GIFT OF 
 
 V 
 
 A 
 
GRIFFITH JOHN 
 
 THE STORY OF FIFTY YEARS IN CHINA 
 
GRIFFITH JOHN 
 
 THE STORY OF FIFTY YEARS 
 IN CHINA 
 
 BY V t i ', 
 
 R. WARDLAW THOMPSON 
 
 FOREIGN SECRETARY OF THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 
 WITH TWO PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAITS AND 
 SIXTEEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY 
 4 BOUVERIE ST., & 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, E.G. 
 
 1906 
 
PREFACE 
 
 WHEN I was asked in the early summer of last year to 
 take up the work which had been commenced by my 
 dear friend Richard Lovett, I think those who made 
 the request had little idea of what they were expecting 
 of me. Certainly I had no idea of the magnitude of 
 the task, or I should not have ventured to add it to 
 the already somewhat exacting duties of my office. Mr. 
 Lovett had, by the aid of Dr. John and other friends, 
 accumulated a great mass of material, and had actually 
 begun to write the life. It was, in fact, the last work 
 he was engaged upon until a late hour of the night 
 preceding his very sudden removal. It was thought 
 that I should simply have to complete, to the best of 
 my ability, the work already well begun. My affection 
 for Mr. Lovett, my intense admiration for Dr. John, 
 and my deep sense of the importance of having the 
 story of mission work in Central China presented to 
 the public at the present crisis, combined to induce me 
 to accept the honour of being trusted to undertake this 
 task. 
 
 I speedily found, however, that, great as had been 
 
 the mass of material accumulated, it did not represent 
 
 v 
 
 463109 
 
vi Griffith John 
 
 half of what had to be read and digested. The whole 
 of Dr. John's voluminous correspondence with the 
 London Missionary Society from 1861 onwards had 
 not yet been touched, and though Mr. Lovett had 
 prepared a first rough draft of the first three chapters, 
 there were no notes or memoranda which would give 
 me any clue to the course he had intended to take with 
 the remainder of the long and interesting history. I 
 found it necessary, therefore, and, with the consent of 
 the Secretaries of the Religious Tract Society, I deter- 
 mined, to begin de novo and to deal with the story of 
 the life in my own way. 
 
 No reader of the book can possibly regret more 
 than I do the loss of the matured judgment and the 
 literary skill of the author of the Lives of James Gilmour 
 and James Chalmers. The subject is one which would 
 well have repaid the employment of his highest powers. 
 God has called him to other service, and we can only 
 be thankful for what he was permitted to do for the 
 missionary cause while here by the vivid and striking 
 pictures he gave the Church of two great missionary 
 heroes. Yet one could have wished that the story of 
 the beginnings of missionary work in Central China, 
 which is bound up with the life of Griffith John, could 
 have come from his practised pen. This cannot be, 
 and so the book goes forth as the production of one 
 whose chief qualifications are some previous knowledge 
 of the subject of Missions in China, and a high admira- 
 
Preface vii 
 
 tion for the great missionary whose career and labours 
 he has endeavoured to describe. 
 
 Griffith John has one virtue which is not always 
 conspicuous in great preachers and other prominent 
 persons. He is most prompt in answering letters, and 
 counts no trouble too great in giving information and 
 explanation. At the same time I am bc-und to confess 
 that caligraphy is not one of his special gifts. The 
 perusal, mostly at night, of hundreds of pages of MSS. 
 written on foreign paper, and every page crowded as 
 closely as ingenuity could devise with writing which it 
 has not always been easy to read, has been the one out- 
 standing trouble of my task. But my interest in the 
 man and his work has grown and deepened despite this 
 human frailty in my hero. He had a very high place 
 in my regard before ; he has grown upon me to the 
 end. Above all, I have been impressed^ by his amazing 
 and tireless industry and thoroughness, his magnificent 
 optimism, and the magnetism of his faith and enthusiasm. 
 I thought I knew something before of the character, 
 the extent, and the urgency of mission work in Central 
 China. I end my task with a new vision of its great- 
 ness, its pressing need, and above all its wonderful 
 promise and hopefulness. If I shall have succeeded to 
 any extent in conveying the impressions I have received 
 to the minds of my readers, I shall be richly rewarded 
 for my toil. 
 
 R. WARDLAW THOMPSON. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE .... v 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING FOR THE MINISTRY 
 
 Beginning of Autobiography Church member at eight 
 An able Sunday School teacher The boy preacher 
 A veritable Bethel Preparation for college A dis- 
 tinguished tutor From a friend's diary . I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE GREAT DECISION AND THE OPEN DOOR 
 
 The missionary purpose wins the day Offer of service 
 Early ideas on missionary eqtiipment Drawn towards 
 Madagascar ''A glorious idea" 1 The call to China 
 * There is a glorious work before me 3 Ordination 
 Marriage Departure Quarrel between Britain and 
 China Case against opium traffic Who will be the 
 loser? 1 8 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 SHANGHAI 
 
 A stately city A monotonous voyage Sublimely grand 
 sunsets Looking back fifty years Two splendid men : 
 Edkins, Muirhead Tackling a colossal language 
 First tour alone No Sabbath in China A great 
 achievement The grip of Confucianism ' The Cross* 
 
 ix 
 
Griffith John 
 
 a stumbling-block Depression and disappointment 
 Chinese as hard as steel Visit to Su-Cheu House-to- 
 house visitation . . . . . . .40 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 IN JOURNEYINGS OFT 
 
 Tours into the interior Mode of conveyance by water 
 Journey to Ping-hu Baptisms at Ping-kit Interior 
 open to foreigners Goodwill towards missionaries 
 Appeal for reinforcements Unique journey on the 
 Grand Canal English open-air service Other special 
 trips Effort to secure quarters Sing-yun Monastery 
 Curse of opium-smoking Exploratory journeys Magic 
 in the word ' Englishman'' An earnest seeker A 
 river-bed pulpit A dark cloud A violent manifesto 
 Peace restored American Treaty of little value A 
 prophecy and a prayer . . . . . .70 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE T'AI-FING REBELS 
 
 A lively junior Visit to Sung-Kiong Deserted shrines 
 A ruined city Leader of the rebels A notable accession 
 Missionaries visit insurgents A frie?tdly reception 
 Interview with the Chung IVang The religious element 
 God's ' second messenger ' Character of insurgents 
 Letters from rebel kings Second visit to the Chung 
 Wang Rebels at Shanghai Awaiting treaty of peace 
 Edict of religious toleration Final suppression of 
 rebels Plans and wishes Attempt to interdict opium 
 Children sent home . . . . .114 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 HANKOW AT LAST 
 
 Departure for Hankow '-Golden days' The '-heart' of 
 China Griffith John's magnetic force A noble impulse 
 A great sphere Merchant pioneers Services in 
 English The Apostolic method . . . .157 
 
Contents xi 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE POWER OF THE PREACHER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The living voice A graphic picttire An impressive sight 
 Attracting a crowd ' Take time to be holy ' Faith 
 sorely tried First baptism Bereavements European 
 sympathy The everlasting l Why?' Mr. Brysoris 
 reminiscences Griffith Johri s seriousness . . .177 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION 
 
 Gifts of foreign community Medical mission firmly 
 established Extension beyond Hankow A sound 
 pri?iciple Entrance into Wuchang Another notable 
 man A powerful Chinese preacher Active church 
 members Zeal of converts . . . . .202 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 YET FURTHER AFIELD 
 
 Importance of itineration Voluntary helpers The Tauist 
 priesthood A perilous journey Zeal of Hankow 
 Christians Divine ambition Exceptional floods 
 Work interrupted Good -humour and patience of 
 Chinese Memories of greater floods -Justification by 
 works ......... 220 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 IN DEFENCE OF MISSIONS 
 
 The soldierly spirit Violent attack on missionaries House 
 of Lords' debate Defence by Dr. Magee Incredible 
 ignorance about missions The stereotyped Chinese mind 
 Perpetuation of the past Protestantism and Roman- 
 ism 'Erred in good company'' Upper classes not 
 ignored A question for Sir R. Alcock Educational 
 status of missionaries The missionary ' par excellence" 1 
 Tientsin massacre . . . . . . .242 
 
xii Griffith John 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE FIRST FURLOUGH 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Arrival in England Deputation claims Overstrain 
 Intense belief in preaching Temptations to remain at 
 home Inexhaustibility of the Bible Various ' gospels ' 
 necessary Great missionary sermon ' A foul blot ' 
 The invisible results ' A pledge and proof ' * A glori- 
 ous work* Testimony of 'Nonconformist' Rev. W. H. 
 Rees' recollections Departure for China Mrs. John's 
 missionary character ' A succourer of many ' . . 270 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 GROWING WORK AND WIDENING INFLUENCE 
 
 A godless Association A stimulating movement Openings 
 for women workers Funds for women's work Mrs. 
 John's work for sailors Death of Mrs. John Influence 
 of the second marriage First full vision of Christ 
 Address at Shanghai Conference The ideal teacher of 
 the Chinese Secret of spiritual success . . .305 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 EVANGELISING BY THE PEN-COLPORTAGE 
 
 Duties of a pundit Central China R.T.S Value of Dr. 
 John's tracts Tracts for scholars A mother's inter- 
 cessions ' The best of chums ' Talked into good order 
 ' Freedom of 'the city' Stoned at Siang-tan . . 328 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 HIAU-KAN 
 
 New form of agency suggested Mr. Wei * an Israelite 
 indeed' Mr. Wei appointed evangelist A perilous 
 journey Saved from a violent death Subsequent visits 
 
Contents xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 to Wei village Idols thrown away Providing their 
 own chapels First chapel erected by converts Activity 
 of converts ........ 347 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 HOME AGAIN 
 
 Spartan sense of duty Letters to a colleague A memorable 
 address The Gospel the need of China Future con- 
 dition of the heathen Not fit for heaven Mr. Johris 
 own views Destiny of the heathen Missionary prayer- 
 meeting Appeal for men . . . . . .369 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 SORROW-ANXIETY-HONOUR 
 
 War with France A fearful panic Perilous trip in 
 Hunan Moral rottenness of Chinese Where the 
 uproar was hatched Hostility of rulers to foreigners 
 Opium vice a calamity Opium condemned by mission- 
 aries A new chapel at Hankow A characteristic inn 
 ' The woman of Samaria' At Ying-shan A lovable 
 Chinese family A unique distinction for Mr. John 
 Again declines Chair of Union Attempts to get Mr. 
 John to England Invitation from Directors Centenary 
 gifttoL.M.S 391 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 Difficulties of Bible translation Delegates'* Version of New 
 Testament Dr. Johris Wen-It Version Completion of 
 a great task Dr. Johris rules for translation Vindica- 
 tion of Dr. Johris Version Additional testimony Title 
 of D.D. conferred A gigantic task Question of Union 
 Versions Common Chinese basis necessary Difficulties 
 stated Translation work suspended . . . .428 
 
xiv Griffith John 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 YEARS OF EXCITEMENT AND CHANGE 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Affairs and men Immanence of Spirit of God Spread of 
 the truth Dawn of new era in China Conference of 
 native workers Native Christian opinion Training 
 institution needed Anti-foreign agitation Enmity of 
 Chinese officials Massacre at KucJieng Pere Heude's 
 testimony Cheering facts '-After many years' Im- 
 portant developments . . . . . .454 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 HUNAN 
 
 An interesting enquirer Work of Hunan converts Mr. 
 Peng's life -story Perilous visit to Heng-Chow A 
 floating Bethel Fourth visit to Hunan Changed 
 official attitude Intercourse with officials Advantages 
 of Heng - Chow A Chinese heroine ' One great 
 ambition ' . . . . . . . .482 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 NEW MOVEMENTS AND THE OLD MISSIONARY 
 
 Belief in forward movement Dangerous excitement Re- 
 markable movement in Hupeh Three classes of converts 
 Appeal for advance A fatal year Summer quarters 
 at Kuling A wondrous change Boxer rising in 1 900 
 Standing by the Christians Bold confession of Christ 
 The awakening of China Dreams fulfilled Dr. 
 Johrts jubilee Dr. Johri s optimism . . . .505 
 
 INDEX 537 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PHOTOGRAVURES 
 
 Griffith John in 1906 ..... Frontispiece 
 
 Griffith John in 1882 ..... To face page 272 
 
 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 Griffith John and his Family, 1906 ...,,,, i 
 
 Three Veterans : Dr. John, the late Rev. Dr. 
 J. Hudson Taylor, the Rev. Dr. W. A. P. 
 
 Martin .......,, 42 
 
 A Group of Contemporary Missionaries : The 
 Revs. Dr. Edkins, Dr. Lockhart, Dr. 
 Medhurst, Dr. Muirhead ; and Alexander 
 Wylie . . 48 
 
 A Riverside Town and typical Boats . ,, ,, 98 
 
 Chinese Christians at Worship . . ,, ,, 118 
 
 The First Home in Hankow . . . ,, ,,164 
 
 Methods of Travel: i. The Sedan-Chair. 2. 
 
 Boats on the Yang-tse . . . . ,, ,,220 
 
 Mrs. Margaret J. John. Born 1830; died 1873 >> 300 
 Mrs. Jeannette John. Born 1834; died 1885. ,, ,, 320 
 
 Griffith John and his Pundit ; In the Study . ,, 330 
 
 xv 
 
xvi Griffith John 
 
 Griffith John and his Grandson, Brynmor 
 
 Sparham ...... To face page 396 
 
 The London Missionary Society's Central 
 
 Chapel, Hankow . . . . ,, ,,410 
 
 Conference of Evangelists of the L.M.S. in 
 
 Central China, May 1905 . . 462 
 
 The Theological College. Erected 1902-3; 
 
 opened April 1 8, 1904 .... 468 
 
 The London Missionary Society's High School, 
 
 Hankow ,,522 
 
 Members of the London Mission, Hankow, 1906 ,, 530 
 
o! 
 
 I* 
 II 
 
GRIFFITH JOHN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING FOR THE 
 MINISTRY 
 
 THE life of a great missionary, who has spent 
 many years and endured many perils in the 
 prosecution of his great enterprise, who has become 
 known and honoured in many circles beyond the 
 Society with which he is most immediately connected, 
 whose voice has been listened to and whose judgment 
 has been respected by native leaders and British 
 officials, cannot fail to present abundant material for 
 interesting and profitable study. The story of his 
 work, the expression of his opinions, the observation 
 of his character, and the principles which have ruled 
 his life are all of value. 
 
 To this has to be added, in the case of Griffith 
 John, all the interest arising from the fact that he 
 has spent the past fifty years in China. About the 
 beginning of that period a great English poet wrote 
 
 Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. 
 
 The fifty years which have elapsed since that line 
 
 i B 
 
2 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 was penned have in ' far Cathay ' been crowded with 
 events of most momentous significance. A third of 
 the human race have come out from the isolation of 
 centuries, have begun to seek the fellowship and the 
 help of the 'outer barbarian/ and from proud ex- 
 clusiveness and unbending opposition to every foreign 
 influence have changed to the manifestation of an eager 
 desire to participate in everything that has given the 
 Western nations their superiority in the world. It is 
 one of the most remarkable revolutions in history, the 
 full bearing of which upon the world's life and on the 
 future of the West as well as the East can scarcely as 
 yet be estimated. When the history of this period 
 comes to be written in true perspective, and with power 
 to note and rightly to estimate the various streams of 
 tendency which have combined to bring about the 
 change, it will be found that the introduction of the 
 new moral and spiritual influences of Christianity, 
 through the preaching of the Gospel, and, above all, 
 through the wide dissemination of Christian literature 
 among a reading people, has been one of the most 
 powerful agencies in silently dissolving the old order 
 and in setting free the mind and heart of China to 
 start upon a new career of progressive life. The voice 
 of the missionary has very largely assisted in China's 
 awakening. 
 
 Dr. Griffith John has, as I have said, been a 
 missionary influence in China for fifty years. During 
 nearly the whole of that time he has been resident in 
 one of the largest and most influential centres of 
 Chinese life in the heart of the Empire. He early 
 
Beginning of Autobiography 3 
 
 gained a great command of the Chinese language, and 
 has had an exceptional reputation as a preacher. His 
 pen has been constantly and most effectively at work 
 in the preparation of Christian literature for the people 
 among whom he has laboured. He has gained the 
 respect and the confidence of some of China's great 
 and most progressive statesmen. The story of his life 
 has therefore the exceptional interest of being closely 
 interwoven with the history of China's awakening. 
 
 Dr. John has supplied for this volume the following 
 sketch of his early years : 
 
 'I was born at Swansea on December 14, 1831. 
 My father was a foreman in the employ of Messrs. 
 Vivian and Sons. He was a truly godly man, and 
 highly respected by all who knew him for his upright- 
 ness, benevolence, and kindliness of heart. He was 
 blessed with a strong constitution, and was equal to 
 any amount of hard toil. He was noted for his 
 tenacity of purpose. Whatsoever he undertook to do, 
 he did with all his might, and never stopped till the 
 work was done. As a father he was most affectionate 
 to all his children. To myself, as the youngest and 
 the only boy of the family, he was particularly so. 
 
 'My mother died of cholera in 1832, when I was 
 only eight months old. The loss of my mother, at so 
 early an age, I have always felt to be one of the 
 greatest, if not the greatest, privation of my life. Aunt 
 Mary, my father's sister, undertook the task of looking 
 after me, and I owe her more than tongue could tell. 
 She loved me with tenderest love, and strove in every 
 
4 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 possible way to do a mother's part. But she was not 
 my mother. Her face was not my mother's face, and 
 that was the face I longed to see ! 
 
 * From the cradle I was brought up in a religious 
 atmosphere. All my relations on my father's side have 
 for ages been known as eminent for their piety. Some 
 of them were giants in stature, and still more so in 
 spiritual attainments. I have even now very vivid 
 recollections of the prayers offered up at the Saturday 
 evening prayer meetings by Uncles David and Rees. 
 How they used to pour out their souls before God ! 
 How they would wrestle with God ! Each of them 
 presented to my imagination a living picture of 
 wrestling Jacob. All these godly men took the deepest 
 interest in me. How much I owe to their prayers and 
 loving counsel is known to God only. Then there was 
 the Sunday School, with all its hallowed influences. 
 In those days the Sunday School in Wales was a 
 grand institution for imbuing the child's mind with 
 Biblical knowledge and Christian principles. I seem 
 to have been born and brought up in the House of 
 God, and among God's people. It may be truly said 
 of me, as it was said of Timothy, " And from a babe 
 thou hast known the Holy Scriptures." 
 
 1 When about eight years of age I became the 
 subject of deep religious impressions. One Sunday 
 morning, in Ebenezer Chapel, Swansea, I was sitting 
 in the gallery, witnessing the Church celebrating the 
 Lord's Supper. Whilst standing there, and watching 
 the proceedings below, I saw my sister Mary walking 
 up to the pulpit pew, to receive the right hand of 
 
Church Member at Eight 5 
 
 fellowship. Immediately a number of questions 
 suggested themselves to my mind. Why does my 
 sister desire to join the Church in this public manner? 
 If it is her duty to do this, is it not my duty to do 
 the same ? If she is right in partaking of the Lord's 
 Supper, am not I wrong in keeping aloof? Should I 
 not consecrate my life to God as she is doing ? 
 
 ' These questions, once started, could not be silenced. 
 They kept haunting me and demanding an answer. 
 I spoke to one of the most prominent members of the 
 Church. He encouraged me to persevere in my 
 purpose, gave me some good advice, and promised to 
 speak to the deacons. Among the deacons there were 
 two leading men, Rees and Daniel. These two old 
 men were thoroughly conscientious and good, but the 
 very opposite of each other in their mental traits and 
 disposition. Rees was all love, and very sympathetic ; 
 Daniel was stern, and disposed to treat every case 
 brought before him very much as a lawyer might do. 
 Rees took me into his arms at once, but Daniel stood 
 aloof. Both, however, watched me carefully for some 
 months, and at last gave it as their united opinion 
 that the change in the little boy was genuine, and 
 that he ought to be admitted into Church fellowship. 
 I was accordingly admitted a member of the Church 
 at Ebenezer when only eight years of age. 
 
 ' There are those who might question the action of 
 the Ebenezer deacons, but, looking back upon the 
 event from my present standpoint, I do not hesitate 
 to say that it is my sincere conviction that they were 
 divinely led in their decision. It is true that my 
 
6 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 knowledge was very limited, and my experience was 
 that of a child, yet I knew that I was a sinner and 
 that Jesus was my Saviour. I loved God, believed in 
 Christ, and desired to live the best and highest life. 
 I knew enough to be saved, and this being the case, 
 it is difficult to see why a place among God's people 
 should be denied me on account of my youthfulness. 
 
 ' The fact of my being a recognised member of the 
 Church did much in after days towards keeping me 
 from falling into temptation and sin. My Church 
 membership kept me in vital contact with the best 
 and wisest men in Swansea, and secured for me their 
 daily help in my efforts to conquer evil and grow in 
 knowledge and goodness. Had I not taken the 
 momentous step when I did, it is possible that I might 
 never have taken it. Would I have been a missionary 
 to-day? I cannot say. Possibly not. 
 
 ' There was at the time a mothers' prayer meeting 
 held weekly at Ebenezer Chapel, of which my aunt 
 was a member. It was confined strictly to women, 
 but an exception was made in favour of Gito bach (little 
 Gito), the name by which I generally went in those 
 days. The first prayer I ever offered up in public 
 was at one of these meetings, soon after my admission 
 into the Church. This first attempt was to me a very 
 trying failure. I managed to get out one sentence, 
 and then came utter blankness and a complete break- 
 down. Not another word could I command, and I 
 felt as if I might sink into the ground. But the dear 
 old ladies were equal to the occasion. They all came 
 around me, spoke appreciatively of that one sentence, 
 
An Able Sunday School Teacher 7 
 
 reminded me that some of them had passed through a 
 similar experience, and assured me that I would do 
 better the next time. The next time soon came, and 
 I did much better. I went on attending the meetings 
 and taking a part in them. Under the loving care of 
 the mothers, I made considerable progress in know- 
 ledge and Christian experience. All of them seemed 
 to have the warmest affection for me, and my spiritual 
 interests were to every one of them a matter of 
 personal concern. It is impossible to say how much 
 I owe to the prayers, the sympathy, and the watchful 
 care of those godly women. 
 
 * About this time a Mr. William Rees, of Nantyglo, 
 came to reside at Swansea. He was not only a godly 
 man, but a very able man in many ways. His know- 
 ledge of the Scriptures was remarkable, and on most 
 matters he was a well-informed man. He had also 
 the knack of teaching in a very high degree. Mr. 
 Rees took a great liking to me, and he became my 
 hero for the time. Among those who took a prominent 
 part in the affairs of the Church generally, and in the 
 Sunday School in particular, he stood first and fore- 
 most. He was asked to take charge of a class in the 
 Sunday School, and I had the great privilege of being 
 one of his pupils, a privilege for which I have never 
 ceased to be most sincerely thankful. He taught me 
 to think, and was the first who ever tried to do so. 
 He put me in the way of taking down the heads of 
 sermons, a habit which I kept up for years. 
 
 ' Mr. Rees also encouraged me to commit large 
 portions of the Scriptures to memory. During the 
 
8 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 three years I was under his influence, I must have 
 committed a large portion of the Psalms, as well as 
 the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and the greater part of 
 the New Testament, to memory. My cousin, the late 
 Rev. David John, Booth Street, Manchester, had a 
 more retentive memory than I had, and he went 
 beyond me in this line of things. The Rev. Thomas 
 Davies, one of the famous preachers of Wales, was our 
 minister at the time. Instead of reading the Scriptures 
 himself, he would often ask me to recite a psalm, or a 
 chapter, or both. This I used to do from the gallery, 
 at a point directly opposite to the pulpit. The recita- 
 tion took place generally at the evening service, when 
 the large chapel was simply crammed with men, 
 women, and children. I must have repeated scores of 
 chapters from that gallery ; and I have even now a 
 very vivid recollection of the impression made on my 
 own mind as well as on the minds of others on some 
 of those occasions. To me it was a most stimulating 
 and inspiring exercise. 
 
 ' When twelve years old, Mr. Rees procured for me 
 a situation at Onllwyn, a place distant from Swansea 
 about twenty miles. His friend, Mr. John Williams, 
 was the owner of extensive iron and coal mines, 
 smelting furnaces, and a large store, at which the 
 employees were supplied with all the necessaries of 
 life, in the shape of grocery, drapery, ironmongery, etc. 
 It was in this store that I spent the next four or five 
 years of my life. Mr. Williams was a godly man, and 
 Mrs. Williams was a godly woman. They took the 
 deepest interest in the spiritual welfare of the 
 
The Boy Preacher 9 
 
 employees, and did all in their power to promote it. 
 They treated me with marked kindness from the 
 beginning, and made me feel that I was regarded by 
 them more as a son than a servant. 
 
 ' It was at Onllwyn that I began to preach. My 
 first sermon was delivered at a prayer meeting held in 
 a private house, when I was only fourteen years old. 
 But I was soon made to feel that I had made a 
 mistake. I felt that I was too young and too in- 
 experienced for the work, and that it would be better 
 to spend some years more in reading and thinking 
 before committing myself finally to the work of the 
 ministry. When sixteen years of age, I was induced 
 to begin again ; and from that time till now I have 
 been a preacher of the Gospel. My first sermon was 
 preached at Onllwyn, and my text was Romans i. 18, 
 " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" The 
 invitation to supply pulpits became numerous, and I 
 soon got to be known in that part of South Wales as 
 the boy preacher. I passed through many experiences 
 in those days some pleasant and some trying. I 
 may give the following as an illustration : 
 
 * A lay preacher at Alltwen used to supply the 
 Onllwyn pulpit one Sunday in every month. He and 
 I became great friends, and he pressed me hard to go 
 and preach at Alltwen. I, after a good deal of 
 persuasion, consented, and the Sunday was fixed upon. 
 I arrived at Alltwen about half -an -hour before the 
 time, and found the elders and deacons all assembled 
 in the caretaker's house in the immediate vicinity of 
 the chapel. When I announced myself as Griffith 
 
io Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 John, they looked amazed, and did not attempt to 
 conceal their disappointment. When they beheld that 
 short, slender figure before them, and looked at his 
 skull cap, unconventional jacket, and unclerical cravat, 
 they must have felt that a practical joke had been 
 perpetrated upon them. They soon made up their 
 minds that they could not ask me to preach, and that 
 some other arrangements must be made for the 
 evening service. But what was to be done ? It was 
 almost time to begin, and too late to send for another 
 to occupy the pulpit. They gave me a seat in the 
 corner of the room, and left me severely alone. 
 
 * Fortunately for them and myself, a well-known 
 preacher made his appearance, and brought instant 
 relief. He had been occupying one of the neigh- 
 bouring pulpits, and was now on his way home. He 
 thought he would turn in and enjoy the evening 
 service at Alltwen. It was interesting to notice the 
 instant change which the advent of my friend brought 
 with it. They assured him that he was a perfect 
 God-send to them, and that he must preach. He 
 replied that he did not come there to preach, but to 
 hear Griffith John, and that Griffith John must preach. 
 " That will never do," said the deacons. " You must 
 preach ; let Griffith John, if you wish it, open the 
 service for you." After some further wrangling, I got 
 up and said that I had resolved not to preach, but 
 that I was quite willing to take the preliminary part of 
 the service, as was suggested by the deacons. My 
 friend was sincerely sorry, but he felt he must comply. 
 
 4 1 ascended the pulpit feeling sore at heart, and 
 
A Veritable Bethel n 
 
 cried to God for strength. I read Romans viii., gave 
 out a hymn, and prayed. Long before the close of 
 the prayer, all hearts were greatly moved, and the 
 place had become a veritable Bethel. At the close, 
 some of the deacons rushed up the pulpit stairs and 
 begged me to go on. I refused, and said that I had 
 done the work which they had given me to do. Then 
 my friend the lay preacher came to meet me as I was 
 walking down the stair, and besought me to go on, as 
 he could not face the congregation if I declined to 
 preach. I felt I must comply with the wishes of one 
 who had shown so much kindness to me, so I turned 
 back, gave out another hymn, and preached from 
 Romans viii. 18. My soul was deeply moved, the 
 vast audience caught the fire, and before the close of 
 the sermon the whole congregation was on its feet, 
 shouting " Glory " and " Amen." My friend the lay 
 preacher followed, but the hwyl had spent itself, and 
 he brought his sermon to a speedy close. After this 
 the deacons were all delightfully polite and cordial. 
 They put an extra piece of silver in my hands for my 
 sermon, and made me promise that I would allow my 
 name to be put down on the list of their regular 
 supplies. That scene is still very vivid in my mind. 
 But it is only one of many. I had some strange 
 experiences as a boy preacher. 
 
 ' I felt at length that it was high time for me to 
 enter on a course of study with the view of preparing 
 myself for college. I mentioned my intentions to 
 Mr. Williams. He listened attentively and sym- 
 pathetically, but expressed a hope that I would not 
 
12 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 leave him for a time at least. He told me also that 
 it had been his intention to make me chief manager of 
 the store, and would do so at once if I would promise 
 to remain. I told him that my mind was fully made 
 up, and that nothing in the shape of worldly prospects 
 could have any weight with me. When he saw how 
 matters stood, he offered no further opposition. He 
 gave me his heartiest parting blessing. To the day of 
 his death he followed my career with the deepest 
 interest. 
 
 1 Others, and among them there were some ministers, 
 did their very best to turn me aside from my purpose. 
 In those days there was in Wales a strong prejudice 
 against the colleges. They were looked upon as 
 places to spoil a man of any promise. " You have the 
 gift of speech, you have a musical voice, you can move 
 the Welsh hearts. What do you want to go to college 
 for? Let the dry sticks go there. The college is no 
 place for you and such men as you. It will only spoil 
 you." I have a distinct recollection of one of the 
 most influential ministers in Wales speaking to me 
 just in that way. My mind, however, was fixed, so 
 in the latter end of 1848 I left Onllwyn, feeling very 
 thankful for all the kindness I had received there, and 
 for the many precious experiences I had gathered 
 there. The business habits acquired at Onllwyn have 
 been of great value to me throughout my whole 
 missionary life. 
 
 * In 1843 the Rev. Thomas Davies was succeeded 
 by the Rev. Elijah Jacob as minister of the Church of 
 Ebenezer, Swansea. Mr. Jacob had become deeply 
 
Preparation for College 13 
 
 interested in me for some time before I left Onllwyn. 
 When he found that I had made up my mind to enter 
 college, he undertook the task of putting me through 
 a preparatory course of study, my father paying the 
 fees. I commenced my studies with Mr. Jacob in 
 November 1848. All went on well till August 11, 
 1849, when my dear father died of cholera, the disease 
 to which my mother had succumbed in 1832. My 
 father was taken ill in the morning, and died in the 
 evening about ten o'clock. 
 
 ' This was a dreadful blow to me. All my hopes 
 and prospects were, to all appearance, blighted. I 
 was entirely dependent on my father for everything, 
 and for a moment it looked as if there were nothing 
 left to me but to return to Onllwyn to commence 
 business again. I cried unto the Lord in my distress, 
 and He heard the voice of my prayer. At the very 
 time I was turning over the problem before me my 
 Uncle John and his wife sent me word to the effect 
 that they were prepared to place two rooms at my 
 disposal, one for a bedroom and one for a study, which 
 I might regard as my own till I entered college. My 
 sisters came forward and guaranteed my food, and 
 Mr. Jacob said that he would prepare me for college 
 gratuitously, and that I should never know the lack 
 of an earthly father as long as he lived. All these 
 promises were faithfully kept, and I went on with my 
 studies. 
 
 ' And here I should like to say a word about Mr. 
 Jacob. One of the greatest fortunes of my life was 
 to come into close contact with this truly noble man. 
 
14 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 He was not one of the great preachers of Wales, but 
 he was one of the best and most useful. As a pastor 
 he greatly excelled, and was universally beloved. He 
 was a man of stern principle and faultless integrity. 
 A more devout, upright, earnest man I have never 
 known. He was a man that would never move till 
 he was thoroughly convinced of the justice of the 
 cause, but, when once convinced, neither the powers 
 of earth nor hell could hold him back. Goodness was 
 the grand feature in his character the feature which 
 marked and adorned the man. He was also a true 
 friend. I have never known a truer, and few as true. 
 To me he was father, brother, friend ; and the relation- 
 ship between us, to the day of his death, was close, 
 tender, and sacred. The principles which he instilled 
 into my mind when a mere lad I have always regarded 
 as among my chiefest possessions. I never think of 
 Mr. Jacob without thanking God for giving me such a 
 friend, and for the beautiful fellowship we had with 
 one another for many years.' 
 
 Dr. John, in the autobiographical sketch from which 
 we have already quoted, thus refers to the beginning 
 of his college training : 
 
 'I entered Brecon College in September 1850, and 
 there I had for more than three years the advantages 
 of the tuition of the Rev. David Davies, M.A., and 
 Rev. Professor Henry Griffiths. Mr. Davies was our 
 classical tutor : a very good, amiable man, but lacking 
 in enthusiasm and stimulating power. The daily 
 portion of food he laid before us was good and whole- 
 some, but very insipid. He had not the gift of 
 
A Distinguished Tutor 15 
 
 making work likeable and attractive. In this respect 
 he was the reverse of Professor Griffiths, who was at 
 the time the Principal of the college. I had not been 
 in the college a week before I began to feel the 
 Professor's inspiring influence. His branches were 
 theology, mathematics, science, and philosophy. In 
 each and all these branches he seemed to be perfectly 
 at home, and in each and all he was an able, energetic, 
 and enthusiastic leader. To hear him lecture was to 
 me a perfect treat, no matter what the subject might 
 be. The driest subject became exquisite poetry in 
 his hands, and the most forbidding became intensely 
 attractive. He stirred my ambition as no other men 
 had ever done, and during the three years I sat at his 
 feet he managed to create within my breast a great 
 thirst for knowledge. If Mr. Rees was the first to 
 teach me to think, Mr. Griffiths was the first to open 
 up the great fields of knowledge to my vision, and to 
 inspire me with a longing to enter in and possess. It 
 was a great privilege to come under the influence of 
 such a man at such a time in my life.' 
 
 Brecon College, thus highly valued and gratefully 
 remembered by Dr. John, has had a long and honour- 
 able history. Brecon is an important town nearly in 
 the centre of the county of the same name. It is a 
 busy, thriving place, with a life and character of its 
 own. The college in which Griffith John became a 
 student reached Brecon by a process of development. 
 All through its history it has been largely maintained 
 by an old charity now known as the Congregational 
 Fund Board. This is an endowment that dates from 
 
1 6 Early Life and Training for the Ministry 
 
 the year 1695, and has exerted ever since a powerful 
 and beneficent influence upon the education of Non- 
 conformist ministers. 
 
 In 1738 four students were sent by the Congrega- 
 tional Fund Board to Mr. Griffiths of Carnarvon. The 
 academy, as such small institutions were then called, 
 over which he presided, existed at Carnarvon until the 
 year 1757, when it was transferred to Abergavenny. 
 In 1782 it removed to Oswestry, and in 1791 to 
 Wrexham. There it was under the supervision of the 
 Rev. Jenkin Lewis from 1801 to 1811. Mr. Jenkin 
 Lewis was succeeded by the Rev. George Lewis, who, 
 when he removed to Llanfyllin to become pastor of 
 the Church there, was allowed by the Board to carry 
 the academy with him. In 1820 a minute runs: 
 ' This Board is of opinion that it is advisable to remove 
 the North Wales Academy from Llanfyllin to New- 
 town.' From 1830 to 1836 the academy passed 
 through a series of troubles, which were at length 
 successfully surmounted, and in 1839 ^ became a 
 college, and was permanently located at Brecon. 
 Henry Griffiths, to whom Griffith John looks back 
 with such loving memory, was Principal of Brecon 
 College from 1844 to l8 53- 
 
 Like so many of the Free Church educational 
 institutions that have gradually struggled up from 
 weakness to strength and beneficent influence, Brecon 
 has always been hampered for lack of sufficient re- 
 sources, and has been able to accommodate only a 
 small number of students. Nevertheless, in the course 
 of its honourable history of nearly two centuries it has 
 
From a Friend's Diary 17 
 
 sent forth many able and useful ministers. High on its 
 roll stands the name of Griffith John. 
 
 Mr. Jacob, the inspiring force of Griffith John's 
 early years, kept a diary in which such records as 
 these are found: 'December 10, 1849. Was at 
 Bethel. Heard G. John preach for the first time, and 
 my opinion is that he will become one of the best of 
 preachers.' 'June 10, 1850. We came to Brecon to 
 the examination. G. John and three others were 
 admitted.' 'September 9, 1850. This morning my 
 dear friend and pupil, G. John, left for Brecon.' 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE GREAT DECISION AND THE 
 OPEN DOOR 
 
 IT was comparatively early in his college training 
 that the desire arose in the heart of Griffith John 
 to become a missionary to the heathen. Here is his 
 own description of this momentous resolution : 
 
 ' It was during my stay at Brecon when I began to 
 think seriously of the missionary work and its claims. 
 I entered college with two desires in my mind a 
 higher and a lower. The higher desire was to serve 
 man and to glorify God ; the lower was the desire to 
 become one of the great preachers of Wales. At that 
 time, Thomas Rees, Thomas Thomas, Thomas Jones, 
 and several more were at the height of their popularity. 
 The eloquence of these men used to move my soul to 
 its deepest depth, and I longed to take my place side 
 by side with them. The higher desire was there all 
 the time, and occupied, I hope, the highest place ; but 
 the lower was there also, and occupying, I am bound 
 to say, no mean place. When, however, the missionary 
 desire came in and took full possession of my heart, 
 the lower desire was driven out, and driven out never 
 to return again. That was a great victory, one of the 
 greatest victories ever won on the arena of my soul, 
 
 18 
 
The Missionary Purpose Wins the Day 19 
 
 and one for which I have never ceased to feel truly 
 thankful to God. 
 
 1 Several attempts were made to dissuade me from 
 offering myself to the London Missionary Society. 
 Even Professor Griffiths was opposed to it at first. 
 He had planned a university career for me, and was 
 extremely anxious that I should follow it. For the 
 first time he laid his scheme before me, and requested 
 me to take a few weeks to reconsider, in the light of 
 his proposal, my purpose of becoming a missionary. 
 I did so, and at the close of the prescribed time I went 
 to see him again and told him that my mind remained 
 unchanged. He then encouraged me to persevere in 
 my purpose, and assured me that he looked upon the 
 missionary calling as the highest to which any man 
 could devote his life. He told me also that he himself 
 had at one time resolved to be a missionary, and that 
 he had never ceased to regret the circumstances which 
 led him to relinquish the idea. 
 
 1 A large number of my ministerial friends were 
 bitterly opposed to my taking this course. They 
 believed in missions, but they could not see that it was 
 God's will that I should be a missionary. They spoke 
 of my special fitness for the ministry in Wales, and 
 pointed to the offers which I had already received from 
 several churches as a clear indication of God's will 
 concerning me. They loved me sincerely and were 
 extremely anxious to save me from taking a false step. 
 I thanked them for all their kindness, but assured them 
 that my purpose was fixed, and that I must obey the 
 Divine voice. Gradually they became more reconciled 
 
20 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 to the course on which I had resolved. When I left 
 Wales for China, I did so richly laden with the 
 heartiest good-will and best benedictions of all.' 
 
 The letter in which Griffith John informed the 
 Directors of the London Missionary Society of his 
 wish to become a missionary and offered himself as a 
 candidate for service has been preserved, together with 
 his * Answers to Questions/ and the commendatory 
 letter of President Griffiths. The confession of his 
 faith is characteristically clear, decided, and evangelical, 
 though it is not narrow or dogmatic. The following is 
 the simple and straightforward letter in which he 
 offered his services to the Society : 
 
 BRECON COLLEGE, March 18, '53. 
 
 ' REVD. SIR, I humbly beg leave, through you, to 
 lay before the gentlemen of the Committee my most 
 anxious desire to dedicate myself to the missionary 
 work, and as such to offer my service to the London 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 ' I cannot state exactly when and where this desire 
 first occurred to my mind ; as the propagation of the 
 Gospel, the fulfilment of Christ's promise that His 
 "Gospel" should be "preached in all the world," 
 together with the deplorable condition of the heathen, 
 have been some of the first subjects to which my 
 attention has been directed, and with which my mind 
 has always been deeply impressed. Though feeling a 
 deep interest in the missionary cause for many years, 
 as above stated, yet I did not think seriously of 
 becoming a missionary myself until I had'commenced 
 
Offer of Service 21 
 
 my collegiate career at Brecon, nearly three years ago. 
 During this interval it has been to me a subject of 
 serious deliberation and of anxious and frequent prayer. 
 Ever since, this desire has been continually increasing, 
 and has become more and more ardent, though I must 
 confess I have many times, on different occasions, 
 exerted my utmost to suppress and cool it. 
 
