
 in thirteen sections, contain regulations concerning 
 
CHARACTER. 77 
 
 the weaving of interdicted patterns, the repairing of 
 dikes, and the construction and preservation of gov- 
 ernment edifices, canals, forts, walls, mausolea, gran- 
 aries, manufactories, etc. 
 
 A writer in the Edinburg Review has pronounced 
 the following encomium on this code : " When we 
 turn from the ravings of the Zendavesta or the Pura- 
 nas, to the tone of sense and business in this Chinese 
 collection, it is like passing from darkness to light ; 
 from the drivelings of dotage to the exercise of an 
 improved understanding ; and redundant and minute 
 as these laws are in many particulars, we scarcely 
 know a European code that is at once so copious 
 and so consistent, or is nearly so freed from intricacy, 
 bigotry, and fiction." Dr. Williams, referring to the 
 same subject, says : " A broad survey of Chinese 
 legislation, judged of by its results and the general 
 appearance of society, gives an impression of an ad- 
 ministration far superior to that of any other Asiatic 
 country. The defects in this remarkable body of 
 laws arise from several sources. The degree of lib- 
 erty that can safely be awarded to the subject is not 
 defined in it, and his rights are unknown in law. 
 The government is despotic, but having no efficient 
 military power in its hands, it resorts to a minuteness 
 of legislation upon the practice of social and relative 
 virtues and duties which interferes with their observ- 
 ance ; though it must be remembered that there is no 
 pulpit or Sabbath-school in China to expound and 
 enforce them from a higher code, and the laws must 
 be the chief guide in most cases. The code also ex- 
 hibits a minute attention to trifles, and an effort to 
 
?8 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 legislate for every possible contingency, which must 
 perplex the judge when dealing with the infinite 
 shades of difference occurring in human actions. 
 There are now many vague and obsolete statutes, 
 ready to serve as a handle to prosecute offenders for 
 the gratification of private pique ; and although 
 usage and precedent both combine to prove their dis- 
 use, yet malice and bribery can easily effect their re- 
 viviscence and application to the case. 
 
 " Sheer cruelty, except in cases of treason against 
 the emperor, cannot be charged against this code as 
 a whole, though many of the laws seem designed to 
 operate chiefly in terrorem, and the penalty is placed 
 higher than the punishment really intended to be in- 
 flicted, that the emperor may have scope for mercy, 
 or, as he says, for leniency beyond the limits of the 
 law." The principle on which this is done is evident, 
 and the commonness of the practice proves that such 
 an exercise of mercy has its effect. The laws of 
 China are not altogether unmeaning words, though 
 the degree of efficiency in their execution is subject 
 to endless variations. Some officers are lenient, 
 others severe ; the people in some provinces are in- 
 dustrious and peaceable, in others turbulent and 
 averse to quiet occupations, so that one is likely to 
 form a juster idea of their administration by looking 
 at the results as seen in the general aspect 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 insubor- 
 dination, as is so frequently the case with travelers 
 and writers." 
 
SAFEGUARDS AND CHECKS. 79 
 
 The Chinese government has evidently sought to 
 obtain and perpetuate a just and equitable adminis- 
 tration of its laws. To effect this, it selects its civil 
 officers only from the literary class of society ; it dis- 
 tributes the civil officers of the empire equally be- 
 tween the Manchus and Chinese, who are required to 
 inform on each other; it forbids any man to hold 
 office in his native province; it requires constant 
 rotation in office, no officer being allowed to remain 
 more than three or four years in one office ; it prohib- 
 its officers from marrying in the jurisdictions under 
 their control, from owning land there, and from em- 
 ploying son, brother, or near relative as an officer 
 under them. Censors are appointed by the emperor, 
 whose duty it is to point out all errors of administra- 
 tion ; members of the imperial clan attend the meet- 
 ings of the boards at Pekin, to observe and report 
 whatever they may deem amiss, or of interest, to the 
 emperor and his council ; and in all the upper depart- 
 ments of the general and provincial governments a 
 system of espionage is strictly enforced. In addition' 
 to this, there is made out, triennially, by the board of 
 civil office, a catalogue of the merits and demerits of 
 all the officers in the empire, for the imperial inspec- 
 tion. The imperial code ordains " that if any officer 
 of government, whose situation gives him power and 
 control over the people, not only does not conciliate 
 them by proper indulgence, but exercises his author- 
 ity in a manner so inconsistent with the established 
 laws and approved usages of the empire that, the 
 sentiments of the once loyal subjects being changed 
 by his oppressive conduct, they assemble tumult- 
 
80 LAWS OP CHINA. 
 
 uously and openly rebel, and drive him at length 
 from the capital city and seat of his government, 
 such officer shall suffer death." It would seem as 
 though these provisions were amply sufficient to se- 
 cure the desired end, and yet, notwithstanding all 
 such safeguards and penalties, the administration of 
 the laws in China must be characterized as, in the 
 main, venal, tricky, extortionate, and cruel. Ma- 
 gaillans, who, after residing nearly forty years in 
 China, ought to be good authority on such questions, 
 has left on record his opinion touching this point. 
 " It seems," says he, " as if the legislators had omit- 
 ted nothing, and that they had foreseen all incon- 
 veniences that were to be feared ; so that I am per- 
 suaded no kingdom in the world could be better gov- 
 erned and more happy, if the conduct and probity of 
 the officers were but answerable to the institution of 
 the government. But in regard that they have no 
 knowledge of the true God, nor of the eternal rewards 
 and punishments of the other world, they are subject 
 to no remorses of conscience, they place all their hap- 
 piness in pleasure, in dignity, and riches ; and there- 
 fore, to obtain these fading advantages, they violate 
 all the laws of God and man, trampling under foot 
 religion, reason, justice, honesty, and all the rights of 
 consanguinity and friendship. The inferior officers 
 mind nothing but how to defraud their superiors, 
 their superiors how to defraud the supreme tribunals, 
 and all together plot how to cheat the king, which 
 they know how to do with so much cunning and 
 address, making use in their memorials of words and 
 expressions so soft, so honest, so respectful, so humble, 
 
CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION. 81 
 
 and full of adulation, and of reasons so plausible that 
 the deluded prince frequently takes the greatest false- 
 hoods for solemn truths. So that the people, finding 
 themselves continually oppressed and overwhelmed 
 without any reason, murmur, and raise seditions and 
 revolts, which have caused so much ruin and so many 
 changes in the empire. Nevertheless, there is no 
 reason that the excellency and perfection of the laws 
 of China should suffer for the depravity and wicked- 
 ness of the magistrates." 
 
 The Chinese themselves speak out boldly on this 
 subject. One of the imperial censors says : " Among 
 the magistrates are many who, without fear or shame, 
 connive at robbery and deceit. Formerly horse- 
 stealers were wont to conceal themselves in some 
 secret place, but now they openly bring their plunder 
 to market for sale. When they perceive a person to 
 be weak, they are in the habit of stealing his property 
 and then returning it to him for money, while the 
 officers, on hearing it, treat is as a trivial matter, and 
 blame the sufferer for not being more cautious. 
 Thieves are apprehended with warrants in their pos- 
 session, showing that when they were sent out to 
 arrest thieves, they took advantage of the opportu- 
 nity to steal for themselves. At a village near the 
 imperial residence there are very many plunderers 
 concealed, who go out by night in companies of 
 twenty or thirty persons, carrying weapons with 
 them ; they frequently call up the inhabitants, break 
 open the doors, and having satisfied themselves with 
 what food and wine they can obtain, they threaten 
 
 and extort money, which if they cannot procure they 
 
 6 
 
82 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 seize the clothes, ornaments, or cattle of the people 
 and then depart. They also frequently go to shops, 
 and having broken open the shutters, impudently 
 demand money, and, failing to get it, they set fire to 
 the shop with the torches they carry in their hands. 
 If the master of the house apprehends a few of them 
 and sends them to the magistrate, he merely im- 
 prisons and beats them, and before half a month 
 allows them to run away." Another censor, in 
 speaking of the police, says : " They no sooner get a 
 warrant to bring up witnesses than they assail both 
 plaintiff and defendant for money to pay their expens- 
 es, from the amount of ten taels (ounces) of silver to 
 several scores of taels. Then the clerks must have 
 double what the runners get ; and if their demands 
 are not met they contrive every species of annoyance. 
 Then, again, if there are people of property in the 
 neighborhood, they .will not fail to implicate them. 
 They plot also with pettifogging lawyers to get up 
 accusations against people^ and threaten and frighten 
 them out of their money." 
 
 The effect of all this upon the minds of the people 
 may be readily imagined. With such flagrant per- 
 versions of justice before their eyes, the people have 
 become afraid of all contact with the officers of gov- 
 ernment. Their great study is to keep out of the 
 clutches of the law, and they will submit to almost 
 anything rather than fall into the hands of those myr- 
 midons who surround the government offices. The 
 government of China, in fact, is an unmixed despot- 
 ism. Resting on the patriarchal theory, and con- 
 structed with all, the functions of a refined and ubiq- 
 
INCIDENT. 83 
 
 nitons tyranny, it has grown np into a vast and pow- 
 erful system, of government, the necessary effect of 
 which is to destroy all confidence, and infuse universal 
 suspicion among the people. 
 
 The following incident, which came under the per- 
 sonal observation of the writer, is pertinent to this 
 aspect of the subject : 
 
 In the Fing-Tiua prefecture of the Fuh-kien prov- 
 ince, some fifty miles southward from Fuhchau, there 
 are two factions, known as the black flag and white 
 flag parties, between whom a bitter feud has existed 
 for many years. The frequent collisions between 
 these hostile factions keep the prefecture in a state of 
 perpetual excitement and alarm, and, as a natural 
 consequence, business is frequently suspended, the 
 harvests become uncertain, and at times it is unsafe 
 for travelers to enter the territory. The government 
 has frequently sought to adjust the difficulty, but 
 with only in different success ; indeed, it has often 
 occurred that the approach of government troops 
 produces a temporary combination of the rival fac- 
 tions, with a view to a joint onslaught on the common 
 foe. During 1850-3 these factions seemed to be con- 
 stantly at war with each other. Everything was 
 thrown into confusion, and the government's local 
 authorities were utterly unable to restrain the people 
 or enforce the laws. At this point the lieutenant- 
 governor of the province collected an army, pro- 
 ceeded to the disturbed prefecture, and after a cam- 
 paign of perhaps four months, returned in triumph 
 to Fuhchau, proclaiming the entire pacification of 
 the belligerent factions. The rejoicings consequent 
 
84 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 on this gratifying oonsnmmation had scarcely ceased, 
 when it was reported and extensively credited that 
 the recent adjustment of difficulties had been effected 
 by the most disreputable means ; that, in short, the 
 contending factions had bribed the governor to with- 
 draw his troops, and forward to the emperor a glow- 
 ing but utterly mendacious report of the victories 
 won by the imperial troops, and the complete settle- 
 ment of the whole affair. A literary gentleman in 
 possession of all the facts in the case, memorialized 
 the emperor on the subject. The memorial reached 
 the emperor, and a commissioner was immediately 
 dispatched to Fuhchau to investigate the matter. On 
 arriving at Fuhchau, the commissioner was waited 
 on by the lieutenant-governor, who soon arranged 
 the preliminaries of the investigation entirely to 
 his own satisfaction. The lieutenant-governor then 
 sent for the author of the memorial, and partly by 
 threats, but chiefly by bribes, induced him to write 
 out a voluntary confession of his guilt, stating that 
 the charges against the governor contained in his 
 memorial to the emperor were utterly false, that the 
 governor is in all respects a most upright and virtu- 
 ous officer, that he can offer no justification for the 
 malicious slanders contained in his memorial, and 
 that he now begs the emperor to inflict upon him 
 the severest punishment. Strange to say, this " vol- 
 untary confession " was duly embodied in the com- 
 missioner's official report of the case to the emperor, 
 and in a short time an imperial rescript was received 
 at Fuhchau, exonerating the governor from the 
 charges preferred against him, and sentencing the 
 
ANOTHER INCIDENT. 85 
 
 author of the memorial to immediate banishment be- 
 yond the northern frontiers. 
 
 Another characteristic incident on this subject may 
 close this chapter. When Europeans and Americans 
 first went to live at Fuhchau, under the provisions of 
 the treaties formed by their respective governments 
 with the emperor of China, some of the people of 
 the city, influenced by the bad precedent established 
 at Canton, announced that foreigners could not be 
 allowed to reside within the city wall. The English 
 consul, however, failing to obtain a suitable residence 
 in the suburbs, and having found an eligible and pic- 
 turesque situation within the city wall on a hill called 
 Ushih-shan, (black stone hill,) proceeded at once 
 to occupy it. This gave great offense to the lit- 
 erary gentry of Fuhchau, and they ceased not to 
 send up to the emperor the most urgent and elabo- 
 rately written remonstrances against this invasion of 
 their intra-mural city precincts by the ruthless for- 
 eigner. They stated that the residence of foreigners 
 on the hill within the city wall was exerting a most 
 deleterious influence on the trade and health of the 
 city, and that it was every way exceedingly offensive 
 to the people. Yielding at length to these persistent 
 appeals, the emperor dispatched a commission to 
 Fuhchau, to examine and report upon the subject. 
 When the members of the commission reached Fuh- 
 chau, they found that the English Consul was really 
 living on the Ushih-shan, that the hill was indeed 
 within the city wall, and that the literary gentry of 
 the city were anxious for his removal. But they soon 
 ascertained it was useless to attempt driving him 
 
86 LAWS OF CHINA. 
 
 away. The case was an embarrassing one, but Chi- 
 nese ingenuity was equal to the emergency. The 
 history of Fuhchau states that in ancient times the 
 Ushih-shan, which is now within the city wall, was 
 then outside the city limits. Availing themselves of 
 this important historic fact, the commissioners in pre- 
 paring their report for the emperor, gravely stated 
 that, on investigating the subject, they found that the 
 allegations of the memorialists were in the main cor- 
 rect ; that the English consul did certainly live on a 
 hill called Ushih-shan, and that there is a hill by 
 that name within the city wall. " But," continued 
 the commissioners, "we find there are two hills in 
 Fuhchau called Ushih-shan, one being within, the 
 other outside the city wall, and it is on the Ushih- 
 shan outside the wall that the English consul is 
 living. 
 
CLASSIFICATION. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RELIGIONS I CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 The religious notions and practices of the Chinese 
 have been divided into three systems : Confucianism, 
 Tauism or Rationalism, and Budhism; and the 
 classification is convenient, and sufficiently correct 
 for all practical purposes. This arrangement is in 
 accordance with Chinese ideas on this subject. If 
 you were to ask a Chinese how many systems of 
 religious belief and practice there are in his country 
 he will invariably answer three, and will name them 
 in the order just given. And yet if the reader infers 
 from this that there are three distinct classes in Chi- 
 nese society, distinguished by these religious charac- 
 teristics, the inference would be incorrect. It is 
 utterly impossible to distribute Chinese society 
 according to this arrangement. All that can be 
 stated with strict propriety on this point is, that in 
 Chinese society there is a class in whose minds the 
 Confucian element predominates; another class in 
 whom Rationalism is the leading characteristic ; and 
 a third class with whom the Budhistic element is in 
 the ascendency. At the same time it is true that the 
 so-called Confucian will resort to the teachings and 
 practices of both the Rationalists and Budhists 
 
88 EELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 whenever such a step will subserve his own interests ; 
 that the Rationalist will avail himself of all the 
 helps which Confucianism and Budhism proffer; 
 and that the Budhist will supplement the teachings 
 of the great sage by the axioms of Confucius and 
 Lau-tsz. We thus reach the seemingly paradoxical 
 conclusion that in the same Chinese mind there co- 
 exist three distinct systems of religious faith. A 
 brief examination of the subject will aid us in appre- 
 ciating and explaining this mental phenomenon. 
 
 Confucianism confines itself to the enunciation and 
 application of the principles of morals and political 
 economy ; it aims at teaching a man to govern him- 
 self, the child to obey its parents, the citizen to 
 respect and conform to the laws of society, and the 
 subject to revere and implicitly follow 'the commands 
 of his ruler. All these principles and duties it seeks 
 to substantiate and enforce by constant appeals to 
 what might be called the moral sense ; and hence it 
 assumes the form and character of a system of moral 
 philosophy underlying and vitalizing their social 
 system and the entire scheme of political economy on 
 which rests the stupendous fabric of their general 
 government. Its sole tendency is to qualify man for 
 society and government; but adduces no divine 
 authority for its teachings, fails to communicate any- 
 thing with regard to man's origin, nature, responsi- 
 bilities to a higher power, or future destiny, and is 
 utterly silent touching those questions which in all 
 ages press upon the human mind and indicate the 
 universal and imperative wants of the race. Ration- 
 alism is an intensified form of human selfishness. It 
 
RATIONALISM. 89 
 
 practically deifies man, and to ' him subordinates 
 heaven, earth, and hell. Man is enthroned; all 
 recognized influences, celestial and terrestrial, are 
 held to subserve his purposes, and are valuable and 
 worthy of respect only as they contribute to this end. 
 Eesting on an original basis of superb transcendent- 
 alism, the system degenerated rapidly and utterly 
 into utilitarianism, epicureanism, and materialism. 
 "With it the quid utile is omnipotent ; cui bono is the 
 universal text of excellence. Nothing is good that 
 does not now contribute to man's personal profit ; 
 nothing worthy of attention that does not directly 
 aid man in attaining the object of his present desires. 
 Confucianism, it would seem, fails by attempting too 
 much, Rationalism by attempting too little. The 
 former is an effort to erect, on an insufficient basis 
 of merely human authority and motives, the stupen- 
 dous structures of social order and political govern- 
 ment ; the latter, starting with magnificent assump- 
 tions, suddenly descends to alchymy, jugglery, and 
 buffoonery ; the former is a grand effort of mortals 
 to reach the gods, the latter an insane attempt to 
 precipitate both gods and men into utter chaos and 
 ruin. Budhism differs from both the preceding 
 systems. It contemns matter, revels in the ideal, and 
 professes to supply aliment for man's spiritual wants. 
 Its doctrine of metempsychosis or transmigration of 
 souls, associated with its belief in a state of future 
 rewards and punishments, furnished a basis for pow- 
 erful appeals to the popular conscience. Budh, its 
 great object of worship, is invested with a character 
 incomprehensibly sublime ; its idols are massive and 
 
90 religions: Confucianism. 
 
 splendid, and its ritnal of worship gorgeons and im- 
 posing. The system is admirably adapted to arrest 
 the attention, delight the imagination, and kindle 
 the enthusiasm of its devotees. It opens before the 
 mind a boundless field for metaphysical speculation, 
 and thus addresses a faculty of the human mind 
 unnoticed by the other systems to which we have 
 referred. From this rapid sketch we observe how 
 these three systems complement each other, and 
 hence can readily understand how they co-exist in 
 the same mind, being in fact mutually supporting, 
 instead of mutually destructive. "We shall now give 
 a more extended notice of these forms of heathenism 
 which exist in China. 
 
 Confucianism, as we have already intimated, is a 
 system of philosophy in the departments of morals 
 and politics, rather than a system of religious faith 
 and practice. It has, however, some characteristics 
 which justify its appearance in this classification as 
 one of the religions of China. The system was 
 founded by Confucius, who, in connection with his 
 immediate disciples, edited or composed the writings 
 which contain its doctrines. Confucius (as his name 
 has been Latinized by the Jesuits) was born about 
 B. C. 550, in the kingdom of Lu, now comprised 
 within the Shantung province, in the northeastern 
 part of the Chinese empire. He was the son of a 
 statesman, was the chief minister of his native king- 
 dom, and spent the larger portion of his life in official 
 employment. He was a reformer, seeking to correct 
 the vices of society and of the government, and 
 proved his sincerity by resigning his official positions 
 
CONFUCIUS. 91 
 
 when he found his counsels unavailing. He was re- 
 markable for his simplicity, modesty, and upright- 
 ness ; and his reformatory efforts were so successful 
 that he gathered three thousand disciples, of whom 
 seventy-two distinguished themselves by their devo- 
 tion to their master and their observance of his pre- 
 cepts. He died in the seventy-third year of his age. 
 Discoursing on the character of Confucius, Dr. Mor- 
 rison remarks that he " was engaged in politics all 
 his life ; and even his ethics dwell chiefly on those 
 social duties which have a political bearing. A 
 family is the prototype of his nation or empire ; and 
 he lays at the bottom of his system, not the visionary 
 notions of independence and equality, but principles 
 of dependence and subordination, as of children to 
 parents, the younger to the elder, etc. These prin- 
 ciples are perpetually inculcated in the Confucian 
 writings, as well as embodied in solemn ceremonies, 
 and in apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. 
 It is probably this feature of his doctrines that has 
 made him such a favorite with all the governments of 
 China for many centuries past and down to this day. 
 These principles and forms are early instilled into 
 young minds, and form the basis of their moral senti- 
 ment. The elucidation and enforcement of these 
 principles and forms are the business of students who 
 aspire to be magistrates or statesmen, and of the 
 wealthy who desire nominal rank in the country; 
 and it is, in all likelihood, owing chiefly to the influ- 
 ence of these principles on the national mind and 
 conscience, that China holds together the largest as- 
 sociated population in the world." 
 
92 KELIGIOoSTS : CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 Confucius made very few remarks on religious sub- 
 jects : he admitted, indeed, that he had no certain 
 knowledge concerning the gods ; that they were above 
 and beyond human comprehension ; and laid it down 
 as an axiom that we ought to concern ourselves about 
 the duties growing out of the present state of things, 
 concerning which we have certain knowledge, rather 
 than to trouble ourselves about supposed duties grow- 
 ing out of our fancied relations to the future, of 
 which we know nothing. " Not knowing even life," 
 said he, " how can we know death ?" He regarded 
 himself as commissioned by Heaven to restore the 
 doctrine and usages of the ancient kings. " If Heaven 
 is resolved that my doctrine shall not fail," said he in 
 a moment of apparent danger, " the men of Kuang 
 can do nothing to me." " There are three things," 
 said he, " to beware of through life. "When a man 
 is young let him beware of his appetites ; when mid- 
 dle-aged, of his passions ; and when old, of covetous- 
 ness especially." " How can a mean man serve his 
 prince ?" inquired the sage. " "When out of office his 
 sole object is to attain it, and when he has attained 
 it his sole object is to Ite&p it. In his unprincipled 
 dread of losing his place he will readily go all 
 lengths." In the penal code of China it is provided 
 that "children and near relatives or dependants 
 shall not be punishable for concealing the faults 
 [crimes] of those with whom they dwell." This 
 enactment is manifestly founded on the precept of 
 Confucius : " The father may conceal the faults 
 [crimes] of the son, and the son those of the father ; 
 virtue consists in this." On one occasion he replied 
 
WOESHIP OF CONFUCIUS. 93 
 
 to a disciple : " He that offends against Heaven has 
 no one to whom he can pray." Another of his 
 aphorisms is : " Life and death are decreed by fate ; 
 riches and poverty rest with Heaven." 
 
 The influence of these doctrines is almost omnipo- 
 tent in forming the character of the Chinese. The 
 official and literary classes of China may be regarded 
 as par excellence Confucianists ; but all classes are 
 powerfully influenced by the teachings of the great 
 sage. In the family, the school, the forum, the courts 
 of justice, and the palace of the mandarin, these doc- 
 trines constitute the authoritative standard of pro- 
 priety, morality, and political economy. 
 
 The following graphic account of the ceremonies 
 observed at the annual worship of Confucius is by 
 the Rev. Dr. Wentworth, a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Mission at Fuhchau : 
 
 " There are sixty-three temples in honor of the 
 great Chinese sage in the Fuh-kien province, and ten 
 in this department, two of which are located within 
 the city of Fuhchau. One of these was burned 
 down eight or nine years ago, and rebuilt by the 
 mandarins on a scale of unusual grandeur and liber- 
 ality. It is one of the finest buildings in the city, 
 and, according to a tablet near its entrance, cost 
 about fifty thousand dollars. It is constructed sim- 
 ilarly to ordinary Chinese buildings, one-storied, in 
 the form of a hollow-square, with a spacious court in 
 the center, apartments on each side, and the main 
 temple at the end, opposite the entrance. This has 
 a fine portico, supported by lofty columns, and the 
 fretted roof within is sustained by columns of solid 
 
94 KELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 granite, of enormous size and strength. Here are no 
 idols, but ancestral tablets supply their places in the 
 gilded shrines. In the center is that of Confucius, 
 on the sides are those of twelve of his most cele- 
 brated disciples, six on each side, and in the temple 
 apartments, ranging along the outer court, are the 
 shrines and tablets of some seventy followers of lesser 
 fame. 
 
 " The worship of the great philosopher is monopo- 
 lized by the literati; and the mandarins, who are 
 literary graduates of the highest distinction, are the 
 only priests who officiate upon the occasion. The 
 sacrifice takes place twice a year, in the second and 
 eighth months. It is performed before daylight in 
 the morning, and the common people are rigidly 
 excluded. Foreigners having seldom witnessed the 
 ceremony anywhere, and never, we think, in the 
 chief temple of a departmental city, several of us 
 determined to gain access to the rites if possible, 
 though it is very difficult to get into the temple itself 
 during the periods that intervene between the sacri- 
 ficial days, at which times it is thrown open for a 
 brief space to the gaping public. On the afternoon 
 of September 10, 1858, Rev. M. Fearnley, of the 
 Church of England Mission, Rev. J. Doolittle, of the 
 American Board Mission, and the writer, from the 
 Methodist Episcopal Mission, went to the preparatory 
 rehearsal of the rites in an old temple, aside from 
 the actual theater of the contemplated festive display. 
 All the actors were in full dress, and went through 
 their parts under instruction, that there might be no 
 hesitancy or blundering on the following morning. 
 
PRELIMINARIES. 95 
 
 Mr. Doolittle and myself took beds at Mr. Fearnley's, 
 who lives inside the city wall, and at three o'clock in 
 the morning were roused by our host, and were soon 
 under way, following a man with a lantern along the 
 silent and deserted streets, to the great discomposure 
 of watchmen and dogs, to the scene of action. "W"e 
 were an hour too early; but better that than five 
 minutes too late. Their magnificences, the man- 
 darins, had not yet made their appearance, and we 
 had opportunity to inspect everything unmolested. 
 A burst of music and a shout at length indicated the 
 coming of the magnates. Their first business was to 
 get the ' huang-kiangs,' 'foreign babies,' out of the 
 sacred precincts, and a mandarin of high rank came 
 to request us to go outside, enforcing his errand with 
 the needless plea : ' If you were worshiping in your 
 churches you would not wish us to come in and dis- 
 turb you.' "We replied : ' Certainly not, and we have 
 not come hither to disturb you, but to see the rites, 
 and if we may not remain inside, pray let us stand 
 next one of the great doors on the portico outside, 
 where we may see what is passing on both within 
 and without.' To this he consented, much to the 
 displeasure of the officers' servants, a crowd of whom 
 were driven off the portico without ceremony, though 
 they insisted that they had as good a right there as 
 those ' foreign devils.' They were more anxious to see 
 us than the worship. ' You see them every day in the 
 year,' said the remorseless lictor, under a hat like a 
 sugar-loaf, with a fearful crack of his long whip. 
 The platform was cleared, and the ceremonies began. 
 The darkness was dispelled by rows of gaudy Ian- 
 
96 religions: Confucianism. 
 
 terns and a forest of blazing torches. The court was 
 filled with mandarins and their servants. Privileged 
 spectators from the literary class, with their attend- 
 ants, crowded all the available space below. In front 
 of the great central door of the temple, on the por- 
 tico, was a band of mnsicians with flutes and 'soft 
 recorders,' and another of boys fantastically dressed 
 in the regalia of the occasion. Within were musi- 
 cians chanting vocally, accompanied by the instru- 
 ments without, the praises of the sage. The loud 
 voice of a crier within the temple, and the loud 
 response of a herald below, indicated that all was 
 ready. Clouds of incense filled the temple, while 
 two or three mandarins, in full official dress and 
 caps, preceded by attendants, ascended the steps and 
 entered the lofty doors on either side, prostrating 
 themselves with the head to the pavement before the 
 shrines successively, and offering the various articles 
 placed in their hands by the attendants for that pur- 
 pose to Confucius and his favorite followers. This 
 was repeated three times in succession, the officers 
 retiring and re-entering with the same stately cere- 
 mony on each occasion. The offerings were animal 
 and vegetable. On a broad table in front of the 
 shrine and altar of Confucius himself, lay shrouded 
 the carcass of a whole ox, denuded of his skin, and 
 on either side of him a pig and a goat. On the altar 
 were vases of flowers and plates of cooked provisions, 
 so that the philosopher might gratify his immediate 
 appetite, as well as lay in a stock for salting down. 
 Before the shrines of the twelve were pigs and goats, 
 but the seventy outsiders were obliged to content 
 
PIOUS FEAUD. 97 
 
 themselves with offerings of grain and vegetables 
 alone. We had opportunity before the ceremony 
 to inspect the contents of the urn-like vessels, con- 
 taining apparently a quart or two each of rice, millet, 
 wheat, and other grains and vegetables ; and found 
 our Protestant fondness for the true and the real 
 somewhat shocked by discovering that the mouths of 
 the vessels had been ingeniously pasted over with 
 paper, on which a thin layer of grain had been 
 strewn so as to look like a full vessel. We saw one 
 where a wag or some curious boy had stuck his finger 
 through in experimenting on the depth of the con- 
 tents. On inquiring after the reason of this rather 
 Romish practice of endeavoring to cheat the denizens 
 of the spirit-world, we were told that the form and 
 the idea were all that were necessary. Perhaps if 
 full vessels were offered in the sixty temples of this 
 province, and as many more in other provinces 
 throughout the empire, the spirit-sage might get 
 more grain than he knew what to do with ; but with 
 only a thin layer in each, the aggregate may be no 
 more than he can comfortably dispose of, though one 
 would think, from the herds of oxen offered, that he 
 would have beef to sell. His worshipers, with one 
 eye on this fact and another to a commendable 
 economy, take care to supply kine of such rascally, 
 Pharaoh-like leanness, that his philosophership would 
 feel no compunctions in throwing it to his dogs. 
 
 "At one point in the ceremony an official kneeled 
 before the shrine of Confucius at a respectful dis- 
 tance, and in a loud voice chanted a prayer or hymn 
 of praise. The ordinary chants were very sim- 
 
 7 
 
98 EELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 pie, consisting of four notes perpetually repeated, 
 thus: 
 
 
 ¥EE* 
 
 " The last offering was material for clothing ; a sort 
 of coarse silk, in large patches, first offered bodily in 
 the temple, and then taken down into the court and 
 burned, that it might become spirit-silk in the other 
 world. The Budhists usually offer ready-made 
 clothing stamped on paper, and burn whole sheets 
 covered with pictures of hats and frocks and panta- 
 loons, with the idea that they become actual hats and 
 coats and pants in the other state, though if the fire 
 does not enlarge the articles, or the souls of the wear- 
 ers are not shrunk to lilliputian dimensions, the pat- 
 terns must be rather scanty. The mandarins send 
 Confucius raw material, and thus put him to the ex- 
 pense of making it up ; but at the same time give 
 him the advantage of having his garments cut after 
 the newest style, and by fashionable tailors. I saved 
 a piece of the material from the fire to see if it was 
 real silk and not paper, which, after the discovery of 
 one astonishing fraud in their worship, we thought 
 might answer instead of cloth for the 'form and 
 idea.' The same 'form and idea' dictates to Ro- 
 manists the economy of using, in their churches, 
 wooden wax-candles, with a little reservoir of oil at 
 the top sufficient to illuminate daylight during an 
 hour of worship. In this state of being you might as 
 well expect to deceive Satan as a Chinaman ; but as 
 soon as he is dead, his relatives send after him the 
 
THE FINALE. 99 
 
 thinnest possible tin and copper-leaf, and even brown 
 paper itself, through fire into the other world, with 
 the apprehension that, if it does not convert into 
 actnal silver and gold, the spirits will never know the 
 difference. About .the first gray streakings of the 
 dawn of a cloudy morning the ceremonies concluded, 
 the torches were suddenly extinguished, and the ofii- 
 cers with their retinues slowly retired." 
 
100 religions: rationalism and budhism. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 religions: rationalism and budhism. 
 
 Rationalism arose in China simultaneously with 
 Confucianism. Lau-kiun, or Lautsz, the founder of 
 the system, was born B. C. 604, in the kingdom of 
 Tsu, now comprised in the province of Hwpeh. He 
 has left only one philosophical work, called Tau-Teh- 
 King, or Memoir on Reason and Virtue, which em- 
 bodies his philosophical writings. Some writers 
 have fancied a resemblance and connection between 
 the Rationalists of China, the Zoroastrians of Persia, 
 the^Essenes of Judea, the Gnostics of the primitive 
 Church, and the Eremites of the Thebaid. " All 
 material visible forms," says Zautsz, " are only ema- 
 nations from Tau, or Reason ; this formed all beings. 
 Before their emanation the universe was only an in- 
 distinct, confused mass, a chaos of all the elements in 
 a state of germ or subtle essence." And again : " All 
 the visible parts of the universe, all beings composing 
 it, the heavens and all the stellar systems, all have 
 been formed of the first elementary matter. Before 
 the birth of heaven and earth there existed only an 
 immense silence in illimitable space, an immeasurable 
 void in endless silence. Reason alone circulated in 
 this infinite void and silence." The precepts of 
 
IDOLS AND PEIESTS. 101 
 
 Lautsz are similar in many respects to the teachings 
 of Zeno. They recommend retirement and contem- 
 plation as the most effectual means for purifying the 
 spiritual nature of man. The passions must be sub- 
 jugated, the thoughts disentangled from external ob- 
 jects, that the soul, which they describe as merely a 
 refined form of matter, may be prepared for im- 
 mortality. 
 
 The Rationalists were formerly a numerous and 
 powerful sect, but in modern times they have degen- 
 erated into magicians and jugglers, destitute alike of 
 learning and influence. They worship a great varie- 
 ty of idols, among which are found genii, devils, in- 
 ferior spirits, and deified men. Their highest divinity 
 is Yuh-Hwang-Shangti, a corruption of the ancient 
 Shangti of the Chinese classics. The priests of this 
 sect allow the hair to grow on the crown of their 
 heads, and coil it up in a large bow, through which 
 they thrust a large pin. They live in temples, culti- 
 vating the grounds attached to them, or wander 
 through the country deriving a precarious livelihood 
 from the sale of charms and medical nostrums. 
 They study astrology, profess to have dealings with 
 spirits, and their books are filled with accounts of 
 their marvelous performances in this department. 
 
 Budhism, was introduced into China from India 
 about A. D. 66. Mtng-Te, the eighth emperor of 
 the Han dynasty, influenced by a dream, or by a re- 
 markable sentence in the writings of Confucius, 
 (" The people of the West have a sage,") dispatched 
 an embassy to the West to find the wise man. On 
 reaching India the embassy came in contact with 
 
102 RELIGIONS : RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 the Budhist priests, and returned with them to 
 China. Budhism, thus introduced to the Chinese by 
 imperial authority, and patronized by successive em- 
 perors, spread rapidly among the people, and now 
 the empire is full of Budhist temples, while the land 
 swarms with Budhist priests. Budhism has its 
 trinity. Its disciples say : " Budh is one person, but 
 he has three forms." Its sacred books are chiefly 
 translations into Chinese from the originals in the 
 Pali language, a dialect of the Sanscrit. The five 
 precepts or interdicts of Budhism are, 1. Do not kill 
 living creatures ; 2. Do not steal ; 3. Do not marry ; 
 4. Do not speak falsely; 5. Drink no wine. These 
 precepts are addressed to the priests alone. One of the 
 favorite axioms of Budhism is : " All things originated 
 from nothing, and will revert to nothing." Annihi- 
 lation, to the Budhist, is the summit of bliss ; nirvana, 
 or nonentity, is his ultimate wish and anticipation. 
 There is a striking similarity between the ceremo- 
 nies of Budhism and those of the Church of Rome. 
 Among these points of resemblance we may notice 
 the distinguishing dress of the priests, their tonsure, 
 celibacy, professed poverty, and monastic manner of 
 life ; the use of the rosary, candles, incense, holy 
 water, bells, images, and relics in their worship ; 
 their belief in purgatory, their pretended miracles, 
 prayers in an unknown tongue, with their endless 
 repetitions; the similarity of their altar furniture, 
 and the names of their intercessors, as " Goddess of 
 Mercy," "Queen of Heaven," and "Holy Mother." 
 
 The ranks of the Budhist priesthood are recruited 
 in many ways. One class of recruits comprises those 
 
kushaist. 103 
 
 who for some reason, as disastrous financial reverses, 
 loss of dear friends, disappointment or remorse, wish 
 to fly from society. By assuming the prescribed 
 vows and costume, all such persons receive a sudden 
 translation to the priestly office. Another class com- 
 prises those who in infancy or boyhood were adopted 
 by the priests, and were by them trained up to be 
 their successors in the priesthood. The temples of 
 Budhism are innumerable; they occupy the most 
 picturesque situations, and command views of the 
 most beautiful scenery to be found anywhere in 
 China. There is a celebrated Budhist temple on a 
 mountain about six miles from the city of Fuhchau. 
 It is situated in a most attractive place, and has be- 
 come a kind of sanatarium for the members of the 
 foreign community at Fuhchau. The following sketch 
 of it may prove interesting to the reader : 
 
 At daylight of August 4, 1852, our party, consist- 
 ing of Eev. Mr. W., of the " Church Mission," Mrs. 
 Maclay, little Ellen, and myself, started for the mon- 
 astery. One small native boat, with clean white 
 floor, and rowed by a stout Chinaman, while his wife 
 held the rudder with one hand, and with the other 
 wielded an oar, whose movements corresponded to 
 the steady strokes of her husband, was sufficient to 
 accommodate the members of the party. Another 
 boat of the same size received our baggage. The 
 tide is in our favor, and we glide through the span of 
 the great stone bridge, thread our way through the 
 junks, and soon find ourselves below the shipping, 
 quietly passing down the river. In an hour we 
 reach the landing-place, and are surrounded by a 
 
104 religions: rationalism and budhism. 
 
 crowd of the villagers, some curiously gazing at our 
 person and clothes, others particularly interested in 
 our baggage, while some are earnestly showing us 
 that for carrying our goods up the mountain the 
 very lowest price they can take is a sum which we 
 very well know to be five or six times as much as 
 they expect to receive. My trusty boy will attend 
 to these matters ; so we go on. Leaving the boat, we 
 cross some paddy-fields, and soon come to an old 
 temple which stands at the foot of the mountain. It 
 is surrounded by a high wall, and the broad boughs 
 of the banyans almost hide it from view. Several 
 rest-houses here span the road, and there are seats 
 where the weary traveler may refresh himself. A 
 stream of limpid water issues from a stone wall near 
 your seat. Many stone tablets, with long inscrip- 
 tions, are placed around ; but I fear the classic style 
 of the sentences will prevent us from extracting 
 much information from them at present. For the' 
 ascent the ladies are indulged with chairs, but the 
 gentlemen must trust to their own muscles and sin- 
 ews. The road is perhaps ten feet wide, and paved 
 with large flat stones. Where the acclivity is not too 
 abrupt, the road is plain ; but there are steep places 
 where steps are necessary. Rising into the clear air, 
 our elevated position affords a fine view of the plain 
 below. It is pleasant to halt at the shaded spots and 
 enjoy the scene. There winds the broad river, on 
 whose placid bosom our boat was moving only a 
 few minutes since. The banks are very low, and the 
 peasant guides his plow close to the water's edge. 
 Branching off from the main channel are small 
 
SCENERY. 105 
 
 streams, which, after mapping out numerous low isl- 
 ands, return their waters into it at irregular intervals. 
 Canals, too, innumerable, fed by the river, creep 
 through the plain, thus enabling the husbandman 
 to irrigate his fields. Tillages, almost hidden by the 
 overhanging foliage of the banyan, are seen in all 
 directions. There are many fruit orchards scattered 
 along the canals, and on the slopes of the hills. 
 Further west we see the hill where some of the mis- 
 sionaries live. On the right of it, and across the 
 plain, lies the great city. Further still to the west the 
 eye looks on successive ranges of dark mountains, 
 whose rugged peaks shoot up far toward the sky. 
 Northward there is the same mountainous prospect ; 
 while to the south rise the " Five Tiger Hills," with 
 circling ranges of wild hills beyond, which, as they 
 approach the sea, seem to divide into ten thousand 
 tapering peaks. But we may not now linger ; an 
 August sun is sending its first beams athwart our 
 path, and we may not lightly meet its scorching 
 heat. 
 
 Three rest-houses, placed at irregular distances 
 along the road, proffer their refreshing shade and 
 seats as we ascend. The trees, mostly pine, throw a 
 pleasant shade over us as we pass on. At the last 
 rest-house an obsequious priest presses upon us most 
 perseveringly a cup of tea and some dried fruits, in 
 return for which he expects an extravagant remuner- 
 ation. Merchants, officers, etc., from foreign coun- 
 tries, pay a pretty round sum, but from missionaries 
 mine host must content himself with a few tens of 
 cash. Plodding upward on the zigzag road, your 
 
106 religions: rationalism and budhism. 
 
 high, position renders still more distinct the features 
 of the vast plain at your feet. The sun now pours a 
 flood of light on the distant mountains, the broad 
 river, and the city. Boats of various shapes and 
 dimensions are moving on the water. Troops of 
 young villagers are threading the narrow, winding 
 paths of the rice-fields, going to their morning labors. 
 Women, with basket, wood-knife, and rake, are start- 
 ing for the mountains in search of fuel. The rustic, 
 carrying his plow, and holding in his hand the tether 
 of his faithful buffalo, slowly moves on to his toil. 
 And if my vision is true, I see many a group of merry 
 boys and girls sporting in the shade of the over- 
 arching trees that embower the villages. 
 
 But the quick pace of the coolies bids us hasten 
 forward. Sure enough, they have reached the sum- 
 mit of the spur behind which the monastery is sit- 
 uated. The road now slightly descends, and sweeps 
 round the southern base of the peak, whose top seems 
 lost in the clouds. After a few minutes of quick 
 walking, we enter a wooded ravine, and are greeted 
 with the sound of falling water. It is a stream 
 which, issuing from the rocks far up the mountain, is 
 conveyed by an artificial channel to the monastery, 
 and then, having supplied the wants of the priests, 
 goes dashing downward to the plains, and discharges 
 its waters into the Min. A little further, and the 
 deep tones of the great bell come floating down the 
 ravine. A low wall, old and covered with vines and 
 bushes, runs along each side of the road. We pass 
 through several gateways, whose columns and arch- 
 itraves present bold inscriptions, full of deep mean- 
 
APPROACH TO THE TEMPLE. 107 
 
 ing, doubtless ; but as the coolies move rapidly, and 
 we pedestrians are pretty thoroughly tired, we shall 
 not stop to read them. As we near the monastery 
 the scenery becomes more beautiful and impressive. 
 The road follows the meanderings of the stream to 
 which we referred a while ago. Huge camphor-trees, 
 with gnarled trunks and immense boughs, throw a 
 deep shadow over us ; the stalwart pines send up their 
 palmlike forms, waving their high tops like the ban- 
 ners of a host ; the graceful bamboo, in silvery lines, 
 skirts the course of the mountain stream, or, in thick 
 clumps, clusters and glistens on the slopes of the ravine. 
 Beneath this leafy canopy a luxuriant undergrowth 
 finds a fertile soil and safe protection ; while flowers, 
 sweet "wild wood flowers," hang in rich festoons 
 from decaying walls and sheltering boughs, or bud 
 and bloom on the delicate stem that grows at your 
 feet. The high peak towers up just before us, and 
 from the appearance of immense tile roofs, darkened 
 with age and exposure, we infer the immediate prox- 
 imity of the monastery. A few more steps, and the 
 vast pile of buildings is in full view ; the bell sends 
 forth with increased volume its solemn tones, and 
 quickly passing an open space, where the sun pours 
 down in its strength, we enter the first suite of 
 buildings. 
 
 The history of this, as of all other places of note in 
 China, is obscured by absurd legends and pompous 
 traditions. According to some accounts, this situa- 
 tion, in the time of the " Three States," (A. D. 190- 
 317) was chosen for the summer palace of the king. 
 The religion of Budh was then highly esteemed, and 
 
108 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 one of the kings gave this palace to the priests for a 
 monastery. Another statement is, that during the 
 "Sung dynasty," (950-1280,) a literary chancellor 
 erected some buildings on the spot for the use of the 
 Budhists. Still another account refers its origin to 
 the time of the " Three States." On the occasion of 
 his father's death, an officer of high rank selected 
 this situation for the grave, constructed the tomb with 
 his own hands, built for himself a cottage near by, 
 and, giving up his titles and honors, spent his life in 
 watching and weeping over the dust of his beloved 
 parent. The king, hearing of this instance of filial 
 affection, was filled with admiration, and caused 
 large and costly buildings to be erected, the care of 
 which he committed to the Budhists. Others, dis- 
 carding these accounts, tell of certain miraculous 
 events which drew to this place the attention of the 
 first preachers of Budhism, and entertain themselves 
 with various marvelous incidents which, it is said, 
 have transpired during the history of the institution. 
 
 "We will now, if you please, look at the temple 
 buildings. And the first thought suggested is, that, 
 however great may be the antiquity claimed for this 
 institution, the present buildings are certainly of 
 quite recent date. In fact, the temple records show 
 that at two distinct times the buildings, in whole or 
 in part, have been destroyed by fire. And though 
 we may discredit these statements, still, the building 
 materials used by the Chinese being of so perishable 
 a nature, we are compelled to attribute to the present 
 compact, sound structures a recent origin. 
 
 An area of perhaps an acre is covered by build- 
 
TEMPLE BUILDINGS. 109 
 
 ings. In the center, and extending from the front to 
 the rear, are three large temples, with open courts, 
 paved with stones, between them. On each side of 
 these principal edifices are the rooms for the priests, 
 apartments for strangers and visitors, smaller temples, 
 the libraries, and other appurtenances. The build- 
 ings, we notice, are only one story high ; they are in 
 the main well built and of substantial materials. 
 There is, too, a cleanliness about the courts and 
 rooms which reflects favorably on the priests. 
 
 A more particular notice of the prominent parts of 
 this collection of buildings will enable us to think of 
 them with greater satisfaction. The main front looks 
 toward the south ; and, as we enter the monastery at 
 this point, we may now glance at the first of the three 
 temples already referred to. This structure is about 
 thirty feet deep and one hundred and twenty feet 
 wide. A space in the middle, thirty feet deep by 
 fifty feet wide, is occupied by idols, the rest of the 
 building being otherwise appropriated. There are 
 here six statues of great dimensions. Facing you, on 
 entering, is a figure of Budh in a sitting posture. 
 The pedestal on which it is placed is elevate^ about 
 five feet from the floor. The statue is made of bricks 
 and cement, with a bronze gilding. On each side of 
 the entrance are placed two images, each being, per- 
 haps, ten feet in height. They stand facing each 
 other, the space between them being the entrance to 
 the temple. These four images represent the minis- 
 ters of Budh, and are called "Fung," or messenger; 
 " Tieu," or harmony ; " Ju," or rain ; and " Song," 
 or "propriety" or "fitness." The first grasps a 
 
110 EELIGIONS: KATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 sword in his right hand, the other is raised as in 
 warning, while his black glaring eyes and fierce 
 countenance seem to say, "Now or never!" He 
 stands upright, and crushes under his feet a black, 
 dwarfish figure, with features horribly distorted, rep- 
 resenting an evil spirit. The second, " Tieu," looks 
 down on you with a jocund face, as he twitches the 
 strings of his "guitar" to some fairy strain, which 
 mortals may not hear. Beneath his feet, too, as also 
 of the others, there writhes a black, dwarfish figure. 
 " Ju," the third, stands there with an umbrella half 
 raised, in expectation of a shower. " Song," the last 
 figure, holds in his left hand a struggling serpent, 
 while in his right he holds up a ball, the precious jewel 
 taken from the bowels of the enraged serpent. This 
 figure is to my mind deeply interesting. The Bible 
 tells us of a serpent, of souls lost by the fall, and of 
 One who " bruised the serpent's head." In the figure 
 before me I saw some points of close, striking resem- 
 blance to these truths. It is difficult to get the pre- 
 cise idea of this figure, as the priests themselves secern 
 to have confused notions on the subject. They say, 
 however, that this serpent, after living thousands of 
 years, secreted this precious jewel, that man was un- 
 able to obtain it, and that this god accomplished the 
 work. Many interesting thoughts are suggested by 
 the analogy between this tradition and the work of 
 Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. Whence 
 came the idea embodied in the figure before me ? Is 
 it a fragment of those rays which, broken off from 
 the great sun of truth, are ever and anon discovered 
 among the old nations of the East ? Budhism being 
 
IMAGES AND BUILDINGS. Ill 
 
 of Indian origin, it is evident that we may trace this 
 tradition to the same country. But whence did 
 India obtain it % The mind of the Christian at once 
 reverts to the " oracles of God." And there is abund- 
 ant evidence to believe that India owes to the 
 ancient records of the Bible whatever of truth is 
 found in her mythology. " Harcourt," in his " Doc- 
 trine of the Deluge," maintains that the " patriarchs 
 were deified in India, beginning with JSToah and his 
 sons ;" also, that " Noah's grandson, Phut, was 
 Budli, whose name was changed into Fo and Po; 
 hence the river Padus and his Footstep the Sreepad." 
 (Yide " Doctrine of the Deluge," vol. i, Table of 
 Contents.) The Memoirs of Sir Stamford Raffles 
 throw light on this interesting subject; also, Sir 
 "William Jones in " The Institutes of Menu." 
 
 To return to our story. Immediately in the rear 
 of the image of Budh, and separated from it by a 
 thin partition, is placed another idol, its back being 
 against this partition, and its face looking toward 
 the temples within. This figure holds in its hand a 
 short stick of wood, with which to beat the evil 
 spirits. 
 
 Passing through this building you enter a broad 
 stone-paved, open court. As the original site was 
 uneven, the ground has been leveled by forming ter- 
 races. In the center is an artificial reservoir for 
 water, spanned by a stone bridge. Along the two 
 sides of the court are covered passages, by which, 
 ascending three short flights of broad stone steps, 
 you go up to the second temple. 
 
 This building is about sixty feet deep by one hund- 
 
112 EELIGIONS : KATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 red feet wide. It is devoted to the worship of the 
 " Three Precious Budhs." Here the priests as- 
 semble, morning and evening, for worship. Against 
 a high gilded screen, near the rear of the build- 
 ing, are placed the three idols. They are seated 
 on gilded pedestals five feet in height. Their size 
 corresponds to those we have already described. 
 Their countenance, however, is very mild, and a 
 kind of diadem is placed on the head of each one. 
 These figures represent the past, present, and future 
 incarnations of Budh. The one in the middle is 
 the present incarnation; on its right is the past,' and 
 on its left is the coming or future incarnation. In 
 front of the idols is a large altar, with beautiful 
 vases filled with flowers, and censers with incense 
 ever burning. Low stools, with mats, are ranged 
 over the tile floor for the kneeling worshipers. Tas- 
 sels and long bands of silk are suspended from the 
 roof. On each side are placed nine images, repre- 
 senting the original disciples of Budh. The front of 
 the temple is occupied with large doors, the upper 
 half of which is composed of a kind of tortoise-shell, 
 through which a dull light is admitted. 
 
 The third temple is situated on another terrace, 
 about sixty feet behind the second. You ascend to 
 it by two flights of stone steps. The space between 
 the buildings is paved with stone, and there are two 
 artificial ground plats in the center where flowers are 
 cultivated. In this third temple are several images 
 of the " Goddess of Mercy." One, a rather large 
 figure, is placed in the center of the group. On each 
 side is one of smaller size, in a wooden case. The 
 
TEMPLE WOESHIP. 113 
 
 one on. the left, made of porcelain, is thought to be 
 very precious, and receives special attention. In 
 times of drought or famine prayers are addressed to 
 it. During times of long drought this image is 
 carried along the public streets of Fuhchau, and 
 worship is paid to it by all, with the expectation of 
 procuring rain. The size of this building corresponds 
 to that of the last one described. Large cases of 
 books stand along the sides. It is only at certain 
 times the priests worship here ; as when any one 
 wishes to prefer a petition, or some public emergency 
 arises. 
 
 The regular worship is held in the second temple. 
 They meet twice a day for this purpose, at about four 
 in the morning and at the same hour in the afternoon. 
 They repeat prayers, of whose meaning not one in ten 
 of the priests themselves has the slightest conception ; 
 sometimes standing, then kneeling, and finally march- 
 ing, single file, around every row of stools in the 
 temple. Their chanting is accompanied by the jing- 
 ling of a small bell, and the dull sound produced by 
 striking with a mallet a queer-looking piece of wood, 
 which has been made hollow by abstracting the in- 
 side material in a very skillful manner. When wor- 
 shiping, the abbot stands directly in front of the 
 idols, and the priests are ranged in rows on each 
 side. 
 
 We have now noticed at considerable length the 
 principal buildings. On each side of these are other 
 edifices. Some are small temples, where a private 
 enterprise seems to be carried on by priests in the 
 way of sight-seeing and fortune-telling. In one we 
 
114 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 were shown one of BudKs teeth. There, sure enough, 
 it is, confined in a strong box, with iron bars in front, 
 through which the faithful and the heretic alike view 
 the sacred relic. I was amused with this sight. The 
 Chinese are a matter-of-fact people, and always like to 
 receive full value for their money. The priests have 
 fully met their wishes in this respect ; for while for 
 the sight they abstract a few cash from the China- 
 man's pocket, they compensate him by showing an 
 enormous tooth. I should think this molar might 
 better have suited the jaw of a mastodon than of 
 Budh. It is about eight. inches long, with propor- 
 tionate size. 
 
 There is also a library containing a large collection 
 of Budhistic books. I had made arrangements for 
 examining it, but the sudden illness of one of our 
 party hastened our return, and thus defeated my 
 plans in this respect. 
 
 "Do you wish to see the recluse?" asked the 
 priests, as they pointed toward the apartment where 
 the man was confined. The recluse is a man perhaps 
 thirty years of age, and sits in a small room lighted 
 from the roof. There is a small hole in the wall, 
 through which, by removing the cover, visitors look 
 to see him. He has been shut up in this cell for per- 
 haps two years, and expects to remain one or two 
 years longer. Theoretically he sees no one, con- 
 verses with no one, and thinks only of Budh and the 
 future state. I had supposed he was a priest, but 
 was told he was not. " Why, then," I inquired, " is 
 he here ?" The story is that, from great honor and 
 affluence, his family had been reduced to the most 
 
THE EECLUSE. 115 
 
 distressing poverty; and now, forsaking all earthly 
 things, he had sought refuge here. 
 