 ' Thinking at length that it was high time to decide 
 the question, I have, for the last two months, made it a 
 subject of deeper consideration. 
 
 * Having, so far as it is in my power, examined 
 myself in connection with this most important under- 
 taking, I conscientiously believe and trust that the 
 motives which thus induce me to dedicate myself to 
 the missionary work are more pure and genuine than 
 those that induce me to choose the home ministry. 
 
 ' When I came to a determination, I laid the case 
 before my tutors and others, who gave me every 
 encouragement, and having had the permission of the 
 Committee, I now beg leave to submit myself to be 
 examined by you and the gentlemen of the Committee. 
 
 ' Various reasons induce me to fix upon Madagascar 
 as a suitable field of labour, though it is not for me to 
 dictate as to the question of place ; that I would wish 
 Providence to determine. 
 
 ' I have the honour, Rev. Sir, to be your humble 
 servant, GRIFFITH JOHN. 
 
 ' REV. E. PROUT.' 
 
 The student's grateful admiration of his Principal 
 was reciprocated by him in affectionate appreciation of 
 
22 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 his promising pupil. Principal Griffiths' letter to the 
 Directors contains a very candid and discriminating 
 account of three students who were offering their 
 services to the Society. This is what he said of 
 Griffith John : 
 
 ' Griffith John is at the head of his class. He is a 
 strangely winning and affectionate little creature, over- 
 flowing with kindness and sociableness, and an universal 
 favourite. He is beyond comparison the most popular 
 preacher in Welsh we ever heard, and many and wide- 
 spread are the regrets felt at the thought of his leaving 
 the country. He speaks English well, always has his 
 wits about him, full of sound common sense, singularly 
 rich in inventiveness, very persevering, and altogether 
 just the kind of person I should like to see sent to a 
 place like Madagascar. In intellectual power he is 
 far, very far above the average of young men, and I 
 believe still more so in the fervour and steadiness of his 
 piety. More than one church has expressed a wish to 
 have him for a minister.' 
 
 Dr. John ends his reminiscences of this period of 
 his life as follows : 
 
 * It was in March 1853 that I offered my services 
 to the London Missionary Society. Whilst my prefer- 
 ence for Madagascar was very decided, I felt it to be 
 my duty to leave the final decision with the Directors. 
 I continued my studies at Brecon till January 1854, 
 when I was removed to Bedford Academy. This step 
 was taken at my own suggestion. It had occurred to me 
 that it would be of great advantage to me in after life 
 if I could spend some time in England for the purpose 
 
Early Ideas on Missionary Equipment 23 
 
 of acquiring a greater facility in the English language, 
 and enjoying the benefits of English society. I 
 accordingly made known my views to the Directors. 
 They thought the idea a good one, and at once granted 
 my request.' 
 
 The Missionary Academy at Bedford, to which 
 Griffith John went from Brecon College, was an 
 interesting example of the transition stage in the views 
 of the leaders in the missionary enterprise as to the 
 intellectual equipment required for work among the 
 heathen. At the time when the London Missionary 
 Society was formed, the prevalent idea seemed to be 
 that a theological training was not requisite for 
 missionaries. It was deemed quite sufficient if they 
 were earnest and devout and believed they were called 
 of God to this service. The first missionaries were 
 selected very largely under the influence of this idea. 
 
 There were, however, one or two men among the 
 founders of the Society who had a clearer recognition 
 of the requirements and responsibilities of the mission- 
 ary's task. Among these was the Rev. Dr. Bogue, of 
 Gosport, who very early urged the establishment of 
 seminaries for the training of the candidates for 
 missionary service. For two years the question was 
 in debate, and its ultimate settlement in 1800 was 
 greatly helped by the sad experience of the early and 
 complete failure of a very large proportion of those 
 who had been sent out to the South Seas. In 1800 
 the candidates for missionary service were placed under 
 the care of Dr. Bogue, who already had an academy 
 at Gosport for training men for the home ministry. 
 
24 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 During the next twenty-nine years the majority of the 
 missionaries who were sent out by the Society received 
 their training from Dr. Bogue. 
 
 Though the necessity for special training for 
 missionary service was thus recognised, it was not 
 universally accepted for a long time. Dr. Bogue's 
 biographer, the Rev. Dr. Bennett, wrote as follows : 
 * There have not ceased to be men of influence in the 
 Society who sincerely think that the best education for 
 missionaries is none at all ; and the next best is that 
 which consists in teaching them to make wheel-barrows 
 and plant turnips, rendering them useful mechanics 
 rather than good divines or preachers.' 
 
 As time went on, and the number of candidates for 
 missionary service increased, other academies were 
 opened for their training. Among these was that 
 commenced at Bedford in 1847, an ^ continued until 
 1867, in which a succession of men, whose names 
 have become well known in connection with the work 
 of the London Missionary Society in many fields, 
 received their preparation for service. 
 
 Meanwhile the claims of foreign missions were 
 becoming increasingly recognised among the students 
 for the home ministry ; and growing knowledge of the 
 requirements of the mission-field made it increasingly 
 clear that it was on every ground desirable that the 
 missionary should go to his work with as thorough an 
 intellectual equipment as could be obtained for the 
 ministry at home. The Society therefore resolved 
 henceforth to rely entirely upon the recognised theo- 
 logical colleges ; and the special missionary seminaries 
 
Drawn towards Madagascar 25 
 
 were given up when the Academy at Bedford was 
 closed. 
 
 Griffith John, having had the benefit of a course of 
 training at Brecon College, went to Bedford under 
 somewhat different conditions from his fellow-students 
 there, and only remained a few months, during which 
 his way to the mission-field became gradually cleared. 
 He writes : 
 
 * I was received very kindly by Mr. Jukes and Mr. 
 Alliot, under whom I was to continue my studies for 
 the next year or so. I made a host of friends at 
 Bedford. Though fresh from Wales, I felt quite at 
 home in the midst of my new surroundings. My 
 missionary fellow - students were Dennis, Lea, and 
 Duthie. We became fast friends and spent much 
 time together. Of the four, Duthie and myself alone 
 remain. I remember well the day on which he arrived 
 at Bedford. We fell in love with each other at once. 
 We have seen each other only once since we left 
 Bedford ; but the love which sprang up between us at 
 our first meeting is still burning, and will burn on for 
 evermore.' 1 
 
 Griffith John's attraction towards Madagascar and 
 strong desire to find his work there are easily accounted 
 for. The great African island was at that period 
 especially the land of mystery, the land of broken 
 hopes and disappointed Christian desires ; but also the 
 land that the faith and zeal and enthusiasm of the 
 
 1 James Duthie went to India in 1856, and since 1859 has laboured at 
 Nagercoil in the Travancore Mission. He is still a hale and vigorous 
 worker in that important field, and has long been one of the best known 
 and most respected missionaries in South India. 
 
26 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 supporters of the London Missionary Society had 
 marked out for one of the great victories of the Gospel. 
 Two ardent and able Welshmen had had a great part 
 in planting effectually in that seeming thorny soil the 
 seed of the Gospel. Since 1835, by the will of the 
 merciless heathen Queen, the island had been closed 
 to Christian effort, all missionaries banished, and all 
 native Christians persecuted even unto death. It was 
 known that many had boldly and bravely endured 
 death in very cruel forms rather than deny Christ. It 
 was known that the seed was growing secretly. It 
 was known from all the Christian centuries that the 
 Gospel is never so certain of final triumph as when 
 the soil of a land is consecrated by the blood of the 
 martyrs. The very danger and the hardships of such 
 a field made it attractive to the ardent young missionary. 
 But there was also a strong personal reason which 
 doubtless had something to do in turning the thoughts 
 of Griffith John to the land that was then so dark. 
 He was engaged to be married to the daughter of 
 David Griffiths, one of the two Welsh fathers of the 
 Madagascar Mission. Mr. Griffiths went to the island 
 in 1821. He was permitted to share in the early and 
 wonderful triumph of the Gospel there. In company 
 with David Jones, he laid firmly and well the foundation 
 of Madagascar evangelisation and civilisation. These 
 two men successfully accomplished the immense task 
 of translating the whole Bible into Malagasy, a work 
 completed only as the dark shadows were falling upon 
 the infant Church. Compelled to quit the island, 
 David Griffiths was allowed in 1840 to return as a 
 
'A Glorious Idea' 27 
 
 trader, and during his residence there was enabled in 
 many ways to be of service to the persecuted Christians. 
 But he was compelled to leave the island finally 
 in 1841. 
 
 It can easily be understood how powerful an attrac- 
 tion Madagascar was likely to possess for a young 
 man coming into intimate family relationship with a 
 veteran like David Griffiths, and with a missionary 
 history like his. 
 
 The following extracts from letters written at this 
 period throw fresh light upon his views and experiences 
 at the critical time when the sphere of his life's work 
 was being determined for him : 
 
 ' BEDFORD, March 10, 1854. 
 
 * This is quite a working place. But, oh, how glad 
 I would be if the doors were opened for Madagascar ! 
 My heart is there now. I know it will be difficult to 
 part with dear friends, more so than I can anticipate 
 at present. But then, I go to be the honoured instrument 
 in the hands of God to enlighten some hundreds of 
 those that lie in darkness and superstition, to direct 
 their attention to Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sins of the world. Oh, what a glorious idea, 
 it overpowers everything ! When I think what I may 
 be, it fills me with the strongest desires to see the day 
 when I shall behold the shores of Madagascar, plant 
 my footsteps in its soil, and proclaim the glad tidings 
 of salvation to its thousands.' 
 
28 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 'July 3, 1854- 
 
 ' I am at Bedford still. I don't know what they 
 intend doing with me, nor where they intend sending 
 me. Madagascar seems to be very remote. I have 
 had some intimations that they want me to turn my 
 thoughts to China. The Directors consider it to be 
 their duty to send me to Madagascar if I stand 
 positively for that, but they would be glad were I to 
 offer myself for China. Mr. Jukes spoke to me in a 
 very kind way some time ago on the subject. " It is 
 much easier," said he, " to get men for Madagascar 
 than for China, and they would do as well as yourself 
 in Madagascar ; but it would be difficult to get persons 
 so well adapted for China." And then he advised me 
 to think over this seriously. However, my mind 
 hitherto is stayed upon Madagascar. If the Directors 
 were to apply to me directly for China, it would place 
 me in a fix. China is a noble country, though I am 
 not at all fascinated with it. I don't mind much where 
 I go if Madagascar does not open.' 
 
 The final appeal came in a letter from the Rev. E. 
 Prout, one of the Secretaries of the London Missionary 
 Society, dated September 4, 1854: 
 
 1 MY DEAR SIR, When you offered yourself to our 
 Society, we were, of course, aware of your desire to 
 labour in Madagascar the door to which island then 
 appearing to be on the point of opening, and had 
 events occurred in accordance with our anticipation we 
 should not have attempted to divert your attention 
 
The Call to China 29 
 
 from that mission. You are aware, however, that up 
 to this time insurmountable difficulties have prevented 
 the fulfilment of our purpose, and although we believe 
 that our hope is merely deferred, that is reason enough 
 both for you and for ourselves to reconsider our previous 
 decision. 
 
 * Meanwhile, you are aware, the providence of God 
 has very marvellously opened the way for greatly 
 extended missionary operations in China under circum- 
 stances singularly auspicious, and you are aware also 
 that our Directors design to take advantage of this 
 state of things for the extension of their labours in 
 that Empire. 
 
 ' As we believe you possess qualifications for useful 
 effort there, we have come to the conclusion that it 
 would be wise to appoint you to the mission, and I 
 have been instructed by our Board to convey to you 
 this conviction. You are, I am sure, too well acquainted 
 with this sphere of labour, and with the recent events 
 which have awakened our hopes for the future, to 
 require any arguments or persuasion in order to induce 
 you seriously to consider its claims, and I greatly 
 miscalculate if you do not concur in the judgment that 
 in no part of the world could Christian men devote 
 their energies with a brighter prospect of success. But 
 although I will not at present urge the wishes of our 
 Directors and the wants of China upon your thoughtful 
 attention by any array of facts or arguments, I shall be 
 happy to answer any question you may wish to propose 
 or to aid you in any way to arrive at a right conclusion. 
 
 1 We have heard from time to time from Mr. Jukes 
 
30 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 with great satisfaction of your progress, and I doubt 
 not but that the months you are now spending at 
 Bedford will bring forth good fruit in future years.' 
 
 While pondering over this most important matter, 
 Griffith John wrote as follows to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 ' A letter from the Mission House (a copy of which 
 I forward to you) came to hand this morning. You 
 know my sentiments and feelings respecting Madagascar, 
 so I need not expatiate upon them. China is a very 
 important sphere of labour, and because of that I 
 prefer being driven than run. 
 
 * I am willing to submit to the will of the Lord ; 
 the question is, what is His will ? Oh, may God direct 
 my path, and open mine eyes that I may see the way 
 I should go. 
 
 1 1 have not answered Mr. Prout's letter yet, wishing 
 to hear from you first. Will you have the kindness to 
 write by return of post, if you have time ? Perhaps 
 you will also show this letter to our valued and highly 
 esteemed friend Mr. Griffiths. I have always attached 
 great worth to his counsel, and in this case I shall 
 highly value his advice. If I am to go to China, the 
 hand of Providence is very marked in my removal to 
 Bedford.' 
 
 The decision to accept the Directors' call to China, 
 and the feelings which this momentous settlement of 
 the course of his future life had awakened in his mind, 
 are reported in another letter to Mr. Jacob dated 
 Bedford, January 6, 1855 : 
 
 * A year has elapsed since I left Wales. By looking 
 
4 There is a Glorious Work before Me' 3 1 
 
 back upon it I feel as if I had spent only a couple of 
 weeks in England. I have just returned after spending 
 my Christmas at Woodbridge with our old friend Mr. 
 Griffiths. I enjoyed myself very much. I spent two 
 Sundays there and had to preach five times. 
 
 ' I have complied with the request of the Directors 
 in respect to China. I don't know exactly when we 
 shall be sent out, probably about the commencement 
 of the spring. If that be the case I shall see you very 
 soon. But there is a degree of sadness about our next 
 meeting to which I do not like to look forward. It 
 will be a meeting of a very short duration, but followed 
 by a parting for a very long time, probably never to 
 see each other on earth again. I wish to put the 
 emphasis upon the word earth, because I trust and 
 hope that we shall meet in heaven, there to enjoy a 
 happy eternity in the society of each other. 
 
 * There is a glorious work before me. When looking 
 at it, I cannot but rejoice, but with trembling. It is 
 both humbling and cheering. Oh that I could but 
 feel that I am not my own, and that I am thoroughly 
 consecrated to God. How difficult it is to get rid of 
 selfishness. The drunkard may set aside his drunken- 
 ness, the blasphemer his blasphemy, his curses and 
 oaths, but it is almost impossible to destroy self and 
 live, to be and not to be at the same time. Self clings 
 to us wherever we go ; we find it with us in all our 
 engagements, however sacred they may be. This is 
 the great demon that continually seeks the mastery 
 over us, the old Adam that perpetually speaks within 
 us and driving us from God and goodness. Oh, could 
 
32 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 I but feel as Paul felt when he said, " To me to live is 
 Christ." ' 
 
 From the autobiographical sketch we learn some- 
 thing more of the course of events to the time of 
 Griffith John's departure for the mission-field : 
 
 * In the beginning of September 1854, I received a 
 letter from Mr. Prout, in which he called my attention 
 to the fact that the door to Madagascar was still closed, 
 and likely to remain so for some time, and suggested 
 that I should turn my thoughts to China. Now, 
 Madagascar was the one spot in the mission-field that 
 had won my heart. I loved Madagascar, and my one 
 wish was to live and die there. China had not been 
 very much in my thought, and I felt no special drawing 
 to it. As I, however, could not go to Madagascar, it 
 mattered but little to me to what part of the world the 
 Directors might send me. I was determined to be a 
 missionary, and was prepared to go anywhere. On 
 September 15! sent my reply expressing my willing- 
 ness to go to China. Soon after I received another 
 letter from Mr. Prout informing me that I had been 
 appointed to China. I cannot say that I was sorry ; I 
 cannot say I was glad. I simply felt that the Directors 
 ought to know best, and that it was for me to obey 
 orders. I may say here, however, that I was not long 
 in China before I was made to feel that my appoint- 
 ment was of God. During these nearly fifty years, I 
 have never ceased to thank God for the kind providence 
 that brought me to this land. I have never had a 
 single longing for Madagascar, or any other sphere, 
 since my arrival at Shanghai in 1855. China has 
 
Ordination Marriage Departure .3 3 
 
 filled my soul, kindled my imagination, and drawn out 
 my heart as no other non-Christian land could have 
 done. At least this is my firm belief. 
 
 ' On March 15, 1855, I received a letter from Mr. 
 Prout saying that I was to leave for China in May, 
 and urging the necessity of making preparations for 
 the journey. I left Bedford on March 26 for Swansea, 
 was ordained at Ebenezer Chapel, Swansea, and was 
 married to Margaret Jane Griffiths, daughter of the 
 Rev. David Griffiths of Madagascar, on April 13. We 
 sailed for Shanghai on May 21, 1855, accompanied 
 by our colleagues, the Rev. A. Williamson and Mrs. 
 Williamson. 
 
 ' Just before leaving London a little incident 
 occurred which gave me a good deal of amusement. 
 After the missionary sermon at Surrey Chapel, there 
 was a luncheon given at the Mission House, to which 
 Mr. Williamson and myself were invited. Whilst I 
 was short and slender, Mr. Williamson was very tall, 
 and somewhat commanding in his bearing. We went 
 together to the Mission House. Mr. Williamson took 
 the lead and I followed. Just as I was entering, 
 the beadle in charge of the door grabbed me, and bade 
 me stop. Mr. Williamson, finding that I was not 
 following, turned back to see what had become of me. 
 " Why do you/' said Mr. Williamson to the beadle, 
 " detain Mr. John ? He is my colleague. We are 
 going to China together." Hearing this, the beadle 
 relaxed his grasp and allowed me to pass on. But 
 just as I escaped I heard him say in a loud voice, " So 
 it has come to this, sending children to convert the 
 
 D 
 
34 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 Chinese." The beadle in London reminded me of the 
 deacons at Alltwen. From both I learned a lesson 
 which has been of life-long service to me.' 
 
 It does not come within the scope of this book to 
 dwell at any length upon the course of events which Mr. 
 Prout referred to in his letter informing Mr. Griffith 
 John of the wish of the Directors to send him to China. 
 * The providence of God,' he wrote, ' has very 
 marvellously opened the door for greatly extended 
 missionary operations in China.' 
 
 The story of the way in which the door of China 
 was forced open is variously told, but, whatever the 
 true version may be, subsequent events show that it 
 affords a striking illustration of the providence by 
 which God has repeatedly in the life of the world over- 
 ruled human ambition, selfishness, and enterprise to 
 the furtherance of purposes which men have not 
 dreamed of or have not sympathised with while they 
 were pursuing their own designs, and has brought the 
 highest and permanent good out of an evil which man 
 has wrought. 
 
 There are some whose patriotism is of such a 
 character that apparently they can never see anything 
 wrong in the action of their country towards other 
 Powers. To judge by one version of the quarrel 
 between Britain and China, it was a pathetic illustration 
 in real life of the fable of the wolf and the lamb, the 
 lamb being the innocent and honourable British traders 
 who, while engaged in a most lawful and creditable, 
 not to say beneficent traffic, were the objects of 
 gratuitous, persistent, and shameful ill-treatment by the 
 
Quarrel between Britain and China 35 
 
 insolent and arrogant Chinese wolf. Fortunately, 
 unlike the lamb in the fable, they were rescued in the 
 nick of time by their natural protector and shepherd, 
 the British Government, and the wolfs teeth were 
 drawn. 
 
 This view, which is gratifying to our national self- 
 love, is not the view of outsiders, nor is it the view of 
 those who are accustomed to judge of actions by the 
 Christian standard of moral responsibility for the effect 
 of our actions upon others. It is, of course, quite 
 possible that, apart from the opium traffic, there would 
 sooner or later have been a rupture between Britain 
 and China. The exclusiveness of the Chinese and 
 their contempt for foreigners, the restrictions placed 
 upon trade by confining it to one port in China, and 
 the limitations even at the one port by which all 
 dealings of the foreign traders had to be carried on 
 through a syndicate of Chinese merchants known as 
 the Hong, and every communication between them 
 and the authorities had to pass through the same 
 medium, created difficulties which the pushful and 
 energetic enterprise of the Western trader was not 
 likely to brook in perpetuity. 
 
 It is, however, very difficult for the impartial student 
 to escape from the conclusion that the friction between 
 the Chinese officials and the traders was enormously 
 increased by the traffic in opium. Apart from all 
 other causes of quarrel, the Government of China 
 would have been amply justified, alike on economic 
 grounds and because of the mischievous effects of the 
 drug on the health and the morals of the people, in 
 
36 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 taking the most energetic measures for preventing the 
 wholesale introduction of opium into the country. 
 
 It may be true, it probably is true, that many of 
 the Chinese officials were utterly venal and corrupt, 
 and that, while making great show of insisting that 
 the law should be obeyed and opium should not be 
 introduced, they were privately reaping large profit by 
 conniving at its introduction. It may be true, it 
 probably is true, that the habit of smoking opium was 
 indulged in by many rich men, men in high place, and 
 prominent officials of the Court. It is undoubtedly 
 true that the Chinese knew the use of opium as a 
 medicine, and had begun to discover its properties as a 
 stimulant, before the trade in opium on the part of the 
 agents of the East India Company began. It was 
 mixed with tobacco for the purpose of smoking as 
 early as the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
 These statements, however, do not invalidate the 
 following facts : 
 
 There is no evidence of the growth of the poppy in 
 China for manufacture of opium until the nineteenth 
 century, and there is abundant evidence that this 
 native production has enormously increased since then, 
 and is still growing. 
 
 There is no evidence that, at least during the 
 eighteenth century, the practice of opium-smoking was 
 indulged in except to the most limited extent in the 
 interior of the country. The use of opium was at first 
 and for a long time almost entirely confined to the 
 coast, and to places where it could be got by foreign 
 trade. 
 
Case against Opium Traffic 37 
 
 There is abundant evidence that the Government of 
 China had for more than a century forbidden the use 
 of opium for smoking purposes. The earliest edict on 
 the subject was issued in Formosa in 1729, and 
 Dr. Edkins states that ever since that year opium- 
 selling for smoking purposes has been treated as a 
 crime by the ruling authorities. 
 
 There is very clear evidence that the trade was 
 regarded as contraband, and that, wherever the officials 
 had not been bribed, it was stopped. In 1782, Mr. 
 Fitzhugh, an agent of the East India Company, wrote 
 to the Company : ' The importation of opium is pro- 
 hibited under very severe penalties. The opium on 
 seizure is burnt, the vessel confiscated, and the Chinese 
 possessing it are liable to death. The contraband trade 
 is only carried on through the excess of corruption on 
 the part of the Customs officials/ 
 
 There is equally clear evidence that the contraband 
 trade was carried on mainly, if not entirely, by the 
 officials and representatives of the East India Company ; 
 that it was so profitable that complete and elaborate 
 arrangements were made for storing opium on board 
 receiving ships moored off various points of the coast 
 of South China, from which it was run in to the shore 
 by means of swift boats manned by crews armed to 
 the teeth. 
 
 The East India Company officially washed their 
 hands of any complicity in a contraband traffic, yet 
 they established a monopoly of opium growing and 
 manufacture in India avowedly for export, China being 
 practically the only market to which it could be 
 
38 The Great Decision and the Open Door 
 
 exported. They passed stringent regulations forbidding 
 any of their servants to carry the contraband article 
 to China under pain of instant dismissal, yet every 
 British ship trading with China was obliged to have 
 the licence of the Company, and if any opium other 
 than that grown and prepared by the Company was 
 found on board the licence was cancelled. Every 
 British subject trading in China prior to 1834 was 
 obliged to have the licence of the Company, yet the 
 trade in Indian opium by these British subjects, in 
 the East India Company's ships, a trade which was 
 avowedly contraband, grew from 2330 chests in 1 788-89 
 to 4968 chests in 1809-10. Fifteen years later the 
 amount imported had grown to 10,570 chests, and in 
 the next ten years ending 1835-36 the amount had 
 increased to 17,257 chests, having a value of more 
 than one and a half million sterling. Commissioner 
 Lin may have taken very extreme measures when he 
 insisted upon the surrender of 20,000 chests of opium 
 which were in store, and proceeded to destroy them 
 all. He may have acted in a very high - handed 
 way in stopping the whole of the foreign trade 
 until his requirements had been complied with, but 
 exceptional troubles necessitate heroic remedies. Had 
 Lin been an Englishman dealing with a large and 
 powerful combination of lawless smugglers, every news- 
 paper in the kingdom would have been filled with 
 praise of his firmness, his courage, and his patriotic 
 conduct. 
 
 China came off second best in the struggle which 
 ensued, and was compelled by the Treaty of Nanking 
 
Who will be the Loser? 39 
 
 to open her doors to the foreigner. Thus the oppor- 
 tunity was given for entering the great Empire with 
 the Gospel, but it yet remains to be seen whether 
 Britain or China will in the long run be the most 
 serious loser by the opium war ! 
 
CHAPTER III 
 SHANGHAI 
 
 SHANGHAI, which was to be the centre of Mr. 
 John's labours for the next five years, was one 
 of the five ports opened by the Treaty of Nanking for 
 foreign trade and residence, the other four being Canton, 
 Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpo. It was splendidly 
 situated to become a great centre of trade ; for the 
 small river on whose banks it was founded is a 
 tributary of the mighty Yang-tse-kiang, joining the 
 great river just as it enters the sea, and affording 
 anchorage and shelter for a large fleet of ships. 
 
 The native city, with a population of 300,000, is 
 situated about ten miles from the mouth of the river at 
 Woosung, and the foreign concessions which constitute 
 the modern city of Shanghai are outside the city wall, 
 and stretch in ever-growing extent down the west 
 bank of the river. At the present time it is the 
 largest and handsomest European settlement in the 
 farther East. Well drained, well lighted, well policed, 
 with its long stretch of stately buildings facing the 
 bund or river front, its streets of substantial houses, its 
 suburban bungalows and gardens, its large and hand- 
 some shops and extensive warehouses, it is a striking 
 example of the energy and enterprise of the European. 
 
 40 
 
A Stately City 41 
 
 A dismal stretch of flat, swampy country, only a few 
 feet above the level of the ocean, has, in the course 
 of comparatively few years, been transformed into a 
 stately city, which has become the commercial capital 
 of China, and by far the most important centre of 
 communication between China and the world. It has 
 a population nearly double that of the native city 
 whose name it bears, of whom fully 10,000 are 
 Europeans and Americans. 
 
 Shanghai is, in fact, the most striking object-lesson 
 of the great and vital change in the relations between 
 China and the rest of the world which began with the 
 signing of the Treaty of Nanking. Before that time 
 the foreigner was kept at arm's length and treated as 
 a barbarian ; the foreign trader was restricted to the 
 precincts of the factories at Canton, and was unable 
 to carry on any business with the people, or to make 
 any representation to the Government, save through 
 the syndicate of native merchants ; foreign governments 
 were treated as vassals and inferiors who could not be 
 recognised as having any claim to respect. Shanghai 
 stands for the Open Door, for perfect freedom of 
 intercourse, for absolute equality of political status. 
 
 From the missionary standpoint also, Shanghai 
 has from its commencement occupied a position of 
 exceptional importance. It is the natural port of 
 arrival to which all lines of steamers bring their 
 passengers for the greater part of China, and it is the 
 centre from which it is most easy to reach the vast 
 interior of the country. At the time when Griffith 
 John was sent out there was a group of men of 
 
42 Shanghai 
 
 remarkable ability and exceptional spiritual power 
 representing missions in Shanghai. The London 
 Missionary Society, which commenced work as soon 
 as the new port was opened in 1843, na cl as its 
 representatives Dr. Medhurst, Dr. William Lockhart, 
 Mr. Muirhead, and Mr. Wylie. The Church Missionary 
 Society, whose mission was opened in 1844 by 
 M'Clatchie, was represented by Rev. J. S. Burdon, 1 
 who was conspicuous for his devoted and intrepid 
 evangelistic tours. Bishop Boone commenced the 
 American Episcopal Mission in 1845. 
 
 Among other workers there were two whose names 
 have become household words among those who are 
 acquainted with missionary history. Dr. Hudson 
 Taylor went out to China a few months before Griffith 
 John as an agent of the China Evangelisation Society, 
 and early devoted himself to evangelistic work in the 
 region round Shanghai ; and William C. Burns, the 
 saintly and perfervid Scottish evangelistic missionary, 
 was still in Shanghai for six months after the young 
 Welsh missionary arrived. 
 
 The field was therefore an exceptionally interesting 
 and important one, and the associations in work were 
 of the most stimulating kind. 
 
 A voyage to China in 1855 was a very different 
 matter from one in 1906. The Suez Canal was not 
 opened until twelve years later, so that all communica- 
 tion with the East had to be made by the long sea 
 passage round the Cape, except for the mails and for 
 those passengers who could afford the heavy expense 
 
 1 Afterwards Bishop of Victoria (Hong- Kong) from 1874 to 1896. 
 
Photo} 
 
 
 \ Bernard Upward. 
 
 THREE VETERANS. 
 
 THE REV. GRIFFITH JOHN, D.D. 
 THE LATE REV. J. HUDSON TAYLOR, M.D. THE REV. \V. A. P. MARTIN, D.D. 
 
 Dr. Martin, born 1827, reached China 18^0. 
 
 Dr. J. Hudson Taylor, born 1832, reached China 1854. 
 
 Dr. Griffith John, born 1831, reached China 1855. 
 
A Monotonous Voyage 43 
 
 and the discomfort of the land transit from Alexandria 
 to Suez. To-day the ordinary passenger reaches 
 Shanghai by a great ocean steamer of from 8000 to 
 10,000 tons in thirty-eight days, after a voyage the 
 monotony of which is relieved by the excitement of 
 touching at port after port, and throughout which, 
 thanks to the application of modern science, fresh meat, 
 milk, and vegetables, and an abundance of fresh water 
 are supplied without stint. 
 
 It was far otherwise in 1855. The sailing 
 vessels in which the journey was made were small ; 
 the opportunity of breaking the journey by calling 
 at a port was very rare ; the provision was plain it 
 lacked variety ; fresh meat and vegetables were not 
 always to be had, and the supply of fresh water was 
 limited. The time occupied varied from four to five 
 months, and to those who had no resources foFwork or 
 amusement the voyage became intensely monotonous. 
 On the other hand, the long period of quiet without 
 distractions presented compensations to the student 
 which the modern traveller sometimes longs for. The 
 experiences of the young missionaries are fully described 
 in a letter to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, October 4, 1855. 
 
 ' You see that we have reached our destination 
 safely. We arrived in Shanghai on the 24th ultimo 
 after a voyage of 127 days. We sailed from Gravesend 
 on the 2 i st of May. On the whole the passage was 
 very pleasant. 
 
 ' As you know, a voyage to Shanghai is one of the 
 
44 Shanghai 
 
 longest and most dangerous, and the China Sea is 
 particularly dangerous in the months of September and 
 October. We have passed through the regions of 
 hurricanes, typhoons, monsoons (the breaking up of 
 which is generally accompanied by most terrific storms), 
 and through the region of shoals and pirates. We 
 learnt on our arrival that a typhoon occurred only 
 about 150 miles south of us while we were lying at 
 anchor on the night of the 2ist ultimo. We also 
 heard of ships being lost and others taken by pirates, 
 but we have been graciously preserved. Nothing was 
 permitted to injure us, either in person or property. 
 
 ' Nothing occurred to impede our progress. We had 
 not so much as a full gale in any part of our voyage. 
 The ship is not one of the easiest in the water, the least 
 breeze would make her roll and pitch most furiously. The 
 sea was rather rough when we were doubling the Cape ; 
 we spent a few sleepless nights at that time, and also on 
 one or two other occasions. But the sea was worth 
 seeing, especially in the morning after a boistero ir : 
 night ; the sight of the waves was grand, some rushing 
 and swelling into large mountains, then breaking into 
 a broad white foam, others rising and subsiding 
 majestically, others running along as if they were going 
 to bury the ship and all. Sometimes they struck 
 against the side of the ship until she danced again. 
 Then we who had not been accustomed to such tossings 
 frequently found ourselves reeling from one side of the 
 cabin to the other, and at other times lying on the 
 carpet, having been thrown off our couch. Such 
 occurrences were by no means pleasant, but we had no 
 
Sublimely Grand Sunsets 45 
 
 reason to complain. They were a mere nothing in 
 comparison to the many blessings we enjoyed, and of 
 course the blessings were more highly appreciated after 
 such occasional interference or breaking in upon our 
 comforts. We were detained also by calms and 
 headwinds, especially in the China Sea. Had this not 
 been the case we should have been in Shanghai from 
 ten to twenty days sooner. We both had to pay 
 tribute to old Father Neptune rather often at first and 
 occasionally throughout the voyage. 
 
 4 Our health has been very good ; both Mrs. John and 
 myself look much stronger than when we left England. 
 We saw some fish, though not so many as I expected 
 to see. Several large whales passed us one morning ; 
 they were worth seeing. If you want to have an idea 
 of them just read Job's description of the leviathan. 
 With the exception of flying-fish and porpoises, which 
 are plentiful enough, we saw no other kind. But I will 
 tell you what would be worth your coming from Wales 
 to the southern hemisphere to witness, and that is the 
 beautiful sunset of a fine evening. I have not witnessed 
 anything worthy of being compared with it in point 
 of sublime grandeur. Many a time did I sit on the 
 poop watching with intense interest this magnificent 
 scene. You have seen nothing like it in the northern 
 hemisphere. The beautifully clear sky together with 
 the appearance of new constellations one night after the 
 other has made the voyage very pleasant to me. 
 
 * The life on the ocean wave is not the most 
 favourable for hard study. Yet I managed to do a 
 little in that way. I read nearly the whole series of 
 
46 Shanghai 
 
 the Congregational Lectures, so that I have a pretty good 
 stock of theology in my brains, Henry Rogers' Essays 
 in three volumes, Macaulay's Essays in two volumes, 
 Barnes' Notes on the Revelation, Herschel on 
 Astronomy, Mitchell on Astronomy, a large volume on 
 the steam-engine, Carpenter's Physiology, books on 
 chemistry, electricity, magnetism, mechanics, and other 
 branches of science. Several other books of a lighter 
 character I read. I read some portions of my Hebrew 
 Bible and Greek Testament, studied some of the higher 
 branches of mathematics. So my time, as you 
 perceive, was not altogether spent in vain. I believe 
 I know a little more now than when I saw you last. 
 All this will be of some use in future. I have brought 
 out with me a chemical apparatus, an electrical machine, 
 a microscope, and a stereoscope, so that I might in 
 future give the Chinese some idea of these things. A 
 missionary need not forget the civilisation of the people 
 among whom he labours. 
 
 'Well, we got to Shanghai at last in health and 
 strength. We were received by the brethren here very 
 kindly and respectfully. We are staying for the 
 present with Dr. Medhurst, waiting for our house, which 
 is being repaired and cleaned. It will be all ready for 
 us in the course of a week or so. The missionaries 
 here are all kind, affable, hard-working men, especially 
 those connected with our Society. There are in all 
 from twenty-five to thirty missionaries, belonging to the 
 various denominations, both American and European, in 
 Shanghai. We have two chapels in the city, in which 
 two or three sermons are preached every day to 
 
Looking Back Fifty Years 47 
 
 audiences varying from 50 to 200 ; indeed, you might 
 preach all day from 6 o'clock in the morning till night, 
 and you would have plenty of hearers. The country 
 all around here is open for missionary operations. A 
 missionary may penetrate into the country two or three 
 hundred miles in every direction without being molested ; 
 a wide door is opening in China for the preaching of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 1 The city of Shanghai is one of the filthiest in this 
 world. I have seen nothing to be compared to it in 
 dirt and filth, it surpasses everything. Of course, the 
 Chinese are notorious for their filth ; they are in great 
 need of sanitary measures happily we live outside 
 the city/ 
 
 Thus the contemporary letter. Here are Dr. John's 
 impressions of the same period, written nearly fifty 
 years later : 
 
 ' A very enthusiastic reception was given to us on 
 our arrival at Shanghai. All seemed delighted to see 
 us, and all strove to make us feel at home. Shanghai 
 was manned at the time with a noble band of mission- 
 aries. There was the venerable and venerated Dr. 
 Medhurst, crowned with forty years of magnificent 
 service, and still busy at work on the Delegates' version 
 of the Scriptures. He was looked upon as the 
 corypheus among the sinologues of his day, and a very 
 prince among the missionaries. I found the great 
 doctor very genial, very accessible, and very helpful. 
 The impression he made on my mind was deep and 
 lasting. He was the acknowledged head of the mission, 
 
48 Shanghai 
 
 but he never tried to rule. Nevertheless he did rule. 
 His wish was law to us, for the simple reason that we 
 trusted his judgment and felt the warmth of his heart. 
 Dr. Medhurst left Shanghai, September 10, 1856, and 
 arrived in England, January 22, 1857, but died 
 January 24, two days after his arrival. Is it not 
 strange that no memoir of the life and labours of this 
 remarkable man has ever been written ? 
 
 * There was Dr. Lockhart, busily engaged in heal- 
 ing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness 
 among the people. His reputation as a physician 
 stood very high, and was very widely spread. The 
 Shanghai folks looked upon him as a sort of marvel, 
 and were never tired of talking about the wonders of 
 his art. He was the soul of kindness, a tremendous 
 worker, and one of the social pillars of the Shanghai 
 community. 
 
 ' There was Mr. Wylie, the famous Chinese scholar, 
 yet so modest that, while others were sounding his 
 praises, he himself was profoundly unconscious of his 
 fame. He would never read a line of what appeared 
 in the public prints in praise of his work, and any 
 verbal compliment paid to him in a private way he 
 treated as an insult. Alexander Wylie was one of the 
 most remarkable men I have ever met, whether in 
 China or out of China. 
 
 'There was Edkins, diving into the deep depths of 
 Buddhism, unfolding the mysteries of the Chinese 
 language and literature, and giving, even at that time, 
 promise of becoming the great sinologue which in later 
 years he has more than fulfilled. Between Edkins and 
 
A GROUP OF CONTEMPORARY MISSIONARIES. 
 
 THE REV. DR. MEDHURST. MR. ALEXANDER WYLIE. 
 
 THE REV. DR. LOCKHAUT. 
 THE REV. DR. MUIRHEAD. THE REV. DR. EDKINS. 
 
Two Splendid Men Edkins Muirhead 49 
 
 myself the closest friendship sprang up at once. We 
 made many missionary journeys together, and spent 
 much time in discussing all manner of subjects, 
 theological, metaphysical, literary, and missionary. 
 Dr. Edkins, thank God, is still with us, and feeling as 
 deep an interest in China and the progress of the 
 Gospel in China as he did in those earlier days. May 
 his valuable life be spared for years to come, and may 
 it be given to him to see that not a few of the dreams 
 which he and 1 used to dream in my Shanghai days 
 have turned out to be more than 
 
 The children of an idle brain, 
 Begot of nothing but vain fantasy. 1 
 
 ' And there was William Muirhead, one of the great 
 evangelists the Christian Church has given to the 
 Chinese people. When I speak of him as evangelist, 
 it must not be supposed that I wish it to be under- 
 stood that he confined himself to preaching. He wrote 
 and translated many books, not a few of which are in 
 circulation at the present time. He was a well-known 
 author when I arrived in China. But it is as an 
 evangelist to the Chinese, preaching in season and out 
 of season the unsearchable riches of Christ, that 
 William Muirhead stands out most prominently before 
 my mental eye. Every typical missionary has his 
 speciality. Muirhead's speciality was preaching. 
 
 ' It was an unspeakable privilege to be thrown at 
 the very commencement of my missionary life in close 
 association with these splendid men. I could not have 
 
 1 Since this was written, the great student, sinologue, and missionary 
 has passed away. Dr. Edkins died April 23, 1905. 
 
 E 
 
50 Shanghai 
 
 been put into a better training school. The five or 
 six years spent at Shanghai were given mainly to the 
 important work of learning the language, observing the 
 methods of work adopted by my seniors, and trying 
 various experiments of my own.' 
 
 The young missionary was evidently gifted by 
 nature with the linguistic faculty in an exceptional 
 degree, but he also had the grace of application, and 
 he was constantly inspired by a high and true ideal of 
 his duty as a student of the language of the people to 
 whom he had come as a messenger of Christ. The 
 references to his linguistic studies in his letters to his 
 pastor and friend Mr. Jacob show that he must have 
 worked very hard, and the thorough groundwork he 
 did in those early days was the foundation for that 
 exceptional power as a preacher and writer in Chinese 
 which has so markedly distinguished his labours. The 
 letter to Mr. Jacob giving an account of his voyage 
 and arrival ends with an expression of his purpose in 
 regard to the acquisition of Chinese : 
 
 ' I have just commenced the study of the language : 
 I don't expect to find much difficulty in acquiring it. 
 This time six months I hope to be able to preach in 
 it, and unless that be the case I shall be exceedingly 
 disappointed. I am anxious, I long to be able to 
 speak of Christ to the people. I can just ask them at 
 present if they believe in Christ, and tell them that it 
 is the best thing they possibly can do. Pray for me, 
 my dear brother, that I may be made eminently useful 
 in China ! ' 
 
 Nine months later he writes : 
 
Tackling a Colossal Language 51 
 
 1 In taking a retrospective view of the past nine 
 months I find I have not spent my time altogether in 
 vain nor my strength for nought. I have read nearly 
 all the books printed in the Shanghai dialect, a con- 
 siderable portion of the New Testament in the higher 
 style, any quantity of tracts. I shall soon get through 
 four of the Chinese principal books. The others shall 
 follow. For some months I have been in the habit of 
 going into the temples, the tea gardens, and other 
 places to distribute tracts and preach in my humble 
 way. I am able now to speak for half-an-hour or 
 three-quarters with considerable ease and fluency. To 
 my great satisfaction, I find I am very well understood. 
 This is a very great thing in speaking to the Chinese, 
 because so much depends on the tones, a mere raising 
 or falling, shortening or lengthening of the voice makes 
 all the difference imaginable in a word which is in 
 every other respect the same, that is if written in the 
 Roman character. 
 
 ' This makes the acquisition of the spoken language 
 both a tedious and difficult task. The language is a 
 colossus. It is decidedly difficult to acquire, as appears 
 from the fact that no European has hitherto completely 
 mastered it. I like to study it very much ; it is no 
 tiresome work to me. Its difficulty only intensifies my 
 desire to grapple with it and finally to lay it prostrate 
 at my feet. The conquering of this language is worth 
 a long and manly struggle. Who would feel it a 
 burdensome task to learn a language which is intended 
 by the providence of God to be a channel through 
 which divine truth like a life-giving stream is to 
 
5 2 Shanghai 
 
 flow into four hundred million thirsty but immortal 
 souls.' 
 
 Again, writing three months later, he says : 
 
 ' I told you that I intended to be able to preach in 
 Chinese before the end of the year. I am happy to 
 inform you that my anticipations have been realised 
 in this respect. I have been in the habit of preaching 
 in the chapels for more than two months. I have 
 also paid considerable attention to the characters. I 
 mention this because I know that any success of mine 
 gives you as much pleasure as it does to myself. I 
 wish to conquer the language to the extent it is 
 capable of being conquered by a foreigner. Nothing 
 short of this will satisfy me. 
 
 ' You may say this is ambition. Confessedly it is. 
 But is there anything sinful in such an ambition ? I 
 wish and long to be an efficient missionary of the Cross 
 in this land, and I am convinced that a thorough 
 knowledge of their literature is essential to this. There 
 are two classes of missionaries here, those who devote 
 themselves entirely to the spoken dialect of the place, 
 and think it not worth their while to pay any attention 
 to the literature of the people. The other class do, 
 and they are able to meet the Chinese on their own 
 grounds, confound them in their own territory. The 
 latter are respected and the former despised. Nothing 
 gives a missionary greater power over the Chinese than 
 a conviction on their part that he is well up in their 
 books, and knows their contents and meaning as well 
 as they themselves do.' 
 
 In October 1856, just twelve months after his 
 
First Tour Alone 53 
 
 arrival, he undertook an evangelistic tour into the 
 country entirely alone, and in telling Mr. Jacob of his 
 attempt he says : 
 
 'SUNG-KlONG, October^i, 1856. 
 
 * The first year should be given almost entirely to 
 the acquisition of the language ; the future progress of 
 a missionary depends very materially on the foundation 
 which he lays the first year. I acted on this convic- 
 tion, and therefore have had but little time to write 
 much. It is because of this determination that I am 
 now able to go into the country alone to distribute 
 books and preach the glorious Gospel of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. This is my first journey alone 
 into the country. On previous occasions I only 
 accompanied one or the other of my brethren in the 
 mission. I have now ventured for the first time to go 
 alone, with the intention of spending the chief part of 
 this winter in itinerating, in penetrating the country in 
 every direction from Shanghai, for the purpose of pro- 
 claiming the one true and living God and Jesus Christ 
 whom He sent. What a glorious work ! Can there 
 be anything more worthy of the powers which God has 
 bestowed upon us ? To a believing Christian no idea 
 can be more noble or ennobling than that he is a 
 co-worker with God in the salvation of the world. 
 
 ' I left Shanghai this morning for Sung-Kiong, a 
 large city about fifty miles distant. The annual ex- 
 amination is held here this week, hundreds of the first 
 scholars in the whole country around have met to be 
 examined. We have anchored within four miles of the 
 
54 Shanghai 
 
 place, it being too dark to proceed further this night. 
 To-morrow morning early I hope to appear in the 
 midst of those aspirants after worldly honours with the 
 everlasting Gospel in my hands. I have brought two 
 large bags full of Christian books with me, which I 
 hope to distribute among the students. 
 
 ' November I . This morning when I woke, I found 
 myself at the west gate of the city of Sung-Kiong. 
 After breakfast, Wong, the colporteur, and myself pro- 
 ceeded to the place where the examination was held. 
 We took along with us a good supply of books. We 
 had glorious opportunities of preaching, which we 
 availed ourselves of, and of satisfactorily distributing 
 our books. These were eagerly sought and gladly 
 received. Our preaching was listened to attentively 
 by some, by others in a very indifferent manner ; no 
 marks of displeasure or ill-will were manifested by any 
 party. 
 
 1 As we were going along in the afternoon dis- 
 tributing books, we met with a respectable -looking 
 man, to whom Wong offered a book. He took it, 
 looked at the title-page, and then tore it in pieces. 
 Wong was very much disconcerted, if not enraged, at 
 this, and began blaming the man in a very loud tone 
 for not returning the book if he did not like it. I 
 stood astonished, because I never saw such a thing 
 done before, and I have distributed thousands since my 
 arrival in China. When the people saw that we were 
 rather put about by this unprecedented insolence, they 
 bid us not be angry, because the man was a Roman 
 Catholic. 
 
No Sabbath in China 55 
 
 1 In the afternoon we enjoyed the same fine oppor- 
 tunities of preaching and distributing our books among 
 the graduates. After this we returned to our boat for 
 the night. 
 
 ' November 2. This is the Lord's Day. Alas! 
 there is no Sabbath in China. On this day, as on any 
 other, there is nothing but noise, tumult, confusion, 
 impiety. Though it is probable that their ancestors 
 in high antiquity worshipped the only true God, the 
 knowledge of Him is almost, if not entirely extinct, 
 among the present generation, and has been so for 
 many ages gone by. They know not the God that 
 made them, they see not the Divine Presence that fills 
 all in all, and what is worse, they care not for knowing, 
 they hate seeing. Wong and myself went out to-day 
 again to preach and distribute books ; got large congre- 
 gations to listen. This afternoon the graduates seemed 
 to pay more attention to what they heard than on 
 former occasions. We returned to the boat after our 
 day's labour was over, hoping and praying that the 
 spirit of the living God might go forth with those books 
 and prepare the heart for its reception, that our efforts 
 might not be in vain, but that the seed sown might 
 bring forth a goodly harvest. 
 
 ' November 3. Started this morning from Sung- 
 Kiong, and reached Shanghai at 8.30 P.M.' 
 
 During the first two years of his life in China, 
 Griffith John made Shanghai his home and the chief 
 scene of his labours, though he took many excursions 
 into the district around, either with his colleagues or 
 
5 6 Shanghai 
 
 alone. Throughout his whole career he has placed the 
 evangelistic side of the missionary's work in the fore- 
 most place. In later years his time has been largely 
 and growingly occupied with literary work ; but preach- 
 ing has been his chief joy, and, as will be seen from 
 his later letters, it is the agency upon which he has 
 always relied as the most effective means of spreading 
 the knowledge of the Gospel and bringing men to 
 Christ. This view of the missionary's calling was 
 natural to him, for he was a * born preacher.' It was 
 stimulated and made more definite by the experience 
 and enthusiasm of the men with whom he was in 
 closest fellowship, and by the circumstances of the 
 mission. His letters, however, show that while he 
 gave himself with his whole heart to this form of work, 
 and was eager and fervent as an evangelist, he was no 
 stranger to those experiences of depression and dis- 
 appointment which every enthusiastic worker must 
 experience. The cry ' Who hath believed our report, 
 and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? ' 
 is familiar as the voice of his own soul to every 
 missionary among the heathen. 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. John's corre- 
 spondence of this period tell of his movements, and 
 reproduce some of the lights and shadows of his 
 experience. 
 
 On June 29, 1856, he wrote : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, Jtme 29, 1856. 
 
 1 1 have now been nine months in China, and during 
 this period I have seen a good deal of both country 
 
A Great Achievement 57 
 
 and people. In company with one of my fellow- 
 missionaries, I have taken several trips into the interior, 
 the longest of which was three weeks, the furthest about 
 one hundred and fifty miles. Two or three years ago 
 such a thing was not heard of as a missionary proceed- 
 ing so far and remaining for so long a time without 
 fear of molestation. It could only be done clandes- 
 tinely and at extreme peril. However, at present, 
 taking Shanghai as the centre, we can sweep a circle 
 of a hundred and fifty miles radius. This is a great 
 achievement in China, as will be seen when the density 
 of the population and the exclusive policy of the 
 Chinese Government are considered/ 
 
 On the following day he wrote again : 
 * The willingness of the people to come and hear 
 the truth, together with the desire they manifest to 
 learn and read our books, is very encouraging. A 
 missionary need only enter a temple, one of the tea 
 gardens, or even stand at the corner of a street, and 
 any number of people will gather round him ; they will 
 stretch forth their hands with eagerness for the books 
 or tracts which he may have by him. 
 
 ' But, on the other hand, the Chinese seem to me to 
 be the most indifferent, cold, callous, irreligious people 
 that I have ever seen or read of. They are entirely 
 absorbed with the question, " What shall we eat, or What 
 shall we drink ? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? " 
 They listen to the truth, nod their heads, and say, 
 " Very good," but it ends there. It does not seem to 
 reach their hearts. All this, however, when received in 
 
5 8 Shanghai 
 
 the proper light tends to provoke to great activity and 
 more entire devotedness.' 
 
 Three months later he sent his friend and former 
 pastor a long and interesting account of his experiences 
 and encouragements : 
 
 ' October 5, 1856. 
 
 * During the last half-year, several incidents, illus- 
 trative of the nature of our work, and the peculiar 
 difficulties with which we have to contend as missionaries 
 in this place, have occurred. Whilst there are many 
 things which tend to depress the spirit and damp the 
 zeal of the sincere and devoted missionary, there is 
 also, as will appear from the following, abundant 
 reason to thank God and take courage. The work of 
 God is slowly yet surely progressing among us, and 
 from what we witness at present we may believingly 
 look forward to the promised period when the " little 
 one shall become a thousand, and the small one a 
 strong nation." 
 
 * Allusions have often been made to the feeble 
 influence of idolatry in the mind of the Chinese. During 
 the last half-year we have seen striking exemplifications 
 of this. For several months the surrounding country 
 suffered much from drought. At first both mandarins 
 and people were assiduous in praying to Heaven and 
 entreating their idols to send down the fertilising 
 showers ; but as these continued to be withheld, the 
 religious observances were also abandoned, and it was 
 a common expression that the idols were altogether 
 useless. The priests, after perambulating the streets 
 
The Grip of Confucianism 59 
 
 for successive days in vain, utterly lost caste, and were 
 spoken of with contempt by all. After this the people 
 seemed inclined to listen to our instructions, and to 
 appreciate our efforts in exhorting them to pray to 
 God, the only source of both temporal and eternal 
 blessing. However, when the rains began to fall, they 
 soon sank into their former indifference. 
 
 ' But though the influence of idolatry on the general 
 mind is superficial, that of Confucianism is far from 
 being so. On the contrary, it penetrates the very 
 depths of their soul, entwines itself around all their 
 thoughts and affections, and holds them with a tenacious 
 grasp. Some weeks ago a learned Chinese scholar 
 and a rigid disciple of Confucius called upon Mr. 
 Muirhead, and expressed himself as very displeased at 
 a comparison having been made between the person, 
 character, and work of Christ and those of his venerated 
 sage. " Such a thing," said he, " should not have been 
 done by any means. Christianity is a very small 
 affair, and the Cross, though in external form extending 
 in all directions, thus indicating that it is designed to 
 embrace the whole world, is absurd. As to the doctrine 
 connected with it, it can never endure the test of ages 
 as in the case of the Confucian." He was told that 
 Jesus was the Son of God, that He came down from 
 heaven for the highest, holiest, and most glorious of all 
 purposes, whilst Confucius was only a man and a sage, 
 like many of a similar character in all parts of the 
 world. At this saying he became violent in the 
 extreme, and replied, " If you say anything of Confucius, 
 I assure you I would rather go to hell with him than 
 
60 Shanghai 
 
 with Jesus to heaven." It was answered that nothing 
 bad had been said of Confucius, but that he himself 
 was bad enough to act and speak in such a way, when 
 he instantly rejoined, "In regard to myself, you may 
 speak of me as ill as you please, for in that you cannot 
 be far wrong." 
 
 * The custom of worshipping ancestors perpetually 
 comes before us as one of the chief obstacles to the 
 universal spread of Christianity in this land. A short 
 time ago one of our number was called upon by an 
 individual who had learned much of Christianity from 
 the missionaries at Ningpo, and was desirous of 
 professing it ; " but," said he, " I cannot do so, since in 
 that case I should have no face in the presence of my 
 friends ; if I were to cast aside the worship of ancestors, 
 I should thereby incur reproach and opposition from 
 all around me." Several passages of Scripture which 
 refer to the subject of an open and public confession 
 were alluded to, the force of which he readily admitted ; 
 he was then reminded of the saying of Confucius, " Not 
 to give unto others what he did not wish others to give 
 unto him." He was asked, " When you are dead, do 
 you wish your children to sacrifice to you?" he answered, 
 " No." Then he was asked again, how was it that he 
 sacrificed to the dead whilst at the same time he 
 acknowledged the custom to be vain and useless. To 
 this he was unable to reply, but asked for Christian 
 books and went his way. 
 
 ' The great and glorious doctrine of the Cross, that 
 which was a stumbling-block to the Jew and folly to 
 the Greek, is both to the Chinese. They see the out- 
 
'The Cross' a Stumbling-Block 61 
 
 ward transaction, but cannot penetrate into the depths 
 of its meaning. They behold its shame, but are blind 
 to its glory. A Chinese Mohammedan, after listening 
 to the exposition of the truth for a time, called upon 
 Mr. Muirhead and said, " Teacher, your doctrine is very 
 good, but I beg to advise you in regard to this point. 
 If you go about preaching that Jesus is the Son of 
 God, multitudes will believe you, but you must with- 
 hold all reference to Him having died on the Cross. 
 That, in the view of the Chinese, is ignominious, and 
 altogether an unworthy matter to be talked of." 
 
 * He was told that this was the cardinal truth we 
 have to preach, and that apart from it our doctrine had 
 no meaning ; * but/ said he, ' speak of His teaching and 
 miracles, and the people will be sufficiently interested.' 
 Then he was directed to read the first chapter of the first 
 Epistle to the Corinthians, and then he acknowledged 
 that the doctrine of the Cross was an inseparable and 
 main element of Christianity. 
 
 ' He brought several of his own persuasion with 
 him, and with them we had long discussions on the 
 doctrines of the Atonement. At first they were 
 disposed to deride, but afterwards became more serious, 
 and admitted that the arguments in its favour were 
 very cogent. They were familiar with the names of 
 some of the ancient patriarchs, having learnt them in 
 connection with their own creed. 
 
 ' There has been no abatement in the number of 
 our audiences as compared with former years, and the 
 attention of the people to the truth preached has been 
 undiminished. Some very hopeful characters have 
 
62 Shanghai 
 
 come before us. One is a young man respectably 
 connected. He resides at Kia Shen, about seventy 
 miles from this, a place which has been frequently 
 visited by missionaries, and where the Scriptures have 
 been largely circulated. Another is a countryman 
 from a place about thirteen miles from here. Though 
 unable to read, we were struck with his earnestness 
 and knowledge of Christian truths. After a continuous 
 attendance at the chapel, he told us that he had met 
 with considerable opposition from his neighbours, and 
 that the members of his own family regarded him as 
 insane because of his speaking so much to them of the 
 folly of idolatry. Gradually, however, their opposition 
 subsided, and they became more and more favourably 
 disposed towards him, as his real sentiments were 
 better understood. On Mr. Muirhead promising to 
 visit his place and establish a preaching-station there, 
 he seemed highly delighted. When the visit was 
 made, Mr. Muirhead was pleased to find that he had 
 gone around the immediate neighbourhood making 
 Jesus known to his fellow-countrymen as the only 
 Saviour of the world. 
 
 ' Not long since we met with a pleasing instance of 
 a young man on board of a Chinese junk from Amoy. 
 He heard the Gospel preached there, and had received 
 Christian books, which he had carefully read. By this 
 means he had carefully acquired a clear and accurate 
 knowledge of the way of salvation, and his heart was 
 full of zeal and joy with what he had found. He had 
 never conversed with any of the missionaries in that 
 quarter, and it was only on our sending a colporteur 
 
Depression and Disappointment 63 
 
 on board the junk that he was discovered. He had 
 endured much persecution from those around him, 
 because of his speaking to them about their souls, and 
 his expostulating with them on the habits of opium- 
 smoking and other depraved practices. However, he 
 was resolved to persevere in dependence on the grace 
 of God.' 
 
 The next two extracts indicate more clearly the 
 influence of that sense of depression and disappoint- 
 ment which is so well known as a second stage in the 
 thought and experience of the missionary. After the 
 glamour of his first inexperienced contact with the new 
 conditions has passed away, and his eye becomes 
 familiarised with the actual facts in all their naked 
 sadness, the earnest and eager worker experiences a 
 shock of disappointment which is often nigh unto 
 despair. Then comes the test of his faith in God's 
 saving purpose in Christ and in his own commission 
 to be a worker for God. In some natures the struggle 
 to get through deep waters to firm foothold again is 
 long-continued and severe, in others faith retains even 
 in the flood of great waters a firm and conscious hold 
 upon the great Leader's hand, and the sense of renewed 
 certainty and the inspiration of renewed assurance 
 come again speedily. 
 
 * I am happy to inform you, that upon the whole 
 we have had very good health since our arrival in this 
 place. We have no reason to complain, but many to 
 be thankful. 
 
 ' The difficulties that we have to contend with in 
 
64 Shanghai 
 
 China are not of a physical kind, but intellectual, 
 spiritual, and moral. The acquisition of this colossal 
 language requires great mental effort, nothing but 
 constant and severe application can overcome its 
 difficulties. The sweat of the brain is the chief 
 condition of success in this part of our work. Again, 
 here are people well versed in their own literature, 
 they have their holy men, their sages, their scholars. 
 They are proud of these men, their memories are 
 fondly cherished by them, they worship them as gods ; 
 they study their writings, they commit them to memory, 
 they treasure up their thoughts and look upon them 
 as far more precious than the most precious pearls. 
 A doctrine which pretends to speak of a person more 
 holy than their holy men is, in their estimation, false 
 and blasphemy, hence the difficulty to get them to 
 believe in the superiority of Jesus. They will allow 
 that He may have been a foreign sage, but far inferior 
 to Confucius and others. The doctrines of Christ they 
 allow are good, but not to be compared with the 
 doctrines of their own holy and wise men in point of 
 depth and sublimity. They are inflated with pride 
 and self-conceit, and they despise everything that is 
 not their own and treat it with supreme contempt. 
 
 * The Chinese are sunk also in gross materialism. 
 The world, the seen, is everything. It is with the 
 greatest difficulty they can be got to think for one 
 moment on the spiritual, the unseen, the eternal ; these 
 are substanceless inanities to them. Confucius, the 
 most holy of their holy men, says, " Respect the gods, 
 but keep them at a distance." From this you will see 
 
Chinese as Hard as Steel 65 
 
 how difficult it is to bring the truths of the Gospel to 
 bear upon the minds and conscience of this people.' 
 
 'SHANGHAI, September i, 1857. 
 
 ' The good work in China is moving, but very 
 slowly. The people are as hard as steel. They are 
 eaten up, both soul and body, by the world. They 
 don't seem to feel that there can be reality in anything 
 beyond sense. To them our doctrine is foolishness, our 
 preaching Contemptible, our talk jargon, our thoughts 
 insanity, and our hopes and fears mere brain phantoms. 
 We discuss with them, we best them in argument, we 
 reason them into silence and shame, but the whole 
 falls upon them like showers on the sandy desert. 
 Think of the conversion of four hundred millions of 
 the most proud, superstitious, and godless people of the 
 human race. Sometimes I am ready to give up in 
 despair and think that China is doomed to destruction, 
 that to raise it out of its state of moral and spiritual 
 degradation is a matter of impossibility. However, 
 the promises of the Bible soon dissipate the gloom. 
 We are told there that those "from the land of 
 Sinim " as well as those from afar are to come, and 
 this promise is yea and amen in Christ. 
 
 * You see, my brother, that I write now in a 
 different tone from what I did on my first arrival in 
 Shanghai. Then my ignorance of the language and 
 habits of this people prevented me forming to myself 
 a just and righteous judgment. I saw, but did not 
 perceive. For some time, however, I have been able 
 to take somewhat deeper than a mere surface view of 
 
 F 
 
66 Shanghai 
 
 things, to break the shell and discern the real state of 
 the kernel, to go behind the scene and catch a glimpse 
 of matters within. Don't imagine that I am faltering 
 in my work ; I trust that these difficulties in their 
 influence upon my mind are impulsive rather than 
 dejective. " What is impossible with man is possible 
 with God." This is my stay.' 
 
 A strange feature in Chinese life and character 
 which has been frequently noticed is referred to in the 
 following letter : 
 
 October 6, 1857. 
 
 ' We are plunged again over head and ears into 
 another war. Affairs in India assume a very serious 
 aspect. There can be but little doubt as to the 
 ultimate issue, but it is sad to contemplate the 
 slaughtering which has already prevailed. 
 
 ' Lord Elgin has just returned to Hong- Kong. He 
 is expected daily at Shanghai. His future proceedings 
 are altogether unknown to any here. Some suppose 
 that hostile proceedings will commence at Canton 
 immediately. Others think that he will go to Peking 
 at once. I am happy to inform you that we are quite 
 comfortable here ; we have no wars nor rumours of wars 
 in this part. The people of Shanghai take no more 
 interest in the Canton war than they do in the Indian. 
 I have just returned from a tour in the interior ; 
 never was asked once about Canton ; came in contact 
 with thousands, spoke to thousands, but none seemed 
 to know that anything has occurred between us and 
 the Cantonese, The people here are as well disposed 
 
Visit to Su-Cheu 67 
 
 as ever. You in England and Wales may think this 
 strange, but such is the fact.' 
 
 As the end of the second year drew near, the 
 country work increasingly claimed his attention and 
 occupied his energies. On October 6, 1 8 5 7, he wrote : 
 
 ' At the end of my second year in China I feel 
 disposed to write you a brief account of the kind of 
 work I have been pursuing during the last twelve 
 months. Of course, a large portion of my time has 
 been devoted to the study of the Chinese language and 
 books. In addition to the Shanghai dialect, in which I 
 have felt pretty well at home for some time, I have 
 paid considerable attention to the Mandarin dialect. A 
 thorough knowledge of the books I deem indispensable 
 to an efficient missionary. This will not only enable 
 him to meet the Chinese on their own ground, but will 
 infallibly give him a position and command a hearing. 
 
 'During the last twelve months I have made 
 repeated journeys into the interior, one of the most 
 interesting of which was to Su-Cheu in company with 
 Mr. Edkins. Su-Cheu is regarded by the Chinese as 
 one of their most beautiful and richest cities. They 
 say " that to be happy on earth, one must be born in 
 Su-Cheu, live in Canton, and die in Tien-Cheu ; for 
 in the first are the handsomest people, in the second 
 the richest luxuries, and in the third the best coffins." 
 The walls of the city are twelve miles in circumference, 
 and the whole population about one million and a half. 
 It lies north-west of Shanghai, the way lying through 
 a succession of villages and cities. No foreigner had 
 
68 Shanghai 
 
 visited this city undisguised. We were anxious to 
 make the attempt. No sooner, however, had we got 
 within the gates than we were met by an official, who 
 very politely entreated us to walk into his house and 
 be seated. In about two minutes another official, of a 
 higher rank, came in to visit us. We were asked, 
 Whence we came ? whither we were going ? what 
 might be our object ? etc. etc. Having replied, he 
 informed us that he could not permit us to proceed 
 into the city, and that it was contrary to treaty, 
 contrary to custom, and contrary to everything for 
 foreigners to come so far from Shanghai. After we 
 had remonstrated with him, he said, " Well, you cannot 
 go in through this gate, you better try another." 
 
 * Seeing it was useless to persist, we returned to our 
 boat. Then we resolved to try and enter by a water 
 gate. We ordered our boatmen to that effect, and 
 fortunately got in safely, though I must confess 
 clandestinely. We left the boat, walked about in 
 every direction, visited some of the chief places of 
 attraction, preached to a large number of people, and 
 then returned to our boat well pleased with our success. 
 Our presence, as might be expected, excited much 
 curiosity, but I am happy to say that we were not in 
 the least molested, nor, so far as I remember, even 
 insulted. 
 
 'On the following day, being emboldened by our 
 former day's success, we determined to enter the very 
 heart of the city with books ; we got in and distributed 
 several hundred copies of the New Testament. 
 
 ' I look back on these two days with much pleasure 
 
House-to-House Visitation 69 
 
 and satisfaction. In this attempt something has been 
 done towards the breaking down of that barrier 
 between the Chinese and foreigners, and the opening 
 up of the country for the free and general distribution 
 of the Word of God and the proclamation of the 
 Gospel of Peace. 
 
 * When at home I have been going daily to either 
 of the two chapels to preach. My audiences vary 
 very much both in number and character. Generally 
 I have had to speak on without interruption ; occasion- 
 ally, however, I have had fiery discussions. I often 
 invite discussion, for the obvious reason that it is an 
 excellent way of explaining, adapting, and enforcing 
 the truths that we have to teach. Our theses are 
 generally such as the following the existence of God ; 
 the origin of things; God's moral government; salvation 
 in Christ ; the superiority of Christianity ; the future 
 state ; the origin, nature, and destiny of man. Every 
 inch of ground is stoutly contested, sometimes with 
 considerable point and force by our opponent. 
 
 ' I have only just returned from a missionary tour, 
 which I took in company with Mr. Muirhead. Our 
 method of operation was somewhat different to that 
 which is generally adopted. We spent the greater part 
 of our time in going from house to house and speaking 
 to each face to face of the way of salvation. We were 
 received very kindly by all. I don't remember being 
 repulsed by more than one, who told me that he was 
 a Confucian and did not want to hear what we had to 
 say. I intend giving myself up to this work during 
 the whole of the ensuing winter.' 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 IN JOURNEYINGS OFT 
 
 IT is not surprising that missionaries are often a 
 great perplexity and puzzle to the official mind, 
 especially to the unsympathetic official who knows 
 nothing of the mystery of that Divine passion for the 
 souls of men which possesses and directs those whose 
 hearts the Lord has touched. 
 
 By the Treaty of Nanking the right was given to 
 foreigners to reside in five ports and to carry on their 
 various callings in them ; but they were not allowed 
 to reside anywhere else in the country, and their 
 excursions beyond the bounds of the five cities were 
 limited to a single day. The missionaries very early 
 began to go beyond the prescribed limits in their 
 work of itineration ; and though at first they excited a 
 good deal of hostile curiosity, which expressed itself in 
 stone-throwing and other acts of violence, they found 
 that, as the people got to know them better, they were, 
 as a rule, friendly and interested, and that they placed 
 no obstacles in the way of missionaries settling amongst 
 them. The result was that out-stations began to be 
 established, the missionary journeys went farther and 
 grew more adventurous, whilst more than one missionary 
 
 70 
 
Tours into the Interior 71 
 
 settled for longer or shorter periods in inland cities 
 before the right to do so was conceded. 
 
 Griffith John has throughout his missionary career 
 shown an eager willingness to press on to new enter- 
 prises. This he has done, not in the restlessness of a 
 shallow nature which soon tires of steady work and 
 wants some fresh excitement, but because he has 
 always been filled with an intense longing to carry the 
 light and healing of the Gospel to the myriads still in 
 the darkness and sorrow of heathenism. From 1858 
 to 1 86 1 his time was very largely spent outside of 
 Shanghai. He stayed for several months at Ping-hu 
 (now known in missionary reports as Bing-oo), a city 
 about seventy miles from Shanghai. He had visions 
 of settlement at Hang-chow, and he made several long 
 and remarkable journeys in company with one or other 
 of his colleagues. Amongst these journeys were two of 
 a very exceptional character, in which he visited the 
 headquarters of the T'ai-p'ing rebels at Nanking. 
 His letters to his friend Mr. Jacob and to the Mission 
 House were full of references to his burning desire not 
 to build on other men's foundations, but to be per- 
 mitted and used of God to carry the Gospel to those 
 who had not heard it. The work of this period has 
 been summed up by him as follows : 
 
 ' I made many tours into the interior for missionary 
 purposes. There are not many places in all the regions 
 round about Shanghai which I did not visit again and 
 again, and in whose streets I did not preach. I did 
 much work also in Che-kiang, as well as in Kiang-su, 
 and such cities as Su-Chow, Sung-kiong, Ping-hu, 
 
 \ 
 
7 2 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 Hu-Chow, Kia-ting, and Hang-Chow were as familiar 
 to me as Shanghai itself. 
 
 4 In 1858 I made a missionary tour, accompanied 
 by Mr. Muirhead, in the direction of the Yellow River. 
 This was looked upon at that time as a very remark- 
 able journey for its length and daring. I lived for 
 some time with my family at Ping-hu, a city distant 
 from Shanghai about seventy miles. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Williamson took up their abode at Sung-kiong, a city 
 thirty miles distant from Shanghai, about the same time. 
 These, I believe, were the first two cities taken possession 
 of by missionaries and their families in the interior, and 
 had Mr. Williamson and myself felt inclined to set up for 
 ourselves, we might have called our Mission The China 
 Inland Mission^ thus anticipating by some years the 
 magnificent Mission which now goes by that name ! 
 I planted several out-stations in the cities and towns 
 around Shanghai, and opened the first preaching hall 
 ever opened in Su-Chow, one of the largest and 
 wealthiest cities in the Empire. All these stations, 
 however, were broken up in connection with the 
 subsequent movements of the T'ai-p'ing rebels. To me 
 this was a source of great grief; for I bestowed much 
 labour upon them, and felt a deep interest in many 
 of the converts connected with them. But this first 
 period of my missionary life was about to close.' 
 
 In a letter written on March 1 1, 1858, Griffith John 
 gives expression to his ideas about missionary work, 
 and the hopes and desires he cherished, as follows : 
 
 4 1 intend, as soon as possible, to proceed to Hang- 
 Chow, the Athens of China, which is only 150 miles 
 
Mode of Conveyance by Water 73 
 
 from Shanghai. . . . There, if seconded by subscriptions 
 from home, I will establish an institution for the teach- 
 ing of native ministers. The longer I stay in China 
 the more I am convinced that her people are to be con- 
 verted, if ever, by the means of native teachers. What 
 I should like to have is an institution for the education 
 of Christian men who have given some proof of piety 
 and zeal, and to have them under my influence for one or 
 two years, during which period they should go through a 
 course of education similar in character to that of our 
 colleges at home, minus classics. Being prepared for the 
 work, I would fix them down here and there through the 
 country and exercise a kind of general superintendence 
 over them. I should like to work for China, and not 
 to confine my labours to some one particular district, 
 and I don't know of a better way than the above.' 
 
 A fortnight later he started for Ping-hu, taking with 
 him Mrs. John and their little boy. An account written 
 some time afterwards of a later visit to the same place 
 gives a graphic picture of the means of transport : 
 
 ' The mode of conveyance into the interior of China 
 depends very much on the region through which one 
 may have to go. By far the most convenient is that 
 of water. All the principal rivers and lakes are con- 
 nected by means of artificial canals which have been 
 dug by the Chinese in every direction and which run 
 like veins and arteries through almost every part of the 
 Empire. Nearly every city, town, and village is 
 accessible to a boat. The canals at intervals of various 
 lengths are spanned by bridges of one or more arches ; 
 the bridges vary in height from ten to twenty feet. A 
 
74 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 boat must have its mast hauled down to pass under. 
 On April 28 we started in our boat. Our boat was 
 about twenty-five feet long by six broad, the whole of 
 which space (with the exception of four or five feet 
 forward and six or eight astern, left open for the 
 purpose of enabling people to work) was closed and 
 partitioned off in the following manner : 
 
 ' First comes the outer cabin, which opens in front 
 and has a door behind leading into the central com- 
 partment ; that is furnished with windows on each 
 side for the admission of light and air, and seats on 
 which one may comfortably rest or sit ; it forms a neat 
 vestibule for the reception of visitors. The central 
 cabin is higher, broader, longer, and in every way more 
 comfortable than the former ; it is furnished with two 
 windows on each side, sometimes made of glass, some- 
 times of thin oyster-shell. It has a bed-place at the 
 farther end, seats all round, and a table in the midst ; 
 here the passenger may sleep, work, eat, whilst the 
 boat is under weigh. Astern of the central cabin is a 
 small berth a few feet wide, where your servant may 
 sleep in the night and cook in the day. 
 
 ' Abaft there is an open space covered in by a mat, 
 where the men stand to scull the boat. The sculls are 
 very powerful instruments worked on a pivot fixed into 
 the stern of the boat, which being slightly bent, the 
 boatmen are enabled to give the scull a spiral curved 
 motion in the water by means of which the boat is 
 propelled. A rope is fastened from the end of the 
 scull to the deck, by working which the scull is turned 
 half round, while one or two other men, grasping the 
 
Journey to Ping-hu 75 
 
 scull in the hand, move it backwards and forwards. 
 The boats are furnished with a curiously shaped mast, 
 fitted on a cross piece of timber, passing over the top 
 of the central cabin by means of two hinges, which 
 admit of the mast being easily lowered abaft whenever 
 the boat has to pass under bridges. The mast itself 
 is double, rising up from either end of the cross-beam 
 just alluded to, and meeting in a point at the top. By 
 means of a rope it is easily lowered and raised. A 
 second and smaller one works in the larger one, and 
 is raised occasionally for the purpose of towing the 
 boat. Such then was our boat. We started about one 
 o'clock, but on account of a strong headwind got only 
 36 li or about 12 miles from Shanghai that day. 
 We anchored at a place called Tsen-pu-dong, a very 
 noisy and uncomfortable port. 
 
 * Early the next morning we were off again, passed 
 a town called Ming-say, 76 li from Shanghai, before 
 I had got up. About eight o'clock we found ourselves 
 opposite the departmental city of Sung-kiong. By 
 and by we came to the neighbourhood of the silk 
 country. Each side of the river was lined with the 
 mulberry tree, whose fine broad green leaf was ex- 
 ceedingly pleasant to the eye. In the evening, about 
 eight o'clock, we arrived at Ping-hu. When we got 
 alongside some of the boats at anchor, a man stepped 
 out of one and asked our boatmen if we were peace- 
 fully disposed. On being assured that all was right, 
 he returned, wishing us good-night.' 
 
 The next two letters were dated from this place. 
 Under date of April 13, 1858, Griffith John wrote : 
 
76 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 ' 1 don't write from Shanghai, as on former occasions, 
 but from Ping-hu, which is upwards of seventy miles 
 from Shanghai. Mrs. John, the boy, and myself left 
 Shanghai on March 29, and arrived here on the 3ist. 
 We have rented a house outside the city, and intend 
 staying here for some months, unless sent away by 
 the Mandarin, or compelled to leave on account of 
 some other unforeseen circumstance. We have been 
 here nearly two weeks, and they have been my 
 happiest in China. I am now in my element, and 
 do my work from the early morning till the late 
 evening with a cheerful spirit and a buoyant heart. 
 The morning I spend in studying with my teacher, 
 and the whole afternoon in preaching in a large hall 
 downstairs. My native assistant and self keep on 
 preaching every other day from about two o'clock 
 till about five. We get excellent congregations, and 
 generally very attentive ones. In the evening I hold 
 family worship with a goodly number of Chinese, 
 about fifteen altogether. 
 
 'God has been pleased to smile already on our 
 efforts. We have six catechumens who profess a 
 decided belief of the truth, and are now under a course 
 of instruction preparatory to their admission into the 
 Church. May God grant them grace to persevere 
 unto the end ! There are others who seem to be 
 touched by the truth. Give me success, and my cup 
 of joy will be full. Pray for us. 
 
 ' Lord Elgin, and the French, Russian, and American 
 Ambassadors had arrived at Shanghai when I left. 
 Lord Elgin intended to leave for Peking on Saturday 
 
Baptisms at Ping-hu 77 
 
 last. I daresay he is gone ere this. It is very 
 questionable whether the Emperor will give them 
 interviews. Lord Elgin, however, is determined to 
 enforce his demands, cost what it may. I hope we 
 are not going to have more fighting, and that the 
 Emperor will wisely yield to their request to visit the 
 capital. The Chinese have nothing like an adequate 
 conception of our power and their own inferiority, and 
 hence it is possible they may rush blindly into a 
 deadly war with the Western Powers. Poor China, 
 torn by intestine strife, and invaded by a terribly potent 
 enemy from without, is in a very pitiable condition.' 
 A month later, on May 21, he wrote again : 
 ' Our residence in the country we enjoy most 
 thoroughly. The people seem quite pleased with our 
 presence, and kind in their way. We have not been 
 left without some indication of God's approbation. I 
 think our coming to Ping-hu is of the Lord. We 
 have excellent congregations daily in the afternoon. 
 I open the doors at 2 P.M., and continue to preach to 
 large and attentive audiences alternately with my 
 native assistant till between 5 and 6. I have baptized 
 six, and have several more in my catechumen class as 
 candidates for baptism. I should like to establish a 
 dozen or more stations in as many towns and cities 
 over which I might exercise a kind of general super- 
 intendence. I think that staying at a place for some 
 time until a nucleus of a church be formed is better 
 and more satisfactory than paying flying visits to a 
 large number of towns and cities. I don't intend 
 making Ping-hu my resting-place. I hope to be able 
 
78 In Journcyings Oft 
 
 to get to Hang-Chow as soon as possible, and I should 
 like to make that city the centre of my operations. 
 Hang-Chow is the Athens of China, and in every 
 respect such a place as a Welshman would delight to 
 live at.' 
 
 While Griffith John and other missionaries were 
 thus quietly pushing their way into the country, 
 scattering broadcast Christian literature, preaching 
 incessantly, disarming prejudice, and gathering in not 
 a few converts, events were transpiring which were 
 destined to make a very material and permanent 
 change in the position of all foreigners in China. 
 