 "But how does he employ himself? has he no 
 books to read ?" 
 
 " O yes," they replied, " he reads the doctrines of 
 Budh." 
 
 " To what," I asked, " does he aspire ?" 
 " Absorption into Budh," was the reply 
 And this, I thought, is Budhism. Look on this 
 man! Disease has not weakened his system; God 
 has not cursed him ; around him is a world of suffer- 
 ing, calling loudly for help ; and yet, in the full vigor 
 of manhood, he betrays his high trust, flies from 
 those who look imploringly for assistance, and here 
 buries himself in indolent comfort and seclusion. 
 Pitiable man ! Again, this man has a family, possi- 
 bly aged parents, looking to him for aid ; a wife and 
 helpless children dependent for bread on his exertions. 
 In the days of prosperity he shared their joys, but 
 now, when the hour of stern trial comes, he, the hus- 
 band, the son, the parent, abandons them to the cold 
 charities of the world. I thought of other and higher 
 duties : God has given him being, talents, influence, 
 and a field for usefulness ; but, alas ! he knows noth- 
 ing of all this. The light of the Gospel has never 
 shone upon him. It was saddening to think of his 
 going into eternity surrounded and stupified by such 
 deplorable ignorance, and with a heavy heart I 
 turned away. 
 
 The attention of every visitor at the temple is 
 arrested by the ceaseless tolling of the great bell. 
 It is placed in a cupola, elevated perhaps fourteen 
 
116 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 feet from the ground, on the right of the first open 
 court. The bell is large, and has a fine deep tone. 
 It is fastened in a permanent frame. A piece of 
 hard wood, about three feet long and two inches in 
 diameter, is horizontally suspended by ropes, the one 
 end of the stick being within a few inches of the rim 
 of the bell. To the other end a rope is attached, 
 which passes through the floor down to the ground. 
 By pulling this rope the wood is drawn against the 
 bell, and rebounds with the slackening of the rope, 
 preparatory to another stroke. The tolling goes on 
 almost incessantly, and frequently with intervals of 
 only thirty seconds between the strokes. To my 
 mind there was something very impressive in the 
 deep, measured tones of this bell. I listened to the 
 sounds as fainter and fainter they echoed around the 
 rocks "far up the height," and then I thought of 
 the many seasons of wild excitement and startling 
 changes through which the world has passed, while 
 here in this mountain solitude the flight of each hour, 
 frequently the flight of each minute, has been noted 
 by these sounds. 
 
 Just below the temple buildings is a large artificial 
 pond for fish. As none of them are ever caught or 
 killed intentionally, they attain to great age. It is a 
 favorite amusement with the Chinese visitors to throw 
 cakes on the water, and watch the fish contending 
 for the prizes. 
 
 There is a fountain of most excellent water situ- 
 ated in a deep glen about half a mile below the tem- 
 ple. The water is conveyed for some distance along 
 the side of the mountain in stone troughs, and finally 
 
THE FOUNTAIN. 117 
 
 issues from the mouth of a stone dragon. There is a 
 story told about this fountain. In former times the 
 stream came leaping down a rocky glen near to the 
 monastery ; but the sound of the water having greatly 
 annoyed a student who frequently visited the place, 
 he constructed an artificial channel, which conducted 
 the water around the spur of the mountain to the 
 glen where it now forms this delightful fountain. 
 A small temple has been erected beside the fountain. 
 Apartments for the priests who officiate in the tem- 
 ple, and a light structure covering the water, are 
 placed along side. Innumerable inscriptions have 
 been engraved on the large rocks near the spring. 
 A prospect house has been built on a spur east of the 
 fountain, which affords a splendid view of the river 
 winding far below, the plain of Fuhchau stud- 
 ded with groves, and villages, and abrupt hills, 
 the dark jagged mountains in the distance, while 
 southward the eye looks out on the great wide 
 ocean. 
 
 A few words now as to the scenery around the 
 monastery. Directly in front, south, the wooded 
 ravine slopes down to the river ; on the right sweeps 
 round a spur of the mountain, covered with pines 
 and huge bowlders of granite ; a spur covered with 
 the giant camphor-tree, the slender bamboo, the 
 quivering aspen, and a dense undergrowth, runs 
 down on the left ; while immediately behind shoots 
 Up the high Kushan Peak. On the right, left, and 
 rear the view is shut in by the peak and spurs just 
 referred to ; but to the south, opening up through a 
 vista of trees, the prospect stretches far and broadly 
 
118 religions: rationalism and budhism. 
 
 away. The peak just behind the monastery presents 
 a grand appearance. Its form is conical, the top 
 attaining an elevation several hundred feet above the 
 level of the monastery. The sides are destitute of trees, 
 and dark, precipitous rocks, lined with white streaks, 
 made by rain torrents, throw a somber shade over 
 many a yawning chasm below. A growth of wild 
 grass obtains in places a meager support from the thin 
 soil formed by the disintegration of the granite rock. 
 In the ravines which pass down from the summit the 
 soil has been collected from the barren cliffs around, 
 and many a family is cheered and nourished by the 
 harvests gathered there. * 
 
 Seen in the light of closing day, the aspect of the 
 peak is singularly impressive. Around the temples 
 where you stand the long shadows of evening are 
 falling; the deep silence of the hour is unbroken, 
 save by the solemn tolling of the bell, which, indeed, 
 from its regularity, seems only to increase it; but 
 on the broad bosom of the peak a clear, mellowing 
 light is shining, and one can see the rustic guiding his 
 plow along the dizzy heights. A thin carpet of grass, 
 the grain waving in the ravines, impart a beautiful 
 greenness and freshness to the scene. The air seems 
 to wanton with the frowning cliffs ; not a sound 
 strikes the ear; the shadows ascend the mountain 
 still higher ; a brilliant glow, like a crown of glory, 
 decks the top of the peak for a few minutes, then fades 
 away, and the mountain, with vast yet graceful out- 
 lines, lies darkly painted against the ruddy heavens. 
 
 The cemetery is situated in a grove of pines, per- 
 haps three fourths of a mile from the monastery, near 
 
THE CEMETEKY. 119 
 
 the road leading to the city. It is on a declivity with 
 a southern outlook. There is a stone platform about 
 forty Teet square, raised perhaps nine feet from the 
 ground. You mount to this terrace by a night of 
 stone steps. Beneath this terrace is the final recepta- 
 cle for the jars containing the ashes of the deceased 
 priests. To this gloomy vault the entrance is effected 
 by removing part of the wall on the right of the 
 steps. This is done only at long intervals, when the 
 large stone urn on the terrace has been filled with 
 these relics. This stone urn stands near the center of 
 the terrace, and is capable of containing the ashes of 
 perhaps thirty priests. "When a priest dies, the body 
 is burned and the ashes put into a jar, which, after 
 being sealed, is placed in this large urn. Here the 
 jars remain till the urn is full, when the vault below 
 is opened and the jars placed in it. 
 
 The site for the cemetery has been well chosen ; 
 the scenery is suited to excite solemn thoughts ; and 
 as I sat there in the shadow of those old pines, my 
 mind was busy with saddening yet profitable reflec- 
 tions. O how different is this from the cemeteries in 
 a Christian land ! For these I heard no voice from 
 heaven saying, " Write, Blessed are the dead who die 
 in the Lord !" All, all is dark. " The sharp malady 
 of life " is past ; but where the victory, the crown, 
 the glory? Reader, to thee also must come the last 
 mortal struggle. God grant that in that solemn hour 
 the Saviour may be with thee ! 
 
 I have now noticed the most prominent features of 
 this celebrated place, as they presented themselves to 
 my mind. An interesting thought occurred to me 
 
120 KELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 
 
 during one of my walks over the temple grounds. 
 As I observed the healthiness of the location, its 
 proximity to a great city, the high literary character 
 of that city, and its relation to this mighty empire, it 
 stood before my mind in the form of a delightful pos- 
 sibility that upon the ruins of these heathen temples 
 there shall rise a noble structure for the Christian 
 education of ingenuous native youth ; that this lovely 
 spot shall be a fountain for religion and learning, from 
 which shall flow out over these lands holiness and 
 knowledge ; and that the chimes of other bells shall 
 
 " Ring in the valiant man and free, 
 The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; 
 Ring out the darkness of the land, 
 
 Ring in the Christ that is to be." 
 
PUBLIC OPINION. 121 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 Public opinion throughout Christendom under- 
 rates, we think, the intellectual capacity of the Chi- 
 nese. What we have already written in the course 
 of this work indicates for them no mean position, in- 
 tellectually, in the great family of man. Instead of 
 predicating stupidity of the Chinese because of cer- 
 tain apparent incongruities and absurdities in their 
 character, or because of the few unworthy represent- 
 atives of the Chinese race who find their way to 
 western countries, it would be more judicious to re- 
 serve judgment on the subject till we obtained more 
 full and accurate knowledge of their character. It is 
 entirely probable that a more intimate acquaintance 
 with them and the difficulties through which they 
 had to force their way, would excite our cordial sym- 
 pathy and admiration. It is certainly highly credit- 
 able to them that as a nation they can point to a 
 history and character such as are presented by their 
 authentic records and by the patent facts of their 
 civilization ; and if under all the disadvantages, and 
 against the fearful odds with which hitherto they 
 have struggled, they have been able to accomplish so 
 much, what may we not expect from them when the 
 
122 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 light of the Gospel shall shine upon them, and shall 
 lead them forth into the joyous freedom of the sons 
 of God. 
 
 The Chinese mind is eminently quick, shrewd, and 
 practical. It has an intuitive logic of rare vigor and 
 certainty. Admit the premises in the argument of a 
 Chinese, and his conclusion is generally inevitable. 
 In their processes of ratiocination the defect is usually 
 in the premises. Owing to their meager knowledge 
 of many subjects they frequently assume things to 
 be true which are not true, and hence the logical 
 structure they rear on such a basis topples and 
 falls the moment you point out the error. As busi- 
 ness men they are remarkably energetic, efficient, and 
 adroit. The foreign merchant, whether European or 
 American, who goes to China for business purposes, 
 finds it necessary to avail himself of all the helps and 
 safeguards which his own judgment or the principles 
 of trade suggest in order to protect himself ; and it not 
 infrequently happens that after all his precautionary 
 efforts he is overreached by his unscrupulous com- 
 petitor. The yankee must rise early in the morning 
 and keep wide awake all day if he expects to get to 
 windward of a Chinaman before nightfall. 
 
 The permanence of Chinese institutions is worthy 
 of notice in this connection. It is a significant and 
 singular fact that, from the earliest period of their 
 authentic history to the present time, the Chinese 
 have preserved intact and inviolate every important 
 feature and principle of their government and civili- 
 zation. The successive irruptions of northern barba- 
 rians have neither abrogated nor essentially modified 
 
FOREIGN RELIGIONS. 123 
 
 Chinese institutions. The conquering races who 
 have overrun those fertile plains have stood abashed 
 in the presence of a superior civilization ; and after 
 subduing the empire, they have invariably adopted 
 its government, laws, civilization, and language. 
 Similar results have followed all efforts to introduce 
 foreign religions into China. Budhism, Judaism, 
 Nestorianism, and Mohammedanism have all lost 
 much of their peculiar spirit, and many of their ex- 
 ternal features, when brought into contact with 
 Chinese mind, succumbing apparently to its rigid 
 immobility and inherent force. Romanism has won 
 its way in China by subterfuges and compromises of 
 the most questionable character, and even Jesuitical 
 casuistry and chicanery are almost overmatched in 
 the struggle. Protestant Christianity has now en- 
 tered the field, and a great cloud of witnesses watch 
 the issue of its conflict with this, the oldest form of 
 heathenism the world has ever seen. 
 
 Paradoxical though it may seem to some of our 
 readers, we proceed to state that the Chinese have 
 long been a colonizing people. They have colonized 
 along the sea-board of Asia, from the Sea of Ochotsk 
 to the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese are an offshoot 
 from China. The islands off the coast of China, and 
 many of those in the East Indian Archipelago, have 
 been colonized by the Chinese ; and in nearly every 
 kingdom of eastern peninsular Asia they are found 
 in large and influential communities. It is a notice- 
 able fact that whenever the Chinese colonize among 
 a heathen people, their superior civilization gives 
 them at once a decided advantage over the native 
 
124: CHAEACTEE OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 population. By their intelligence, industry, and 
 capacity for business they almost monopolize all the 
 important and highly remunerative departments of 
 labor ; commerce passes into their hands, and they 
 become the chief factors, the leading spirits in the 
 native communities where they live. A year or two 
 since a missionary in the Micronesian Islands was 
 walking along the beach of one of the islands and 
 found there a shipwrecked mariner, whose dress was 
 strange to him, and with whose language he was 
 utterly unacquainted. Through the natives of the 
 island he ascertained that the stranger was a Japan- 
 ese, whose vessel having been injured by a storm and 
 rendered unmanageable, was drifted southward by 
 the great oceanic current, until some of its fragments, 
 bearing the sailor referred to, were stranded on the 
 shore of the island. Following up the train of 
 thought suggested by this incident, the missionary 
 ascertained from the natives of the Micronesian 
 Islands that similar incidents were of not infrequent 
 occurrence, that every few years one or more of the 
 people from those northern latitudes would be drifted 
 on their shores ; " and indeed," said they to the mis- 
 sionary, "our ancestors came from that northern 
 region." The incident is certainly most interesting 
 and suggestive ; possibly it throws light on the 
 question as to the origin of the tribes found in the 
 islands of the South Seas. Any one familiar with 
 the features of the North American Indian, who will 
 look into the face of a Chinese, cannot fail to observe 
 a striking resemblance between them. "Whence 
 came our North American Indians ? They neither 
 
EMIGRATION TO CALIFORNIA. 125 
 
 dropped from the clouds, nor sprang, like the oaks, 
 from the earth. Is it not, at least, plausible that they 
 came from the continent of Asia, the old homestead 
 of the human race, by the way of Behring's Strait ? 
 If this supposition should prove to be correct, we 
 must conclude that China furnished the pioneers who 
 first looked on the magnificent scenery of the west- 
 ern continent. 
 
 "Within the last few years the Chinese have mi- 
 grated in large numbers to Australia, Havana, the 
 western coast of South America, and California. 
 We have a vivid recollection of the excitement 
 along the southern sea-board of China produced by 
 the intelligence from the California gold-diggings. 
 Thousands of the Chinese at once decided to seek 
 their fortunes in the land of gold. They chartered 
 foreign vessels to transport them, but in a short time 
 the entire fleet of available vessels was taken up, and 
 thousands of eager emigrants were left waiting for a 
 passage. Unable to charter ships as rapidly as they 
 desired, the Chinese proceeded to buy up the old 
 hulks which were used by foreigners as offices or 
 stores, and after fitting them up with masts, rigging, 
 and sails, they employed a foreign commander and 
 crew, and then, trusting themselves to these unsea- 
 worthy crafts, sailed away for California. 
 
 This brief sketch of Chinese character would be 
 imperfect without a reference to some of its defects. 
 The vices of the Chinese are those peculiar to all 
 Orientalists who, deficient in physical strength, en- 
 deavor to accomplish their ends by cunning, thus 
 substituting duplicity for force. The art of deceiving, 
 
126 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 is well-nigh, universally studied and practiced in 
 China. Deception pervades all classes of society and 
 characterizes every department of business. The 
 popular sentiment, indeed, regards it as an accom- 
 plishment rather than as a vice. The man who 
 gains his end by deception is applauded for his sa- 
 gacity and esteemed a person of ability; while he 
 who would lose it by adhering to downright hon- 
 esty is certain to be ridiculed as a dolt, destitute 
 alike of native talent and business tact. We might 
 almost designate cheating as the rule of business in 
 China. It is only when his own interest impera- 
 tively demands honesty that you can expect a Chi- 
 nese to act with fairness in a business transaction. 
 When urged to embrace the Gospel, the first objec- 
 tion with business men invariably is : " Cheating is 
 essential to success in trade ; I really cannot succeed 
 without it. Were I to confine myself to the truth I 
 should starve." Lying seems to be universal. Ev- 
 erybody lies; parents to children and children to 
 parents ; masters to servants and servants to masters ; 
 sellers to buyers and buyers to sellers; subjects to 
 government and government to subjects. A man's 
 word is never taken in business affairs; no trades- 
 man will consider any arrangement or contract bind- 
 ing unless what is called " bargain money" has been 
 tendered and accepted; and no agreement is con- 
 sidered valid until it is written out and signed by the 
 parties in the presence of witnesses. In the adminis- 
 tration of government you meet with the most unscru- 
 pulous mendacity. The people lie to the constable, 
 the constable to the squire, the squire to the sheriff, 
 
ENGLISH CONSUL. 127 
 
 the sheriff to the governor, the governor to the privy 
 council, and the privy council to the emperor. We 
 might truthfully designate the entire system of gov- 
 ernment administration in China one stupendous lie. 
 This rule of lying works both ways. If a stream of 
 lies passes through the arteries of the political sys- 
 tem to the emperor, at least an equal veinous supply 
 of the same commodity is thrown out from the em- 
 peror and his advisers to permeate the entire body 
 politic. 
 
 In the early days of foreign residence at Fuhchau, 
 the Chinese authorities compelled the English con- 
 sul to live in most uncomfortable quarters in a very 
 ineligible situation. The consul protested against 
 the arrangement as inconvenient, oppressive, and 
 absolutely outrageous, but the Chinese authorities 
 were incorrigible. To all his remonstrances and 
 appeals they invariably replied: "You must remain 
 where you are; we cannot possibly find a better 
 place for you." The consul was an energetic man, 
 and not easily turned aside from his purpose, so he 
 began to explore the city to find a more suitable 
 position for his residence. Within the city walls 
 there is a beautiful hill called Ushih-shan, and as 
 the consul passed over it one day in the course of his 
 rambles, he found there some half-occupied temple 
 buildings, and he determined, if possible, to procure 
 one of them for his accommodation. He accordingly 
 intimated his wishes to the authorities; but they 
 replied that it was utterly out of the question for him 
 to live within the city walls, that the hill where he 
 proposed to live could never be used for private resi- 
 
128 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 dences, and they quoted statutes and historical pre- 
 cedents innumerable to fortify their position, closing 
 the argument with the remark: "The people are 
 unwilling, and therefore it must not be." All 
 negotiations having failed, and finding his health suf- 
 fering in the miserable quarters to which he was con- 
 fined, the consul, after much deliberation, finally 
 concluded to take the matter into his own hands. 
 Summoning a posse of marines from an English man- 
 of-war then lying in the river near Fuhchau, he 
 made preparations for taking possession of one of the 
 temple-buildings on Ushih-shan. The morning of 
 the eventful day at length dawned upon him, and, 
 after dispatching his goods, he mounted his sedan 
 and, escorted by the marines, started for the city. 
 The cavalcade moved quickly along the street, the 
 people opening a passage for it, and then staring with 
 a kind of bewildered astonishment as it passed. 
 Finally they entered the south gate of the city, and 
 began to approach the hill. " Kow comes the tug of 
 war," thought the consul as, turning into a broad 
 gateway, he found himself within the limits of the 
 temple grounds. Judge of his surprise and embar- 
 rassment when, looking up through the trees, he saw the 
 temple occupied by the Chinese officials, heard shrill 
 voices giving out loud orders in rapid succession, and 
 observed soldiers and lictors moving round the build- 
 ing in evident excitement. "What was to be done? 
 To retreat would be utter disgrace ; to go forward 
 might result in bloodshed. Controlled more by ex- 
 citement than by reason, he determined to go on, 
 and dismounting from his sedan, he began to ascend 
 
UNEXPECTED DENOUEMENT. 129 
 
 the steps toward the temple. His approach seemed 
 to increase the stir within and around the temple. 
 Lictors in naming jackets were rushing hither and 
 thither, mandarins in splendid robes were bustling 
 about, venting vollies of rapid orders to which no 
 one seemed to give attention, and to increase the 
 uproar, just as the consul came in full view of the 
 main entrance to the building vollies of rattling fire- 
 crackers were discharged, and a bevy of gongs set up 
 a most unearthly clanging and banging until it 
 seemed as though pandemonium itself had broken 
 loose. Utterly confounded by the scene, the consul 
 still advanced, his vision filled with anything but 
 agreeable images, when just as he entered the build- 
 ing a company of brilliantly costumed officials sallied 
 forth from a side chamber, and, with indescribable 
 bowings and scrapings, proceeded to welcome him to 
 his new residence. This unexpected denouement was 
 well-nigh fatal to the gravity of our hero, but, reso- 
 lutely maintaining his dignity, he proceeded to recip- 
 rocate their compliments. Passing through an open 
 court, they ushered him into the main hall of the 
 temple, where, to his utter astonishment, he beheld a 
 splendid entertainment spread out, and official digni- 
 taries flittiug about apparently anxious to do him 
 honor. The transition was so sudden that for a time 
 it seemed more like a dream than reality ; but, grad- 
 ually regaining his self-possession, he was proceeding 
 to congratulate himself on the success of his dashing- 
 policy when one of the mandarins interrupted the 
 sweet flow of his thoughts with, " What a splendid 
 place this is ! Hew far superior to the quarters you 
 
 9 
 
130 CHAKACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 left ! and, by the way, why in the world did you stay 
 so long in that inconvenient and excessively disagree- 
 able place?" 
 
 As another illustration of this trait in Chinese 
 character, the following narrative, which I wrote at 
 the time the incident occurred, is here introduced. 
 The sketch was written in Fuhchau. 
 
 I was surprised and grieved, a few days' since, to 
 learn that a young man who was a candidate for bap- 
 tism in our mission had suddenly died of cholera. His 
 death occurred some weeks since, but I did not hear 
 of it at the time. This young man had been coming 
 to us for four years, and during most of the time was 
 a candidate for baptism. His education was respect- 
 able, and his character fair, in the estimation of the 
 Chinese. There was, however, one serious defect in 
 him. Whether it was, as I sometimes inclined to be- 
 lieve, a constitutional defect, or whether it was that 
 his ingenuousness disclosed frankly what other Chi- 
 nese seek to conceal from our notice, I never could 
 fully satisfy myself; but this feature in his character 
 painfully impressed all the missionaries who became 
 acquainted with him. He seemed to be almost totally 
 deficient in what may be termed conscientiousness. 
 He would lie, and that, too, when it was evidently 
 from constitutional bias, or vicious habit, rather than 
 from any definite purpose or wish to deceive. I 
 labored with him long and, I think, faithfully to aid 
 him in remedying the evil, and I have good reason to 
 "believe that he sincerely desired reformation. Dur- 
 ing the past year he very frequently attended our in- 
 quiry meeting, and I thought he was gradually re- 
 
HABIT OF LYING. 131 
 
 ceiving light and power from on high. He usually 
 spoke in these meetings, and often with an earnest 
 frankness that stirred our sympathies. The last time 
 he was present at our inquiry meeting I was deeply 
 impressed by the simplicity of his experience and the 
 unusual solemnity of his manner. I felt then that he 
 was not far from the kingdom of God. So strong 
 was this impression on my mind that I spoke of it to 
 the other members of our mission. The following 
 Sunday I looked for him in the public congregation, 
 but his seat was vacant. I was disappointed and 
 sad, fearing I had been deceived. I spoke of him to 
 our native members, and they stated that, as he lived 
 some three miles from the church, he might have been 
 detained by the heat of the weather or by the sickness 
 of his aged mother, who was in feeble health. Day 
 after day passed withmit any tidings from him, and I 
 began to fear he had become discouraged in his efforts 
 to become a Christian. One of the native brethren 
 went to his house, and, to our sorrow, ascertained 
 that he had died some three weeks before. His mother 
 gave the particulars of his death, and I here put them 
 on record. 
 
 The last appearance of the young man at our 
 inquiry meeting was on Friday afternoon. He 
 reached home that evening about dark, and was 
 taken sick during the night. He sank rapidly, but 
 retained his consciousness. Through Saturday and 
 Saturday night he lay in a very critical state. On 
 Sunday morning he seemed to revive somewhat, and 
 said to his mother : " To-day is the Sabbath ; how 
 I should like to go to worship in the Ching Sing 
 
132 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 Tong" (Church of the True God.) He spoke of his 
 wish and purpose to be a Christian, and then, as he 
 felt his end approaching, he said to his mother : " If 
 I die, send word at once to the missionaries." And 
 thus, on that beautiful Sabbath morning, with his 
 thoughts fixed on the blessed Saviour and his heart 
 longing for the courts of the Lord's house, this young 
 man passed away. It is probable, from what I 
 learned as to the time of his death, that just as we 
 were engaged in the opening exercises of public 
 worship in the church he was passing — whither, O 
 whither? Thou knowest, O Saviour! Thy name 
 was upon his lips as he went down into the cold 
 waters, and before his vision there passed "the Lord's 
 house" and "the worshiping congregation" as the 
 last of earth. What of heaven % Did any light from 
 that glorious land shine on his mind when the dark- 
 ness of the grave was thickening around him ? Did 
 any scenes of beauty arise before him? Did any 
 music from the worship around the throne fall upon 
 his ear? Thou knowest, O Saviour !* this is enough. 
 In eternity it may be found that the published statis- 
 tics of the results of missionary labor indicate only 
 a small fraction of the aggregate amount of good 
 accomplished. 
 
 Passing one day over the great bridge at Fuh- 
 chau, I stopped at one of the stalls which then lined 
 one side of the bridge, to purchase a few articles. To 
 my surprise the prices named by the shopman were 
 evidently about what a native would pay for the 
 same articles. The Chinese who stood looking on, 
 and the shopmen in the adjacent stalls, seemed utterly 
 
CHEATING FOEEIGNERS. 133 
 
 confounded by this public deviation from the system 
 of cheating foreigners, which forms so prominent a 
 feature of Chinese mercantile tactics. Presently an 
 excited neighbor of the same craft thrust his head 
 into the stall and indignantly called out to the man 
 with whom I was dealing : 
 
 " What makes you sell so cheap ? "Why don't you 
 cheat the foreigner ?" 
 
 With an expression of countenance at once doleful 
 and ludicrous, the crest-fallen shopman turned to the 
 crowd and whined out : 
 
 " There is nothing to be gained by lying to this 
 foreigner ; he talks our own language." 
 
 While on this topic I may remark that the Chinese 
 are disposed to consider it something wonderful that 
 foreigners are able to acquire the correct and fluent 
 use of their language. After preaching on one occa- 
 sion at one of our chapels, a company of loquacious 
 Chinese remained to converse with me, and very soon 
 the inquiry was started : 
 
 " How is it that while we, the Chinese, cannot 
 learn to speak foreign languages, foreigners are able 
 to acquire ours?" 
 
 The question called forth an animated discussion, 
 and a number of theories were propounded to account 
 for and explain the phenomenon. At length an 
 elderly gentleman, of astonishing volubility, volun- 
 teered an explanation which was greeted by the 
 crowd as entirely satisfactory. " The truth is," said 
 the orator, " the tongue of these foreigners resembles 
 the tongue of a parrot or mocking-bird ; it has a kind 
 of pivotic position in the mouth, and hence both ends 
 
134 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 are available in talking. Besides," he continued, 
 " there is a certain ligatnre under the tongue which 
 is always cut by foreigners in infancy, thus increasing 
 the flexibility of the organ to an astonishing degree." 
 
 It seemed downright cruelty to mar the effect of 
 this speech on the minds of the delighted auditory, 
 but, under the circumstances, I felt constrained to 
 state that though the theory just propounded might 
 be ingenious and plausible, it was unfortunately 
 opposed by all the facts in the case. Notwithstand- 
 ing this disclaimer, the crowd were evidently determ- 
 ined to stand by their orator, thinking perhaps 
 with the adroit Frenchman, that if the facts were 
 opposed to the theory, it was so much the worse for 
 the facts. 
 
 Thieving is another characteristic propensity of the 
 Chinese, and the thieves of China are probably as 
 expert and dexterous as any in the world. The 
 thieves are divided into separate and distinct gangs, 
 each*known by the kind of instruments employed in 
 its operations, so that wherever a theft has been com- 
 mitted, an examination of the modus operandi will 
 show which gang has done the deed. In its detective 
 police arrangements the government acts on the 
 principle, "Send a thief to catch a thief;" and hence 
 in many of the government offices you find the offi- 
 cial "thief-catcher," a person of energy and cunning, 
 who, for a material consideration, has consented to stop 
 stealing on his own account, and henceforth employs 
 his talents in ferreting out and arresting thieves on 
 behalf of the government. A foreign ship captain 
 was once dining at the table of a foreign merchant in 
 
STEALING THE SHEET. 135 
 
 China, when the conversation turned to this subject, 
 and a number of illustrative anecdotes were recited 
 by members of the company. Among the incidents 
 narrated was one in which it happened that the burg- 
 lar had entered the room where the occupant was 
 sleeping, and had stolen the laid off clothing of the 
 sleeper without disturbing his slumbers. The cap- 
 tain received this story with staunch incredulity, and 
 declared with emphasis that he defied any person to 
 enter a room where he was sleeping without awak- 
 ing him. 
 
 " Why," said the gentleman at whose table he was 
 dining, " there is a Chinese thief in this city who can 
 steal the sheet on which you are sleeping without 
 awaking you." 
 
 "Impossible!" cried the indignant captain; and 
 certainly the assertion did seem to savor strongly of 
 exaggeration. The merchant, however, was in earn- 
 est about the matter, and it was finally agreed that 
 the captain should spend a few nights in a designated 
 room of the merchant's house, just to test the matter. 
 In accordance with the arrangement, the thief was 
 informed of the circumstances of the case, and was 
 assured that if caught on the premises during the 
 time specified no harm should come to him. The 
 captain occupied the room one or two nights, and 
 nothing transpired to disturb his repose. The suc- 
 ceeding night, about two hours past midnight, the 
 thief approached the window of the room in which 
 the captain slept, and finding all quiet within, cau- 
 tiously made his entrance. It was a hot summer 
 night, and the sleeper, in his night-clothes, lay about 
 
136 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 the middle of the bed, having his person only par- 
 tially covered by a thin counterpane. Softly ap- 
 proaching the bedside, the thief proceeded to remove 
 the counterpane, and then addressing himself to the 
 sheet on which the nnconscions sleeper was lying, he 
 began in the gentlest manner to fold it up in narrow 
 plies, lengthwise, advancing slowly toward his person. 
 In a few minutes the last fold of the sheet came close 
 up against the form of the sleeper. And now came 
 the most difficult part of the performance. It was 
 comparatively easy to fold up that part of the sheet 
 not in immediate contact with the captain's person; 
 but how is it possible to get the sheet from under him 
 without disturbing his repose? Taking a straw in 
 his hand, the thief passed round to the other side of 
 the bed, and softly uncovering the sleeper's side, pro- 
 ceeded gently to tickle him with the straw. Instantly 
 the sleeper begins to squirm and shrink, and after a 
 few seconds rolls heavily over, away from the perse- 
 cuting straw, and quite off the coveted sheet, thus 
 leaving the prize to be gathered up and carried off in 
 triumph by the thief. Next morning, when the cap- 
 tain awoke from his refreshing sleep, to his utter 
 surprise and amazement, behold ! the sheet was 
 gone! when, and whither, he had not the slightest 
 conception. 
 
 Licentiousness is another prominent trait in the 
 character of the Chinese. Its corrupting and debas- 
 ing influences pervade all classes of society. Forms 
 of this vice which in other lands skulk in dark places, 
 or appear only in the midnight orgies of the baccha- 
 nalian revelers, in China blanch not at the light of 
 
OPIUM SMOKING. 137 
 
 noonday; are pictured, in shop fronts and in other 
 modes, to the eyes of the thousands who throng the 
 streets ; or flaunting their gaudy blandishments, the 
 living embodiments of this lust find ready access to 
 the precincts of the family, the forum, and the temple. 
 Saddening evidences of the almost universal preva- 
 lence of this vice are everywhere apparent among the 
 Chinese, and the Christian prays and longs for the 
 glorious day when a pure morality and a pure lan- 
 guage shall supplant the vices which now fester in 
 Chinese society. 
 
 Opium smoking in China is a vice whose magni- 
 tude and baneful effects can scarcely be exaggerated. 
 Facts innumerable, and patent to every observer, 
 stamp it one of the most pernicious and destructive 
 vices of human society. Dr. Smith, of Penang, who 
 had every opportunity for a thorough examination of 
 the subject, says : " The baneful effects of this habit 
 on the human constitution are particularly displayed 
 by stupor, forgetfulness, general deterioration of all 
 the mental faculties, emaciation, debility, sallow com- 
 plexion, lividness of the lips and eyelids, languor, and 
 lack-luster of eye, and appetite either destroyed or 
 depraved." A Chinese writer says : " It exhausts the 
 animal spirits, impedes the regular performance of 
 business, wastes the flesh and blood, dissipates every 
 kind of property, renders the person ill-favored, pro- 
 motes obscenity, discloses secrets, violates the laws, 
 attacks the vitals, and destroys life." Dr. Williams, 
 referring to the progress of the habit, says: "The 
 thirst and burning sensation in the throat which the 
 wretched sufferer feels, only to be removed by a repe- 
 
138 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 tition of the dose, proves one of the strongest links in 
 the chain which drags him to his ruin. At this stage 
 of the habit his case is almost hopeless. If the pipe 
 be delayed too long, vertigo, complete prostration, 
 and discharge of water from the eyes ensue ; if en- 
 tirely withheld, coldness and aching pains are felt 
 over the body, an obstinate diarrhea supervenes, and 
 death closes the scene. The disastrous effects of the 
 drug upon the constitution seem to be somewhat 
 delayed or modified by the quantity of nourishing 
 food the person can procure ; and consequently it is 
 among the poor, who can least afford the pipe, and 
 still less the injury done to their energies, that the 
 destruction of life is the greatest. The evils suffered 
 and crimes committed by the desperate victims of the 
 opium pipe are dreadful and multiplied. Theft, 
 arson, murder, and suicide are perpetrated in order to 
 obtain it or escape its effects. Some try to break off 
 the fatal habit by taking a tincture of the opium 
 dirt, gradually diminishing its strength until it is 
 left off entirely ; others mix opium with tobacco, and 
 smoke the compound in a less and less proportion, 
 until tobacco alone remains. The general belief is 
 that the vice can be overcome without fatal results, if 
 the person firmly resolve to forsake it, and keep away 
 from sight and smell of the pipe, laboring as much as 
 his strength will allow in the open air, until he recov- 
 ers his spirits, and no longer feels a longing for it. 
 Few, very few, however, ever emancipate themselves 
 from the tyrannous habit which enslaves them. They 
 are able to resist its insidious effects until the habit 
 has become strong, and the resolution to break it off 
 
OPIUM SMOKING. 139 
 
 is generally delayed until their chains are forged, and 
 deliverance felt to be hopeless. The resolution in 
 their case has, alas, none of the awful motives to en- 
 force its observance which a knowledge of the Bible 
 would give it. The heathen dieth in his ignorance ! 
 " Opium is often employed to commit suicide by 
 swallowing it in spite when displeased with others, 
 or to escape from death, oppression, or other evils. 
 The missionary physicians are often called upon to 
 rescue persons who have taken a dose and been found 
 before life is gone, and the number of these applica- 
 tions painfully show how lightly the Chinese esteem 
 life. A comparison is sometimes drawn between the 
 opium-smoker and drunkard, and the former averred 
 to be less injured by the habit ; but the balance is 
 struck between two terrible evils, both of which end 
 in the loss of health, property, mind, influence, and 
 life. Opium imparts no benefit to the smoker, im- 
 pairs his bodily vigor, beclouds his mind, and unfits 
 him for his station in society ; he is miserable with- 
 out it, and at last dies by what he lives upon. The 
 manufacture is beyond the country, so that every 
 cent paid for the drug is carried abroad, and misery 
 in every shape of poverty, disease, and dementation 
 left in its stead, attended with mere transitory pleas- 
 ure while the pipe is in the mouth. Fully one hund- 
 red millions of dollars have oozed out of China within 
 the last fifty years for this article alone, and its pro- 
 ductive capital decreased fully twice that sum." 
 
140 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 The city of Fuhchau is the center of the missions 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church in China. It is 
 the capital of the Fuh-kien province, belongs to the 
 first class of Chinese cities, and contains a population 
 of about six hundred thousand. It has long been a 
 celebrated city among the Chinese, and its beautiful 
 scenery has often inspired the genius of native poets, 
 one of whom seeks to express his admiration in 
 highly wrought hyperbole, beginning 
 
 " Ten thousand miles around Fuhchau 
 Spread out the terraced hills." 
 
 The city has been considered one of the strong 
 military posts of the empire; and its inhabitants 
 have always enjoyed a high reputation for literary 
 attainments and commercial activity. In the early 
 history of foreign intercourse with China attention 
 was directed to Fuhchau as an important commer- 
 cial, entrepot. In 1668 an agent of the English 
 East India Company reported to the Court of Direc- 
 tors : " Hokchue (the local pronunciation for Fuh- 
 chau) will be a place of great resort, affording all 
 China commodities, as tutanag, silk, raw and wrought, 
 

SITUATION. 143 
 
 gold, China-root, tea, etc. ; for which must be carried 
 broadcloth, lead, amber, pepper, coral, sandal-wood, 
 red-wood, incense, cacha, [cassia,] putchuk, etc. In 
 1681 the Company ordered their establishments at 
 Formosa and Amoy to be withdrawn, with a view to 
 opening trade at Canton and Fuhchau." These 
 early efforts were unsuccessful, and it was not till 
 1853 that foreign commerce was fully opened at 
 Fuhchau. 
 
 The city is situated in the northern portion of an 
 amphitheater about twenty miles in diameter, formed 
 by the circling ranges of high mountains. The sur- 
 face of this amphitheater is diversified by wooded 
 knolls and occasional hills of considerable altitude, 
 some of which the husbandman has cultivated to the 
 summit, while others present to the eye immense 
 masses of granite, relieved by intervening patches of 
 sparse vegetation. The Min River enters the amphi- 
 theater from the northwest, through a narrow mount- 
 ain pass, and flows, with a winding stream, out to 
 the sea through a somewhat similar pass in the 
 southeast. On the banks of this picturesque stream 
 stands the city of Fuhchau ; the portion within the 
 walls and the greater part of the suburbs occupying 
 and stretching away from the north bank, while the 
 south bank is covered with a straggling suburb ex- 
 tending some three miles nearly parallel to the river. 
 The general aspect of the city is pleasing. The 
 monotony of dark roofs and dingy walls is relieved 
 by a few picturesque hills and a plentiful supply of 
 banians, whose perennial greenness imparts an air of 
 freshness and beauty to the scene. 
 
144: CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 Fuhchau furnishes a fair specimen of Chinese 
 provincial cities. The city proper is surrounded 
 by a substantial wall, built compactly of brick, 
 and resting on a foundation of granite. The wall 
 is about twenty feet high and ten feet thick, sur- 
 mounted by a parapet five feet high with bastions 
 at regular intervals. The gateways are of great size 
 and strength, and so constructed that a small force 
 in charge of them could hold at bay almost any num- 
 ber of attacking troops. The public buildings com- 
 prise government offices, temples, and colleges, or 
 halls for the literary examinations. The government 
 offices comprise those of the viceroy, Tartar-general, 
 governor, treasurer, judge, commissioners of rice and 
 salt, prefect, district magistrates, etc. These build- 
 ings are one story high, constructed of wood with 
 the aid of lath and plaster, cover an immense area, 
 and are inclosed by a high fire-proof wall. The open 
 courts, which form prominent features of these vast 
 compounds, are ornamented with flowers and shrub- 
 bery and shaded with fine old trees. The buildings 
 are constructed of very perishable materials; the 
 workmanship is usually clumsy and tawdry, while, 
 owing to the plan of the edifice, the rooms are 
 almost invariably deficient in light, ventilation, and 
 comfort. 
 
 Temples abound both within and without the wall 
 of the city. Of those within the city wall the 
 more prominent are the Confucian temple, the impe- 
 rial temple, the Tai-seng temple, the temple of 
 the city king, and the temples crowning the two hills 
 called Ushih-shan and U-shcm. The Confucian tern- 
 
PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 145 
 
 pie was built about eight years ago, and is a fine- 
 looking edifice ; most of the other temples are dirty, 
 gloomy, and dilapidated structures. Outside -the 
 city wall there is what foreigners designate the 
 " Mngpo Temple." It stands in the suburb, on the 
 south side of the river, not far from the foreign resi- 
 dences, and is really a handsome edifice. It is ded- 
 icated to the goddess of seamen, and is more largely 
 patronized than any other temple in the city. Two 
 tall pagodas, each having nine stories, stand just 
 within the south gate of the city, and are connected 
 with two Budhist temples. One of them is called 
 the "White Pagoda," and the other the "Black 
 Stone Pagoda." They are both old, and the former 
 is so much injured that no person is allowed to 
 ascend it. 
 
 The Provincial College, or Literary Examination 
 Hall, situated in the northern part of the city proper, 
 is an immense open compound, filled with rows of 
 low compartments for domiciling the students during 
 the examinations, and is surrounded by a high and 
 thick wall. An avenue about twelve feet wide runs 
 nearly north and south through the center of the 
 compound, extending from the main and only en- 
 trance to the opposite side, where are the apartments 
 fitted up for the examining committees and official 
 visitors. At right angles to this central avenue, on 
 each side, branch off rows of compartments or cells 
 in which the students are incarcerated during the 
 examinations. These rows of cells are separated from 
 each other by brick walls about ten feet high, with 
 a space about two feet wide between the wall and 
 10 
 
146 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 the fronts of the cells to furnish the means of com- 
 munication with the central avenue. These cells 
 are about two and a half feet deep, four feet wide, 
 and eight feet high, and are covered with a shed- 
 roof to protect the occupant from the weather ; but 
 as the entire front of each cell is left open, the poor 
 students must suffer terribly from the sun and rain ; 
 and it is not surprising that at every examination 
 some of the candidates die from exposure and excite- 
 ment. It is estimated that from eight to ten thou- 
 sand students can be accommodated at one time in 
 this compound or college. The other examination 
 halls are somewhat similar to the one we have just 
 described, though much smaller and less substantially 
 built. 
 
 The city is laid out with some degree of regularity, 
 the streets in many cases running parallel to each 
 other, or crossing each other at right angles. The 
 principal street, called JVanlca, that is, South-street, 
 divides the city into two nearly equal portions, and 
 runs from the south gate almost to the north gate of * 
 the city. This is a well-paved and (for China) wide 
 street, and being the great business thoroughfare of 
 the city, where all the best stores are located, it pre- 
 sents a fine appearance. The western portion of the 
 city is largely taken up with the residences of retired 
 officers, or other persons of wealth and influence. 
 Some of these mansions are fitted up in a style that 
 indicates considerable refinement of taste and artistic 
 skill. A portion of the eastern division of the city, 
 comprising about one-eighth of the area within the 
 city wall, is the Tartar quarter, and is occupied by 
 
TARTARS, NANTAI. 147 
 
 the Tartar garrison of the city. These Tartars are 
 soldiers in the pay of the government, and are not 
 allowed to engage in trade or intermarry with the 
 Chinese. In general they lead an idle, listless life, 
 and are sadly addicted to opium-smoking and other 
 vices, fully confirming the truth of the old adage that 
 " an idle man's brain is the devil's workshop." The 
 execution ground is just outside the north gate, and 
 the military parade ground immediately outside the 
 south gate of the city. 
 
 The extra-mural population is almost equal to that 
 within the city wall, and comprises large suburbs 
 outside the principal gates of the city. Of these 
 suburbs, the largest and most important one extends 
 from the south gate to the river, and is called Wantai, 
 or southern suburb. Its population stretches some 
 three miles from the south gate to the river, covers 
 most densely a small island in the river ; and then, 
 on the south side of the river, spreads out into an- 
 other narrow suburb some three miles in length. 
 The approach from the south to the city of Fuhchau 
 is very impressive. For six miles, before reaching 
 the gate of the city, the traveler passes along an almost 
 unbroken street, lined on both sides with shops and 
 residences, and filled with a bustling and vociferating 
 crowd. This southern suburb is the great center of 
 trade, both native and foreign, in Fuhchau; and it 
 is here, in close proximity to the river, that foreigners 
 have erected their business hongs and most of their 
 residences. The southern bank of the river opposite 
 the city swells up into a pretty eminence, and foreign- 
 ers have succeeded in obtaining a large part of it for 
 
148 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 tlieir private dwellings and offices. This picturesque 
 hill, the great temple hill on the northern bank of the 
 river, the two stone bridges, and the winding rivei 
 with its fleet of boats and junks, are the more prom 
 inent features of the scenery in this part of the city. 
 The bridges are rude but substantial structures, built 
 of granite. There is at this point in the river an 
 island called Changchau, or Tongchin, in the local 
 dialect, which forms the connecting link between the 
 two bridges. The bridge over the northern division 
 of the river is called, in popular language, " the great 
 bridge," to distinguish it from the smaller one over 
 the southern division of the river ; but the title on the 
 facade, spanning the entrance to the bridge, is the 
 grandiloquent designation, " Bridge of Ten Thousand 
 Ages." It is composed of twenty-six spans, each 
 span measuring some twenty feet. The piers are 
 built strongly of large blocks of granite, and then 
 the spans are formed by laying from pier to pier 
 large blocks of granite about three feet wide and 
 deep, and some twenty-three feet long. These blocks 
 are placed side by side, forming a surface about eight 
 feet wide, extending the entire length of the bridge. 
 On this solid foundation are placed, transversely, thin 
 slabs of granite, which form the road for travelers, 
 and on each side of the bridge is constructed a stone 
 balustrade some two feet high. The other bridge 
 connects Changchau to the south side of the river. 
 It is similar in construction and appearance to the 
 great bridge, though much shorter, comprising 
 only nine spans. The Chinese call it the Chong- 
 seng Bridge, deriving the title from the local 
 
BOAT POPULATION. 149 
 
 name of the ward at the southern extremity of the 
 bridge. 
 
 The boat population of Fuhchau constitutes a' 
 large and interesting class of society. The shoal 
 water on both sides of the river, above and below the 
 bridges, furnishes excellent anchorage, and is covered 
 with immense fleets of all varieties of river craft. 
 The larger boats are used for transporting merchan- 
 dise to and from the interior of the country, or for 
 discharging the cargoes of the salt and rice junks 
 entering the port of Fuhchau, while the smaller 
 craft are engaged in ferrying and fishing. The sea- 
 going junks anchor below the bridges, and at this 
 point the river is frequently crowded with them. 
 The trade of Fuhchau embraces tea, lumber, rice, 
 salt, sugar, charcoal, paper, sea-weed, camphor, and 
 other commodities. 
 
 The climate of Fuhchau will compare favorably 
 with that of any other part of China. In summer 
 the mercury rises to about 98° Fahrenheit, and the 
 lowest point reached in winter is 32°. It should be 
 observed, however, that, owing to the humidity of the 
 atmosphere in China, the same degree of temperature, 
 whether of heat or cold, is more oppressive than in 
 the United States. From May to the first of October 
 the weather is warm, at times oppressively so, and 
 foreigners generally suffer from it considerably in the 
 loss of appetite, and the consequent prostration of 
 physical strength. During this period, however, the 
 extreme heat is occasionally modified by the rains, 
 which fall copiously for days together. These rains 
 occur most generally in May or June, about the time 
 
150 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 of the animal freshet in the river, which inundates a 
 large portion of the suburbs of the city. From Octo- 
 ber to the middle or close of April the atmosphere is 
 usually clear, dry, and, at times, bracing. One could 
 scarcely desire more agreeable weather than Fuh- 
 chau affords during this season of the year. Its cool, 
 refreshing atmosphere exerts a most salutary influ- 
 ence on the system prostrated by the continued heat 
 of the preceding summer. 
 
 The people of Fuhchau are characterized, in the 
 main, by energy and perseverance, accompanied by 
 an independent free and easy kind of address, which 
 frequently degenerates into coarse vulgarity and of- 
 fensive impudence. Such we have found to be their 
 deportment toward each other as well as toward for- 
 eigners. As compared with the Chinese in other 
 parts of the empire with whom we have become 
 acquainted, the Fuhchauans appear to exhibit more 
 of the rough, manly, outspoken traits of character, 
 and less of the cunning, servile, and sycophantic 
 traits. The native Chinese hauteur is strikingly ap- 
 parent among the people of this city, and this char- 
 acteristic is perhaps due quite as much to the fact of 
 their never having felt the terrible effects of foreign 
 military power, as to their constitutional tempera- 
 ment. The Fuhchauans, in fact, cherish most cor- 
 dially and sincerely a very exalted conception of 
 their own importance, both collectively and individ- 
 ually. It would seem, indeed, that they are not sin- 
 gular in entertaining this opinion, for certain facts 
 with which we have become acquainted show that 
 the government cherishes a similar estimate of their 
 
FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 151 
 
 character. During the negotiations immediately 
 preceding the' formation of the Nankin Treaty be- 
 tween Great Britain and China in 1842-3, it was ob- 
 served that the Chinese officials were exceedingly 
 reluctant to include Fuhchau in the list of cities to be 
 thrown Open to foreign intercourse, and it was only 
 by the most energetic perseverance that the English 
 plenipotentiary succeeded in carrying the point. 
 The subsequent policy pursued by the Chinese au- 
 thorities at Fuhchau indicated their determination to 
 prevent, if possible, the growth of a foreign trade at 
 that city, and for nearly ten years their policy was 
 almost completely successful. In 1853, when the 
 movements of the insurgents in the southern prov- 
 inces of the empire were cutting off the revenue de- 
 rived by the imperial government from the tea duties 
 at Canton, the government authorities at Fuhchau 
 took measures for opening a foreign trade at that 
 city. The trade thus commenced sprang at once into 
 a vigorous existence, and has developed rapidly, so 
 that now Fuhchau is one of the most important 
 points connected with foreign commerce in China. 
 Its proximity to the black tea-producing districts 
 enables the foreign merchant to purchase his teas here 
 at a lower price than at any other port in China, and 
 he is able also at the opening of each season to lay 
 down the new teas in London, New York, or else- 
 where, about a month in advance of shipments from 
 any other port in China. 
 
 / In 1847 the committee appointed for this purpose 
 by the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, after a protracted and prayerful examination 
 
152 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 of the subject according to the information then in 
 their possession, decided that the Fuh-kien province, 
 on the coast of China, was the appropriate field for 
 the China mission of our Church ; and we are happy 
 to corroborate the wisdom of this selection by subse- 
 quent facts, and by the experience of our mission in 
 the prosecution of its work among the Chinese. Of 
 the eighteen provinces of China proper six ar$ situ- 
 ated on its eastern sea-board, and furnish to Protestant 
 Churches their points d'appui for the evangelization 
 of the empire. Of these six maritime provinces four 
 have been entered and partially occupied by Amer- 
 ican Protestant Missions. In the Canton province 
 missions have been established at Canton, and more 
 recently at Swatow; in the Fuh-kien province at 
 Fuhchau and Amoy ; in the Cheh-kiang province at 
 Ningpo, and in the Kiangsi province at Shanghai. 
 The American Board has missions at Canton, Fuh- 
 chau, and Shanghai ; the Presbyterian Board at 
 Nmgpo, Canton, and Shanghai ; the Baptists (North) 
 at Hongkong and Mngpo; Baptists (South) at 
 Shanghai and Canton. The remaining four Amer- 
 ican societies have concentrated their operations at 
 one point, the Protestant Episcopal Board and Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, South, at Shanghai, the 
 Dutch Reformed Board at Amoy, and the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church at Fuhchau. From this statement 
 it appears that there has not yet been a formal 
 assignment of Chinese territory to any societies, with 
 a view to its efficient occupancy and evangelization 
 by them ; and yet we can discover the informal initia- 
 tion of the general features of such an arrangement. 
 
OUR FIELD IN CHINA. 153 
 
 Four of the eight societies referred to have already 
 concentrated their forces at one central point ; and 
 we think it probable that in the progress of the work 
 the other societies will adopt a similar plan. "We 
 are not solicitous, however, with reference to the 
 formal initiation of the above arrangement ; whether 
 or not it goes into effect, we conceive that the present 
 tacit distribution of territory will form, in the main, 
 the basis for future operations in China. 
 
 Taking the Fuh-kien province, then, as the starting 
 point for our operations in China, the expansion of 
 our work will necessarily be westward. Eastward is 
 the sea, northward we trench on the territory occu- 
 pied by the Ningpo missions, southward we enter the 
 appropriate sphere of the Amoy missions ; so that, if 
 we grow at all, we are shut up to a westward devel- 
 opment. The field thus indicated contains the prov- 
 inces of Fuh-kien, Kiangsi, Hunan, and Szchuen, 
 and forms a belt some three hundred miles wide, 
 stretching through the central portion of China from 
 its eastern sea-board to Thibet. It contains an area 
 of 313,000 square miles, and a population of 74,000,- 
 000. Its climate is mild and salubrious, its internal 
 resources apparently inexhaustible, and its people 
 remarkable in China for their intelligence and enter- 
 prise. Foreigners have called Fuh-kien the "New 
 Eno-land," and the Fuh-kienese the "Yankees" of 
 China. Such is the interesting and inviting field 
 providentially assigned to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and to aid in the evangelization of which 
 she is now called upon to send out and support 
 missionaries. 
 
154 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 Fuhchau, the capital of Fuh-kien, has hitherto been 
 the center of our operations in China, and its advant- 
 ages in this respect are probably as many and great 
 as those of any other city on the coast of China. Its 
 foreign commerce brings it into direct and easy com- 
 munication with the home Churches, while its native 
 trade opens up channels of intercourse with the inte- 
 rior of the country. Our mission here is gradually 
 coming into possession of the buildings and other 
 appliances necessary for a great center of missionary 
 operations. The Church is not to expect, in all the 
 mission fields she may enter, precisely the same 
 encouragements. In some fields it would seem that 
 the work of preparation had been already performed, 
 and that the missionary has only to gather in the 
 harvest. In others the harvest so rapidly follows the 
 seedtime that the voices of the sowers mingle with 
 the songs of the reapers. But there are other fields 
 where the giant oaks must be felled, the tangled 
 undergrowth torn away, the soil broken up, the seed 
 sown, and then the husbandman wait through long 
 months of sunshine and storm for the reward of his 
 toil. At Athens Paul was confronted by the caviling 
 Stoic and Epicurean, at Lystra he was hailed as a. 
 god, at Ephesus he was set upon by an infuriated 
 mob ; while at Antioch, where the disciples were first 
 called Christians, he, with Barnabas, tarried a whole 
 year, assembling with the Church and teaching much 
 people. Some of the Indian tribes of North America, 
 where our own missionaries have labored, and the 
 Karens of India, where our Baptist brethren have 
 preached the Gospel with such success, furnish 
 
GREATNESS OF THE WORK. 155 
 
 instances of fields white unto the harvest, while the 
 efforts of the Moravians in Greenland, and of the 
 English and American missionaries in the South 
 Pacific, in parts of India, and in China, give us exam- 
 ples of earnest, faithful labor, and patient, persevering 
 waiting for the desired result. 
 