 The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 was a very 
 remarkable concession to have obtained from China, 
 and was, though she did not know it at the time, the 
 beginning of a revolution in her relations with the 
 world, the full fruit of which she has not yet reaped. 
 The Treaty was, however, seriously defective in at 
 least two very important respects ; and it had no 
 sooner been ratified than further friction arose. This 
 resulted, in 1856, in a second war between Great 
 Britain and China, of which it has been truly said 
 that the lorcha ' Arrow ' was only the occasion and 
 not the cause. The Treaty of Tientsin was signed 
 on July 26, 1858, and ratified by the signature of 
 the Emperor at once. But the carrying out of its 
 provisions, especially that relating to the rights of 
 foreign Powers to have immediate access to the Court 
 and the Emperor by the appointment of Ambassadors 
 to reside in Peking, was not accomplished until 1860, 
 and then only after an act of outrageous treachery by 
 
Interior Open to Foreigners 79 
 
 the Chinese at the mouth of the Pei-ho river had 
 resulted in the capture of the Taku forts by the Allies, 
 and further severe righting which ended in the capture 
 of Peking itself. 
 
 This Treaty not only provided for the opening of 
 nine additional ports as places of residence and trade ; 
 it also gave foreigners the right to travel and trade in 
 any part of the Empire. Christianity, whether Roman 
 Catholic or Protestant, was to have toleration, and its 
 professors were to be protected throughout China. The 
 additional right of residence in other parts of China than 
 the treaty ports was ultimately gained by Protestant 
 missionaries, in consequence of the insertion of a 
 clause in the Chinese copy of the Treaty with France 
 by which ' it is, in addition, permitted to French 
 missionaries to rent and purchase land in all the 
 provinces, and to erect buildings thereon at pleasure.' 
 
 Griffith John at once saw the far-reaching possibilities 
 involved in this Treaty, and the great charge it laid 
 upon the Church of Christ in the opening for the 
 evangelisation of China. On July 30, 1858, he wrote 
 to Dr. Tidman : 
 
 ' The news which will reach you by this mail cannot 
 but deeply interest all the friends of missions through- 
 out the whole of Christendom. This vast and hoary 
 Empire, in spite of her exclusive policy, inflated pride, 
 and supreme contempt for all that is foreign, has been 
 compelled, for the first time, to open up her hitherto 
 impenetrable territory for amicable intercourse and 
 honourable trade. The force of European power and 
 character has been wholesomely felt, and the superior 
 
8o In Journeyings Oft 
 
 science of the heretofore despised barbarian is beginning 
 to be acknowledged in many quarters. China no 
 longer, even in her own eyes, occupies her assumed 
 unapproachable pre-eminence among the nations of the 
 earth. No longer can she look down from her lofty 
 aerial throne with disdain and commiseration upon 
 those insects of mankind who have unfortunately been 
 born beyond the boundaries of the Flowery Land. The 
 sphere is broken, her pride is considerably humbled, 
 her high and haughty looks are being pulled down, 
 and her true character and condition are beginning to 
 be revealed to her hitherto slumbering consciousness. 
 By the Nanking Treaty the five ports were thrown 
 open to British trade and residence. This was thought 
 then to be an important step in advance, and of 
 incalculable benefit in a commercial and religious point 
 of view. The interior of the country, however, was 
 still sealed to the personal presence of the foreigner, 
 and her magnificent rivers barred up against his 
 approach. He was still deemed too defiled to tread 
 on the sacred soil of the Middle Kingdom, and too 
 degraded to mingle with her heaven-born sons. 
 
 ' Since 1842 there has been going on in the Chinese 
 mind a gradual and important change ; and this change 
 has been brought about principally by the devoted 
 missionary under the blessing of God. That class of 
 men, whose very existence our plenipotentiary in 1842 
 ignored, have been the chief means in removing 
 Chinese prejudice to the extent it has been removed, 
 and in creating confidence and esteem in the Chinese 
 mind. By their books, their preaching, their deeds of 
 
Goodwill towards Missionaries 81 
 
 benevolence and consistent Christian deportment, they 
 have done much towards placing their respective 
 nations in a proper and favourable light. At some of 
 the ports they have penetrated the forbidden land in 
 every direction, dwelt for months among the people, 
 and have visited several of the most populous and 
 celebrated cities, denouncing their superstitions and 
 idolatry, and calling upon their self-righteous inhabitants 
 to repent and believe. It is true that in their first 
 attempts they had to encounter the frowns of many, 
 and were in one or two cases maltreated ; but further 
 acquaintance removed all opposition, and now they meet 
 nothing but smiles and goodwill. 
 
 ' I will mention a fact which will illustrate what I 
 have stated. I have been residing for about four 
 months at the city of Ping-hu, which is about 200 
 li from Shanghai. My teacher went to a person who 
 had been in the habit of attending my preaching, to 
 borrow money. " No," said the man in reply, " I will 
 not lend you ; but if the foreign teacher wants any I will 
 gladly lend him, because I know he is an honest man." 
 When, a short time after this, circumstances compelled 
 me to test his sincerity, he advanced all that was asked, 
 and said he would lend more most willingly if needed. 
 
 * But the country around Shanghai and Ningpo has 
 been gradually yet steadily opening up to missionary 
 operations through the persevering efforts of mission- 
 aries. Yet we thank God, who has been pleased in 
 His inscrutable providence to bring about in a day 
 what we thought tens of years, if not centuries, would 
 be required to accomplish. 
 
 G 
 
82 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 * Thus China has been opened almost unexpectedly 
 to the missionary, the merchant, and the man of 
 science. The country is virtually in our hands, and it 
 will be the fault of the missionaries who are already on 
 the field, and the churches at home, if they don't take 
 possession of the land, and gain a permanent footing 
 in the very heart of each of the eighteen provinces. 
 There are many obstacles in the way and many 
 difficulties to be encountered. It is one thing to have 
 a good treaty, and another thing to carry its provisions 
 into effect. But that patience that refuses to be con- 
 quered, that diligence that never tires, that caution that 
 always trembles, which were some of the finest traits in 
 the character of the first Protestant apostle to the 
 Chinese, joined with the indomitable courage and 
 gigantic energy of a Medhurst, will, under the blessing 
 of God, bid all hostile circumstances cease their opposi- 
 tion and surrender. 
 
 ' To carry on our work efficiently in China we need 
 two things. We need a good staff of native agents 
 and a large reinforcement from home. It is a growing 
 conviction among the missionaries here, that if China is 
 to be evangelised and converted, it must be through 
 the instrumentality of native evangelists. It will be 
 impossible for the various missionary societies of 
 Europe and America to send out men in sufficient 
 numbers to supply the wants of the millions of China. 
 But native assistants should be well instructed, so as 
 to be able to teach and defend the truth ; they should 
 have a thorough head and heart training ere they are 
 sent forth among their countrymen. The Roman 
 
Appeal for Reinforcements 83 
 
 Catholics have an institution in China for this very 
 purpose, and, through the native assistants who are 
 taught in it, they are able to exercise a powerful 
 influence on the whole of the country. It is very 
 important that we should have a similar institution. 
 I trust the Directors will give to this subject due 
 consideration. 
 
 * Native agents, however, will not do alone. Let 
 them be ever so pious, devoted, and active, they almost 
 invariably lack prudence and method. A foreign 
 teacher is essential to lead and superintend. For 
 aught we see at present, China for ages yet to come 
 will not be able to dispense with the guiding hand of 
 the foreign missionary. 
 
 ' I rejoice to learn that the Directors are prepared 
 to adopt measures for the purpose of increasing the 
 number of their Chinese missionaries. May God raise 
 up men of burning zeal, deep piety, and ardent love ! 
 The teas, the silks, and the cotton of China will doubt- 
 less wean many a merchant from the joys of home 
 and the charms of his native land. Her towering 
 mountains, wide spread plains, placid lakes, magnificent 
 rivers and lovely landscapes, will attract and allure the 
 lover of science and nature. But, oh, will not her four 
 hundred millions of immortal souls, who perish for the 
 lack of that knowledge which every student in our 
 colleges possesses, for that bread of life which they 
 have so freely partaken of, induce many a God-fearing 
 and a God-loving young man to say, " Here am I, 
 send me " ? ' 
 
 In a letter written to Mr. Jacob a fortnight later, 
 
84 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 after describing the change which had already taken 
 place in the attitude of the officials, Griffith John says : 
 
 ' The country is in our hands, and it will be our 
 fault if we s don't gain a permanent footing in the very 
 heart of each province. The seals have been broken, 
 and a wide door has been flung open to the Christian 
 Church. May God be pleased to raise up men of 
 burning zeal, intense devotion, and deep piety for this 
 land! 
 
 ' I am anxious to get far into the interior as soon 
 as possible. Where Providence may lead me, I don't 
 know.' 
 
 It was not very long before he gave practical effect 
 to this resolve to get away into the interior. In the 
 beginning of October we find him starting from 
 Shanghai on a long and adventurous trip along the 
 Grand Canal. He sent a very interesting account of 
 this trip to the London Missionary Society on his 
 return. In it he said : 
 
 * In company with my friend Mr. Lea, from Amoy, 
 and two other missionaries, I left Shanghai on October 
 5, 1858, with the view of visiting all the cities and towns 
 along the banks of the Grand Canal as far as the 
 Yellow River. Most of these towns had never been 
 visited by a Protestant missionary. On account of the 
 exclusive policy of the Government, no foreigners had 
 been able openly to journey on this route far beyond 
 Su-Chow. In subordination to our primary object, 
 viz. that of preaching and distributing books, we were 
 anxious to ascertain what changes had been wrought 
 by the important event which had just transpired, and 
 
Unique Journey on the Grand Canal 85 
 
 how far the country in this direction was open to 
 missionary operations. 
 
 ' We found ourselves the next morning sailing 
 along the Grand Canal. This canal is 650 miles 
 in length, and is divided into three parts, which were 
 constructed by three different dynasties. By means 
 of it, and the rivers which flow into it, an almost 
 entire water communication is completed across the 
 country from Peking to Canton. Between the Yellow 
 River and the Yang-tse, it is carried over an artificial 
 mound of earth kept together by walls of stone, upon 
 the stability of which the safety of several towns and 
 cities depends. Though not to be compared as a 
 work of art with canals existing in the West, yet, 
 even to this day, there is no work in Asia which can 
 compare with it, and when first completed there was 
 none equal to it in the world. 
 
 ' On the canal there are dozens of custom-houses, 
 whose principal object seems to be to spy out and 
 apprehend suspicious characters. The most formidable 
 of these is Hiitz-Gwan, about ten miles beyond 
 Su-Chow. Travellers have been in the habit of 
 avoiding it by taking a circuitous route, and the few 
 who have had the audacity to attempt it have been 
 summarily turned back. On this occasion, however, 
 no sooner was the presence of our Western barbarians 
 made known than the boat which lies across the river 
 was swung round and a highway opened before us. 
 Immediately after passing another custom-house at 
 the other end of the town, one of the officials stepped 
 out, crying at the very pitch of his voice, " Stop ! 
 
86 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 what boat is that ? Who have you inside ? " He 
 was told that they were foreigners from Shanghai. 
 " Are they merchants ? Have they any merchandise ? " 
 " No," said I, " we are preachers ; our only object is to 
 preach and distribute books." The hearing his own 
 language spoken seemed to conciliate and excite 
 confidence. Having written our names and given 
 away a few books, we were allowed to proceed in 
 peace. Thus, what would have been impossible two 
 years ago, was accomplished with the most perfect 
 ease at this time. 
 
 4 We next came to Chang- chow -fu, the present 
 residence of the Governor-General. This is a large and 
 populous city. Marco Polo mentions it as one of those 
 he called at on his way from Kam-balu, or Peking, and 
 speaks of it as being then " a great and noble city." 
 Rice is grown here in abundance, and the celebrated 
 green dye tree seems to be largely cultivated. Here 
 again we found our course interrupted by a strong 
 chain drawn across the canal. The custom-house 
 people were thrown into a state of utter consternation 
 by our sudden appearance, and hardly knew what to 
 do or say when they learnt that it was our intention 
 to cross the Yang-tse. After much questioning and 
 talking we were distinctly told that we must not 
 proceed further that night. Evidently they wished to 
 learn the mind of their superiors in the city before 
 acting either in the one way or the other. 
 
 ' Early on the following morning the chain was 
 removed and our boats permitted to pass on. The 
 chief man would have us believe that he was deeply 
 
English Open-air Service 87 
 
 concerned for our safety; that in these troublesome 
 times it would be dangerous to travel by night ; and 
 hence the reason why we were detained till the morning. 
 No sooner did we arrive at the next city, Tan- Yang, 
 than two military Mandarins came on board our boat 
 to inquire into our character and object. They 
 examined our books very minutely and said, " We 
 perceive your object is to exhort the people to turn 
 from the bad and follow the good." Then we had a 
 long conversation on the state of the country in general 
 and the doings of the rebels in particular. We were 
 told that the whole country beyond the river was in 
 commotion, and that large and important cities were 
 in hourly danger of falling into the hands of the 
 Nichfei or Filchers. In vain did they bring to bear 
 upon us all the force of Chinese logic and eloquence 
 for the purpose of inducing us to return. They were 
 distinctly told that we were determined to proceed on 
 our journey until we found further progress impossible. 
 * On the morning of the following day, which was 
 the Sabbath, the literary Mandarin came in full state, 
 attended by a large retinue, to pay his compliments. 
 He was very affable and communicative. He told us 
 that we might proceed on the following morning, and 
 that he would send a boat along with us to the next 
 station, both to accompany and protect us. After he 
 had left we had an English service in the open air. 
 Probably this was the first time that prayer had been 
 offered up to the true God from this spot and His 
 praises sung. The soil seemed more sacred and the 
 heavens more divine, the former having been hallowed 
 
88 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 by the special presence of the Almighty, and the latter 
 by the heartfelt sigh of His humble servants on behalf 
 of the perishing millions of China. The expansive 
 heavens above, the rich soil spread out before us, the 
 lofty hills towering in the distance, together with the 
 profound stillness of nature, all conspired to impress 
 us solemnly with the majesty and loveliness of the 
 Deity whom we were adoring an hour, this, never to 
 be forgotten. In the morning and afternoon my native 
 assistant and myself preached to large congregations. 
 The people were remarkably quiet and docile. 
 
 * Late in the afternoon our Mandarin friend sent us 
 a large present of cakes and dishes prepared in the 
 highest style of the Chinese culinary art. Next 
 morning we sent him our cards, with a present of 
 books and some foreign articles that we had brought 
 with us. Dr. Hobson's medical and scientific works 
 took his fancy mightily, as well as that of others, to 
 whom copies were presented. After this he sent us 
 another present of tea, dates, and cakes. Thus we 
 were treated by these officials very cordially and on 
 terms of perfect equality. 
 
 ' At Tan-du we had an opportunity of preaching 
 and distributing a goodly number of books. The 
 people here are very quiet and inoffensive. Of course, 
 they called us devils, white devils, and foreign devils, 
 but it means nothing on the lips of the common people 
 in this part of the country ; they don't seem to know 
 what else to call us. As I was passing along, giving 
 away books at this place, I heard one woman saying 
 to her companion who was standing by, " Behold ! 
 
Other Special Trips 89 
 
 there is a little devil." " Yes," said the other, " he is a 
 real devil " ; that is, he is a devil or a foreigner, and 
 not a long-haired rebel. The military Mandarin of 
 Tan-du, as well as Tan-Yang, came to visit us, and 
 treated us very kindly. 
 
 ' In returning, we took a south-westerly course, and 
 preached in several cities which had never been visited 
 before. On our way home we called at the populous 
 city of Su-Chow. It is interesting to witness the great 
 change which has been going on here since Mr. 
 Edkins and myself visited the place, about a year and 
 a half ago. Then we could not enter the city but 
 clandestinely, and were turned back when we attempted 
 it openly. At present Su-Chow, with its nearly two 
 millions of human beings, is just as open as any of the 
 cities in the immediate neighbourhood of Shanghai. 
 
 ' At the beautiful city of Hang-Chow, The Earthly 
 Paradise, according to the Chinese saying, Mr. Lea 
 and myself spent four days. We entered the city 
 openly, preached daily, and distributed books freely, 
 without hindrance. Not long since, a missionary, who 
 ventured to defile this sacred soil with his polluted 
 feet, was summoned before the Mandarin, and sent 
 back to Shanghai under an escort. On this occasion 
 no one in authority asked us whence we were, whither 
 we were going, or what was our object.' 
 
 Two brief trips of a special character were under- 
 taken early in 1859, tne report of which is made 
 extremely interesting by descriptions of what the 
 traveller saw : 
 
 ' On the 2 ist March I left Shanghai for Kwun- 
 
9 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 Shan and Su-Chow. As the departmental examination 
 was being held at Kwun-Shan at the time, I took with 
 me 2500 copies of the New Testament, 500 copies 
 of the complete Bible, and a large number of tracts. 
 From the beginning to the end of the examination 
 there were no less than 10,000 students. Among 
 them were two of the members of our Church, both of 
 whose names stood high on the list. Mr. River, who 
 is our most efficient native agent, and withal a very 
 humble-minded Christian, came off with flying colours. 
 It was pleasing to observe on his return to Shanghai 
 how little he was elated with his late success. He 
 seemed to feel more than ever the hollowness of those 
 honours which flow from fame-seeking, and the dimness 
 of all earthly glory compared with the glory which 
 shall be revealed to the children of God. Among the 
 students there were many fine, intellectual, mentally 
 and physically robust-looking men. None of them, 
 however, seemed to look beyond the present world. 
 Fame is as the goal of their highest ambition ; this 
 absorbs all their energies, and is pursued with supreme 
 earnestness. Whilst they received me very courteously, 
 they treated my message with perfect indifference. 
 To them the doctrine of human depravity was rank 
 heterodoxy ; the doctrine of the Cross foolishness ; 
 and that of future rewards and punishments an idle 
 tale. Many of them received our books and promised 
 to read them. 
 
 * From Kwun-Shan we proceeded to Su-Chow, where 
 I spent some days in preaching and distributing books. 
 At the Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian temples a 
 
Effort to secure Quarters 91 
 
 person may preach every afternoon to audiences of 
 hundreds and sometimes thousands. At these points 
 the citizens assemble daily to enjoy a quiet cup of tea, 
 and a talk over the news of the day. The moment 
 a foreigner makes his appearance, up goes the shout, 
 " The white devil is come ! " The chat, however 
 interesting, is immediately broken up ; the highly 
 flavoured tea is unhesitatingly forsaken ; and the 
 missionary in less than five minutes is surrounded by 
 hundreds of gazing citizens. You will be pleased to 
 learn that we have been enabled to establish a station 
 in the very heart of this populous city. On February 
 10, 1858, I left Shanghai with the view of trying to 
 get a house at Su-Chow, where I might stay two or 
 three months with a native agent, and fairly commence 
 the work. It was in vain we tried to induce any one 
 to let his house to a foreign teacher. They had no 
 objection to a foreigner as such, but dreaded the 
 consequences of doing so without the permission of the 
 Mandarin. Though I failed to secure a place for 
 myself, I had no difficulty in getting a place for the 
 native assistant where he might preach and meet 
 inquirers. 
 
 ' On my present visit I was cheered with the fact 
 that a few had been brought under religious instruction, 
 and that they were assembling on the Lord's day to 
 read God's word and sing His praises. They had 
 already made considerable progress in the knowledge 
 of the truth, and they resolved to make a public 
 profession of their faith as soon as I should think 
 them fit 
 
9 2 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 1 1 visited Hang-Chow with 4000 copies of the 
 New Testament. This city is justly celebrated for 
 the vastness of its size, the loveliness of its situation, 
 the beauty of the surrounding scenery, the number and 
 magnificence of its monasteries, and the urbanity of its 
 citizens. To the Chinese student Hang -Chow is 
 classic ground. It is interesting to observe how a 
 Chinaman's pale cheek will begin to glow and his eyes 
 dance as he mutters some fine classical passages that 
 are suggested to his mind by the varied objects that 
 attract his attention. Almost every spot has been 
 consecrated by the richest effusions of the Oriental 
 muse. 
 
 ' I arrived just in time to witness the annual 
 celebration of Kwan-jin's birthday. One of her most 
 famous temples is that of Yien-Shuh at Hang-Chow. 
 During this festival, which commenced on the igth of 
 the second moon and continues for fifty days, thousands 
 go from all parts of Che-kiang and the neighbour- 
 ing provinces to offer at this shrine. Long ere the 
 smiling morn has tipped the surrounding hills with 
 gold, the priests (of whom there are about 500 
 belonging to this monastery) may be heard chanting 
 their orisons, and this is continued to the depths of the 
 still night. Candles burn incessantly on the altar, 
 and clouds of incense continue to ascend. 
 
 ' On my way home from the temple I met a man 
 with a large serpent lying over his shoulder. I asked 
 him what was his object in carrying that loathsome 
 creature about? 
 
 ' " To sell it," was the answer. 
 
Sing-yun Monastery 93 
 
 * " What could a person do with it were he to buy it?" 
 
 ' " Oh," said he, " he might accumulate a vast amount 
 of merit by releasing it from its present misery." 
 
 ' " But what merit would there be in saving the life 
 of such a beast as that ? " 
 
 '" It has," said he, "a human soul just like yourself, 
 and hence it would be an act of great merit to save it." 
 
 ' Then I learned that on these festival occasions it 
 is common for those of the baser sort to turn the 
 doctrine of metempsychosis to their pecuniary advantage. 
 They catch serpents and other noxious creatures to 
 sell ; and many of the most devout buy them and let 
 them go, sincerely believing that by so doing they may 
 be releasing a deceased relative or a dear old friend 
 from present misery, and possible death. 
 
 ' The Sing-yun Monastery is the largest at Hang- 
 Chow, and is of magnificent dimensions. At the 
 entrance there is an inscription stating that the 
 worshipper here is only a foot from the Western Heaven 
 the spirit home of the devout Buddhist. In the 
 rock around the temple hundreds of figures are cut, 
 representing Boddhisattwas, Devas, and other divinities. 
 I was led by a priest into a cave in which he pointed 
 out an aperture admitting a ray of light from the top. 
 The cave on this account is called " the cave into 
 which one thread of light enters." The priest told me 
 that if I would only look up I should behold the 
 smiling face of Buddha. I looked and 'stared, but to 
 no purpose ; I suppose my faith was not quite strong 
 enough. My teacher, however, though a very sensible 
 man and acquainted with the Christian doctrine, was 
 
94 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 rather inclined to believe that he saw something very 
 much like his face. 
 
 ' One of the priests received me very cordially and 
 showed me all that was to be seen. He led me into 
 one hall containing 500 life-sized gilt figures represent- 
 ing disciples of Buddha who are delivered from 
 metempsychosis. Among them were the deceased 
 emperors of the present dynasty. The hall is a fine 
 large building, with lights so arranged as to present 
 each row in clear view. 
 
 * In the great Buddha Monastery an immense image 
 of Buddha is cut out of solid rock, measuring 48 
 feet from shoulder to shoulder. The nose is 7 feet 
 long, and the other parts are of proportional size. 
 At the Chau-king Monastery I witnessed for the first 
 time an examination of candidates for the priesthood. 
 They were twenty-two in number, and, like most of the 
 Buddhist priests of the present day, looked the picture 
 of inanity. The public examination consisted in going 
 through a few chants, genuflections, prostrations, and 
 in answering a few questions. They all passed their 
 examinations creditably, and were to be ordained on 
 the 7th of the fourth moon. They are set apart by 
 burning half-a-dozen or more dents on the fore-part of 
 their shaven heads. The abbot takes as many sticks 
 of burning incense as there are marks to be made, and 
 places them on the head of the candidate so as to form 
 a square or an oblong. These are left to burn into the 
 skin, and thus the dents are made. He is now a 
 Bikshu or a Mendicant, because he begs food for the 
 body and instruction for the mind. He is very proud 
 
Curse of Opium-Smoking 95 
 
 of these marks on his head, as proofs that he is no 
 longer a laic, but a consecrated person, and as such 
 entitled to all the privileges of the Order. On my 
 way home to Shanghai I met others who had just 
 received ordination at Sung-hwo Monastery, not far 
 from Shanghai. I was told that an unusual number 
 had entered the priesthood this year.' 
 
 It must have been in April 1859 that Griffith 
 John paid that second visit to Ping-hu from the 
 account of which a description of the mode of travelling 
 has already been quoted. The story of this trip 
 contains the first definite statement in his correspond- 
 ence regarding the prevalence of and the injury 
 which was being done in the country by opium- 
 smoking. The statement is important on several 
 grounds. 
 
 1 At Ko-pu I paid a visit to an old priest who had 
 very kindly a year ago permitted me to sleep in the 
 temple. I took Mrs. John to see my old domicile, 
 which I found occupied by three Chinamen. Among 
 other articles that were lying about was an opium 
 pipe, lamp, etc., which proved that they were opium- 
 smokers. I remonstrated with them, but to no 
 purpose. 
 
 * This opium-smoking is the curse of China. The 
 emaciated and ghastly appearance of these poor 
 creatures is heart -sickening. The Chinese, though 
 quick, are wanting in moral courage ; they fall almost 
 without exception into this strong temptation. From 
 the Emperor, through all ranks and positions, down 
 to the very poorest beggar, this pernicious habit is 
 
96 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 practised. The Emperor himself is reported to be an 
 opium-smoker, and so was his predecessor Tan-Quong. 
 The Mandarins smoke perhaps more than any other 
 class of the community. Ten or fifteen years ago no 
 one dare smoke publicly ; he had to steal his whiff in 
 locked-up room or in a dark cell. This was not only 
 the effect of fear, but also shame ; the opium-smoker 
 was regarded not only as a violator of the law of his 
 country, but also as low, base, a self-murderer, and 
 undutiful. The stigma with which he was branded by 
 his fellow-countrymen was the most powerful means 
 to check its progress. 
 
 ' But notwithstanding all this, the practice has made 
 rapid strides ; at present shops are opened in broad 
 daylight in every street, and are frequented from the 
 early morning till the late evening. The shame is 
 taken away by the universality of the practice. The 
 opium habit is one of the greatest barriers to the 
 progress of the Gospel in China. Though the Chinese 
 have not the moral courage to withstand the temptation, 
 yet they have the sagacity to perceive the inconsistency 
 of a nation in presenting to them the word of life with 
 the one hand, and a poisonous, life -destroying drug 
 with the other. In reply to our appeals they often 
 say, " Take away the opium first, and then we will 
 believe in your sincerity." This is a fearfully black 
 spot on our country. God grant that it may speedily 
 be swept away.' 
 
 These excursions to places with which he was 
 familiar, and where regular work had now been begun 
 by the London Missionary Society Mission or by 
 
Exploratory Journeys 97 
 
 others, were necessary for the purpose of encouraging 
 native workers and helping forward the work. Two 
 more long journeys which were undertaken avowedly 
 for exploratory purposes belong to this period of his 
 history. To use his own words : 
 
 ' I hope to be able to make one or two trips into 
 the northern and western provinces for the purpose of 
 fixing on one or two central points for missionary 
 stations. It is the desire of my heart to labour in 
 the regions beyond. It remains to be seen whether it 
 is practicable or not. May the great Head of the 
 Church guide us all and lead us where we may be 
 most useful in promoting His glory in the salvation 
 of men.' 
 
 The North China Herald in July 1859 contained a 
 long and interesting account of a trip to the Yellow 
 River from the pen of Mr. John, the first of many 
 contributions sent to that and other papers. In 
 company with the Rev. William Muirhead, he went 
 by boat up the Grand Canal as far as Tsing-kiang-fu, 
 a city on the bank of the former bed of the Yellow 
 River, upwards of 300 miles from Shanghai. The 
 expedition was accomplished in perfect safety, and 
 without any opposition or sign of hostility until they 
 reached the farthest point. There they found them- 
 selves the object of no small concern and suspicion by 
 the officials, and deemed it advisable to return. They 
 preached and distributed books without hindrance 
 everywhere, and had, with one exception, quiet and 
 attentive audiences. The following extracts refer to 
 the most striking experiences of the journey : 
 
 H 
 
9 8 In Journey ings Oft 
 
 ' June 8. We arrived early this morning at the 
 district city of Kiang-yin. This city, which is situated 
 on the southern bank -of the Yang-tse, lies about a 
 100 li to the north of Wu-sih. The departmental 
 examination being held here, we were anxious to visit 
 the place with copies of the Scriptures and other 
 Christian books. From the beginning to the end of 
 the examination no less than 3000 students were 
 expected to attend. After speaking for a length of 
 time to a large number of literati, one of them became 
 very much excited. His face coloured up, and his 
 whole frame began to assume a threatening attitude. 
 Taking no notice of what he said or did, I walked 
 quietly away at the end of my discourse. By and by 
 I heard a good deal of noise behind me, and, turning 
 around, I saw my friend with two or three more doing 
 their utmost to excite the ire of the populace. I tried 
 to pacify them, but to no purpose ; they grew more 
 and more furious, and the ringleader, shutting his fist, 
 threatened to strike. 
 
 1 Having learnt from the experience of others that 
 in such cases the least manifestation of fear is as 
 dangerous as heedless temerity, I walked along very 
 leisurely, leaving them to follow as long as they might 
 think fit. Then they began to cry out that I was not 
 a foreigner, but a long-haired rebel in disguise. I told 
 them that I was an Englishman, which word, uttered 
 with considerable emphasis, and I may say national pride, 
 made some of them turn pale. There is magic power 
 in this word. Ego Romanus sum never carried with 
 it a greater moral force or a more profound meaning 
 
Magic in the Word * Englishman ' 99 
 
 than " I am an Englishman " does at the present 
 moment in China. One of the most excited, however, 
 snatched my cap and examined it very minutely. 
 Whilst my travelling companion, on account of his 
 light hair, light eyes, and a somewhat ruddy counte- 
 nance, is set down at the first glance for a barbarian of 
 the first stamp, and, for aught I know, never imagined 
 to be anything besides ; I, on the contrary, on account 
 of the opposite qualities, am sometimes suspected of 
 being a true-born though degraded Celestial. I thought 
 it prudent to inform the Mandarin of the facts of the 
 case. He sent one of the Ya-men people instantly to 
 inform me that strict orders had been sent to all the 
 constables to see to it that foreigners were properly 
 treated and in no way molested. 
 
 ' We arrived early in the morning at the towns of 
 Kwan-ling and Yein-kia-si. At both places the people 
 were very quiet, and listened to what we had to tell 
 them with much attention. At another town, Ki 
 Kiang-si, I believe every man, woman, and child came 
 out to have a look at us. They were greatly astonished 
 to hear their own language spoken by foreigners. They 
 were far too much excited, and intent upon gazing on our 
 strange features and examining our still stranger-looking 
 clothes, to understand much of our preaching. They 
 will be better prepared for the next who may visit them. 
 
 ' We reached the town of Hwang-kiow late in the 
 evening, where we passed the night. Though late, our 
 arrival was soon made known, and in a few minutes 
 the opposite shore was lined with hundreds of anxious 
 spectators. 
 
ioo In Journeyings Oft 
 
 * 12. Spent the morning in preaching at Kiang- 
 yein. Among the thousands who crowded after us we 
 observed many rich and well-educated looking men. 
 The appearance of this people is vastly superior to that 
 of those whom we had seen hitherto. This morning I 
 had a long conversation with a Chinese colporteur. 
 He is a native of Tan-tu in Chin-kiang-fu, where 
 Buddhism is very flourishing. He is a respectable 
 and quiet-looking man, and, as I have learnt since, of 
 very honourable connections. Though not a priest, he 
 seems very partial to Buddhism as well as Confucianism. 
 Pitying the ignorance and wickedness of men, he is 
 resolved to devote his time and talents to their 
 enlightenment and renovation. For this purpose he is 
 now travelling through this part of the country with a 
 selection of books and tracts for general distribution. 
 Some of these are Buddhist, some Tauist, and some 
 Confucian. He presented me with seventeen copies on 
 different subjects. Those are printed on the way as 
 he goes along, and the expenses are defrayed by the 
 literati and the rich, many of whom take considerable 
 interest in his mission. ^ 
 
 ' I had a very pleasing conversation with him on 
 board my boat ; and was glad to meet one at least, 
 even in China, who was earnestly seeking something 
 to satisfy the higher cravings of his spiritual nature. 
 He seemed to be quite conscious of the defectiveness 
 of the existing religions, and listened with attention 
 and apparent interest to the doctrine of life and 
 immortality as propounded in the Gospel. I gave 
 him a few copies of our books, which he commenced 
 
An Earnest Seeker ioi 
 
 reading immediately. He asked for a few more to give 
 away to his friends. He also said that if he should 
 get to love the doctrine of Jesus, he would immediately 
 give up his present occupation and come to Shanghai 
 for further instruction. On being asked what was his 
 object in doing all this, he replied that he only wished 
 to manifest his gratitude to Heaven and renovate the 
 people. According to the light that he has, he is 
 earnestly and devoutly striving to propitiate the favour 
 of Heaven, and perfect himself in holiness ; and because 
 of this there is every reason to hope that the light 
 which has just begun to dawn upon his mind will be 
 welcomed with joy. I have some good grounds to 
 believe that the advocates of the three religions are 
 beginning to muster themselves to renewed efforts. 
 More tracts and books are distributed, and a greater 
 degree of attention is paid to public discourses, than 
 formerly. I hope it is so. Christianity can lose 
 nothing from opposition. 
 
 * 17. Being anxious to reach Tsing-kiang-fu as 
 soon as possible, we passed Hwai-ngan without calling. 
 The former place is only twenty-seven li from the latter, 
 and we reached it early in the morning. Our arrival 
 was soon found out, and thousands of the most 
 boisterous and excited class were present in a moment. 
 Deeming it both right and politic to inform the 
 Mandarin of our arrival and intentions of proceeding 
 beyond, we sent him our cards. By and by a military 
 blue-button Mandarin came on board to inquire into 
 our rank and object. He was very talkative and 
 affable in his way. He invited us to come and take a 
 
102 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 cup of tea at his " vile cottage." We consented to go 
 along with him, and were only waiting his pleasure. 
 We suggested, however, that it would be hardly safe to 
 leave the boats without some one to take care of them. 
 
 ' " Don't mind that," said he, " it will be all right " ; 
 and then he ordered chairs to be brought for us. 
 
 1 But when our friend rose to go, to our surprise he 
 turned around and said, " You had better not come." 
 I suppose he expected us to decline his invitation, and 
 was greatly disgusted with our bluntness in taking him 
 at his word. 
 
 ' He was followed by a host of white buttons sent 
 from the different Ya-mens to make similar inquiries. 
 No less than half-a-dozen came successively from the 
 same Ya-men to ask precisely the same questions. 
 Their object was to compare notes, and see whether 
 the reports would tally. Two or three of the white 
 buttons were ordered to remain on board our boats 
 ostensibly to protect us, but really to watch our move- 
 ments. Two soldiers also were stationed on shore to 
 keep the crowd in order. Being inclined to go as far 
 as the bed of the Yellow River, we applied for chairs 
 for that purpose. One of our guardians promised that 
 our request would be complied with, but he must go 
 first and mention it to the Ho-tai. The chairs at 
 length appeared, and we were about starting when one 
 of our friends requested us to wait a little while, until 
 another message was sent to the Ho-tai. All at once 
 the chairs disappeared, never to return again. 
 
 * Our patience having been tried for about six hours, 
 and feeling that it was now nearly exhausted, we made 
 
A River-bed Pulpit 103 
 
 up our minds to take a decisive step. We asked them 
 whether we were going to have chairs or no. They 
 replied that, as it was getting to be late, we had better 
 wait till the morning, when chairs would be brought. 
 Being disgusted with this piece of duplicity and stupid 
 finesse, we told them that we would not wait any longer, 
 but would walk it, and with this sprang on shore and 
 made our way through the crowd with ease. 
 
 ' This manoeuvre, being altogether unexpected, took 
 them by surprise ; and, according to my teacher's 
 account, the straightforwardness, fearlessness, and 
 original powers of foreigners became the themes of 
 conversation during our absence. Ere we had pro- 
 ceeded two hundred yards, two white buttons, accom- 
 panied by a couple of strong, reckless-looking fellows, 
 were at our heels, and did good service in clearing up 
 the way and keeping the crowd back. We soon 
 reached the deserted bed of the Yellow River, and 
 found it sure enough as the Chinese say, " as dry as 
 dust." We did not only cross it dry-shod, but con- 
 verted it into a temporary pulpit. Where but a few 
 years ago the turbid waters of the Hwang rolled 
 majestically the common dread of the inhabitants of 
 the plain there now cottages are built, gardens are 
 planted, carriages pass to and fro, the grass is beginning 
 to grow, and sheep are browsing at their ease. Here 
 and there pools of water may be seen, but no continued 
 stream. At this place the bed is nearly as high as 
 the banks, and the surface deposit is of the very finest 
 sand. 
 
 'June 1 8. This morning we found ourselves under 
 
104 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 a guard. In front of our boat lie two others contain- 
 ing half-a-dozen or more soldiers, and a tent was 
 pitched on shore. We had told our friends on the 
 former evening that we would feel thankful for a mule 
 or an ass or anything else this morning, as we wished 
 to see a little more of the bed of the river. They 
 promised to make our request known to the great man, 
 as they could not bring them without his permission. 
 As they were not forthcoming, we resolved to walk to 
 the place where the canal crosses the river. No sooner 
 had we started than three or four soldiers, followed by 
 a white button, were after us. We found ourselves 
 under a complete system of espionage until we reached 
 the boats again. 
 
 ' None of the people were allowed to have any inter- 
 course with us, or to convey the least information. 
 When any one would attempt to answer our questions, 
 he was ordered to shut his mouth immediately. 
 Occasionally one of them would run ahead, evidently 
 for the purpose of preventing the people having any- 
 thing to do with us.' 
 
 The travellers had no sooner returned to Shanghai 
 than they had a painful lesson of the impossibility of 
 judging of the real state of feeling in China by appear- 
 ances. The serious reverse suffered by the British 
 forces at the mouth of the Pei-ho River and the 
 consequent outbreak of hostilities was speedily known, 
 not only in Shanghai but throughout the country, 
 and the result was seen in a marked change of 
 demeanour and conduct towards foreigners. Moreover, 
 the opportunity was made use of by the Chinese 
 
A Dark Cloud 105 
 
 officials for a special attack upon missionaries and their 
 converts. It seemed for the time as if all the country 
 work of all the missions, much of which had appeared 
 to be full of promise, must come to an end. The 
 following letter tells of the trouble as it broke out in 
 Shanghai : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, September 3, 1859. 
 
 ' Since my last to you, events have transpired by 
 which our present position and future prospects have 
 been materially modified. Then our hearts were glow- 
 ing with the immediate prospect of being able to 
 penetrate this hitherto sealed - up country without 
 restraint. Little did we think then that a dark and 
 portentous cloud was gathering, and that our sky was 
 so soon to be overcast. The defeat sustained by our 
 forces on the Pei-ho on the 25th June, has had a most 
 pernicious effect upon the mind of the people at large. 
 They imagine now that our future stay hangs upon 
 their good-will and pleasure. The people, who but 
 three months ago were as harmless as doves and very 
 respectful, are now as bold as lions and often intoler- 
 ably impudent. The courage with which they have 
 been inspired by our defeat is very manifest in a late 
 outbreak, of which, I believe, you have already been 
 informed. 
 
 * The story that foreigners were engaged in the 
 work of kidnapping the Chinese is, I believe, a fabrica- 
 tion from beginning to end, and was got up by 
 certain individuals to excite the ire of the populace 
 and to justify the atrocious deeds which they 
 
106 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 perpetrated. That the French ship " Gertrude " was at 
 Woo-sung shipping coolies for the Havana, and that 
 some Chinamen were drowned and shot in their 
 attempt to escape, is true ; but that any had been 
 taken on board forcibly, by either foreigner or the 
 Chinese themselves, is a rumour for the truth of which 
 there is not the faintest semblance of evidence. Of 
 the one hundred and fifty or thereabouts that were 
 landed from the " Gertrude " and examined by the 
 Tao-tai, not a single case of kidnapping has been 
 discovered. I have not met either a foreigner or a 
 Chinaman who has seen anything of the kind, and 
 those who, at the commencement of the commotion, 
 testified that they had seen with their own eyes, now 
 recall their words and say that they only heard. 
 