 He who knows somewhat of the vastness of the 
 work to be done in China will be neither discouraged 
 nor surprised to find that its day of preparation is long 
 and toilsome. The immense population of the em- 
 pire, the vast extent of territory over which this 
 population is diffused, the antiquity and power of 
 their political and literary institutions, the intermina- 
 ble network of superstitions which trammels their 
 minds, and their written language, with its unnum- 
 bered spoken dialects, all these circumstances combine 
 to present to the Church an array of difficulties which 
 nothing but the most implicit faith in God's word, 
 and the most prompt and hearty obedience to his 
 commands, can overcome. 
 
 It is important that we recognize the greatness of 
 the work to be done in China, if we would have our 
 efforts for its accomplishment wisely directed and 
 efficiently sustained. Let the Church then bear in 
 mind that it now seeks to change the religious faith 
 and crush the religious institutions of one third of the 
 human race • that it proposes to strike down before 
 their eyes the objects endeared to them by a thousand 
 associations ; that it hastens to tear from their hearts 
 the hopes and aspirations which their depraved 
 natures and corrupt faith have ever nourished and 
 shielded ; that it wages a war of extermination against 
 
156 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 
 
 idolatry, not sparing even that most insidious and 
 attractive form of it embodied in ancestral worship ; 
 that it introduces to them a religious system of which 
 they are almost totally ignorant, and the simplicity 
 and purity of whose doctrines must necessarily excite 
 the sternest opposition from their previously formed 
 habits and their depraved natures; and that these 
 doctrines are preached to them by foreigners, with 
 whom, in consequence of a difficult language and 
 dissimilar tastes and feelings, they cannot fully sym- 
 pathize : these are some of the circumstances which 
 suggest to the Church that the work before her in 
 China is of no ordinary magnitude and difficulty. 
 
 What then ? With the outlines of this immense 
 field, and the greatness of the work opening up and 
 extending before us, shall we sit down in desponden- 
 cy, and suffer the enemy still to enjoy undisturbed 
 dominion in China ? or shall we gird ourselves to the 
 mighty struggle, and claim this empire for our Lord 
 and Master, demanding for him the homage, obe- 
 dience, and love of every heart ? It is high time for 
 us to consider this subject, to rise to the height of the 
 grand argument. China at this hour demands from 
 the Church tenfold more of men and means than she 
 receives ; and it is almost certain that within the next 
 decadal period these demands will increase a hund- 
 redfold. The cycle of wondrous events has already 
 commenced in China. The first throes of the ap- 
 proaching conflict have shaken her giant frame. It 
 would seem that the Gospel is about to renew its 
 youth, preparatory to the accomplishment of glorious 
 results in this old, storied land. The age of heroism, 
 
PROGRESS. 
 
 157 
 
 of battle and conquest, may again return to the 
 Church. There are indications that the Gospel is 
 already arresting the attention of the Chinese in an 
 extraordinary degree. The Sacred Scriptures circu- 
 lated throughout the empire have opened the eyes 
 and interested the hearts of thousands. A great 
 movement is now going forward, and who can tell how 
 soon other mines may be sprung under the shattered 
 structure of heathenism as it now exists in China ? 
 
 The following table, showing the names and terms 
 of service of all the missionaries connected with this 
 mission to the present time, is appropriately intro- 
 duced here, and will prove, we trust, interesting and 
 acceptable to the reader : 
 
 
 Rev. 
 Eev. 
 Mes. 
 Rev. 
 Rev. 
 Mes. 
 Miss 
 Rev. 
 Rev. 
 Mes. 
 Mes. 
 Miss 
 Rev. 
 Rev. 
 Mes. 
 Mes. 
 Eev. 
 Mes. 
 Miss 
 Miss 
 Miss 
 Rev. 
 Mes. 
 Rev. 
 Mes. 
 
 M. C. White 
 
 J. D. Collins 
 
 J. I. White 
 
 H. Hiokoh 
 
 R. S. Macla-y J 
 
 E. G. Hickok 
 
 H. C. SpeeeyS 
 
 I. W. Wiley, M. D. . . 
 
 J. COLDEE.. 
 
 F. J. Wiley ^ 
 
 E. C. COLDEB..« 
 
 M. Seely 3 
 
 E. Wentwoeth, D.D. 
 0. Gieson 
 
 A. M. Wentwoeth. . . 
 
 E. C. Gibson 
 
 S. L. Baldwin 
 
 N. M. Baldwin* 
 
 B. Woolstojt 
 
 S. E. Woolston 
 
 P. E. Potter 5 
 
 C. E. Maetin 
 
 Mabtin*. 
 
 N. Sites 
 
 Sites. . . * 
 
 1847 
 1847 
 1847 
 1847 
 1847 
 1847 
 1850 
 1851 
 1851 
 1851 
 1851 
 1851 
 1855 
 1855 
 1855 
 1855 
 1858 
 1858 
 1858 
 1858 
 1858 
 1859 
 1859 
 1861 
 1861 
 
 1848 
 
 1853 
 
 1855 
 
 1852 
 
 1858 
 
 1861 
 
 1854 
 1851 
 
 1849 
 1845 
 
 1854 
 1854 
 
 1854 
 1S54 
 
 1801 
 
 1 Visited U. S. A. with his family, 1860. 
 3 Married-to M. C. White, 1851. 4 At 
 5 Married to E. Wentworth, D.D., 1859. 
 
 2 Married to R. S. Maclay, 1850. 
 sea, off the United States coast, March, 16. 
 
158 BUILDINGS, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 
 
 Intimately connected with the practical operation 
 of a Christian mission in heathen lands, there is a 
 large amount of what may be called civil engineer- 
 ing. The work of evangelizing the heathen would 
 be much simplified, both in theory and practice, if 
 the missionary could devote himself exclusively to 
 preaching the Gospel. Actual experience in this 
 enterprise, however, has shown that the duties of the 
 foreign missionary are numerous and varied, and that 
 his qualifications should be composite rather than 
 simple, his talents painstaking rather than brilliant. 
 Transferred from the known influences of a home at- 
 mosphere to the unknown tendencies of a foreign 
 climate, from the refined comforts of Christian civili- 
 zation to the rugged exigencies of, at best, semi-bar- 
 barism, the missionary, on entering the foreign field, 
 finds himself confronted with necessities at once mul- 
 tifarious and imperative. One of his first and most 
 urgent wants is a place of residence for himself and 
 family. There is, perhaps, no heathen people in 
 whose houses it would be safe or prudent for the for- 
 eign missionary to reside. In the selection of sites 
 for dwelling-houses, churches, school-houses, etc. ; in 
 
CHINESE HOUSES. 159 
 
 preparing plans, drawing up contracts, choosing ma- 
 terials for the buildings, and in superintending their 
 erection, he will find ample opportunity for the exer- 
 cise of all the business talent and knowledge he may 
 possess. 
 
 In Fuhchau the Chinese houses generally are 
 only one story high, built of wood, with lath and 
 plaster, and covered with tiles. The houses of the 
 lower classes, stores, shops, etc., open directly on the 
 street, and frequently the entire front is thrown open 
 during the day, but closed again at night. The 
 house is lighted through openings in the front and 
 rear, furnished, in many instances, with wooden 
 shutters to close against the wind and rain. The 
 houses have neither chimneys nor ceiling, and fre- 
 quently have only earthen floors. Thus constructed, 
 these buildings are low, dark, hot, filthy, and neces- 
 sarily unhealthy. The houses of the higher classes 
 are superior, in some respects, to those we have just 
 described, and yet they are rude, uncomfortable, 
 gloomy structures. They are built between two high 
 walls, and have, in front and rear, open courts in- 
 closed by a continuation of the high side walls of the 
 premises. These open courts are paved with smooth, 
 flat stones, and in most cases have a well, protected 
 by a stone curb, in the center or corner. They are 
 frequently ornamented, with shrubbery, flowers, and 
 artificial rocks and poles. Occasionally, on each 
 side of the court, as you enter from the street, you 
 will see a row of low rooms placed against the side 
 wall, with roofs sloping inwards, and extending from 
 the front wall to the main building. Passing through 
 
160 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 
 
 this court you enter the central room of the house, 
 having a room of similar width, but less depth, imme- 
 diately in the rear of it. On each side of the central 
 room is another room of similar depth, but narrower, 
 and having also in their rear a room corresponding to 
 the one behind the central room. The rear court is 
 similar to the one in front, though generally it is 
 smaller and less tastefully fitted up. Large mansions 
 sometimes comprise a series of houses with interven- 
 ing courts, such as we have described, extending 
 back from the street, and formed into, one general 
 compound by a high wall surrounding the entire 
 premises. 
 
 The principal building materials used in Fuh- 
 chau are wood, brick, tiles, stone, lime, etc. The 
 wood most generally employed is a kind of pine or 
 cedar. It is easily worked, light, and durable. There 
 are varieties of hard wood much used for costly work, 
 but they are not employed to any considerable extent 
 in house-building. This pine or cedar is very abund- 
 ant at Fuhchau, and can be obtained at reasonable 
 prices. It is cut from the mountains in the interior 
 of China, and is floated in rafts down the Min to Fuh- 
 chau. Lumber is an important item in the native 
 export trade of this city, and large quantities of it are 
 annually shipped to the northern ports of China. 
 Bricks are abundant and of good quality. One kind 
 is of a light, ashy color ; another kind is made from a 
 reddish soil, and when burnt is very similar, in color, 
 to the red brick used in the United States. These 
 bricks can be procured in any quantity, and of any 
 size or quality. In order to insure a good quality, 
 
BUILDING MATERIALS. 161 
 
 however, it is necessary to have a written contract 
 with either the merchant or manufacturer, speci- 
 fying the exact kind of brick desired. The bricks in 
 common nse among the Chinese are of an inferior 
 quality. They are burnt about ten miles from 
 Fuhchau, in kilns similar to those used in America. 
 There is also a flat kind of brick, measuring about 
 fourteen inches square by one inch thick. It is red, 
 well burnt, and much used in facing cooking ranges, 
 paving bathing rooms, and for covering terraces or 
 flat-roofed houses. The tiles are made at the places 
 where the bricks are burnt. They are prepared with 
 a kind of earth .which, when burnt thoroughly, is of a 
 pale ashy color. The tile is about nine inches square, 
 always a little narrower at one end than at the other, 
 and about one quarter of an inch thick. Its form is 
 oval, so that when laid in a row they form a kind of 
 trough. When well laid on, they make a safe and 
 durable roof. Their weight is the great difficulty to 
 be overcome in adapting them to foreign use, where 
 large chambers, parlors, and audience-rooms, as in 
 churches, are desired. It is sometimes difficult to 
 construct a self-supporting roof sufficiently strong to 
 resist the pressure of the tiles required to cover it. 
 Granite is the kind of stone used for building pur- 
 poses. It is quarried from the mountains on the 
 banks of the Min, about fifteen miles below Fuh- 
 chau. The quality is excellent, the price moderate, 
 and the supply apparently inexhaustible. It is cut 
 with hammer and chisel from the solid rock in blocks 
 of size and shape to suit purchasers, is then moved 
 carefully down the side of the mountain and placed 
 
 11 
 
162 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 
 
 on strong boats for transportation to Euhchau. 
 Their lime is prepared from the shells of oysters, 
 clams, muscles, and other bivalves, whose flesh is 
 eaten by the Chinese. These shells are burnt in 
 large kilns, and produce an excellent quality of lime, 
 suitable for mortar, cement, plaster, whitewash, etc. 
 It is almost impossible, however, to obtain the lime in 
 a pure state, as the adulteration of it by the admix- 
 ture of a kind of white earth is generally practiced by 
 the Chinese. This system of adulteration is carried 
 on so skillfully and persistently that it is difficult, 
 without the application of scientific tests, to detect the 
 imposition; and after a few indignant protests 
 against the cheat, the purchaser gradually subsides 
 into a stoical indifference on the subject, and seeks to 
 indemnify himself by beating down the prices to the 
 lowest possible figure. 
 
 The title by which foreigners hold property in 
 China deserves at least a passing notice in this con- 
 nection. Until within a comparatively recent period 
 the imperial government of China affected contemp- 
 tously to ignore even the presence of foreigners with- 
 in its dominions, and persistently withheld from them 
 all civil immunities and political consideration. The 
 war of 1842-3, however, between England and China 
 effectually dissipated this illusion, and served to 
 initiate for the Chinese government a more just and 
 magnanimous policy with regard to foreign inter- 
 course. By the treaty formed at the close of that 
 war China ceded to England the island of Hongkong ; 
 and in subsequent negotiations grants of land at 
 Shanghai, Amoy, and other ports, were made to cer- 
 
PEICE OF LAND. 163 
 
 tain foreign governments for the use of their subjects 
 or citizens, who thus derived the title to the land they 
 obtained, from their respective governments. 
 
 At Fuhchau no land was set apart by the Chinese 
 government for foreign occupancy, and we accord- 
 ingly proceeded to obtain situations wherever they 
 were offered in desirable positions. Our first lots 
 were procured by the payment of an annual rent, but 
 this arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to us, 
 and we soon sought to procure more reliable titles for 
 them. At the outset, however, we were confronted 
 by a most formidable difficulty. In China there are 
 neither mesne lords nor allodial proprietors of the 
 soil ; all Chinese landowners hold their lands directly 
 from the emperor, who is regarded as the great land- 
 lord of the empire. In accordance with this view, 
 the Chinese government conceived that it would be un- 
 lawful to sell, that is, in their judgment, alienate any 
 portion of the territory of China to a foreigner. Af- 
 ter a protracted discussion of the subject, it was 
 finally arranged that whenever a foreigner obtained 
 landed property from a Chinese, the Chinese land- 
 lord should give him a perpetual lease of the property, 
 for and in consideration of a specified sum of money, 
 which he accepts as the value or price of said prop- 
 erty. This perpetual lease is regarded as, in all re- 
 spects, equivalent to a purchase. In thus leasing his 
 property to a foreigner, the Chinese landlord transfers 
 to the lessee all the old deeds and other papers be- 
 longing to the property, and then writes for him, in 
 triplicate, a new deed or article of perpetual lease, 
 which, having been duly sealed by both the Chinese 
 
164 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 
 
 officer and foreign consul, becomes the valid title for 
 the property. One copy of this triplicate is deposited 
 with the Chinese government, another with the con- 
 sul of the country to which the purchaser belongs, 
 and the third is held by the purchaser. 
 
 The following is a translation of the title-deed by 
 which we hold one of our lots in Fuhchau, and is a 
 fair specimen of such documents : 
 
 Article of perpetual lease, showing — That 
 Tieu Eang, holding a plat of land which he purchased 
 in the twenty-eighth year of the emperor Tau-Kwang, 
 situated in the Tienang ward, Mirror Hill vicinity, 
 and bounded west by the premises of "W. S. Sloan, 
 Esq., east, including the ground below the embank- 
 ment, by the wall of the Tienang temple, south by 
 the old wall of the lot, and north by Mr. Maclay's 
 premises ; everything concerning said lot being clear, 
 he now voluntarily transfers it on perpetual lease to 
 the American teacher, E. S. Maclay, and others, for 
 the purposes of erecting buildings and living thereon. 
 He receives this day as the price of said land the sum 
 of six hundred dollars. 
 
 Everything on said lot is at the disposal of the 
 aforesaid Mr. Maclay and others, and he may cut 
 down the fruit trees on it, or allow them to remain, 
 just as he pleases. 
 
 After paying for the land, Mr. Maclay shall never 
 pay any more money for the land, and the landlord 
 Nang shall never bring up any other matters. But 
 should the title prove to be defective, or should it ap- 
 pear that the property has been sold to other parties, 
 
LEGAL CHARGES. 165 
 
 and persons come forward to dispute, then Nang 
 shall settle the matter, and it shall not concern Mr. 
 Maclay. 
 
 In witness whereof, this deed of perpetual lease, in 
 three forms, is prepared. 
 
 (Signed) Tieu Nang, Landlord. 
 
 Sah-Huah Lyng, "Witness. 
 
 Hienfung, fifth year and second month. 
 [A. D., April, 1855.] 
 
 In the foregoing deed or lease we notice : 
 
 1. The full value of the land is paid down at once 
 by the foreigner to the Chinese landlord. 
 
 2. In consequence of receiving the stipulated value 
 of his land, the Chinese landlord disclaims "forever" 
 all title to said land, and all right to any other pay- 
 ment of money upon it. 
 
 3. He also pledges himself to guarantee to the for- 
 eigner a valid and clear title to said land, or land 
 and buildings thereon erected. 
 
 The legal charges in procuring this lease are : 
 
 1. The consular fee, ten dollars, for stamping each 
 deed. In our case this charge has not been made. 
 
 2. A per centage of about eight per cent, on the pur- 
 chase money, to be paid to the Chinese government 
 when tJie land purchased is occupied by buildings. 
 This per centage is paid by the purchaser. Thus far, 
 I believe, no foreigner here has paid this per centage ; 
 but, as it is the custom among the Chinese, I see no 
 reason why foreigners should refuse to pay it if 
 requested to do so. This charge would affect only 
 our purchase of the chapel lot at Iongtau ; possibly 
 
166 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 
 
 also the chapel lot in Chong-seng ; but our other 
 lots being unoccupied land, are free from this 
 charge. 
 
 When cultivated land is purchased the government 
 receives annually its tax in kind, as formerly, unless 
 the foreigner compounds with the government by 
 paying down at once a specified sum. The lots we 
 have purchased in the olive orchard are cultivated 
 land ; but the Chinese landlord compounded with the 
 government many years ago, so that there is no 
 ground tax on them. 
 
 As a matter of economy, we all greatly prefer to 
 hold property by perpetual lease. The prices we have 
 paid for our lots would pay the annual rents accru- 
 ing on them only from, four to seven years. 
 
 The mission now holds by perpetual lease all its 
 property in Fuhchau, except the land in the lot I 
 occupy. This we hope to get in a year or two, and 
 then we shall have all the land we shall need for 
 dwelling houses for many years. 
 
 The annexed schedule of prices will indicate the 
 value of land in Fuhchau at the time these lots were 
 purchased. It is necessary to add that recently the 
 price of lots suitable for foreign residence has largely 
 increased : 
 
 1. For a very desirable building lot, situated just 
 back of the premises I occupy, measuring about one 
 hundred and twenty by two hundred and forty feet, 
 and sufficient for two dwelling houses, the mission 
 paid six hundred dollars. 
 
 2. For a chapel lot situated on the main street 
 leading to the south gate of the city, and measuring 
 
MISSION RESIDENCES. 169 
 
 about sixty-six by one hundred and forty-five feet, 
 the mission paid four hundred dollars. 
 
 3. For the lot on which Dr. Wentworth's house 
 now stands, measuring one hundred and twenty by 
 one hundred and seventy feet, the mission paid three 
 hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 4. For the chapel lot just in front of the premises 
 I occupy, measuring sixty-two by one hundred and 
 forty feet, the mission paid one hundred and fifty- 
 four dollars fifteen cents. 
 
 5. For the lot on which Messrs. Russell & Co.'s 
 house stands we are to pay three hundred and fifty 
 dollars. This lot is two hundred and fifty feet deep, 
 with a front of ninety feet, and a rear of forty. 
 
 The first building fitted up by the mission in Fuh- 
 chau for a place of residence was an old Chinese 
 house, one story high, and surrounded by high walls. 
 The house stood on the island called Changchau, and . 
 during the annual flood in the river, which occurs in 
 May or June, the water would rise about two feet 
 above its floor. To adapt the place to foreign occu- 
 pancy, it consequently became necessary to add 
 another story to the building, and transfer the resi- 
 dence for the family from the lower to the upper floor, 
 using the rooms on the lower floor for store-rooms, 
 kitchen, and servants' apartments. The house was 
 raised by splicing the posts, occasionally inserting a 
 new one to reach the entire heighth of the building, 
 putting down a second floor, setting up new parti- 
 tions, and relaying the roof. 
 
 The engraving shows the upper or west end of the 
 Changchau island. The house on the left was former- 
 
170 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 
 
 ly owned by the Methodist Episcopal mission. The 
 two houses on the right were built by the American 
 Board mission. All this property has now passed into 
 other hands, the missions having obtained more 
 eligible situations elsewhere. 
 
 The first house built from the ground by the mis- 
 sion stands on Mirror Hill, and is a light frame struc- 
 ture, with lath and plaster walls and partitions. The 
 mission decided to erect these cheap buildings be- 
 cause, at that time, from the temper and policy of the 
 Chinese authorities at Fuhchau, it seemed very doubt- 
 ful whether they would permit us to remain there for 
 any considerable length of time, and also because at 
 that early day we were not folly prepared to decide as 
 to the best kind of house for that climate. .Subsequen t 
 experience in the climate convinced us that as a gen- 
 eral rule it is best to erect, wherever practicable, sub- 
 stantial brick buildings for dwelling houses, church 
 edifices, etc. The original outlay of money for these 
 buildings is much greater than for the frame houses 
 to which we have referred ; but for this there is more 
 than ample compensation in the greater durability of 
 the houses, in the comparatively small expense they 
 entail on the mission in the way of annual repairs, 
 and in the increased comfort and security of their oc- 
 cupants. In Fuhchau the winters are very mild, and 
 there is scarcely any frost, so that in preparing the 
 foundation for a house it is not necessary to dig deep 
 trenches to get beyond the influence of frost. In low 
 situations it is necessary to drive wooden piles, from 
 five to ten feet long, in the ground wherever a wall is 
 to be built. Flat stones about three feet long are then 
 

WALLS, PAKTITIONS, ETC. 173 
 
 laid down over the piles, the stones being placed trans- 
 versely to the line of the wall, and on these stones 
 the foundation of the honse is built. The foundation 
 is always of stone, rising at least one foot above the 
 surface of the ground, or, in cases of inequality of 
 surface, until the foundation is about one foot above 
 the highest part of the ground. In high situations, 
 where the ground is dry and hard, the fiat stones are 
 sufficient, and on these alone the foundation is built. 
 Two kinds of stone wall are used for foundations : the 
 one of long, smoothly-dressed stones, laid in right lines, 
 and presenting a handsome appearance ; the other of a 
 kind of cobble-stone, so laid as to form acute angles, 
 and presenting an appearance singular and not un- 
 sightly. In building this cobble-stone kind of wall, 
 it is necessary to begin with a wide base, and contract 
 the sides as you ascend. No mortar is used in this 
 cobble-stone work. The mason selects the best stones 
 for the sides, the handsomest being placed on the out- 
 side, and then the middle of the wall is filled up with 
 the refuse. In building the other kind of wall, the 
 mason forms a kind of box with side and cross stones, 
 and then fills up this vacuum with any coarse stones, 
 thrown in without any regard to beauty or order. 
 The surface and exterior edges of the side stones are 
 cut and smoothed into perfectly straight lines, and are 
 fitted to each other with great exactness. In this 
 kind of work a kind of cement, formed from lime, 
 oil, and hemp, is used to supply any defects in the 
 facing stones. Bricks are laid in a mortar made 
 from a reddish kind of earth, with the admixture 
 of lime. For plastering walls, partitions, etc., the 
 
174 BUILDINGS, LAJSTD-TENUKE, ETC. 
 
 first coat is generally a rough preparation of earth, 
 cut straw, and lime ; the second coat is a mixture of 
 river mud and sawdust ; and this is immediately fol- 
 lowed by the third and last coat, which is a composi- 
 tion of the best lime and white paper. This produces 
 a beautifully white surface, if the materials are of 
 good quality, and the work properly executed. Tiles, 
 such as we have already described, are universally 
 employed in covering roofs. The tiles are laid on 
 a flooring of thin boards nailed over the lathing of the 
 roof, and are placed in rows running up and down 
 the sides of the roof. The tiles are laid on this floor- 
 ing without any mortar or cement except at the eaves, 
 ends, and comb of the roof, where mortar is employed 
 to protect the tiles from the action of the wind and 
 rains. In covering a roof; the first work is to make 
 the comb ; and in doing this, tiles, brick, and mortar 
 are employed. A bed of soft earth is made along the 
 comb of the roof; on this a thin layer of single tiles 
 is laid, then another layer of earth, followed by an- 
 other of tiles, until the comb has attained a sufficient 
 height, when it is surmounted by one or two layers of 
 brick, and then entirely covered with plaster, either 
 white or colored. The ends of the roof are then 
 formed in a somewhat similar manner, though with 
 less expenditure of materials and labor. These pre- 
 liminaries completed, the tile-layers proceed with the 
 body of the roof. Commencing at the eaves, the tiles 
 are laid in parallel rows, from two or three to four 
 inches apart, up to the comb of the roof. In these 
 rows the tiles overlap each other, so that each tile 
 presents only about three inches of its surface to the 
 

MISSION COMPOUND. 177 
 
 weather. The first rows are laid directly on the 
 boards of the roof, with the concave side of the tile 
 placed upward, and the rows being, as already stated, 
 from three to four inches apart. These narrow spaces 
 between the rows are then covered by upper rows of 
 tiles, the tiles overlapping each other as in the lower 
 rows, but having their convex surface turned upward. 
 To protect these tiles against the force of the winds, 
 their edges are covered with a lime mortar, and single 
 bricks are set in cement on the top, at intervals of 
 about four feet. 
 
 In the accompanying picture the mission com- 
 pound crowns the summit and slope of the hill on the 
 south side of the river. It contains six dwelling- 
 houses, only four of which, however, appear in the 
 above cut. Beginning at the left side of the picture 
 you have the corner of a house belonging to a for- 
 eign merchant. Passing to the right you have 
 (1) a low bungalow occupied by Rev. R. S. Ma- 
 clay ; (2) a two-storied house by a flagstaff, formerly 
 the United States consulate, but now belonging 
 to our mission, and occupied by Rev. S. L. Bald- 
 win; (3) a two-storied house now forming the 
 Chinese portion of the Waugh Female Academy. 
 Immediately to the right of this, in the background 
 underneath a flagstaff, is the British consulate. Then 
 we have (4) the residence of the Rev. Dr. "Went- 
 worth. On the extreme right is a portion of the 
 residence of another foreign merchant. The edifice 
 was subsequently removed, and its place is now 
 filled by a very pretty and substantial building for 
 the Church of England service. 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 TEIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 On the 4th of January, 1849, in company with the 
 late Rev. J. D. Collins, I started on a trip of explora- 
 tion np the Min River. A small Chinese boat, rowed 
 by four stout Chinese, sufficed for ourselves and trav- 
 eling equipage. We felt great interest in the pro- 
 posed excursion as it was our first attempt to explore 
 a portion of China on which, so far as we knew, no 
 foreigner had ever looked. Our plan was to wear 
 our own costume, make no effort at concealment or 
 deception, distribute Christian books, talk to the peo- 
 ple^ and advance as far into the country as the 
 authorities would allow, or as we might deem desira- 
 ble. It was moreover highly gratifying to us to think 
 of escaping even temporarily from the persistent sur- 
 veillance to which we had been subjected for nearly a 
 year by the Chinese in Fuhchau. Availing our- 
 selves of the flood tide we commenced the voyage, 
 and were soon passing through the fleets of boats 
 anchored in the river. On our right rises a bold hill 
 covered with pines and banians, through whose thick 
 foliage peer out at intervals the cottage of the peas- 
 ant and the more pretentious temple edifice. Look- 
 ing to the right, as the boat sweeps along, the eye 
 

 UPPER BRIDGE. 179 
 
 falls on a vast extent of slate-colored roofs, relieved 
 by the foliage of the overspreading evergreens which 
 constitute so attractive a feature in Fuhchau scenery. 
 Beyond, and overlooking this portion of the city, 
 stands the great temple hill, with its altar, sward, 
 and trees, where at sunset the people meet for recrea- 
 tion and amusement ; while still farther to the north- 
 ward you trace the outlines of the towering mount- 
 ains which for centuries have beleaguered this old 
 city. 
 
 The course of the river, as we ascend, is quite 
 circuitous, at one time trending away southward, 
 and then suddenly deflecting to an almost due north- 
 erly point. The channel, too, we found to be of 
 very unequal depth, pur boat sometimes passing 
 over places where a frigate might float, and then sud- 
 denly thumping its keel on one of the sandbars 
 which cross the river in all possible directions. 
 About six miles above Fuhchau we came to the 
 " upper bridge," a stone structure similar to those at 
 the city, which we have already described. The 
 water rushes through its spans with great velocity, 
 and it is only at or near the top of the tide that boats 
 can go through with safety. A small village stands 
 near the end of the bridge on the right bank, and a 
 petty officer is stationed here to look after the river 
 traffic. Fearing the officer might prevent our going 
 any farther, the boatmen advised us to conceal our- 
 selves under the cover of the boat ; but we preferred 
 a seat on the forward deck, where all could see 
 us, and accordingly directed the men to pull away at 
 their oars and answer promptly when hailed from 
 
180 TKIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 the shore. The policemen soon saw us, and our 
 approach evidently produced considerable excite- 
 ment. Lictors were seen hurrying hither and 
 thither through the motley crowd that had assem- 
 bled to gaze at the foreigners. We could distinctly 
 hear the jargon of their voices, while our ears 
 were saluted by successive vollies of ejaculations and 
 objurgations designed for our benefit. 
 
 " Where are you from ?" at length shouted a sten- 
 torian voice from the shore. 
 
 "From Fuhchau," answered our man at the 
 rudder. 
 
 " What cargo have you ?" 
 
 "]STo cargo; we are chartered by two foreigners 
 for a trip up the river." 
 
 Then followed an earnest and noisy colloquy 
 among the police on shore, and we waited with much 
 interest for the result. Meanwhile our boat was 
 moving forward, and while 4 the air was ringing with 
 the vociferations of the excited lictors, we passed the 
 village, and stood on our course. We soon entered 
 a beautiful pass formed by sparsely wooded hills, 
 which sloped down to the water's edge. A well- 
 beaten foot-path ran along the hills on the right, and 
 as there were houses or people in sight we could not 
 resist the temptation to take a run on the hills. For 
 the first time since entering China we now experienced 
 a sensation of relief from Chinese curiosity, and were 
 conscious of a kind of home feeling. To our mutual 
 surprise and amusement, we soon found ourselves 
 running and leaping over the hills, indulging in all 
 sorts of impromptu peripatetics and calisthenics. 
 
MOONLIGHT EAMBLE. 181 
 
 Toward nightfall we anchored near a sandy beach, 
 about five miles above the upper bridge. The valley 
 of the Min is here some ten miles wide, with alluvial 
 savannas stretching from both banks of the river, 
 away to the dark mountains, whose rugged outlines 
 are limned against the sky. Our anchorage was a 
 retired, quiet spot, the nearest village was a mile 
 distant from us, and after our evening repast we 
 landed for a moonlight stroll along the beach. I 
 shall not readily forget the scene or the emotions it 
 excited. At our feet lay the broad river, whose 
 waters had flowed directly from the interior of this 
 great and, to foreigners, almost unknown country; 
 around us were rice farms, fruit-orchards, groves, 
 villages, and the graves of those who 
 
 "Sleep the sleep that knows no waking;" 
 
 while, flashing out like brilliant stars through the 
 night air, we could discern the lights of Chinese 
 dwellings, within whose frail walls thousands of the 
 natives were now chatting over their evening meal, 
 totally unconscious that in such close proximity 
 to their ancient homesteads two strangers from 
 the western ocean were quietly rambling, to enjoy 
 their beautiful scenery, and the balmy air of their 
 eastern sky. 
 
 Before day-break next morning we resumed our 
 voyage, and throughout the day the general course 
 of the river, as we ascended, continued about from 
 southeast to northwest. Some six miles above our 
 last night's anchorage the mountains, becoming more 
 lofty and precipitous, again closed in upon the river. 
 
182 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 leaving only a narrow valley, varying from one to 
 five miles in width. The river banks are skirted 
 with orchards of the orange, olive, pumalo, pome- 
 granate, tallow, lichi, lunganj and other fruit trees, 
 interspersed with fields of luxuriant sugar-cane, and 
 copses of tasteful bamboo. Early in the forenoon our 
 attention was attracted by an object floating in the 
 water near the shore. Rapacious birds were hover- 
 ing around it, while one and another in rapid succes- 
 sion would alight on it and drive their beaks into it. 
 "We had heard of female infanticide among the Chi- 
 nese, but had never seen positive proof that they 
 were guilty of the horrible practice. The terrible 
 idea at once flashed upon our minds that the object 
 before us was the body of some cast-away infant, 
 which the birds were now tearing to pieces. I con- 
 fess to a sickening sensation as the dreadful truth 
 fastened on my mind. " What is that?" we inquired 
 of the boatmen, as we pointed to the object which 
 had arrested our attention. They shook their heads, 
 and for a while seemed unwilling to answer our ques- 
 tion, but finally answered : " A cast- away infant." The 
 birds slowly retired as we approached, and on coming 
 up to the object our worst fears were realized. There, 
 lashed to a small bundle of straw, were the mutilated 
 and loathsome remains of a tender infant. Half of the 
 face and one side with the entrails were eaten away, 
 but the rest of the body was perfect. " Let us bury it," 
 we involuntarily exclaimed ; and digging with our 
 hands and a few pieces of boards a deep hole in the 
 sand, we committed the disfigured corpse to the rest 
 and protection of the best grave we could then pro- 
 
SUGAE FACTORY. 183 
 
 vide for it. Out boatmen utterly refused to assist us. 
 They sat in the boat scarcely venturing to look at us 
 while engaged in our mournful task. Smoothing the 
 surface of the grave, and breathing a prayer for the 
 besotted inhabitants of this dark land, we turned 
 away from the spot with saddened hearts, and re- 
 sumed our voyage. During the forenoon we landed 
 for a walk along the shore. We passed through 
 fields and groves and villages, startling the people by 
 our unexpected appearance among them, and exciting 
 the wrath of troops of yelping curs, both " mongrel, 
 puppy, whelp, and hound," who kept the air ring- 
 ing with their protracted concerts of canine music. 
 
 We passed large fields of sugar-cane, and a little 
 below Min-ching we came to a sugar factory in active 
 operation. The building was a frail wooden struc- 
 ture, covered with thatch, and one story high. It 
 was surrounded with innumerable stacks of ripe cane 
 ready for the sugar-making process. The interior of 
 the building was occupied by the mill for bruising the 
 cane, the vats or reservoirs for the juice, the kettles 
 for boiling it, etc. The mill was quite similar to 
 those used in the United States for bruising apples in 
 the cider-making process. Bullocks were employed 
 in turning the mill, and the machinery, though simple 
 in conception and clumsy in construction, seemed 
 efficient in action. The press was constructed on the 
 lever principle in a most primitive stage of develop- 
 ment. The expressed juice is conveyed to vats sunk 
 in the earth, and then by successive processes of 
 filtrat^n and boiling is converted into sugar. The 
 factory we examined prepared only the coarser qua!- 
 
184 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 ities of sugar; but in other parts of the Fuh-kien 
 province there are extensive factories which produce 
 white sugar, loaf sugar, and a rock candy, which is a 
 superior article of sugar. Bidding good-by to the 
 workmen, who had kindly allowed us to watch their 
 operations, we passed through some villages and 
 climbed some beautiful hills, followed by a few ener- 
 getic boys, who observed our proceedings with great 
 interest. Descending the slope of the last hill, we 
 unexpectedly found ourselves on the outskirts of a 
 large village called Min-cMng, where there is a resi- 
 dent government officer. It had been our wish and 
 purpose to approach this place as quietly as possible, 
 hoping in this way to pass without being noticed from 
 the shore ; but our forenoon ramble completely spoiled 
 this arrangement. Our appearance in the villages 
 and on the hills along the river had been heralded 
 far and wide, so that when we approached Min-ching 
 we met the entire population pouring out to\see us. 
 It was too late to undo the mischief, and all we could 
 now hope for was to escape from the gathering crowds 
 by stepping quickly into our boat and pulling out 
 into the stream. 
 
 " You have spoiled everything," said our boatmen 
 despondingly as the boat moved away from the 
 shore ; and we felt sure our voyage would terminate 
 at this point. The people were evidently excited, 
 crowds gathered on the bank of the river to look at 
 us, and the activity • of the police, discernible by 
 their costume, showed us that the mandarin was 
 aware of our approach. The crowds beckon^, and 
 called to our boatmen to stop, but no attention was 
 
OBEY ORDERS. 185 
 
 paid to them ; and as we received no official intima- 
 tion to suspend our voyage, we kept on our course, 
 and began to flatter ourselves that possibly we might 
 still be allowed to go forward. We were now right 
 abreast of the mandarin's office, when whirr, boom, 
 slang, bang, went the drums and gongs, and hundreds 
 of hands were vibrating most rapidly in the air, beck- 
 oning to the shore. 
 
 "What shall we do?" inquired the boatmen. 
 
 " Obey orders," we replied. 
 
 As we approached the shore we observed an official 
 personage moving down to meet us. Directing our 
 men to answer truthfully all official inquiries, we 
 supplied ourselves with some of our Christian books 
 and tracts, and, retaining our position on the forward 
 deck of the boat, awaited the issue. As we drew up 
 to the landing the crowd subsided into a state of 
 quiet expectancy, and the official personage, to whom 
 we have already referred, stepped forward with be- 
 coming dignity and grace to interrogate us. The 
 bank was somewhat steep, the soil was rather moist, 
 and just as his excellency was about taking his final 
 position preparatory to commencing his oration, an 
 unfortunate misstep precipitated his entire length 
 into the mud. The collapse was terrible, and a roar 
 of laughter burst from the crowd. Unabashed by 
 the untoward accident, the plucky officer was 
 instantly on his feet again, and sternly commanding 
 silence, while the attending lictors cleaned the mud 
 from his soiled robes, he proceeded to catechize our 
 boatmen : 
 
 " Where are yon from ?" was the first inquiry. 
 
186 TEIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 "From Fuhchau," replied our boatmen, with an 
 unusual degree of assurance. 
 
 " Where are you going ?" 
 
 "Tip the river, to distribute books. These are 
 foreign teachers, and it is their custom to travel 
 through the country, talking to the people and dis- 
 tributing books." 
 
 At this point we interjected a few words explana- 
 tory of our character and operations. 
 ( " How long will you be gone ?" inquired the officer, 
 evidently disposed to. favor our enterprise. "We gave 
 him all the desired information, and he promptly 
 responded : " Very well, continue your trip, and re- 
 port yourselves here on your return." 
 
 Delighted with this unexpected issue of the affair, 
 and anxious to avail ourselves of so good an oppor- 
 tunity to commend the Gospel to one in authority, 
 we ventured a few remarks about the doctrines of 
 Jesus, and begged his honor to accept some of our 
 books. He received them with studied propriety of 
 manner, and then, desiring to make us some present 
 in return, he took some oranges out of a man's 
 basket near at hand and handed them to us. 
 
 " Those oranges are mine ! those oranges are mine !" 
 vociferated a rough-looking customer, rushing forward 
 to rescue his property. 
 
 "Silence! silence!" shouted the lictors, flourish- 
 ing their whips, and arresting the progress of the 
 excited proprietor of the oranges. But the man 
 refused to be satisfied. 
 
 " The oranges are mine !" he continued to vocifer- 
 ate, while his supple, eel-like gyrations of body 
 
MANDAEIN AND EUSTIC. 187 
 
 seemed to defy the combined manipulations of the 
 police. 
 
 Thinking to settle the dispute, we proposed to 
 return the oranges ; but this plan of compromise was 
 totally inadmissible. 
 
 " Silence ! silence !" shouted the lictors for the 
 thousandth time, " the officer will pay you for your 
 oranges." 
 
 "Pay me now! pay me now!" screamed the 
 shrewd rustic, well knowing that instant payment 
 was his only hope. Scores of dirty hands forthwith 
 plunged into scores of dirtier pockets, and after an 
 energetic search among tobacco-boxes and other 
 etceteras of a Chinaman's pockets, the combined pro- 
 ceeds of the operation, amounting to a few tens of 
 most villanous looking cash, were handed over to the 
 man for his fruit. Thankful for our unexpected 
 deliverance we resumed our trip, amused and 
 instructed by the scene we had just witnessed. 
 
 During the remainder of the day we continued 
 slowly to ascend the river, occasionally landing for a 
 short walk on shore. The scenery becomes more 
 impressive and grand as we advance, and the chan- 
 nel of the river gradually contracts, the water gener- 
 ally flowing with a strong current over a pebbly or 
 rocky bottom. The valley of the river becomes nar- 
 row and circuitous, though the general direction as 
 we ascend continues to be about northwest. The 
 villages to-day are smaller and less numerous, and 
 the population more sparse than yesterday. The 
 people, though intensely anxious to examine our 
 persons and clothes, behaved with great propriety, 
 
188 TEIP INTO THE COUNTKY. 
 
 and treated us courteously. Our books were eagerly 
 received, and a good degree of attention was paid to 
 our statements concerning the doctrines of the 
 Gospel. Walking along the shore toward sunset, we 
 entered a most quiet and beautiful place. It was a 
 small cove or recess, extending back from the river 
 to the massive rocks forming the base of the mount- 
 ain, whose summit rose, with a rapid ascent, to an 
 elevation of perhaps fifteen hundred feet. A luxu- 
 riant growth of fruit trees throws a dim religious light 
 over this Arcadian scene. The overspreading foliage 
 forms beautiful arbors, and the upright trunks, ar- 
 ranged in parallel lines, seem to constitute long-drawn 
 aisles in this stupendous and unique forest-temple. 
 Coming abruptly round a rocky point, we found our- 
 selves entering this almost enchanted spot, and im- 
 pressed, awed by the solemnity of the scene, we 
 instinctively removed our hats and stood bareheaded, 
 and for some moments silent, beneath the boughs 
 of tbfose stately trees. Tears have passed away since 
 that hour, and yet the memory of that scene is as 
 vivid and fresh as though it were but a day since I 
 looked upon it. Beckoning to our boatmen to wait 
 for us, we retired to the side of a high rock, and 
 there reverently kneeling together we united in 
 humble, fervent prayer. Eising from our knees, we 
 paced for some minutes the aisles of this natural 
 temple, and conversed of that glorious period when 
 China, clothed and in her right mind, shall be found 
 sitting at the feet of Jesus. Shortly after nightfall 
 we anchored, unobserved, close under a high cliff 
 that overhung the river. Our situation as we lay 
 
SUNRISE AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. 189 
 
 there, in the deepening shades of evening, on the 
 waters of that strange river, and in close proximity 
 to a constant stream of native boats passing up and 
 down, was well calculated to impress the mind and 
 excite the emotions. "Weary as we were from the 
 exertions and excitement of the day, it was well on 
 toward midnight before we conld compose ourselves 
 to sleep. 
 
 Sunrise next morning disclosed to us a scene of 
 rare beauty and splendor. Our boat lay in a bight 
 of the river, which presented the appearance of a 
 mountain lake. The shores were fringed with beau- 
 tiful foliage; beyond, the mountain acclivities were 
 adorned with fruit-orchards and pretty cottages, while 
 upward and away rise successive ranges of grand old 
 mountains. The effect of the sun's first rays on those 
 dizzy peaks was singularly pleasing, as point after 
 point received the golden light and, beaconlike, 
 flashed up into the morning sky. We thought of 
 Coleridge's "Hymn to the Sun" in the Yale of 
 Chamouny, and could readily conceive the effect of 
 that magnificent Alpine scenery on his exuberant 
 imagination. 
 
 We continued to ascend the river during this, the 
 third day of our trip. The prominent features of. the 
 scenery are similar to those described yesterday. 
 Some of the mountains rise at least three 'thousand 
 feet above the level of the river. The villages are 
 small, and seem to rest on a very precarious founda- 
 tion, perched on the precipitous sides of the mount- 
 ains. As the population was apparently sparse, we 
 walked for hours on the shore and were courteously 
 
190 TEIP INTO THE COUNTKY. 
 
 treated by the people. Our boatmen', however, began 
 to grow timid and suspicious as we advanced. Their 
 excited imaginations filled every hamlet with thieves 
 and outlaws, and transformed every pass or defile on 
 the river into rendezvous for bloodthirsty pirates. 
 Early in the afternoon we came in sight of Sui Keu, 
 a town built at the foot of the rapids, about sixty 
 miles from Fuhchau. At this place there is a gov- 
 ernment officer, and all boats are closely examined. 
 Having now ascended the river farther than we dared 
 to anticipate at the commencement of our trip, and 
 not having supplies for an extension of our excur- 
 sion, we decided to terminate our upward voyage at 
 this point. 
 
 While making arrangements for descending the 
 river, our attention was directed to a very high 
 mountain on the left bank, and we determined to 
 climb to its summit in order to obtain a view of the 
 surrounding country. An unexpected difficulty met 
 us at. the outset and well-nigh defeated the enterprise. 
 ISTo one was able or willing to give us any assistance 
 in ascending the mountain. The Chinese declared 
 there was no path in that direction, and when we 
 urged them to act as our guides they stared at us in 
 blank amazement and shook their heads. 
 
 " Why we have never been there !" they exclaimed ; 
 " nobody dares to ascend that peak, and no amount 
 of money could induce us to attempt it." 
 
 Our prospect seemed sufficiently discouraging, but 
 we resolved to start alone and go as far as we could. 
 Noticing a wood-cutter's path leading in the desired 
 direction, we at once struck into it and commenced 
 
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN. 191 
 
 the ascent. Our task was more difficult than we had 
 expected. The path was both steep and slippery, 
 and at times it seemed almost impossible for us to 
 advance. Still we pressed forward, and after- half 
 an hour's exertion found ourselves on the summit of 
 the first spur of the mountain. Here our path left 
 us, turning quite away from our course. While de- 
 liberating as to our farther advance, the sound of a 
 woodman's ax fell on our ear, and off we started in 
 that direction to seek for a guide, or at least for in- 
 formation. Making our way over rocks and through 
 a dense, tangled undergrowth, we finally came upon 
 the wood-choppers. The first one we came to was an 
 old man, and it would be utterly impossible to de- 
 scribe the look of wild amazement with which he 
 gazed at us as we came splurging through the fern 
 and bushes. There he stood with uplifted ax, ap- 
 parently unable to move or speak. We addressed 
 him with the usual Chinese compliments, and pro- 
 ceeded to state the occasion of our abrupt appearance 
 in such a place. 
 
 " Why, you speak our language !" was the first ex- 
 clamation that burst from his lips. 
 
 " Yes," we replied, " we have been studying it for 
 a year." 
 
 " And where are you from ?" he continued, looking 
 as though he fancied we must have dropped from the 
 clouds. 
 
 " From Fuhchau," we replied. 
 
 " Come ! come !" he shouted to one of his com- 
 panions at a little distance from him ; " come quickly 
 and see the foreigners !" 
 
192 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 " Will you not show us the way to the top of the 
 mountain ?" we inquired. 
 
 "Never was there in my life," he replied; and 
 neither persuasion nor money could induce him or 
 his companion to go with us. We then determined 
 to make another effort with our own resources. 
 " Aim for the clearing directly ahead, and avoid the 
 precipice on the left," were the parting words of the 
 wood-choppers as we left them to resume our ascent. 
 Emerging from the forest, we came to the clearing 
 referred to, and then proceeded in a direct line to- 
 ward the summit. Our course brought us along the 
 edge of precipices, and over sharp peaks where the 
 head would grow dizzy, and I was compelled, in 
 self-defense, to shut my eyes and feel my way along 
 in the wake of my stronger nerved friend. After an 
 hour's exhausting labor we reached the summit, and 
 never shall I forget the scene that there opened before 
 us. ' Far as the eye could sweep in all directions it 
 resembled the pictures of an Arctic sea, with mount- 
 ains like icebergs swelling or splintering up every- 
 where. The clouds were floating round us, and just 
 to the south of us there stood a majestic mountain 
 whose sides at our altitude were wrapt in clouds, and 
 whose summit, bathed in a soft sunlight, seemed to be 
 nearly as far above us as we were above the river 
 which flowed at our feet. Descending the mountain, 
 we commenced our return trip, and next day arrived 
 safely at Fuhchau. 
 
 
NATIVE LECTURERS. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 The first and great effort of the missionary, on 
 reaching his field of labor in China is to acquire, as 
 rapidly and perfectly as possible, the power to com- 
 municate orally with the people. The possession of 
 this power places him at once on high vantage 
 ground with reference to the native population. It 
 goes far toward shielding him from the impositions 
 which natives are so ready to practice upon foreign- 
 ers, gives him free access to the people, and invests 
 him with a prestige and influence which prove inval- 
 uable to him in the prosecution of his work. The 
 Chinese are fond of listening to public discourse. 
 One everywhere meets with restaurants, in connection 
 with which you almost invariably find the public 
 audience room, where the lecturer holds forth to the 
 people on topics of popular interest. This custom 
 supplied at once the precedent and type for the 
 Christian congregation and pulpit, and we proceeded 
 immediately to avail ourselves of the suggestion. 
 Our first chapels were ordinary Chinese houses, 
 which, by a little scrubbing, painting, joinery, and 
 efforts at improved lighting and ventilation, were, 
 after a fashion, adapted to our purposes. 
 
 13 
 
194 PEEACHING AND CHUECHES. 
 
 Soon after its organization in 1847, the mission 
 recommended to the Board of Managers at New 
 York the erection of a substantial church edifice in 
 Fuhchau. The board cordially approved the sug- 
 gestion, and the Methodist Churches of New York, 
 Brooklyn, and Williamsburgh generously contributed 
 the sum of five thousand dollars for the accomplish- 
 ment of the desired object. The mission succeeded 
 in purchasing a plat of land on one of the chief 
 thoroughfares of the city outside the walls, and there, 
 toward the close of 1855, began to lay the foundations 
 of a solid Christian church building. The erection 
 of this structure constitutes an era in the history of 
 the mission. The event convinced the Chinese that 
 we expected to remain permanently in Fuhchau, that 
 we believed the Gospel would triumph over all oppo- 
 sition in that city, and that consequently the men- 
 dacious slanders of their ofiicers against us, to the 
 effect that we were to be tolerated at Fuhchau only 
 for a brief period, and that the Gospel could never 
 enter China, were utterly without foundation. The 
 blessing of God was promptly vouchsafed to the en- 
 terprise ; for scarcely had we completed this edifice 
 of brick and stone, when the Holy Spirit began to 
 furnish " living stones " for the spiritual temple of the 
 Almighty in Fuhchau. The accompanying drawing 
 will give some idea of this interesting building. 
 
 The position of this church is admirable. It stands 
 on the main street leading to the south gate of the 
 city. Within a few steps of it is a very large tea- 
 pavilion, or restaurant, where travelers stop for re- 
 freshment. On one side of the church, distant per- 
 
IONGTAU CHURCH. 197 
 
 haps three quarters of a mile, lies the city within the 
 wall, containing a population of about four hundred 
 thousand. On the other side of the church, and at 
 about the same distance, lies the immense southern 
 suburb of the city, stretching to and beyond the 
 river, and containing a population of about three 
 hundred thousand. The only direct communication 
 between this vast suburb and the city within the wall, 
 is by the street which passes in front of our church. 
 From morning till night this street is thronged with 
 people, and by simply opening our church doors we 
 can usually obtain a congregation at any hour of 
 the day. 
 
 The building is of a very substantial character. 
 The foundation is of stone, and is raised live feet, to 
 avoid the annual flood that submerges the greater 
 part of Fuhchau. Upon this solid foundation the 
 edifice rests. It measures thirty-eight feet wide 
 by seventy-six deep, and has twenty feet between 
 the floor and the ceiling. The building contains a 
 vestibule, measuring ten feet deep by thirty-four 
 wide, in the clear ; an audience-room, forty-seven feet 
 by thirty-four, with twenty feet height of ceiling; 
 and (back of the audience-room) four rooms, two 
 on the lower floor, measuring respectively twenty- 
 one feet by twelve, and thirteen feet by twelve; 
 and two on the second floor of similar dimensions. 
 The ceiling of the lower rooms is twelve feet high, 
 and of the upper rooms it is ten feet high. The walls 
 are of brick, the outer walls being two feet thick, 
 the inner one eighteen inches. The side and rear 
 walls are built of common brick, and plastered white 
 
198 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 inside and gray outside. The front is built with 
 handsome red brick, neatly painted and whitelined. 
 Each side of the building has six high windows, meas- 
 uring in the clear ten feet by four feet four inches. 
 Of these windows two open into the vestibule, (one 
 on each side,) eight open into the audience-room, 
 (four on each side,) and two open into the rear lower 
 rooms. The upper rooms are lighted by two smaller 
 windows in the sides, directly over the large ones in 
 the lower rooms, and by two windows in the rear of 
 the building. 
 
 The front of the building presents an imposing ap- 
 pearance. As the floor of the church is five feet 
 above the street, it was necessary for us to provide a 
 flight of steps for entering the church, and thus the 
 front wall of the building was placed back eight feet 
 from the street, making a pretty court between the 
 street and tjie church. In order to make the street 
 front as wide as possible, we built on each side, from 
 the corner of the church front to the street, a wall 
 flaring outward six feet, thus making the street front 
 fifty feet, whereas the church front is only thirty-eight 
 feet wide. For the present we have put up a neat 
 wooden railing, ten feet high, on the street front, in 
 the middle of which is a gateway eight feet wide, op- 
 posite to the flight of steps by which you ascend to 
 the entrance of the church. This little court we have 
 sodded on each side of the stone steps, and its green- 
 sward adds much to the beauty of the building. 
 
 There is only one opening in the front wall of 
 the church. This is the door-way, measuring eight 
 feet wide and eleven high. The door-jams flare out- 
 
DESCRIPTION OF CHURCH. 199 
 
 ward, and are faced by a pilaster on each side. On 
 these two pilasters rests a pretty wooden facade or 
 entablature, spanning the door-way, and painted 
 white. On each side of this door- way are two large 
 pilasters rising from the stone foundation and reach- 
 ing an elevation of twenty feet. These four pilasters 
 also are built of the red brick which compose the 
 entire front surface of the wall ; they project about 
 two inches from the wall, and measure three and a 
 half feet at the base. The brick work rises only to 
 the top of the pilasters ; above this point there is a 
 wooden facade or entablature similar in design (but 
 of course on a larger scale) to the one over the door- 
 way. It also is painted white. This facade conceals 
 the gable of the roof, and rises a foot above the comb 
 of the roof. A pretty cupola, about thirteen feet 
 high, rises from the front part of the roof, and in it 
 we have placed our bell, which was cast to our order 
 in the city of Fuhchau. The bell is suspended 
 from the ceiling of the cupola, and is rung by pull- 
 ing quickly against the outer rim a wooden billet 
 suspended by ropes. The bell weighs three hundred 
 and thirty-three and a half pounds, and, with the 
 hangings, cost twenty-four and a half dollars. The 
 tone of the bell is soft and pleasing. The sound, 
 however, is not loud, and it cannot be heard beyond 
 a very limited circle. 
 
 The audience room is neatly fitted up with pulpit, 
 altar, and seats, and will contain about three hund- 
 red persons at one time. The seats and the entire 
 interior woodwork of the building are of a mahog- 
 any color ; the exterior woodwork, except the cupola 
 
200 PEEACHING AND CHUECHES. 
 
 and part of the front, is of the same color. There 
 are two aisles, each three and a half feet wide, and 
 communicating with the vestibule by two doors each 
 four feet four inches wide by nine feet high. The 
 vestibule is paved with stone, the audience-room is 
 floored with plank two inches thick, and the rear 
 rooms with plank one and a half inch thick. 
 
 The accompanying drawing presents the interior 
 of the church at Iongtau. 
 
 We have named the church " Ching Sing Tong," 
 that is, "Church of the True God." A tablet of 
 handsome porphyry, four by one and a half feet, 
 is inserted perpendicularly in the wall, just over the 
 front door-way, and on it are carved the three 
 Chinese characters representing the name of the 
 church. The letters are gilded, and being large 
 they present a fine appearance, and are read 
 daily by thousands of Chinese who pass along the 
 street. 
 
 The entire cost of the church, including price of 
 land, four hundred dollars, and cost of walling it in, 
 two hundred and eighty dollars, is under two thou- 
 sand six hundred dollars. 
 
 The church was dedicated on Sunday, August 3, 
 1856, the exercises commencing about a quarter past 
 nine o'clock A. M. The church was filled with an 
 orderly and attentive congregation of Chinese. All 
 the teachers, scholars, and servants connected with 
 the three missions in this city were present. We 
 were also favored with the presence of Revs. C. C. 
 Baldwin, J. Doolittle, and C. Hartwell, of the Amer- 
 ican Board Mission: and of Rev. Mr. M'Caw and 
 
Interior of the Church at longtau. 
 
PEEACHING. 203 
 
 Bev. Mr. Fearnley of the Church of England Mis- 
 sion. We were also gratified to notice several mem- 
 bers of the foreign mercantile community present on 
 the occasion. 
 
 In the chapel at Iongtau the congregations are 
 of a floating, miscellaneous character. The doors of 
 the chapel are thrown open as an invitation to come 
 in, and generally the room is soon filled with people. 
 The smith comes from his anvil, the tradesman from 
 his shop, the cake-vender enters boldly with his tray 
 on his head, the rustic marches up the aisle with his 
 poultry on his shoulders, the cooly lays down his bur- 
 den at the door, and all take their positions, either 
 sitting or standing, to hear what the foreigner has 
 to say. 
 
 The preacher commences, and perhaps his first 
 sentence elicits from some one of his auditors a rather 
 loudly expressed approval or dissent. Disregarding, 
 or, perhaps, hurriedly chiding the objector, the 
 speaker goes on with his remarks. Presently one or 
 more spring to their feet and move to another part 
 of the chapel, or, muttering some words, (usually not 
 very complimentary to the speaker,) retire from the 
 congregation. While this winnowing process is go- 
 ing on the preacher continues his discourse, and 
 sometimes is gratified to observe that a goodly num- 
 ber are sitting quietly and listening attentively to 
 what he is saying. Encouraged by this attention, the 
 preacher grows more anxious to impart to them a 
 knowledge of "the truth as it is in Jesus;" his enun- 
 ciation, at first faltering, becomes more distinct and 
 confident, his manner waxes more earnest, one and 
 
204 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 another of his restless auditors become quiet, the 
 idlers about the door gradually draw toward the pul- 
 pit, and, amid general stillness and attention on the 
 part of the congregation, the preacher closes his dis- 
 course, feeling in his heart that it is blessed to sow 
 beside even these waters; and that "he that goeth 
 forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
 doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his 
 sheaves with him." 
 
 Dr. Went worth writes : " It is exceedingly trying 
 to be in the midst of a heathen people, and see them 
 going on in the practice of all manner of supersti- 
 tions, without being able to tell them fully the folly 
 of their courses. If we begin, the newly acquired 
 words and accents halt and falter upon our foreign 
 tongues, and provoke derision rather than produce 
 conviction or turn attention to the truth. At our 
 August mission meeting we resolved to keep our 
 chapels open every day, and, ' preach or no preach,' 
 to g© to the pulpits, and from thence distribute books 
 and make the best effort we could to talk to the peo- 
 ple of ' Jesus and the resurrection.' In accordance 
 with this resolve I repaired, on the afternoon of the 
 first of September, to our little wayside synagogue at 
 Chong Seng, with something like the trepidation I 
 used to feel in approaching a school-house congrega- 
 tion in the days of my exhortership. The door was 
 shut and the sexton ' gone to dinner.' I placed my 
 back against the outer gates of the chapel, and a 
 crowd instantly gathered, choking up the narrow 
 street and impeding all passage. ' Are you going to 
 preach V ' Are you going to preach V was the cry 
 
FIEST CHINESE SERMON. 205 
 
 from all quarters. ' Not much ; I do not understand 
 enough of the language to make a regular sermon.' 
 And then followed the usual shower of questions sug- 
 gested by the curiosity and allowed by the imperti- 
 nent and tiresome courtesy of this inquisitive people : 
 'How old are you?' 'How long have you been 
 here V ' Where do you live V ' Are you American or 
 English V ' Do you come here to buy tea V and the 
 like. 
 
 "One offered me fruit; another, tobacco and a 
 a pipe; another, a couple of papers of the vile 
 betel-nut to chew; another, a stool to sit upon; 
 another, to break open the door; another, to go 
 for the sexton There was no end to their kind- 
 ness. Among others a young man living near 
 our new church paused to ask me if I 'had 
 been to dinner,' the Chinese 'How do you do?' I 
 told him I was glad to see him so decently dressed 
 and looking so well. The last time I saw him, some 
 weeks since, his clothes hung about him in filthy and 
 disgusting tatters, and his countenance wore the 
 ghastly hue and expression of the confirmed opium- 
 smoker. He replied : ' I had no money ; I dress well 
 when I can get the means.' I told him I fancied he 
 smoked opium and was idle. The crowd said, ' Yes, 
 he smokes opium, and is idle.' He denied it vigor- 
 ously. I told him if he worked he would get means, 
 and if he had means he could clothe himself well, if 
 he did not squander his earnings in a fatal indul- 
 gence. This was my first sermon in Chinese. My 
 auditor bade me ' sit quietly,' the Chinese ' good-by,' 
 (I was standing withal,) and went his way. 
 
206 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 Gratified and encouraged by the successful comple- 
 tion of our church edifice at Iongtau, the mission 
 next proceeded to purchase an eligible site for a 
 church in the ward in which the majority of our 
 houses are situated, the situation being just in front 
 of the lot I occupy. When we purchased this lot it 
 was not our intention to proceed at once to erect 
 upon it a church edifice, though we all felt the im- 
 portance of having such a building at the earliest pos- 
 sible date. In conversation, however, with some of 
 the foreign residents at this port, it was proposed that 
 our mission erect on this lot a church edifice con- 
 taining two audience rooms, one being for Chinese, 
 the other for English worship. In view of the in- 
 creasing foreign community in this city, it was felt to 
 be important to provide at once a place for public re- 
 ligious worship in the English language, and our 
 mercantile friends offered to place at the service of 
 our mission one thousand dollars to aid in erecting 
 the building. Under these circumstances we decided 
 to erect the church, availing ourselves of the sub- 
 scription tendered to us by the foreign community in 
 Euhchau, which in the end amounted to the hand- 
 some sum of thirteen hundred dollars. 
 
 The Chinese portion of this church edifice in the 
 Tienang (that is, Heavenly-rest) ward, was dedi- 
 cated to the worship and service of God on Sunday, 
 October 18, 1856. The Kev. Messrs. Peet, Doo- 
 little, and Hartwell, of the American Board Mission 
 in this city, united with us in conducting the serv- 
 ices. The building is a neat and substantial struc- 
 
English and Chinese Church at Tienang. 
 
TIENANG CHURCH. 209 
 
 ture of brick, resting on a stone foundation. The 
 outer face of the walls is of red brick, lined with 
 white. A very pretty wooden finish, painted white, 
 runs round the entire building, underneath the 
 eaves of the roof, and imparts to it a fine ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 The interior of the audience-room is twenty-five 
 feet by thirty-four, height of ceiling twenty feet. A 
 vestibule eight feet deep extends across the front 
 of the building, faced by four wooden columns, fluted 
 and painted white. The windows are ten feet high 
 by four and a half wide. 
 
 The pulpit, altar, and seats are of hard wood, var- 
 nished. An aisle three feet wide passes up the 
 middle of the audience-room. The building stands 
 immediately in front of the premises I occupy, and 
 abuts on our new road leading from the street to the 
 foreign residences on the hill. The situation is quiet 
 and accessible. 
 
 We regard this as our normal church. In it we 
 conduct public religious worship in a formal manner, 
 thus furnishing to this people at once a model for 
 worship, and an answer to their ever-iterated inter- 
 rogatory, " How do you worship Jesus ?" We hold 
 public religious service in this church every Sunday 
 morning at nine o'clock, and we hope to be able, be- 
 fore a great while, to have two services in it on 
 Sunday. 
 
 On Sunday, the 28th'of December, 1856, we dedi- 
 cated the English portion of our Tienang church 
 edifice. The services on the occasion were conducted 
 by the Eev. Dr. Wentworth, who delivered, from 
 
 14 
 
210 PKEACHING- AND CHUKCHES. 
 
 1 Kings ix, 3, a most appropriate and able discourse 
 to a highly gratified audience. This church is de- 
 signed for public worship in the English language. 
 The foreign community here have very generously 
 aided in its erection, and we devoutly pray that 
 it may prove to be a perpetual blessing to them. 
 It is the first Christian church ever erected in this 
 ancient city for the worship of God in the English 
 language. It , is opened twice every Sunday for 
 public worship, and we transferred to it the En- 
 glish Sunday service we had hitherto held in private 
 houses. 
 
 We cannot be sufficiently grateful to God for 
 bringing us into the possession of these beautiful 
 churches. It would be difficult, indeed, to exagger- 
 ate the importance of these sacred edifices in con- 
 nection with our work. The church at Iongtau 
 fully meets our expectations, and we believe that the 
 Tienang church also will be an invaluable acquisition 
 to our mission. For myself, I cannot express the 
 solid satisfaction these churches afford me. After 
 years of desultory and wearing toil in the alleys, dark 
 rooms, waysides, and places of public resort in this 
 city, I feel it a glorious privilege now to stand up in 
 these noble buildings, and tell to these erring heathen 
 the story of the cross. I feel, indeed, as if our mis- 
 sion had only commenced efficiently to deliver its 
 message to this people. Not that I believe we, as a 
 mission, have been derelict as to our duty in the 
 past. I am satisfied that, according to our ability 
 and opportunities, we have from the first borne a 
 faithful and unfaltering testimony against the sins of 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH. 211 
 
 this people. But when I compare our past disadvan- 
 tages with our present facilities for making known 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, I cannot repress the jubi- 
 lant feelings excited by the contrast. I fancy at 
 times that the light, the long expected, blessed light, 
 is now breaking upon this dark land. I find my 
 heart thrilling with emotions which indicate victory 
 rather than stern, protracted conflict. I am not sin- 
 gular in this experience; it is participated in by 
 every member of the mission. We all breathe more 
 freely, and tread with a firmer step to the solemn 
 music of our life-labor, as we look on these sacred 
 structures. 
 
 The annual report for 1857 says : " We continue 
 to make the public preaching of the Gospel our dis- 
 tinguishing work ; and in this department of our 
 labors we have derived incalculable advantage and 
 comfort from the noble church edifices which the 
 liberality of the friends of missions at home enabled 
 us to erect the previous year. Our congregations in 
 them have been uniformly orderly and respectful. 
 Not one instance of disorderly conduct has occurred 
 in these congregations during the year. We note 
 this fact as furnishing ground for great encourage- 
 ment. What people are induced to respect, we may 
 suppose they will finally imitate ; and we are con- 
 vinced that these orderly religious exercises are doing 
 much to prepare the way for the general introduction 
 of Christianity in Fuhchau. The seed, we- believe, 
 is now falling into good soil, and we are earnestly 
 praying and looking for the glorious harvest. We 
 have three public services every Sunday in these 
 
212 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 churches, and generally two other services during 
 the week." 
 
 On Sunday, July 14, 1857, we baptized our first 
 convert in connection with our mission. The con- 
 vert's name is Ting Ang. He was forty-seven years 
 of age, and had a wife and five children. His home 
 was within a few minutes' walk of the viceroy's 
 palace in the city of Fuhchau. He stated that 
 about two years before his conversion he began 
 to drop in at our Iongtau chapel to hear what the 
 foreigner had to say. This happened as he was 
 passing in and out of the city on business, and it 
 seems that he was interested in what he heard. He 
 obtained some of our books, and perused them. Sub- 
 sequently he began to call in at our boys' day-school 
 in the ward where we live, and not long afterward 
 the teacher of the boys' school brought him to our 
 Sunday morning service in the Tienang church. 
 This was our first acquaintance with the man, and 
 we at once invited him to attend the weekly inquiry 
 meeting which we had just established on Friday 
 afternoon. He continued to attend the inquiry 
 meeting, and we were much pleased with his de- 
 portment. He was not familiar with the written 
 character, and could not read very well, but he at 
 once commenced the Commandments and Apostles' 
 Creed, and soon he was able to read and explain 
 them quite correctly. "We instructed him carefully 
 in the doctrines of Christianity, and he expressed his 
 fixed purpose to live according to its principles. He 
 commenced private and family prayer, and frequently 
 spoke of the delight he felt in the service of God. 
 
OUR FIRST COVERT. 213 
 
 One day Brother Gibson and I called to see him at 
 his honse. Our visit was unexpected to him, but he 
 received us very cordially. On entering the house 
 we were pleased to notice on the table a number of 
 Christian books, which, it was evident, he had been 
 reading. We looked in vain for any traces of idol- 
 atry, and we felt thankful that from at least one house 
 in this city the idols had been cast out. Some six 
 weeks before our visit the man had brought out and 
 given to us all his household gods, and one object of 
 the present call was to ascertain whether he had 
 really cast away his idols. Our examination fully 
 satisfied Brother Gibson and myself on this point. 
 We conversed with his family, and found that they 
 understood and approved of the course he intended 
 to pursue. After conversing some time I read a part 
 of the fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, and prayed 
 with them. It was not without emotion that I thus 
 offered prayer, for the first time, in a Chinese house 
 within the walls of this proud city, and that, too, 
 almost under the shadow of the viceroy's palace. 
 The man continued to attend our meeting, gave us 
 every evidence of a sincere determination to lead a 
 Christian life, and after a rigid examination our mis- 
 sion decided that he was, in our judgment, a proper 
 subject for baptism. The ordinance was administered 
 in the Tienang church, in the presence of the con- 
 gregation, at the afternoon service. After suitable 
 introductory remarks, explanatory of the nature both 
 of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, the candidate was 
 requested to stand Up and repeat, in an audible voice, 
 the Commandments and Baptismal Covenant. I then 
 
214 PKEACHING AND CHUKCHES. 
 
 explained them, sentence by sentence, the candidate 
 audibly expressing his cordial belief in them, and 
 his determination faithfully to keep and obey them. 
 I then proceed to baptize him, sprinkling the water 
 on his head while he kneeled at the altar. After his 
 baptism he united in the celebration of the Lord's 
 Supper with the members of our mission, and the 
 Rev. Mr. M'Caw, of the Church of England mission, 
 who was present on the occasion. 
 
 Since his baptism the convert has given us great 
 satisfaction by his meek, confiding spirit, and his 
 consistent conduct. We cannot but feel that his 
 heart has been changed by the Holy Spirit, and that 
 he is indeed a new creature. We would earnestly 
 solicit for this our Chinese brother an interest in the 
 prayers of God's people. 
 
 On the 18th of October, 1857, the wife of Brother 
 Ting Ang and two of their younger children were ad- 
 mitted to the ordinance of baptism. About the same 
 time Brother Ting Tag ICo, the Fuhchau youth whom 
 the Rev. Mr. Colder took to America and educated for 
 some years, returned to Fuhchau, and having pre- 
 sented his certificate of church-membership, given 
 him by Mr. Colder, we judged it proper to receive 
 him, and he accordingly became a member of our 
 infant Church. The annual report of the Mission for 
 1858 states: 
 
 "We would refer with profound gratitude to the 
 outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this people which 
 we have witnessed in connection with our labors 
 during the past year. Since the date of our last 
 annual report we have baptized thirteen adults and 
 
CONVERTS. 215 
 
 three infants. All the adults remain with us in 
 Church fellowship, and give encouraging evidence 
 that they have indeed become the children of God 
 through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. On the 
 seventh of August, 1858, we organized our first class 
 of Chinese converts in this city. The class is attached 
 to the Iongtau appointment, and now has fifteen 
 members. Rev. Otis Gibson takes charge of the 
 class for the present, with Brother Hu Po Mi as 
 assistant leader. Three stewards were appointed, of 
 whom two are Chinese. Arrangements were made 
 for class-meetings, quarterly meetings, monthly col- 
 lections for the poor, and quarterly collections for the 
 support of the Gospel. A Sunday-school was organ- 
 ized for the children of Church members and others. 
 The school is conducted by our native members, and 
 at the present time contains seven pupils. 
 
 "Brief notices of some of our converts may per- 
 haps be interesting to the friends of the China mis- 
 sion. I note them in the order of baptism : 
 
 " 1. Hu Po Mi, aged 31. He has a good common 
 education, is a soldier by profession, has taken the 
 lowest military degree, and is entitled to hold office 
 in the army. Baptized January 17, 1858, he has 
 given us much satisfaction by his humility, zeal, 
 courage, and desire for a thorough knowledge of the 
 Bible. He is a fluent speaker, and has rendered us 
 efficient aid in the public preaching of the Gospel. 
 His wife also has been baptized and received into the 
 Church. 
 
 " 2. Ngu Teng Hai, aged 37. He is a scribe by 
 profession, and has been connected with missionaries 
 
216 PKEACHING AND CHUKCHES. 
 
 three or four years. His education is respectable, 
 and he possesses some ability as a public speaker. 
 He was baptized March 21, 1858, and renders us 
 important help in public preaching. His mother, 
 aged sixty-nine years, has also been baptized and 
 received into the Church. 
 
 " 3. Wong Cheng Kuong, aged 50. He is a com- 
 mon day laborer, but has sufficient knowledge of the 
 written character to enable him, with a little study, 
 to read our books* He was baptized March 21, 1858, 
 and exhibits good evidence of the genuineness of his 
 conversion. 
 
 " 4. Hu JVgieng Seu, aged 57. He is the father of 
 Hu Po Mi, is a man of more than ordinary talent, 
 has a common education, and has filled some inferior 
 offices in the government service. He has attended 
 our preaching for nine years, and has treated us with 
 uniform courtesy. During the past four years he 
 became more frequent and regular in his attendance 
 on our preaching. It was evident the Holy Spirit 
 was striving with him, and many prayers were offered 
 for him. About a year ago his eldest son became 
 interested in Christianity, and the father encouraged 
 him, saying : ' Go forward, and I will follow.' May 
 9, 1858, he, together with his wife and two younger 
 sons, was admitted to baptism. 
 
 " 5. Wong Tai Hang, aged 35. He belongs to the 
 literary class, and is our first convert from this influ- 
 ential body. He has been connected with the mis- 
 sionaries nearly eleven years as a teacher, first, of the 
 Rev. J. D. Collins, of our mission ; then, and for a 
 much longer time, oi the Rev. J. Doolittle, of the 
 
CHARACTER OF THE REVIVAL. 217 
 
 American Board Mission in Fuhchau. During all 
 these years he had the respect and confidence of all 
 who knew him, though he remained a proud and 
 persistent idolator. It seemed as though nothing 
 could subdue the pride of his heart. Even after his 
 mind opened to receive, one by one, the cardinal 
 truths of Christianity, his pride still seemed to present 
 an insuperable barrier to his conversion. But grace 
 triumphed at last ; his proud heart yielded, and after 
 counting the cost he publicly announced his purpose 
 to become a Christian, and on September 10, 1858, he 
 was baptized and received into the Church. 
 
 "It may be profitable to notice more particularly 
 this work of grace. We select a few points for brief 
 reference : 
 
 " 1. The outpouring of the Spirit was preceded by 
 months of the most pointed and earnest preaching 
 we could bring to bear upon our public congrega- 
 tions, accompanied by the most direct and perse- 
 vering exhortations in private. The work seemed to 
 commence in the hearts of the missionaries, the Holy 
 Ghost filling them with great searchings of heart and 
 with intense yearnings for the salvation of this people. 
 
 " 2. The work, in its inception and progress, was 
 unaccompanied by any extraordinary manifestations. 
 So gradually and quietly has it gone forward, that at 
 times we fancied it had ceased, and were gratefully 
 surprised when new inquirers came to us seeking 
 religious instruction and advice. 
 
 " 3. We think it a noteworthy fact that so large a 
 proportion of the converts are of mature years, while 
 some are even in advanced acre. There are those 
 
218 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 who affect to consider the conversion of aged and 
 adult heathen as impracticable, if not impossible. 
 "We have cherished the opposite belief, and have 
 received according to our faith. 
 
 " 4=. The growth of the converts in Christian knowl- 
 edge and grace has been very gratifying. So marked 
 in many cases has this been, that the converts refer 
 to it with astonishment. "Whether we kept the can- 
 didates on a long course of training, or, as in one or 
 two cases, admitted them into the Church after a 
 shorter trial, the result is the same. We think it 
 would be difficult to find converts who surpass those 
 of our mission in their desire for a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the blessed Bible. This has greatly encour- 
 aged US. 4 
 
 "5. Another trait in the character of our converts 
 is their boldness in confessing Christ before the world. 
 This, under G-od, we attribute partly to the character 
 of the Fuhchau Chinese, who all seem to be naturally 
 eloquent, but mainly to our system of training. Our 
 entire operations are public, our inquiries are public, 
 our baptisms are public, and we aim at training every 
 one of the converts to do something toward the 
 spread of the Gospel." 
 
 The Eeport for 1860 says : 
 
 " The principal facts of our operations during the 
 year may be presented very briefly. "We have seven 
 appointments in our regular work. During the year 
 we have baptized thirty-eight adults, and nine in- 
 fants; total, forty-seven. Three probationers have 
 been dropped, and one Church member has died in 
 the faith. Our native membership, including proba- 
 
REGULAR APPOINTMENTS. 219 
 
 tioners, is forty-nine, showing an increase of thirty- 
 six during the year. In our mission class there are 
 seven members (wives of missionaries and teachers 
 in our girl's school) whose names are not elsewhere 
 reported in the statistics of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and hence we have deemed it proper to 
 report them in this connection. This gives us fifty- 
 six as the membership of this mission at this date. 
 
 " Appointments in the regular work : 
 
 "1. Iongtau. — This appointment is on an import- 
 ant thoroughfare a short distance outside the south 
 gate of the city. We have an excellent church edi- 
 fice at this point, the first building of the kind ever 
 erected in this city, and worth to us $2,500. The 
 class at this appointment contains eighteen members, 
 all of whom seem to be sincerely trying to ' follow the 
 Lamb whithersoever he goeth.' One of the brethren 
 is a licensed exhorter in the service of the mission, 
 and gives himself to the work of preaching the Gos- 
 pel. Two others are much exercised in mind with 
 reference to engaging in the same blessed work ; and 
 during the year, after working in their shops all the 
 secular days of the week, they have devoted their 
 Sundays to preaching the word both in the city and 
 in the country villages. There is a Sunday-school 
 connected with this appointment, and it has been at- 
 tended by the adult membership as well as by their 
 children. 
 
 " 2. Tienang. — This appointment is in the ward 
 where our mission compound is situated. It has an 
 excellent church edifice, and a class of nine members. 
 This class has been organized during the past year, 
 
220 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 and is doing as well perhaps as could be expected. 
 All the members give good evidence of the genuineness 
 of their conversion to Christianity, and appear to be 
 making encouraging progress in the knowledge and 
 practice of the Gospel. One of the members of this 
 class, a licensed exhorter in the Church, died Sep- 
 tember 21, 1859. His end was very peaceful and 
 satisfactory. He had been one of our most laborious 
 and efficient helpers, and his death is a heavy stroke 
 upon us. We are hoping to organize a Sunday-school 
 at this appointment. 
 
 " 3. City. — This appointment is in the western 
 part of the city, within the wall. One of our mem- 
 bers lived there, and through his influence we rented 
 a small building for a chapel. The front part of the 
 house we use as a chapel, and the rear portion is oc- 
 cupied by the family in charge of the premises. We 
 have not ventured to change the form of the house, 
 and our services are conducted in a quiet way, so as 
 not to excite the apprehensions of the people of the 
 neighborhood. Thus far we have not had any diffi- 
 culty in visiting the place and holding our meetings. 
 The room is usually filled whenever we preach there, 
 and the people seem interested in our message to 
 them. We have not yet organized a class at this ap- 
 pointment, but shall do so as soon as possible. We 
 consider the appointment a very important one, and 
 look to it with great interest as the commencement 
 of a glorious work in this proud heathen city. 
 
 "4. Ato. — This is another appointment that has 
 come under our care during the past year. It is in a 
 populous suburb of this city, and is situated about 
 
REGULAR APPOINTMENTS. 221 
 
 half a mile southeast from our mission compound. 
 The place had been for some years under the care of 
 our brethren of the American Board mission here. 
 They built a neat little chapel, and kept up regular 
 preaching in it. These brethren are now concentra- 
 ting their mission on the northern bank of the Min, 
 and accordingly transferred this chapel to our mis- 
 sion. "We hope to occupy efficiently, and look for 
 God's blessing on our labors. The chapel is worth 
 $275. Annual ground rent, $18. 
 
 " 5. Kuaninchang. — (Goddess of Mercy's Well.) 
 This appointment also has been transferred to our 
 mission during the past year by our brethren of the 
 American Board mission. It is a small chapel quite 
 close to our mission compound, and is useful as a 
 place for meeting the people and distributing books. 
 The building is worth about $60. Annual ground 
 rent, $10. 
 
 " 6. To-cheng. — (Peach Farm.) This is our first 
 country appointment, and has a class of thirteen 
 members. Our meetings at this place have been 
 held in a private house, and we are much encour- 
 aged by the deportment of all who have united with 
 us here in Church-fellowship. The neighborhood in 
 which this appointment is located is sparsely inhab- 
 ited, and yet if the good work spreads among the 
 people we could soon have a large congregation at 
 this place. We are laboring and praying in faith 
 for the accomplishment of this object." 
 
 The expansion of our work into the country west- 
 ward from Fuhchau, constitutes an important and 
 auspicious era in the history of our mission in China. 
 
222 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 The success of the Gospel among the more ingenuous 
 rustics in country towns and hamlets gave a most 
 opportune and powerful impetus to our faith and 
 zeal. It furnished, also, to the Chinese a striking 
 illustration of the Gospel's power, and a most intel- 
 ligible indication of our plans and expectations as 
 missionaries among them. The village in which the 
 Ngu-kang parsonage is situated is perhaps twelve 
 miles west of Fuhchau. 
 
 The accompanying cut represents the residence 
 of the first native Methodist circuit preacher sent 
 forth in China. The ends and back are built of 
 pounded mud, the front of boards and plaster. It 
 has no floors but the bare ground. The left hand 
 door opens into a room probably ten by fifteen 
 feet, where we have often slept on a few raised 
 boards with a billet of wood for a pillow. The center 
 room, the grand reception hall, or guest room, of 
 every Chinese house, is about twenty feet square, 
 with a dirt floor, and once furnished with a high 
 altar and huge pictures of grim household gods; 
 it is now hung around with large sheets, or charts, 
 containing the Ten Commandments, and extracts 
 from the Old and New Testaments. Here we assem- 
 ble every Sunday at two o'clock for service — preach- 
 ing and class-meeting; and here, every evening in 
 the week, our new circuit preacher catechises and 
 teaches the poor ignorant natives the Scriptures of 
 divine truth. You must not imagine that our 
 preacher has all this grand house to himself. He 
 has only one room, entering by the right hand door 
 of the house, and over it is a low, smoky loft, which 
 
pp i 
 
 HP, 
 
 an 
 
MISSIONARY FORCE. 225 
 
 we intend to paper or whitewash, and furnish with a 
 bedstead, chair, and table for our own convenience 
 hereafter. At the right is the cook-shed, always full 
 of choking, blinding smoke, as the Chinese seem to 
 prefer sore eyes to chimneys. "We have had some 
 pleasant times in the Ngu-kang parsonage, and 
 hope it may be one of the centers from which light 
 and truth shall radiate far and near upon the minds 
 of this dark people. 
 
 The Annual Report for this mission, dated Sep- 
 tember 30, 1860, and prepared by the Rev. Dr. 
 Wentworth, makes the following showing : 
 
 MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Revs. Robert S. Maclay, Superintendent, Erastus 
 Wentworth, D.D., Otis Gibson, Stephen L. Baldwin, 
 Carlos R. Martin, Nathan Sites. 
 
 ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Mrs. Henrietta C, Maclay, Mrs. Phebe E. Went- 
 worth, Mrs. Eliza C. Gibson, Mrs. Nellie M. Bald- 
 win, Mrs. Mary E. Martin, Mrs. Sites, Miss 
 
 JSeulah "Woolston, Miss Sallie H. Woolston. 
 
 NATIVE HELPERS. 
 
 Hu Po Mi, exhorter, and teacher of girls' school. 
 
 Uong Tai Kung, exhorter, and teapher of boys' 
 school. 
 
 Uong Kiu Taik, exhorter, stationed at Pavilion 
 Church. 
 
 Hu long Mi, exhorter, stationed at Ngu-kang. 
 
 Tang leu Kong, exhorter, stationed in the city. 
 
 Ting Seng Mi, exhorter, stationed at Ato Qhapel. 
 15 
 
226 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 PREMISES. 
 
 Our mission will soon have six substantial and 
 comfortable dwelling-houses and a church in the 
 same general inclosure or "compound," bounded on 
 the south by the open country, across which we get 
 the sea-breezes ; east and west by the foreign commu- 
 nity, and north by the city and suburbs of Fuhchau, 
 with its living masses of idolaters. It seems quite 
 providential that our mission secured so reasonably 
 such valuable premises, as it is now next to impos- 
 sible to get building lots here on any terms. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 The " Church of the True God," at the Tea Pavil- 
 ion, has been opened for preaching every Sabbath, 
 and nearly every day in the year. Extra meetings 
 were held at ISTew Year's, and during the cool 
 weather evening services were kept up quite regu- 
 larly. Class number one meets here every Sun- 
 day after the morning service, and consists of sixteen 
 members, one of whom, an old man, " died in peace" 
 on the 15th of August last. 
 
 " Heavenly Rest Church " is opened every Sunday 
 at nine o'clock and two o'clock for divine service 
 in Chinese, and at eleven and five for English. 
 Class number two meets here immediately after 
 the nine o'clock preaching, and consists of ten 
 members. 
 
 The chapel in the city, and the two in the southern 
 suburb, have been opened as often as the health and 
 strength of the brethren would permit, 
 
COUNTRY APPOINTMENTS. 227 
 
 V 
 COUNTRY APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 Class number three, consisting of thirteen mem- 
 bers, meets at Koi-Hung every Sunday morning. 
 This appointment is visited by a native pastor every 
 Sunday, and by one of the missionaries once in two 
 weeks. The brethren are growing in grace and in 
 the knowledge of God. 
 
 Ngu-Ttang. — Brother Hu long Mi was stationed 
 here by Brother Gibson at the beginning of the year, 
 and the result has been most favorable. Men, women, 
 and children are learning to read, and sing, and pray 
 with the greatest avidity. A hamlet of ignorant and 
 degraded idolaters is being converted into a civilized 
 and Christianized community, observing the Chris- 
 tian Sabbath, abstaining from the miserable vices 
 of their countrymen, and walking carefully before 
 the Lord. The class at this place consists of fif- 
 teen members. Both these appointments have 
 asked for aid in building suitable chapels for pub- 
 lic worship. We intend to assist them during the 
 coming year in the erection of places of worship. 
 A couple of plain Christian synagogues will serve 
 to distinguish these simple-minded disciples from 
 the masses of idolaters who worship in the costly 
 temples with which the country is everywhere 
 supplied. 
 
 NATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
 Quarterly collections for the poor, and class penny 
 collections, have been successfully instituted among 
 the members during the past year. 
 
228 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 4 PERSECUTION. 
 
 Brother Tang was apprehended by the authorities 
 a month since and imprisoned, for assisting in renting 
 a chapel in the city by the English Church mission. 
 The English and American consuls promptly applied 
 to the prefect for his release, which was speedily 
 effected by the former threatening to stop payment 
 of the duties on exports in case the man was not set 
 free. The gentry have hitherto succeeded in pre- 
 venting access to the city except in the way of street- 
 preaching. What the victories of the British at 
 Tien-tsin will do for us remains to be seen. 
 
 PRESS. 
 
 Funds have been provided for the establishment 
 of a printing office with Chinese and English type ; 
 the Chinese type to be obtained in China, and the 
 English type, press, and cases to be sent from Amer- 
 ica. We have good hope that this establishment will 
 be in operation speedily. The object is chiefly to 
 print the Holy Scriptures in the colloquial language 
 of the province; also books of instruction for the 
 mission, and tracts and religious books ere long. 
 This printing establishment will be a great addition 
 to the ability of our mission. 
 
 STEADY INCREASE. 
 
 Brother Gibson has baptized ten adults and four- 
 teen infants during the year. This is a respectable 
 increase ; but the most encouraging feature is that our 
 converts increase in grace and knowledge as fast as 
 they do in numbers. 
 
SUMMAKIES. 229 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Missionaries 6 
 
 Assistants 7 
 
 Native Helpers 6 
 
 Churches in Fuhchau 2 
 
 Other preaching places in city and country 5 
 
 Baptisms : Adults, 62 ; Children, 26 88 
 
 Died in the faith, males ; 3 
 
 Dropped, for various causes 5 
 
 Present adult membership 54 
 
 Increase in adult membership this year 10 
 
 Sunday-school 1 
 
 Teachers 6 
 
 Scholars 30 
 
 Members in English Class 8 
 
 Pupils in Boys' Boarding School 17 
 
 Pupils in Girls' Boarding School 8 
 
 Scholars in Girls' Day School 8 
 
 Foundlings in Asylum 18 
 
 MISSIONARY SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 James Dick, Esq $10 00 
 
 Mrs. E. "Wentworth 5 00 
 
 Rev. O. Gibson 5 00 
 
 Rev. S. L. Baldwin 5 00 
 
 Rev. C. R. Martin 5 00 
 
 Miss B. "Woolston 5 00 
 
 Dr. H. B. Gibson 10 00 
 
 "W. Gregory, Esq 5 00 
 
 "W". C. M'Cue, Esq 5 00 
 
 E. G. Hedge, Esq 10 00 
 
 G. F. Weller, Esq 10 00 
 
 Thomas Dunn, Esq 10 00 
 
 J. H. Nichols, Esq 20 00 
 
 A. B. Neilson, Esq 25 00 
 
 Lieutenant Beaumont, U. S. N 5 00 
 
 Mr. Higgs 1 00 
 
 W'. H. Medhurst, Esq., H. B. M. Consul 10 00 
 
 W. H. Chapman, Esq 20 00 
 
 Rev. B. W. Gorham, through Rev. S. L. Baldwin. . . 25 00 
 
 Total $191 00 
 
230 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR FOUNDLING ASYLUM. 
 
 W. S. Sloan, Esq $25 00 
 
 D. 0. Clark, Esq 20 00 
 
 M. G. Moore, Esq .' 5 00 
 
 G. F. Weller, Esq 10 00 
 
 G. W. Schwemann, Esq 5 00 
 
 H. King, Esq 5 00 
 
 A. B. Neilson, Jr., Esq 10 00 
 
 John Odell, Esq. 5 00 
 
 Thomas Dunn, Esq 5 00 
 
 E. G. Hedge, Esq 5 00 
 
 W. H. Green, Esq 10 00 
 
 William Brand, Esq 5 00 
 
 John O. Lent, Esq 5 00 
 
 John Forster, Esq 20 00 
 
 H. Lowcock, Esq ,. 5 00 
 
 Thomas K. Ashton, Esq 10 00 
 
 Arthur Smith, Esq 20 00 
 
 Thomas Smith, Esq, 10 00 
 
 D. N. BottlewaUa, Esq 5 00 
 
 Jairaz, Fazul & Co, 10 00 
 
 W. H. Chapman, Esq 5 00 
 
 George Wordsworth, Esq. 5 00 
 
 Thomas L. Larken, Esq 10 00 
 
 Total $215 00 
 
BOYS' ACADEMY. 231 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 Okdinaky day schools for Chinese boys, under 
 native teachers and supervised by missionaries, were 
 instituted at the commencement of the mission. As 
 the mission advanced, however, and entered more 
 fully on the work of public preaching, these schools 
 were gradually suspended, and, with the approval of 
 the Missionary Society of our Church, the education- 
 al interests of the mission were concentrated into a 
 boarding school, organized November 26, 1856. 
 
 Despairing of immediate reinforcement, and anx- 
 ious to make the most efficient use of the facilities and 
 disposable force on hand, the mission resolved to au- 
 thorize Brother Gibson to open a boys' school, as the 
 basis of a future academy, in the house purchased of 
 Russell & Co. for a girls' school and seminary, be- 
 lieving there would be ample time to build an estab- 
 lishment for the reception of female teachers while 
 awaiting their arrival. The house is spacious. It is 
 built of wood, and one of the first specimens of houses 
 erected by carpenters uneducated in "Western modes. 
 The lot is ample, and now furnishes a good site 
 for a substantial brick house, and academy attached, 
 which are occupied by the Waugh Female Seminary. 
 
232 schools. 
 
 Brother Gibson proposed to take sixteen or twenty 
 boys as boarders, under his immediate supervision, 
 and provide them with Christian education. The 
 American Board Mission had a most nourishing 
 school of this kind, and a large proportion ' of the 
 scholars are now exemplary and efficient members of 
 their Church in Fuhchau. 
 
 The premises represented by the opposite cut, 
 purchased by our mission from Messrs. Russell & Co., 
 being well-suited for accommodating a class of Chi- 
 nese boys, the mission cordially approved of Brother 
 Gibson's plan for a select boarding-school, and au- 
 thorized him to make the arrangements necessary 
 for effecting the desired object. Boys from twelve to 
 eighteen years of age, who give evidence of talent, 
 are received into the school, on a written agreement- 
 signed by their parent or guardian, for a term vary- 
 ing from four to six years. While the bo/y is with us 
 we furnish him board, clothes, books, and room ac- 
 commodations ; our object being to give him a Chris- 
 tian home. If, after a fair trial, any boy fails to meet 
 our expectations, we are at liberty to return him to 
 his friends; but if, at any time, a boy is removed 
 from the school against our wishes, then his parent 
 or guardian shall pay the mission for his board, cloth- 
 ing, etc., while he was in the school. 
 
 The Bible is the prominent text-book in the school, 
 and our object will be to imbue the minds of the 
 scholars with its sacred principles. We shall also 
 avail ourselves of all the appliances within our reach 
 for imparting to their minds such knowledge of the 
 natural sciences as may tend to elevate their thoughts, 
 
LETTER FROM REV. S. L. BALDWIN. 235 
 
 and prepare them to coneeive more worthily of Him 
 to whom we direct them as the only proper object of 
 religions adoration. In this school we desire to train 
 a class of gifted Chinese youth, who shall be lights 
 amid this appalling darkness. We wish to make it 
 a Christian Propaganda, from which shall go forth 
 holy yonng men, with apostolic zeal and courage, to 
 preach Jesus through this vast empire. 
 
 The following letter from the Rev. S. L. Baldwin, 
 of the Methodist Episcopal mission at Fuhchau, will 
 give the reader a pleasant impression of the school : 
 
 " Last Saturday evening ten of the boys belonging 
 to Brother Gibson's school gave us a call. Mrs. 
 Baldwin invited them into the parlor, whereupon 
 they all took off their shoes, and leaving them on the 
 verandah, came in with noiseless tread. They first 
 examined with great interest some pictures which 
 were hanging about the walls ; one which attracted 
 considerable attention was ' the death-bed of "Wesley.' 
 I tried to explain to them that he was the 'head 
 man ' of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that 
 when he was dying he exclaimed : l The best of all 
 is, God is with us !' After making a pretty thorough 
 examination of the room, they got together in a 
 group, and seemed to be talking pretty earnestly 
 about something, and finally one of the little boys 
 came up to me in a very respectful manner, and 
 asked if Sinaniong (Mrs. Baldwin) would make some 
 music for them. She gladly consented, and took her 
 place at the melodeon, around which the boys ar- 
 ranged themselves in a semicircle, and listened with 
 great attention while she sang and played one or two 
 
236 schools. 
 
 pieces. She then proposed to give them a lesson in 
 singing, and spent some time in practicing them on 
 the ' the scale,' first taking each boy separately, and 
 then all together. Most of them have good voices, 
 and sound the notes quite as readily as a class of 
 boys at home. They closed their part of the exer- 
 cises by singing a Chinese hymn set to the tune 
 of Balerma. These boys are in fact the life and 
 soul of our singing at the Tienang church, and I 
 think it would be well to take them all over to Iong- 
 tau occasionally, to give the brethren and fathers 
 there a few lessons, and prevent such a merciless 
 slaughter of Old Hundred as takes place there every 
 Sunday. 
 
 "I brought out a quantity of daguerreotypes for 
 the boys to inspect, and I assure you they underwent 
 a careful scrutiny. Many questions were asked about 
 the manner in which they were made, but I found 
 my present knowledge of Chinese entirely inadequate 
 to an explanation of the process of daguerreotyping. 
 When all their comments were ended, and the like- 
 nesses put up, a very earnest request was made for a 
 * little more music,' which was readily complied with. 
 The boys then expressed their thanks, and requested 
 us, according to the Chinese rules of politeness, to 
 ' take a seat,' whereupon I advised them to ' walk 
 slowly,' and they took their departure in an orderly 
 manner. 
 
 " Having thus given you a Saturday evening scene, 
 let me describe a missionary's Sunday in Fuhchau. 
 Brother Maclay has gone to our country appoint- 
 ment, where he enjoyed the luxury of sleeping on a 
 
A SUNDAY IN FUHCHAU. 237 
 
 Chinese table last night, and will preach two or 
 three times to-day, hold class, and give instruction 
 and answer questions in an inquiry meeting. Dr. 
 Wentworth goes to Iongtau, where he will preach 
 twice, and hold class. At nine A. M. I repair to 
 Tienang church, and listen to a sermon preached by 
 Brother Gibson from John x, 9 : 'I am the door,' 
 etc. I do not understand enough of the language to 
 get a connected idea of the sermon, though I often 
 catch a word, and occasionally a whole sentence. 
 But I know it is a good sermon, because the words 
 come out earnestly and rapidly, as though the speak- 
 er had something at heart for which he wished to 
 find expression; and the audience are all looking 
 eagerly at him. As he proceeds with the subject his 
 voice becomes more tender, and his eyes begin to 
 moisten, and something in his throat seems to keep 
 back the words he would utter ; and then my heart 
 feels that it is a good sermon, and sends up a prayer 
 that the darkened souls about me may enter in by 
 ' the door ' into the kingdom of our G-od." 
 
 The following report for the boys' boarding-school 
 connected with this mission is furnished by the Rev. 
 Otis Gibson, principal of the school, and is dated 
 September 30, 1857 : 
 
 "The boarding-school which I was authorized to 
 establish was opened November 26, 1856, with four 
 scholars, and has been in constant operation since. 
 Twelve boys in all have been in the school, two of 
 whom have been dismissed. One, Chun ITuah, was 
 dismissed for incapacity soon after the school was 
 opened ; the other, Pin Kuong, was sent away this 
 
238 schools. 
 
 morning for continued misconduct, especially wrang- 
 ling and fighting. Pin Kuong was the most trouble- 
 some boy in the school. He had been in the school 
 from the first, is sixteen years of age, has acquitted 
 himself well in his studies, but is of a quarrelsome, 
 overbearing disposition. I trust the example thus 
 made of him will prove a wholesome lesson to the 
 other boys. 
 
 " There are now ten boys left in the school. Four 
 of them are committed to us for a term of six years, 
 three of them for five years, two who clothe them- 
 selves, and had previously been a long time in the 
 Rev. Mr. Peet's school, for four years, and one lately 
 received for eight years. 
 
 " The boy ISTeng Sicu, son of Brother Ting, has 
 continued to give satisfaction, and I now recommend 
 him to the mission as a suitable boy to be educated 
 by the bounty of Sister. Hill, of New Haven, Con- 
 necticut. It will be necessary that the boy retain his 
 Chinese name among the Chinese; but the Board 
 and Mrs. Hill will hereafter know him as Samuel 
 Agur Judson, according to Sister HilJ.'s request. 
 
 " The general deportment of the boys has been 
 good. I think I may safely say that their general 
 behavior and progress in study would be creditable 
 to boys of the same age in our own more favored 
 land. One class have committed to memory the 
 Catechism of our Church, (excepting proof-texts,) the 
 Catechism prepared by the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, some 
 ten chapters of Matthew's Gospel, and more than 
 half the primary geography and astronomy. They 
 have also studied Chinese literature half of each day. 
 
BOYS' ACADEMY. 239 
 
 They not only commit to memory, but are made to 
 understand everything they go over. I am both sur- 
 prised and pleased at the success which has attended 
 this the first year's experiment of a boarding- 
 school." 
 
 I take much pleasure in bearing testimony to the 
 zeal and ability exhibited by Brother Gibson in the 
 management of this school, and I cannot doubt as to 
 the blessed results of such judicious and faithful 
 labors. The school has become already an interest- 
 ing and important branch of our operations, and we 
 have an abiding confidence that it will accomplish 
 great good. The report of the principal for the year 
 1859 says : 
 
 " In addition to my regular share of the labors of 
 our general work, I have given all the time and at- 
 tention I could spare to the boys' boarding-school 
 under my charge. The new school-house has been 
 erected at an expense of $500. It contains a small 
 cook-room, dining-room, school-room, and sixteen 
 sleeping-rooms, each room intended to accommodate 
 two boys. One of these rooms is used as a store and 
 clothes room, one is occupied by the school-teacher, 
 and one by my personal teacher, leaving accommoda- 
 tions for twenty-six boys. During the past year I 
 have received four new boys into the school, and 
 have dismissed two, one for inefiiciency, and one for 
 continued vicious conduct. The present number in 
 attendance is fourteen. 
 
 " The total current expenses from September 30, 
 1858, to September 30, 1859, is $350, or an average 
 of $25 for each boy. This includes teacher's salary, 
 
240 SCHOOLS. 
 
 » 
 
 cook's wages, books, stationary, beds, board, and 
 clothing for the boys. By making wholesale pur- 
 chases of rice I have succeeded in reducing the cost 
 of board, and some presents of cast-off clothing from 
 gentlemen of the foreign community have reduced 
 the expense of clothing. 
 
 " The oldest boy, Ing Kuang, has been received 
 into the Church, and is, I believe, a consistent and 
 growing Christian. Two others who were candidates 
 for baptism failed to give permanent satisfaction as 
 to their fitness, and consequently their baptism is in- 
 definitely postponed. In their studies the boys have 
 made commendable progress, and for the most part 
 have been regular and orderly. In several instances, 
 however, I have been obliged to resort to very severe 
 discipline, and the proper use of the rod has not 
 been without a salutary effect. Chinese boys need a 
 master no less than American boys of the same age. 
 The school continues to commend itself to us as an 
 efficient auxiliary in our great work of evangelizing 
 this strangely idolatrous people." 
 
 Brother Gibson's usually robust health was some- 
 what impaired during our recent hot weather, and 
 referring to this topic, he writes : " It was an afflic- 
 tion for me to be obliged to accept a discharge from 
 regular duty during the months of July and August, 
 on account of my health. I am now regaining my 
 usual strength, and rejoice in the privilege of resum- 
 ing my labors with increased energy. With the ex- 
 ception of the two months mentioned above, I have 
 endeavored to bear my regular share in our laborious 
 but glorious work, striving to be ' instant in season 
 
BOYS' ACADEMY. 241 
 
 and out of season,' if by any means I might, through 
 the blessing of God, be instrumental in saving some 
 souls for whom Christ died." 
 
 The report for 1860 says : 
 
 " Since the date of our last annual report five new- 
 scholars have been received into the school, under the 
 usual written agreement, for a term of years. One 
 is in attendance on trial, one attends as a day scholar, 
 four have 'been expelled from the school for constant 
 bad conduct, leaving the present number in attend- 
 ance seventeen. Of these fifteen are regular mem- 
 bers of the school by written agreement. The other 
 two are as yet simply day scholars. 
 
 " The total expenses of the school, including repairs 
 of the house, boarding, clothing, and bedding for the 
 boys, teacher's salary, and cook's wages, from Sep- 
 tember 30, 1859, to September 30, 1860, is $488 23, 
 making an average of about $32 50 for each scholar. 
 Last year the average was but $25. The increased 
 price of all kinds of food and clothing fully accounts 
 for the increased average expense. 
 
 " The boys have made commendable progress in 
 all their studies. Especially is this the case with the 
 class in geography and Scripture history. In their 
 behavior the boys are quite orderly, and have caused 
 me but little trouble during the past year. "We have 
 all been greatly rejoiced by the conversion and recep- 
 tion into the Church of Ing Sing, the second boy of 
 the school. He has given satisfactory evidence of his 
 sincerity, was baptized in September, and is a boy 
 of much promise. One other lad, who at one time 
 was an applicant for baptism, proved himself a base 
 
 16 
 
242 , schools. 
 
 hypocrite, and became so notoriously bad that I felt 
 compelled to dismiss him from the school. At present 
 there are a number of the boys who seem quite 
 serious, and who are in the custom of holding prayer- 
 meetings in their own rooms. 
 
 " I am happy to believe that the school commends 
 itself to the brethren of the mission as a promising 
 and fruitful branch of our great work." 
 
 The mission, soon after its commencement, began 
 to feel the importance of a school for the education 
 of Chinese girls. Mrs. J. I. White was admirably 
 qualified for initiating this enterprise, but, alas ! she 
 finished her course on earth before her burning zeal 
 could develop her long cherished plans on this sub- 
 ject. During the autumn of 1850 a small frame 
 building, plastered within and without, was erected 
 on the rear portion of the lot occupied by Mr. Maclay ; 
 and about the first of January, 1851, a day school for 
 Chinese girls was commenced in it under the care of 
 Mrs. "Maclay. The cost of the house was fifty-five 
 dollars. The scholars lived at home, but took their 
 dinners at the school. 
 
 The success of this Christian enterprise was quite 
 gratifying, and its influence upon the Chinese of 
 the vicinity entirely salutary. The average daily 
 attendance at the school was about fifteen scholars, 
 and the progress of the little pupils was very encour- 
 aging. The school was continued, with occasional 
 interruptions, till the summer of 1856, when, in con- 
 sequence of Mrs. Maclay's inability to attend to its 
 supervision, it was temporarily suspended. It was 
 resumed early in 1857, under the joint supervision of 
 
a 
 
WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 245 
 
 Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Maclay, and the annual report 
 of the mission for that year says : 
 
 " Mrs. Maclay and Mrs. Gibson have devoted a por- 
 tion of their time to the day school for girls. We think 
 these unassuming labors are not unacceptable to the 
 Lord of the harvest, and we feel assured that the good 
 fruit will hereafter appear. About thirty girls have 
 been connected with the school during the year. The 
 course of study in these day schools is not so extensive 
 or thorough as in the boarding-school. The day schol- 
 ars do not generally remain long in the school, and 
 we think it best to confine them mainly to the sacred 
 Scriptures, and to books prepared by missionaries." 
 
 During 1858 the school was suspended, with a view 
 to the organization of a boarding-school for Chinese 
 girls under the care of Miss Beulah Woolston and 
 Miss Sallie H. Woolston, of New Jersey. Temporary 
 provision was made for the school in the mission 
 building formerly occupied by the boarding-school 
 for Chinese boys under the care of the Rev. Otis 
 Gibson. To provide suitable buildings for the girls' 
 seminary an appeal on the subject was addressed to 
 the Female China Missionary Society of Baltimore, 
 and with the most praiseworthy zeal this society con- 
 tributed a large portion of the funds required for the 
 purpose. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Wentworth prepared, in behalf of 
 the mission, an appeal on this subject, in which 
 he says: 
 
 " This noble enterprise has been taken in hand by 
 the Baltimore Female Missionary Society, and gen- 
 erously indorsed by the Board, It is a. work of 
 
246 schools. 
 
 some magnitude, and will require time for its com- 
 pletion. It is not yet too late to second the move- 
 ment by additional facts drawn from the soil where 
 it is proposed to erect so appropriate and durable a 
 monument to the memory of a great and good man, 
 distinguished by his fidelity to the Church and his 
 zeal for the cause of missions. 
 