 * The worst feature in the whole is that the people 
 associate the coolie trade and the imaginary work of 
 kidnapping with the Christ-religion. Such will appear 
 evident from the following very violent manifesto which 
 was posted at Su-Cheu. It bears date the 3Oth July, 
 the day on which one foreigner was murdered, and two 
 others wounded near the foreign settlement : 
 
 4 " The Intendant and Magistrate have issued notifi- 
 cations at Shanghai to the effect that foreigners with 
 hearts of wolves are in the habit of coming to the 
 towns and villages, where, acting in concert with 
 natives professing their doctrine, they make a show of 
 hiring people to assist them, their real purpose being 
 to entrap men to their perdition. Hateful and detest- 
 able beings ! Of a truth all natives professing their 
 doctrines are devils, are demons. Now, lest the simple 
 
A Violent Manifesto 107 
 
 people in their greed of gain be beguiled in this way, 
 let the people of the towns and villages with joint 
 effort and united heart set upon and kill every 
 foreigner that is associated with natives professing his 
 doctrine in the teaching of religion, that the kidnapping 
 of men may be put a stop to." 
 
 1 In a memorial presented to the Emperor by the 
 Censor, Yin Yan-Yung, he states that it is under the 
 cover of the preaching and charities of missionaries 
 the English barbarians eat their way into little states. 
 Here in Shanghai a number of placards have been 
 posted up denouncing the religion of Jesus, exhorting 
 the people not to enter the Church, and calling upon 
 those who have already entered to repent and leave, 
 ere it is too late. 
 
 ' On the night of the 6th ultimo, about a hundred or 
 a hundred and fifty men broke into our chapel in 
 Shanghai and smashed everything into pieces, with the 
 exception of a few benches. Then they proceeded 
 into another, but ere they had finished the work of 
 destruction there, the native soldiers were on the spot 
 and the crowd was immediately dispersed. I have no 
 doubt that they fully intended proceeding from chapel 
 to chapel and doing to them all they so effectually 
 did to ours. The only reason they assigned for their 
 conduct was that the missionaries had returned into 
 the city after a week's absence. I suppose they had 
 made up their mind that we would not, or at least 
 should not re-enter, and that the exclusive policy of 
 the Cantonese was to be established at Shanghai. 
 The damage done to our chapel is estimated at about 
 
io8 In Journeyings Oft 
 
 400 taels, which sum the Tao-tai has already advanced. 
 It is now being repaired, and will be ready in about a 
 month. 
 
 1 Matters are quieting down at present, and we are 
 able to carry our work on in the city as in former 
 times. We have, however, to be very careful as to 
 what we do or say, as the least provocation would be 
 followed by another tremendous explosion. We have 
 thought it advisable not to proceed beyond Shanghai 
 for a season. I trust we shall soon see our way clear 
 to resume our labours in the interior. The extensive 
 sphere of our regular operations has been contracted 
 to a point, and though it is now beginning to open up 
 again, I fear it will be some time before we shall be 
 able to go about so freely as we have been doing. 
 
 * I trust that the converts at the out-stations, though 
 deprived of the assistance of the native agents, will 
 continue to cleave unto the Lord.' 
 
 Fortunately the storm quieted down almost as 
 quickly as it had risen, though it left an unpleasant 
 groundswell of suspicion and sensitiveness. Writing 
 to the same friend, March 6, 1860, Griffith John 
 says : 
 
 * You will be pleased to learn that peace and quiet- 
 ness have been restored to us in this part of the 
 country, and that we are permitted once more to carry 
 on our missionary work in safety. At one time our 
 prospects were gloomy and uninviting ; but God has 
 been graciously pleased to interpose in our behalf; the 
 clouds have been dispelled, and the threatening storm 
 
Peace Restored 109 
 
 has passed away, leaving but few traces of its existence 
 behind. " The Lord reigneth ; let the earth rejoice ; let 
 the multitudes of the isles be glad thereof." 
 
 * Both alone, and in company with Mr. Edkins, I 
 have made several short trips into the interior. 
 Generally we have found the people respectful and 
 attentive. In one place only have we been somewhat 
 harshly treated, and even there the evil originated 
 with a drunken man. The people, though quiet, are 
 more excitable than they were before our defeat in the 
 north, and the outbreak in Shanghai. It is much 
 easier now than it was formerly to raise a tumult by 
 means of an unguarded expression or action. There 
 is also always some danger of meeting with ill-disposed 
 persons, who watch for opportunities to put an end to 
 the preaching and injure the preacher by exciting the 
 ire of the hearers. More than once have I thought it 
 prudent to pass on or bring my discourse absolutely to 
 an end, in order to avoid coming into collision with 
 such. Happily, however, the number of such is daily 
 decreasing, so that we are able now to move about in 
 almost perfect peace. 
 
 ' The majority of our stations are prospering and 
 giving us much satisfaction. The members at each 
 are enjoying peace and quietness. 
 
 ' At Su-Chow, Sung-Kiong, Ta-zang, Liu-Ka-hong, 
 several have recently been admitted into the Church. 
 Whilst there are some doubtful characters among our 
 converts, there are not a few of whom we have every 
 reason to hope that they have passed from darkness 
 into light, and from death into life. 
 
no In Journeyings Oft 
 
 'You will be grieved to learn that the gates of 
 Su-Chow are closed once more against the foreign 
 missionary, and those of Hang- Chow against both 
 foreign and native. When Mr. Edkins and myself 
 visited Su-Chow about a month ago, we were positively 
 refused admittance into the city. We were told that 
 strict orders had been issued from the Mandarin office 
 to the effect that no foreigner was to be allowed to 
 enter the city without a direct permission from the 
 Fu-tai. We did not think it advisable to apply for 
 permission. Having encountered this repulse at the 
 city gate, we turned our faces towards the suburbs. 
 Here we preached without interruption from the 
 officials, or annoyance on the part of the people. We 
 spent two days among them preaching and distributing 
 books and were convinced by the affability of the 
 people that our exclusion from the city is not to be 
 ascribed to any ill-will on their part, but is simply a 
 Government policy. At that time the native assistants 
 were not permitted to preach in the city, but they 
 have written to us since stating that they are now 
 allowed to do so. In Hang-Chow the case is worse. 
 Even the native assistants have been driven away by 
 the direct action of Government officials. The official 
 order reads as follows : 
 
 * " Li, Magistrate of the Tsientang district (Hang- 
 Chow), commands the constables Tsien-hwai and 
 Liu-tseuen to proceed together with all speed to the 
 Tsien-tau alley, and order a Ningpo man named 
 King-ling-yiu, and a Shaw-king man named Kung- 
 Kwen-Yaou, residing in the house of one Fei, and 
 
American Treaty of Little Value 1 1 1 
 
 engaged in the gratuitous distribution of religious 
 books, to quit the city. They are not to be allowed 
 any further delay. You are moreover to order the 
 said Fei on no account to permit their residence or 
 to continue the lease of their lodgings. You are also 
 to make careful inquisition whether there are any 
 foreigners residing with them, and if there be, to expel 
 all such from our jurisdiction. You the aforesaid 
 messengers will beware of conniving at any the least 
 delay on pain of punishment. Quick ! Quick ! 
 "Hienfung, 9th year, nth month, I3th day, Dec. 6, '59." 
 
 ' These native evangelists, whose only offence was 
 the gratuitous distribution of religious books, petitioned 
 the magistrate, but without effect ; and the American 
 missionaries at Ningpo, by whom they were sent, made 
 a representation through the Tau-tai to the Governor- 
 General of the province, but without any better result. 
 This has occurred since the American Treaty was 
 signed, and is a convincing proof of how little practical 
 value the treaty is. The 2Qth Article of the treaty 
 reads as follows : 
 
 ' " The principles of the Christian religion as pro- 
 fessed by the Protestants and Roman Catholic Churches 
 are recognised 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 those 
 doctrines shall not be harassed or persecuted on account 
 of their faith. Any person, whether citizen of the 
 United States or Chinese convert, who, according to 
 these tenets, shall peaceably teach and practise the 
 
ii2 In Journcyings Oft 
 
 principles of Christianity shall in no case be interfered 
 with or molested." 
 
 * Such is the article, and such is an instance of its 
 flagrant violation. It is about the only clause in the 
 treaty to which the Chinese Government could have 
 any serious objection, and it is a clause which it will 
 never observe unless compelled to do so. 
 
 ' In April last year I visited Hang -Chow with 
 6000 copies of the New Testament, and other religious 
 books, and they were all distributed. An American 
 missionary and his family were living at the time in 
 the city, and were on the best of terms with both 
 the people and the officials. Between some of the 
 Government officers and the missionaries, visits and 
 presents were interchanged. Thus matters went on 
 smoothly until the news of the defeat of the English 
 and French forces in the north was noised abroad. 
 No sooner did it reach Hang-Chow than the whole 
 aspect of things underwent a change. The missionary 
 was not only deserted, but ordered to return whence 
 he came, and soon afterwards the native evangelists, 
 who were peaceably teaching and preaching the 
 principles of Christianity, were ordered to quit the city, 
 and that in direct violation of a peaceable treaty which 
 had just been formally signed and solemnly ratified. 
 
 1 We trust that this state of things is not to 
 continue long. God has His designs in reference to 
 China, one of which is that she is to be given to 
 Christ for His inheritance. Whatever stands in the 
 way of the accomplishment of this glorious purpose 
 must be removed. The exclusive policy of the existing 
 
A Prophecy and a Prayer 113 
 
 Government must yield ere long, and the standard of 
 the Cross must be planted in every city throughout 
 the Empire. Our sincere prayer is, that all this may 
 be accomplished without bloodshed and carnage. We 
 are anxiously waiting the development of future events. 
 May we be prepared for all the duties and trials which 
 await us in reference to them. Let China and her 
 missionaries be frequently remembered at the Throne 
 of Grace by all who love the Lord Jesus and feel an 
 interest in the extension of His kingdom.' 
 
CHAPTER V 
 THE T'AI-FING REBELS 
 
 THE missionary instinct, the consciousness of the 
 vocation of the herald, the desire which is as 
 a fire in the bones to carry the Message of Life to 
 those who have not yet heard it, was conspicuously 
 manifested by some of the men who were at Shanghai 
 in the early years of Protestant missionary work in 
 China. In no one was this light-footed restlessness of 
 the eager messenger more strikingly marked than in 
 Griffith John. It has been characteristic of him 
 throughout his missionary life ; it must have been a 
 dominant feature in his character then. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that the references to 
 Shanghai in his correspondence during all the years 
 when it was his home and the centre of his work are 
 brief and slight. His relations with his colleagues were 
 friendly, and in one or two cases were intimate and 
 cordial. His friendship with some of the missionaries 
 of other Societies has been maintained with the strength 
 of a close affection throughout long years and amidst 
 many changes. The general life of the foreign com- 
 munity in Shanghai was vigorous, and there was much 
 in the condition of public affairs during those eventful 
 
 114 
 
A Lively Junior 1 1 5 
 
 years to attract the attention and appeal to the interest 
 of one who has always been able to look out beyond 
 the immediate circle of his own work and to note with 
 sympathetic or with critical interest the movements of 
 national policy and the general life of the community. 
 Yet his correspondence gives little indication of his 
 having been much influenced or occupied with Shanghai 
 affairs. From the number of accounts of journeys in 
 the country, and the dates of those journeys, it would 
 appear that Shanghai was only his convenient centre 
 of supplies and point of departure, but that he took a 
 very secondary part in the work of the Mission in the 
 city. Judging by his own account of himself, written 
 many years after, he must have been an exceptionally 
 lively junior. Writing to the Christian in June 1889, 
 he says : 
 
 ' The new missionary is, as a rule, a prolific method- 
 maker, and the younger he is the greater his genius in 
 this line of things. Did I not know more than all my 
 seniors when I arrived at Shanghai more than thirty 
 years ago ? Was it not as clear as daylight that their 
 methods were all wrong, and that their small success 
 was to be ascribed to their want of insight ? The 
 young missionary, like the globe-trotter, is generally a 
 man who knows everything better than the man who 
 ought to know most.' 
 
 Probably the work of itineration was largely handed 
 over to him on account of the exuberant energy which 
 could not rest satisfied with the routine of labour in the 
 city of Shanghai. 
 
 After the temporary suspension of country work 
 
n6 The Tai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 which resulted from the news of the reverse suffered 
 by the British force at the mouth of the Pei-ho, 
 travelling was resumed with renewed earnestness, and 
 the places which had been occupied by the Mission 
 were revisited for the purpose of re-establishing the 
 work. In the course of these journeys Mr. John 
 speedily came into a region in which the T'ai-p'ing 
 rebels were making great headway. The following 
 letters give an interesting account of his experi- 
 ences : 
 
 ' SHANGHAI, June 13, 1860. 
 
 1 I have taken two or three long trips of late into 
 the interior, one to Hang-Chow and one to Cuchen. 
 The former had only just been evacuated by the rebels, 
 and the latter has been taken by them since. They are 
 making rapid strides in this part of the country now. 
 They would have paid a visit to Shanghai had it not 
 been for the presence of the English and French forces. 
 The city is at present protected by the English and 
 the French. On account of this disturbed state of 
 things, we are not able to go much about just now. 
 Poor China ! torn as it is by internal dissension and 
 threatened by a powerful enemy without ! ' 
 
 'SHANGHAI, June 27, 1860. 
 
 . ' The following is a brief account of a trip to Hang- 
 Chow after its evacuation by the rebels. From it you 
 will learn that they are making rapid strides in this 
 part of the country, and that the Imperialist cause has 
 not been at such a low ebb for many years. I hope 
 to learn more of the rebels soon by a personal inter- 
 
Visit to Sung-Kiong 1 1 7 
 
 view with them. Reports are so various and con- 
 tradictory that no reliance can be placed on them. 
 Some make them out to be saints, and others demons.' 
 
 ' May 19. In company with Mr. Wylie I left 
 Shanghai this morning for the purpose of visiting 
 Sung-Kiong and Hang-Chow. Early on the follow- 
 ing morning we reached the former city. Soon after 
 our arrival the converts met as usual for worship. 
 Besides the converts, eleven inquirers came forward as 
 applicants for baptism. All these were examined ; 
 and four of them were judged worthy of admission 
 into the Church. These four were consequently 
 baptized, and the others were remanded to a future 
 period. In the afternoon we had another service for 
 the heathen, when Mr. Wylie, the native assistant, and 
 myself spoke to them at length. After this we walked 
 through the western suburb and the city, distributing 
 tracts and speaking a word here and there as circum- 
 stances would permit. On the following morning we 
 had the pleasure of meeting the converts again, when 
 we read a portion of the word of God and prayed 
 together. Having exhorted them to remain steadfast 
 in the faith, and having commended them to the care 
 of Him who careth for all who are His, we bid them 
 a temporary farewell. 
 
 * On our way to Hang-Chow we called at the cities 
 of Kia Shan, Kia Hing, and Shih Mun. These cities 
 had not been visited since our defeat in the north in 
 June last, and the subsequent disturbances in Shanghai 
 connected with the coolie trade. Of course we hardly 
 
n8 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 knew what kind of reception we had to expect, whether, 
 as in Su-Chow, we should find the gates closed against 
 us for the time. Whatever may have been our surmises 
 beforehand, we were glad to find on our arrival at each 
 of these cities that the gates were as open to us as ever, 
 and the people as quiet and innocent. We preached 
 and distributed books without the least inconvenience. 
 
 * May 23. We reached Hang-Chow this evening. 
 At the outset we had our doubts as to the possibility 
 of our being able to pass the great Custom-house in 
 the present disturbed state of things. It was rather 
 late when we arrived, and the gate was already closed. 
 No sooner, however, was it known that the boat 
 belonged to foreigners than it was opened and we 
 were allowed to pass on. Next morning after an 
 early breakfast we took some tracts with us and walked 
 towards the lake. 
 
 ' Last year when I visited Hang-Chow, this lake 
 presented one of the gayest spectacles I had ever seen. 
 The shore was lined with visitors who had come from 
 all parts of the surrounding country to offer at the 
 shrine of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The lake 
 itself, bearing on its bosom a large number of small 
 pleasure-boats, gaudily decorated without with rich 
 tapestry, red tassels, and variegated lanterns, and 
 adorned within with the very ttite of this polished city, 
 seemed instinct with life and merriment. Then the 
 temples and magnificent monasteries in the vicinity of 
 the lake, with their clouds of incense perpetually 
 ascending, and their thousands of priests chanting their 
 morning and evening prayers accompanied with an 
 
Photo} 
 
 \Bernard Upward. 
 
 CHINESE CHRISTIANS AT WORSHIP. 
 
Deserted Shrines 1 1 9 
 
 occasional deep-toned toll of the great bell, added 
 much to the impressiveness of the scene. On this 
 occasion, however, there was hardly a human being to 
 be seen on the shore, all the boats had disappeared, 
 the temples were empty of both priests and wor- 
 shippers, prayers had ceased to be offered and chants 
 to be sung, and a profound melancholy stillness spread 
 over and rested upon the place. 
 
 ' We visited some of the monasteries, and found 
 them nearly all deserted. A few of the priests had 
 ventured to return, but by far the majority of them 
 had not yet mustered up sufficient courage to leave 
 their places of refuge. Those whom we met were very 
 much dejected, and complained bitterly of the times. 
 As none came to worship, they had nothing to subsist 
 on. One poor monk, as he was busily masticating 
 some dry beans, said that the priests had to be content 
 with beans now, because they had no money to buy 
 rice. Some of the temples had been burnt down by 
 the rebels ; but they seem generally to have been 
 satisfied with depriving the images of their noses, and 
 thus manifested their contempt of the idol gods. 
 When we entered the first monastery we were some- 
 what amused with the noseless spectacle which the 
 majority of the gods presented. 
 
 ' Hang - Chow is called Fulo-ti, " the land of 
 Buddha," and the people seem to have had a strong 
 faith in the sanctity of the place and the omnipotence 
 of the gods. This faith has been materially weakened 
 by the recent demolition of the temples, the defacement 
 of the gods, and the profanation of this holy ground. 
 
120 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 Whatever may be said of the T'ai-p'ings, it is certain 
 that they have done a great deal towards shaking the 
 confidence of the people in their false divinities. When 
 talking to a man the other day about the impotence 
 of the gods to save, he said, " The fact is, they have 
 no power over the affairs of the world ; it is confined to 
 Hades." 
 
 ' This sentiment, were it to become general, would 
 effectually undermine the popular superstition, as that 
 is based principally on the common impression that all 
 sublunary events are under the direction of the gods. 
 It is not the hopes and fears of future but present 
 happiness and misery that fill the temples with wor- 
 shippers and bring a revenue to the priests. 
 
 'On the following day we went into the city with 
 some tracts as usual. On our way we passed the 
 Tsau King Monastery. Last year there were about four 
 hundred priests residing here, now there were only 
 about twenty. All the others together with the abbot 
 had fled into the country. We were told by those that 
 remained that three of their number had been killed 
 by the rebels. The whole of the western suburb was 
 burnt down, and the city gate leading to it blocked up 
 with sand-bags. Passing alongside the walls, our 
 attention was directed to a large pit into which 
 upwards of a thousand of the slain had been thrown 
 pell-mell. 
 
 1 At length we arrived at an open gate. The guard 
 was somewhat startled at our sudden appearance. No 
 attempt, however, was made to turn us back. We 
 then made our way towards the hill which is in the 
 
A Ruined City 121 
 
 city. On our way we passed a man in a standing 
 cage who was accused of incendiarism. This cage was 
 made to fit tight around him, so that he could not 
 rest in any way. He was doomed to perish in it. 
 He had stood when we saw him eighteen days, and 
 his legs were swelling fast ; he was expected to live 
 five or six days longer, when he would die from 
 exhaustion. This most cruel mode of punishment is, 
 I believe, of recent invention. At length we reached 
 the top of the hill, where there was a large encampment 
 of soldiers. In the tents we saw some foreign fire- 
 arms, such as pistols, in a very rusty condition. 
 Several of the temples on the hill were burnt down. 
 The view of the city from the top of this hill was sad 
 in the extreme. Here and there and everywhere 
 extensive ruins were to be seen. Some of the finest 
 parts of the city have been burnt down. In walking 
 through the parts that formerly used to be busiest, we 
 scarcely met a single respectable man. 
 
 * We called at the venerable Mahommedan mosque, 
 which stood almost solitary amid the surrounding 
 desolation. The flames had just touched its walls, but 
 no great injury was done. We were sorry to learn 
 that more than a hundred of their number had been 
 slain. Last year they numbered from four to five 
 hundred families. Now they are only about three 
 hundred. The moolah was still suffering from a sword 
 wound received at the hands of the T'ai-p'ings, which, he 
 said, they inflicted upon him in order to extort money 
 from him. We were told by an official at one of the 
 gates that the number of real rebels was small, but 
 
i22 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 that thousands of the inhabitants, who were rebels in 
 disguise, joined them. About sixty thousand lives 
 were lost, the majority of which were suicides. Such 
 is the condition in which we found the place, and it is 
 sad to contemplate, especially when compared with its 
 former state. 
 
 ' We left Hang-Chow on the following morning. 
 On our way we met hundreds who were flying from 
 the neighbouring cities, on account of the danger they 
 were in of falling into the hands of the rebels. We 
 called at the large town of Hoh-zeh, and spent the 
 Sabbath at Hai Ning. At the latter place we had a 
 fine opportunity of preaching and distributing our 
 books. The people here, as elsewhere, were in great 
 fear. We arrived home on May 31 in peace and 
 safety.' 
 
 These experiences prompted the desire to come 
 into closer touch with the leaders of that remarkable 
 movement which was shaking China to its centre, and 
 which contained in it so many elements of good that 
 some ardent onlookers entertained the hope that it 
 would be the means of China's regeneration. 
 
 The great rebellion, which for fifteen years devastated 
 some of the richest and most prosperous provinces of 
 China, and is estimated to have caused the loss of from 
 fifteen to twenty millions of lives, was known by the 
 singularly incongruous title * T'ai-p'ing, or Great Peace.' 
 It was really the expression of the inarticulate, un- 
 intelligent, and undisciplined revolt of great masses of 
 the ignorant people against the tyranny and oppression 
 of their rulers. Yet, strange to say, it owed its origin 
 
Leader of the Rebels 123 
 
 and all the moral force it possessed, and which during 
 its earlier years made it almost irresistible, to Christian 
 teaching. The T'ai-p'ing Wang was probably indirectly 
 indebted to Morrison for his first inspiration. Hung- 
 siu-tsuen, who became the leader of the insurgents and 
 the * Celestial King ' and head of the T'ai-p'ing re- 
 bellion, was born in a village about thirty miles from 
 Canton, in a family formerly distinguished in the service 
 of the State, but which had become poor. He was 
 endowed with considerable ability, and was ambitious 
 of literary distinction. He went into Canton one day 
 about 1833 to present himself for examination, and 
 met a missionary who spoke to him. The day after 
 he met two Chinese Christians distributing books. 
 One of them gave him a set of nine small books 
 entitled Good Words exhorting the Age. These books 
 were written by Dr. Morrison's convert Leang Afah, 
 who was employed by him in distributing them, so 
 that in all probability the missionary whom Hung 
 met was Morrison himself, and the Chinese distributor 
 was probably Leang Afah. The books were not much 
 thought of for several years. Then after a long and 
 severe illness, during which he had a succession of 
 strange visions, they were remembered and studied. 
 The result of his studies was the formation of a 
 ' Society of Worshippers of God.' Hung also sought 
 for further instruction from Mr. Roberts, an American 
 Baptist missionary at Canton. 
 
 The Society grew in numbers and activity. One of 
 its chief tenets was the renunciation of idol worship, 
 and its iconoclastic zeal brought it into trouble. Hung's 
 
i2 4 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 followers were almost entirely Hakkas, between whom 
 and the Puntis there was constant feud. The result 
 was that the religious society gradually became involved 
 in clan feuds. The local authorities used harsh measures 
 in endeavouring to repress them, and the standard of 
 revolt against the Tartar Government was raised. The 
 Government troops were defeated, and crowds joined 
 the insurrection. In three years the rebels had fought 
 their way victoriously through the provinces of Kwang- 
 Si, Hunan, Hupeh, and Ngan-Wei. They descended 
 the Yang-tse River from Hankow, and on March 19, 
 1853, carried by assault Nanking, the ancient capital 
 of the Empire. Here they established the centre and 
 headquarters of their organisation, intending to make 
 it once more the capital of a new dynasty, and here 
 the rebellion was finally crushed in 1865. The 
 history of the rebellion is a sad story of high purpose 
 deteriorated by success, and of lofty ideals corrupted 
 by the cruelty, the plunder, and the licence of war. 
 
 The three main objects which the T'ai-p'ings set 
 before them were the extirpation of the Tartars, to 
 whom they showed no mercy, but slew men, women, 
 and children ruthlessly ; the abolition of idolatry ; and 
 the entire and absolute exclusion of opium. As infor- 
 mation came to the missionary circle of the religious 
 opinions of the T'ai-p'ings and of the high aims which 
 seemed to inspire their leaders, great interest was 
 excited and great hope was awakened. It seemed 
 as though through this strange upheaval the way of 
 the Lord was being prepared in China. 
 
 The hope was made stronger by the accession to 
 
A Notable Accession 125 
 
 
 
 the ranks of the rebels of a man named Hung Jin, a 
 relative of the Tien Wang, and one of his earliest 
 and most earnest followers in the religious society he 
 formed. Hung Jin was a man of exceptional ability 
 and fine character, who had been in close contact with 
 missionaries for four or five years. He had a very 
 clear and intelligent acquaintance with Christian truth, 
 and had been an earnest and effective evangelist. Dr. 
 Meadows of Shanghai had a very high opinion of him. 
 From 1855 to 1858 he was associated with the Hong- 
 Kong Mission, and Dr. Legge, who was a shrewd 
 discerner of character, wrote of him : * He soon 
 established himself in the confidence and esteem of 
 the members of the Mission and the Chinese Christians 
 connected with it. His literary attainments were re- 
 spectable ; his temper amiable and genial ; his mind 
 was characterised by a versatility unusual in a China- 
 man. His knowledge of Christian doctrine was largely 
 increased, and of the sincerity of his attachment to it 
 there could be no doubt. His intercourse with Chinese 
 Christians was what is termed edifying, calculated to 
 promote their purity and stimulate their zeal. With 
 other Chinese he was the proselytiser, fearlessly expos- 
 ing their errors, and exhorting them to repent and 
 believe the Gospel. Over young men his influence was 
 peculiarly beneficial. In fact, whether the individuals 
 were young or old, as was once observed by Mr. 
 Chalmers, " Whenever you see any one having long 
 and frequent intercourse with Hung Jin, you may be 
 sure there is something good going on in him." ' 
 
 Hung Jin had apparently given up all thought of 
 
i26 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 joining the rebels. In fact, he refused to become the 
 leader of various bands who wished to join them. 
 Suddenly a longing took possession of him to go and 
 teach them the truth of Christ more perfectly. He 
 went off and became one of their leaders. 
 
 After their retreat from Shanghai in 1853, tne 
 T'ai-p'ings seem to have withdrawn entirely from the 
 province of Kiang-Su for some years. During this 
 period they gave their strength to a great expedition 
 to the north, with the intention of capturing Peking, 
 and actually succeeded in getting within twenty miles 
 of Tientsin. They then suffered an overwhelming 
 defeat from the Imperialist troops, and had great 
 difficulty in getting the broken remnant of their army 
 back to Nanking. For some time they were practically 
 confined to this place and one other stronghold, the 
 country at large being apparently cleared of them. At 
 the beginning of 1860 the tide turned again. Under 
 the able leadership of the Chung Wang they defeated 
 and dispersed the Imperialists, and once more began 
 to swarm over the country. They poured into the 
 province of Kiang-Su, captured and plundered city 
 after city, and ultimately threatened Shanghai. It was 
 at this time that the missionaries came into direct 
 contact with them. 
 
 In April 1860, Mr. John, in the ordinary course of 
 his work, visited Su-Chow, and it was at that time 
 untouched by the rebels. In June a party of three 
 American missionaries visited the city and found it 
 wrecked. At the beginning of July another party, of 
 whom Mr. John was one, paid a visit to the place. In 
 
Missionaries visit Insurgents 127 
 
 sending to the Directors a report of their visit, Mr. 
 John said : 
 
 1 SHANGHAI, July 16, 1860. 
 
 ' In my last communication I stated that I had 
 some intention of visiting the insurgents' camp for 
 the purpose of ascertaining for myself the character of 
 the movement. This intention has since been put into 
 execution, in company with our brethren Edkins, 
 Macgowan, and Hall, and the result is given in letters 
 which have appeared in the North China Herald, of 
 which I send you a copy. 
 
 ' The week we spent in the insurgents' territory is by 
 far the most eventful in my history. In fact, it is the 
 experience of a twelvemonth condensed into that of 
 a week. We passed through many a scene of danger 
 and trial. The second night we were in danger of 
 being set upon by enraged and suspicious villagers. 
 We were told on the next day that at one time they 
 were on the point of beating the gongs to summon all 
 the villagers to action. After matters had been 
 explained they dispersed. The third night our boats 
 were anchored between two fires that of the villagers 
 on the one hand, and the insurgents on the other. 
 We found afterwards, however, what we did not know 
 at the time, that the villagers were firing at a distance, 
 so that we were in no real danger. The fourth night 
 (and this was by far the most trying of all) we spent 
 among dead bodies that were floating in the canal. 
 For two or three hundred yards our boats had actually 
 to push through heaps of bodies, in an advanced state 
 
128 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 of decomposition. Many of these had been killed by 
 the insurgents, but by far the majority were cases of 
 suicide. In returning also we had many an anxious 
 moment.' 
 
 The fuller narrative, which was printed in the North 
 China Her aid y was apparently from the pen of Mr. 
 Edkins. It was accompanied by a note from Mr. 
 John dealing specially with the question of British 
 neutrality towards the rebels. This was followed by a 
 further and lengthy communication from him, in which 
 he gave fuller particulars of the religious beliefs and 
 practices of the T'ai-p'ings, gathered after a second 
 visit to Su-Chow. It is evident that at this time he 
 and his friends were very favourably impressed with 
 what they saw of the leaders, and that they entertained 
 the hope that if they were treated sympathetically by 
 foreigners the movement would prove a great blessing. 
 
 Such conflicting opinions have been expressed about 
 the character of the T'ai-p'ings, and there is such a 
 general ignorance of them, that the estimate of careful 
 and fair-minded observers is worth considering. 
 
 The article is too long to reproduce in full. The 
 following extracts embody the main paragraphs : 
 
 1 A party of five, consisting principally of English 
 missionaries, returned yesterday morning from Su-Chow. 
 They went with the desire of gaining information 
 respecting the opinions and feelings of the insurgents, 
 now in possession of that city, and also of com- 
 municating, as occasion should arise, information on 
 Christianity. 
 
A Friendly Reception 129 
 
 ' The reception they met with was remarkably 
 friendly. Proceeding towards Bing-bong (Ping-wang), 
 they reached the territory now under the insurgents, 
 at a village three miles to the southward, called Wang- 
 kia-chi. A body of about a hundred horse and foot 
 were proceeding in single file towards Bing-bong, on 
 their way from Kiahing. They stopped on seeing 
 foreigners, and entered into friendly conversation, 
 showing their confidence by freely partaking of cake 
 and tea. There are many of them strong in muscle, 
 free and bold in manner, and open in countenance, who 
 appear to communicate their thoughts unreservedly. 
 In answer to a question respecting a relative of the 
 Tien Wang who had gone from Hong-Kong to join the 
 rebellion, they stated that he is now second in 
 command, with the title of Rang Wang. 
 
 ' The officers at Ping-wang supplied their foreign 
 visitors with passports to Su-Chow, and also to 
 Wukiang, a city on the way to it. Provided with 
 these, they went forward along the Grand Canal, 
 noticing in many parts that the people were in the 
 fields working, although this is one of the lines by 
 which the T'ai-p'ings pass in large and small bodies 
 between Su-Chow and Kiahing. When they appear, 
 the villagers withdraw. 
 
 * At Wukiang, more state was observed in the 
 appearance of the chief in command, it being a walled 
 city, and the rank of the chief being that of " i," right, in 
 the rebel nobility. This title stands immediately after 
 that of wang (king). But the gay show here made of 
 yellow and red banners before the residence of the 
 
 K 
 
130 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 chief, and his stately robe and turban of yellow, were 
 far surpassed by the display witnessed at Su-Chow in 
 the palace of the Chung Wang. This chief was the 
 conqueror of Chang-kwoh-liang at Tan-yang, and the 
 subjugator of Chang-Chow, Su-Chow, and Kiahing. 
 In addition to his remarkable military successes, he has 
 the character of a good man, opposing the excesses of 
 the troops, and protecting the suffering people, who are 
 the victims of this civil war, from injury and insult. 
 
 ' To his English visitors he behaved in the most 
 friendly manner. They were allowed, on stating their 
 objection to kneeling, to dispense with that ceremony, 
 and appear with simply a bow, and uncovered. They 
 had, however, to wait an hour and a half for the 
 interview. This was accounted for by a visit the same 
 evening, while they were waiting in another apartment, 
 from the Ying Wang (flourishing king), who arrived 
 from Nanking two days before. When he was gone it 
 was about 8 P.M. The foreign party of four were then 
 conducted to the entrance hall, where they stood for 
 some minutes at the end of the long train of officers 
 and servants, nearly a hundred in number, who stood 
 facing each other in two rows. In the far interior was 
 the Chung Wang himself. After a salute of six, fired 
 with Chinese petards, with music and gong-beating to 
 a most deafening extent, the visitors were marshalled 
 up the long and gorgeous vista, through which they 
 had stolen a few glances of curiosity. After bowing 
 and standing before the chief for a minute, they were 
 conducted to his right, where they stood during the 
 interview. The hall of audience was carpeted with red. 
 
Interview with the Chung Wang 131 
 
 Large lanthorns were held between the officers who 
 stood on each side. They all wore robes and caps of 
 red and yellow silk. The only person seated was the 
 Chung Wang himself. He is a man of small, keen 
 features, wears spectacles, and appears in a rich yellow 
 robe and gold -embroidered hat after some ancient 
 model. 
 
 ' Conversation then commenced. The king was 
 informed, in answer to his inquiries, that his visitors 
 had asked an interview as followers of the religion of 
 Jesus, and worshippers of God the Heavenly Father. 
 The king then enumerated several leading points in 
 Christian doctrine, and was satisfied to find that they 
 are believed also by foreign nations. He asked what 
 days in the cycle of twenty-eight we keep for worship, 
 and when told that they are Fang, Hu, May, Sing, he 
 observed that they are the same with theirs. 
 
 ' He willingly accepted an offered present of Bibles 
 and other books, and invited the party to remain for 
 two or three days in quarters to be provided for them. 
 They were then, after the same salute as on entrance, 
 conducted on horses to the residence of Lieu, a high 
 officer of amiable disposition, who entertained them 
 hospitably enough for the rest of the evening. On 
 their expressing a wish to return at once to Shanghai, 
 they were escorted on horses to their boats. 
 
 * There cannot be less than 30,000 insurgents in 
 the city, and perhaps the truth was told when they 
 themselves stated that there were many more. Indeed, 
 they appear to have overpowering force throughout the 
 region from hence to Nanking. 
 
132 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 ' Many proofs offered themselves of the activity and 
 vigour of the revolutionists. Large bodies of them 
 move daily between the cities in their occupation. 
 They have the energy which their religious principles 
 and an active life induce. That they possess far greater 
 physical and moral vigour than the Imperialists seems 
 to account fairly for their great advance this year in 
 power and numbers. One of their detachments, prob- 
 ably numbering several thousands, was proceeding 
 from Su-Chow when our party left that city. At one 
 in the morning they issued from the gates, and while 
 the boats were slowly sculling or sailing on their return 
 to Shanghai, the army was proceeding along the 
 towing-path. They walk or ride in single file, and 
 several boats, containing from twenty to thirty men, 
 were also with them. 
 
 ' The country people offer an ineffectual resistance 
 to these large bodies of men. Their bands for self- 
 protection, hastily organised and consisting of 
 agricultural labourers unpractised in war, cannot make 
 head against the tried warriors of the T'ai-p'ing party. 
 Yet they are useful in beating the bounds of the 
 villages at night. They encourage the people and 
 keep away local banditti. The sight of these bands at 
 night is very picturesque. Each person carries a 
 lanthorn and a long pike, while a very few have 
 matchlocks. This institution is called Mintwan. 
 
 * The rebel chiefs are most of them open and com- 
 municative. They made no secret of their intention to 
 come to Shanghai. But they wish to maintain amity 
 with their " brethren of the western oceans." Some 
 
The Religious Element 133 
 
 detachments already despatched to the region east of 
 Su-Chow have been ordered to capture Shanghai, but 
 prudence has not allowed the officers in command to 
 attempt it. This, they say, is nothing but a temporary 
 postponement of what is an essential point in their 
 plan of conquest. They have at present few boats, 
 and it is most likely that they will come by land. 
 Should foreign soldiers happen to be posted at 
 Zi-ka-wei, or any other spot beyond the limits of the 
 foreign settlement, when they arrive, it is most sincerely 
 to be hoped that the laws of neutrality will not be 
 violated, nor any hostile act on our part be allowed to 
 chill the friendly feeling that they now undoubtedly 
 entertain. It would be no less imprudent than unjust 
 to treat as our enemies these vigorous and independent 
 bands of men, who have, during the present year, 
 wrested from the Emperor the richest of his provinces. 
 ' It is evident that the religious element enters very 
 powerfully into this great revolutionary movement. 
 Nothing can be more erroneous than the supposition 
 that it is a purely political one, and that religion 
 occupies but a subordinate place in it. So far is this 
 from being the case, that, on the contrary, it is the 
 basis upon which the former rests, and is its life- 
 perpetuating source. The downfall of idolatry, and 
 the establishment of the worship of the true God, are 
 objects aimed at by them, with as much sincerity and 
 devotion as the expulsion of the Manchus and the 
 conquest of the Empire. In opposition to the 
 pantheistic notions of the philosophers of the Sung 
 dynasty, they hold the doctrine of the personality of 
 
134 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 the deity ; in opposition to the popular polytheistic 
 notions, they have the clearest conception of the 
 unity of God ; and in opposition to the fatalism of 
 philosophical Buddhism, they believe in and teach the 
 doctrine of an all -superintending Providence. This 
 appears on the very surface, and no one can be 
 among them for any length of time without being 
 impressed with it. They feel that they have a work 
 to accomplish, and the deep conviction that they are 
 guided by an unerring finger and supported by an 
 omnipotent arm in its execution is their inspiration. 
 Success they ascribe to the goodness of the Heavenly 
 Father, and defeat to His chastisements. The deity 
 is with them, not an abstract notion, nor a stern, 
 implacable sovereign, but a loving Father, who watches 
 tenderly over their affairs, and leads them by the 
 hand. 
 
 1 The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
 are their standard of faith now, as they were at the 
 commencement of the movement. This is a very 
 important fact. As long as they receive them as the 
 word of God, we have reasonable grounds to hope 
 that their errors will gradually be corrected. The 
 missionary can always refer to these, and they cannot 
 consistently object. They often speak of the death of 
 Christ as atoning for the sins of the whole world, 
 though they do not seem to have a clear notion of 
 the divinity of His person. They regard Him as the 
 greatest human being that has ever appeared in this 
 world, and as specially the God-sent ; and this will 
 account for the revolutionary chief styling himself the 
 
God's ' Second Messenger ' 135 
 
 brother of Christ. He does not suppose that he 
 himself is divine ; his idea, probably, is that the 
 Saviour is the greatest of God's messengers, and he 
 himself the second. On this point, as well as on the 
 doctrine of the Holy Spirit, he needs enlightenment. 
 Could he be convinced that Christ is divine as well 
 as human, he would immediately see, and perhaps 
 renounce, his error. That errors have crept in is not 
 surprising ; on the contrary, it would be one of the 
 greatest miracles on record were it otherwise. The 
 amount of religious knowledge diffused among the 
 people is necessarily limited ; that of the chiefs, though 
 not very profound, is 'more extensive. It is in the 
 Kwangsi men that the religious element runs wide 
 and deep, whence it spreads over the surrounding mass. 
 The latter are expected only to learn and chant their 
 hymns of praise. The ability to do this, together 
 with baptism, constitutes them brethren. We may 
 expect that the advent of Hung Jin, who has been 
 promoted to the highest rank, will have a salutary 
 effect upon the movement in a religious point of view. 
 
 ' The feeling which they entertain towards foreigners 
 is apparently of the most friendly nature ; they are 
 always addressed as " our foreign brethren." " We 
 worship the same Heavenly Father, and believe in the 
 same Elder Brother ; why should we be at variance ? " 
 They seem to be anxious for intercourse with foreigners, 
 and desirous to promote the interests of trade. The 
 opening up of the eighteen provinces to trade, they 
 say, would be most pleasing to them. Some would 
 say that policy would make them talk in this way 
 
136 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 suppose it did ; how is it that policy, or something 
 akin, does not make the Imperialists speak in the same 
 way ? They say that foreigners will be respected 
 whenever they pass through their territory ; and the 
 respectful attention they have paid to those who have 
 visited them is a sufficient proof of their sincerity. 
 