 " 1. The low estimate in which females are held in 
 China, and their consequent debased condition, are 
 the first facts to which we would call attention in 
 our appeal for means with which to elevate their 
 social position. In five cases out of ten the birth of 
 a female infant is regarded as a calamity. I am 
 often asked the singular question, ' Which sex do you 
 prefer in your country, male or female V The reply, 
 1 It makes no difference ; we are thankful for such as 
 Providence sends,' is received with a shake of the 
 head or a smile of incredulity, and the invariable 
 rejoinder, 'Boys are a blessed godsend, but girls are 
 a curse and a nuisance.' Nor arj3 the Chinese back- 
 ward in using the readiest means to rid themselves 
 of the thankless charge. A family in good circum- 
 stances will tolerate two or three daughters ; but the 
 poorer classes destroy them without compunction 
 and without ceremony. Fathers and midwives be- 
 lieve themselves to be doing a meritorious act in 
 quietly suppressing existence at its threshold by im- 
 mersion in the nearest vessel of water, or exposure 
 by night to the chance mercies of the public high- 
 ways, with the surer hazards of cold and starvation. 
 It would chill the blood of tender-hearted Christian 
 mothers to hear the tales told to our missionary la- 
 
WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 247 
 
 dies by their native nurses. All these women con- 
 verse with levity and indifference on the subject of 
 female infanticide until they come to learn that we 
 regard the practice with horror, when they will 
 deny or extenuate the offense, lest they should 
 suffer in the good opinion of their foreign em- 
 ployers. One of our ladies questioned a woman 
 in her employ as to its commonness, and was 
 told that in the rural villages there was 'scarcely a 
 house in which one or more had not been destroyed ;' 
 that 'one of the woman's near neighbors, out of 
 a family of seven daughters, had destroyed five; 
 that she herself had not committed the cruel deed, 
 though she had borne three daughters and one son ; 
 'the son was alive, but the demons [query, mid- 
 wives?] had carried off all the girls!' It is a signifi- 
 cant intimation of the commonness of the practice, 
 that almost the only great public charity known in 
 China is the native Female Foundling Hospital, 
 found, it is believed, in every important city to 
 which foreigners have access. Among the better 
 classes female infants are freely given away to any- 
 body who will bring them np ; and these, in some 
 parts of the empire, are reared for purposes to which 
 death itself would be a preferable lot. 
 
 "2. But supposing the female escapes suffocation 
 at birth, what is her condition as she grows up % In 
 this province she is either a lady or a day laborer ; a 
 gilded recluse or a field-hand; destined to idleness, 
 frivolus occupations, and jealous seclusion, or made 
 to delve in the soil, tug at the oar, groan under bur- 
 dens, and jostle, shout, and swear with the roughest 
 
248 SCHOOLS. 
 
 and rudest in the crowded streets, thronged rivers, 
 and choked market-places. Bad as it is, the condi- 
 tion of the Fuh-kien field-woman is in one respect 
 better than that of the Fuh-kien lady. She enjoys 
 freedom of locomotion. The lady is systematically 
 crippled from infancy. It is not without infinite 
 pain and distress that the foot is thus unnaturally 
 cramped, swathed with cruel bandages, dwarfed, 
 and distorted, that it may be compressed for life 
 into a gilded slipper two inches in length. But the 
 cramping of the female foot is a small misfortune 
 compared with the more cruel cramping of the 
 female mind. In a land of books not one Chinese 
 female in ten can read, and then scarcely more 
 than sufficient to repeat, parrotlike, characters of 
 which she does not understand the meaning. Her 
 education is restricted to the few brief years of girl- 
 hood that precede a marriage consummated as early 
 as years and growth will possibly allow. She is 
 betrothed by others to one whom she has never seen, 
 and bought at a stipulated price by a lover who has 
 his first view of her when, after being carried to his 
 house in the marriage sedan, and the ceremony com- 
 pleted, she is finally unvailed in the presence of a 
 lord and master with whom she is never to eat, never 
 to appear in public, and never to share those deli- 
 cate attentions which constitute the charm of life in 
 civilized and Christian communities. If she belongs 
 to the working class she is expected to share the out- 
 door labors of her better half, or perhaps to work for 
 an idle rake who takes her wages as fast as earned, 
 to pamper his own intemperance or gratify his own 
 
WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 249 
 
 beastly desires. In her best estate the Chinese fe- 
 male is ignorant, confined, and despised. Christian- 
 ity alone will elevate her to her true and deserved 
 position among the women of the earth. Christian 
 schools, managed by Christian ladies, will have this 
 elevating effect. Shall we have the means for estab- 
 lishing and maintaining such a school in our Fuhchau 
 mission ? Methinks if the heads and figures on the 
 coins in your purses had tongues and vocal powers 
 they would shout in chorus in the affirmative. 
 
 " 3. The liberality of the merchants and other for- 
 eign residents of Fuhchau, English and American, 
 has enabled us to establish in our mission a Found- 
 ling Asylum to rescue female infants from destruc- 
 tion. The native Christians assure us that so soon 
 as its existence shall have become extensively known 
 parents will hasten to avail themselves of so merciful 
 an alternative in place of destroying their offspring, 
 and that in a year or two we shall have as many 
 applicants as we shall have room for, or know what 
 to do with. This, in the suburbs of a city of six 
 hundred thousand inhabitants, seems highly proba- 
 ble. All these female infants, doubtless as many as 
 we shall be able to support, will grow up on our 
 hands, and will be the property of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. So long as they are infants they 
 will remain, at our charge, in the hands of native 
 nurses ; but with the age of weaning it is desirable 
 that they be also weaned, for a season at least, from 
 all connection with heathendom. Our female board- 
 ing-school will necessarily have an infant depart- 
 ment — -a safe and convenient asylum in which to 
 
250 SCHOOLS. 
 
 rear these rejected foundlings. Thirty or forty of 
 these, grown up to girlhood, would of themselves 
 constitute a female school of some magnitude. Will 
 the Church, will the ladies of Christendom, provide 
 the means for educating these adopted daughters, or 
 shall they grow up in an atmosphere as thick with 
 ignorance and darkness as that from which they have 
 been providentially rescued. 
 
 "4. We want Christian wives for our Christian 
 young men. We have already baptized and brought 
 into the Church a number of single young men, but 
 no single young women. All these youths will have to 
 betake themselves to the Hittites for wives, or remain 
 unmarried; and are in imminent danger of being 
 drawn into or mixed up with the superstitions and 
 idolatries inseparable from a Chinese wedding cer- 
 emony. The intermarriage of Christian converts 
 with unbelievers has been a stupendous difficulty 
 from the days of Paul until now. It is one of the 
 most" difficult things to manage connected with for- 
 eign missionary work. Female boarding schools, 
 where females may be trained to Christianity, will 
 alleviate the difficulty to a considerable extent, and, 
 in connection with the orphan asylum, may ulti- 
 mately do away with it altogether. 
 
 " 5. Girls converted in Christian schools, and re- 
 turning into the bosoms of heathen families, will carry 
 with them the results of Christian instruction, and 
 sow the seeds of Gospel truth in the minds of their 
 children, and thus insensibly promote the spread of 
 Gospel truth in quarters where no other influence 
 could possibly be brought to bear. Christian school 
 
WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 251 
 
 girls make Christian wives and Christian mothers. 
 This it is that makes all Churches so anxious to 
 get the educating of as many youth as possible 
 within the influence of Bible truth. Chinese girls 
 will form no exception to the general rule. The 
 female heart is as religiously inclined in China as in 
 any other quarter of the globe. Shall we leave it to 
 be overrun with the weeds of iniquity, or shall we 
 sow it with the seeds of virtue, and adorn it with 
 flowers of celestial promise ? 
 
 " 6. The enterprise is already in hand. It is an 
 eminently practicable enterprise. It has nothing 
 prospective or visionary about it. It does not call 
 for armies of missionaries to penetrate the interior, 
 or for an annual expenditure in China of more mis- 
 sionary money than all the Methodist Church now 
 raises for all missionary purposes. It is within the 
 reach of small means, and entirely within the com- 
 pass of female effort. Its success is assured by the 
 success of similar operations in other parts of China. 
 It is stimulated by the example of those heroic ladies 
 who have in former years devoted their lives, accom- 
 plishments, and in some instances private fortunes, 
 as well as personal labors, not without fruits, to the 
 renovation of their own sex in this barbarous clime. 
 It is encouraged by the success of the corresponding 
 department in our mission. A flourishing boys' 
 school has been in vigorous operation among us for 
 more than a year past, with every prospect of useful- 
 ness and efficiency, as an auxiliary to the preaching 
 of the Gospel among this people. 
 
 " We are just now completing premises for the ac- 
 
252 schools. 
 
 commodation of thirty boys, and the narrow quarters 
 abandoned by the boys will suffice for a handful of 
 girls for a year or so ; but by the time our female 
 teachers shall have learned a little of the language, 
 and fitted themselves to teach through this medium, 
 we shall need an academy building, with dormi- 
 tories, class-rooms, and other apartments, sufficient 
 for thirty or forty girls and their teachers, similar, 
 on a smaller scale, to our conference academies 
 at home. The Baltimore China Female Mission- 
 ary Society have heroically taken it upon them- 
 selves to supply this lack. Will not the ladies of 
 the entire connection come up to their help in this 
 arduous enterprise ? It is to be done by special con- 
 tribution, and ought not to interfere with the regular 
 missionary collections for the year. We feel intense 
 interest in the scheme, but have endeavored to write 
 calmly and dispassionately ; and yet have desired to 
 array before the female members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church such substantial reasons for our ap- 
 peal as should influence their judgments, and induce 
 permanent interest rather than elicit a few flashes of 
 sentiment, or a merely transient feeling, which would 
 pass away without results, or substantial evidence, in 
 the form of 'material aid,' that they appreciate the 
 greatness of the cause to which we have thus briefly 
 summoned their attention. 
 
 "I need not reiterate the arguments of former com- 
 munications : the seclusion of Chinese women from 
 male missionaries and the direct preaching of the Gos- 
 pel ; the impracticability of married women doing effi- 
 cient missionary work and attending properly to their 
 
HI txi 
 
miss woolston's eepoet. 255 
 
 own families at the same time ; and the breadth of the 
 field for the exercise of female teaching." 
 
 The accompanying picture will give soine idea of 
 the substantial, commodious, and handsome build- 
 ings provided for this most interesting and promising 
 institution. But the Church should remember that the 
 school is to be supported for years to come. Forty 
 dollars a year will maintain a pupil in either of 
 our schools. One lad in the boys' school is now 
 kept by the liberality of a lady living in the United 
 States. Are there not others who could support a 
 China boy or a China girl in one of our boarding 
 schools? Are there not classes of Sunday-school 
 boys or Sunday-school girls which would undertake 
 the yearly support of a little China boy or a little 
 China girl in one of these schools? But above 
 all, send with your contributions your prayers that 
 God would bless these enterprises, for without his 
 blessing they will prove none other than distinguished 
 failures, while with his blessing they may be instru- 
 mental in bringing many into the ways of life. 
 
 Miss Woolston, who has charge of this interesting 
 school, writes August 30, 1860 : 
 
 "The boarding-school was commenced the 28th 
 of last November. At that time the prospect of 
 securing scholars was not favorable. A boarding- 
 school for girls was a new thing to the natives of 
 Fuhchau, and no one seemed willing to be the first 
 to patronize it. 
 
 " The school opened with one little Chinese girl. 
 She continued alone for eight days, when six others 
 were added. In a short time four were taken home 
 
256 schools. 
 
 again. "We have now in school ten little girls. 
 These are all between seven and thirteen years of 
 age, and nine of them are bound to the mission, three 
 for five, four for six, and two for seven years. All 
 these, excepting one, have unbound feet, though two 
 others are considered as belonging to the small-footed 
 class, and are to be dressed in that style. I speak of 
 this because so much stress is laid on it by the 
 Chinese. 
 
 " Our little girls are very interesting, and I think 
 they are perfectly contended to be in school, sepa- 
 rated from their homes. They delight very much to 
 go home to make a visit, but are equally delighted 
 to get back to school again. They seem to enjoy 
 their studies, their play, their work, and their wor- 
 ship. They are very obedient, and it is rare that we 
 are compelled to punish any one of them. They study 
 the written character during the week, and on the 
 Sabbath have a lesson in the colloquial. 
 
 " Many of the obstacles to obtaining scholars seem 
 to be removed, and I think the school will be filled 
 up as rapidly as will be well." 
 
 In a more recent letter from Miss Woolston, dated 
 October 5, 1860, she says : 
 
 The girls' boarding school has been in progress ten 
 months. During this time fifteen Chinese girls have 
 been placed in school, only eight of whom now 
 remain. Of those removed one was bound to the 
 mission, and two others were considered secured. 
 These last two were taken home on account of sick- 
 ness, and it is doubtful whether they will be allowed 
 to return. 
 
MISS WOOLSTON'S EEPORT. 257 
 
 " The oldest girl in school is thirteen, the youngest 
 eight years old. They all are obedient, and seem 
 quite contented to be from their homes. 
 
 " Through the week they study the Chinese writ- 
 ten character, and on the Sabbath have a lesson 
 in the colloquial. 
 
 "Two of the present number on first entering 
 were exceedingly careless and stupid, but are now 
 greatly improved. 
 
 " The girls already begin to receive some correct 
 ideas of Christianity, and do not hesitate to say it is 
 not only useless to worship idols, but very displeasing 
 to the heavenly Father. Five of them are from idol- 
 atrous families. 
 
 "Hi-to, one of the youngest, paused one day in 
 recitation to say that at her home there were two 
 gods, which her father, mother, and brothers wor- 
 shiped, and which she also used to worship ; but now 
 she did not wish to do so any more. 
 
 " Though the number of scholars is still small, the 
 school is interesting, and in a promising condition." • 
 
 17 
 
258 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 A FEW extracts from my journal will give the 
 reader some idea of our life and labors during the 
 earlier years of our operations at Fuhchau : 
 
 January 5, 1854. We are in the midst of many 
 and conflicting rumors with regard to the movements 
 of the insurgents. One day we hear that Pekin is 
 about to be captured, and perhaps the very- next day 
 we are told that the insurgents have suffered an 
 overwhelming defeat. An imperial proclamation has 
 recently come down from Pekin stating that the 
 " thieves " are nearly extirpated, that order will soon 
 •be restored in the disturbed provinces, that now all 
 parties should be quiet and industrious, and, in view 
 of the urgent wants of the emperor, that all should 
 hasten with their money to fill the government's 
 empty treasury. The good people of Fuhchau do 
 not seem at all disposed to assist the emperor in 
 this way ; and the general impression here about the 
 proclamation is that the emperor has stated what is 
 not true in regard to the insurgents. 
 
 January 12. Distributing books in the city. Gen- 
 erally the people give me no serious annoyance in 
 the performance of this difficult part of my work. 
 
A BLOW ON THE HEAD. 259 
 
 They are very eager to get our books, and sometimes 
 embarrass me not a little ; but usually I am able to 
 select the persons to whom I wish to give books, and 
 can refuse all others. To-day, however, a rude, 
 boisterous young man rushed out of a public-house 
 as I was passing, and pressing through the crowd, 
 demanded a book in a vociferous manner. He fol- 
 lowed me a short distance, giving me great annoy- 
 ance ; and finally seeing that I would not accede to 
 his demand, he stepped behind me and with his hand 
 gave me rather a heavy blow on the head. Having 
 on a thick cap the blow did not affect me much, and 
 turning round I saw the fellow making his escape as 
 fast as he could along the street, frequently looking 
 back over his shoulder as he ran. In true Chinese 
 style, each man in the crowd proceeded to denounce 
 most voluminously the unfortunate wight who was 
 not present to defend himself, and then eagerly asked 
 for books, saying, " We >are good men, we would not 
 strike you." Telling them, however, that I feared 
 the people who suffered so bad a man to live among 
 them could not themselves be very good, I declined 
 giving them books and passed on, every few seconds 
 hearing one and another of them say, " He speaks 
 truly ; it was very wrong to strike him," etc. 
 
 February 17. To-day, while distributing books at 
 the door of the chapel, I observed a man who seemed 
 to be greatly interested in what was going on. Some 
 one said to him, " "Why don't you take a book ?" " I 
 don't want any," was his curt reply. He seemed 
 annoyed when any one looked at him steadily, and I 
 became interested to ascrtain his character. • Hearing 
 
260 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 me speak to the people while giving out the books, 
 he gradually approached where I was standing. 
 After listening for some time he touched my elbow, 
 and drawing something from his bosom, he held it 
 carefully covered in his hand, and opening his fingers 
 a little asked me to look at it. I looked and saw 
 that it was a portrait of one of the apostles, (St. Paul, 
 I think,) nicely set into a gilt frame. He was much 
 excited, and thrust it back quickly into his bosom, 
 and asked me if I knew what it meant. I told him 
 what it was, and that I supposed him to be a Roman 
 Catholic. "Are you one?" he asked eagerly. "!Nb," 
 I replied, "our doctrines differ from yours." He 
 appeared gratified with my noticing him, and taking 
 a position at my side he proceeded to make sundry 
 remarks to the people about our plan of operations, 
 evincing a considerable degree of acquaintance with 
 his subject. 
 
 December 2. Met a detachment of soldiers in the 
 street as I was distributing books. They were on 
 their way to the department of Fing-hua to join the 
 imperial army under the lieutenant-governor of this 
 province. As they straggled along the street I had 
 a good opportunity for giving them some copies of 
 our " Sermon on the Mount." 
 
 December 4. This morning I resumed our usual 
 Sunday-school exercises in the girls' school-room. 
 During the past summer they had been suspended in 
 view of my absence, and now, with refreshed spirits, 
 I felt it a great privilege again to address these 
 scholars and teachers. I was pleased to find all our 
 old scholars in their places, with the addition of a 
 
CHAPEL SERVICES. 261 
 
 goodly number of new faces. There are now twenty- 
 little Chinese girls in the school. This is a greater 
 number than we have ever had, and we feel much 
 encouraged by it. 
 
 December 6. Chapel at Iongtau. "We use the 
 word chapel in an accommodated sense. In Fuhchau 
 our chapels are generally one of the low, narrow, 
 dark Chinese rooms, which, by a little extra scrub- 
 bing, paint, and efforts at light and ventilation, we 
 manage to use as a place for meeting the people. 
 The chapel at Iongtau is of this discription. Situ- 
 ated on one of the principal thoroughfares of the city, 
 it affords us excellent facilities for coming in contact 
 with large numbers of people. The people are gen- 
 erally disposed to hear what the missionary has to 
 say, though, like many church-goers in America, they 
 are fond of short sermons. During the hour I spend 
 in the chapel there will sometimes be present two or 
 three separate and distinct congregations, each one 
 staying perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes. This 
 grows out of the habits of the people. Our congre- 
 gations are composed principally of the working 
 classes of the population, and, while willing to hear 
 us speak, the claims of their business prevent them 
 from staying long. And with our feeble use of the 
 language, and the crowds of people thronging past 
 the chapel-door, this is no disadvantage, as it enables 
 us to preach a short discourse to a larger number of 
 hearers. 
 
 December 16. Three Luchuans came to my house 
 to-day. One was the captain of one of the Luchuan 
 junks now in this port. He was a shrewd man, and 
 
262 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 possessed more knowledge of foreign countries than 
 any of the Chinese I have conversed with. A large 
 map of the world was hanging in the room, and he 
 at once recognized some of the countries upon it. 
 The smallness of the English islands seemed to sur 
 prise him, while the broad territorial dimensions of 
 the United States, comparing favorably with the 
 eighteen provinces of China, seemed to demand his 
 respect. After pointing out some of the larger coun- 
 tries, I showed them the little specks that designate 
 Luchu. The great contrast evidently surprised them, 
 and with a characteristic grunt they gathered closely 
 around the map, as if to screen their kingdom from 
 the rude gaze of foreigners. " Yery large !" I said 
 playfully, referring to Luchu. They smiled, and the 
 captain touched his ear with his finger, saying in 
 Chinese, " I understand." Finding them interested, 
 I spent some time in pointing out to them on the 
 map the various nations of the world, and adding 
 such brief remarks as might convey to them some 
 information about their character and mutual rela- 
 tions. I inquired about Dr. Bettelheim, but they 
 manifested perfect ignorance on the subject. I then 
 asked if any American ships of war had visited their 
 country recently. They hesitated for some time, but 
 finally stated that last summer some American war- 
 ships had come to their country, and that one of the 
 vessels still remained there. Before going away they 
 seemed to grow more frank and confidential, and I 
 could not but feel encouraged to hope that the Lu- 
 chuans might soon come to entertain more correct 
 views with regard to intercourse with foreigners. 
 
PEKIN THREATENED. 263 
 
 December 19. News has been received that the 
 insurgents have entered the Chih-li province, and are 
 now within a few days' march of Pekin. It is said 
 the tidings were communicated by a native of Fuh- 
 chau, who fills a high office at Pekin, and who, in 
 consequence of the imminent danger at the capital, 
 has sent portraits of himself and wife to his kindred 
 here, with some valedictory stanzas reciting the perils 
 now threatening his sovereign, and announcing his 
 determination of dying with him. If Pekin falls into 
 the hands of the insurgents, it is highly probable this 
 officer's anticipations will be realized so far as he is 
 concerned ; but I am inclined to think his friend, the 
 emperor, considering " discretion the better part of 
 valor," will make timely provision for his own safety 
 by a swift retreat to the north. 
 
 December 29. Yisited the city within the wall to- 
 day, for the purpose of distributing books. I was 
 surprised to find how easily I could pass along the 
 streets and give books to such as appeared acquainted 
 with the written character. I was careful, however, 
 not to pass through the public thoroughfares, as in 
 those places I would have been overpowered by the 
 crowds. Selecting the most retired streets, and pass- 
 ing along rather quickly, riding occasionally in the 
 sedan when a crowd would collect at any point, I 
 was able to distribute over two hundred Gospels and 
 about three hundred copies of the " Sermon on the 
 Mount." Once a crowd of boys, to whom I was 
 unwilling to give books, began to cry out after me. 
 I immediately stepped into a shop and remarked to 
 the shopkeeper that, as a citizen of that district, the 
 
264: JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 officers would hold him responsible for any dis- 
 turbance that might occur in the place. He at once 
 apprehended my meaning, and obtained the services 
 of an old man in the shop to settle the matter. Tilled 
 (at least apparently) with wrath, the old man poured 
 out a perfect storm of rather highly seasoned epithets 
 upon the poor boys, who appeared astounded at this 
 sudden change in the aspect of affairs. The street 
 was soon cleared ; and, as I passed on, the tones of 
 the old gentleman's voice kept ringing in my ears till 
 I was quite out of the neighborhood. 
 
 1858. Our peaceable suburbs presented a scene of 
 unusual uproar yesterday afternoon. A Canton man 
 quarreled with a Fuhchau man in the street, and 
 killed him on the spot. He was instantly seized by 
 the mob, and, with his hands tied behind him, taken 
 to the top of the hill back of the foreign hongs, and 
 bound to a pine-tree. The wife of the deceased 
 cooly took a nail, and drove it into the body, shoul- 
 ders, breast, temples, and eyes of the writhing cul- 
 prit, aided and abetted by a furious multitude in her 
 bloody revenge. The man was just alive at sun- 
 down, several hours after. I saw the mangled body 
 this morning. The head was a perfect mass of gore. 
 The conduct of the woman is loudly applauded by 
 the natives, who will doubtless erect a monument of 
 granite to the memory of her virtuous indignation. 
 The mandarins offered to take the offender into cus- 
 tody ; but she resented their interference, and insisted 
 upon her right, from immemorial custom, to avenge 
 her husband's death, and boldly accused these sleek- 
 faced officials, in the presence of the crowd, of taking 
 
DYING IN A GRAVE. 265 
 
 bribes and letting the guilty go free. At home the 
 Cantonites are the most insolent of any people in 
 China to foreigners, and they carry that insolence 
 with them to other parts. Brutal and bloody as this 
 summary justice appears, it may do good, by holding 
 the natural impudence of these proud southrons in 
 check. There are two thousand of them here, great- 
 ly excitedi by this barbarous deed, and threatening 
 revenge. A party of marines has been sent for, 
 from H. B. M. ship-of-war Bace-Horse, to protect 
 foreign residents, in the event of an outbreak between 
 them and the Fuhchauans. 
 
 A contributor to the "Fuhchau Courier" is re- 
 sponsible for the following. We are willing to 
 attest its correctness : 
 
 " We were walking in the evening some time ago 
 over the Consulate Hill, when our attention was 
 attracted toward an old man seated by an open 
 grave, and on going to the spot we found a coffin 
 containing a man still alive, but breathing very 
 heavily, placed already in the grave, with the lid 
 Lying just outside, ready to be put on as soon as the 
 vital spark was extinct. The man in the coffin was 
 dressed in usual costume, apparently not of the 
 poorest sort. He looked ill, but it appeared to us 
 that proper medical aid might have saved his life. 
 In the morning we repaired to the spot and found 
 the grave earthed up, and from the appearance of 
 the ground the man must have died shortly after we 
 saw him. The anecdote is curious, and may. appear 
 almost incredible. "We believe those best versed in 
 Chinese matters have not met with a circumstance so 
 
266 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 extraordinary as a man being positively put into his 
 coffin and grave to die ! The explanation may per- 
 haps be, that the charges for carrying a live man are 
 considerably less than for a dead one." 
 
 The Chinese are thoroughly persuaded of the exist- 
 ence of evil spirits. One day, as I was speaking 
 about the demoniacs of the ~New Testament, a man 
 probably forty-five years of age, and who lived some 
 distance from the city, suddenly interrupted me by 
 saying : " That is true ; there are evil spirits j" and 
 then he proceeded to tell us how, on certain occa- 
 sions, these evil spirits had come to his house, and 
 had given him great trouble. The Chinese present 
 listened with much interest to the man's story, and 
 appeared to assent to its truthfulness. Indeed, the 
 man challenged any one to contradict him, and, 
 pointing across the chapel to a young man who stood 
 in the aisle, he said : " There is my son, who can 
 vouch for the truth of what I say." 
 
 Brother Lo Ting, while preaching in the streets, 
 was surrounded by a crowd of Chinese, who said : 
 " You say you are not afraid of idols ; we will now 
 take you to a temple and you shall break one of the 
 idols to pieces, and then we shall see whether it has 
 not power to revenge itself." While they were hur- 
 rying him along with insults and derisive shouts, he 
 said : " I do not fear your idols of wood and stone 
 and mud, and will show you that I do not by smash- 
 ing any number of them to pieces if you will give me 
 a written agreement that I shall not be harmed by 
 any man for so doing. I'll risk the gods, but I dare 
 not risk you." The crowd dropped off and let him 
 
BOX FEOM HOME. 267 
 
 go. Brother Hu long-Mi, our first Chinese itinerant, 
 stated that last Sunday, while in the country preach- 
 ing to our little class of Church members, his heart 
 sank within him to see the multitudes working in the 
 fields in all directions where his message could not 
 reach them. Soon a violent thunder shower came 
 up and drove many of them into the house where he 
 was preaching. He made them sit down, and 
 for once he preached to a large congregation of 
 them. 
 
 The following graphic sketch is from the pen of 
 the Rev. Otis Gibson, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 mission at Euhchau : 
 
 "Brother Martin brought us a box from our 
 friends, and I am sure some of your readers would 
 have been amused could they have seen the perform- 
 ances when the box was opened. 1. A bonnet for 
 Mrs. Gibson. Just the thing, how well it fits, what 
 a beauty ! I was wondering what I was to do for a 
 bonnet, and here is one to hand, trimmings and all. 
 2. A dress pattern. Better than all my fears ; thank 
 God for friends. 3. 'What's that?' says Willie. 
 ' Jacket and pants for you, my boy.' ' Just a fit.' 
 ' How could they know that Willie was just so tall V 
 1 And here is a jacket and apron for Eddie.' On 
 they go, and then such running and strutting and 
 jumping. Eddie, who cannot run so fast as Willie, 
 made up in screaming and laughing. He don't 
 speak English, but he rattled off the Chinese like a 
 native. His jacket was ' ching ho,' (first-rate) ; he 
 was ' ting huang he,' (greatly delighted.) These 
 new things were ' foe chay,' (a splendid affair,) and 
 
268 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 so they ran and jumped and crowed, and seemed to 
 be as nappy as children born in happy America." 
 
 We are indebted to the Rev. Jnstns Doolittle, of 
 the American Board mission at Fuhchau, for the fol- 
 lowing interesting account of two of the methods 
 employed by the Chinese of that city for ascertaining 
 the will of the gods : 
 
 " Pah-lah-teng. — This expression denotes a very 
 singular method (in some respects analogous to spirit- 
 rapping, as practiced in the United States) of con- 
 sulting some god, used either in a temple, or, more 
 commonly, in a private house. It is usually per- 
 formed in the evening, generally more as a matter of 
 friendship and of favor to some one than as a way of 
 earning money on the part of the operators. A pres- 
 ent of food, or of something else, is often given them 
 by the one who invites their assistance. Two per- 
 formers are required besides the one who desires 
 to inquire of the god. One of these takes his seat 
 on a chair before the table on which incense and 
 candles are burning, placed in front of the idol, or 
 something which represents it. The other man seizes 
 a pencil and draws a kind of charm on a piece of 
 yellow paper. He then sets it on fire by one of the 
 lighted candles, and, while burning, moves it gently 
 up and down in front of the person seated. The ob- 
 ject of this is to expel all defiling influences from 
 him, and prepare his body to become the temporary 
 residence of the god invoked. He now rises from 
 the chair and receives from his companion a stick 
 of lighted incense, which he clasps in both hands, 
 and holds calmly before his breast, while he remains 
 
CHINESE DIVINATION. 269 
 
 standing with his eyes closed and his back turned 
 toward the table. The other person now begins 
 to entwine the fingers of both his own hands to- 
 gether in a certain manner believed to be peculiarly 
 pleasing to that particular god. He soon approaches 
 the other one, and with a sudden motion throws his 
 hands, with fingers thus interlocked, out toward his 
 face, very much as though he was going to strike him. 
 This motion separates the fingers, which he again 
 interlaces in a similar manner, and which he again 
 throws out toward him. This operation is repeated 
 several times, being regarded as very efficacious in 
 procuring a visit from the god. The person whose 
 eyes are shut during this ceremony soon gives what 
 is supposed to be unmistakable evidence of being 
 possessed by some supernatural and invisible power. 
 His body sways back and forth in an unusual manner. 
 The stick of incense falls from his grasp, and he be- 
 gins to step about with the peculiar stride, and 
 assume the peculiar attitude and appearance belong- 
 ing to the god. This is considered an infallible proof 
 of the actual presence of the god in the body of the 
 medium. Sometimes, however, it is said, some one 
 of the attendants of the god comes in his stead, which 
 is made evident by the medium assuming the attitude 
 appropriate to such or such an attending spirit. If 
 the individual on whose account the presence of the 
 god is invoked insists on having the principal or 
 master divinity himself come to consult, the medium 
 after a short time usually assumes the manners be- 
 longing to the god invoked, as a token that he has 
 arrived. The suppliant now advances, and with 
 
270 JOURNAL, TBANSLATTONS, ETC. 
 
 three sticks of lighted incense in his hands, bows 
 down on his knees before the medinm and begs him 
 to be seated. After he has seated himself the sup- 
 pliant states the object in regard to which he has 
 sought an audience with the god. A conversation 
 often ensues between the two parties on the subject, 
 the one professing to give the information desired, 
 and the other receiving it with reverence, humility, 
 and gratitude. Sometimes, however, the god, using 
 the mouth of the medium, gives the suppliant a sound 
 scolding for invoking his aid to attain unworthy or 
 unlawful ends, and sometimes he positively declines 
 to communicate the desired information. At the 
 close of the interview the medium apparently falls 
 asleep for a few minutes. On awaking some tea is 
 given him to drink, and he soon becomes himself 
 again. It is said that very many adopt this method 
 of learning the way to recover from sickness, and 
 also j;o acquire knowledge to be used in a particular 
 kind of gambling or lottery. 
 
 " Kaung- Ki. — This phrase denotes a method of 
 consulting the gods by means of a kind of pen, which 
 traces the oracle on sand. The whole pen consists of 
 two pieces of wood. The larger piece, which usually 
 is between two and three feet long, is always made 
 of willow, peach, or mulberry wood. Its shape is 
 like a farmer's drag, or the capital letter V, being 
 cut out of a very crooked branch, or a branch in 
 connection with the trunk of the tree. The front 
 end, or the point of this draglike stick, is usually, 
 perhaps always, carved in imitation of the head of the 
 Chinese dragon. A small piece of hard wood, of one 
 
CHINESE DIVINATION. 271 
 
 of the three kinds above specified, about five or six 
 inches long, is inserted under the front point, and at 
 right angles to it, giving the whole utensil the 
 general appearance of a very small drag having only 
 one front tooth. 
 
 " "When one wishes to consult a god by this means 
 he makes his wish known to some one belonging to a 
 society or company established for the purpose of 
 facilitating such consultation. These societies are 
 said to be numerous at Fuhchau. A table is placed 
 immediately before the image of the god, or his 
 representative. On this table, besides the candles 
 and incense, are arranged some fresh flowers and 
 some tea or wine ; some mock-money is provided to 
 be burnt at the proper time. In front of this table, 
 and further from the idol, is placed another table, 
 having upon it a wooden platter about three or four 
 feet long by two feet wide, and several inches deep, 
 which is nearly filled with dry sand. After the in- 
 cense and the candles have been lighted the suppliant 
 kneels down and states his request with the usual 
 ceremonies. Having risen from his knees, some 
 paper charms are set on fire, and, while burning, 
 they are brandished over the pen, the sand, and the 
 two persons who are to hold the pen, for the purpose 
 of purifying them all. These men, standing with the 
 table which has the platter of sand upon it between 
 them, and with their backs to the idol, silently and 
 reverently take hold of the draglike utensil, one at 
 each side, in such a manner that the end of the tooth 
 or the pen under its front point shall rest in the sand. 
 A peculiar kind of charm is now lighted and placed 
 
272 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 in the censer standing on the table before the image, 
 in order to purify it. Another is bnrned in some place 
 near by, open or exposed to the direct light of the 
 heavens. This is designed to canse the god to de- 
 scend and enter the pen and deliver its oracles in 
 writing. If he does not soon indicate his presence 
 another charm is burned. His presence is manifested 
 by a slow movement of the point of the pen tracing 
 characters on the sand. After writing a line or two 
 on the sand the movement ceases, and the characters 
 there written are transferred to paper. After this, 
 if the oracle is unfinished, another line is written, 
 and so on till the pen entirely ceases its motion, 
 which signifies that the spirit of the god has taken 
 its departure from the pen. All that now remains 
 to be done is to ascertain the meaning of the oracle, 
 which not unfrequently is found to be a difficult 
 task. Sometimes it is given in poetry, with allusions 
 to ancient times and personages, or it is written in 
 some ancient form of the Chinese character, not in 
 common use at the present day, or in an abbreviated 
 running hand. Sometimes the oracle, as in ancient 
 times in Greece, has a double sense, or several am- 
 biguous meanings. The suppliant has no resource 
 but to get the best meaning he can from the coveted 
 response of the idol he importuned. It is said that men 
 of the literary class are more in the habit of appealing 
 to the gods by the use of this method than others." 
 
 The following are given as specimens of Chinese 
 proclamations. The first was issued soon after the 
 foreign tea trade was opened at Fuhchau. 
 
VICEEOY'S PROCLAMATION. 273 
 
 " Wcmg, President of the Board of "War, Imperial 
 Censor, Viceroy of the Fuh-kien and Cheh-kien 
 Provinces, charged with military affairs, pay of the 
 troops, salt department, etc., and Zu, Privy Coun- 
 selor, Imperial Yice-censor, Lientenant-governor of 
 the Fuh-kien Province, etc., make this important and 
 clear proclamation. 
 
 "With regard to the teas grown in the Fnh-kien 
 province, it has been the custom for merchants from 
 Kiangsi, Canton, and other provinces, to transport 
 their funds, at the commencement of each tea season, 
 by way of Ho-Jceu, into the tea region to purchase 
 teas, and from thence the teas have been forwarded 
 to the different provinces for sale. But in the third 
 year of Hienfung, (1853,) in consequence of the irrup- 
 tion of the rebels into the Honan province, this route 
 was broken up, so that the merchants could not pass 
 that way. We therefore memorialized the throne, 
 begging that the restrictions on trade at this port 
 (Fuhchau) might be removed temporarily. Thus it 
 has happened that the merchants now bring their 
 funds to, Fuhchau ; and from this point pass up into 
 the tea region to purchase their teas, which they then 
 bring to Fuhchau. There are, it is true, rapids and 
 shoals in the up-river channel, but still the route is 
 very plain and short in comparison with the routes to 
 Shanghai and Canton. The difference in the difficul- 
 ties of transportation fs very great, and the transit 
 charges by the Fuhchau route are much less than by 
 the other routes. Besides, when the teas reach Fuh- 
 chau they can at once be packed and shipped for 
 sea without paying duties at the custom-houses along 
 
 18 
 
274 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 the old routes. As a consequence, the duties on teas 
 are rapidly diminishing, while the gains of the mer- 
 chants have largely increased. In view of this deple- 
 tion of the imperial revenue, we memorialized the 
 throne, begging that custom-houses might be estab- 
 lished at suitable points ^on the route to Fuhchau, 
 thus replenishing the government treasury. To this 
 memorial we have the imperial sanction, and accord- 
 ingly we have appointed officers to take charge of 
 the matter. 
 
 " Since all the people are nourished by the fruits 
 of the emperor's soil, and their feet stand upon it ; and 
 whereas the present military expenses of the empire 
 are very great, while the imperial revenue is much di- 
 minished, you, the people, would rejoice to aid his ma- 
 jesty with your contributions of money ; how much 
 more then should you cheerfully comply with the imper- 
 ial commands, when they only require that, instead of 
 the former transit duties on - teas passing to Canton or 
 Shanghai, where the route is lined with custom-houses, 
 you now pay the prescribed duties in this province. 
 And whether the duty now levied is a little more or 
 less than the amount collected on the other routes, it 
 is certain that, being relieved from the heavy charges 
 for land or water carriage which you paid on the 
 other routes, you still gain largely by the change. 
 This is another instance of the imperial favor and is 
 truly no trifling boon. 
 
 " We regard you all as possessing a correct moral 
 sentiment, and believe you to be entirely unwilling 
 to chaffer and banter with the government in the 
 matter of its revenue. If you say that by paying this 
 
CUEEENCY PEOCLAMATION. 275 
 
 duty you are compelled to demand a higher price for 
 your teas, you ought to remember that by selling 
 your teas within the province producing them you 
 avoid all the cost and risk of transporting them to 
 distant ports, and thus, after all, you are able to offer 
 your teas in Fuhchau at a lower figure than they can 
 be purchased' at any other port. Thus the purchasers 
 of your teas do not suffer. Let there be no unwill- 
 ingness or deception in this matter. Let all obey." 
 
 "Hienfung, fifth year, sixth moon, tenth day." 
 [July 23, 1855.] 
 
 During 1857 the currency of Fuhchau was in a 
 most unsatisfactory state. The supply of copper 
 cash, which is the circulating medium throughout the 
 empire, was entirely inadequate to the demand ; the 
 government bank failed, and great distress prevailed 
 among the people. The government authorities 
 issued numerous proclamations on the subject, of one 
 of which we offer the reader the following transla- 
 tion: 
 
 " Wang, President of the Board of War, Yiceroy 
 of the Fuh-kien and Cheh-kien provinces, makes this 
 proclamation in reply to the memorial presented by 
 of the district. 
 
 " The authorities of the Fuh-kien province estab- 
 lished the government bank in Fuhchau to circulate, for 
 general use, all the varieties of paper currency. It was 
 conceived that as silver is scarce, this paper money 
 might supply the deficiency, thus affording the peo- 
 ple a medium of exchange for the transaction of busi- 
 
276 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 ness ; and certainly, whether we consider the conven- 
 ience of the people or the prosperity of the govern- 
 ment, this plan is the best that can possibly be 
 devised. 
 
 "When the Kiangsi thieves entered the Fuh-kien 
 province the people of Fuhchau became greatly 
 alarmed, and daily bonght np the silver, in a clandes- 
 tine manner, to hide it away, thns causing a sudden 
 rise in its market value. Merchants also, when they 
 brought rice to this city for sale, refused to take any- 
 thing but silver for it ; and the people, speculating as 
 to the supply of food for the future, seemed actually 
 to fear they should all starve sitting on their seats. 
 
 " Sincerely desirous of understanding the wants of 
 the people, and anxious to save them, we issue orders 
 with this proclamation to the provincial treasurer, di- 
 recting him to transfer to the government bank a 
 supply of silver for general circulation. Besides, we 
 are arranging that the receipts of the custom-houses 
 shall be used for purchasing rice to be sold to the 
 people at a cheap rate. We have already arranged 
 everything for meeting the demands of the present 
 emergency. 
 
 " With regard to the scarcity of copper cash, we 
 reply that an officer has been already sent to Cheh- 
 Jcien to buy a large supply of copper for coining, and 
 we have also ordered the government bank to com- 
 mence at once the coining of a new supply of copper 
 cash. 
 
 " As it regards your suggestions about ' deepening 
 the moats, strengthening the walls, and stationing 
 troops at all important points to protect the city,' we 
 
ITINERATING. 277 
 
 have to say that these matters belong entirely to us, 
 and you need not waste your words about them. 
 
 " You state that • the government bank paper does 
 not circulate in the country; and that, when the 
 -people offer it to the government officials in payment 
 of taxes, they will take it only at a discount of from 
 fifty to seventy per cent., and that the traders all 
 follow this precedent.' If these statements are cor- 
 rect, those parties are surely acting in a most detest- 
 able manner. We instantly command the treasurer 
 to order all government officials to cease utterly this 
 villainous practice of discounting the government pa- 
 per. All officials who shall dare to offend in this 
 matter we shall punish without the least leniency. 
 Yiolate not this proclamation." 
 
 " Ilienfung, seventh year, third moon, twenty-fourth day." 
 [May 16, 1857.) 
 
 The following extracts, from the recent letters of 
 brethren connected with the Methodist Episcopal 
 Mission in Fuhchau, will give the reader some idea 
 of itinerant life in China. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Wentworth writes : " On last Sabbath it 
 came my turn, in the two weeks' circuit plan, to go to 
 the country appointment established a few weeks 
 ago. On Saturday I took passage in a native boat 
 up the river eight or ten miles, and then struck off 
 on foot into the country five or six more. In a little 
 gorge among the mountains lies a hamlet composed 
 of a few farm-houses. Some of the occupants heard 
 of Jesus and the new religion, came to Fuhchau, be- 
 came inquirers, and invited us to their home in the 
 
278 JOUKNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 country. It has resulted in a regular appointment, 
 the baptism of seven or eight, and the waking up of 
 a spirit of inquiry about the new doctrines that is 
 spreading far and wide among the rural population. 
 The people, men and women, were at work in the 
 fields when I and my native exhorter arrived. They 
 got us dinner about four o'clock. It was boiled rice 
 served in bowls, with several kinds of stale fish, and 
 greens for seasoning, coarse and unsavory fare to a 
 foreign palate. I have dined on johnny cakes, cold 
 and hot, overdone and underdone, without any other 
 accompaniments than raw coffee or cold water, in 
 the rocky districts of 'New England, the woods of 
 northern New York, the prairies of Illinois, and the 
 hither banks of the Mississippi. I thought such 
 fare coarse, but there was an element of savoriness 
 about it that does not pertain to the best cookery of 
 the Chinese. Their highest culinary efforts are in 
 the line of grease and garlic, and it needs a strong 
 stomach and strong olfactory powers to satisfy hun- 
 ger with their villainous preparations. I ate with 
 chop-sticks, to the amusement of the brethren, who 
 nevertheless were officiously kind in teaching me how 
 to hold the instruments, and do away ,with my un- 
 christian awkwardness in exercising the ' nimble boys.' 
 What is the use of cutlery and plated forks, when a 
 man can take his food into his mouth, without burn- 
 ing his fingers, with a couple of sticks that cost noth- 
 ing compared with these expensive luxuries. What 
 a demand there would be for steel and silver if the 
 Celestials were to be so far Christianized as to eat 
 with knives and forks like the rest of the world. 
 
ITINERATING. 279 
 
 What an impulse would be given to the manufacture 
 of cups and saucers, and spoons, and table linen and 
 soap. 
 
 " At night I was laid on a board to sleep, but kept 
 awake till after twelve o'clock by a discussion in the 
 next room between my exhorter and a well-dressed 
 intelligent gentleman, inquiring about the doctrines, 
 but troubled about the fact if they were true, that 
 his ancestors and parents had gone down to the 
 grave and into the other world without the hope of 
 salvation. 
 
 "At nine o'clock on Sunday morning the room 
 was filled with a respectable and attentive congrega- 
 tion, who listened to a sermon, and all spoke in class- 
 meeting at its conclusion. From this we went three 
 or four miles to another settlement of newly baptized 
 Christians, where we had another sermon, followed 
 by a class and inquiry meeting. The sun was still 
 high in the heavens, and I proposed that we go to 
 the next village. We went to one where no for- 
 eigner had been before, and preached in the street to 
 crowds. 
 
 "A popular objection and report among the na- 
 tives is, that we give three dollars a month to those 
 who will embrace our doctrines. Our exhorter re- 
 pelled it with righteous vehemence. 'I,' said he, 
 ' live in Fuhchau, at Iongtau. I invite all to come 
 and see me at my house. I am a painter on glass, 
 and support myself and family with the labors of my 
 own hand, and preach on Sundays besides.' 
 
 " From thence we went to another village, and took 
 our stand in a temple. I get one of the young con- 
 
280 JOUKNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 verts to talk a while. The people were in the fields 
 at work. So we sent out an appointment for even- 
 ing, obtained some candles, lighted np the temple, 
 and proceeded to hold Christian services right in the 
 presence of the mnd gods of Bndhism. A large con- 
 gregation gathered, and, as a preliminary exercise, 
 both preacher and people stuck their long bamboo 
 pipes into the candles, and then, puffing like locomo- 
 tives, sat down under a cloud of smoke, and took 
 their places to listen to the proclamation of the Gos- 
 pel. At the conclusion of the services I answered 
 questions for an hour touching foreigners and their 
 ways and doctrines." 
 
 Rev. S. L. Baldwin also writes : " On Saturday, 
 April 23, 1859, I accompanied Brother Gibson to 
 our ' Peach Farm ' appointment in the country, and 
 united with our brethren there in various prayer- 
 meetings, class-meetings, and more public services on 
 that day and the Sabbath following. I was very 
 much pleased with the serious deportment and earn- 
 est manner of the brethren there. 
 
 " On the seventeenth of May I repeated the Lord's 
 Prayer for the first time at our Chinese family de- 
 votion. 
 
 " On the first of June I started on an expedition in- 
 to the country, in company with Mr. Nichols, a pious 
 young man from Boston, and Akaw, one of our na- 
 tive converts. "We ascended the river Min in a boat 
 to the distance of sixty miles, and reached Chuikan 
 about two A. M. on June 2d. "We rested in our 
 boat until sunrise, and then traveled some eight or 
 ten miles, when we halted under the shade of a large 
 
ITINEEATING. 281 
 
 tree. Here we spent the heat of the day, the people 
 gathering aronnd ns from all quarters, and receiving 
 willingly Christian books and tracts which we pre- 
 sented them, and which were explained to some ex- 
 tent by Akaw. Toward evening we resumed our 
 chairs, and traveled to Keukan, ten or twelve miles 
 farther up the river. Here we secured rest for the 
 night on a large covered boat at the beach. Akaw 
 held conversations on Christianity with several of the 
 boatmen during the evening, and in the morning we 
 left them a supply of tracts. Crossing the river we 
 made our way to Sangtau, a place which had never 
 before been visited by foreigners. We rested during 
 the day in a grove of camphor-trees just back of the 
 village, and the whole population came out to see us, 
 manifesting the greatest curiosity in regard to our ap- 
 pearance, clothing, etc. They were very civil, how- 
 ever, and listened attentively to a long talk from 
 Akaw, who distributed a liberal supply of books 
 among them. One old man invited him to his house, 
 and talked with him for more than two hours about 
 the Christian religion. On leaving this place we 
 traveled to Nangkan, where we took a boat to Chuikan, 
 and there rejoined our own boat. 
 
 " While ascending the hill at the latter place some 
 boys threw stones at us, and called us ' huang-kiangsj 
 which was the only instance of incivility we encoun- 
 tered during our absence. 
 
 " On Saturday, June 4th, we descended the river, 
 stopping at the village at the 'upper bridge,' where 
 we distributed a quantity of tracts, and reaching 
 home in safety at six P. M. We trust that some of 
 
282 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 
 
 the seed thus scattered by the 'wayside' may yet 
 spring up to the glory of God." 
 
 In further illustration of itinerant life in China we 
 present another extract from a recent letter by the 
 Rev. Dr. Wentworth : 
 
 " Yesterday, at half-past six o'clock, directly after 
 dinner, I started on foot for Nanseu, a large village 
 to the southwest of this that has been a few times 
 visited by missionaries. 
 
 "Brother Ting went along to do the preaching. 
 His son, my present table boy, went to act as stew- 
 ard for the wants of the outer man. My cooly, a 
 great strapping fellow, went 'loaded to the keel' 
 with books and tracts for distribution ; and finally I 
 went to attract the attention of the natives, and give 
 them something on which to expend abuse. 
 
 "A heavy thunder shower was raging in the west 
 as we started, and our course lay right into the teeth 
 of it; nevertheless the sun was vailed in, and this 
 was favorable ; so we put out, thinking to run into 
 any one of the numerous huts along the road in case 
 we got caught by it. Six miles of vigorous walking 
 brought us to the head of this island, near where you 
 and I went with Mr. Clark three years ago. Here 
 we took a boat, and steered away for our desti- 
 nation. 
 
 " It was manned by an old woman, a young man 
 and his father, the young man's wife, and a sick boy. 
 After sculling, and rowing, and poling, and sailing, 
 and tacking until pitch dark, the storm, that had 
 been long gathering, burst upon us in all the fury 
 of wind and thunder, lightning and rain, when we 
 
A TYPHOON. 283 
 
 were still about a mile distant from our landing-place. 
 I tried to induce the Chinese to proceed. ' It was too 
 dark,' 'the typhoon was upon them,' 'they must 
 lie to.' So the boat went to anchor and the ' Celes- 
 tials ' to their suppers, which they ate as quietly as 
 if riding at anchor in a smooth bay, instead of being 
 tossed by the wild fury of the elements in savage 
 commotion. As is often the case with thundergusts 
 the first gust was the worst. The water came through 
 the basket-roof of our boat like a cotton tabernacle 
 at a camp-meeting. 
 
 "I covered myself with my sleeping blanket and 
 kept dry. In an hour the gust had spent its princi- 
 pal fury, though the lightnings glared and thunders 
 growled as fiercely as ever. The boatmen had fin- 
 ished their supper, and I persuaded them to resume 
 their setting-poles that we might at least spend the 
 rest of the night on terra-firma. In a few minutes I 
 'walked the plank' by a gleam of lightning, and 
 clambered a crazy flight of steps up the bank to 
 what seemed a temple on the hither shore. 
 
 " By the light of a pine stick our party proceeded 
 to explore the interior. It was floorless, and tenant- 
 ed by bats, and carpeted and curtained with no end 
 of dirt and cobwebs. A couple of men had laid a 
 door lengthwise, and laid themselves lengthwise upon 
 it for the night. A stage occcupied one end for the- 
 atrical representations, and it was thought this was 
 our only chance; but the men attempted to sweep 
 it, and thereby raised a cloud of dust which rendered 
 breathing impossible. 'Does no priest live here?' 
 we asked. 'None.' 'Who keeps the temple?' 'A 
 
284 JOURNAL, TRANSACTIONS, ETC. 
 
 cooly sleeping over yonder.' '"Well, route him out; 
 we must have his room.' And out he came, not well 
 pleased at being disturbed in his slumbers, but set 
 himself vigorously to work to put the filthy place in 
 order. It was about ten feet square, with no floor. 
 My bedstead was a door, the bed two yards of rush 
 matting, and my pillow a pile of books. Brother 
 Ting and his boy made a bed of another door in the 
 same closet, and the cooly slept as he could catch 
 it with the sexton outside. The rain continued, and 
 paid its attentions to us in our beds, but did no 
 serious damage. We slept soundly, and I was 
 awake by daylight, and roused my forces for 
 marching. 
 
 " Three miles travel across the paddy fields or rice 
 flats, over stone-paved causeways worn as smooth as 
 glass by the travel of unnumbered generations, 
 brought us in sight of the village we were in quest 
 of, beautifully situated at the foot of a hill crowned 
 with pines, behind which rose a mountain in the 
 shape of an inverted bowl, but jagged like crystali- 
 zation from base to summit. It was a lovely spot, 
 but all the romance vanished the moment we had 
 crossed a substantial stone bridge, and entered the 
 narrow, crowded, filthy Chinese streets. 
 
 " We instantly had a crowd at our heels, shouting 
 'whang-kiang,' 'foreign devil,' in all the tones and 
 key-notes of human passion, surprise, astonishment, 
 fear, pity, contempt, insolence, and bravado. We 
 took our stand behind the counter of a respectable 
 shop in the main street, an overwhelming crowd 
 collected in front, blocking up the street, and render- 
 
ITINERATING. 285 
 
 rng passage nearly impossible, when Brother Ting 
 began to preach and peddle books at a cash or two 
 apiece, a mere nominal value, not a hundredth 
 part of what they cost. I put in a word now and 
 then as I was able, though my rude brouge was 
 more frequently assailed with shouts of laughter 
 and mockery from the boys than otherwise. In a 
 few minutes he had sold half his stock. Meanwhile 
 my boy and the cooly got us breakfast in the book 
 shop. 
 
 " I ate a plate of boiled rice with a Chinese porce- 
 lain spoon, and a slice or two of fried pork with my 
 fingers ; this, with a few native cakes, a bowl of tea, 
 and a cut of watermelon, made a sumptuous repast, 
 the whole of which cost ten cents. 
 
 "Removing hence, we took another stand on a 
 covered stone bridge used as a market, and disposed 
 of nearly all the remaining stock of books, Brother 
 Ting 'preaching Jesus' all the time as fast as his 
 tongue would wag, and as loud as he could, halloo in 
 the midst of a babel like that of Broadway or the 
 polls of an American election — turbid waters in 
 which to sow seed. 
 
 " Tired at last of the noise, and attracted by the 
 beauty of the hill of pines, I bade my boy follow me, 
 and started off at a round pace, hoping to get clear 
 of the annoyances that beset us. We were soon out 
 of town and climbing the beautiful hill, but with a 
 crowd of a hundred men, women, and boys at our 
 heels, and more than all, the hill itself was covered 
 with grass and faggot gatherers, so that a head 
 seemed to pop out from behind every tree and bush. 
 
286 JOURNAL, TRANSACTIONS, ETC. 
 
 I returned to town in disgust, and ordered a retreat 
 at once. 
 
 " In a short time we were once more on board our 
 boat and on our own island, where the people are 
 more accustomed to us, and a little more civil. Walk- 
 ing six miles in the sun opened the pores, and I 
 reached home drenched in perspiration from head to 
 heel. A bath, change of clothes, and a Christian 
 dinner made all right again." 
 
THE PEACH FAKM. 287 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 The influence of the gracious revival in Fuhchau 
 soon extended to the country. Our young converts, 
 filled with zeal for the cause of God, began to itiner- 
 ate through the surrounding cities and towns, distrib- 
 uting Christian books and conversing with the people 
 about the new doctrines. Brother Hu Po Mi was 
 foremost in this corps of pioneers. He was admira- 
 bly fitted for this work ; possessing a fine personal 
 appearance, a clear and forcible style of address, and 
 a hearty Christian experience. In a secluded valley 
 among the mountains, some fifteen miles northwest 
 from Fuhchau, there is a straggling village contain- 
 ing perhaps sixty families. Prom a fancied resem- 
 blance of the valley at this point to a peach, the 
 village has been named the "Peach Farm" On 
 the outskirts of the village stands an old farm-house 
 occupied by the Li family. The ancestors of the 
 family, about one hundred years ago, had lived in 
 the Fing-hua prefecture, some forty miles southward 
 from Fuhchau, and were acquainted with the Hu 
 family, who also at that time lived in Fing-hua. 
 These two families moved into the Fuhchau prefect- 
 ure, Mr. Hu locating his family in Fuhchau city, 
 
288 THE PEACH FAEM. 
 
 and Mr. Li settling with his family in this quiet 
 valley. For many years subsequent to this removal, 
 the acquaintance between the two families was kept 
 np by a mutual interchange of social courtesies and 
 kind offices, but' during the present generation this 
 acquaintance had almost entirely ceased. When the 
 Hu family became Christians, they soon visited the 
 Li family, and urged them to seek salvation in the 
 name of Jesus. Brother Hu Po Mi was active in 
 this good work, and presented the subject with all 
 the ardor of a young convert. His efforts were not 
 fruitless ; the younger members of the Li family 
 began to attend our meetings in Fuhchau, and soon 
 they presented themselves as candidates for Christian 
 instruction and baptism. Encouraged by their mani- 
 fest sincerity and earnestness, I resolved to visit them 
 at their home in the valley, taking with me Brother 
 Hu Po Mi as companion and guide. I shall not 
 readily forget the incidents of this visit. February 
 10, 1859, we went on board a small native boat, and 
 started up the river on our proposed trip. Having 
 wind and tide in our favor we made good progress, 
 passed under the "upper bridge" some six miles 
 from Fuhchau, and soon landed at the salt-boat an- 
 chorage, three miles above the "upper bridge." 
 Here we left the boat, and started on foot over the 
 rice-fields for the Peach Farm. After walking 
 about five miles through the most picturesque scen- 
 ery, we reached the entrance to the valley. Crossing 
 a bold spur of the mountain, our path led us along 
 its side, with the thickly wooded heights above, and 
 the quiet valley spread out at our feet below. I was 
 
THE VALLEY. 289 
 
 charmed with the place. Its silence furnished such 
 a grateful change from the jostling crowds of the 
 thronged city and the vociferating boat population 
 on the river, that I could almost fancy myself enter- 
 ing a new world, fresh from the plastic hand of the 
 great Creator. The greatest width of the valley does 
 not exceed half a mile, while in some places it con- 
 tracts to a mere ravine. Human industry and skill 
 have been busy, bringing under cultivation every foot 
 of arable land, and, by terracing the mountain accliv- 
 ities, extending the domain of agriculture to appar- 
 ently inaccessible altitudes. A stream of water flows 
 through the valley, and I was agreeably surprised to 
 find on its bank a veritable water-power grist-mill in 
 active operation. The machinery and building were 
 of a rude character, but still all the essential elements 
 of the mill were present, and the flour it turned out 
 was of a fair quality for China. Farm-houses were 
 sparsely scattered through the valley, some almost 
 hidden by trees and others standing out boldly to 
 view on elevated knolls, while light wreaths of smoke 
 at the farther end of the valley indicated the position 
 of the Peach Farm. It was about four o'clock in the 
 afternoon when we arrived at the house of our friends 
 on the outskirts of the Peach Farm. We found only 
 the female members of the family at home ; all the 
 men and boys were out deer-stalking on the mount- 
 ains. Toward nightfall the hunters returned, and it 
 was really refreshing to observe their rustic habits 
 and receive their cordial welcome. Notice of our 
 arrival was circulated through the valley, the prin- 
 cipal room of the house was arranged for preaching, 
 
290 THE PEACH FAKM. 
 
 and about' dark the congregation began to assemble. 
 Tea and tobacco were in constant requisition for 
 some time after we commenced our exercises, the eti- 
 quette of the place demanding that each neighbor, 
 on his arrival, should at once be waited on with 
 these refreshments. "We talked on notwithstanding 
 these interruptions, and gradually the audience be- 
 came quiet and attentive. Brother Hu and I spoke 
 alternately, varying the exercises occasionally by a 
 conversational episode, by a brief discussion of an 
 objection started by some one in the congregation, 
 or by calling on one of the candidates for baptism to 
 tell his experience or lead in prayer. The scene was 
 to me one of strange, exciting interest. It was a rare 
 thing to see a foreigner in this retired valley, and the 
 simple-minded rustics could scarcely credit their 
 senses when they found themselves actually in the 
 presence of a genuine " outsider." Their surprise 
 was not diminished when they heard me address 
 them in their own language, and tell them of God, 
 and salvation, and heaven. After the numerous dis- 
 appointments and rebuffs I had experienced in pre- 
 senting the G-ospel message to the Chinese, it was 
 most cheering to feel that now I was under a Chi- 
 nese roof where Jesus was an invited and honored 
 guest, and that I was preaching to persons willing 
 to accept the great salvation. It was past midnight 
 when we retired ; with me, however, sleep was out of 
 the question. The scenes through which I had just 
 passed kept whirling through my mind, till the cries 
 of the early hunters and the light streaming in 
 through the roof told me a new day had opened. 
 
A GENEKAL ALAKM. 291 
 
 I spent part of the next day visiting, the families 
 of the neighborhood. Some of the people were bit- 
 terly opposed to the new doctrines, others seemed to 
 be utterly indifferent on the subject of religion ; while 
 a few expressed an intelligent interest in the message 
 I tried to deliver. I was gratified to find that in 
 every family I visited there were some who had 
 heard something about Christianity, and were able to 
 state some of its prominent doctrines. In the Li 
 family, where I was entertained during the visit, nine 
 persons gave in their names as candidates for bap- 
 tism. Encouraged by the promising state of things 
 in the valley, we decided to take it into the regular 
 work, and accordingly made an appointment for 
 preaching every fortnight in the house of old 
 Father Li. 
 
 The genuineness of the work thus auspiciously 
 begun was soon put to the test. The enemy, so long 
 in undisputed possession of this territory, had no idea 
 of yielding without a struggle. A general alarm was 
 sounded through the valley concerning the new doc- 
 trines, and earnest consultations were held as to the 
 most effectual method of averting the apprehended 
 danger. Some proposed to check the evil in the bud 
 by entering in their courts of justice criminal charges 
 against every Chinese who should embrace the new 
 doctrines. The advocates of this plan stated that it 
 had formerly been tried with great success against 
 the Roman Catholics, and that it would certainly 
 prove equally successful in the present case. At first 
 the plan suggested met with great favor; but soon 
 unexpected difficulties arose when they proceeded to 
 
292 THE- PEACH FARM. 
 
 act upon it. When these would-be prosecutors ap- 
 peared at the government courts to enter their com- 
 plaints they were told that the former modes of pro- 
 cedure against Christianity would not suit in these 
 days, that foreigners now had treaties with the gov- 
 ernment of China, and that it was no uncommon 
 thing at the present time for Chinese to become 
 Christians. Foiled in this effort to check the spread 
 of the new doctrines, they then proposed a more pri- 
 vate plan of procedure, and soon our catechumens 
 found all the heathen members of their respective 
 families arrayed against them in bitter, persistent 
 hostility, and employing every form of annoyance 
 arid intimidation to deter them from embracing 
 Christianity. This plan also resulted in failure, and 
 in a fit of desperation some rowdies of the neighbor- 
 hood proposed heating the new doctrines out of the 
 catechumens, and magnanimously offered themselves 
 for the enterprise. This proposition was quite popu- 
 lar in many quarters ; but some of the more respecta- 
 ble and influential people of the valley denounced it 
 as outrageous and unreasonable, and hence the 
 scheme was abandoned. As a dernier resort, it was 
 now proposed to create a public sentiment against 
 Christianity, and thus coerce the catechumens into 
 submission. To accomplish this, every suitable occa- 
 sion, public or private, was employed to extol the ex- 
 cellence and power of the idols they had so long wor- 
 shiped. " Every good thing we possess," said these 
 advocates of heathenism, "has been conferred on us 
 by these idols, and we ought to worship them. More- 
 over," they continued, " the idols are highly incensed 
 
PROGRESS OF THE STRUGGLE. 293 
 
 in consequence of the denunciations poured upon 
 them by the Christians, and soon unheard-of calami- 
 ties will come upon all the people of the valley." 
 Our catechumens conducted themselves with much 
 prudence during this time of excitement. Every 
 failure of their enemies to harass them served only 
 to establish them the more firmly in the principles of 
 their new faith, and to all threats and maledictions 
 they replied by blameless lives or by the "soft an- 
 swer" which "turneth away wrath." Time passed 
 'on, and still, notwithstanding the declared anger of 
 the idols, there was no deviation from the ordinary 
 course of nature. The sun, moon, stars, and seasons 
 passed through their courses as of yore ; no floods or 
 storms devastated their fields ; no pestilence invaded 
 their dwellings. In the Li family heathenism open- 
 ed the struggle with considerable vigor but soon 
 was compelled to change its tactics. The contest in 
 this family was very interesting, and the following 
 brief sketch of it will be gratifying, I think, to the 
 reader. I give the incident just as it was narrated to 
 me, without attempting to explain how the parties 
 communicated with the spirits : 
 
 The heathen members of this family declared that 
 when the foreign missionary entered their house the 
 •spirits of the idols all ran away; and hence on each 
 occasion of our leaving the premises these members 
 of the family would go up on the mountain just back 
 of the house and beg the spirits to return, assuring 
 them the missionary had gone from the place. The 
 spirits at first, and for some time subsequently, re- 
 sponded to these calls, and resumed their respect- 
 
294 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 ive positions on the altar. On the occasion of one 
 of onr visits to the place, however, we spoke with 
 considerable liberty and power, the congregation was 
 unusually solemn, and the exercises were continued 
 to a late hour. ISText morning I left for home, and 
 after my departure the heathen members of the family 
 went out as usual to call back the spirits. To their 
 utter astonishment they found the spirits unwilling 
 to return. A famous exorcist was then sent for, and 
 he tried all his incantations upon the spirits; but, 
 strange to say, they still remained incorrigible. To 
 all interrogations and entreaties their uniform reply 
 was, "Jesus is very powerful, and unless you keep 
 him out of the house we dare not re-enter it." Sur- 
 prised and confounded by this unexpected occurrence, 
 the exorcist and two heathen members of the Li fam- 
 ily began to attend our meetings, and attached them- 
 selves to our class of candidates for baptism. 
 
 After passing through a course of Christian in- 
 struction, and giving satisfactory evidence of their 
 fitness for the ordinance, seven of our adult candi- 
 dates were approved for baptism, and Sunday, March 
 13, 1859, was appointed as the day for administering 
 the rite. At an early hour on that day our rude 
 chapel was filled with attentive hearers, and after a 
 discourse from: "Behold, we have left all and fol- 
 lowed thee ; what shall we have, therefore ?" the ap- 
 proved candidates were admitted first to baptism and 
 then to the Lord's Supper. Let us linger for a 
 moment over the material aspects of the scene. Our 
 so-called chapel is a small earth-floored room in a 
 country farm-house, destitute alike of ceiling or win- 
 
RUSTIC CHAPEL. 295 
 
 dows. In one corner are piled plows, hoes, drags, 
 and other agricultural implements ; at my back stood 
 the grim, smoked images, still worshiped by a few 
 members of the family ; while scattered round the 
 room, on backless benches or on the threshold of the 
 door, sat the rustic congregation. The occasion re- 
 minded me of the time when in my native land the 
 Gospel was preached in log-cabins, country school- 
 houses, and tented groves ; and as I thought of the 
 rapid process by which those log-cabins had become 
 palatial residences, those school-houses beautiful 
 church edifices, and those forests populous cities, my 
 faith descried the day when the same transformations 
 shall appear in China ; and I felt that, despite the 
 humble incidents of the present hour, it was a 
 glorious privilege to aid in laying on Chinese soil the 
 foundation of that kingdom which is to endure for- 
 ever. August 21, 1859, five more candidates were 
 approved for baptism, an$ admitted by that rite into 
 the communion and fellowship of the Christian 
 Church, thus increasing o,ur class at the Peach Farm 
 to twelve members. 
 
 The following incidents, growing out of our work 
 at this appointment, will show that everywhere the 
 labors and experiences of the minister of Christ pre- 
 serve a wonderful identity. It matters little, indeed, 
 where the faithful minister's field of labor may be ; 
 whether among the ice-glaciers of the North, or the 
 sunny plains of the South, or the broad prairies of 
 the "West, or in the old storied lands of the East, his 
 work in all its prominent outlines and characteristics 
 is ever the same. The great wants of humanity are 
 
296 THE PEACH FABM. 
 
 not essentially modified by degrees of latitude or 
 longtitude ; the text of the Gospel message has been 
 authoritatively settled by infinite wisdom, and the 
 leading appliances for its propagation are indicated 
 by the same high authority. 
 
 One beautiful Sabbath, after concluding our public 
 services at the Peach Farm, I went out with some of 
 the native brethren to make some pastoral visits. 
 Our first call was on an old man who had once ex- 
 pressed an interest in the Gospel, but who had grown 
 indifferent on the subject, and was now confined to 
 his bed by sickness. We found him very low, unable 
 to converse or even to think consecutively on any 
 subject. He seemed stupefied by the conviction that 
 he could not get well. To all our questions and re- 
 marks his uniform reply was : " I am old; I am dying 
 of old age. The fortune-teller says the turning of 
 the spring will decide my fate." I tried in various 
 ways to arrest his attention, but in vain. He turned 
 his face to the wall and groaned out his melancholy 
 refrain : "I am old; I am dying of old age." After 
 lying in that position for a few minutes he turned 
 himself on the couch, and, fixing on me his dull 
 leaden eye, asked : " Who are you ?" 
 
 "It is the foreign missionary," said the brethren. 
 " He has come to see you and to tell you about the 
 Saviour?" 
 
 "Yes," I added, "I have come to tell you of a 
 wonderful Saviour and a glorious home in the skies." 
 
 He looked steadily into my face, as though he wished 
 me to go on; but in a moment his mind again wan- 
 dered, and, shaking his head, he sighed : " No, no, it 
 
/ 
 TOO LATE — THE SCOFFER. 297 
 
 is of no use ; too late, too late !" and then continued 
 muttering to himself in a low, indistinct tone of voice, 
 "too late." O what saddening thoughts and remi- 
 niscences were called up by the sound of those 
 ominous words ! Finding it impossible to converse 
 with him, we tried to commend him to God, and 
 then with heavy hearts turned away to other duties. 
 
 A five minutes' walk brought us in sight of the 
 house of a man notorious throughout the valley as 
 the ringleader in everything reckless and wicked. 
 The man had attended our services on the forenoon 
 of that day, and though he listened respectfully to 
 all that was said, yet the contemptuous sneer on his 
 countenance, and the jeering remarks he uttered as 
 he left the place, indicated the true character of his 
 thoughts, and showed but too plainly that a deeply 
 rooted hostility to the Gospel rankled in his heart. 
 "We approached his dwelling with some trepidation, 
 and with many misgivings as to the result of our 
 visit. The native brethren, indeed, had tried to 
 dissuade me from calling ; but I felt desirous of at 
 least trying to lead him to the Saviour. Entering 
 the yard in front of his house, we found him sur- 
 rounded by his wild companions. Seeing us ap- 
 proach, he rose to receive us with an air of assumed 
 indifference, for it was evident he felt embarrassed by 
 our visit. After interchanging the customary saluta- 
 tions we proceeded at once to speak of the Gospel. 
 
 " I have heard my neighbors talk about these new 
 doctrines," he replied, " but they don't suit me — they 
 are too profound. I am a rough, ignorant man, and 
 can never arrive at their meanine;.'" 
 
298 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 The brethren spoke of some important Christian 
 doctrines, and sought to show their simplicity and 
 adaptation to onr wants; bnt he parried all their 
 appeals by asserting his inability to comprehend 
 them, though any one could see, in a moment, that 
 this stupidity was all assumed. 
 
 "And what do you think of your idols?" I in- 
 quired, changing the subject. 
 
 "I don't care anything about them," he quickly 
 replied. " They don't do any good. All they want 
 is something to eat and something to wear. Give 
 them a bowl of rice and a suit of paper clothes, and 
 they are entirely satisfied." These remarks were 
 delivered in a flippant, jocose manner, and called 
 forth bursts of laughter from the company. 
 
 "And is it indeed true," I continued, "that your 
 idols cannot help you ?" 
 
 " Certainly it is true," he replied. " These idols 
 are nothing but wood, or earth, or paper; how can 
 they assist us ?" Here he took hold of a small clay 
 idol, and tossing it about he continued: "See! the 
 thing cannot help itself, how can it help me ?" 
 
 "And is there no power," I asked, " to protect and 
 help us ?" 
 
 "I don't know," he replied; "everything is de- 
 termined by fate." 
 
 " What is this fate which determines everything ?" 
 
 " I don't know," he replied ; " all I know is, that 
 there must be somewhere a power superior to man 
 which controls all things." 
 
 It was now sufficiently apparent that the person 
 before us was a man of no ordinary shrewdness and 
 
WHO IS THIS JESUS? 299 
 
 native ability. Pleased with the vigor of his thoughts, 
 and wishing to hear him speak further on this topic, 
 I asked: 
 
 "What evidence have yon that there is snch a 
 power as that to which yon have referred?" 
 
 " Plenty of evidence," he replied ; " yon can see it 
 everywhere — in the motions of the heavenly "bodies, 
 in the changing seasons, in the phases of human life, 
 and in the mysterious phenomena constantly puz- 
 zling and alarming us." 
 
 "And does this power concern itself about us and 
 our affairs ?" 
 
 "No," he replied. ""We are too insignificant to 
 attract its notice. "Why should it, possessing all 
 the sources of happiness, concern itself with us or our 
 paltry affairs?" 
 
 At this point I interposed some remarks on the 
 love of God, as exhibited in the gift of his Son to be 
 the Saviour of the world. 
 
 " Yes," joined in one of the brethren, " and now 
 Jesus receives sinners and pardons them." 
 
 "And who is this Jesus," he fiercely retorted, 
 'who goes about granting instant pardon to every 
 rebel who asks him for it, thus thwarting the claims 
 of justice, degrading the law of heaven, and throwing 
 everything into confusion ?" 
 
 He uttered these words with such vehemence and 
 apparent sincerity that it was evident we had touched 
 on one of his strong objections to the Gospel. I em- 
 braced the opportunity to dwell, at some length, on 
 the character of Christ as mediator between God and 
 man, and to state as clearly as I could the conditions 
 
300 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 on which he is willing to receive and pardon the 
 guilty. Apparently satisfied, he then changed his 
 ground, and asked, with an air of triumph : " But 
 where is Jesus ? I cannot see him ; consequently I 
 do not believe there is such a being." 
 
 " Did you ever see the Emperor of China ?" I quietly 
 inquired. 
 
 A general laugh from the company anticipated his 
 reply, and showed him that even they could now de- 
 tect the fallacy of his apparently irresistible argu- 
 ment. ' Availing myself of the advantage thus gain- 
 ed I turned to more practical subjects, and tried to 
 give him some idea of his own sinfulness in the sight 
 of God. To my great surprise he promptly respond- 
 ed: "What you say is true; I am a bad man; I 
 know it, and am neither afraid nor ashamed to ac- 
 knowledge it." He uttered these words with so 
 much earnestness and apparent sincerity that for a 
 moment it seemed as though the Holy Spirit were 
 just about to lead him to the Saviour ; but a change 
 soon came over him, and, resuming his former reck- 
 less manner, he turned aside all my appeals by plead- 
 ing old age, ignorance, and the power of habit. 
 
 " Will you allow me to pray with you ?" I inquired 
 as we rose to leave. 4 
 
 " Thank you," he replied, " I'd rather not." 
 
 Warmed by our previous conversation, and feeling 
 a deep interest in his case, I ventured to urge the 
 point; but he persistently refused, and finding that 
 my importunity irritated him I desisted. He accom- 
 panied us to the gate, invited us to call again, and 
 then bade us a pleasant good-by. " Blessed are 
 
OUR THIRD CALL. 301 
 
 they wlio sow beside all waters," I recited to myself 
 as we walked slowly away from this den of wick- 
 edness. 
 
 After a brief interval of rest we started to make 
 our third call. In a retired cove on the side of the 
 monntain stands a solitary farm-honse. One portion 
 of it is occupied by a farmer with his family, while 
 the other part is the home of a lone widow whom we 
 had recently baptized and admitted into the Christian 
 Church. A sacred atmosphere seemed to surround 
 the place as we approached it, and the scenery was 
 so quiet and homelike that it was difficult for me to 
 believe myself in a heathen land. Entering the 
 dwelling, our good sister received us with a cordial 
 welcome. It was most interesting to listen to her 
 simple experience. 
 
 "I am so glad you have come," $he said as she 
 took a seat beside me. " This is a lonely place, and 
 I am sometimes tempted to fear that the idols which 
 I have forsaken will in some way injure me. Here 
 is where I pray," pointing to a corner of the room ; 
 " and at night, when disturbed by unpleasant dreams, 
 I get up from my bed, kneel down there, and pray. 
 And prayer to Jesus always makes me feel better," 
 she added with great earnestness. 
 
 We talked to her for some time about the way of 
 salvation through a crucified Redeemer, and then 
 proposed prayer. 
 
 "O yes," she quickly replied, "I do want you to 
 pray in my house. After you have prayed in it I 
 shall feel that it is consecrated to the true God, and 
 that henceforth the idols will not dare to enter it." 
 
302 THE PEACH FARM. 
 
 While engaged in these exercises the farmer came 
 in from his work and sat down with ns in the room. 
 We conversed with him some time, urging him to 
 abandon heathenism and embrace Christianity. He 
 listened attentively to all we said on the subject, and 
 expressed a desire to become a Christian. "But," 
 said he, " I am a poor man, and have a large family 
 to support ; I fear I should come to want if I were to 
 cease work every seventh day." 
 
 " As to that," I replied, " if you will be diligent in 
 business during six days of the week, I believe God 
 will not suffer you to starve on Sunday. Besides," I 
 continued, "you have now been toiling for perhaps 
 fifty years under the fancied protection of your idols, 
 and I suspect you are more heavily in debt now than 
 you were at the beginning." 
 
 " True," he responded ; " every word you have said 
 is true." 
 
 "Then," said I, "just give up this way of living 
 and try Christianity." 
 
 " But," he replied, " my landlord says he will turn 
 me off the farm if I become a Christian." 
 
 " He'll not do anything of the kind," I said with 
 some earnestness, for I had some knowledge of the 
 facts in the case ; " and even if he should do so you 
 can find as good situations elsewhere." 
 
 " Well, I'll think over the matter," he replied sol- 
 emnly, " and you must pray for me." 
 
 We assured him we would do so; and after a 
 few months it was our privilege to receive himself 
 and wife into Church fellowship. 
 
THE BIBLE OUR COMPASS. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 "Are tlie Chinese capable of appreciating the 
 doctrines of the Bible?" "Can the Chinese be 
 converted ?" 
 
 The following incidents are given, partly as answers 
 "to these and similar questions which recently have 
 been addressed to the writer, and partly as illustra- 
 tions of our field and work in China : 
 
 In the autumn of 1859, a few weeks before leaving 
 Fuhchau for the United States, I visited our two out- 
 stations, Peach Farm and Ngu-kang. After the 
 forenoon sermon at the Peach Farm we held the 
 usual class-meeting. All the members spoke, giving 
 a simple and, to me at least, most interesting account 
 of their Christian experience. One brother said the 
 Bible, to the Christian, was like the compass to the 
 mariner ; and another, carrying out the figure, spoke 
 of faith in the Bible as our rudder in the voyage of 
 life. Toward the close of the meeting old Father Li 
 arose and said : 
 
 "Brethren, I am an old man, too old to think 
 clearly and consecutively on any subject. I am not 
 able to comprehend everything the Bible contains; 
 it is not probable I shall understand all its doctrines 
 
304 INCIDENTS. 
 
 in this life ;■ but, brethren, I just believe the whole of 
 it. Only assure me that what yon say is contained 
 in the Bible, and I'll believe every word of it." 
 
 ]STever shall I forget the simple earnestness with 
 which these words were nttered; and never shall I 
 forget the delightful emotions they excited in my 
 heart. In what school had the old man learned this 
 sublime lesson of faith? I was the more gratified 
 with these remarks, because, so far as I could remem- 
 ber, I had never presented the subject to him in this 
 light, and I could not but feel that this beautiful ex- 
 perience was due to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 After dinner I walked two miles to the other 
 appointment at ISTgu-kang ; and at the conclusion of 
 the discourse the members, as usual, remained for 
 class-meeting. "When a goodly number had spoken 
 old Father Ting arose, and with evident emotion said : 
 
 "What a wonderful mercy it is that I, so old a 
 man, have heard and obeyed this glorious Gospel! 
 Had I died a few years since, or had this Gospel been 
 delayed a few years more in reaching this place, I 
 should have been lost forever. Thank God, I am here 
 to-day, permitted to hear the joyful sound and to 
 believe on the Lord with all my heart ! There are 
 many things of which I am ignorant, brethren, but 
 this one thing I know : I do love the Saviour, and 
 living or dying Pll never leave him /" 
 
 Tears gushed from the old man's eyes as he uttered 
 these words, his large frame quivered with emotion, 
 and he sank into his seat sobbing like a child. 
 
 At a previous class-meeting held at Ngu-kang, a 
 young brother rose to speak. He was a blacksmith, 
 
THE BLACKSMITH. 305 
 
 had lost his parents years ago, was now the eldest 
 member of the family, and had recently embraced 
 religion. He said : 
 
 " Some two or three months ago, when I became in- 
 terested in these doctrines, my neighbors tried to 
 frighten me. They said I would starve if I be- 
 came a Christian, for I would not be allowed 
 to do any work on Sundays; and that if I did 
 really embrace Christianity they would never give 
 me any more work. These statements," he con- 
 tinued, "startled me at first, and I scarcely knew 
 what to do; but after ^ thinking over the matter, 
 I concluded that God would take care of me if I 
 sincerely tried to obey his will; hence I embraced 
 these doctrines, and became a Christian. And now 
 what is the result ? Why, with regard to keeping 
 the Sabbath, I find that I now do more work in six 
 days than formerly I did in seven ; and with regard 
 to losing my business, I never had as much work in 
 my life as I have had since I became a Christian. 
 My shop is frequently crowded with people who bring 
 their farming tools to be repaired ; and while I am 
 doing their work, they keep me busy answering their 
 questions about these new doctrines. I fancy, indeed, 
 that some of them bring me their hoes and axes only 
 as a pretext for getting into a conversation with me ; 
 for I occasionally notice that the tools they bring 
 require scarcely any dressing at all." 
 
 The case of this young man is full of interest. 
 Before hearing the Gospel he was not able to read a 
 word ; but after he commenced attending our meet- 
 ings he addressed himself to the task of learning to 
 
 20 
 
306 INCIDENTS. 
 
 read, and within two months from that time he was 
 able to read the entire Gospel of Saint Matthew. 
 He possesses a mind of more than ordinary clearness 
 and vigor. Some of his prayers and addresses in our 
 social meetings are remarkably pertinent and efficient. 
 We have already, indeed, designated him the "learned 
 blacksmith," and I most earnestly pray that he 
 may consecrate all his gifts to the advancement 
 of Christ's kingdom in China. I remember his 
 rising "on one occasion in class-meeting to narrate 
 his experience. Referring to his faith in Christianity, 
 he said : 
 
 " Brethren, a man must believe something. What 
 a man believes should be good, for a man's practice 
 will always approximate his theory. If what a man 
 believes is good 3 he will become virtuous ; but if what 
 he believes is bad, he will become vicious. Now," 
 said he, " just look for a moment at our systems of 
 idolatry. Suppose we were to become like the idols 
 we worshiped; why, we should be devils incarnate, 
 and the world would be made a pandemonium ! 
 Hence I conclude that our heathenism is bad. But 
 look at Christianity. If we become like Jesus we 
 shall possess characters of the highest excellence and 
 purity, and the world will be like heaven. Hence I 
 conclude Christianity is good, and in believing it we 
 are simply obeying the voice of reason." 
 
 During one of our examinations of candidates for 
 baptism at Ngu-kang, I observed that one woman 
 and some three or four young people had the same 
 surname. This circumstance led to the following- con- 
 versation between myself and one of the young men : 
 
FIGHTING FOR THE FAMILY. 307 
 
 " I observe you all have the same surname. Are 
 you members of the same family ?" I inquired. 
 
 " Yes," one replied; " this is mother, and these are 
 my brothers." 
 
 " "Where is your father ?" I continued. 
 
 " He is at home attending to business." 
 
 " Does he approve of your embracing Christianity V 
 
 " Yes, he is entirely willing." 
 
 " "Why does not your father himself become a 
 Christian?" 
 
 " He says it would not answer for all the family to 
 embrace Christianity." 
 
 " And why," I asked with some curiosity, " does 
 he think so ?" 
 
 " He says that if we all become Christians our 
 heathen neighbors will take advantage of that cir- 
 cumstance to impose on us." 
 
 " How will they do that ?" I inquired. 
 
 " Christians are not allowed to swear or fight ; and 
 father says that when our wicked neighbors ascertain 
 we have embraced Christianity, they will proceed at 
 once to curse and maltreat us. Hence father says to 
 us : ' You may all become Christians, but I must 
 remain a heathen so as to retaliate on our bad neigh- 
 bors. You can go to meeting and worship, but I 
 must stay at home to do the cursing and fighting for 
 the family.' " 
 
 An incident occurred at Ngu-kang which will 
 furnish some illustration of our work in China. One 
 Sunday afternoon we commenced our usual service 
 in the house of one of the brethren. The room was 
 crowded, and many were standing about the door. 
 
308 INCIDENTS. 
 
 We had sung the opening hymn and kneeled for 
 prayer, the entire congregation kneeling with us. I 
 had uttered only a few sentences of the prayer when 
 whir-wA^-WHACK came a blow so close to my face 
 that for a moment I felt sure it had been aimed at 
 me. Somewhat startled, I opened my eyes, and 
 there, right before me, stood a strapping field-woman, 
 armed with a stout bamboo cane. She seemed 
 frantic with rage, and poured her blows with furious 
 energy upon the shoulders and back of a young man 
 kneeling at my side. Her voice, never musical I 
 should suppose, was now gratingly harsh, and pitched 
 on a particularly high key, so that the volleys of ob- 
 jurgations and curses with which she interlarded her 
 blows fell on the ear like rapid discharges of fire- 
 crackers. A moment's thought explained the char- 
 acter of this unexpected episode in our services, and, 
 as all the congregation remained quietly kneeling, I 
 determined to continue my prayer notwithstanding 
 this unwelcome disturbance. The execution of this 
 purpose was more difficult than I had anticipated. 
 The woman was in a towering passion, her arms and 
 tongue moving with astonishing velocity, and, in self- 
 defense, I found myself compelled to lead the devo- 
 tions of the sanctuary in an elevation of tone and a 
 prolixity of address quite unusual with me. The 
 storm, however, gradually subsided. Finding that 
 the meeting was going forward in spite of her dis- 
 orderly proceedings, the woman began to restrain 
 herself, and the young man, acting on the advice of 
 the brethren near him, arose from his knees and ac- 
 companied her from the place. After our exercises 
 
WHIPPING AN ENQUIRER. 309 
 
 were over the brethren gave the following explana- 
 tion of the disturbance : The woman was the mother 
 of the young man she thus publicly chastised. The 
 son had become interested in Christianity, and 
 began to attend our meetings. His mother opposed 
 him, and threatened to beat him if he did not change 
 his course. On the Sunday preceding the above oc- 
 currence the mother had dragged him out of the 
 prayer-meeting and gave public notice of her inten- 
 tion to beat him if he ever dared again to disobey her 
 commands on this subject. Greatly to the surprise 
 of the brethren the young man appeared in the con- 
 gregation on the present occasion, and hence the 
 scene that ensued. Shortly after this I left China, 
 and have not yet learned the final issue in the case, 
 but hope and pray that the young man may perse- 
 vere in his desire to become a Christian. 
 
 I was much interested in some remarks made by 
 one of our converts in class-meeting on one occasion. 
 He was speaking of the blessings Christianity confers, 
 and after enumerating a goodly number of its more 
 prominent gifts, he proceeded : " And then, brethren, 
 in addition to all these, Christianity institutes a new 
 order of kindred. While a heathen I had parents, 
 brothers, sisters, cousins, and so on, and I never 
 thought of even caring for any one beyond these ; but 
 since becoming a Christian I really love every person 
 in the world who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 This is a new bond which attaches me to the entire 
 Church of Christ, and I now love Christians of all 
 countries more cordially and thoroughly than I ever 
 did my kindred after the flesh. Indeed, while I was 
 
310 INCIDENTS. 
 
 a heathen there was but little if any love between 
 the members of our family ; contentions and quarrels 
 never ceased among us. But now all is changed ; we 
 live together in peace and harmony, and it is really 
 delightful thus to dwell together in unity of faith and 
 love." 
 
 The following conversation passed between a mem- 
 ber of our Church in Fuhchau and one of his uncon- 
 verted neighbors. It may be well for me to state 
 here that in Fuhchau the Chinese are accustomed to 
 assert, with great boldness and persistency, that 
 foreign missionaries bribe the people^ to embrace 
 Christianity, though they must very well know that 
 the charge is utterly without foundation. Shortly 
 after the conversion of the brother referred to one of 
 his neighbors called to see him, and the following 
 dialogue ensued : 
 
 "How much did you get for embracing Chris- 
 tianity ?" inquired the neighbor. 
 
 "I do not wish to name the sum," replied the 
 convert ; "how much do you think it was?" 
 
 " I suppose you received at least ten dollars." 
 
 " More than that." 
 
 "Twenty?" 
 
 " More than that." 
 
 "Fifty?" 
 
 " More than that," 
 
 (With eager curiosity) " One hundred ?" 
 
 "More than that." 
 
 (In utter amazement) " "Why, how much did you 
 get ? pray do tell me !" 
 
 "Something more valuable than the bulk of 
 
INFLUENCE OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 311 
 
 Kushan in solid gold," (pointing to a mountain of 
 that name some six miles off, and measuring three 
 thousand feet in height.) 
 
 " You confound me," exclaimed the excited neigh- 
 bor ; " pray explain your meaning." 
 
 " Why I have received this," (holding up a copy of 
 the Bible.) " This is the word of God, and is worth 
 more than all the combined treasures of earth." 
 
 Shortly after I entered upon my public labors as a 
 missionary in Fuhchau the following incident occur- 
 red, and I give it here to show how the principles of 
 Christianity, when embodied in individual life, may 
 break down the prejudices and win the affections of 
 the heathen. I was preaching in our street chapel 
 from: "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and 
 and persecute you," etc., (Matt, v, 11 ;) and I was 
 saying that Christians frequently endured persecution 
 in consequence of their faith in Christ. The Chinese 
 have beautiful theories in ethics and politics. They 
 can depict in glowing colors the superior excellence 
 of virtue ; but from these intellectual exercitations 
 they will pass without compunction to the grossest 
 sensual indulgences. They conceive it to be impos- 
 sible for a man's practice to approximate, in any 
 good degree, his own ideal of excellence. I referred 
 at some length to this discrepancy between theory 
 and practice among the Chinese, and then spoke of 
 Christians as approximating the Bible standard of 
 excellence. As I was presenting this point a man 
 seated near the door arose and, addressing me, 
 said: 
 
 " May I interrupt you, sir, for a moment ?" 
 
312 INCIDENTS. 
 
 "Certainly," I replied, and then waited to hear 
 what he had to say. Turning to the congregation 
 the man proceeded : 
 
 "What the teacher says is true. Christians will 
 endure reproach and persecution. Why, from the 
 first day this teacher came here to live I have taken 
 every suitable occasion to revile and injure him. I 
 have sought to thwart his plans in every possible 
 way, and yet to this hour he has never answered me 
 a harsh word. It seemed, indeed, as though he took 
 pains to treat me kindly. His conduct in this re- 
 spect has always puzzled me ; but what he has just 
 been saying seems to throw light on the subject." 
 Then addressing me, he said : " Will you please tell 
 me whether or not your conduct with reference to 
 myself has been dictated and controlled by the doc- 
 trine you have just been explaining ?" 
 
 " Tour surmise is correct," I replied. " Tour per- 
 sistent abuse has often pained me; but for Christ's 
 sake I have endured it, hoping you would see the 
 wickedness of such conduct and abandon it." 
 
 "Well," said he, addressing the congregation, 
 " this doctrine is good, and it has a power over the 
 heart of which we are ignorant. There is not a man 
 here who would have borne a tithe of what this 
 teacher has endured from me ; now, henceforth, I am 
 this teacher's friend. He is a good man, and we 
 ought to treat him kindly." 
 
 It affords me pleasure to state that the man has 
 been true to his promise. Since that day I have 
 never received from him the slightest disrespect. He 
 has shown himself in many ways to be my friend, 
 
MISSIONAEY SEKMON. 313 
 
 and on all suitable occasions he never fails to speak 
 a good word for me. I believe lie has not yet be- 
 come a Christian ; but it rises before me in the light 
 of a blessed probability that I shall be permitted to 
 lay my hand on his head, and, at a Christian altar, 
 baptize him in the name of the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 On one occasion I preached a missionary discourse 
 to our native XUhurch in Fuhchau, and endeavored to 
 impress on their minds the duty of contributing ac- 
 cording to their ability for the support of the Gospel. 
 When the congregation had been dismissed one of 
 our aged members came forward and took a seat 
 beside me near the pulpit. He was much agitated, 
 and seemed anxious to speak to me. An opportunity 
 was soon given him to do so, and he said : 
 
 " I was thinking, while listening to your discourse, 
 of God's great goodness to me. I was advanced in 
 years when the missionaries came to Fuhchau and 
 I had been living in sin all my life. At first I was 
 unwilling to believe the Gospel. I was ashamed to 
 confess Christ before my neighbors; but the Lord 
 graciously enlightened my mind, and through grace 
 I was made willing to accept Jesus Christ as my 
 Saviour. And then here is my wife, also a member 
 of the Church, and there are my sons and their wives, 
 all converted and united with me in Church-fellow- 
 ship. Such mercies are truly wonderful; and then 
 to think that I have never made any returns to God 
 for his wondrous love !" Here the old man's emo- 
 tions choked his utterance, and he sobbed aloud, 
 while the tears streamed from his eyes. After gain- 
 
314 INCIDENTS. 
 
 ing control over his feelings, lie resumed : "I often 
 feel like going ont among my countrymen to preach 
 the Gospel, and, indeed, I have started occasionally 
 to visit certain places where I thought I could per- 
 suade the people to become Christians; but after 
 walking a short distance my strength would fail, and 
 I had to abandon the effort. I am old and feeble. 
 O if I were only a young man how I should love to 
 go everywhere proclaiming the glorious Gospel! 
 But, alas ! this can never be my privilege. I can only 
 stay at home, talk a little to my neighbors, and, by 
 my prayers and contributions, try to aid in advancing 
 this holy cause." 
 
 I was much gratified by this incident at the time 
 of its occurrence ; and I now remember it with the 
 greater interest, because since I left China (1859) the 
 old gentleman has died in the faith. The following 
 account of his death, from the pen of the Rev. Otis 
 Gibson, a member of our mission in China, will 
 doubtless be acceptable to the reader : 
 
 "FUHCHAIT, 1860. 
 
 "Deae Beothee Maclay: About one o'clock 
 A. M., on Saturday, the 11th of February, 1860, 
 Father Hu Ngieng Seu died in piece. During the 
 last few years of his life, while prostrated by sickness, 
 he seemed much more humble, patient, and submiss- 
 ive than before. You remember that he has always 
 been a source of some anxiety for fear he had not 
 met with a radical change of heart. I am sure you 
 will rejoice to learn that his last days, and especially 
 his death, have left strong grounds for believing that 
 
Father Hu. 
 

FATHER HU. 317 
 
 he was truly a child of God. He regretted very 
 much that he was not able to come and bid you 
 good-by before you left for America. The first time 
 I saw him after your departure, with a sad coun- 
 tenance, he said: "What are we to do now? We 
 native Christians are too young ahd too weak to 
 walk alone. Teacher Maclay has left us; you and 
 Teacher Wentworth cannot hold us all up ; some of 
 us will fall." I tried to impress upon his mind that 
 Jesus is able and willing to support, to strengthen, 
 and to bless ; that it is much better for us to trust 
 in Christ than in man. He seemed thoughtful a 
 moment and then said : ' We must now put our trust 
 all in Christ.' 
 
 " I was soon away on a long trip up the river visit- 
 ing Minchang, Chuikau, Tenping, and Kienning. 
 On my return no one manifested more joy to see me 
 than Father Hu. He said that I was more precious 
 than ever, now that I had been away, and that I 
 must not go away so far for fear bad men might lay 
 violent hands upon me. I often talked with him on 
 the subject of saving faith in Christ. Sometimes with 
 tears he would confess himself so great a sinner that 
 he feared he could never reach heaven. I made it a 
 point to call and see him once a week, and pray for 
 and with him during his confinement to his room. 
 He always seemed very glad to see me, and joined 
 earnestly in prayer. The second day after I was so 
 violently mobbed in the streets I visited Father Hu, 
 and I shall perhaps never forget the reception he 
 gave me. As I was going up stairs the old man got 
 up from his bed, and came with feeble steps (his wife 
 
318 INCIDENTS. 
 
 assisting him) to meet me. They both shed tears. 
 Father Hu cried like a child, took hold of me with 
 both hands, and with affecting earnestness thanked 
 the heavenly Father for saving me from the violence 
 of those who had laid snares for my life. Said he : 
 'It is well that I am sick. Had I not been sick 
 when I heard how the mob abnsed you I could not 
 have endured it, but would have taken an ax and cut 
 the wicked fellows to pieces.' It was at this time 
 that I asked him if he thought he was ready to die, 
 and he answered: 'My hody is a miserable wicked 
 thing, and God will not suffer it much longer. My 
 soul trusts in Christ, and in him alone, for salvation, 
 and I hope soon I shall be in the heavenly country.' 
 " The watch-night this year was held at Tienang 
 Tong. Nearly all the Church members were present, 
 and Father Hu was left entirely alone nearly all 
 night. He passed the hours in a rigid self-examina- 
 tion, and the next day, in attendance at a 'Union 
 Prayer-meeting' (Chinese) held in the Ching Sing 
 Tong, he received such a blessing that from that day 
 he seemed a different man. He took less interest in 
 worldly matters, and seemed only interested in the 
 things of God. Brother long Mi's letter, I think, 
 alludes to this. On the night of his death long Mi 
 and his wife, Sing Mi, Seng Mi, and Kiu Taih were 
 with him. About midnight he asked to be raised up 
 on the bed, and then he called on them to pray, say- 
 ing that his time had come, that the Saviour was 
 calling him, and that he must go. After prayer 
 they asked him if he had peace of soul. He placed 
 his hand on his breast, and pointing to heaven, said : 
 
FATHER HU. 319 
 
 ' The Saviour does not leave me ; the Saviour is 
 with me.' He was laid down on the bed at his own 
 request, and without a struggle or a groan his spirit 
 passed away. His remains were interred in the 
 family vault some four or five miles out from the east 
 gate of the city. Brother Baldwin and myself at- 
 tended the funeral, and buried the remains of Father 
 Hu in 'sure and certain hope of the resurrection 
 unto eternal life.' 
 
 " Father Hu was born and brought up in this city, 
 (Fuhchau.) He had reached the fifty-ninth year of 
 his age. He was the father of eleven children, eight 
 of whom, six sons and two daughters, are now living. 
 The oldest four sons are acceptable members of the 
 Church, and two of them are licensed exhorters. 
 The youngest two boys and the youngest daughter 
 are in the mission schools. It was through Father 
 Hu, then an idolater, that we purchased the lot for 
 building the Ching Sing Tong, (Church of the True 
 God,) and you will remember with some interest that 
 Father Hu dissuaded his neighbors from building a 
 temple which they had commenced next to our 
 church. He told them that the one we had erected 
 was large enough for all purposes, and proposed that 
 they inquire into the doctrines there preached. 
 
 " He became interested in the Gospel about 1855, 
 and was baptized in May, 1858. During the most of 
 his life he was connected with the military service of 
 his country, and in 1858 he received from Hienfung, 
 the present emperor of China, an honorary title for 
 services rendered in the imperial cause. 
 
 " Yours truly, Otis Gibson." 
 
320 INCIDENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 In the spring of 1859 we were holding a quarterly- 
 meeting in Fuhchau, and on Sunday morning had 
 the usual "love-feast." There was a full attendance 
 of the members at this meeting, and the exercises 
 were interesting and edifying. Toward the close of 
 the services a boy, whose head alone was visible over 
 the top of the pew, arose near the center of the 
 church, and in a clear though tremulous voice said : 
 
 " Friends, I am a little boy, and am very ignorant ; 
 but f I wish to become a Christian, and I desire you all 
 to teach me and pray for me." 
 
 The evident sincerity of the little fellow greatly 
 interested me in his case, and at the close of the love- 
 feast I made some inquiries concerning him. Our 
 brethren from the country knew him very well. 
 They said he was about sixteen years of age, that he 
 lived about twelve miles from Fuhchau, and that he 
 had walked all the distance that morning to be pres- 
 ent at the love-feast. The brethren then gave the 
 following history of the case, and I place it on record 
 for the edification and encouragement of the Church : 
 
 " About four weeks since," said they, " we noticed 
 this boy in our Sunday prayer-meeting at Koi-hung, 
 
THE ORPHAN BOY. 321 
 
 but we paid no attention to him, supposing he had 
 come merely through idle curiosity. The following 
 Sunday he was again at meeting, and we thought it 
 somewhat strange he should remember both the day 
 and hour of our meeting ; still we did not say any- 
 thing to him. On the third Sunday, to our surprise, 
 he was again at the meeting, and manifested such a 
 hearty interest in the exercises that we entered into 
 conversation with him. 
 
 " ' Do your parents know you are attending this 
 meeting V we inquired. 
 
 " ' I have no parents,' replied the boy. 
 
 " ' Where then do you live V 
 
 " ' O with Mr. ; he is my guardian.' 
 
 " ' Well, does Mr. know you attend this 
 
 meeting ?' 
 
 " ' Yes, he knows it.' 
 
 " ' Is he willing you should attend V 
 
 " ' At first he was not, but afterward he changed 
 his mind, and said I might come.' 
 
 " ' WTiat induced him to change his mind V 
 
 " ' I'll tell you how it happened. About a month 
 ago I heard of this meeting, and was very anxious to 
 attend. So one day I said to my guardian : " The 
 people at Koi-hung are learning the new doctrines, 
 and I would like to attend their meetings." He be- 
 came very angry, and said : " Who has been telling 
 you about these doctrines? Go to your work, and 
 never mention the subject to me again." I went to 
 work feeling very badly, for I thought it would be 
 impossible for me ever to get to your meetings. One 
 
 day, however, Mr. was in a very pleasant humor, 
 
 21 
 
322 • INCIDENTS. 
 
 and I ventured to approach him again on the subject, 
 assuring him that if he would release me from work 
 on Sundays, I would make up the lost time by work- 
 ing harder all the rest of the week. He scolded me 
 sharply for daring to speak to him again on the sub- 
 ject, and I began to give up all hope of succeeding. 
 But after a while he changed his manner, "and spoke 
 to me more kindly. I then repeated to bim my 
 proposition about making up the lost time ; and after 
 thinking over the matter for a few minutes, he said : 
 " Well, if you are so anxious to hear these new doc- 
 trines, you may go on the condition you name; 
 but remember, you shall have nothing to eat on 
 Sundays /" ' 
 
 " ' And have you been going without food 
 every Sunday since that time V we asked with 
 eagerness. 
 
 " ' Yes,' said the little fellow ; ' but I do not regard 
 that as any great hardship.' " 
 
 I may add that the boy continued to grow in Chris- 
 tian knowledge and grace, and before I left China he 
 was admitted by baptism to membership in our native 
 Church at ]STgu-kang. 
 
 Mr. Wong, a young landscape painter in Fuhchau, 
 was an intimate friend of one of our Church mem- 
 bers. Both being painters, their business often threw 
 them into each other's society, and a strong attach- 
 ment sprung up between them. After the conversion 
 of Brother Hu long Mi, he felt a great desire for the 
 salvation of Mr. Wong, his cherished friend. He 
 prayed fervently for him, and never failed, when 
 opportunity offered, to urge upon him the claims of 
 
THE PAINTEE. 323 
 
 Christianity. It soon became apparent that these 
 pious efforts were producing a salutary impression on 
 Mr. Wong's mind. He began to read the Scripture, 
 and was present frequently at our meetings. Grad- 
 ually he acquired confidence, and began to speak and 
 pray in our class-meetings. We all felt a lively inter- 
 est in his case, for he was a young man of excellent 
 character, possessed more than ordinary mental abil- 
 ity, and always evinced a humble, docile spirit. 
 That he could embrace Christianity without encount- 
 ering opposition, was more than could be expected ; 
 and yet no one had formed an adequate conception of 
 the trying ordeal that awaited him. 
 
 While he was embracing every opportunity to at- 
 tend our meetings, and was giving us every evidence 
 of his sincere desire to become a Christian, some per- 
 sons called to see his mother, and said : 
 
 "You must look after that son of yours; he is 
 running into danger." 
 
 The old lady was a widow, tenderly attached to 
 this son, and the information communicated by the 
 persons just referred to startled her. "What is 
 wrong!" she exclaimed; "my son has always been 
 industrious and dutiful ; what has occurred ?" 
 
 "He attends the foreign church," they replied, 
 " and it is said he has determined to become a 
 Christian." 
 
 " Impossible !" cried the old lady ; " it cannot be 
 that my son is about to do such a thing." 
 
 When the young man came home his mother thus 
 interrogated him: "Son, it is said you go to hear 
 these foreign doctrines ; is the report true ?" 
 
324 INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Why, mother," replied the young man, " every- 
 body goes to hear them. The church is on the main 
 street, and when the church door is thrown open and 
 the bell rung all the people go in for a few minutes 
 to see and hear. I too have gone in to listen." 
 
 "Is it possible you can listen to the abominable 
 lies uttered by those foreigners ?" continued the 
 mother. 
 
 " I am quite young yet and cannot understand all 
 that is said ; but, mother, what they say seems to be 
 reasonable." 
 
 " Don't talk in that way to me," retorted the old 
 lady ; " you must cease to hear those foreigners ; they 
 are crafty, unprincipled fellows, and you are not able 
 to resist their blandishments. I dare not trust you 
 out of my sight ; henceforth you must not cross the 
 threshold of my door to go abroad. Stay here and 
 work, and when you have prepared the pictures I 
 will attend to selling them." 
 
 " I shall do as you direct, mother," quietly replied 
 the son. 
 
 The old lady kept her son in close confinement, 
 narrowly watching him to see that he did not leave 
 the house. She tried in every way to shake his de- 
 termination to become a Christian, weeping, scolding, 
 and threatening by turns. It was a terrible trial 
 to the young man ; he sought help in prayer ; morn- 
 ing, noon, and night he would kneel in his chamber 
 to pray, and at times, in the earnestness of his feel- 
 ings, the petitions would find expression in audible 
 words. The old lady soon heard sounds proceeding 
 from her son's chamber, and occasionally, as she drew 
 
THE PAINTER. 325 
 
 near to listen, the name "Jesus," or the petition, 
 "Lord bless my mother," would fall on her ear. 
 These words troubled her; it made her uneasy to 
 hear in her own house the name Jesus ; it filled her 
 with strange fears to have that name ringing in her 
 ears. And then that oft-repeated prayer, " Lord, 
 bless my mother !" it was too much. After enduring 
 it as long as she possibly could, she determined to 
 change her tactics. Calling her son into her presence, 
 she said : 
 
 " Son, you must stop this praying." 
 
 The young man replied : " Mother, hitherto I have 
 obeyed all your commands, but now, when you tell 
 me to cease praying to God, I dare not obey 
 you." 
 
 "But the noise disturbs me," continued the old 
 lady ; "I cannot stay in the house with you." 
 
 "Mother," replied the young man, "I did not 
 know I prayed so loudly. Hereafter I will pray in a 
 whisper, so that you need not be disturbed." 
 
 " You shall never pray in my house again," sternly 
 responded the old lady. "If you continue to pray 
 you must leave the house." 
 
 " Mother," said the young man, " I cannot cease to 
 pray." 
 
 " Leave my house then this moment," exclaimed 
 the mother. "I disown you forever as my child. 
 Never again enter this house ; and when I die dare 
 not to join with the family in celebrating my funeral 
 obsequies." 
 
 A mother's malediction is one of the direst calam- 
 ities that can befall a Chinese; but in the present 
 
326 INCIDENTS. 
 
 instance the terrible anathema failed to move this 
 humble, patient young man. Driven from his own 
 home he came directly to his friend, Brother long Mi, 
 and asked permission to live and labor with him in 
 his shop. The request was at once granted; and 
 now, in the congenial society of his friend, within 
 reach of sanctuary privileges, and surrounded by our 
 Church members, he seemed to be perfectly happy. 
 The Bible was his constant companion, and his 
 Christian experience developed rapidly. 
 
 After spending some time in this manner, he came 
 to me one day in great perplexity, saying : 
 
 " My mother sends for me, and I understand they 
 have determined to get me into their power and then 
 beat or kill me ; what shall I do ?" 
 