 * A great deal has been said about the cruelty of 
 the " long-haired rebels " ; but in this there has been 
 much exaggeration and misrepresentation. In no 
 instance have we witnessed any traces of wilful 
 destruction. It is true they kill, but it is because they 
 must do so or submit to be killed. They burn, but, 
 so far as our observation went, it is invariably in 
 self-defence. Much of the burning is done by the 
 Imperialists before the arrival of the rebels, and the 
 cases of suicide are far more numerous than those of 
 murder. The fact that all the women have been 
 allowed to leave Sungkiang, and that they are 
 known in many cases to have made attempts to save 
 men and women who had plunged themselves into 
 the canals and rivers, is a proof that they are not 
 the cruel, relentless marauders that they have been 
 represented to be by many. They are revolutionists 
 in the strictest sense of the term ; both the work of 
 slaughter and of plunder are carried on only so far 
 as is necessary to secure the end. These are evils 
 which necessarily accompany such a movement, and 
 are justifiable or otherwise in so far as the movement 
 itself is so. 
 
 1 As to their general moral character we are scarcely 
 able to give an opinion. Probably, taking them en 
 
Character of Insurgents 137 
 
 masse, they are not much superior to their fellow- 
 countrymen in this respect. Though the use of opium 
 is strictly forbidden, yet we know that it is largely 
 consumed by them. Both the common soldiers and 
 many of the chiefs partake of it freely. We were 
 grieved to hear one of the chiefs (though not himself 
 an opium-smoker) mentioning opium first in the list of 
 articles he would like to be supplied with. Continual 
 applications were made for opium and firearms. 
 It cannot be reasonably expected that the moral 
 character of men placed in such circumstances would 
 be very high. 
 
 ' As to their future success we can say nothing. 
 They seem now to be taking a hold of this Empire 
 with an iron grasp, and treading it like conquerors. 
 The impression which an interview with them leaves 
 upon the mind is that they look back upon the past 
 thankfully, and to the future with buoyant and 
 confident hope.' 
 
 The communications opened during this visit to 
 Su-Chow led to a prompt and cordial response, with an 
 invitation to visit the city again. The story is told 
 by Mr. John in the following letter to the Secretary of 
 the London Missionary Society : 
 
 4 SHANGHAI, July 31, 1 860. 
 
 ' By the last mail, Mr. Edkins and myself sent 
 to the Mission House two pamphlets containing a 
 lengthened account of our visit to the insurgents at 
 Su-Chow. In a letter to Mr. Prout, I stated that we 
 wrote a joint letter to Hung Jin (the Shield King), 
 
138 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 congratulating him on his safe arrival in Nanking, 
 and exhorting him to cleave to the purity of the 
 Gospel ; and another to the Chung Wang (Sincere 
 King), containing a statement of Christian doctrine 
 with special reference to the errors of the insurgents. 
 
 * Since then letters have been received from both 
 the Shield King and the Sincere King, accompanied 
 with a book, and four proclamations written by the 
 former. The letters from both kings breathe a manli- 
 ness and a kindliness of spirit that has quite surprised 
 me. They are letters such as could never have been 
 written by an unchristian Chinaman. I see in them 
 a new element an element which Christianity alone 
 could infuse. 
 
 ' The Shield King in his letter says that during his 
 residence in Shanghai he was on very friendly terms 
 with all the missionaries, continually conversing with 
 them on the true doctrine, and thus receiving a large 
 measure of the benefits of the Gospel. He left Hong- 
 Kong for Nanking, not, he says, because he coveted 
 emoluments and position, but that he might assist 
 the Celestial King to spread the Gospel, cause the 
 whole country to be swept clean of its idolatry, and 
 return altogether to the holy religion of God the 
 Heavenly Father and Jesus the Heavenly Elder 
 Brother. 
 
 ' He speaks of the Celestial King in the most 
 eulogistic terms. He seems to have unbounded con- 
 fidence in his piety, and admiration for his talents. 
 He feels that he is indebted for what he is at present 
 to the instructions he formerly received from the 
 
Letters from Rebel Kings 139 
 
 missionaries. Then he goes on to say that, having 
 heard that his brother, the Sincere King, had received a 
 letter explaining the true doctrine, which was sufficient 
 to show that men of the same religion are of one 
 mind, he had come to Su-Chow to have an interview, 
 and he sincerely hopes that his invitation will be 
 accepted, so that conveniently in the presence of each 
 other he may empty his whole heart. 
 
 ( Such is the purport of the letter. It is gratifying, 
 and a cause of much thankfulness, to find that such 
 a man is in the camp. He has been placed in a 
 position of influence second only to his Christian 
 profession, employing his time and talents in correcting 
 errors and explaining the truth, and thus infusing into 
 the gangrene of this movement a new and vigorous 
 life-restoring element 
 
 ' The letter of the Chung Wang, or " Sincere King," 
 at Su-Chow is also very interesting. He acknowledges 
 the receipt of our letter which explains the true 
 doctrine. He is much pleased and instructed. 
 
 ' And now, having been favoured with the letter, 
 he thinks that we will not spare the trouble of coming 
 once more to visit him, so that we might empty our 
 bosom's thoughts in the presence of each other. 
 Moreover, he says the Shield King, having heard of 
 our visit at Su-Chow, has come down with the express 
 purpose of seeing us, and talking over various matters 
 with us. Having not feared the distance of more 
 than 20,000 miles to come to China to preach the 
 Gospel, he feels quite sure that we will not hesitate 
 to disregard the distance, seventy miles, to come 
 
140 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 again to Su-Chow and talk over various subjects of 
 importance. 
 
 * Such is the drift of Chung Wang's letter. From 
 all this you will learn that our recent visit to Su- 
 Chow has not been in vain ; though we passed through 
 many a scene of danger and trial during the eventful 
 week, we have abundant reason to be very thankful 
 for the issue. 
 
 ' Though this is pleasing news, I trust it will not 
 lead to any precipitate measures on the part of the 
 Directors in reference to the insurgents. Their course 
 hitherto has been that of cloud and sunshine, and it 
 may be that such will be the case for years yet to 
 come. Now they triumph everywhere in a most re- 
 markable way, but the day of adversity may be at 
 hand. They deserve the sympathy and prayer of 
 British Christians, which, I trust, will not be withheld.' 
 
 Immediately after the despatch of this letter to 
 London the little party of missionaries set off again on 
 their second visit to the rebels at Su-Chow. Mr. John 
 reported this journey to the Mission House in a letter 
 written immediately after his return to Shanghai : 
 
 ' We reached Su-Chow early in August 2, and had 
 an interview with the Kan Wang on the same day. 
 He appeared in a rich robe and a gold-embroidered 
 crown, surrounded by a number of officers, all of whom 
 wore robes and caps of red and yellow silk. On our 
 entering he stood up and received us with a hearty 
 shake of the hand. He said that our visit made him 
 very happy, and that his heart was quite set free. He 
 
Second Visit to the Chung Wang 141 
 
 then made kind inquiries about his old friends in 
 Shanghai, both native and foreign. He was much 
 pleased to hear of the progress of the Gospel at Amoy ; 
 of the recent accessions of converts to the Church in 
 the neighbourhood of Canton and Hong- Kong, and 
 of the late revival in the West. " The kingdom of 
 Christ," said he, " must spread and overcome every 
 opposition ; whatever may become of the celestial 
 dynasty, there can be no doubt concerning this 
 matter." 
 
 1 He then put off his crown and robe, and dismissed 
 his officers ; after which we had a free and confidential 
 conversation on various points. We gladly accepted 
 an invitation to dine with him. Before partaking of 
 the viands prepared for us, he proposed that we should 
 sing a hymn and pray together. Having selected one 
 of Dr. Medhurst's hymns, he himself started the tune, 
 and sang with remarkable correctness, warmth, and 
 energy. After a short prayer offered up by Mr. 
 Edkins, we sat at table. The conversation turned 
 almost exclusively upon religious subjects ; in fact, he 
 did not seem to wish to talk about anything else. He 
 seemed to feel very grateful to Dr. Legge, Messrs. 
 Chalmers, Hamberg, Edkins, and others, for their past 
 kindness to him. He told us that his object in leaving 
 Hong -Kong for Nanking was solely to preach the 
 Gospel to the subjects of the celestial dynasty ; and 
 that on his arrival he begged permission of his cousin 
 to be allowed to do so. The chief, however, would 
 not hear of it, but insisted upon his immediate pro- 
 motion to the rank of king. Though thoroughly 
 
142 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 devoted to the new dynasty, and determined to live or 
 die with it, he told us repeatedly that he was much 
 happier when employed as a native assistant at Hong- 
 Kong than now, notwithstanding the dignity conferred 
 upon him and the authority with which he is invested. 
 We were escorted on horses to our boat at a late hour. 
 
 ' We visited him again on the following day. On 
 our arrival at his residence we found a foreign merchant 
 waiting upon him, and the Kan Wang considerably 
 agitated in mind. The reason of this we afterwards 
 learnt was that he had heard that the letters which he 
 had sent to the representatives of foreign Powers at 
 Shanghai had not been opened, and that the city was 
 held by English as well as French soldiers. The first 
 he spoke of as a personal insult to himself, and the 
 second as a direct violation of the principle of 
 neutrality, which foreigners should adopt between the 
 two contending parties. Though we told him that 
 these were matters with which we, as missionaries, had 
 nothing to do, still we could not but feel a secret 
 sympathy with him. 
 
 ' After the merchant had left, we had a very inter- 
 esting conversation with him on various matters, but 
 especially the character of T'ai-p'ing Wang, the chief. 
 Before separating, he proposed that we should com- 
 mend each other to the care of Almighty God and 
 invoke His blessing in prayer. After singing a hymn, 
 he engaged in prayer. His prayer was exceedingly 
 appropriate, fervent, and scriptural. He prayed that 
 all the idols might perish, that the temples should be 
 converted into chapels, and that pure Christianity 
 
Rebels at Shanghai 143 
 
 should speedily become the religion of China. This 
 was a most interesting spectacle a spectacle never to 
 be forgotten. We parted again with a hearty shake 
 of the hand. We were escorted to the boat, as on the 
 previous day. A present of a goat and some fowls 
 followed us from the Kan Wang. 
 
 ' Having now done what we purposed to do, we turned 
 our faces homewards. We reached home on August 5.' 
 Not long after this interesting interview with Hung 
 Jin the T'ai-p'ings appeared once more before Shang- 
 hai. Mr. John wrote on September 3, 1860, as 
 follows : 
 
 ' Since our return the insurgents have paid us a 
 visit. For two or three weeks before their arrival the 
 excitement was very great both among the foreigners 
 and the natives. When they came within a mile of 
 the settlement the excitement reached it highest pitch 
 of intensity. We myself and family were merci- 
 fully preserved, not only from danger, but also from 
 fear. Not a single foreigner was killed or even 
 wounded. In fact, the insurgents did not come down 
 to fight, but to open communication with the repre- 
 sentatives of foreign Powers at this port. Mr. Bruce, 
 influenced, I believe, by Mons. Bourboulon, and the 
 latter influenced doubtless by the priests, would have 
 nothing to say to them, but had decreed that they 
 were to be replied to with shot and shell. They came 
 entertaining the most friendly feeling imaginable 
 towards all foreigners, but they were treated by us, and 
 our allies the French, in a way that reflects disgrace on 
 our flag.' 
 
144 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 Six weeks later, writing on October 20, Mr. John 
 refers to the same subject again : 
 
 * The rebels are still advancing in this and the 
 adjoining province. In fact, the whole of this province 
 lies prostrate at their feet. The only place of any 
 importance that has not fallen into their hands is 
 Shanghai, which has been saved to the Imperialists 
 by the English and the French, who checked the 
 triumphant march of the insurgents on the morning of 
 August 1 8. After a sharp engagement at a short 
 distance from the city, in which they completely dis- 
 comfited the Imperialists, they marched right up to 
 the city gate and would have taken it with the greatest 
 ease had it not been for our shot and grape which was 
 mercilessly poured into the midst of them. They 
 essayed to communicate with the officers on the walls ; 
 but to no purpose. It was irrevocably decreed that 
 no reply was to be returned except in well-directed 
 balls. On Monday morning they were seen marching 
 towards the race-course. They were immediately fired 
 upon and soon driven back. The fire was all on one 
 side. They did not return a shot. It is very evident 
 that they had no intention of injuring foreigners or 
 foreign property ; on the contrary, it seems clear that 
 they came down with the most friendly intentions 
 towards us. From what we have heard since, they 
 were amazed at the manner of their reception, especi- 
 ally as they had not received any official intimation of 
 our intention to hold the city and to resist them. 
 After this repulse they soon disappeared, and have not 
 returned since. 
 
Awaiting Treaty of Peace 145 
 
 ' Doubtless this movement abounds in errors of the 
 gravest kind ; and their practices in many respects are 
 censurable. As yet they have signally failed in the 
 important work of reorganisation. But, in spite of all 
 these drawbacks, we still hope and believe that much 
 good will come out of the movement. Satan has been 
 busy sowing tares in this field, which have grown up 
 with wonderful rapidity ; but he must be very ignorant 
 of the facts of the case, or blinded with prejudice, who 
 does not see that beside and before the tares some 
 grains of precious wheat have been sown. It would 
 be sin in us to abandon the movement, because of its 
 errors, as a vile thing. Rather let us do what we can 
 by prayer and effort to purify it.' 
 
 There were at this time a large number of mission- 
 aries (fully seventy) gathered in Shanghai, awaiting 
 the final settlement of the treaty of peace with China. 
 They had interviewed Lord Elgin on his way north, 
 and had been much gratified by his sympathetic recep- 
 tion of them. Now they were anticipating with eager- 
 ness the extension of their rights to travel and settle 
 in the interior, and were making up their minds to 
 commence missions in important centres as soon as 
 they could do so. Among these no one was more eager 
 for action than Mr. John. His correspondence shows 
 that he seriously contemplated settling among the 
 rebels at Nanking, and that the vision of the possi- 
 bilities of Hankow was not absent from his mind. 
 His first step was to endeavour to pay a visit to the 
 rebel headquarters in order to obtain if possible an 
 expression of their sympathy with Christian teachers 
 
 L 
 
146 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 and missionaries, and a definite declaration of their 
 willingness to let them settle and work in the territory 
 of which they were de facto the rulers. Such was his 
 confidence in the good feeling of the rebel leaders, not- 
 withstanding the unexpected and uncalled-for treatment 
 they had received from the foreigners, that he started 
 on this expedition within two months after the repulse 
 of their force at Shanghai. The trip was successful in 
 the special object on account of which it was under- 
 taken, and on his return he sent his friend Mr. Jacob 
 an interesting account of his visit : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, December 5, 1860. 
 
 1 In my last communication I informed you that I 
 was about leaving for Nanking. I returned in safety 
 on the morning of the 2nd inst. after nearly a month's 
 absence. In the meantime I have learnt a good deal 
 of the religious tenets, and the religious, social, and 
 political life of the insurgents. I was accompanied by 
 Mr. Klockers of the English Baptist Mission, and two 
 native brethren who speak the Canton dialect. The 
 latter proved very valuable in my intercourse with the 
 Canton chieftains. We were received at all the cities, 
 towns, and villages through which we passed with 
 marked respect, and treated as brethren. The distance 
 between this and Nanking is about 250 English miles. 
 In returning we travelled night and day without fear 
 of molestation. Though these men have fallen into 
 many grievous errors, they doubtless have the seeds of 
 Christianity, as will appear from the enclosed. They 
 have created a vacuum, not only in the temples, but 
 
Edict of Religious Toleration 147 
 
 also in the hearts of the people, which remains to be 
 filled. This is the missionary's work, a work that 
 might be done immediately were it not for the un- 
 accountable policy of the representatives of foreign 
 Powers at this port. 
 
 * My principal object in going to Nanking has been 
 fully realised. My object was to obtain from the 
 chief an Edict of Religious Toleration. This I have 
 obtained. It gives full permission to missionaries 
 of every persuasion to enter into and live in the 
 insurgents' territory for the purpose of carrying on 
 missionary work. I had some difficulty in obtaining 
 this, but ultimately succeeded. The phraseology in 
 some parts is bombastic, and therefore objectionable ; 
 but the simple meaning is full toleration to all 
 Christians, whether Protestants or Roman Catholics. 
 " I see that the missionaries are sincere and faithful 
 men, and that they do not count suffering with Christ 
 anything, and because of this I esteem them very 
 highly." Such are the words of the Edict. Then 
 comes a command to the kings to issue orders to all 
 the brethren to treat the missionary exceedingly well. 
 
 'I showed the Edict at Su-Chow, and asked the 
 chiefs if they would help me to get a house, a chapel, 
 and necessary buildings. " Yes," said they, " you come 
 and it will be all right." I am sorry to say, however, 
 that Su-Chow is a mere camp, and that it would hardly 
 be possible for a missionary to live in the city at 
 present. I send you the original of this Edict written 
 by the young prince himself, and bearing the seal of 
 his father. I firmly believe that God is uprooting 
 
148 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 idolatry in the land through the insurgents, and that 
 He will, by means of them in connection with the 
 foreign missionary, plant Christianity in its stead. 
 Let the prayers of our brethren in England be more 
 fervent than ever on behalf of China ! The King 
 Chang at Nanking begged of me to inform the foreign 
 brethren for him that the following are his views : 
 
 ' " You have had the Gospel for upwards of 1800 
 years, we only as it were eight days. Your knowledge 
 of it ought to be correct and extensive. Ours must 
 necessarily be limited and imperfect. You must there- 
 fore bear with us for the present, and we will gradually 
 improve. As for the Gospel, it is one, and must be 
 propagated throughout the land. Let the foreign 
 brethren all know that we are determined to uproot 
 idolatry and plant Christianity in its place." 
 
 * This seems to be very encouraging. The former 
 part of the task they will surely accomplish if God will 
 prosper them ; let the Church and her missionaries in 
 China see to the latter. All the way up from Su- 
 Chow to Nanking the idols are smashed, and in the 
 latter place there is not a vestige of idolatry remaining.' 
 
 As the rebellion failed, the Edict obtained was not 
 of any permanent value. It remains of curious interest 
 as a statement of the attitude of the leaders of this 
 strange movement towards Christianity. Whatever 
 their failings were, and however erroneous and even 
 blasphemous some of their opinions and claims may 
 have been, they seem to have been genuinely friendly 
 towards missionary work. Some of them were prob- 
 
Final Suppression of Rebels 149 
 
 ably sincerely desirous of having errors and mistakes 
 corrected by the advent of Christian teachers. Mr. 
 John felt strongly moved to settle amongst them in 
 Nanking, but further consideration, and the advice of 
 friends, led him to decide that the time was not 
 opportune for such a step. 
 
 Mr. John visited Nanking once more with his 
 colleague, Mr. Wilson, in April 1861. While still 
 hopeful of the movement, he was disappointed at the 
 signs of a change for the worse in the character and 
 pretensions of the leader and in the habits of his 
 followers. This was his last direct communication 
 with the rebels. The rest of their story may be very 
 briefly told. It may be doubted if the Imperial troops 
 would have made any effectual headway against them 
 had they not engaged foreign help. The first really 
 effective effort to subdue them was made under the 
 leadership of the American Ward. Then the British 
 Government departed from the line of strict neutrality 
 by lending Major Gordon to the Imperialists ; and that 
 high-souled and gallant officer was, to his great indig- 
 nation and disgust, associated with looting, cruelty, 
 and treachery of the most atrocious kind on the part 
 of Li Hung Chang. 
 
 Nanking was finally taken by the Imperial troops 
 in 1864. The T'ai-p'ing Wang committed suicide to 
 escape the ignominy of capture. Hung Jin, the Kan 
 Wang, having the special care of the young prince, did 
 his best to get him away, but they were pursued and 
 captured. The young prince was beheaded on the 
 spot, and Hung Jin, after being respited for a week 
 
i5o The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 (' for the purpose of completing his memoirs ' !), was 
 also put to death. 
 
 A few days after his return to Shanghai from his 
 first visit to Nanking, Mr. John wrote to the Directors 
 of the Society of his plans and wishes. In this letter 
 the possibility of going up the Yang-tse to commence 
 work at Hankow began to appear above the horizon. 
 Evidently he was thinking of it. 
 
 'SHANGHAI, December 17, 1860. 
 
 'When I returned from Nanking I fully intended 
 to go and live in that city if practicable. After much 
 thought, and some consultation with those who are in 
 authority, I have come to the conclusion that it would 
 be premature to do so just now. Were I to go among 
 them in the present state of things intermediate 
 between Nanking and Shanghai being almost entirely 
 cut off I should have to cast myself upon them for 
 support. This could not be done without undermining 
 my own personal influence, and injuring the cause 
 which I have dearest to my heart. Within four 
 months something decisive will be done on the Yang-tse. 
 The river, I am told on good authority, is to be opened 
 at once, and the ports of Hankow and Kiu-kiang are 
 to become consular ports. Another expedition is 
 about to go up the river. Then it will be determined 
 what is to be done with the insurgents. I was told 
 the other day, by one who ought to know a great deal 
 about it, that our future policy towards them will 
 depend upon their conduct towards us. They may be 
 treated as friends, or on the other hand as foes. If 
 
Plans and Wishes 151 
 
 not as the former, I am convinced that it will be our 
 fault, because they cherish the kindliest feeling towards 
 us, in spite of our infamous conduct towards them 
 when they visited Shanghai. 
 
 ' Very little can be done in this part of the country 
 before the results of this expedition are known. I 
 have made up my mind to join Mr. Edkins at Chefoo 
 in Shan-Tung, and to spend the winter with him. 
 Having had a partial intimation of the probability of 
 my being invited to go with the expedition, I should 
 have preferred doing so, did not duty point out Chefoo 
 as the place where my service is needed just now. Mr. 
 Edkins is alone, and needs assistance. Moreover, there 
 is not much probability of the expedition taking place 
 within two months. As I have no idea of staying at 
 Chefoo, I am not taking my family with me. In three 
 or four months hence we shall know how much of the 
 country is to be opened to the preaching of the Gospel. 
 We do not know now. Hence I have decided on 
 spending the winter with Mr. E., and then return to 
 Shanghai and reconsider the whole matter. Hankow 
 should by all means be occupied by our Society. A 
 more important or inviting sphere of missionary labour 
 China does not present. Then there is Tientsin in 
 the north. What is to be done with it ? Are we to 
 confine our energies to the Yang-tse and the south of 
 the Yang-tse, or are we to divide them between the 
 north and the south? I hope and pray that the 
 Directors will give this subject their earliest con- 
 sideration. We are anxious to carry out the wishes 
 and designs of the Churches and the Board, and are 
 
152 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 now waiting to know them. If the whole matter is 
 left to ourselves, we shall do the best we can. This is 
 a most important crisis in the spiritual as well as the 
 political history of this people. The insurgents are 
 making rapid strides, and are determined to uproot 
 idolatry in the land and to plant Christianity in its 
 room. The former they will do with a masterly hand, 
 and the latter will not be left undone, if the Churches 
 and missionaries are alive to their duty in reference to 
 this great movement.' 
 
 The day after this letter to the Directors was 
 written Mr. John left Shanghai for Chefoo. Shortly 
 after his arrival he wrote to Mr. Jacob to tell him of 
 his movements : 
 
 ' CHEFOO, January 8, 1861. 
 
 ' From the above you will see that I am writing 
 you from a place I never was at before. This province 
 is celebrated as the birthplace of Confucius and the 
 principal sphere of his labours. I left Shanghai on the 
 1 9th ult, and arrived here on the 3Oth, a remarkably 
 quiet passage for the season of the year. Mr. Edkins, 
 one of our missionaries, came up to this place about 
 three months ago, and has established a station here. 
 He was very anxious that I should join him. As 
 nothing could be done in the south for two or three 
 months, I felt it to be my duty to do so. So I came 
 with the view of returning to Shanghai at the end of 
 the above-mentioned period to reconsider the whole 
 matter. This is a very healthy, and in many respects 
 an interesting spot. The Shan -Tung life is very 
 
Attempt to Interdict Opium 153 
 
 different from anything to be seen in the south. The 
 sea, the bay, the hills and mountains, all conspire to 
 make it a charming place, and often remind me of 
 many a lovely spot in dear old Wales. It is altogether 
 a new field of labour, and waits to be cultivated. I 
 have been spending some of my time in going among 
 the towns and valleys about here. I intend visiting 
 every city in this neighbourhood, and not a few in the 
 interior, before I leave. I shall endeavour to sow the 
 seed as widely as possible. May God grant the 
 increase.' 
 
 On his return to Shanghai, Mr. John wrote again to 
 the same constant correspondent : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, March 5, 1861. 
 
 ' I came down with the expectation of going with 
 the expedition up the Yang-tse, but unfortunately was 
 too late. The Admiral has had an interview with the 
 chiefs at Nanking. They were very friendly in their 
 bearing. A man-of-war is to be stationed there for 
 the protection of British interests on the river. The 
 Chung Wang in his interview with the Captain said that 
 opium would be interdicted in our trade on the Yang-tse. 
 The Admiral is said to have declined to entertain the 
 subject, but declared that for any insult offered to the 
 British flag they would be held responsible. That is 
 to say, whether you like it or not, you must admit it. 
 You know that opium is prohibited under the penalty 
 of death in the rebel territory. Many of them smoke, 
 but such is the law. They will doubtless do what they 
 
i54 The T'ai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 can to prevent its importation. Are we to behold 
 another attempt to force this horrible poison on the 
 Chinese ? I fear it. Sooner or later we must treat 
 with these men, for nearly all the Yang-tse up to 
 Hankow is in their possession. They will resist any 
 attempt to force the importation of opium, and nothing 
 but the fear of our guns will make them yield. Will 
 Christian England be guilty of such a crime ? God 
 forbid. 
 
 * I am hoping to leave Shanghai soon for the 
 interior. Of this prospect I am truly glad.' 
 
 The close of the year 1 860 was marked by one of 
 those events which, counting for so little in the esti- 
 mate of the general public, are great landmarks in the 
 personal history of a missionary's life. In November 
 his elder boy Griffith was sent home to the care of 
 friends in Wales. The child was scarcely five years 
 old, the distance was great, the means of communica- 
 tion slow and infrequent, the prospect of seeing him 
 again for years was very small, and the parental feeling 
 was very strong. They faced the difficulty, however, 
 in the interests of the boy himself, as many another 
 missionary has done ; and, as an exceptionally favour- 
 able opportunity offered, they sent him off in the ( Im- 
 peratrix/ under the care of their colleague, Mr. Wylie, 
 and of some close friends belonging to the Church 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 Mr. John has not been in the habit of dwelling 
 largely on his domestic life in his correspondence, but 
 there are glimpses in some of his letters which show 
 
Children sent Home 155 
 
 how strong and tender his home affections have been. 
 On some of his shorter itinerating journeys Mrs. John 
 and the two little ones were his companions in his 
 boat. On other occasions he returned home with the 
 speed of one who had strong attractions there. The 
 decision to send away from them one who had arrived 
 at an age when he must have been the light and joy 
 of the house was not easy. Four months after his 
 departure the father wrote to his friend Mr. Jacob : 
 
 'SHANGHAI, April 5, 1861. 
 
 ' You seem all of you to be greatly surprised at our 
 sending him so young. We are sometimes astonished 
 at ourselves, and I doubt whether we shall ever be 
 equal to another such trial. I am still convinced it 
 was the best course that we could take in the circum- 
 stances. It is impossible to bring up children, especi- 
 ally boys, as they should be brought up in China. 
 Some of the most ungodly young men in China are 
 missionaries' children. To appreciate this remark, 
 experience is absolutely necessary. 
 
 * In Mei foh's [Chinese name] case we find that 
 every summer tells more and more on his constitution. 
 The last brought him very low/ 
 
 Mr. John's opinions about the perils to youth in 
 China did not modify with the passing years. In due 
 time his second son and then his daughter had to be 
 left in England for education ; and the indications of 
 his thought and desire about them are constant and 
 sometimes very touching. His old pastor, Mr. Jacob, 
 
156 The Tai-p'ing Rebels 
 
 kindly undertook to act the part of a father to the 
 boys ; and, writing to him about the future of one of 
 them when they had both reached the threshold of 
 manhood, he says : * You have no idea of the tempta- 
 tions of life out here to any young man. Almost 
 every one goes to the devil, and do what you may you 
 cannot prevent the onward rush.' It has to be thank- 
 fully acknowledged that a great change for the better 
 has come over society in the East in recent years, in 
 consequence of the much larger proportion of the 
 foreign residents who are now married, and who culti- 
 vate the tastes and pleasures of home life. Temptation 
 is everywhere, and it is probably still exceptionally 
 severe in communities where there is a large heathen 
 population with a very low view of morality, but 
 protective, wholesome, and elevating influences also 
 abound to an extent entirely unknown a few years 
 ago. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 HANKOW AT LAST 
 
 THE year 1861 found Mr. John still unsettled as 
 to his permanent location as a missionary, but 
 with the ardent desire undimmed in his heart to 
 press on to some sphere not yet occupied. He had 
 been six years in China, but from circumstances over 
 which he had no control he had not yet been able to 
 settle down permanently in any sphere he could call 
 his own. The two great cities, Su-Chow and Hang- 
 Chow, which he had visited again and again, and which 
 had attracted him greatly, were not open to him. The 
 American Presbyterians had resolved to make Su-Chow 
 the centre of their Mission, and had actually commenced 
 work by placing two missionaries there shortly before 
 the rebels captured and wrecked the city. Hang-Chow 
 which, after the rebellion was quelled, was occupied 
 by the Church Missionary Society, and became one of 
 the strongest and most successful centres of that great 
 Society's operations in China was at this time little 
 more than a vast rebel camp, which presented no 
 opportunity for regular missionary work, and was 
 scarcely the place to which a missionary could take 
 his family. Nanking, to which he had been attracted 
 
1 5 8 Hankow at Last 
 
 by his interest in what he had seen of the rebels, he 
 decided after a second visit was not a suitable centre 
 for missionary occupation. Niuchwang, in the north, 
 on the Gulf of Pechili, one of the new treaty ports, 
 had a-lso been suggested to him, but for various reasons 
 seemed unsuitable. 
 
 There remained that great highway to the centre 
 of China which had recently been opened. Close 
 by was the great river, the Yang-tse-kiang, 'The 
 Girdle of China,' ' The Son of the Ocean,' rolling its 
 vast flood down to the sea, coming from mysterious 
 distances more than 2000 miles away in the west of 
 the Empire, draining an area of 750,000 square miles, 
 passing on its way through province after province of 
 the wealthiest and most prosperous part of China, 
 bathing the feet of scores of great cities and hundreds 
 of towns, bearing on its bosom, in countless quaint and 
 clumsy craft, the traffic of a vast region. The fascina- 
 tion of such a river, with all it represented and suggested 
 of unknown regions where the Gospel had never yet 
 been preached, must have been exceedingly great. 
 
 In a letter written from Hankow to the London 
 Missionary Society shortly after his arrival there, Mr. 
 John describes the characteristics of the eight provinces 
 through which the river flows, and then says : 
 
 1 In these regions the beauty and riches of China 
 are most amply displayed ; and whether we consider 
 their agricultural resources, their great manufactories, 
 their various productions, their many canals and 
 tributary rivers, these provinces doubtless constitute 
 the best territory of China. 
 
Departure for Hankow 159 
 
 * Such is the vast territory into which we are 
 introduced, and the immense population with which 
 we are brought into contact, by the recent opening 
 up of this "great river." But this is not all. With 
 this river at our command, we can with ease, by means 
 of its numerous affluents, penetrate those provinces 
 which lie south and north of it, and eventually we 
 shall be able, if necessary, to proceed beyond the 
 confines of China proper into the very heart of Tartary 
 and Thibet/ 
 
 The brief autobiographical sketch which Dr. John 
 has prepared of his early years and of his early days 
 in China terminates at this point in his history, and 
 its concluding paragraphs form a fitting introduction 
 to the story of the crowded years which have passed 
 since then : 
 
 ' The Treaty of Tientsin, which came into full 
 operation in 1860, added nine new ports to the 
 preceding five, and threw the whole country open so 
 far as the right to travel is concerned. Both the 
 missionary and the merchant were transported with 
 joy when it became known that the Yang-tse was 
 thrown open to foreign merchant -ships, and that 
 Hankow was included among the ports opened to 
 foreign trade. My own mind was soon made up. 
 I had heard much and read much about Hankow, and 
 many a time longed to visit the place. Now that it 
 was actually open, I felt that I had no alternative but 
 to be off, and to be off at once. I well remember with 
 what transport of joy, on June 9, 1861, I stepped on 
 board the " Hellespont," the steamer that was to take 
 
160 Hankow at Last 
 
 my colleague, the Rev. R. Wilson, and myself to Han- 
 kow ; and I well remember how I felt when ascending 
 the mighty Yang-tse, as if a new world was bursting 
 on my vision, and how thankful we both were that 
 that magnificent stream had become a highway to the 
 messengers of the Cross. 
 
 ' It would be impossible for me to describe my 
 feelings when I found myself actually at Hankow. 
 I could hardly believe that I was standing in the very 
 centre of that China that had been closed till then 
 against- the outer barbarian, and that it would be 
 my privilege on the very next day to appear as a 
 missionary of the Cross in the streets of the famous 
 city. I thought of the great and good men who 
 had been longing to see what I was seeing, but did 
 not see it. I thought of Milne, who, on his arrival at 
 Canton, knocked earnestly for admittance, but was 
 ruthlessly driven away. I thought of Morrison, who 
 knocked for twenty-six years, but died without having 
 received the promise. I thought of Medhurst, and 
 remembered the last prayer I heard him offer up at 
 Shanghai : " O God, open China, and scatter Thy 
 servants." I thought of these and many others, who 
 had laboured long and well in the days gone by, and 
 felt as if they were present on this occasion, beholding 
 my joy and rejoicing with me in the triumph of Divine 
 providence over China's exclusiveness. I felt that I 
 had got at last to the place where God would have me 
 be, and my heart was at rest. 
 
 ' My work has been largely that of the pioneer 
 the work of preparing the ways, of breaking up new 
 
4 Golden Days' 161 
 
 ground. This kind of work has many attractions, and 
 I can never forget the gladness of my earlier efforts 
 in that particular line of things. The early days at 
 Shanghai, as the early days in Central China, were 
 golden days in many respects. The joy of early 
 missionary touring ; the joy of opening the cities to 
 missionary effort ; the joy of establishing new mission 
 stations ; the joy of receiving one's first converts ; the 
 joy of preaching in a new language, and to congrega- 
 tions of hundreds and thousands of people who had 
 never heard the Gospel before ; the joy of facing 
 dangers and getting out of them unhurt ; the joy of 
 writing your first tract or translating your first book ; 
 the joy of seeing visions of the coming glory, such as 
 are specially revealed to the young and youthful 
 missionary such was the joy of those earlier days, 
 and a great joy it was. 
 
 ' The work before us now is that of teaching, 
 training, consolidating, and building up. This is a 
 work as great and as important as the other, and in 
 some respects more difficult. It will require all the 
 wisdom and grace that we can command. But I am 
 confident that the God who has so richly blessed the 
 Mission in the past will continue to bless it in the 
 future. My own days of service are drawing to a 
 close ; but the work is God's work, and its success 
 depends upon His presence, guidance, and blessing. 
 The workers pass away, but Jesus Christ is the same 
 yesterday, and to-day yea, and for ever.' 
 
 Getting to Hankow was not quite so easy in 1861 
 as it is now. Foreign traffic had not yet commenced, 
 
 M 
 
1 62 Hankow at Last 
 
 and the palatial steamers which now ply between 
 Shanghai and Hankow almost every day of the week, 
 making the journey in three days, and carrying 
 hundreds of passengers, were unheard of. A naval 
 expedition consisting of five vessels went up the river 
 under Admiral Hope, in March 1861, for the purpose 
 of gathering information, and especially to make the 
 necessary arrangements with the local authorities at 
 Kiu-kiang and Hankow for the settlement of foreigners 
 at these two newly opened ports. Consul Parkes 
 went up with the Admiral to carry on the negotiations ; 
 and Mr. John hoped to be allowed to accompany them 
 as a passenger, that he might see Hankow and judge 
 of its suitability for occupation as a mission centre. 
 
 Arriving in Shanghai too late to go with the 
 expedition, Mr. John had to take his chance of being 
 conveyed by some merchant vessel. Evidently the 
 demand for passages to the newly opened ports was far 
 greater than the supply, and shipowners could make 
 their own terms. He mentions in one of his letters 
 that he had been asked to pay 500 taels, or upwards 
 of 100, for passage money ! 
 
 At length the opportunity came, and he and his 
 colleague, Mr. Wilson, went up the Yang-tse in the 
 ' Hellespont,' leaving Shanghai on June 9, and arriving 
 at Hankow late on the 2ist The city had been four 
 times in the hands of the T'ai-p'ing rebels, and on the 
 last occasion the inhabitants had resisted, with the 
 result that very great damage had been done to the 
 buildings. It was thoroughly characteristic of Chinese 
 methods that there were hundreds of military lanterns 
 
The * Heart ' of China 1 6 3 
 
 hung out on the walls of Wuchang and on Han-Yang 
 hill, to give the impression that there was a large 
 military force on the spot for protection, the fact being 
 that there were very few soldiers in the place, and a 
 man was paid to go round and light up all the lanterns 
 every night ! 
 
 The two travellers were impressed, as every one who 
 visits it is impressed, with the vast size of Hankow, 
 and with the evidences of its importance as a great 
 central mart and means of communication with distant 
 parts of the Empire. A large part of the city was still 
 in ruins as the result of the last visitation of the rebels ; 
 * but there is a greatness about the general appearance 
 of the place, though its glory has not been restored.' 
 1 I have not seen a place that I like better in every 
 respect than this. There is a vastness about it that 
 takes my fancy wonderfully. The Chinese have well 
 called it the " middle " or the " heart " of the Empire. 
 From here the missionary can penetrate the country in 
 every direction/ 
 
 Reporting to the Society on his course of action, 
 Mr. John wrote : 
 
 * Our object in visiting the place was to see whether 
 it was desirable and practicable to establish a mission- 
 ary station here in the present state of the surrounding 
 country. We had not remained here many days before 
 we became deeply impressed with its importance, and 
 convinced of the desirability of its being occupied by 
 us without delay. I know of no place in China that has 
 a stronger claim to the prompt attention of the Society. 
 Having made up our minds on this point, our next 
 
1 64 Hankow at Last 
 
 task was to look out for a suitable house. After a 
 great deal of searching and an infinite amount of 
 talking, we succeeded in finding one that will answer 
 our purpose for the time being.' 
 
 The * suitable house ' which was to answer the 
 purpose for the time being has been thus described by 
 one who knows it well : * They found their first home 
 in a small native house in a narrow lane in one of the 
 most densely populated quarters of the Chinese city. 
 In those dark and evil -smelling surroundings it is a 
 marvel that they ever survived a Hankow summer. 
 Two little children did fall a prey to the insanitary 
 surroundings, but, in spite of it all, the Mission party 
 kept cheery hearts.' 
 
 After three or four weeks of further prospecting, the 
 two missionaries returned to Shanghai, Mr. Wilson to 
 go on to Japan for health before attempting this new 
 work, Mr. John to bring his wife and two little ones 
 back to Hankow as speedily as possible. In the letter 
 which has already been quoted from, this momentous 
 step is very briefly and prosaically reported : 
 
 ' HANKOW, September 18, 1861. 
 
 ' With the view of bringing my family to Hankow, 
 I left for Shanghai on August 6 in a native boat, 
 and arrived at the latter place on the iQth. On the 
 way we encountered a terrible squall which threatened 
 the immediate and complete destruction of our crazy 
 craft. The crew, with the exception of one man, lost 
 all presence of mind. Having given up all for lost, 
 thay sat down trembling like so many aspen leaves. 
 
THE FIRST HOME IN HANKOW. 
 
 (Drawn from a photograph.} 
 
Griffith John's Magnetic Force 165 
 
 The storm soon passed away, and we were left 
 monuments of the providential goodness of God's 
 mercy. 
 