 It was a solemn moment. O how profoundly I 
 felt the need of heavenly wisdom to direct us in that 
 trying emergency. "Follow the teachings of the 
 Bible," I replied. " The fifth commandment says : 
 ' Honor thy father and thy mother ;' and then the 
 Lord Jesus has said: 'He that loveth father or 
 mother more than me is not worthy of me.' Were I 
 in your place I would go, but maintain my integrity 
 at all hazards." 
 
 It was a trying moment for the young man. A 
 fierce struggle was going on within his bosom, and 
 for a time it seemed as though he could not decide 
 the question. The decision, however, was made ; 
 and never shall I forget the solemnity of his manner 
 as he deliberately uttered the words, " I'll go ; pray 
 for me !" He went, and with many prayers for his 
 deliverance we awaited the result. 
 
THE PAINTEE. 327 
 
 The next day he returned with a joyful counte- 
 nance, saying : 
 
 "It is all right; there was no trouble at all. 
 When I reached home mother was sitting in her 
 chair waiting for me. She said: 'I have sent for 
 you to ask you for the last time whether or not you 
 will abandon your purpose to become a Christian.' 
 I replied : ' Mother, I have forsaken the evil and am 
 following the good ; how can I now abandon the 
 good and turn again to the evil?' 'You are fully 
 determined then,' said mother, 'to become a Chris- 
 tian V I felt that my answer to this question would 
 decide my fate, and raising my heart in prayer to 
 God for grace to meet even death itself, I ventured 
 to reply : ' Mother, I have so determined.' She looked 
 at me steadily for a minute, and then said: 'If I 
 cannot change your determination I shall change 
 mine. I shall not oppose you any further. Tou are 
 at liberty to become a Christian, and I wish you to 
 live with me as formerly.' These remarks were so 
 utterly unexpected that my emotions completely over- 
 powered me, and falling on my knees I poured out 
 my grateful acknowledgements to God for this won- 
 derful deliverance. And now I wish to be baptized 
 and received into the Church, and I wish you all to 
 pray for my mother's conversion." 
 
 On the following communion Sabbath he was 
 admitted to baptism, and now he is a licensed 
 exhorter in our Church at Fuhchau. Since my 
 return to the United States I have received a letter 
 from him, of which the following translation is here 
 presented to the reader : 
 
328 INCIDENTS. 
 
 " To Kev. E. S. Maclay : 
 
 " My Dear Sik, — I desire that you will be pleased 
 to give thanks for me to our heavenly Father for all 
 his goodness to me, as I am sure my one mouth can- 
 not sufficiently praise him for his mercies. I know, 
 indeed, that you do most certainly offer thanksgiving 
 on my behalf, and that you do pray for all the mem- 
 bers of our Church in China. I am assured also that 
 it was God who guided you to China and enabled 
 you to endure so much persecution and reproach 
 without ever once leaving China or ceasing to com- 
 passionate the Chinese, during a period of nearly 
 thirteen years. It was not by your own strength 
 that you accomplished all this ; surely it was in the 
 strength of God you did it. Before there were any 
 Christian converts in Fuhchau, with whom did you 
 associate? Truly it must have been with the Sav- 
 iour, Jesus Christ ; otherwise you could not have 
 passed the time. "When I think of these things I 
 give thanks to God for his great grace toward you. 
 I pray you constantly to cherish the recollection of 
 these mercies, and never suffer Satan to lead you 
 astray. In former years also our heavenly Father 
 has crowned your life with many blessings ; but you 
 can yourself readily understand these matters. Our 
 heavenly Father regards you as gold, which, after a 
 refining process of thirteen years, now exhibits the 
 unclouded luster ; and most assuredly he will use you 
 as a righteous instrument for the accomplishment of 
 his purposes. Eemember, I beseech you, how the 
 Lord has purified and honored you, and do not fail to 
 come back to China. All the brethren desire this ; 
 
CHINESE LETTER. 329 
 
 we long for you as the parched mouth longs for the 
 grateful tea. In all our thoughts we desire this one 
 thing, that the Holy Spirit may quickly lead you 
 back to China. 
 
 " We pray God to preserve you and your family 
 while on the ocean, and to grant that both your body 
 and soul may have health. I believe God will give 
 you great joy on your voyage to America; and the 
 Saviour says : ' Tour joy no man taketh from you.' 
 This joy, granted you by the Lord, you will com- 
 municate to all the brethren and sisters of the Church 
 in America ; and then I am sure your hearts will 
 overflow with joy, and God will be glorified. 
 
 " During the past nine weeks Satan has tried to 
 take away my charity, my faith, and my love for 
 God. He has sought to carry on his devices in my 
 heart ; but, thank God ! the Saviour has cast him out 
 and driven him from me. I praise the Lord because 
 he answers my prayers. For some time past I have 
 desired to preach the Gospel, but supposed I should 
 not be able to do, it, as my mother was unwilling. 
 When thinking over the matter a great mountain 
 seemed to rise before me, and I was able to enjoy 
 peace of mind only because I supposed it was not 
 the will of God that I should preach. About a 
 month since, however, my mind became greatly 
 troubled, and I was unable to decide upon the mat- 
 ter. At one time I felt the greatest compassion for 
 men, and then I would feel that if I refused to go 
 and preach the Gospel I never could see the Saviour 
 in heaven. But still I asked myself, 'How can I 
 climb this great mountain V and Satan suggested 
 
330 INCIDENTS. 
 
 that it was far better for me to travel on a level road. 
 Thank God, the Holy Spirit enlightened my mind 
 by suggesting : ' Do yon not believe that with God 
 all things are possible ? Doth not the Scripture say, 
 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not 
 worthy of me ;" also, " Strait is the gate and narrow is 
 the way ?" Where then is the level and easy road for 
 you to walk on V At that moment, through the mercy 
 of God, I remembered that formerly, when I thought 
 of becoming a Christian, then also there seemed to be 
 a high mountain in my way, but the Saviour merci- 
 fully aided me in climbing it. These thoughts 
 induced me to cry to the Saviour for assistance in my 
 present distress, and, blessed be his name ! he heard 
 and delivered me. I was a condemned criminal, 
 exposed to the punishment of hell, and had I been 
 sent to that place of torment the sentence would have 
 been just. But the Saviour did not seal my guilt; 
 he gave me grace to repent, granted me, through 
 faith, a confident hope of eternal life, changed all my 
 purposes, and opened the eyes of my understanding, 
 so that I could dig for the hidden pearls and search 
 in the Scriptures for the words of life. Truly the 
 Saviour has loved me with an unspeakable love in 
 enabling me to become a disciple ; and how can we 
 express that love wherewith he hath loved the world ! 
 Please pray for me that I may not be an unprofitable 
 servant. And may I trouble you to present my 
 Christian salutations to the bishops, pastors, mem- 
 bers, and friends of the Church in America ? May 
 the peace of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, be with your body and spirit ! 
 
WONG KIU TAIH. 331 
 
 "As I close this letter I ask myself, "When, shall 
 I see you ? Will it be on earth or in heaven ? Will 
 yon first enter the heavenly country, or shall I first 
 touch its shore ? The Lord knoweth. While yet in 
 the flesh, let me urge you to return soon to China. I 
 am very thankful for this privilege of writing to you, 
 and beg you will send me a letter as soon as 
 possible. From your unworthy pupil, 
 
 " Wong Kiu Taih." 
 
 My latest advices from the Fuhchau mission repre- 
 sent Brother Wong Kiu Taih as a most devoted and 
 exemplary Christian; and in a letter I recently re- 
 ceived from the Rev. Otis Gibson of that mission, he 
 says : " We have just granted exhorter's license to 
 Brother Wong Kiu Taih. When he received the li- 
 cense he went directly home, disposed of his business, 
 supplied himself with Christian books and tracts, and 
 at once commenced itinerating through the country, 
 preaching the Gospel and distributing the books." 
 Will not all who read these pages unite in fervent 
 prayer to God in behalf of this most interesting and 
 promising Chinese Christian? 
 
 After the conversion of Brother Hu Po Mi, one of 
 our early converts, he was very diligent in talking to 
 his neighbors about the Gospel. One of the persons 
 whom he most frequently visited was a basket-maker, 
 and Brother Hu cherished the hope that he would be- 
 come a disciple. In this hope, however, he was dis- 
 appointed ; the man could not think of meeting the 
 opposition which a profession of Christianity would 
 inevitably excite against him. But there was a 
 
332 INCIDENTS. 
 
 young apprentice in the shop, who had quietly list- 
 ened to all that had been said, and upon whose 
 mind Brother Hu's exhortations had produced a pro- 
 found impression. This young man, under the gra- 
 cious influences of the Holy Spirit, determined to be- 
 come a Christian. When Brother Hu next visited 
 the shop, there was only the young apprentice pres- 
 ent, and he embraced the opportunity to make known 
 his determination to Brother Hu. It was a most 
 grateful surprise to Brother Hu to hear the young 
 man speak in this way, and after conversing on the 
 subject of Christianity for some time they engaged 
 in prayer. When they rose from their knees the 
 young man said : "I feel very happy ; my heart is as 
 light as a feather; I never before felt as I do now. 
 May I not at once be baptized and become a Chris- 
 tian ?" Brother Hu was puzzled by the sudden 
 change that had come over the young man, and not 
 wishing to assume any further responsibility as his 
 spiritual instructor, advised him to wait till some of 
 the missionaries could converse with him. Next 
 morning Brother Hu was awaked by a loud rap at 
 his door, and on opening it there stood the young ap- 
 prentice. " I have come to see you," he said, " about 
 my becoming a Christian. Here is my ancestral 
 tablet ; I went home for it last night, and now I wish 
 you to take charge of it." They then conversed and 
 prayed together, and Brother Hu was astonished at 
 the fluency and intelligence of the young man's 
 prayer. After breakfast Brother Hu came to see me 
 on the subject, and after giving me a history of the 
 case, we at once went to see the young man. He 
 
THE BASKET MAKER. 333 
 
 gave us a full account of his experience, and I exam- 
 ined him closely, thinking it possible there might be 
 some mistake either in his language or in my inter- 
 pretation of it. The result of the examination was 
 entirely satisfactory, and I felt assured that the 
 young man had really experienced a change of heart. 
 We then engaged in prayer, each one leading in turn, 
 and it was delightful to notice the pertinency and 
 fervor of our young brother's petitions when he led in 
 prayer. He was entirely illiterate, being unable to 
 read even his own name, and it was surprising now 
 to notice the vigor of his thoughts and the appropri- 
 ateness of his language. We all felt a deep interest 
 in the young man, and assisted him in making ar- 
 rangements with his employer by which he was able 
 to attend public worship and rest on the Sabbath. 
 After passing through a course of Christian instruc- 
 tion, he was admitted to baptism and membership in 
 our Mission Church in Fuhchau. When his friends 
 learned that he had become a Christian they made a 
 violent assault upon him, charging him with multi- 
 farious crimes and misdemeanors, demanding from 
 him a recantation of his Christian vows, or large sub- 
 sidies of money in the way of bribes, and proceeding 
 even to blows in their efforts to coerce him. The 
 young disciple bore himself with meekness and dig- 
 nity through the storm, and steadily refused in any 
 way to compromise his Christian character. His em- 
 ployer, apprehensive of trouble, dismissed him from his 
 service, and thus our young brother, without home 
 or employment, was thrown out upon the world. 
 Hearing of his trouble, the Kev. Mr. Gibson called to 
 
33<± INCIDENTS. 
 
 see him, and offered him a place in our mission board- 
 ing-school ; and he remained there, learning to read, 
 until he succeeded in making satisfactory arrange- 
 ments for going into business on his own account. 
 
LAW AGAINST CHRISTIANITY. 335 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 We now notice the opening up of China to Chris- 
 tianity and "Western commerce by the provisions of 
 the treaties recently formed at Tientsin. Before 
 proceeding to state the provisions of the new treaties 
 with reference to Christianity and foreign intercourse, 
 let us glance at the previous attitude of the Chinese 
 government on these points. 
 
 Among the " fundamental laws " of China there is 
 one section (162d) headed, " Wizards, Witches, and all 
 Superstitions, prohibited." Under the Emperor Kia- 
 king, A. D. 1814, a sixth clause was prepared under 
 this section with reference to Christianity. The 
 clause was modified in 1821, and printed in 1826, by 
 the late emperor, Taukwang. We quote part of this 
 clause. It reads: "People of the Western Ocean, 
 [Europeans or Portuguese,] should they propagate in 
 the country the religion of heaven's Lord, [name 
 given to Christianity by the Pomanists,] or clandes- 
 tinely print books, or collect congregations to be 
 preached to, and thereby deceive many people, or 
 should any Tartars or Chinese, in their turn, prop- 
 agate the doctrines and clandestinely give names, (as 
 in baptism,) inflaming and misleading many, if 
 
336 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 proved by authentic testimony, the head or leader 
 shall he sentenced to immediate death by strangula- 
 tion ; he who propagates the religion, inflaming and 
 deceiving the people, if the number be not large, and 
 no names be given, shall be sentenced to strangula- 
 tion after a period of imprisonment. Those who are 
 merely hearers or followers of the doctrine, if they 
 will not repent and recant, shall be transported to 
 the Mohammedan cities (in Turkistan) and given to 
 be slaves to the beys and other powerful Mohammed- 
 ans who are able to coerce them. . •. . All civil and 
 military officers who may fail to detect Europeans 
 clandestinely residing in the country within their 
 jurisdiction, and propagating their religion, thereby 
 deceiving the multitude, shall be delivered over to 
 the Supreme Board and be subjected to a court of in- 
 quiry." This stringent prohibition was evidently 
 directed against Romanism. It was hoped that the 
 Chinese government would discriminate between 
 Protestantism and Romanism ; and in A. D. 1835-6 
 several voyages were made along the coast of China 
 by Protestant missionaries, and Christian books were 
 given to the Chinese, who were eager to receive them. 
 These voyages aroused the attention of the local 
 authorities, and representations on the subject were 
 sent to Pekin from Canton. The emperor (Taukwang) 
 immediately sent down an edict, commanding the 
 governor of Canton to examine into the matter 
 secretly and rigorously ; and also to ascertain who 
 were the intruders on the coast, and who were the 
 " traitorous natives in Canton who had supplied them 
 with books." The high authorities at Canton at once 
 
TEEATIES WITH CHINA. 337 
 
 issued a proclamation on the subject. They first re- 
 ferred to the existing laws against Christianity, and 
 to certain foreigners who in time past had clandes- 
 tinely entered the country, and who, having been ap- 
 prehended, were tried and either strangled or 
 expelled ; then they referred to the ships which, a 
 few months before, had suddenly appeared in the 
 waters of those provinces bordering on the coast dis- 
 tributing books, " to persuade men to believe in the 
 Lord Jesus;" and after stating that half a year 
 would be allowed any booksellers or others, who had 
 received such publications, to deliver them up to the 
 magistrates, thereby saving themselves from punish- 
 ment for past crimes, they concluded their edict by 
 warning the people to reject "corrupt doctrines," 
 and to follow the ways of the ancient kings. These 
 edicts sufficiently indicated the animus of the Chinese 
 government with regard to all forms of Christianity. 
 The treaties formed with China in 1843-4 by En- 
 gland, France, and the United States, made no allu- 
 sion to Christianity or Christian missions. In 1844 
 the French embassador, M. Lagrene, brought to the 
 notice of Keying, Chinese Imperial Commissioner at 
 Canton, the persecutions to which Chinese converts 
 to Romanism, were subjected in consequence of their 
 faith. Keying memorialized the emperor on the sub- 
 ject, praying that "henceforth all natives and 
 foreigners without distinction who learn and practice 
 the religion of the Lord of heaven, and do not excite 
 trouble by improper conduct, to be exempted from 
 criminality ;" adding, however, "as to those of the 
 
 French, and other foreign nations who practice this 
 
 22 
 
338 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 religion, let them only be permitted to build churches 
 at the five ports opened to commercial intercourse. 
 They mnst not presume to enter the country to prop- 
 ogate their religion. Should any act in opposition, 
 turn their backs upon the treaties, and rashly over- 
 step the boundaries, the local officers will at once 
 seize and deliver them to their respective consuls for 
 restraint and correction. Capital punishment is not 
 to be rashly inflicted, in order that the exercise of 
 gentleness may be displayed." This memorial was 
 approved by the emperor, and its publication was 
 hailed with great satisfaction by the friends of Chris- 
 tian missions. A more careful examination of the 
 memorial, however, dampened this joy, and the 
 course of subsequent events showed but too plainly 
 that the antichristian policy of the Chinese govern- 
 ment was not abandoned. The influence of this so- 
 called " Toleration Edict " was scarcely perceptible, 
 anc^ all the previous prohibitory laws on the subject 
 remained, apparently, in full force. 
 
 We now introduce a translation, by a competent 
 hand, of the articles referring to Christianity in the 
 treaties recently formed at Tientsin. It may be well 
 at this point to state that each of the four treaties 
 contains an article or clause stipulating that the sub- 
 jects or citizens of its government shall receive all 
 the privileges granted by China to any other nation ; 
 thus any advantages granted to England or France 
 accrue equally to Russia and the United States, and 
 vice versa. The twenty-ninth article of the American 
 treaty reads : " The principles of the Christian relig- 
 ion, as professed by the Protestant and Roman Cath- 
 
TOLERATION OF CHRISTIANITY. 339 
 
 olic Church.es, are recognized as teaching men to do 
 good, and to do to others as they would have others 
 do to them. Hereafter those who quietly profess 
 and teach these doctrines shall not be molested or 
 persecuted on account of their faith. Any person, 
 whether citizen of the United States, or Chinese con- 
 vert, who, according to these tenets, peaceably 
 teaches and practices the principles of Christianity, 
 shall in no case be interfered with or molested." 
 Article eighth of the English treaty reads : " The 
 Christian religion, as professed by Protestants and 
 Roman Catholics, teaches the practice of virtue, and 
 the treatment of others as ourselves. Henceforth all 
 teachers and professors of it shall, one and all, be 
 protected. ~No one of them peaceably following his 
 calling, and not offending against the laws, shall in 
 the least be oppressed or hindered by the Chinese au- 
 thorities." Article thirteenth of the French treaty 
 reads : " The Christian religion, having for its essen- 
 tial object to lead men to virtue, the members of all 
 Christian bodies [communions] shall enjoy full secu- 
 rity for their persons, their property, and the free 
 exercise of their religious worship ; and entire pro- 
 tection shall be given to missionaries who peacefully 
 enter the country, furnished with "passports such as 
 are described in article eight. ~Ho obstacles shall be 
 interposed by the Chinese authorities to the recog- 
 nized right of any person in China to embrace Chris- 
 tianity if he pleases, and to obey its requirements 
 without being subject on that account to any penalty. 
 "Whatever has been heretofore written, proclaimed, 
 or published in China, by order of government, 
 
340 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 against the Christian faith, is wholly abrogated and 
 nullified in all the provinces of the empire." Article 
 eighth of the Russian treaty says : " The Chinese 
 government, recognizing the truth that the doctrines 
 of Christianity promote the establishment of good 
 order and peace among mankind, promises not to 
 persecute its subjects who may wish to follow the re- 
 quirements of this faith: they shall enjoy the same 
 protection granted to those who profess other forms 
 of religion tolerated in the empire. The Chinese 
 government, believing that Christian missionaries are 
 good men, who seek no material advantages for them- 
 selves, hereby permits them to propagate the doc- 
 trines of Christianity among its subjects, and allows 
 them to pass everywhere in the country. A fixed 
 number of missionaries passing through the cities or 
 open ports shall be furnished with passports signed 
 by the Russian authorities." 
 
 Reference has been made to the passport system 
 under which foreigners are now permitted to travel 
 or reside in the interior of the country: I now pre- 
 sent a translation of the ninth article of the English 
 treaty on this subject, merely reminding the reader 
 that its provisions apply equally to the other treaty 
 powers. The article reads : 
 
 "British subjects are allowed to proceed to every 
 place in the interior with passports, either for amuse- 
 ment or to trade. The passports will be issued by 
 their consuls and stamped by the local authorities. 
 When passing through any locality, if they are de- 
 sired to produce it they must hand it up for inspec- 
 tion. If it is correct they will be allowed to go on. 
 
TOLEEATION OP CHRISTIANITY. 341 
 
 There must be no obstruction to their hiring vessels 
 or people to carry their merchandise or baggage. If 
 they have no passport, or if that they have is irregu- 
 lar, or if they commit any offense against the law, 
 they are to be sent to the consul nearest at hand for 
 punishment. On their way to him they may be kept 
 in custody, but must not be ill treated. Persons 
 going out on excursions from the ports open to trade, 
 so long as they are within one hundred le for a period 
 of not more than five days, need not apply for a pass- 
 port. Seamen and persons belonging to ships do not 
 come under this rule. The local mandarins and the 
 consuls will together draw up regulations for the pur- 
 pose of keeping them in proper order. As to ISankin 
 and other places which are rebel positions, on the re- 
 capture of these passports shall be given to them." 
 
 The preceding extracts indicate clearly and defin- 
 itely the present attitude of the Chinese government 
 with reference to Christianity and foreign inter- 
 course. Let us refer to a few points : 
 
 1. There stands the imperial declaration that 
 Christianity is good, that it inculcates the principles 
 of virtue, that it promotes good order and peace 
 among men, teaching them to do to others as they 
 would have others do to them. 
 
 2. There is the imperial authorization to every Chi- 
 nese in the empire to follow the dictates of his own 
 judgment with regard to embracing Christianity. 
 
 3. There stands recorded the imperial pledge that 
 no Chinese convert to Christianity shall be subjected 
 to any persecution for his faith. 
 
 4. There is the imperial authorization to every 
 
342 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 discreet foreigner, whether missionary or merchant, 
 under the passport system, to enter the interior of 
 the country either for trade or the preaching of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 5. And there stands the solemn revocation, by im- 
 perial authority, of all those persecuting edicts 
 which in the past have been fulminated against 
 Christianity, native Christians, and foreign mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 Such, we believe, is the present auspicious attitude 
 of the Chinese government with regard to the im- 
 portant questions before us, and our view is support- 
 ed by the highest authorities both native and foreign. 
 The change is truly wonderful, and we incline to be- 
 lieve it will be permanent. However tardy the 
 Chinese government may have been in recognizing 
 the grave crisis that had arisen in its affairs, and 
 however reluctant it may have been to accede to the 
 reasonable demands of the allies, it now evidently 
 begins to appreciate its true position, and is disposed 
 to execute in good faith the provisions of the recent 
 treaties. It is highly probable, indeed, that the Chi- 
 nese government may hereafter seek to evade or mis- 
 construe the clear purport of some provisions con- 
 tained in the treaties, and possibly western nations 
 may be compelled to support their rights by force ; 
 but we conceive it impossible for it now to retrace its 
 steps or annul its recent action. Progress is inevita- 
 ble ; and we believe that CJrina is now thrown open 
 fairly, fully, and, we hope, finally, to Christianity and 
 foreign intercourse. 
 
 We here present some of the aspects of China as a 
 
DECADENCE OF EELIGIOUS SYSTEMS. 343 
 
 mission field. The discussion of this topic brings ns 
 upon ground that cannot fail to interest all classes of 
 readers. 
 
 The first point we notice is the entire absence, at 
 the present day, of all healthy progress in the relig- 
 ious systems, literature, and civilization of the Chi- 
 nese. Religious faith can scarcely be predicated of 
 the Chinese in our day. Their present position on 
 this subject differs widely and sadly from what we 
 have supposed it was in the period of their early his- 
 tory. We have witnessed the utter materialization 
 of their ancient religious faith ; and the vagaries of 
 Tauism and Budhism have so stultified and bewil- 
 dered their moral sense, that now the Chinese appar- 
 ently refuse to think at all upon the subject. A 
 stoical indifference with regard to this vital question 
 pervades all classes of society ; indeed, the man who 
 manifests any serious concern about it is regarded by 
 his neighbors as a knave or a fool. Their religious 
 practices are multifarious, and though frequently dis- 
 cordant and contradictory, they still exert great in- 
 fluence over nearly all classes of society. And yet 
 the religious systems of China seem to be utterly 
 incapable of inspiring the national mind with any 
 definite aim, any concentration of energy or enthu- 
 siasm of faith. They contain no great idea, the 
 development of which must stir the heart and mould 
 the character of the nation; no popular divinity, 
 whose fancied utterances sway the masses and con- 
 trol the public sentiment ; no symbol of faith, devia- 
 tion from which is at once sacrilege and treason. 
 Their priests are fired by no missionary zeal; no 
 
344 CHINA AS A MISSION" FIELD. 
 
 new phases of idolatry are presented ; no aggressive 
 measures are devised for the propagation of their 
 tenets ; and all sects seem the victims of a deep and 
 fatal atrophy, which already foreshadows their ntter 
 abnegation. It is possible, we think, to assign the 
 causes that have produced this fearful apathy and 
 infidelity with regard to religious subjects. The 
 materializing philosophy, to which we have already 
 referred, has fossilized the ancient Chinese faith. 
 Tauism has forfeited all claims to public respect by 
 its low jugglery and buffoonery ; while the tenets of 
 Budhism, by clashing with some of the noblest 
 hereditary instincts of the Chinese character, have 
 ever failed in China to receive hearty approval or 
 belief. 
 
 Chinese literature exhibits similar symptoms of 
 exhaustion. Centuries ago it reached the zenith of 
 its excellence. Confucius, Mencius, Ma Twan Sin, 
 Chu Hi, and others have successively impressed and 
 enriched it by their powerful genius ; but within the 
 last six hundred years we search in vain for the 
 names of profound scholars or original thinkers. 
 The perfection of education now consists in a passion- 
 less imitation of the ancient masters ; to-day every 
 student in China is conning not merely the same 
 ideas, but the very words that were written some 
 two thousand years ago. The national mind is ever 
 looking backward for its maxims, principles, and 
 models. Its millennium is in the past, and each suc- 
 cessive year is but drifting it farther away from those 
 pure intellections and rapt harmonies. Occasionally, 
 indeed, we meet with a Chinese scholar who seems 
 
STAGNATION OF LITEKATUEE. 345 
 
 desirous of increasing his stock of ideas, or find a 
 modern work which gives evidence of an inquiring 
 mind; bnt these instances are very rare, and serve 
 only to indicate and intensify our conception of the 
 utter stagnation of independent, joyous thought in 
 Chinese literature. This comparative barrenness of 
 the national intellect cannot be attributed to any 
 fancied opposition of the present (Tartar) dynasty to 
 the development of native genius. It is true, indeed, 
 that some of the earlier Tartar emperors were in- 
 clined to undervalue, and even sought to destroy the 
 admirable system of popular education that prevails 
 in China, but under Kienlung this opposition was 
 abandoned. Besides, it will appear on examination 
 that during the period of this dynasty the native 
 mind has been more active than it was during the 
 Ming dynasty, which immediately preceded it. The 
 causes of this intellectual sterility are radical and 
 permanent. The Chinese mind has exhausted itself 
 on the narrow range of subjects to which it has been 
 confined. Deprived of the inspiration which springs 
 from communion with the truths of revelation, and 
 shut off from the stimulating influences of Western 
 literature, the intellect of China has depleted itself 
 by a blind, servile imitativeness, and by finical dis- 
 sertations on topics destitute alike of any broad, 
 genial basis of truth, and of any well-defined rela- 
 tions to any of the great practical questions of the day. 
 The civilization of China, under existing influ- 
 ences, is hopelessly effete. It has exhausted its in- 
 herent powers of progress. From the earliest period 
 of authentic Chinese history it has possessed all the 
 
346 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 essential features of its present state; scarcely any 
 change even has passed upon it for centuries. At 
 this day the soil is plowed, the seed sown, the harvest 
 gathered, the mulberry and silk-worm cultivated, the 
 cloth woven, the China-ware prepared, the tea cured, 
 society controlled, the state governed, the arts of 
 handicraft practiced, and all the sources of wealth 
 husbanded as they were two thousand years ago. It 
 seems incredible that the civilization of any people 
 should remain stationary at such an advanced state 
 through so many centuries, but the fact is substanti- 
 ated by the clearest historic evidence. One remem- 
 bers how the civilization of all other ancient nations 
 has culminated, and sunk into luxury, licentiousness, 
 and barbarism. "What are those conservative ele- 
 ments which have kept Chinese civilization steadily 
 up to its present standard ? The Christian need not 
 pause for a reply. He finds such elements in the 
 influences of those divine truths underlying the an- 
 cient faith of China, which in all ages have produced 
 a powerful and highly conservative effect in the for- 
 mation of the national mind. The thorough educa- 
 tion of the Chinese, in the very reasonable teachings 
 of their ancient classics, has done much to save them 
 from utter demoralization under the vitiating influ- 
 ences of Tauism and Budhism. Even their respect 
 for parents, heathenish as it has become, may have 
 contributed toward securing to -them " the length of 
 days" in "the land given them by the Almighty," 
 which is promised to those who obey the fifth com- 
 mandment of our decalogue. 
 
 The second point we notice is that China now 
 
INDICATIONS OF CHANGES. 347 
 
 gives the most convincing evidence of being on the 
 eve of great changes. What will be the nature 
 of these changes we do not now stop to inquire; 
 it is sufficient for our present purpose to indicate and 
 illustrate the fact to which we have referred. We 
 confess to a. hearty interest in this subject, though 
 we fancy ourselves free from any untoward bias, or 
 the swaying influence of any preconceived theory on 
 the subject. No intelligent observer can look on the 
 present aspect of affairs in China without noticing 
 her unprecedented and critical position. It requires 
 no magician to cast her horoscope, and detect in its 
 struggling and conflicting elements the inception and 
 proximate development of strange events. Let us 
 notice some of these indications. 
 
 First, we refer to the fact that among all intelli- 
 gent and thoughtful Chinese with whom we come in 
 contact, there exists an. almost unanimous conviction 
 or presentiment that a great crisis in their national 
 affairs is at hand. They state that every great change 
 in their past history has been heralded by certain 
 signs or omens, and that in the times through which 
 we are now passing, both the heavens and the earth 
 are giving out unequivocal indications of approaching 
 great events. It is true, doubtless, that most if not 
 all of these supposed omens are imaginary or ficti- 
 tious, and it would be impossible to discover any 
 legitimate connection between them and the results 
 anticipated by the Chinese ; still the fact of such a 
 widely spread presentiment on the subject carries 
 with it considerable force, even though we may ex- 
 plain away much of the evidence adduced in its sup- 
 
34:8 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 port. History furnishes many instances of similar 
 presentiments that have been fulfilled, and the circum- 
 stances of the present case forcibly remind us of that 
 expectation which prevailed throughout the world 
 when, " in the fullness of time," the Saviour was born. 
 Secondly, we may refer to the palpable weakness 
 of the present government of China. We hope not 
 to be misunderstood in introducing this topic. It is 
 not our design to decry the present government of 
 that great country ; its abrogation is not at all essen- 
 tial to our line of argument. Its form is probably 
 better suited to the character of the Chinese than 
 any other that could be devised, and it is altogether 
 unlikely that any succeeding dynasty would essen- 
 tially modify it. The reigning dynasty is, perhaps, 
 as liberal and enlightened as we could rationally 
 expect. We believe foreign diplomatists find, on 
 personal acquaintance, that the Tartar portion of the 
 officers of China are less bigoted and arbitrary than 
 those who are of Chinese origin. After all, however, 
 the fact remains that hitherto the policy of the pres- 
 ent dynasty has been antiforeign and antichristian ; 
 and it is entirely probable that the present emperor, 
 if he had the power, would gladly carry out this ex- 
 clusive policy to the furthest limit. Traditionally 
 identified with such a policy, and persistently refusing 
 to receive truthful information concerning other parts 
 of the world, it is matter for gratulation that his 
 power is unequal to his will, and that a consciousness 
 of weakness constrains him now to adopt a line of 
 policy for which, hitherto, justice and humanity have 
 pleaded in vain. Poverty and official corruption are 
 
POLITICAL CORRUPTION. 349 
 
 the powerful agencies operating to exhaust the re- 
 sources of the present dynasty. It is saddening to 
 observe the shifts to which the government is now 
 driven to replenish its exchequer. Official rank and 
 titles which, according to every high national instinct 
 of the Chinese, had previously been conferred only 
 on the successful candidates at the literary examina- 
 tions, are now publicly sold to the highest bidder; 
 and by all parties among the people gold is now con- 
 sidered more potent than brains in procuring these 
 coveted honors. The national currency has been 
 tampered with and depreciated until it would seem 
 that political quackery had exhausted itself on the 
 subject. Opium, which was long on the list of con- 
 traband articles, and against the use of which by its 
 subjects all the power and influence of the govern- 
 ment were ostensibly directed, is now placed on the 
 list of imports, and from it the government expects to 
 derive a large revenue. Official corruption prevails 
 to a frightful extent. We are in possessiou of un- 
 doubted facts on this point, which, to those unac- 
 quainted with Chinese politics, would appear utterly 
 incredible. Office is now sought as the only avenue 
 to certain wealth. All departments of business are so 
 oppressed by the extortions of government officials 
 that it is almost useless for any private person to lay 
 up money. His property is not safe for an hour ; it 
 is only the man of official rank who can revel in in- 
 dolence and luxury, undisturbed by any fears of crim- 
 inal charges and interminable processes of litigation. 
 Thirdly, we adduce the influence of the cele- 
 brated Tai Ping rebellion. Our train of thought in 
 
 
350 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 this paragraph is not predicated on the supposed tri- 
 umph of this rebellion ; so far, indeed, as our present 
 purpose is concerned, it is about the same to us 
 whether the movement succeeds or fails. Nor is it 
 predicated on the supposed genuine conversion of the 
 insurgents to Christianity. Even yielding this point, 
 we still have sufficient for our present design. 
 Among other prominent facts relating to this move- 
 ment, we hold the following to be indisputable: 
 About ten years ago a party of Chinese reformers in 
 the Kwangsi province came into violent collision with 
 the government authorities. "Within a year from 
 their first battle the forces of these reformers or in- 
 surgents had overrun most of the southern provinces 
 of China, and in 1853 they made their triumphant 
 entry into Nankin, where they established the capital 
 of their soi-disant empire. During the past ten years 
 they have waged an incessant though desultory war- 
 fare against the reigning dynasty of China, and in 
 their fortifications at Nankin have, to the present 
 hour, effectually held at bay the entire power of the 
 government. They profess to believe the cardinal 
 doctrines of the Bible, and to regulate their lives ac- 
 cording to its precepts ; have printed and circulated 
 those portions of the sacred Scriptures in their pos- 
 session, proclaim the existence of the triune God, de- 
 nounce all forms of idolatry, demolish heathen tem- 
 ples, destroy idols, and, according to their imperfect 
 notions on the subject, seek to establish the worship 
 of the one living and true God. These are some of 
 the great and significant facts presented by this most 
 remarkable movement, and their influence among the 
 
THE EEBELLION. 351 
 
 Chinese can never be fully counteracted by the hypoc- 
 risy, fanaticism, rapine, and bloodshed which, in too 
 many instances, have attended and disgraced its 
 career. 
 
 What will be the ultimate issue of this great strug- 
 gle it is impossible now to foretell ; we may, how- 
 ever, conceive somewhat adequately of the influence 
 it must exert on the Chinese. The astonishing suc- 
 cess of the insurgents has filled the nation with 
 surprise, and compels the reigning dynasty to a 
 restatement of its assumed divine right to govern the 
 eighteen provinces of China. The respective claims 
 of the reigning dynasty and of the insurgent chief to 
 such high authority, are now freely discussed in the 
 forum of public opinion ; it is considered, indeed, a 
 drawn game, which only the success of one of the 
 parties can decide. In a religious aspect the influ- 
 ence of this movement must be profound and far- 
 reaching. Such an authoritative assertion of their 
 ancient, monotheistic faith, such an overwhelming 
 judgment against idolatry, the 42hinese never before 
 witnessed. 
 
 The history of the world scarcely furnishes 
 a parallel to the iconoclastic enthusiasm of the 
 insurgents. The knowledge of their principles cir- 
 culates everywhere, and the empire resounds with 
 the reports of their prowess. China never before 
 looked on such a Cromwellian chief, never listened 
 to the heavy tread of sucli "ironsides." In no 
 other land has Christianity ever had such a precur- 
 sor, in no age has the Saviour ever had such a " John 
 the Baptist." 
 
352 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 Lastly, in this connection, we notice the influence 
 of western diplomacy in the affairs of China. The 
 days of China's fancied omnipotence are mimbered. 
 No dash of the vermilion pencil can now confine 
 " outside barbarians " to their frozen latitudes in the 
 " Northwestern ocean," and withhold from them the 
 luxuries and " civilizing influences " of the " middle 
 kingdom." No more flaming dispatches shall be for- 
 warded to Pekin by bombastic governors or vaporing 
 generals, delighting the imperial heart with poetical 
 descriptions of " the blowing up of foreign ships," 
 " the annihilation of foreign armies," " driving for- 
 eigners into the sea," " foreigners humbly supplica- 
 ting the imperial clemency," and similar forms of 
 speech. China is no longer isolated ; no longer the 
 Ultima Tliule of nations. The religion, civilization, 
 and commerce of modern times have all passed " the 
 pillars of Hercules ;" and henceforth, in the broad 
 East, also, are to develop their vast resources. It 
 matters little who may now, or hereafter, fill the 
 throne of China ; the programme of his foreign policy 
 is marked out for him by a power whose influence he 
 cannot eliminate, whose utterances he may not disre- 
 gard. During the past twenty years the influence of 
 western governments has steadily and rapidly ad- 
 vanced in China. It requires no prophetic vision to 
 foresee the changes which the introduction of this 
 element will soon produce in the affairs of this yast 
 empire. 
 
 We now briefly refer to the present appreciable re- 
 sults of Protestant missionary efforts for the evangel- 
 ization of the Chinese. Preliminary thereto we pre- 
 
REV. DR. MORRISON. 353 
 
 sent a brief historic resume of the prominent facts 
 bearing on the subject. 
 
 The Rev. Robert Morrison, D. D., the first Protest- 
 ant missionary to the Chinese, arrived at Canton in 
 1807, bnt so bitter was the hostility of the Chinese 
 government to Christianity that it was impossible for 
 him to prosecute his labors as a missionary. To 
 maintain any footing at all in China he was compelled 
 to accept the office of translator to the East India 
 Company in China, and to his great grief and disap- 
 pointment he was never permitted to engage publicly 
 in the work of preaching the Gospel to the Chinese. 
 The utmost he was able to accomplish in this direc- 
 tion was a regular private service, in his own apart- 
 ments, with his servants and a few others. Thus 
 providentially shut up to the retirement of his study, 
 he devoted his time and energies to the preparation 
 of his celebrated dictionary of the Chinese language, 
 to the translation of the Bible into Chinese, and to 
 the prosecution of such other labors as might aid in 
 forwarding the great cause so dear to his heart. 
 
 During the interim between Dr. Morrison's arrival 
 in China and 1830, all Protestant efforts for the con- 
 version of the Chinese were carried on at stations 
 among the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, whith- 
 er the Chinese had emigrated. The most important 
 of these stations were at Malacca, Batavia, Penang, 
 Ehio, Borneo, and Singapore, where the Chinese had 
 colonized in large numbers. These missions were in- 
 itiated in 1815 by the Rev. William Milne, D. D., 
 who, under the auspices of the London Missionary 
 
 Society, established a mission to the Chinese at Ma- 
 
 23 
 
354 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 lacca. Considered in itself, the field thus entered was 
 most difficult and unpromising, but at the time it was 
 the best position the Protestant Churches could ob- 
 tain ; and in the hope that it would finally become a 
 point of entrance to China, they entered on the work 
 with a courage and perseverance rarely if ever sur- 
 passed in the history of missions. Honor to the he- 
 roic spirits who, under such disadvantages and 
 against such fearful odds, commenced the glorious 
 struggle with the heathenism of China ! 
 
 Dr. Medhurst, in 1837, gives the following summary 
 of their labors : " Since the commencement of their 
 missions they have translated the Holy Scriptures, 
 and printed 2,000 complete Bibles in two sizes, 10,000 
 Testaments, and 30,000 separate books, and upward 
 of half a million of tracts, in Chinese ; besides 4,000 
 Testaments and 150,000 tracts, in the languages of 
 of the Malayan Archipelago, making about twenty 
 millions of printed pages. About 10,000 scholars 
 have passed through the mission schools ; nearly one 
 hundred persons have been baptized, and several na- 
 tive preachers have been raised up, one of whom has 
 proclaimed the Gospel to his countrymen and endured 
 persecution for Jesus's sake." 
 
 Dr. Williams, in 1848, says : " Since this [the fore- 
 going extract] was written, the number of pages print- 
 ed and circulated has been more than doubled ; the 
 number of scholars taught has increased to 12,000, 
 and preaching has been proportionably attended to, 
 while a few more have been baptized." Shortly 
 after the close of the war between China and England 
 
 o 
 
 (1843) these missions were transferred to China. 
 
PKOTESTANT MISSIONS. 355 
 
 The first Protestant mission to the Chinese, on the 
 territory of China, was commenced at Canton in 1830 
 by the Rev. E. C. Bridgman, D.D., nnder the auspices 
 of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions. The government of China, however, con- 
 tinued its hostility to the Christian religion, and so 
 persistently did it trammel and thwart the mission, in 
 all its plans for aggressive action, that it was not till 
 1844 the mission was fairly established. During the 
 period from 1844 to the present time (1859) Protest- 
 ant missions have been established, and carried for- 
 ward at Hong Kong and the five open ports of China. 
 The entire number of Protestant missionaries to the 
 Chinese is 213, of whom 69 retired from the work, 32 
 labored only in the archipelago ; 21 labored partly in 
 the archipelago, partly in China, and the others en- 
 tered directly on the work in China. At present 
 there are 110 Protestant missionaries to the Chinese, 
 either in China or absent expecting soon to return to 
 their field of labor. Thirty nine have died in con- 
 nection with the work. 
 
 The foregoing statement, meager as it is, may per- 
 haps indicate the embarrassments and difficulties 
 against which Protestant missionaries to the Chinese 
 have contended from the commencement of their 
 operations to the present time. And when we bear 
 in mind the vastness of the field, both in geographical 
 area and amount of population, the labor necessary 
 to acquire the general language and local dialects of 
 the empire, and the deeply rooted superstitions of 
 the Chinese, we shall be ready to accept anything 
 short of utter discomfiture and defeat as a positive 
 
356 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 success in the prosecution of this work. "We hope, 
 however, to show that the results, already apparent, 
 are of the most substantial and cheering character ; 
 that they amply compensate the Church for all her 
 past efforts, and furnish sure promise of a glorious 
 consummation in the future. 
 
 First, we notice that, with regard to the ultimate 
 evangelization of China, a great work of preparation 
 has already been accomplished. This has been 
 effected both among the home Churches and in China. 
 At home we observe a rapidly increasing interest on 
 the part of Christians in the spiritual welfare of the 
 Chinese. We have convincing proof of this in the 
 advancing contributions of the churches for the cause 
 of God in China, and in the growing desire on the 
 part of young men to devote themselves to this work. 
 This result is to be attributed mainly, we think, to 
 the published narratives of missionary operations in 
 China, to the correspondence of missionaries with the 
 home societies and Churches, to the books they have 
 published on the subject, to their translations from 
 the original Chinese, and to their public addresses 
 and appeals during occasional visits to their native 
 lands. In China a great work has been done in the 
 preparation of dictionaries, vocabularies, grammars, 
 and other books designed to facilitate the acquisition 
 of the general language and local dialects of the em- 
 pire. A vast fund of practical wisdom has been 
 accumulated from experience in the field with refer- 
 ence to the conservation of health, the best methods 
 of labor, the regions of country most accessible to 
 missionary labor, the classes of people most likely to 
 
MISSIONARY OPERATIONS. 357 
 
 listen to the Gospel message, and the best appliances 
 for the promotion of the general canse. Four com- 
 plete translations of the Old and New Testaments 
 have "been made into the general language of China ; 
 and many other translations of the New Testament, 
 either in whole or in part, have been made both into 
 the general language and local dialects. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate with accuracy the 
 number of Christian books that have been published 
 and distributed in China since 1843. Taking, how- 
 ever, as the basis of our calculation the operations of 
 one society in this department, whose report is now 
 before us, we estimate that during the past seventeen 
 years there have been published annually in China, 
 about twenty millions of pages of Christian books. 
 These books have been sent throughout the empire. 
 Carried by the native merchant and student, they 
 have gone where the foot of the missionary has never 
 trod, and have silently and surely sown the good seed 
 of the kingdom. Schools for the Chinese have been 
 connected with nearly all the Protestant missions at 
 the open ports, and thousands of the youth of China 
 have received in them the rudiments of a Christian 
 education. "We do not suppose that all thus educated 
 have or will become Christians, but we must believe 
 the amount of Christian knowledge thus imparted is 
 doing something to prepare the way of the Lord in 
 China. At the open ports, and at Hong Kong, the 
 different missions have erected suitable edifices for 
 churches, chapels, school-houses, and private resi- 
 dences ; and when we bear in mind the exigencies of 
 a strange climate, and the fact that for many years 
 
358 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 to come these open ports will continue to be great 
 centers of missionary operations and interest, we can 
 estimate the value of these appliances in connection 
 with the prosecution of the work. 
 
 Secondly, we notice some of the results already 
 obtained. There are now about twenty Chinese 
 Churches, comprising nearly two thousand members, 
 connected with the Protestant missions in China. Of 
 these perhaps one hundred are trained evangelists, 
 engaged in preaching the Gospel to their countrymen. 
 The work has spread beyond the limits of the open 
 ports. In spite of government opposition and the 
 restrictions of the former treaties, the Gospel has 
 sounded out into the regions beyond, and some of our 
 most nourishing Churches are in the country towns 
 and villages. 
 
 We notice also the growth and recent triumph, in 
 the imperial cabinet of China, of a policy favorable 
 to Christianity and foreign intercourse. It is not our. 
 wish to magnify our office as missionaries, but we 
 think it only fair that the Church should know the 
 truth on this important and interesting subject. The 
 thoughtful observer of Chinese politics, during the 
 past seventeen years, could scarcely fail to notice that 
 in the imperial cabinet at Pekin a fierce controversy 
 was going on between the respective advocates of 
 what might be designated the foreign and the anti- 
 foreign policy. The complete history of this inter- 
 esting and momentous struggle is for the present con- 
 cealed from our view; but the vicissitudes of its 
 progress were indicated, with tolerable distinctness, 
 by frequent and significant movements in the outer 
 
INFLUENCE OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 359 
 
 field of Chinese politics ; and from the character of 
 those sent to fill the posts of high authority through- 
 out the empire, it was always possible to ascertain 
 whether the foreign or antiforeign policy was in the 
 ascendant at Pekin. We do not mean to say that 
 the operations of Protestant missions in China forced 
 this question upon the imperial cabinet, and necessi- 
 tated the controversy referred to ; but we do mean to 
 declare our earnest- conviction and belief, that in the 
 discussion and final adjustment of this question by 
 the statesmen of China, the influence of Protestant 
 missions was powerfully and favorably felt ; and that 
 for the future maintenance of her integrity and sov- 
 ereign independence, under the action of her recent 
 treaties with England, France, Russia, and the United 
 States, China regards the influence of Christian prin- 
 ciples over these nations as the sheet-anchor of her 
 safety and hope. We have not space at command 
 for all the evidence that might be adduced in sup- 
 port of this statement. It will be sufficient perhaps 
 for us to state that until quite recently nearly all the 
 diplomatic intercourse of both England and the 
 United States with China has passed through the 
 hands of Prostestant missionaries ; that by means of 
 the press the Bible has been scattered throughout the 
 empire, entering alike the cottage of the peasant and 
 the palace of the mandarin ; that the lives and teach- 
 ings of Protestant missionaries have furnished to the 
 Chinese convincing proof of the superior excellence of 
 Christian doctrines; that Chinese officers, in their 
 interviews with foreign diplomatists, have sometimes 
 shown a surprising familiarity with these doctrines; 
 
360 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 and that in some of their official communications the 
 Chinese authorities have assumed it as a primary 
 truth, that the motives and principles which control 
 the conduct of western nations are drawn from the 
 Bible. We therefore feel authorized to assign to 
 Protestant missions in China a prominent place 
 among the influences which have contributed to open 
 up the Chinese empire to Christianity and foreign 
 intercourse. 
 
 The last result to which we shall refer is the great 
 Tai Ping insurrection, which during the past seven 
 years has marched its victorious legions through 
 most of the southern provinces of China, and on 
 more than one occasion has sent trembling even 
 within the walls of Pekin. We are not yet in pos- 
 session of sufficient data for a thorough analysis of 
 this wonderful movement. Enough is known, how- 
 ever, to show that it is a direct result of Protestant 
 missionary operations, and that as a religious system, 
 notwithstanding its great and lamentable defects, 
 it is far in advance of the hoary heathenism of 
 China. 
 
 These results, we conceive, challenge the confidence 
 and gratitude of the Church, and furnish the most 
 convincing evidence that even in our day, and 
 operating through the appliances of modern mis- 
 sions, the Gospel comes, " not in word only, but also 
 in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
 assurance." 
 
 With regard to the future progress of the Gospel 
 in China the following encouraging facts should be 
 considered : 
 
ENCOURAGING FACT. 361 
 
 1. The Chinese are a gregarious or clannish people. 
 They move in masses, the crowd always following in 
 the wake of a few courageous leaders. 
 
 2. The missionary work in China is simple evan- 
 gelism. In most mission fields the missionary must 
 combine in his own person the farmer, the trades- 
 man, the schoolmaster, etc. ; but in China his one 
 great work is to " preach the word." 
 
 3. The Chinese have been trained to support their 
 systems of religion, and it is altogether probable they 
 contribute more money in proportion to their pecu- 
 niary ability for the maintenance of their idolatrous 
 worship than it will cost them to support the institu- 
 tions of Christianity. 
 
 4. China will supply Christian pastors just as fast 
 as they are required in the progress of the work. 
 The following remarks on this topic, by the Rev. J. 
 Doolittle, of the American Board mission at Fuh- 
 chau, are here introduced, and commended to the 
 serious attention of all interested in this important 
 subject : 
 
 " Last Sabbath evening I attended the usual Chinese 
 service held in the church belonging to the mission 
 of the American Board at this place. Three young 
 men, members of the native Church under care of 
 that mission, two of whom are employed as native 
 helpers, addressed the congregation, followed by clos- 
 ing remarks by the missionary in charge of the 
 meeting. 
 
 " The first speaker, aged twenty, had a very bashful 
 appearance. His delivery was rather monotonous. 
 His remarks, however, indicated him to be a sober 
 
362 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 and earnest thinker. He took as his subject the 
 closing part of the fifth chapter of Matthew, and ex- 
 plained at considerable length the manner in which 
 Jesus taught his disciples to treat their slanderers 
 and enemies. The way in which he handled this sub- 
 ject, as well as the subject itself, conciliated and in- 
 terested the audience. He alluded to several cus- 
 toms of the Chinese, and quoted some of their 
 maxims, relating to their treatment of enemies, and 
 exhibited in marked and impressive contrast the 
 principles which the Saviour laid down as rules for 
 the guidance of his followers, in regard to those who 
 ' cursed,' who ' hated,' and who ' despitefully used 
 and persecuted them.' I could not but be grateful 
 . for such plain and earnest remarks on this subject, so 
 different from anything which exists either in theory 
 or practice among the Chinese. 
 
 "The second speaker, aged twenty-five, so far as 
 concerned his manner of delivery, was much more 
 pleasing and oratorical than the first. He announc- 
 ed as his theme John xv, 25, ' They hated me with- 
 out a cause,' and proceeded to show the unreasona- 
 bleness of the common objections made by the 
 Chinese against Jesus. He declared that his text 
 was fulfilled in Fuhchau, in that Jesus was hated 
 without a cause. While he exposed, in a masterly 
 manner, the sophistry of the popular excuses and 
 objections against the Christian religion, he did 
 not fail to notice the real reasons why the Chi- 
 nese do not believe in the Saviour. His words 
 were simple, yet pointed, and his meaning un- 
 mistakable. His appeals were bold and search- 
 
NATIVE PREACHERS. 363 
 
 ing. I felt grateful when he closed that the truth 
 had been spoken so earnestly, and at the same time 
 so kindly. 
 
 " The third speaker, aged twenty, discoursed from 
 Matt, x, 28. His voice was sharp and quick, yet 
 quite distinct. He explained and enforced, in a 
 pleasing and direct manner, the duty of every one 
 to fear God more than man. He spoke of the 
 nature, the value, and the immortality of the soul 
 in a way which rivetted the attention of the 
 congregation. 
 
 " He denied the sentiment which seems to "be enter- 
 tained, in theory at least, by not a few learned Chi- 
 nese, that the soul perishes when the body dies. The 
 audience listened with a kind of wondering interest, 
 while he urged them in a bold and spirited manner 
 to fear and obey that Being 'who is able to destroy 
 both soul and body in hell;' and not to fear man, 
 who can only kill the body, but cannot kill the 
 soul. 
 
 " What has been said, as well as what has been left 
 unsaid about the exercises of that evening, illustrates 
 two interesting facts, which I believe to be eminently 
 true of the native helpers at this port. I have had 
 ample opportunities of judging in this matter ever 
 since any converts were employed as helpers in the 
 missionary work at Fuhchau. 
 
 "1. The native helpers select very practical and im- 
 portant subjects when addressing their countrymen. 
 They do not love to dwell on abstruse, metaphysical, 
 or far-fetched themes, nor are they fond of presenting 
 exclusively doctrinal points. There is not much 
 
364 CHINA AS A MISSION" FIELD. 
 
 science or philosophy or history embodied in their 
 public addresses, but there is a great deal of most 
 important truth relating to the most practical sub- 
 jects, prescribed by them in an earnest and kind 
 manner. 
 
 " 2. They are not ashamed to speak out boldly for 
 Jesus. They literally and emphatically 'stand up 
 for Jesus' in all their discourses. Indeed, their 
 preaching and their addresses are so full of Jesus, 
 and contain so many allusions to the life and the 
 doctrines of the Saviour as the only proper example 
 and standard for men of all ages and all nations, as 
 frequently to irritate many of their hearers. It is a 
 very common occurrence to hear some of those who 
 have been listening to their addresses say in sub- 
 stance, on leaving, that of every ten sentences three or 
 four have Jesus in them, or are about Jesus. An- 
 other form of expressing the same idea is that ' one 
 word out of every three is Jesus.' Not a few leave 
 the chapel or the church in anger, uttering the 
 above sentiment with loud and bitter curses on the 
 native helpers. 
 
 " Prayer in behalf of foreign missionaries, of native 
 converts to Christianity in foreign lands, of Christian 
 schools among the heathen, and of the heathen gen- 
 erally, is very common among Christians in "Western 
 countries. But I fear that especial prayer for the 
 native helpers as a class, laboring for the conversion 
 of their heathen countrymen, is rarely offered. So 
 far as my experience and my recollection serve, such 
 prayer was never or very seldom presented before 
 the mercy-seat in family worship, in church .or neigh- 
 
NATIVE PEEACHEES. 365 
 
 borhood prayer-meetings, or even in the monthly 
 concert in America previous to my sailing for China. 
 Has there been a great change for the better as re- 
 gards this subject? "Would that I knew such a 
 change had already been extensively made ! 
 
 " The subject of prayer for native helpers is one of 
 great and general importance, considered with refer- 
 ence to the progress of the work in every missionary 
 field. But I shall briefly present the subject viewed 
 from China as my standpoint, for I feel that 
 there are some grave considerations, some special 
 reasons, why frequent and fervent prayer in behalf 
 of the native helpers in China should be offered by 
 the Church. 
 
 " 1. China is so immense and so populous, its dis- 
 tance so great from America and England, (the 
 present centers of interest in the missionary cause,) 
 and the necessary expense connected with the for- 
 eign missionaries so large and constant, that it is 
 idle to expect the evangelization of this empire main- 
 ly by the labor of foreigners. And besides, the num- 
 ber of missionaries and of candidates for the mission- 
 ary work is immensely inadequate. The Church, at 
 least in the present state of her zeal in the cause of 
 missions, has neither the money nor the men to 
 spare for the work in China. Can she send and sup- 
 port annually several scores or hundreds, not to say 
 thousands, of her sons and daughters in this empire 
 to labor for Jesus ? ISTo ; China must be saved by 
 the divine blessing resting principally on the labors 
 of her own converted sons and daughters. Natwe 
 preachers, under God, are her main hope. How im- 
 
366 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 
 
 portant, then, that suitable persons should be raised 
 up at the right time and place, and in sufficient num- 
 bers to meet the growing demands of the work — to 
 respond to the loud call of Providence for more la- 
 borers in this empire ! Is it reasonable and consist, 
 ent to believe that the evangelization of China will 
 be achieved without the importunate and effectual 
 prayers of the Church in behalf of the native agents 
 or instruments in the work ? Are the present or the 
 future missionaries in this land, on whom will de- 
 volve the responsibility of selecting, training, and 
 superintending the native helpers, sufficient for such 
 a responsibility, unaided by the sympathies and the 
 prayers of western Christians, poured out before God 
 in behalf of these helpers % 
 
 " 2. 'As the twig is bent the tree is inclined,' is an 
 old adage, which has a moral application of peculiar 
 significancy and force in such an empire as China, 
 where custom and precedent are generally more pow- 
 erful than law or than right. The foundations 
 should be properly laid if the superstructure is to be 
 firm and durable. A low standard of piety and de- 
 votion to the work in those who are first or among 
 the first to be employed as native helpers or native 
 preachers would be a calamity to be peculiarly 
 dreaded and deprecated in this empire. Now may 
 not, should not a deep and powerful interest be taken 
 in this matter by those at the West who are co- 
 workers in the promotion of the cause of missions in 
 this land ? 
 
 " Ought they not, and will they not offer up 
 special and frequent prayer in behalf of native 
 
NATIVE PREACHERS. 367 
 
 helpers or native preachers in China, in view of the 
 transcendent importance of rightly beginning as well 
 as of rightly prosecuting the work by the instrument- 
 ality of converted Chinese ?" 
 
368 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 "We pass to notice the claims of this new era in 
 Chinese history upon the Churches of Christendom. 
 We feel authorized to use this expression to designate 
 the present aspect of affairs in China. The former 
 things have evidently passed away, and this nation 
 now stands on the threshold of a new era in her his- 
 tory. The abrogation of her* exclusive policy, the 
 rescinding of her persecuting edicts against Christi- 
 anity, the permission to her subjects to embrace the 
 Christian faith, and the authorization of missionaries 
 to travel and preach the doctrines of this faith 
 throughout the empire, are all significant indications 
 of the great change that has passed over the govern- 
 ment of China. Observe also the spread of liberal 
 ideas in China, the steady growth of foreign influence 
 in its councils, and the rapid extension of foreign 
 trade and intercourse, with capacities for future un- 
 limited expansion. While I am penning these lines 
 an English expedition is steaming some eight hund- 
 red miles up the broad bosom of the Yang-tsze-kiang, 
 through waters never before cut by foreign keels, 
 right into the heart of China. The expedition is ex- 
 pected to reach Hankow, the great inland commer- 
 
WANTS OF CHINA. 369 
 
 cial mart of China, situated in the province of Hupeh, 
 to examine this celebrated city, and at the same time 
 to test in this practical manner the value of the re- 
 cent treaty provisions, and the sincerity of the Chi- 
 nese with regard to their execution. "What, then, 
 are some of the most urgent claims of China in this 
 new phase of her history in the Churches of Christ ? 
 She demands, 
 
 1. A CORDIAL APPRECIATION OF HER CHARACTER 
 
 AND wants. The discovery of a new planet in the 
 solar system at once changes the previously supposed 
 relations between its bodies, and necessitates a recon- 
 struction of theories and a readjustment of the recog- 
 nized celestial influences. The discovery by Colum- 
 bus of the Western continent gave a new phase and 
 direction to history, and initiated a series of political 
 evolutions which has culminated in the ascendancy 
 of Protestantism, and the enthronement of Protestant 
 governments as the ruling powers of the world. The 
 advent of China into the great family of nations in- 
 troduces *a new and potent element into the world's 
 politics, disturbs the previously existing relations and 
 affinities, and necessitates a stern conflict of princi- 
 ples and interests, the development of which is yet 
 future, and the history of which is yet to be written. 
 The time has gone by when ignorance of China char- 
 acterized alike all classes of society, and when Chris- 
 tians might innocently shut out from their sympa- 
 thies and evangelism its myriads of people. By 
 her own recent and authoritative acts China has 
 placed herself as it were within the pale of Christen- 
 dom, and has precipitated the inevitable conflict 
 
 24 
 
370 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 between truth and error. The grand tournament 
 has already opened; Christianity and heathenism, in 
 utter antagonism, have entered the lists, and further 
 evasion or procrastination is impossible. For weal 
 or woe, the question of supremacy must now be de- 
 cided ; and when heathenism shall quail and expire 
 in the presence of a purer faith, then will commence 
 the final struggle between Protestantism and Koman- 
 ism for supremacy in this the grandest empire of the 
 world. 
 
 It would be impossible, within the limits of this 
 chapter, even to name all the wants of China ; we can 
 now refer only to those of a moral or religious char- 
 acter, and of these' we can present only the more 
 prominent. First, then, we conceive a pure and sav- 
 ing religious faith to be one of the great and impera- 
 tive wants of China at the present day. The present 
 position of China, with reference to this vital subject, 
 is most lamentable. She has, indeed, no clearly de- 
 fined principles of religious belief; the subject is 
 practically ignored by nine tenths of the* Chinese. 
 They have banished the Almighty from their 
 thoughts, and by a daring apotheosis have enthroned 
 man as the object of their faith and trust. The few 
 rays of divine truth that may have illumined the 
 minds of their ancient sages have been lost long since 
 in the thick darkness of heathenism ; the light that 
 once shone feebly on their altars has been extin- 
 guished by a cold and sensuous atheism. The entire 
 range of Chinese literature furnishes no possible basis 
 for a rational religious faith, touching those subjects 
 that most nearly and powerfully afiect man's destiny. 
 
WANTS OF CHINA. 371 
 
 "We search it in vain for those principles and influ- 
 ences which purify and exalt humanity. As a na- 
 tion, the Chinese are utterly "without God and 
 without hope in the world." This we consider the 
 radical and fatal defect in their social and political 
 compact. If proof or illustration of this remark is 
 needed, we refer to the patent facts of their past 
 history and present condition. For centuries ths 
 Chinese have possessed, in different degrees of excel- 
 lence and efficiency, civilization, literature, social 
 order, and political government; and yet they have 
 failed to obtain the grand results contemplated. 
 Their civilization, literature, and political economy 
 have become effete, while their ancient religious faith 
 has degenerated into bald atheism. Never was there 
 a more promising field for the trial of those godless 
 humanitarian theories of social organization so ful- 
 somely lauded by some modern writers in Christen- 
 dom, and yet the experiment has resulted in utter 
 failure^ All healthy progress ceased centuries ago; 
 ♦ conservatism even has exhausted its resources, and 
 henceforth there remains for China no alternative 
 but the introduction of a new element into its politi- 
 cal system, or utter deterioration and ruin. This 
 new element is to be found only in the pure and 
 simple faith of the Gospel. Christianity is China's 
 last and only hope. 
 
 Another want of China, pertinent to her present 
 position, is the exemplification of this pure and sav- 
 ing faith in the lives of holy men and women. It is 
 probably true of men, in all countries and in every 
 stage of intellectual culture, that their conceptions of 
 
372 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 tlie good and the true are always in advance of their 
 actual performances. It certainly is most strikingly 
 characteristic of the Chinese in our day. They are 
 prone to revel in dreams or fancies of ideal probity 
 and virtue ; they seem to possess a delicate apprecia- 
 tion of those higher and mental traits which result 
 from superior education and refinement; and yet no 
 other people in the world furnish such an utter contrast 
 between their conceptions and practice. The Chris- 
 tian missionary descants on the pure morality of the 
 Gospel, and the educated Chinese will express their 
 enthusiastic indorsement of every sentiment uttered ; 
 and yet at the close of the discussion which they ap- 
 peared so highly to appreciate as a mental exercita- 
 tion, they pass, without the slightest compunction, to 
 lying, cheating, idolatry, and licentiousness, from the 
 debasing influences of which you would suppose they 
 were invincibly shielded by their refined mental 
 tastes. They, in fact, conceive it to be impossible 
 for one's practice even to approximate his own 
 ideal of moral excellence, and fortify their posi- 
 tion by the corroborating experience of their entire 
 nation. 
 
 The last want of China to which we shall refer in 
 this connection, is the Christian preacher to expound 
 and enforce the principles of this faith. " How shall 
 they hear without a preacher ?" It has pleased God, 
 by " the foolishness of preaching," to carry forward 
 his kingdom in the world. This agency is admira- 
 bly suited to the "character and wants of the Chinese. 
 Their written language is so concise and arbitrary 
 that more than one half of the Chinese can scarcely 
 
DEMANDS OF CHINA. 373 
 
 use it at all. Throughout perhaps three fourths of 
 the empire, colloquial dialects have growu up along- 
 side this written language ; and it is in these dialects 
 the mass of the Chinese think, and feel, and speak. 
 Most of these dialects are readily and accurately ac- 
 quired by a foreigner, while to master the most diffi- 
 cult of them requires only a moderate amount of in- 
 dustry and perseverance. Under present circum- 
 stances, the first supplies of Christian preachers for 
 China must come from abroad. She can furnish the 
 congregations, but the men of God, the " embassa- 
 dors for Christ," must come from other lands. 
 
 We proceed to state, 
 
 2. That, in view of her geeat and urgent 
 wants, China now demands fervent, prevailing 
 prayer in her behalf from the churches of 
 Christ. In introducing this topic we are not care- 
 ful to guard ourselves against the charge of enthu- 
 siasm, or to conciliate any of our readers who may 
 be disposed to turn away from the discussion of this 
 topic. We are too thoroughly in earnest to be 
 greatly affected by such considerations. The interests 
 involved in this discussion are so stupendous, the 
 events transpiring around us are so startling, and the 
 issues before us are so momentous and far-reaching, 
 that we are willing to sink ourselves in the grand re- 
 sults contemplated. Our concern is for the ark of 
 God, the cause of Christ ; and we shall be only too 
 happy if what we now write on the subject shall con- 
 tribute to the consummation of its glorious designs 
 in that vast empire. We believe in the pertinency 
 and efficacy of faithful prayer in this connection, and 
 
374 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 we rest our belief on the sure foundation of God's 
 written word. It is unnecessary, we conceive, to 
 quote those passages of Holy Writ which support 
 this view ; their general purport has been well ex- 
 pressed by Charles Wesley in his hymn : 
 
 "0 wondrous power of faithful prayer! 
 
 What tongue can tell the Almighty grace ? 
 God's hands or bound or open are, 
 
 As Moses or Elijah prays." 
 
 We love to dwell upon this theme. Its important 
 bearings on the present subject can scarcely be ex- 
 aggerated. As a power for good, too, it possesses 
 the singular excellence that every Christian may 
 wield it. Whether rich or poor, learned or illiterate ; 
 called by the Spirit to go forth preaching the word, 
 or directed by the same Spirit to the soil, the anvil, 
 the loom, the study, or the forum, all can pray for 
 China. Apart from the word of God, and the power 
 of his Spirit to make that word effectual in the heart 
 of the believer, nothing in all our experience as a 
 foreign missionary has so cheered and supported us 
 as the thought that the holy cause in which we are 
 engaged is remembered in the prayers of God's 
 people. And we have asked, What if all the Chris- 
 tian hearts throughout the world were to unite in 
 earnest persevering prayer to God for the conversion 
 of the Chinese ? What if for a year, for a month, for 
 a week, for a day, or even for an hour, the entire 
 body of Christian believers were to unite in prayer 
 for the immediate conversion of the population of 
 this mighty empire ! It is not our prerogative to in- 
 
PRAYER FOR CHINA. 375 
 
 dicate or estimate the direct results of such an act of 
 intercessory faith. What riches of grace, what treas- 
 ures of mercy, what streams of instant salvation it 
 would open for China, is known only to Him from 
 whom nothing is hidden, and who has declared his 
 willingness to be inquired of by the house of Israel 
 concerning such things. 
 
 Passing, however, from those " secret things " which 
 " belong unto the Lord our God," we may conceive 
 somewhat of the influence this grand act of faith 
 would exert upon the Church. How it would rouse 
 the sympathies, stir the energies, and fire the zeal of 
 every Christian ! What searchings of heart it would 
 produce ; what willing offerings of means and men 
 for the evangelization of China would at once be 
 laid on the altar of consecration ! We see no good 
 reason why the Church should not now come up to 
 the exercise of this high, commanding faith. No 
 Christian doubts its possibility, and no one acquainted 
 with the subject can suppose it would be unaccept- 
 able to the Lord of the harvest. The times in which 
 we live, and the present aspects of China, seem to de- 
 mand just such faith. The world is manifestly ap- 
 proximating that grand epoch concerning which 
 "glorious things are spoken;" in the foreground of 
 which stand the promises of the Gospel's marvelous 
 spread and unprecedented triumphs in the world. 
 We proceed to remark, 
 
 3. That in view of her present wants, China 
 demands from the churches of christ a thor- 
 ough and comprehensive system of immediate 
 evangelism. We do not stop now to argue the 
 
376 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 question of the Church's duty with regard to the 
 proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world; 
 the great body of Christians in our day recognize and 
 accept their high commission on this subject, with all 
 its vast and solemn responsibilities. We proceed at 
 once to state the grounds on which China bases her 
 demand upon the Christian Church for such a system 
 of evangelism. 
 
 First, we notice the cheering fact that China is 
 now fairly and fully opened to receive the Gospel. 
 We have already presented the evidence on which 
 this statement rests. The Chinese government, in 
 the recent treaty compacts, has publicly and solemnly 
 pledged her faith and honor on this subject to the 
 four leading nations of the world. It does not invali- 
 date our position to assert that the government of 
 China entered into this compact reluctantly, and only 
 in consequence of an external pressure which she 
 could.no longer withstand, and that she will gladly 
 avail herself of the first favorable opportunity to an- 
 nul her action on this question. Without entering 
 into a full discussion of the subject, it is sufficient for 
 our present purpose to state that the previous ex- 
 clusive policy of the Chinese government was opposed 
 alike to the word of God and the highest instincts of 
 humanity ; that it was unjust to the people of China, 
 and at variance with their views and wishes ; that its 
 abrogation, without derogating from the sovereignty 
 of the government, has conferred a priceless boon on 
 the Chinese ; that, according to all recognized prin- 
 ciples of analogy and evidence, the forces which have 
 accomplished the overthrow of this exclusive policy 
 
CHINA OPEN TO THE GOSPEL. 377 
 
 must inevitably and rapidly increase, and that, mean- 
 while, the progress of Christianity among the people 
 will prepare them so folly to appreciate the propriety 
 and necessity of intercourse with Christian nations, 
 that any return of their government to its former 
 barbarous policy will be utterly impossible. It is a 
 fact, substantiated by the clearest historic evidence, 
 that the Chinese have always been a commercial 
 people, and that, in former periods of their history, 
 they solicited intercourse with foreign nations ; it is 
 a fact that the exclusive policy of their government 
 originated with the present dynasty ; it is a fact that, 
 in spite of the restrictions of their government, the 
 Chinese have always carried on a foreign commerce ; 
 it is a fact that foreign influence is now sufficiently 
 powerful in China to control the general policy of 
 the government ; and it is now, we believe, univers- 
 ally conceded that foreign influence in China must 
 steadily increase for many years to come. In view 
 of these facts, therefore, we feel entirely authorized 
 to announce, distinctly and emphatically, that China 
 is now fully open to the Gospel ; and that, in view 
 of this fact, she is entitled to the best efforts of the 
 Church for her evangelization. 
 
 Secondly, we observe that, by her recent acts, 
 China has placed herself within the power of influ- 
 ences that must effect her utter demoralization, un- 
 less counteracted by the principles of Christianity. 
 The nation is breaking away from its ancient moor- 
 ings ; the conservative influences that hitherto have 
 controlled the national mind are fast losing their 
 potency ; and if not succeeded by those ennobling in- 
 
378 APPEAL TO THE CHUKCHES. 
 
 fluences which spring only from the principles of the 
 Gospel, we can forecast nothing but disaster and rain 
 for China. The lucrative trade carried on with 
 China by Western nations has already attracted to 
 her shores merchants and traders of all countries, re- 
 ligious creeds, and social habits, and under the new 
 treaty provisions their numbers will indefinitely in- 
 crease. The commercial world now turns to China with 
 the most absorbing interest. "Western capital is moving 
 eastward for investment ; business men look to China 
 for the rapid accumulation of wealth; young men 
 press to it as the most quick and certain road to 
 opulence; and the flags of all nations float in its 
 capacious harbors. Within a few years that empire 
 will be overspread by a vast net-work of commercial 
 agencies and enterprises, the influence of which on 
 the future character of the Chinese who can estimate ? 
 A bald atheism, correlated by a stolid fatalism, has 
 long been a prominent trait of the Chinese mind; 
 and when to this are superadded the jealous compe- 
 titions of extending commerce, and the maddening 
 thirst for gold, we can, in some degree, appreciate 
 the dangers to which China is exposed. It is vain to 
 talk of the civilizing influences of commerce. Alas ! 
 the history of the world shows only too plainly that 
 commerce is a dangerous civilizer ; the wake of its 
 progress is ever the engulfing maelstrom of licen- 
 tiousness and barbarism. Apart from the influences 
 of Christianity, there is no hope for China in foreign 
 intercourse, western commerce, or western civilization 
 and literature. Evangelization or demoralization is 
 China's only alternative. 
 
ROMANISM IN THE FIELD. 379 
 
 Thirdly, we notice that the forces of Romanism 
 are already in the field, and are pushing forward their 
 operations with resources and zeal worthy of a better 
 cause. We are not in possession of very recent sta- 
 tistics with regard to the operations of Roman Cath- 
 olic missionaries in China. According to the "An- 
 nales de la Propagation de la Foi " for June, 1839, there 
 were then in China eight bishops, fifty-seven foreign 
 priests, one hundred and fourteen native priests, and 
 three hundred and three thousand converts, connected 
 with the Romish Church. It is difficult to know just 
 what amount of credence to assign to these statistics. 
 Our impression is, however, that they do not over- 
 state the case. Indeed, we think the number of for- 
 eign priests in China has considerably increased since 
 the foregoing statistics were published. The provis- 
 ions of the recent treaties with China are exciting 
 the liveliest interest throughout the ranks of Roman- 
 ism. In the thirteenth article of the French treaty 
 there is a clause declaring that " whatever has been 
 heretofore written, proclaimed, or published in China, 
 by order of government, against the Christian faith, is 
 wholly abrogated and nullified in all the provinces of 
 the empire." Under cover of this clause, the Romish 
 missionaries in China declare their purpose to insti- 
 tute claims against the Chinese government for the 
 recovery of all their ancient Church property at 
 Pekin and elsewhere throughout the empire, which 
 was confiscated during former persecutions. If suc- 
 cessful in this measure, as seems entirely probable, 
 they at once will be in possession of wealth, prestige, 
 and Church appliances which will be of immense 
 
380 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 advantage to them in the propagation of their faith 
 among the Chinese. 
 
 The preceding remarks indicate, with perhaps suf- 
 ficient clearness, what we conceive to he the grounds 
 of China's claim upon the Christian Church for a 
 thorough and comprehensive system of evangelism. 
 There is, however, one point more to which we wish 
 briefly to refer. No thoughtful observer, we think, 
 can fail to perceive that China has now reached a 
 great and eventful crisis in her history; that she is 
 now in a transition state, -passing through a formative 
 process, during which she receives for weal or woe 
 the impression of those influences which at the time 
 are brought to bear upon her. If then it is desirable 
 that China should ever be brought under the influ- 
 ence of Christianity ; if it is, indeed, the duty of Chris- 
 tians to proclaim to her people the words of life and 
 salvation, now is the time to engage in this work 
 with resources and energy commensurate with the 
 imperative demands of the enterprise. Christians 
 must at once gird themselves for this conquest, or the 
 present golden opportunity may pass away forever. 
 Again, it is well understood in political and commer- 
 cial circles, that though China is theoretically and 
 legally open to foreign intercourse, yet practically it 
 will remain closed until foreign enterprise shall push 
 its way and proclaim its immunities throughout the 
 empire, and that, in order to give efficiency to the 
 recent treaty pro visions, ( and make them the recog- 
 nized laws of the land, foreigners must at once and 
 in earnest avail themselves of all the privileges to 
 which they are now entitled. These remarks apply 
 
EVANGELISM REQUIRED. 381 
 
 with, equal pertinency and force to the Christian 
 Church in her great work of evangelizing China. 
 Civil authority has now done its work in opening the 
 way ; it remains to be seen whether the Church pos- 
 sesses sufficient faith and zeal to go up and claim this 
 land in the name of her Lord and Master. 
 
 We proceed now to notice briefly the character and 
 proportions of that system of evangelism which China 
 now demands from the Christian Church. What we 
 have already written must convince every candid 
 mind that the field now opening in China before the 
 Christian Church is of an extraordinary character; 
 that the demands now made on the aggressive ener- 
 gies of the Church are unparallelled in her history, 
 and that to meet these demands her preparations and 
 plans must be on a scale of unprecedented magnitude 
 and efficiency. It is the loudest and m»st urgent call 
 ever made on the Church of Christ. What shall be 
 her response? We confess to an unutterable solici- 
 tude on this subject ; it presses upon us at times with 
 a power and solemnity absolutely overwhelming. 
 Let us, however, try to look at the subject calmly 
 and faithfully. And, first, what is the character of 
 that evangelism which China now demands from the 
 Church ? Does she demand regular and stated pas- 
 tors for native churches which may be gathered, or 
 does she demand missionaries in their extraordinary 
 character of apostle or evangelist? The latter view' 
 seems to us the more reasonable and pertinent to the 
 present aspects of the subject. We conceive the 
 present need of China to be an adequate supply of 
 holy, zealous missionaries, who, through the pulpit, 
 
382 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 the press, and the school, shall proclaim the glad 
 tidings of salvation to all classes of Chinese through- 
 out the empire. It is not, indeed, onr idea that each 
 missionary shall take the empire for his parish ; this 
 is rendered impracticable by the vast extent of the 
 field and by the conflicting dialects of the people; 
 but that the aggregate body of missionaries shall suf- 
 fice to bring the Gospel message clearly and forcibly 
 to every soul in China. A bold, triumphant evangel- 
 ism, such as was instituted by the Saviour, is now the 
 urgent want of China. Pastors for the Churches 
 which may be gathered will be readily supplied, 
 partly from the ranks of the missionaries, but mainly, 
 in the progress and development of the work, from 
 the class of native helpers whom God shall call and 
 qualify for that purpose. 
 
 What then must be the proportions of that system 
 of evangelism which shall meet the present demands 
 of China? We present a few facts and suggestions 
 to aid the Church in answering this question. Within 
 the eighteen provinces of China are fourteen hundred 
 and seventy-three districts, each containing, on an aver- 
 age, eight hundred and eighty-one square miles, and a 
 population of two hundred and fifty thousand. What 
 number of missionaries shall we assign to each of 
 these districts ? Suppose, at our lowest estimate, we 
 say two ; we shall then have one missionary to an 
 area of four hundred and forty-one square miles, and 
 to a populution of one hundred and twenty-five thou- 
 sand, and the required number of missionaries will 
 be two thousand nine hundred and forty-six. If we 
 divide this number equally between the Churches of 
 
ABILITY OF THE CHURCH. 383 
 
 Europe and the United States, we shall have fourteen 
 hundred and seventy-three as the number of mission- 
 aries China now demands from the Churches of Christ 
 in America. What will it cost to send out and sup- 
 port such a force of missionaries ? If two thirds go 
 out married, at a cost, in each case, for outfit and 
 passage, of $1,000 ; and one third go out unmarried, 
 at a cost, in each case, for outfit and passage, of $600, 
 the entire expense of sending out the proposed re-en- 
 forcement is $1,276,600. For their annual expenses 
 in the field, including personal support, house-rent, 
 chapel and school purposes, etc., suppose we allow 
 $1,200 for each married, and $800 for each unmarried 
 missionary, and we have as the entire cost of support- 
 ing such a body of missionaries $1,571,200. Are the 
 Churches of the United States able to meet this ex- 
 pense ? According to the estimate of a recent writer 
 on the subject, (" Gift of Power," p. 91,) the amount 
 of taxable real and personal estate of evangelical 
 Christians, and those identified with them as mem- 
 bers of their respective Church congregations in the 
 United States, in 1854, was $6,332,542,679; "one 
 tenth of the simple interest of which, at six per cent, 
 per annum, makes $37,995,256 as, at the lowest com- 
 putation, the annual available means of the Church 
 of God in our land." Deduct now from this sum the 
 annual cost of supporting the proposed number of 
 missionaries in China, and there remains as the an- 
 nual income of the Church in the United States, for 
 the support of its home work, and its operations in 
 other foreign mission fields, the immense sum of 
 $36,424,056. 
 
384 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 If the statistics on which this calculation is based 
 are reliable, (and we see no good reason to doubt 
 their accuracy,) is it not evident that the Christian 
 Churches of the United States are abundantly able, 
 at this moment, to send out and support their one 
 thousand four hundred and seventy-three missionaries 
 for China ? and that, too, without the slightest detri- 
 ment to any of their home or other foreign interests. 
 Distribute the evangelical Christians of the United 
 States into eight great missionary organizations, rep- 
 resented respectively by the American Board of Com- 
 missioners for Foreign Missions, the Presbyterian 
 Board, the Protestant Episcopal Board, the Dutch 
 Reformed Board, Baptist Board, North, Baptist Board, 
 South, Methodist Episcopal Board, and Methodist 
 Episcopal Board, South, and to each assign an equal 
 portion of the aggregate annual resources of the 
 Church, and also of the expenses of the proposed 
 missionary re-enforcement. "We shall then have 
 $4,749,407 as the annual available income of each 
 society, while the annual demand on its funds for 
 China is only $196,400 ; thus leaving in its treasury 
 for other claims the enormous sum of $4,628,017. 
 But why multiply proof or illustration of the point 
 under discussion % No one, we think, can doubt the 
 ability of the Church in the United States to send out 
 and support the proposed re-enforcement of mission- 
 aries ; and no one acquainted with the wants of China 
 can believe that the number proposed is at all in ex- 
 cess of the demand. 
 
 What response shall we make to this call ? No one 
 acquainted with the subject can suppose we have 
 
 _ 
 
WHAT SHALL BE OUR RESPONSE ? 385 
 
 made an exorbitant demand in behalf of China ; and 
 no Methodist can donbt the ability of our Church to 
 meet, at once and fully, her portion of the claim. 
 The heart of Christendom now turns toward China 
 with unprecedented solicitude and conviction of duty. 
 Many Churches are already discussing and arranging 
 their plans for aggressive operations in this great field 
 on a scale of surpassing magnitude and thoroughness. 
 Shall the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States have a worthy part in this great aggressive 
 movement of modern Christendom for the evangeliza- 
 tion of China ? Shall we march our column to the 
 front? Shall our banner float above the smoke of 
 battle in this glorious war, or shall we abide in our 
 cities, and jeeringly ask the gathering tribes of our 
 Israel, " Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunnah now 
 in thine hands?" Shall we be those who willingly 
 offered themselves ? or those of Meroz, against whom 
 the angel of the Lord hurled his bitter, scathing 
 curse ? As Methodists, we conceive ourselves bound, 
 by all our historic precedents and denominational in- 
 stincts, to give an affirmative response to this call. 
 Such a response, in part at least, we have already 
 given. In 1847, when only the five consular ports 
 were open to foreign intercourse, and while Christian- 
 ity was still under the ban of the Chinese government, 
 we established our China Mission ; and to the present 
 hour, in the face of no ordinary difficulties and dis- 
 couragements, the Church has never failed to give it 
 cordial and generous support. It is evident, however, 
 that to meet the present demands of China, mission- 
 ary zeal and contributions must increase beyond all 
 
 25 
 
386 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 modern precedent. Are we ready for this ad- 
 vance ? 
 
 "We have endeavored to present a clear and truth- 
 ful picture of the character and demands of the field 
 before us in China. "We have shown that its im- 
 mense population are living " without God and with- 
 out hope in the world ;" that by the recent treaties 
 the entire empire is now thrown open to Christianity ; 
 that, to give effect to these treaties, Christians must, 
 at once and in earnest, avail themselves of all the 
 privileges to which they are now entitled ; that the 
 antagonistic forces of mammon, atheism, and Roman- 
 ism are already in the field ; that the heart of Chris- 
 tendom is now turned toward China with intense in- 
 terest, and that other Churches are already preparing 
 for the great struggle. We have shown also, by re- 
 liable statistics, that our Church possesses at this mo- 
 ment a superabundance of means to meet the de- 
 mands of China without the slightest detriment to 
 any of her home or other foreign interests. "What 
 now is your response ? "We beg to urge this subject 
 upon your attention. Its importance and urgency 
 justify our boldness and importunity. "We entreat 
 you, by your regard for the name and honor of God ; 
 by your sympathy with Christ, in his great work of 
 saving a lost world; by your compassion for one 
 third of the human race, destitute of the blessed Gos- 
 pel ; by your oft-repeated vows of consecration to the 
 service of God ; by your love for the Church of your 
 choice ; by your desire for an approving conscience in 
 the last mortal agony, and by your hopes of heaven ; 
 by all these motives and considerations we entreat 
 
DUTY OF THE CHUECH. 387 
 
 you, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 turn not away from the supplicating wail of the per- 
 ishing 400,000,000 of China ; turn not away from the 
 voice of God, now solemnly calling you to this field ; 
 falter not in this hour of crying need to the cause of 
 Christ in the world ! Shall it be told in Gath, shall 
 it be published in the streets of Askelon, that the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, with a membership of 
 nearly a million, and an estimated annual income for 
 purposes of evangelism of more than three millions of 
 dollars, refuses to furnish annually the sum of, say 
 $250,000 for the evangelization of China ? 
 
 But the Church must go as well as give. The 
 spirit of consecration to this work must come upon 
 the ministry of our Church with unprecedented defin- 
 iteness and force. And yet, after all, what a mere 
 fraction of our ministry is demanded for China! 
 Over six thousand traveling and over seven thousand 
 local preachers in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 minister to a membership of about a million ; while, 
 for our entire work in China, we have estimated 
 only one hundred and eighty-four missionaries. We 
 appeal to the thirteen thousand preachers of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and to the hundreds of 
 young men in our communion whose minds are 
 turned toward the Christian ministry, and we ask, 
 How long shall the perishing millions of China plead 
 in vain for one hundred and eighty-four Methodist 
 missionaries to break unto them the bread of life ? 
 Are there not in the ranks of the Methodist ministry, 
 or among the candidates for that ministry, one hund- 
 red and eighty-four capable and willing men to give 
 
388 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 themselves to the cause of God in China ? We beg 
 respectfully and earnestly to put this question to all 
 the students in Methodist seminaries, colleges, and 
 universities; to all our theological students at Con- 
 cord, Evanston, or elsewhere; to all our traveling 
 and local preachers ; to all our presiding elders ; to 
 all our Church editors ; to all our ministerial profess- 
 ors and presidents in institutions of learning; and 
 finally to our bench of bishops. We should like to 
 propound it in our preachers' meetings, in all our 
 annual conferences, and in the General Conference 
 of our Church. When God, by a series of wonder- 
 ful providences, has opened up the Chinese empire 
 to Christianity, and when, in one year, he has added 
 hundreds of thousands of converts to the Churches in 
 the United States, is it true that out of the thirteen 
 thousand preachers of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church it is impossible to obtain one hundred and 
 eighty-four missionaries for China? Shall we throw 
 open the doors of our churches and proclaim this fact 
 in the ears of the mocking infidel and scoffing liber- 
 tine ? or in the presence of the Jesuitical emissaries 
 of that Church whose boast is that her temples and 
 missions girdle the globe ? Shall we pass beyond the 
 limits of Christendom and proclaim it to the millions 
 of heathen perishing for lack of knowledge ? Suf- 
 fer, brethren, the word of exhortation. We must, 
 we must awake to the subject ! we must listen to the 
 call China now sends to us across the waters! we 
 must consecrate ourselves to the work of the Chris- 
 tian ministry among the people of China ! 
 
 What shall be done ? We invoke the aid of the 
 
SPECIAL APPEAL. 389 
 
 pulpit. Man of God! we charge you to sound the 
 alarm on this great subject. Bring it before every 
 congregation you address, and see to it that your 
 trumpet gives no uncertain sound. We invoke the 
 aid of the forty-six thousand class-leaders of our 
 Church! Take the subject with you to the class- 
 room ; speak of it, pray over it. Come up yourself 
 to the proposed standard of systematic giving, and 
 then urge, persistently urge every member of your 
 class to do the same. We invoke the aid of the 
 press ! We appeal to every Methodist editor, and to 
 that large and influential class of writers who quar- 
 terly, monthly, and weekly discourse, through the 
 press, to the thousands of our Zion, and we say, Plead 
 for China! Circulate information on the subject! 
 arouse the conscience of the Church ! and, if circum- 
 stances favor, add example to precept and offer your- 
 selves for the work of God in China. Finally, we 
 appeal to the nine hundred thousand members of our 
 Church. Hear the Saviour's command to you : " Go 
 ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
 every creature!" What says it? Go! What say 
 the signs of the times? Go! What -say the wants 
 of China ? Go ! Go, then, either in your own per- 
 son, or in the persons of those whom your missionary 
 contributions aid to send and support as foreign mis- 
 sionaries ! 
 
 We now present some of the considerations which 
 we think should induce the Church to give China the 
 system of immediate evangelism to which we have 
 referred. We cannot expect, within the small space 
 remaining to us, to present all the important aspects 
 
390 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 
 
 of this subject ; our remarks must necessarily be of 
 an eclectic character. 
 
 First, we notice obedience to Christ's command, 
 " Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to 
 every creature," as a consideration that should have 
 great weight with the Church in deciding this ques- 
 tion. We have no time now to argue the question 
 of the Church's duty with regard to this high com- 
 mission. Alas for her and for the world if she has 
 yet to learn its grand scope and meaning ! We have 
 supposed that the great body of Christians in our day 
 accept the literal import of the Saviour's command, 
 with all its vast responsibilities, and are honestly 
 seeking to know their present duty with reference to 
 its execution. We have shown that China is now 
 fairly and completely open to the Gospel ; that the 
 present time is apparently her day of grace ; that the 
 tendencies of the age corroborate the teachings of 
 Scripture on this subject, and that auspicious omens 
 cheer the Church in girding herself for the battle. 
 In view, then, of these recognized facts and claims, 
 we put to every Christian the solemn question : Will 
 you obey our Saviour's last command ? will you now, 
 according to your ability, aid in the evangelization 
 of China ? will you ? We protest against indifference 
 on this subject. It is no time for evasion or procras- 
 tination. The inevitable conflict is at hand; mo- 
 mentous issues are just before us, and the hour has 
 come for action, instant, bold, decisive action. Dare 
 not to dismiss this subject from your thoughts. We 
 appeal from the caviling of the advocate to the calm- 
 ness of the judge, from the subterfuges of the carnal 
 
, NAME AND HONOR OF GOD. 391 
 
 mind to the dictates of an enlightened Christian con- 
 science, and we ask, Will yon at once come up to the 
 measure of your duty with reference to this important 
 subject ? 
 
 Secondly ', a regard for the name and honor of God 
 should now impel the Church to engage in this work. 
 ~No Christian can be insensible to the force of this 
 consideration. To him the name and honor of God 
 are infinitely precious. He prefers them to all the 
 treasures of earth, and guards them with a ceaseless 
 vigilance. Is it nothing, then, to him to know that 
 in China this holy name is openly and maliciously 
 given to reproach ? that among the myriads of that 
 land the names designating the triune God are con- 
 temned, and his honor trampled in the dust? We 
 appeal to you, O Christian, on this subject, with an 
 intensity of feeling that finds but feeble expression in 
 these words. You can no longer plead ignorance in 
 extenuation of indifference. Christendom is now 
 ringing with indignant protests against this defiant 
 sacrilege. The pens and tongues of scores of devoted 
 missionaries are electrifying all hearts with disclos- 
 ures on this subject, more painful and startling than 
 any with which "Peter the Hermit" ever thrilled 
 the hearts of the faithful. 
 
 Thirdly, sympathy for the perishing millions of 
 China should rouse the Church to instant action in 
 their behalf. China's claim to this sympathy, we 
 conceive, is predicated of her spiritual or moral, 
 rather than of her physical destitution. Bad as hen 
 social condition confessedly is, fearful as are her phys- 
 ical wants, they are as nothing when compareol with 
 
392 
 
 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 
 
 her moral destitution. It is utterly impossible to 
 form an adequate conception of this subject; the 
 mind is alternately bewildered and sickened in the 
 effort to grasp it. HSTo one can think of China's 
 immense population, the depths of guilt and pollu- 
 tion into which they have sunk, and the awful doom 
 awaiting them in eternity, without a painful con- 
 sciousness of the utter impotence of human language 
 to convey a complete description of her true condi- 
 tion. Such an appeal was never before made to the 
 heart of the Church. She cannot, we think, hear 
 this appeal with indifference ; she dare not drive 
 from her altars the supplicating millions of China. 
 
 Fourthly, the essentially aggressive, character of 
 Christianity should constrain the Church to meet, at 
 once and fully, the present demands of China. It is 
 unnecessary, we conceive, in this connection, to fur- 
 nish proof of the statement that Christianity is essen- 
 tially aggressive, that progress is the inherent law of 
 its existence. No truth is traced more legibly than 
 this in the original charter of its being, or can be 
 more thoroughly substantiated by the great facts of 
 its history, or more certainly deduced from the pre- 
 dicted glories of its future triumphs. The Church, 
 as the representative of Christianity, is impelled by 
 her organic elements to action, instant, ceaseless 
 action. With her mere conservatism is deteriora- 
 tion, inaction is defeat, and passivity is atrophy. By 
 every consideration and aspect of duty she is bound 
 to a spirit of indomitable enterprise and sleepless 
 vigilance in the discharge of her high commission. 
 She must stand ready, with all her resources of 
 
CHRISTIANITY AGGRESSIVE. 393 
 
 energy, faith, and means, to enter every open door 
 for the propagation of the Gospel. "Woe to her if she 
 prove recreant to her sacred trnst ! woe to her if she 
 turn away from, the cries of those ready to perish ! 
 woe to her if, like the great Carthagenian, she find 
 her Capua this side the Tiber and the seven hills! 
 The present crisis calls for that spirit of immediate, 
 triumphant evangelism which thrilled the heart of the 
 primitive Church. Alas for the world if this call is 
 unheeded by the Church in our day ! The scoffing 
 infidel could ask no more convincing proof that she 
 has passed into a fearful decadence of faith and 
 energy, that she has lost her ancient spirit of battle 
 and conquest, and is utterly unworthy both of the 
 high character she claims, and of the glorious destiny 
 to which she aspires. 
 
 Lastly, a regard for her own safety should induce 
 the Church to supply this evangelism. The present 
 times are fraught with danger to the Church of 
 Christ. Omitting from our view those perils which 
 are patent and appreciable to home observers, we 
 wish now to notice a source of danger which has not 
 as yet attracted the attention of the Church. We 
 have already referred to the frightful social demorali- 
 zation of the Chinese, and to the immense and grow- 
 ing commerce which they carry on with foreign coun- 
 tries. This trade is conducted chiefly by England 
 and the United States. It would startle Christians of 
 the United States to learn the amount of American 
 capital and the vast network of American mercantile 
 interests identified with this trade. It would startle 
 them to be told how much of the wealth that glitters 
 
394 APPEAL TO THE CHUKCHES. 
 
 in Kew York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
 Charleston, or finds its way into the interior of the 
 country, has been drawn from China. It would 
 startle them to know the extent to which, even now, 
 American sentiments, tastes, and habits are influenced 
 by this Oriental heathenism, and it would astound 
 them to discover at how many points the civilization 
 of China and the United States are approximating 
 each other. It is not our design or wish to denounce 
 our trade with China; but we do wish to send out 
 this distinct voice of warning to ring through the 
 Churches of our land. We mean to call the attention 
 of the Church to the subject, and we are bold to 
 declare our solemn conviction that, unless Christians 
 bestir themselves, the commerce of the United States 
 with the far East will prove to her a sink of unutter- 
 able infamy; its atmosphere will be more deadly 
 than the simoon of the desert ; and at this moment 
 we are prepared, in the presence of Christendom, to 
 inscribe over its portal, " This way ruin lies !" The 
 Church must give her earnest attention to this sub- 
 ject; it is at her peril she hesitates or delays. A 
 conflict, more fierce and protracted than any through 
 which the Church has ever yet borne her triumphant 
 banner, is approaching. The enemy, victorious on 
 his own soil, now boldly and defiantly scales the 
 bulwarks of Christendom, and plants his standard 
 within the shadow of the cross. Is it not time for 
 the Church to marshal her forces and gird herself for 
 the war % Rise, then, ye men of God ! Go forth to 
 this great battle, and plant your standards on the 
 ramparts of heathenism. 
 
ADDENDUM. 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 
 
 The following account of a Christian Chinese wedding near 
 Fuhchau, China, will doubtless interest the reader. It is from 
 the pen of an American missionary at Fuhchau, and was origin- 
 ally published in the "American Presbyterian." 
 
 "My invitation to the wedding, given in the name of tbe eld- 
 est living paternal uncle of the bridegroom, was received on New 
 Year's day. It consists of a red piece of paper, nine and a half 
 by four and a half inches. On one side was written, in Chinese, 
 of course, the name of said uncle, the nephew to be married, the 
 time selected, and a few other items, all in Chinese style, invit- 
 ing me to ' enlighten ' the occasion by my presence. This card 
 was inclosed in an unsealed envelop of red paper, ten inches by 
 five and a half. My Chinese name was written on a narrow 
 slip of red paper, extending the whole length of the envelop and 
 attached to it at the top and bottom. All those who receive such a 
 formal invitation to a wedding, whether they attend or not, are 
 expected to make a present of money to the bridegroom, which 
 goes toward defraying expenses. 
 
 "Among tbe foreigners who accepted their invitations were 
 two missionary ladies* and the Eev. Otis Gibson, a member of 
 the American Methodist mission, located at this city, who had 
 been invited to perform the marriage ceremony in accordance 
 with the principles of the Christian religion. "We went on 
 board the Chinese boat furnished to take us a part of the way, 
 about half past four o'clock in the morning. We had provided 
 ourselves with provisions for a cold breakfast to be eaten on the 
 boat, to which we did ample justice. The boat was propelled 
 
396 ADDENDUM. 
 
 by Chinamen, who rowed standing, as Chinese usually do. The 
 tide was favorable, and we made good progress. We reached 
 the landing-place about day-break, distant from Fuhchau some 
 eight or nine miles. But here we were disappointed in ascer- 
 taining that the coolies who were to be in readiness to carry the 
 sedan chair, brought thus far in the boat for the accommodation 
 of the ladies, were nowhere to be found. The original plan was 
 for the ladies to walk and ride alternately from the landing 
 place to the scene of the wedding. It was too late to send to 
 the neighboring villages to endeavor to hire other bearers un- 
 less we were willing to make a considerable delay, so the ladies 
 undertook to walk the distance yet to be passed over, some four 
 or five miles. Our way lay for a mile or more across a large 
 paddy or rice field. The autumnal crop of rice had been har- 
 vested, and some of the ground was covered with winter wheat, 
 sown in beds, in drills, or in rows of hills about seven or eight 
 inches apart. The wheat was already some eight or ten inches 
 high, and presented a very fine appearance. After we had 
 walked nearly three miles we succeeded in finding men who 
 could carry the sedan chair when holding a living person, it 
 having been brought on from the boat by one of the hands and 
 another Chinaman. Those who carry the sedan well must have 
 considerable practice and be trained to the work. The ladies 
 now rode in turn for a short distance. Our path soon leaving 
 the paddy fields led us along the side of a valley, and gradually 
 became more and more inclined. We soon found ourselves in 
 very romantic if not grand scenery; we were in the midst 
 of lofty hills, covered principally with a kind of stinted pine, 
 wild fern, and a singular species of very tall grass. On our left, 
 a hundred or more feet below us, a small rivulet wound its way 
 down toward the Mm. In due time, about half past eight 
 o'clock, we arrived at the residence of the bridegroom, all de- 
 lighted with the sublime beauty of the scepery around us. 
 
 "We found a large company already assembled at the residence 
 of the bridegroom. He and several of his family relatives were 
 converts to Christianity, and were members of one of the native 
 Churches connected with the Methodist mission. His intended 
 bride was not a Church member. On inquiry we found she 
 had been bought when a child, and had been brought up in the 
 family as his betrothed wife. The custom of buying female chil- 
 
CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 397 
 
 dren, or of receiving them as gifts from their parents when quite 
 young, and of bringing them up as the future wives of some of 
 the boys in one 1 s family is very common among the poorer 
 classes in Fuhchau and vicinity. It implies no particular dis- 
 grace, but is an index of the low pecuniary circumstances of the 
 family which buys or receives the girl thus to be brought up. 
 
 " The ceremony was performed in a covered court, the recep- 
 tion room of the house. A plain table was placed in the front 
 part of it, and on it were set two old-looking goblets, tied 
 together by a common red cotton string, about three or four 
 feet long. The arrangements having been completed the bride- 
 groom took his position, and the bride was led along by her 
 bridesmaid, a married woman some forty years old. The par- 
 ties stood facing the missionary clergyman. The foreign guests 
 stood along the two sides of the court and in front on the 
 outside. 
 
 " The bridegroom was about twenty-six years old, of pleasant 
 manners, dignified, and composed. He wore a pair of Chinese 
 boots, the uppers of which were made of satin, and the Chinese 
 cap of ceremony, which had a brass button and red silk tassels 
 on its top. His outer garment was made of fine blue black silk 
 and extended nearly to his feet. The bride was about nineteen, 
 and seemed much discomposed during part of the ceremony. 
 She belonged to the large-footed class of Chinese women, and 
 of course her dress was made according to the fashion which 
 prevails among such women at Fuhchau. Her shoes, worn on 
 feet which were stockingless, were of black cotton cloth, em- 
 broidered with red silk, having thick white soles and red silk 
 tassels on the top. Her outside dress was made of black cotton 
 cloth, and extended only a little below her hips. Beneath were 
 pantaloons of the same color and same kind of material. Her 
 costume resembled, in general, the Bloomer costume, more 
 nearly than the popular style of ladies' dress in America. She 
 wore no vail or bonnet, but had ear-rings about three inches in 
 diameter. From the top of the hair on her head projected a 
 metallic ornament, washed with gold, some six or eight inches 
 long, resembling, as much as anything I can think of, the 
 crooked end of some plow handles, or, as others say, a cow'8 
 horn turned backward. Some ten or twelve artificial flowers, of 
 several different kinds, were so arranged in a sort of wreath 
 
398 * ADDENDUM. 
 
 around her head as to stick out three or four inches from her 
 hair. 
 
 " The minister commenced the services by giving out an accom- 
 modated translation of the hymn familiarly called, in English, 
 'The Happy Land,' and the Christian part of the congregation 
 united in singing it as follows : 
 
 ' Tieng tong tu mo ku nang, nmang hok 1m tie, 
 
 Ho neng chieng chieng uang uang, ing iew ]a Me,' etc. 
 
 "He then proceeded to read the marriage ceremony of the 
 Methodist Church, which had been translated, with some modi- 
 fications, to meet some peculiarities in Chinese customs. The 
 portion which challenges the audience to object now or never, 
 if there were good grounds of objection, to the marriage of the 
 parties, was wisely omitted, in view of the fact that they had 
 been engaged for quite a number of years, as all their acquaint- 
 ances knew. In the estimation of the Chinese friends such a 
 challenge would be eminently ridiculous and unnecessary. When 
 that portion was reached which, in the original form, requires 
 the parties to join their hands in token of their willingness to 
 take and acknowledge each other as husband and wife, the reading 
 was suspended for a moment. A person stepped forward with 
 some hot Chinese wine in a small stone pitcher, and poured a 
 portion of its steaming contents into the two goblets standing on 
 the tabfe by them, and tied together by the red string. These 
 goblets were then taken by the bridesmaid, one in each hand, 
 who first presented one to the mouth of the bridegroom, who 
 sipped a little of the wine, but without touching the goblet with 
 his hands, and then held the other to the lips of the bride, who 
 sipped some in a similar manner. This drinking of wine from 
 these goblets, which is a Chinese custom, invariably practiced at 
 marriages among themselves, was substituted in. place of the 
 parties taking each other by the hand. 
 
 "All the parties (bridegroom, bride, and clergyman) knelt 
 down in their places, while the reading of the ceremony was 
 continued to the end. A long meter doxology was sung in con- 
 clusion. The husband made, slowly and respectfully, a low bow 
 toward his wife, which compliment she returned, by the assist- 
 ance of the bridesmaid, by bowing thrice toward him. They 
 then retired to the bride's room, accompanied by some of their 
 relatives and friends, and the company broke up. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 399 
 
 " As soon as convenient several tables were arranged in the 
 court where the ceremony had been performed, for breakfast for 
 the male portion of the guests. I noticed five square tables, 
 which seated forty persons, each table accommodating eight 
 guests. In a room in another part of the house two or three 
 similar tables were spread for the entertainment of the female 
 guests. The sexes never eat together on public festive occasions. 
 It is said that about one hundred guests were expected to break- 
 fast. Some might have been entertained in another place, not 
 observed by us. 
 
 " "We foreigners were provided with an entertainment of the 
 foreign fashion. It seems that one or two young men, who had 
 lived in missionary families, and who knew how to provide food 
 for foreigners, had been engaged to prepare breakfast for us. 
 We had sausages, roast chicken, pork chops, boiled pork, ham 
 and eggs, rice and potatoes, wheat bread, with fruit, figs, dates, 
 two kinds of oranges, etc. The bridegroom, with his cap of cer- 
 emony still on his head, did us the honor to sit down with us, 
 and testified to the quality of the provisions and the keenness of 
 his appetite by eating very heartily. He managed foreign knives 
 and forks much more dexterously than we should have managed 
 chopsticks under similar circumstances. The bride during part 
 of the meal sat down at our table, but remained in perfect 
 silence, and could not be prevailed upon to eat a morsel, which 
 taciturnity and fasting were in complete accordance with the 
 rules of Chinese etiquette on such occasions. To attribute her 
 conduct to moroseness or displeasure would be doing her mani- 
 fest injustice,, for she evidently enjoyed the dinner. Several 
 times she came very near laughing outright on catching a glimpse 
 of some of her female friends in an adjoining room, who were 
 looking at our company. But she strove to maintain her grav- 
 ity, for to laugh would have been as much out of the way as to 
 eat heartily, according to Chinese notions of propriety. 
 
 " We were cheered by what we saw and what we heard at the 
 marriage yesterday, in the country, in proof of the Christian char- 
 acter of the household. They greeted us as Christians on our 
 arrival. We heard no improper language, nor did we see any 
 traces^ of heathenism remaining about the premises. We ob- 
 served, with great satisfaction, that around three sides of the 
 reception room, or the court where the ceremony was performed, 
 
400 ADDENDUM. 
 
 there were suspended from the walls seven large paper hangings, 
 on which were written, in large characters, quotations from the 
 Old and New Testaments. One of these, some four or five feet 
 wide by seven or eight feet long, contained a translation of the 
 Ten Commandments, the characters for which were written in 
 a bold and beautiful style. On most of the posts of the house, 
 and on the doorposts, we noticed also that a large number of 
 pieces of red paper had been pasted up, containing sentiments, 
 prepared in Chinese style and according to Chinese taste, allud- 
 ing to the Bible or to the truths of the Bible. They reminded 
 us of the command recorded in Deuteronomy vi, 9. They con- 
 sisted of couplets of five or seven characters in each line, written 
 on slips of paper several feet long and a few inches wide, and 
 were substituted for the heathen sentiments or quotations from 
 the Chinese classics which formerly occupied their place. For 
 example, on the posts of the doors of the bride's room was posted 
 up a couplet, which taught that 'males and females ought to 
 learn the true doctrine,' and that 'children and grandchildren 
 should listen to the Gospel.' 
 
 " There being no necessity for a longer visit, we started on 
 our way back to the river about eleven o'clock, the ladies walk- 
 ing the whole distance. We stopped for a short time about half 
 of the way, at a place where the Methodist mission have an out- 
 station* A young native exhorter is living there with his family. 
 That mission are building there a small substantial chapel, 
 assisted by a voluntary contribution of some available material 
 and two hundred and seventy days' work from the native con- 
 verts living in that vicinity — a large amount, considering their 
 great poverty. Just before we left we had a season of prayer, 
 suggested by one of the native brethren." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 May 15.: 
 
 .• r '<-:;-!.*r'\. 
 
yBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 027 531 899 1