 1 On the 2nd, myself and family bid adieu to Shang- 
 hai. We reached Hankow on the I2th. Since, I 
 have been busily engaged in getting things into order. 
 In a day or two I hope to be able to commence daily 
 services in our preaching hall.' 
 
 It may be well at this point to pause for a while 
 and look more closely at the place in which Mr. John 
 had settled, and also to consider the situation created 
 by his settlement in Hankow. It will speedily be seen 
 as we proceed with our narrative, that the central 
 figure is not simply a missionary who has had an 
 exceptionally long and a remarkably successful career, 
 but that he has been the moving spirit and most 
 powerful magnetic force in a great enterprise, his 
 presence, his personality, his ideas of work and prin- 
 ciples of action moulding and inspiring the life of a 
 company of others, and being instrumental, through the 
 providence and blessing of God, in establishing and 
 extending a great Mission with far-reaching agencies 
 and wonderful results of blessing. 
 
 In the light of what has followed, the renting of 
 that native house, up a narrow lane in an evil-smelling 
 and crowded quarter of the great heathen city, is a 
 profoundly suggestive and illustrative act and object- 
 lesson. Mr. John and his companion, when they took 
 that house, could not have foreseen what has happened 
 within the lifetime of one of them, any more than 
 
1 66 Hankow at Last 
 
 they foresaw that in little more than two years (August 
 II, 1863) the other, the Rev. Robert Wilson, would 
 have ended his earthly ministry without being per- 
 mitted to share in the ingathering of even the first- 
 fruits of the harvest which has since been reaped. 
 
 The beginning of the Hankow Mission did not 
 differ materially from the beginning of many other 
 great and successful Missions. 
 
 Whether as the result of experience of what 
 successful mission work involves in demands upon the 
 pocket and the personal service of the Church, or from 
 some other cause, a large number of those who in the 
 present day profess to be interested in Missions seem 
 to require that the enterprise shall be conducted on 
 strictly scientific and business-like lines, the statesman, 
 the careful organiser, the banker, and the accountant 
 being brought into consultation before anything fresh 
 is attempted. They want to be assured that the 
 undertaking is thoroughly organised and equipped at 
 the outset, and they ask that satisfactory assurance 
 shall be given that if it grows and makes larger 
 demands there will be resources adequate to meet all 
 such growing needs. 
 
 It is all very sound and very wise, but somehow the 
 facts of history do not support the theory. Those 
 schemes of colonisation which have begun with a 
 constitution, and have gathered together and shipped 
 out the complete equipment of a fully organised colony, 
 have not been conspicuous successes. The * expansion 
 of England ' into a vast world-wide Empire has been 
 due to the sporadic, unconnected, and uncalculating 
 
A Noble Impulse 167 
 
 efforts of her vigorous and enterprising sons. The 
 frontier-man goes out to make for himself a home in 
 the wilderness, little recking of the fresh responsibilities 
 which will come upon his native land as the result of 
 his action. 
 
 The growth of the kingdom of Christ seems to have 
 proceeded on the same principle. Earnest hearts, filled 
 with the love of Christ and longing to make others 
 sharers in the salvation, have sent out missionaries 
 certainly without calculating what would be the result 
 in further demands upon themselves. Earnest-hearted 
 men have given themselves up to the work of Missions, 
 and have gone forth under the constraint and pressure 
 of the 'heroic passion for saving souls.' They have 
 not calculated beforehand whether their means were 
 sufficient to support success. Unscientific and un- 
 business-like souls, they have simply gone on, living 
 day by day with the idea that the old promise still 
 remained true, ' As thy day shall thy strength be.' 
 Great embarrassment has undoubtedly come upon the 
 Churches which sent them forth as the result of the 
 blessing which has attended their labours, but to curtail 
 effort in order to remove the pressure of this em- 
 barrassment would be to lose the greatest privilege 
 of life. 
 
 The city of Hankow occupies geographically a 
 unique position in China, and there are few places 
 in the world which can at all rival it. Absolutely 
 uninteresting and unattractive in its physical features, 
 built on a vast plain, the greater part of which, lying 
 only a few feet above the level of the river, is 
 
1 68 Hankow at Last 
 
 submerged for many miles during the annual floods, it 
 owes its importance solely to its vast trade and the 
 energy of its inhabitants. Situated on the west bank 
 of the Great River, just below the junction of an 
 important tributary, the Han which, though a small 
 stream compared with the Yang-tse, provides a 
 clear waterway for traffic for fully 300 miles it is 
 exceptionally well placed for commerce with the largest, 
 most fertile, and wealthiest provinces of China. For 
 many generations it has been a great and thriving 
 centre of trade. Before it was captured by the rebels 
 its main street is said to have been twelve miles long, 
 and its population, according to native estimate, was 
 from two millions to two and a half millions. Prob- 
 ably this estimate was greatly exaggerated, but there 
 is no reason for thinking that the population was less 
 than one million. Its shops and warehouses are 
 exceptionally large, handsome, and numerous. Its 
 merchants are princes ; its various provincial and trade 
 guilds are enormously wealthy and have great influence. 
 Its river front on the Yang-tse, and also on the Han, 
 is crowded with native vessels of all kinds, hundreds of 
 which are moored in regular streets, with floating shops, 
 restaurants, and places of amusement. Its streets are 
 constantly thronged with a crowd of men from all 
 parts of China. 
 
 On the south bank of the river Han is another 
 town, Han- Yang, small and unimportant as compared 
 with its big neighbour. It contains a hill to which 
 every foreign visitor is promptly taken on arrival, for 
 the view of the great city, which lies at one's feet, 
 
A Great Sphere 169 
 
 stretching for fully five miles down the Yang-tse, and 
 for three or more miles up the north bank of the Han. 
 
 On the opposite bank of the Yang-tse, which is 
 rather more than a mile wide, and forty feet deep 
 under normal conditions, is the city of Wuchang, the 
 provincial capital and residence of the Viceroy. Its 
 walls have a circuit of ten miles, and it is said to have, 
 in prosperous times, a population of 800,000. It has 
 not been until recently a place of trade, but is saturated 
 with the pride and importance, the exclusiveness and 
 the jealousies, of a great centre of government. The 
 Viceroy of the two provinces of Hupeh and Hunan 
 resides at Wuchang, the ruler of sixty millions of the 
 most vigorous and conservative inhabitants of China, 
 and one of the most powerful nobles of the Empire. 
 Wuchang is also a great literary centre, to which come 
 every three years students from all parts of China, 
 often as many as ten thousand, to be examined for 
 a high degree. 
 
 The late Dr. Mullens, who was an exceptionally 
 keen and accurate observer, visited the mission in 
 Hankow in 1865. He had lived in Calcutta, the 
 greatest city in India, for years. He had, on his trip 
 to China, already visited Peking, Tientsin, and 
 Shanghai before going to Hankow. He wrote 
 immediately after he left : * On the morning after our 
 arrival we all went over to Wuchang, and as I stood on 
 the top of the hill in the centre of that city and beheld 
 the three walled cities of the river beneath me, I could 
 not help feeling that neither in India nor in China I 
 had ever before looked on such a noble sphere for 
 
i/o Hankow at Last 
 
 missionary labour.' He adds : ' In all soberness I can 
 assure you that the reality surpassed my expectations ; 
 while in our brother, Mr. John, I have been glad to 
 find a man in thorough accord with the highest aims 
 of the Society, caring for its interests in every way, 
 and executing the work entrusted to him as founder 
 of the Hankow Mission with singular judgment and 
 discretion.' 
 
 Such a hive of life and work as these three cities 
 present might well attract the attention and call out the 
 enthusiasm and energy of the Church of Christ. To 
 win Hankow would be to gain the most important 
 strategic position in China. To capture Wuchang 
 would be to control the intellectual and governing 
 forces of a population larger than that of the British 
 Isles. 
 
 How was the great task to be accomplished? 
 What force would be regarded as adequate for the 
 enterprise, and what resources would be provided for 
 the work ? The answer is a striking illustration of the 
 literal acceptance by the Church, at any rate the 
 Evangelical Protestant Church, of its Lord's words, 
 * The Kingdom of Heaven is as a grain of mustard seed, 
 which indeed is the least of all seeds.' The history 
 of Missions is full of illustrations of the truth that the 
 Kingdom of Heaven is not to be estimated according to 
 human standards. The answer of the Church of 
 Christ to the opening of this unique position to its 
 energies was to appoint two men, one of whom could 
 not join his comrade for several months, to occupy a 
 humble house in a mean street ; and to bid them 
 
Merchant Pioneers 171 
 
 witness for their Master to the countless multitude of 
 preoccupied and unspiritual people who thronged its 
 busy streets. Certainly, if any satisfactory results 
 followed from such a beginning, it must be a convincing 
 evidence of the inherent adaptation of the truth they 
 preached to the needs of the human heart and of the 
 power of the Spirit of God. 
 
 Mr. John and his companion were not the only 
 foreigners in Hankow. Already, though the city had 
 not been open to the foreigner for more than six 
 months, twenty-two foreign hongs or companies had 
 opened places of business. In his report for 1863 
 Mr. John writes : 
 
 ' When this mysteriously grand Hankow was to be 
 thrown open to the victorious barbarian, both the 
 merchant and the missionary were delighted with the 
 prospect of being able soon to carry on their respective 
 enterprises in so inviting a sphere. The merchants 
 rushed up the river in rapid succession, and, in a 
 business manner, took possession of the place. At 
 first they had to put up with many inconveniences. 
 Living in native houses, and scattered over all the 
 town, they found it at the outset anything but pleasant 
 and enjoyable very different from that to which they 
 had been accustomed. But gradually they are con- 
 verting the most worthless part of the town into what 
 is destined to be one of the most attractive spots in 
 China.' 
 
 The young missionary did not feel that, because he 
 had been sent to preach to the heathen, his countrymen 
 had no claim upon him. They had come for business, 
 
172 Hankow at Last 
 
 and had made no provision for their spiritual needs, 
 but he promptly recognised his duty to them. Writing 
 to a friend in November 1861, he says: 'On Sunday 
 last I commenced an English service for the foreign 
 residents. Not many attended. They care but little 
 about religion. They look on the Sabbath just as on 
 any other day. There is no fear of God before their 
 eyes. Pray that these services may be blessed to the 
 souls of not a few.' 
 
 These efforts were not in vain. The affectionate 
 earnestness of the preacher, his fearless speech, his clear 
 and eloquent statement of truth, and his personal 
 magnetism arrested their attention and attracted them 
 to him. Mr. John continued the services regularly for 
 a long time. In 1864 they asked him to publish a 
 volume of sermons he had preached, but he did not see 
 his way clear to do so. In 1865 he refers again to this 
 side of his work in a letter to his constant corre- 
 spondent : 
 
 ' When I wrote you I was expecting to be released 
 from the duties of the English work by the immediate 
 arrival of a chaplain. The chaplain has not arrived 
 yet, and since then the whole work has been thrown 
 upon me, the other missionaries having backed out of 
 it entirely. Four missionary stations and the English 
 work in addition I find more than enough. I have had 
 to lay aside altogether my literary plans and under- 
 takings. I may take them up again. We shall see 
 when the chaplain comes. I am glad to tell you that 
 the English congregation has greatly improved since 
 the whole work has been thrown upon me. Most of 
 
Services in English 173 
 
 the community attend now. We need, however, more 
 of the Divine Spirit. There is much spiritual death in 
 us all. I need it as well as my congregations. Some- 
 thing that would make us feel more intensely, and 
 realise the truth more thoroughly, is what we want. Oh, 
 my heart is cold, unimpressionable ; and this is one 
 reason why I do so little good.' 
 
 Ten years later, the congregation, having greatly 
 profited by his help, when they were again without a 
 chaplain tried hard to persuade him to take the post 
 permanently. He wrote to Dr. Mullens on May 18, 
 1875 : * Whilst some of us are willing to do what we 
 can for the community, we feel very profoundly that we 
 are here for the Chinese, and that the missionary work 
 is our one work. At the close of last year I received an 
 unanimous invitation from the community to take the 
 entire charge of the services. On every side I was 
 urged to comply as the best thing that could be done 
 for the foreigners at Hankow. In some respects I felt 
 strongly inclined to accept the invitation ; and if I 
 could have seen that my missionary character would 
 have been strengthened and developed, and my 
 missionary work benefited by the step, I should 
 certainly have taken it. This, however, I could not 
 see, and hence declined.' 
 
 Attendance at the service was not the only evidence 
 of the influence he exerted among his countrymen. 
 Many of them, and not a few also of other foreign 
 nationalities, became generous helpers of his efforts in 
 other directions, as will be seen in the further course of 
 the narrative. 
 
i/4 Hankow at Last 
 
 For twelve months the mission of the London 
 Missionary Society was the only representative of 
 Protestant Christianity in Hankow and the whole of the 
 province of Hupeh. In 1862 the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Society sent a missionary to Hankow, who was followed 
 in 1864 by a second. No other Society entered the 
 field for ten years, when the China Inland Mission 
 began a mission. Others have followed since, settling 
 in various parts of the province. 
 
 The Church of Rome has been much more alive to 
 the advantages of Hankow as a centre for missionary 
 labour. Its missionaries found their way into the 
 country apparently in disguise while it was still closed 
 to the foreigner, and dared the risk of expulsion or 
 martyrdom. In Mr. John's first official letter to the 
 Society written immediately after his arrival, he 
 says : 
 
 1 Three young men who had just arrived from 
 Europe were my fellow-passengers to Hankow. There 
 are twelve foreign missionaries and thirteen ordained 
 natives (of the Romish Church) in this province. They 
 have 15,000 converts. This is their headquarters in 
 the province. The Bishop of Hupeh is also the Pope's 
 Legate.' 
 
 The method adopted by Mr. John for making known 
 his message was the apostolic one. He began at once 
 to preach. What such preaching meant, and to whom 
 it was addressed, may be gathered from his own 
 account of it written not long after his arrival : 
 
The Apostolic Method 175 
 
 'HANKOW, November 5, 1861. 
 
 ' Having been for several weeks preaching daily to 
 this people, you will be pleased to learn how the work 
 is progressing. As we have no regular chapel, the 
 services are conducted in a large hall in my house. 
 The door is open every afternoon for two or three 
 hours. The native assistants (two in number) and 
 myself preach in turns. At the close of each service 
 books are given away to all applicants who can read. 
 My audience generally consists of the representatives 
 of several provinces. Canton, Fuh-Kien, Si-Chwan, 
 Kwei-Chow, Kan-Suh, Shan -Si, Shen-Si, Hunan, 
 Kiang-Si, Ngan-hwei, Che-Kiang, Kiang-Su, etc., etc., 
 all meet here in their respective merchants, artisans, and 
 produce. Many of them come and go annually. Not 
 a few attend our preaching from day to day ; and to 
 most our speech is quite intelligible. From this point 
 the Gospel may penetrate and spread over the eighteen 
 provinces. The Gospel is listened to invariably with 
 much attention. Most come with the sole purpose of 
 learning what this new doctrine is. The questions 
 asked by them, and the answers elicited by questions 
 put to them, are indicative of a state of mind far more 
 inquisitive than that of any part of China that I have 
 been to. The books are received thankfully, and, 
 what is far better, are read by many. Those who have 
 obtained one part of the Scriptures often come for the 
 other part or parts, having read the first through. 
 Others come for explanations. Two or three days 
 ago I was surprised to hear a man talking fluently 
 
176 Hankow at Last 
 
 with the native assistant, whilst I was giving away 
 some books at the close of the service, about God, the 
 Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, atonement by the 
 death of Jesus, Paul the Apostle, and such subjects. 
 On inquiry, I found that he had already parts of the 
 Scriptures, which he had read carefully, and was now 
 in quest of more. Not long since I presented the Tao 
 Tai with a copy of the New Testament, together with 
 scientific works. To-day His Excellency called upon 
 me. I was agreeably surprised to find that he was 
 more deeply interested in the New Testament and our 
 religion than in the other books. He told me that he 
 had been reading the New Testament, which I found 
 to be a fact from his subsequent inquiries. 
 
 1 The Mandarins here are disposed to be very 
 friendly. The district magistrate has palled upon me 
 twice, and written me several very kind letters. The 
 Lieutenant-Governor has sent me a proclamation to be 
 posted up on our door, commending both soldiers and 
 people not to injure or molest the foreigners under the 
 severest penalty.' 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE POWER OF THE PREACHER 
 
 /^RIFFITH JOHN has exerted an amazing and 
 VJT far-reaching influence by the work of his pen, but 
 he has never wavered in his belief that the presentation 
 of the Gospel by the living voice is the most efficient 
 agency for the evangelisation of China. In his report 
 for 1876 he wrote : 
 
 ' This has been a preaching mission from the begin- 
 ning. Preaching is the work that we love best, and 
 depend upon most for results. We believe that God 
 can change the heart of the grown-up heathen, and 
 that it is by no means necessary to get hold of the 
 child in order to make a Christian of the man. 
 
 1 Much, however, will depend upon our aim in 
 preaching, and the spirit in which we convey our 
 message. In no period of my life have I sought the 
 immediate salvation of men with an aim so direct as I 
 have done these two years. Formerly my immediate 
 aim was the enlightenment of men, hoping that they 
 might be converted some day. Of late my aim has 
 been their conversion there and then. I have gone to 
 the chapels day after day expecting to see men brought 
 to God whilst speaking to them, and God has given 
 
 177 N 
 
i;8 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 me to see wonderful manifestations of His saving 
 power as the result. Some of our warmest, happiest, 
 and most consistent members are men who have been 
 brought to an immediate decision in the course of a 
 single conversation. This directness of aim in regard 
 to the immediate salvation of men has changed my 
 mode of preaching. I know not whether you would 
 call it preaching at all. Formerly I used to harangue 
 from the platform or pulpit for an hour or an hour 
 and a half. Now I sit or stand among the people, 
 question them and re-question them, till a few ideas 
 are clearly and firmly deposited in their minds, and 
 then, with all the energy and earnestness I can com- 
 mand, I try and impress their minds with the import- 
 ance of the things they have heard. If any one seem 
 to be somewhat impressed, I take him to the vestry, 
 where I explain matters more fully to him and pray 
 with him. In this way some have been enlightened 
 and won to Christ on the same day, whilst many have 
 received impressions which cannot be effaced. During 
 the coming year I hope to see much of the seed sown 
 in this manner springing up to the praise and glory of 
 God/ 
 
 Seventeen years later he expressed the same opinion. 
 His report for the year 1893 contains the following 
 paragraph : 
 
 * Our evening congregations are magnificent. On 
 these occasions the chapels are often crammed from 
 the pulpit to the front door. I have often been greatly 
 struck with the amount of knowledge possessed by 
 some of our hearers, and very much rejoiced to learn 
 
The Living Voice 179 
 
 that the knowledge has been acquired by listening to 
 the daily preaching at our chapels. After thirty-eight 
 years of experience in the mission -field, and having 
 tried various methods of work, I do not hesitate to say 
 that here in Central China the method par excellence is 
 the daily heralding of the Gospel in the chapels and 
 the streets. Two candidates for baptism came before 
 us this morning, and both of them have been brought 
 to Christ through the daily preaching. Several of the 
 sixty-eight adults who have joined us this year have 
 been brought in through the same instrumentality. 
 But what cheers my heart most is the vast amount 
 of leavening work that is going on everywhere arouhd 
 us in connection with this method. This work cannot 
 be reduced into statistics ; and yet it is the work to 
 which I attach most value. Its worth cannot be 
 estimated now, but its importance will become apparent 
 by and by.' 
 
 This strong conviction of the place and power of 
 the living voice as the most effective means of spread- 
 ing the knowledge of Christianity, and of impressing 
 the conscience with the claim of Christ, is the more 
 noticeable and suggestive, because Griffith John has 
 always been extremely sensitive to the depressing 
 influence of lack of fruit. He has known full 
 well the keen pain which every earnest minister of 
 Christ experiences as he discovers how wide is the 
 difference between listening with interest and even 
 with sincere appreciation, and that final submission of 
 the will and the heart to the claim of Christ which 
 is the birth of the soul. He has hungered for the 
 
i8o The Power of the Preacher 
 
 conversion of souls, and his correspondence with his 
 most intimate friend contains many expressions of 
 his deep dissatisfaction and trouble of heart because 
 so few really receive his message. Notwithstanding 
 this, his advice to every one is PREACH THE WORD. 
 
 The Rev. Gilbert Warren, the Chairman of the 
 Wesleyan Mission in Central China, writes : 
 
 ' No one will have a right view of Dr. John who 
 selects anything out of his very varied life-work to put 
 before his preaching. He preached the very first day 
 he landed in Hankow, and continued to preach day 
 after day out-of-doors till he could get a place fitted 
 up for a preaching-hall ; and after that out-of-doors as 
 well as in-doors. Before long, not only had he gathered 
 round him a congregation in those days any one hail- 
 ing from other lands was sure to draw a crowd, indeed 
 he was unable not to draw one, his preaching had 
 been owned of God, and the nucleus of the first Church 
 in Central China had been formed as the result of this 
 preaching. 
 
 1 But for such a conspicuous example of evangelical 
 preaching as every later missionary coming to Hankow 
 had before him in Dr. John, it is quite possible that 
 comparatively more attention might have been paid to 
 other branches of Christian work, comparatively less 
 to this. I very much doubt whether a different policy 
 in this respect could have produced the blessed results 
 which have attended the one actually adopted.' 
 
 Another of Mr. John's neighbours, the Rev. Joseph 
 Adams of the American Baptist Missionary Union, 
 who has known him for thirty years, has given a 
 
A Graphic Picture 181 
 
 graphic picture of the great preacher -missionary at 
 work : 
 
 * The visitor to the London Mission, Hankow, picks 
 his way gingerly along the " Pig Street," avoiding rush- 
 ing coolies, busy trades-people, sedan chairs, and the 
 puddles en route. Turning aside into a wide gateway, 
 he sees a large and handsome brick building, enclosed 
 in a compound with high protecting fire-walls. A 
 pleasant- looking gate-keeper smiles welcome. You 
 notice the characters, " Fuh ying huei tang," " Gospel 
 Meeting Hall," over the doors, and entering the building 
 you are surprised to hear a low hum of voices, and to 
 see that you have entered by the platform end of the 
 church. Your are the cynosure of all eyes. The 
 other end of the building opens on to the wide clean 
 streets of the foreign settlement of Hankow. You 
 are before a congregation of six or seven hundred men 
 and women who are waiting for the service to begin. 
 The women sit on the right side looking towards the 
 platform, men in the centre and on the left. Your 
 entrance excites some attention ; but every service sees 
 visitors, either a young missionary, note-book under his 
 hat, waiting to pick up phrases or illustrations for 
 future use, or a stranger looking for the first time 
 upon a large and devout congregation of Chinese. 
 
 * As we seat ourselves we notice that the other end 
 of the church is so far away that features cannot be 
 distinguished, and we can hardly tell if the people in 
 the great gallery at the end are men or women. The 
 windows give abundant light, coloured as it passes 
 through them, and just where the sun falls the Chinese 
 
1 82 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 are painted red, yellow, or blue in patches. There is 
 a distinct smell of Chinaman, or Chinaman's clothes, 
 although Boyle's ventilators are groaning in the roof, 
 and many windows are open. We have time to study 
 the congregation to which Dr. John is going to preach. 
 Many are aged men and women, old pilgrims to Zion, 
 who soon will see the King in His beauty. There are 
 bright boys with hymn-books and Bibles tied up in 
 their handkerchiefs, looking very important ; girls with 
 gay attire, hair tightly braided, and all expectant. The 
 inevitable babies with their devoted mothers (who have 
 several ways of keeping them quiet when the service 
 proceeds, such as pinching their legs, compressing the 
 windpipe, etc., etc., all of which are Chinese and quite 
 orthodox, although sufficiently horrifying to the lady 
 missionaries who are keeping the female crowd in 
 order). The men's side does not require any such 
 attention. 
 
 * There is a hush, as a short man, with healthy, bright 
 face, keen eyes, white beard, and black hair, comes on 
 the platform. He wears an Inverness cloak, which he 
 throws back as he bends his head in prayer. The 
 silence of communion with God is broken a few 
 moments after as he stands forth with a look on 
 his face which reveals that he has been on the Mount 
 with God. The hymn is announced, and a rustle of 
 leaves follows. Then the singing ! At first an in- 
 distinct roar, it gradually shapes itself into some well- 
 known tune, and all sing with the voice of many 
 waters : not very musical, but all in time, swaying to 
 and fro, mouths well open, heads thrown back. Said 
 
An Impressive Sight 183 
 
 Mrs. John long years ago, " Griffith, those Christians 
 will never learn to sing properly." " Never mind, my 
 dear, they do their best. They will sing better in 
 Heaven." " I hope so," was the quick reply ; " if they do 
 not, they may get expelled for disturbing the harmony." 
 
 1 When the sermon comes it is easy to see the 
 audience expect to listen. There is no settling down 
 in easy corners behind convenient pillars. The con- 
 verts sit, Testaments open, ready to find the text or 
 the references, showing by the facility with which 
 they read that they know whether " Timothy " comes 
 before or after " Hebrews." Dr. John keeps his Bible 
 in one hand, with a sheet of note-paper containing an 
 outline of his sermon ; with the forefinger of the other 
 hand he enforces his points. Sometimes he forgets 
 his book and notes, and in the fire of his earnestness 
 he speaks with vehemence, pacing to and fro on the 
 platform ; yet always carefully repeating and illustrat- 
 ing and applying his lessons in every possible way. 
 It is a grand and impressive sight to see his power 
 over these people. Here is a nursing mother, her 
 child fractious and troublesome, but she has forgotten 
 the babe in the keen attention of the preacher. 
 
 1 As one listens to the impassioned words, we notice 
 several things Dr. John's intense sympathy with the 
 brothers and sisters to whom he speaks. They are 
 beloved of his soul, and they know it. We notice, too, 
 his knowledge of their trials, their persecutions, their 
 stumbling-blocks, and a starting tear here and there 
 shows that his beautiful and resonant voice has carried 
 a comforting and softening message right to the heart. 
 
1 84 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 Then comes a change. The speaker is dwelling on 
 sin and its character in the sight of a pure and holy 
 God. How keen is the analysis of a Chinaman's self- 
 deception ; how scathing the exposure of duplicity, 
 falsehood, and cunning ; how terrible the picture of the 
 wreck and ruin which are the wages of sin. We forget 
 we are listening in Chinese. We feel the speaker is 
 as grandly eloquent as ever he could be in his native 
 Welsh or his adopted English tongue. The scholars, 
 merchants, working men and women of his audience, 
 listen breathlessly, often giving little expressions of 
 amusement, of distress, of pity, of sorrow, as their 
 feelings are touched in one way or another. What a 
 royal preacher is Griffith John, and how magnificently 
 he has for fifty years revelled in the joy of preaching 
 One who is mighty to save. To God be the glory ! 
 How faithfully God, the Holy Spirit, has owned and 
 blessed the plain preaching of the Gospel. There are 
 " signs following " on every hand. 
 
 ' The fine church we have been visiting is only one 
 of several buildings used by Dr. John and his colleagues 
 in Hankow. There is another a mile and a half away 
 in the native city, where Dr. John preaches regularly, 
 open every day in the week, every week in the year. 
 The work at this place is different, the method adopted 
 is not the same. 
 
 ' In the courtyard is a well-stocked de"pot for the 
 sale of Bibles and tracts. The chapel is a long and 
 rather narrow building with a central aisle, seats in 
 rows on each side. Notices exhorting visitors not to 
 expectorate, smoke, or talk, adorn the walls. The 
 
Attracting a Crowd 185 
 
 audience is largely heathen, and they do not always 
 assemble readily to be preached to. Dr. John takes a 
 chair and sits in the doorway, immediately attracting 
 the attention of passers-by. 
 
 ' " Aih yah ! Cheli yiu ih-ko lao yang kuei tsi." 
 
 1 " Hullo, here have one old foreign devil." 
 
 * " Ta tso shen mo si," says one. 
 
 ' " He does what thing ? " 
 
 1 " Kiang tao-li." 
 
 * " Preach doctrine," says his friend laconically. He 
 has evidently been there before. 
 
 < " Ting, ting." 
 
 ' " Listen, listen," is the answer, and they come to 
 have a look at the said " old foreign devil," who receives 
 them with a bow, and asks their honourable names. 
 
 * " Not dare ! my unworthy name is Wong." 
 
 ' " May I ask your honourable title ? " 
 
 1 " My name is Yang Keh-fei " (Dr. John's Chinese 
 name). 
 
 1 " Where is your palatial residence ? " 
 
 ' " My grass hut is in Hankow." 
 
 * (A small crowd has gathered at the door, as the 
 Chinese bump of inquisitiveness is large and hungry. 
 Dr. John moves his chair back a few paces. Two 
 seats fill up. Conversation resumed.) 
 
 * " Mr. Wong, I think you said you reside in Han- 
 kow ? " 
 
 * Mr. Wong replies in the affirmative. 
 
 ' " I presume you have a knowledge of characters ? " 
 ' " Your younger brother recognises a few." 
 
 * " Have you read the Christian Classics ? " 
 
1 86 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 ' (Retreat to the platform end continued, four seats 
 fill up. Mr. Wong and his friend follow up closer. 
 New-comers fill up behind. Conversation resumed.) 
 
 ' " I have not read the Christian Classics. What 
 are they about ? " 
 
 * Working - man interrupting : " I know. Their 
 Classics tell about Jesus, and our Classics tell about 
 Confucius. The foreigners worship Jesus, and we 
 Chinese worship Confucius. It's all the same." 
 
 1 Dr. John : " Allow me to instruct you in the differ- 
 ence between the Christian Classics and the Confucian 
 books." 
 
 * Interest increasing. Dr. John stands up and begins 
 to preach, gradually retreating up the chapel, followed 
 by the crowd, which by this time is well into the 
 scores, and grows into hundreds. Finally the Doctor 
 lands on the platform, and keeps up the address and 
 conversation for an hour. Then a Chinese evangelist 
 takes his place, and holds the attention of the 
 audience, which often changes, but always is renewed 
 from the unending stream of human life ever passing 
 by the doors. 
 
 * One is compelled to admire the tactfulness and 
 wisdom shown in these conversations with outsiders. 
 Much patience is needed, for audiences are not always 
 friendly. All sorts and conditions of men are met 
 with, and the skilfulness with which statements of 
 doctrine are followed with questions which make men 
 think is not easy to acquire. 
 
 ' " Have you a temple in your village ? " 
 ' " Yes, we have a Buddhist temple." 
 
'Take Time to be Holy' 187 
 
 ' " Is there a Kwan Yin Pu Sah (Goddess of Mercy) 
 there ? " 
 
 1 " Yes, we have a Goddess of Mercy there." 
 ( " Have your women folk worshipped her ? " 
 * " Yes, we have burned incense there." 
 1 " Has the Goddess of Mercy heard your prayers ? " 
 * " I do not know ; I am an ignorant man." 
 ' " Well, there is one true God, a God of Mercy. He 
 hears my prayers. He has done a great deal for me. 
 What have your idols done for you ? Have you ever 
 asked yourself, from whence do I come, and where am I 
 going ? What does the priest of Buddha tell you ? 
 What does the Taoist know ? What did Confucius tell 
 Ki Lu when he inquired about death ? * Wei chi seng, ie 
 an chi si.' ' While you do not know life, how can you 
 know about death ? ' Jesus came to tell us from whence 
 we came, and how sin can be put away, and our souls 
 prepared for the life after death." 
 
 1 It is solemn and deeply interesting to see these 
 men as the first ray of divine light enters the mind. 
 Like men lost in dark caves of ignorance and sin, they 
 see the dim gleam of a far-away light and liberty of the 
 sons of God. Once let a little light enter the darkened 
 mind, and sooner or later that soul will draw nearer the 
 source of light and salvation. Hence Dr. John's 
 constant advice to young missionaries is : preach the 
 Gospel, and take time to be holy as a preparation for 
 preaching the Gospel. When preaching to others you 
 lose the sense of depression and weariness. " The 
 reflex blessing on the preacher is very great. It is as 
 important for your own spiritual sustenance that you 
 
1 88 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 preach the Gospel, as it is important for the salvation 
 of others. The word will accomplish God's purpose 
 in you and in the unsaved to whom you preach." ' 
 
 A buoyant and cheery optimism and a strong faith 
 have always been strikingly characteristic of Griffith 
 John ; and he must have needed all the help these 
 qualities could give during the first few months after 
 he settled in Hankow. The strain on faith and courage 
 must have been even greater on Mrs. John than on him. 
 Their colleague and his wife had not yet joined them. 
 They and their two young children were housed in 
 uncomfortable and insanitary quarters. There was no 
 one in all the multitude who inhabited the great city 
 who had any sympathy with their objects except their 
 native Christian house-boy. Even the two faithful 
 native assistants who did such splendid service only 
 followed them from Shanghai after four months ! The 
 sense of loneliness, the hunger for sympathetic fellow- 
 ship, which is so often experienced by struggling 
 strangers in a great city, must at times have been 
 well-nigh overwhelming. The Christian pioneer in 
 uncivilised countries has much to try his faith and 
 patience, but he has in most cases plenty to do and to 
 occupy his attention in various manual labours and in 
 efforts to provide for his own needs and comforts. In 
 a Chinese city these diversions of thought were entirely 
 unknown. 
 
 Moreover, the opening of foreign trade and the 
 settlement of foreign merchants brought to Hankow a 
 new era of commercial prosperity and an increased 
 sense of security from the rebels, the results of which 
 
Faith Sorely Tried 189 
 
 were speedily apparent. Trade ' boomed/ and the busy 
 city was absorbed in making money. It was not a 
 time to yield to spiritual influences. They came and 
 heard the foreign preacher and his helpers, they 
 accepted the books and tracts which were given, and 
 many seemed interested. The class that is everywhere 
 ready to profess anything for the sake of gain began 
 to gather round, but for six months there was not a 
 single convert. Is it surprising that the shadow of 
 disappointment began to cloud the heart of the earnest 
 worker, and that once again, as in Shanghai, he became 
 depressed. 
 
 Two glimpses of this side of his feelings appear 
 in his letters in 1862. The first is to Mr. Jacob, 
 under date May 1 9 : 
 
 1 Oh, 'tis trying to one's faith to work in China. The 
 missionary lives here on faith only. Little or nothing 
 has he to encourage him in his labours. The people 
 are dead in their sins. They listen, they ask a few 
 questions, they express their satisfaction, they compli- 
 ment you and your doctrine, and they leave as little 
 moved as the benches on which they have been sitting. 
 You may see them again, or you may not ; but 
 whether you do or do not, it comes to the same thing 
 finally. It is very hard, brother. Don't think, however, 
 that I am discouraged. No. I trust by the grace of 
 God that I never shall faint. I believe still, because 
 God hath spoken it. My faith has been sorely tried 
 since my arrival in China. Being naturally of a 
 sceptical turn of mind, the devil has been ever 
 suggesting all sorts of doubts and perplexities. I am 
 
i9 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 glad to be able to inform you, however, that most of 
 these doubts have passed away. God has enabled me 
 to fight and to win, and though I thought myself when 
 in England much stronger than I think myself now to 
 be, still I know that I am really much stronger now 
 than I was then. The mission -field is a splendid 
 school for a higher and a better state of existence. 
 Looking on the present as a state of probation, of moral 
 and spiritual training, I cannot but thank God for 
 bringing me here.' 
 
 A little later Mr. John wrote to Dr. Tidman : 
 1 We have had several inquirers since my arrival. 
 Some of them seemed to be in earnest, but have left 
 the place. Some have come forward from worldly 
 motives, and, being disappointed, have forsaken us. 
 Two or three hundred cash a week have a greater 
 attraction to a Chinaman than the salvation of his 
 soul. Were the former held up as an inducement, it 
 would be easy to make thousands of nominal Christians 
 within a comparatively short period. Not long since, 
 a smart country boy, of about eighteen, presented me 
 with a letter. On reading it I found that he wished 
 to be instructed in the Christian religion, with the view 
 of entering the Church. I spoke a few words to him, 
 and advised him to come and listen to the daily 
 preaching. Some days after he came again and pre- 
 sented me with another note. I requested the native 
 preacher to make inquiries into the history, character, 
 and intentions of the boy. In the course of conversa- 
 tion he found that some of the country people had got 
 the impression that all who became nominal Christians 
 
First Baptism I9 1 
 
 received a small quantity of rice per diem, and that 
 this boy was sent by them to make the experiment, 
 with the view of following him, should it prove success- 
 ful. No sooner was he undeceived in the matter than 
 he disappeared altogether. 
 
 * My dear brother, the conversion of China is a 
 difficult task as difficult as it is certain. We must 
 not shut our eyes to the fact. In one sense much has 
 been done ; in another, very little. We have hardly 
 touched the Empire yet. China is hardly conscious of 
 our presence. Before the work is accomplished the 
 Church must advance her gold and silver with a far 
 more liberal hand than she has done, and young men 
 of piety and character must come forth in far greater 
 numbers than they do at present. The conversion of 
 China will cost the Church her treasures, the Colleges 
 their brightest ornaments, and the Missions the lives of 
 their best men. Unless we are all prepared for this 
 we had better give it up. If our brethren at home 
 knew what it was to contend with the power of dark- 
 ness, as concentrated in the form of Paganism, as it is 
 developed in China, they would certainly send out men 
 by hundreds and not tens. Excuse this, I speak it 
 feelingly.' 
 
 Sunday, March 16, 1862, was a day to be re- 
 membered in the Hankow Mission. The first Pro- 
 testant convert in Central China was then baptized. 
 He was followed in June by six others, four men and 
 two women. One of the men baptized on this day 
 was a type of a class of whom there appear to be 
 
i9 2 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 many in China. * He had been quite an ascetic and 
 devotee. He had long been seeking moral renovation 
 through the discipline of the sect of Kwan-yin, a sect 
 which in this province is very numerous and has com- 
 paratively high aims. He seemed as though he had 
 deeply felt a spiritual want, but had not been able to 
 meet with anything to satisfy it until the light of 
 Christian truth shone in his mind.' 
 
 The infant Church was now constituted. By the 
 end of the year there were eleven converts. A small 
 beginning certainly, but the earnest of greater things 
 to come. There has never been a year since with so 
 small a record. As the work extended into the district, 
 the numbers in the Christian community have steadily 
 and in recent years have rapidly increased. The 
 baptisms last year (1905) in Hankow, and in the wide 
 district which regards Hankow as its centre, numbered 
 hundreds, and the membership of the Church has 
 grown to about 6500. 
 
 Mr. John commenced for the benefit of this little 
 company of eleven those literary labours which since 
 then have become so valuable a part of his work for 
 China, and have made him a power for good to 
 thousands who have never seen him, and who are not 
 in any way connected with the Mission of which he is 
 so distinguished a representative. He prepared a 
 small collection of hymns in what is known as easy 
 Wen-li, ' in such a style as to be intelligible to all, 
 without violently offending the taste of the refined in 
 letters.' He * also prepared a tract or pamphlet for 
 circulation, written with a view of answering the 
 
Bereavements 193 
 
 questions and meeting the objections which are not 
 uncommonly propounded by those who listen to the 
 preaching of the Gospel here.' 
 
 One of the earliest needs of the Mission was better 
 accommodation alike for worship and for residence. 
 The former need was supplied by the erection of a 
 chapel in one of the best main thoroughfares and in 
 the heart of the city. It was opened in June 1863, 
 and became at once the centre of greatly increased 
 interest and work. For house accommodation the 
 Mission was fortunate in obtaining a plot of land in 
 the newly formed British Concession to the north of 
 the city and adjoining the city boundary. Here two 
 houses were erected, not a day too soon. Already 
 two infant children of Mr. and Mrs. John had been 
 taken from the insanitary surroundings of the temporary 
 habitation to the home in Heaven, and just before the 
 Mission families moved into their new abodes the Rev. 
 Robert Wilson died of dysentery. 
 
 Mr. John summed up the news very laconically in 
 a note to Mr. Jacob : ' Events of great importance 
 have recently happened. About a month ago we 
 opened our new chapel, on the 2ist [August 1863] 
 we entered our new house, on the morning of the 24th 
 my dear wife presented me with a charming daughter, 
 on the morning of the 1 2th inst. my dear brother and 
 colleague, Mr. Wilson, died.' He goes on to say : ' I 
 rejoice greatly that we are in our new abode. You 
 can have but the faintest conception of the sort of 
 houses we have had to put up with during the last two 
 years and a half. They are most dangerous to us as 
 
 O 
 
194 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 foreigners in such a climate as this. Neither is it 
 possible for any one at home to form the slightest 
 conception of the difficulties and trials we have had in 
 the erection of our houses. I believe that, humanly 
 speaking, my friend Wilson's death is to be ascribed to 
 a very great extent to the circumstances in which we 
 have been placed.' 
 
 What these circumstances were may be gathered 
 from a sentence in a letter written by the Rev. Josiah 
 Cox, the Wesleyan missionary, to Mrs. Wilson's parents 
 informing them of her husband's death : 
 
 ' When I came up here a stranger missionary of 
 another name and Society, Mr. Wilson did me great 
 kindness. Though occupying but the half of a house 
 of very small dimensions, he placed his study at my 
 disposal, and helped me in every way. I became a 
 member of his family, and soon admired and honoured 
 him.' 
 
 Half a house of very small dimensions, up a lane in 
 a crowded part of a Chinese city, in a country where, 
 during the long steamy summer, the thermometer 
 stands at 98 to 100 in the shade for weeks! 
 Certainly the circumstances were not the most favour- 
 able. They were, however, unavoidable in the early 
 days of the Mission, so they were accepted cheerfully, 
 and there is not a word of complaint, or even of 
 reference to the matter, in any of the correspondence. 
 
 There are some, not only of the critics of Missions, 
 but also among those who are sincerely interested in 
 them, and anxious for their success, who speak as if 
 there was some special appropriateness and virtue in 
 
European Sympathy 195 
 
 housing a missionary in cramped and uncomfortable 
 quarters in the midst of a crowded native city. They 
 are horrified at the expenditure required to provide an 
 airy, roomy, sanitary dwelling, away from the crowd. 
 They even wax sarcastic over the luxury and self- 
 indulgence involved in making the dwelling as com- 
 fortable and home-like as possible consistently with 
 limited means, and they contrast the barrack -like 
 arrangements of the accommodation of the Roman 
 Catholic celibate missionaries with the cheerful and 
 attractive houses of their Protestant brethren, to the 
 detriment of the latter. No missionary worthy of the 
 name would ever refuse to suffer privations or grumble 
 at the most uncomfortable and unsuitable accommoda- 
 tion when privation or discomfort are necessary in the 
 interests of the work, but there is no virtue in wilful 
 martyrdom. A well-built and roomy house is not 
 luxury, but the wisest and best economy for the health 
 of a European in the tropics ; and taste and comfort 
 in the furnishing and decoration of rooms have a very 
 real, if only an indirect, value as a means of rest and 
 refreshment to the spirit jaded by labour, or worn by 
 anxiety and opposition. 
 
 After the death of the Rev. Robert Wilson, the 
 small European community in Hankow gave a very 
 practical and kindly proof of their sympathy with the 
 missionaries by contributing no less than 5000 taels 
 as a fund for the help of the young widow and her 
 two little children, who were sent home to England. 
 
 By the death of Mr. Wilson the whole burden of 
 work and anxiety fell upon his colleague once more, 
 
The Power of the Preacher 
 
 and from a very sad and unexpected cause he was 
 destined to continue for some time without help. He 
 wrote to Dr. Tidman announcing Mr. Wilson's decease, 
 and three months later he wrote again as follows : 
 
 ' I hope to hear soon that you are sending some 
 one out to join me. Hankow is far too important a 
 place to be left for any length of time with one 
 missionary. Between the Chinese and English work 
 I have quite as much as I can do, more than I can do 
 well. But I am anxious to extend our operations to 
 the regions beyond, and this cannot be done whilst I 
 am alone. Do then send me a man as soon as you 
 possibly can. I hope to be able to write you in full 
 by the next mail. The work is progressing very 
 encouragingly in Hankow. Though often saddened 
 for want of more and greater visible, tangible results, 
 still I look forward hopefully. The Spirit of God is 
 working in Hankow, and there are among us some 
 who have been born again. But, oh ! we want more 
 men and better men to take up the work. Hankow 
 has been open now for nearly three years, and 
 Christendom has sent only three men to occupy this 
 most important and inviting sphere. At this moment 
 I am alone, and am likely to be so for some months.' 
 
 In response to this appeal, the Directors took what 
 in those days was an unusual step. They appointed 
 Mr. William Wells, M.D., as a medical missionary to 
 Hankow. Dr. Wells left England in July 1864, but 
 died at sea on October 25, before the vessel reached 
 China. The disappointment was very keen, especially 
 as in the interval it had become necessary for Mrs. 
 
The Everlasting 'Why?' 197 
 
 John to proceed to England. She had been nine years 
 in China without change of climate, and under con- 
 ditions which must have made heavy demands upon 
 her. Moreover, their second boy was at an age when 
 the parents felt he ought to be taken away from the 
 sights and sounds and influences of native life, and 
 placed at school in the more pure and wholesome 
 atmosphere of the home land. It had, therefore, been 
 arranged that his mother should, for her own sake and 
 for his, take him to England, and Mr. John was left for 
 a year quite solitary. He looked forward eagerly to 
 the arrival of his new colleague, and when the news of 
 his death reached Hankow his feelings found expression 
 in another letter to the Secretary of the Society : 
 
 ' Again has one of my brightest hopes been dashed 
 to the ground. For what purpose I am utterly unable 
 to conjecture. " Clouds and darkness are round about 
 Him." How we are made to feel this from time to 
 time. Useless and faithless men are permitted to live, 
 whilst the good and the true are taken away. Is it 
 because the earth is cursed ? Why ? Why ? Why ? 
 This everlasting Why ? keeps ringing in my ears ; 
 but the responsive " because " never comes. That 
 sleeps in the bosom of the Eternal. How crooked do 
 God's ways often appear unto us ! How differently 
 would we act if the government was on our shoulders ! 
 Let me, however, bless God for faith that faith which 
 enables me to believe " that I am foolish and blind, 
 and that God is all -wise and all -seeing; that I am 
 wrong, and that He, the ever-blessed One, is everlast- 
 ingly just and true. Here alone can repose be found. 
 
The Power of the Preacher 
 
 Truly, faith is the gift of God. Heaven-born it must 
 be.' 
 
 ' My dear brother, I need not remind you of the 
 kind of men heathendom needs. Godly, devoted, 
 earnest-minded men are the only men that will do. 
 We decry not genius the loftier, if sanctified, the 
 better. We undervalue not culture the more perfect, 
 if laid on the altar, the more valuable and beautiful. 
 Still, we can do without genius ; we can do without 
 the highest form of culture ; but we cannot do without 
 piety and devotedness.' 
 
 When the news of the death of Dr. Wells reached 
 England, the Directors of the Society at once sought 
 for another worker. Their choice fell upon the Rev. 
 Evan Bryant, whose appointment gave Mr. John 
 special satisfaction, because he also was a Welshman, 
 a native of Glamorganshire, and a student in Brecon 
 College. It is a striking illustration of the great 
 change that has taken place in the last forty years in 
 the means of locomotion, and as the result of the open- 
 ing of the Suez Canal, that his voyage from England 
 to Shanghai occupied six months. Though he sailed 
 from England in August 1865, he did not reach 
 Hankow until the end of February 1866. With the 
 exception of a brief interval between 1873 and 1875, 
 when he acted as locum tenens for the Rev. Jonathan 
 Lees in Tientsin, Mr. Bryant continued to work in 
 connection with the Hankow Mission until 1880. 
 The state of Mrs. Bryant's health rendering it inex- 
 pedient for her to risk further residence in China, 
 Mr. Bryant retired from the Mission in 1880. Sub- 
 
Mr* Bryson's Reminiscences 
 
 sequently, from 1884 to 1892, he acted as the agent of 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in North China. 
 
 A year after Mr. Bryant came, the Mission was 
 further reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. T. Bryson in 
 January 1867. Mr. Bryson took up his abode on the 
 opposite side of the river, in the newly opened station 
 at Wuchang. His connection with the Mission in 
 Central China continued until 1884, when he was 
 transferred to Tientsin, where he has been labouring 
 ever since. The intimate fellowship which close associ- 
 ation in work during those seventeen years made 
 possible makes Mr. Bryson's reminiscences of his senior 
 colleague peculiarly valuable. He writes as follows : 
 
 * Like the late Dr. Muirhead of Shanghai, with 
 whom he was associated in the early years of his life 
 in China, Dr. John stands out pre-eminently as a 
 vernacular preacher of the Gospel. I have often heard 
 him say that not a single day of the year passed 
 without his proclaiming the evangel either in street or 
 chapel. At the Chinese New Year holidays, when 
 most missionaries are only too glad to find relief from 
 the routine of their daily life by making up arrears in 
 correspondence, Dr. John was accustomed to lead a 
 band of volunteer preachers into every district, street, 
 and alley of the city. His iron constitution in those days, 
 and his consuming zeal, enabled him to go everywhere 
 preaching the Gospel. There were no sanatonums for 
 missionaries in China then, no cooling retreats from the 
 heat of summer on hilltop or by the sea. Only when 
 severe sickness compelled a man did he leave his 
 station or take his family to the coast. Dr. John used 
 
200 The Power of the Preacher 
 
 to say that the only change he ever needed was a 
 missionary tour into the country. His unrivalled 
 knowledge of the Chinese language and his fluency 
 as a speaker made work of this kind a pleasure both to 
 himself and his hearers. 
 
 * I need hardly say I have always regarded it as a 
 great honour to have been assocfated with Dr. John for 
 nearly twenty years, and that my first lessons as a 
 missionary were learned under such a master. My 
 first vocabulary as a preacher was almost entirely 
 acquired by listening to his Sunday morning addresses 
 in the old city chapel, Hankow. Well do I remember 
 these happy days when, released from my solitary life 
 during the week in Wuchang, I crossed the river each 
 Sunday with a few converts, and spent the day in Dr. 
 John's company, learning from many a quiet talk the 
 lessons of his ripe experience in Christian life and 
 missionary service. 
 
 * We made many journeys together up and down 
 the Yang-tse in a boat that at that time belonged to 
 the Mission, and was the gift of the English community. 
 We were many a time besieged by a clamorous crowd 
 soon after daylight, and had literally no leisure so much 
 as to eat. Our reception, while generally favourable, 
 was sometimes of a most hostile character, and we had 
 to beat a hasty retreat, seldom, however, before our 
 message had been delivered and many Gospels had 
 been sold. 
 
 * If there is one impression on my mind deeper than 
 another of Dr. John's countenance and conduct, it is 
 
Griffith John's Seriousness 201 
 
 seriousness. Levity is as far from him as from a 
 Chinese sage. He was always serious, always earnest, 
 always at work. Amid the beauties of mountain and 
 river scenery, with a glorious sunshine over all, as our 
 mission boat glided down the placid waters of the 
 Yang-tse, I well remember one Sunday morning our 
 standing on the deck and singing together 
 
 When Thou my righteous Judge shalt come 
 To fetch Thy ransomed people home, 
 Shall I among them stand ? 
 
 1 This was the habitual attitude of John's mind. 
 His outlook on life was cheerful, but it was always 
 serious.' 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION 
 
 THE early years of the Mission were a time of 
 great and permanent importance. The energy 
 and enterprise of the young missionary were constant 
 and tireless, and he had the power of communicating 
 his enthusiasm to all who came within the sphere of 
 his influence. At the same time he did not allow 
 himself to be ensnared by that great peril of the man 
 of active and energetic habit, constantly occupied with 
 the claims of practical work, of becoming so absorbed 
 in multifarious duties and enterprises as to have no 
 time or energy left for self-culture and study. He was 
 already a great reader and a careful student. He 
 succeeded, amidst the ever-growing claims of a work 
 whose initiation and development depended on him, 
 in making time for regular and careful reading, and 
 during those early days toiled at the preparation of a 
 Chinese dictionary which was never published, but must 
 have been of no small value to him in that great 
 literary work which in after years has made such 
 demands upon him. His self-imposed duties in main- 
 taining weekly religious services for the benefit of the 
 Europeans who had come to Hankow were maintained 
 
 202 
 
Gifts of Foreign Community 203 
 
 with regularity and in no perfunctory fashion for four 
 years. Those labours were richly blessed, first to 
 members of his congregation, and then to the Mission. 
 When this work came to an end for a time through the 
 establishment of a regular chaplaincy he was able to 
 write to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 ' The Rev. Mr. M'Clatchie has arrived at the port 
 as chaplain for the foreign community. For four 
 years the principal part of the work has devolved upon 
 me, and for a year the whole of it. The Society has 
 lost nothing by the time I have given to English 
 preaching, but the contrary. I am not conscious of 
 having neglected a single duty as a missionary in 
 connection with it. In a financial point of view the 
 Society has gained much. Including the money 
 subscribed for Mrs. Wilson, towards the chapel in 
 Wuchang, the schools on this side, etc., I find that I 
 have received from the comparatively small community 
 no less a sum than Tls.Sooo = more than 2500. 
 I refused at the commencement to receive a salary, and 
 they have shown their gratitude by giving towards the 
 cause a larger sum than a handsome salary would 
 have been. 
 
 ' You will be pleased to learn that a very kindly 
 feeling exists here now towards missionaries and their 
 work. It was not so formerly, but it is emphatically 
 so at present. In this respect Hankow contrasts very 
 favourably with most of the other ports. Above all, I 
 have every reason to believe that my ministrations have 
 been blessed to many souls, and that the moral and 
 spiritual tone of the whole community would not have 
 
204 Development and Extension 
 
 been what it is were it not for these means of grace. 
 I did not, however, covet the work, and now I am 
 glad that it is over. From the beginning it has been 
 my desire to give my whole time and attention to my 
 missionary duties. There is no other work that I love 
 so well, and I hope that my passion for it will now be 
 gratified to the full.' 
 
 It was not long after the despatch of this letter 
 before there was a further and even more valuable mani- 
 festation of good-will on the part of some of the foreign 
 residents. Mr. John wanted to build a chapel on the 
 Mission compound, and, on appealing for help, got the 
 hint that if he would enlarge his scheme and provide 
 for a hospital as well as a chapel, the money for both 
 would be forthcoming. Better still, Dr. Arthur G. 
 Reid, the physician of the European community, 
 offered his services gratuitously on two days in the 
 week for dispensary and hospital work. The hospital 
 was built, .400 being provided for building and 
 furnishing it, and Dr. Reid proved a most sympathetic 
 and valuable helper for nearly two and a half years, 
 when he was able to hand over the work to Dr. 
 Shearer, who was sent out as a medical missionary, 
 and joined the Mission in October 1868. Dr. Shearer, 
 however, gave up mission work in less than two years, 
 and settled at Kiu-kiang in foreign practice. There- 
 upon Dr. Reid renewed his help and continued it for 
 five years longer, being instrumental meanwhile in the 
 erection of a much larger and more suitable hospital, 
 which he had the pleasure of handing over to Dr. 
 Kenneth Mackenzie. The medical branch of the 
 
Medical Mission Firmly Established 205 
 
 Mission was thus firmly established, to the great 
 satisfaction of the missionary leader, and it has steadily 
 grown in influence and importance ever since. In 
 Hankow itself there is, in connection with the London 
 Mission, a large and well -equipped general hospital 
 and a woman's hospital, and in the other central 
 stations which have sprung out of the work which Dr. 
 John commenced, and of which he is still the beloved 
 and honoured leader, there are five general hospitals, 
 one woman's hospital, and one leper asylum. Upwards 
 of 350 beds are provided for in-patients, and ten fully 
 qualified medical missionaries are at work. A Medical 
 School in Hankow for the training of Christian natives 
 in order to qualify them to become medical evangelists 
 is the latest development of this work. 
 
 The school necessarily follows the Church in the 
 missionary economy. Within six months of the 
 formation of the Church at Hankow a school for boys 
 was begun. It was not large ; some months after it 
 was opened there were only forty boys in it, and the 
 instruction given would scarcely have satisfied the most 
 rudimentary ideas of education in Western lands. For 
 a boy to have distinguished himself by his attainments 
 in arithmetic or history or geography would have gained 
 him no honour in Chinese circles. All Western 
 knowledge was at a discount, and teaching had to be 
 on Chinese lines if it was to be of any value in 
 after life. 
 
 The school was, however, an opportunity of getting 
 the boys under Christian instruction, and training them 
 up in the knowledge of the Scriptures. The one small 
 
206 Development and Extension 
 
 school soon grew to three and then to five, and a daring 
 innovation was attempted in the gathering of a few 
 little girls for instruction under the care of an earnest 
 Christian woman. Mr. John could not have dreamed 
 that he would live to see the day when the views of the 
 Chinese on education would be so completely changed 
 that even the great system of examinations by means 
 of which men rise from step to step in honour and 
 influence, to the highest posts of the government, and 
 the character of which has been fixed by immemorial 
 custom has been altered ; when in Hankow, as else- 
 where throughout China, large numbers of the most 
 energetic and promising young men are crying out for 
 Western education ; and when one of the most serious 
 needs of the Mission is that the High School, which 
 already exists, should be rebuilt and thoroughly well 
 equipped on Western lines, together with a Normal 
 School for training native teachers. 
 
 The first definite extension of work beyond Hankow 
 itself was made at the beginning of 1864 by the 
 settlement of one of the first native helpers at the town 
 of Tsai-tien, about twenty miles up the Han river. 
 This place was famed for the number of its scholars, 
 and the people were proud and conservative. They 
 resented the intrusion of the Christian evangelist, and 
 persecution commenced. The Christian religion was 
 violently abused, and scurrilous placards were issued. 
 Finally the evangelist was arrested and sent down to 
 Hankow on false and malicious charges. 
 
 Griffith John has always determinedly opposed the 
 use of foreign influence in the Christian Church for the 
 
Extension beyond Hankow 207 
 
 purpose of helping professed converts in their lawsuits ; 
 but he has never been slow to stand by those who were 
 persecuted. He insisted on having the case thoroughly 
 investigated. The result was that the policeman and the 
 witnesses against the evangelist utterly broke down and 
 confessed that the accusation was entirely false. He 
 went back to his post and began at once to reap 
 the fruit of his labours and sufferings in the gathering 
 in of converts who had been afraid before to confess 
 their faith in Christ. 
 
 In the following year another advance of a similar 
 kind was made to King-kow, a busy town on the 
 Yang-tse, about twenty miles above Hankow, by the 
 settlement there of another native worker. This 
 extension was begun by Dr. John with high hope, for 
 his ardent spirit was ever looking beyond his immediate 
 surroundings to the vast unoccupied field, and longing 
 to extend the knowledge of Christ among the unreached 
 multitudes in Central China. He wrote home after 
 King-kow was occupied : 
 
 1 This station and Tsai-tien are both important in 
 reference to the regions beyond. We have now taken 
 possession of both streams, and it is our duty never to 
 rest until we reach their sources. I trust the day is 
 not very far distant when the banks of the Yang-tse 
 and the Han shall be lined with temples reared to 
 the Lord of Hosts. The difficulties are many and 
 formidable. I see them and feel them. They some- 
 times rise before me like huge mountains whose summits 
 are lost in impenetrable clouds. They seem to defy our 
 puny efforts to remove them or even to scale them. 
 
208 Development and Extension 
 
 Still I believe that those obstacles shall be removed, and 
 that righteousness and peace shall flow through these 
 regions like a stream some day.' 
 
 The experience gained in these two experiments 
 was not encouraging, but it was useful. It led Mr. 
 John and his colleagues to review their ideas of the 
 best method of extension, and they adopted a 
 general principle of very great value in the subsequent 
 development of the Mission. Writing on January I2 } 
 1869, Mr. John says: 
 
 * From the report of the Hankow Mission forwarded 
 by this mail, you will learn that our out-stations Tsai- 
 tien and King-kow have been given up. It was after 
 much anxious deliberation that we came to the con- 
 clusion it was our duty to take this step. 
 
 ' King-kow has been a most barren field from the 
 beginning. Only one has joined us there. At first 
 the success at Tsai-tien was marked ; but for three 
 years we have reaped hardly any fruits of our labour 
 there. The converts that were made there in the 
 previous years have nearly all left the place. Several 
 of them are living in and around Hankow. Some are 
 residing about ten miles above Tsai-tien. Two are 
 dead. There are only two who reside constantly at 
 the town itself. Thus there is no Church there to be 
 watched over at present. I have no fault to find with 
 the native assistants. They seem to have discharged 
 their duties conscientiously on the whole. 
 
 * I have come to the conclusion that our system was 
 wrong and ought to be done away with. These out- 
 stations ought not to be established as experiments, 
 
A Sound Principle 209 
 
 neither ought they to be supported by the Society. 
 They ought rather to spring up in connection with the 
 widespread progress of the work, supported by the native 
 Christians themselves, and only superintended by the 
 foreign missionary with the view of rendering to them 
 the necessary spiritual guidance and aid. I am fully 
 convinced now that this is the principle on which we 
 should conduct the branch work of our respective 
 Missions ; and, as the condition of these two stations 
 was such as to allow of our returning to sound 
 principles, without even temporary injury accruing 
 therefrom to the cause, I feel that, in casting the old 
 plan aside, we are only doing what accords best with 
 the Apostolic example and the dictates of common 
 sense. I need not tell you that it has cost me some- 
 thing to give up these stations. Still I believe that the 
 right thing has been done, and that we may expect the 
 divine blessing to rest more conspicuously upon us and 
 our work. We shall still visit both places often, and, 
 personally, we shall do as much as ever for them. If 
 any good impressions have been left by the work of the 
 past, we shall not fail to find the cases out.' 
 
 The after story of the spread of the sacred fire from 
 village to village and from county to county in Hupeh 
 is one of profound interest and suggestiveness, and it is 
 a very strong argument in favour of the soundness of 
 the principle adopted by Mr. John and his colleagues. 
 
 Another and much more important extension of the 
 Mission claimed Mr. John's attention, and tried all his 
 powers of persistency and of tact for several months in 
 1864. The city of Wuchang, on the opposite side of 
 
 P 
 
210 Development and Extension 
 
 the river, was not a treaty port to which foreigners of all 
 kinds were free to come, and in which they had a right 
 to settle and to trade without let or hindrance. It was, 
 however, one of the most important governmental and 
 literary centres in China, and on this account it seemed 
 most desirable that it should be made a centre of 
 Christian teaching. By the treaty of 1869, British 
 missionaries had acquired, in consequence of a privilege 
 conceded to Roman Catholic missionaries in the French 
 treaty, the right to purchase and hold property in 
 places other than the treaty ports. Of course the 
 difficulty was to obtain the property. 
 
 Mr. John sent his native assistant across to buy 
 land and a house, but as soon as it was known for 
 what purpose it was wanted no one would sell. Mr. 
 John then took the matter in hand himself, and the 
 story of his interviews with officials, from the Viceroy 
 downwards, and of the shifts and subterfuges to which 
 they resorted to put him off and to prevent him from 
 attaining his end, is extremely interesting and amusing 
 as an illustration of the ways of Chinese officialism. 
 Unfortunately for them, their case was really inde- 
 fensible, from the fact that the Roman Catholic Mission 
 was already settled in the city ; so the determined but 
 patient and polite missionary gained the day at last 
 with all its important results. He writes : 
 
 ' Such was the end of nearly four months' conflict 
 with these Mandarins men almost incapable of 
 speaking the truth or of acting honestly. The native 
 evangelist and the deacon had many an anxious hour ; 
 and it was as much as I could do to keep their spirits 
 
Entrance into Wuchang 2 1 1 
 
 up. Frightened by adverse reports from Wuchang, 
 they would come sometimes at midnight for consola- 
 tion. But though the struggle was rather irksome at 
 the time, I am glad of it now. It gave the Mandarins, 
 scholars, and gentry an opportunity of venting their 
 wrath in a concentrated form. Ever since they have 
 been as quiet and urbane as possible. It also made 
 the triumph known far and wide. It is known over 
 the whole province that the Mandarins opposed in 
 vain, and that the conflict ended in their issuing a 
 proclamation to inform the people that what I had 
 done and was proposing to do had their sanction. 
 This fact will make it much easier to commence the 
 work in the surrounding cities. To open Wuchang 
 is, in principle, to open the whole province. To have 
 failed there would have made failure elsewhere almost 
 inevitable. I have, from the beginning, attached the 
 greatest importance to this undertaking, and now I 
 feel thankful to God that my efforts have been crowned 
 with success. I must also inform you that H.B.M. 
 Consul helped me to the utmost extent of his power. 
 If he had frowned on the attempt, the Mandarins 
 would have been victorious. I feel greatly indebted 
 to him for his sympathy and efficient aid.' 
 
 By the kindness of the European community at 
 Hankow, buildings which cost 500 were at once 
 erected and work commenced. Mr. John sent over 
 Mr. Pau Ting Chang to occupy the place as native 
 evangelist, and when Mr. Bryson arrived two years 
 after he made it his home. 
 
 Mr. Pau was one of a remarkable group of Chinese 
 
212 Development and Extension 
 
 converts whom, from the very beginning of his work 
 in Hankow, Dr. John has succeeded in gathering about 
 him. If any one doubts the capacity of the Chinese 
 to become strong, intelligent, devoted Christians and 
 enthusiastic and able workers, let him learn the history 
 of the men who during the last forty years have been 
 the fruit of the Central China Mission of the London 
 Missionary Society. The secret is that their leader 
 has believed in them, has seen the best in them, and 
 has thus drawn the best out of them. 
 
 Mr. Pau of Wuchang * was formerly a prosperous 
 merchant ; and in his lifetime has seen a great deal 
 of the Chinese world. He seems satiated with the 
 vanities and follies of life, and is anxious to spend the 
 remainder of his days in cultivating his own spirit and 
 bringing others into the way of truth. His native 
 sagacity and quiet manner, together with his kindliness 
 of heart and undoubted sincerity, make him an agent 
 of great and peculiar worth to the Society. He is 
 also blessed with an excellent wife. She is a genuine 
 Christian, and in perfect sympathy with her husband 
 in his evangelistic labours. Whilst he is trying to 
 influence the men, she is ever active in attempting 
 to direct the thoughts of the women to their highest 
 concerns. It is deeply interesting, too, to observe the 
 truly Christian way in which they bring up their child. 
 I doubt whether there are many families in England 
 in which the flame of devotion burns more brightly 
 and constantly than in the family of Pau Ting Chang.' 
 
 This faithful worker was spared to labour on in 
 connection with the Mission in Wuchang for upwards 
 
Another Notable Man 213 
 
 of forty years. He died in the summer of 1900, 
 and the Rev. Arnold Foster, who had known him for 
 nearly thirty years of that long and honourable service, 
 wrote : 
 
 ' He had gained the respect and affection of the 
 Chinese Church, and of every missionary who has had 
 the pleasure of working with him, as well as of all 
 other missionaries of other Societies who knew him. 
 He died during last summer after a few days' illness, 
 in the ninetieth year of his age. Almost to the last 
 he used to go regularly to the street chapel to preach 
 to passers-by, but for some time his eyesight had failed 
 him, and he had daily to be led to and from the 
 chapel.' 
 
 Another notable man of those early days of the 
 Mission was Mr. Shen Tsi Sing. He followed Mr. 
 John from Shanghai when he first came to Hankow, 
 having been his Chinese teacher and then the teacher 
 of Mr. Wilson. He was a scholar of no mean ability, 
 and his history had been a remarkable one before he 
 found light and rest in Christ. 
 
 When Mr. Shen died in 1887, Mr. John wrote 
 concerning him : 
 
 ' The venerable Shen Tsi Sing deserves a special 
 mention. He was my helper as a teacher, as a writer, 
 and as a preacher for thirty years. In the preparation 
 of every book, except one, composed or translated by 
 me, Mr. Shen acted as my pundit. He was with me 
 at the founding of this Mission ; and the Mission's 
 prosperity is greatly to be ascribed to the deep interest 
 he felt in it, and the efficient help he rendered to it. 
 
214 Development and Extension 
 
 He was a man universally respected by the Christians 
 and the heathen of the place. I loved, respected, and 
 trusted him as I have never done any other Chinaman. 
 In his best days he was a man of great force and 
 energy. Some years ago he had a stroke of paralysis, 
 and was never the same after. Latterly he was very 
 feeble and helpless. He was also severely tried by the 
 evil ways of certain members of his family. At the 
 beginning of last year he left Hankow for Nanking, 
 his native city. I sent a man with him to take charge 
 of him on the way, and to attend to his wants at 
 Nanking. This man returned on November 14 with 
 the news that my dear old friend had passed off on the 
 7th of the same month. Some say that the scholars 
 of China can never be won over by Christianity. Mr. 
 Shen was not only a scholar, but also a scholar uni- 
 versally respected for his learning, ability, and char- 
 acter ; and yet he was as genuine a Christian as I 
 have ever seen. He believed in Jesus with all his 
 intellect and heart, and it was his delight for years to 
 stand up in the chapels, in the streets, and in the 
 temples and preach Christ and Him crucified. I never 
 saw him show the least fear or shame when preaching 
 Christ or speaking of Christ. May God raise up many 
 more like Mr. Shen in connection with all the Churches 
 in this land ! ' 
 
 The Rev. Gilbert Warren, the head of the Central 
 China Wesleyan Mission, has already been quoted with 
 reference to Mr. John's gifts as a preacher. He also 
 bears warm testimony to his genuine kindness and 
 helpfulness to missionaries of other Societies, and as 
 
A Powerful Chinese Preacher 215 
 
 an illustration of this he tells the story of another 
 native worker. 
 
 When Mr. Cox, the first Wesleyan missionary in 
 Central China, was welcomed in Hankow by Mr. John 
 in 1862, he asked if he could find him a Chinaman 
 who could be his teacher, and at the same time help 
 him in his work. 
 
 ' Dr. John at once produced his small Church-roll 
 and bade Mr. Cox select whomsoever he would. He 
 selected Chu-Sao-an, who had been baptized by Dr. 
 John on April 23, 1862, the "first-fruits of Hupeh," 
 and the forerunner of all the thousands of Protestant 
 Christians now spread over the nine or ten provinces 
 that cluster round this centre of Central China. 
 
 * Mr. Chu both taught and learnt much with Mr. 
 Cox, and in due course he was ordained to the 
 Wesleyan Methodist ministry, again taking a first 
 place, and indeed for many years the only place, 
 in the ordained ministry. A quotation from Mr. 
 Chu's obituary in the Minutes of Conference for 1 900 
 (pp. 41-43) will show how Methodism profited by the 
 generosity of Dr. John : " During the past twenty-four 
 years Mr. Chu's ministry has been exercised chiefly in 
 Wuchang, and the fruits of his labours are seen in the 
 Church which has grown in numbers year by year. 
 As a preacher he has no peer in the ranks of the 
 Chinese Church in Central China ; his power of illus- 
 tration, especially, was unrivalled. He made a wide 
 and varied reading pay tribute to his congregations ; 
 Christian magazine or Confucian classic alike had to 
 render up its store of things new and old to this wise 
 
216 Development and Extension 
 
 househoulder, who verily had a treasury of such riches. 
 He earned the unfeigned respect of his European 
 colleagues by a blameless life and unimpeachable 
 integrity. . . . The end of his illness came unexpectedly 
 on October 21, 1899."' 
 
 These, then, are but early examples of a remarkable 
 succession of earnest and often able men who have 
 worked and are still working in connection with 
 various Missions in Central China, and who have come 
 under the influence of this great leader. 
 
 The most important work of those early days in 
 the Mission was the consolidation and development of 
 the Church, and in this the character and enthusiasm 
 of the missionary were communicated to his flock very 
 markedly. From the first the members were taught 
 the privilege and duty of contributing according to 
 their ability to the support of worship and the help of 
 the needy. They were also made to realise that 
 every Christian should be directly concerned in 
 bringing others to Christ. The teachino- bore rich 
 and rapid fruit. Five years after the firs* converts 
 were baptized the number in Christian fellowship 
 had risen to 108, of whom 51 were baptized during 
 1867. Of these 51, Mr. John says in his annual 
 report : 
 
 ' Not a few of them have been brought into the 
 Church through the instrumentality of private members. 
 Jen-ki-pu, a carpenter, has been the means of bring- 
 ing in seven. For five years he has been one of our 
 most active, consistent, and prayerful men. Earnestly 
 has he been striving to influence his comrades and 
 
Active Church Members 217 
 
 employees. Though a poor man, he has often supplied 
 his workmen with rice on the Sundays gratuitously, in 
 order to keep them from working on that holy day. 
 Till latterly many of his relations and friends fancied 
 that a species of madness had taken possession of him. 
 He would do nothing, they said, but read his New 
 Testament, pray, and talk to people about their souls 
 and Jesus Christ the Saviour. This year, however, it 
 has been his great privilege to reap the fruit of his 
 labours. 
 
 * But he is not the only one who has been helping 
 on the work. Other of the members also have brought 
 in their threes, twos, or ones. This is one of the most 
 encouraging features connected with the work of the 
 year. We may well look forward to more prosperous 
 times, when the members themselves begin to take up 
 the work and make it their own. We rejoice in this 
 fact the more because it is difficult to get the private 
 members of a Church to feel that they have anything 
 actively to do with the propagation of the Gospel. 
 As they do not concern themselves in the least with 
 the politics of the country, but leave such things with 
 the Mandarins, who are paid for looking after them, so 
 they are disposed to rest quietly in the personal enjoy- 
 ment of religion, and leave the propagation of it to the 
 foreign missionary and the paid native agents. It is 
 gratifying to us to observe at this early stage in the 
 Mission a different spirit springing up and gradually 
 diffusing itself abroad. Most of the members seem to 
 think that they must do something to assist the work 
 that is going on in their midst. They evidently feel 
 
218 Development and Extension 
 
 proud of their laudable endeavours to make it a glory 
 and a praise in the centre of China/ 
 
 One happy result of the consolidation and develop- 
 ment of the Church was seen in the gathering of 
 women into the membership. The Chinese ideas of 
 propriety in regard to the appearance of women in 
 public assemblies is still respected in many Christian 
 Churches in China, either by the provision of a separate 
 gallery or apartment for the women separated from the 
 main body of the place of worship by a substantial 
 grille, or else by the erection of a solid partition 
 several feet high, down the centre of the chapel, by 
 means of which men and women are entirely separated 
 and cannot see each other. In the early days of the 
 Church, in every place the men were reached first in 
 the public preaching -halls, and were gathered into the 
 membership of the Church before the women. There 
 is, therefore, special significance in the following 
 paragraph : 
 
 * One interesting fact connected with these fifty-one 
 members is that thirteen of them are women, and that 
 eleven of the thirteen are the wives of converts. The 
 conversion of the female population of China is a 
 subject which must weigh heavily and constantly on 
 the heart of every earnest missionary. The obstacles 
 are many and formidable. Both by preaching and 
 private conversation, for nearly six years, I have been 
 labouring to impress on the minds of the converts the 
 duty and importance of bringing their wives under the 
 direct influence of the Gospel. They would maintain 
 that the custom of the country was against it. To 
 
Zeal of Converts 219 
 
 attend chapel and join the men in public worship 
 would bring not only the wife, but the whole family, 
 into contempt, and so on. 
 
 1 Last year there were evident signs of a movement 
 in the right direction ; and this year the result has far 
 exceeded my most sanguine expectations. Nineteen 
 women have already been received into the Church, 
 several are now coming in, and we have every reason 
 to hope that most of the wives of the converts who 
 reside in and around Hankow will be identified with 
 us before the end of next year. There are now several 
 whole families in the Church, and it is getting to be 
 generally understood that it is the solemn duty of the 
 Christian member of a family to make the salvation 
 of every member of that family a matter of deep 
 personal concern.' 
 
 The zeal of- the converts for the extension of the 
 kingdom of Christ speedily found expression in united 
 effort to reach their heathen neighbours as well as in 
 the earnestness of individual members. Writing to 
 Dr. Mullens in May 1867, Mr. John says: 
 
 * You will be pleased to learn that a new preaching- 
 station has been established at Han-yang, and is sup- 
 ported entirely by the native Church here. They have 
 taken it up warmly, and are determined to carry it 
 through. We have in hand more than Tls.ioo for 
 purchasing land and building. This will show you 
 that I have not neglected to teach them the importance 
 of contributing towards the support of the cause, and 
 that they have been learning the lesson gradually.' 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 YET FURTHER AFIELD 
 
 AFTER Mr. Bryant and Mr. Bryson had become 
 fairly settled at work, Mr. John felt he could 
 with greater freedom extend his own evangelistic efforts 
 beyond the limited area of the two cities. His 
 European friends in the Settlement presented him with 
 a river-boat, suitable for itinerating work, and he made 
 frequent trips on the Han and the Yang-tse, extending 
 from ten days to three weeks. He has maintained 
 this practice of making evangelistic tours in the district 
 throughout the whole of his missionary life ; and even 
 now, when travel is more fatiguing to him and his 
 health is a cause of anxiety to those about him, he still 
 goes off three or four times a year for a round of 
 preaching in the villages, confirming the hearts of the 
 disciples, examining candidates for church fellowship, 
 and proclaiming the Gospel to the heathen. His 
 report for the year in which the boat was given to him 
 contained the following important paragraph : 
 
 * An unusual amount of itinerating work has been 
 done this year in connection with our Mission. Some 
 walled cities, and many unwalled towns and villages, 
 have been visited by us on these tours. Copies of the 
 
 220 
 
METHODS OF TRAVEL, 
 (l) THE SEDAN-CHAIR. (2) BOATS ON THE YANG-TSE. 
 
Importance of Itineration 221 
 
 word of God have been extensively sold, and the 
 Gospel has been widely preached. Our work was 
 carried on sometimes on the road, sometimes in the 
 streets, and sometimes in the temples. Many of these 
 places had never been visited before by any foreigner, 
 and at none of them, so far as we could learn, had the 
 Gospel been preached. At some places the excite- 
 ment was considerable, but nowhere unmanageable. 
 Now and then an ill-disposed scholar (real or would-be) 
 would take it into his head to insult us, and attempt 
 to excite the ire of the populace against us ; but 
 generally one or two well-directed classical quotations 
 sufficed to silence all such, and so turn the laugh upon 
 them as to compel them to retire in confusion. The 
 people conducted themselves very well on the whole. 
 We have been much pleased to find that this important 
 branch of our work can be carried on with so much 
 ease and safety. A certain amount of itineration 
 ought to be done yearly in connection with every 
 station. Its reflex influence on both the missionary 
 and the mission is most healthful and stimulating. It 
 tends to enlarge the ideas, deepen the longings, in- 
 tensify the ardour, and brace up the nerves of both 
 pastor and people. One often feels at the end of a 
 hundred or two hundred miles' tour, having spent a 
 fortnight or three weeks in preaching from town to 
 town and village to village, that he could dare any- 
 thing and endure anything. I trust that during the 
 ensuing year we shall be able to prosecute this line of 
 work with much perseverance and energy.' 
 
 A letter written to Mr. Jacob nearly two years later 
 
222 Yet Further Afield 
 
 is interesting, not only on account of the impression 
 conveyed by it of the mental and spiritual darkness of 
 heathen life, but also because it reveals the evangelist 
 training his converts to evangelise. A Church com- 
 posed largely of members who have been encouraged 
 by their leader to take a direct and personal part in 
 evangelisation under his own eye, and with the advan- 
 tage of his wise counsel, could not fail to be a living, 
 aggressive force in every district and in every circle to 
 which its members belonged. 
 
 Mr. John had been telling his friend of domestic 
 troubles. It had been a very sickly season. His 
 children were just recovering from small-pox, his wife 
 was far from well, and he was feeling the need of a 
 complete rest and change. He went on to say : 
 
 ' Yet we are able to carry on our work with un- 
 abated energy. I have preached four times to-day, 
 and walked ten miles. As I am unable to leave, I 
 feel that it is my duty to try and make the delay 
 conducive to the interests of the work. Circumstances 
 enable me to carry on a plan which I have longed to 
 see executed. For years I have desired to see the 
 converts coming forward and offering their services 
 gratuitously. Five of them have recently done so in a 
 very pleasing way. After the morning service they go 
 each man to a village chosen by himself and there 
 conduct services. Some weeks ago I went with the 
 first of these men, and got a villager to offer a room to 
 conduct divine services. Last Sunday I went with 
 another ; and to-day I have been with a third. The 
 young man whom I took to-day is the son of Christian 
 
Voluntary Helpers 223 
 
 parents. I knew him and baptized him about nine 
 years ago when a mere boy. He is likely to turn out 
 a bright disciple. It did my heart good to hear him 
 preach to-day. His views are perfectly clear, his 
 earnestness is very marked, and his manner exceed- 
 ingly agreeable and winning. I was pleased, too, to 
 find a man in the village who had heard the truth at 
 our chapels, and who had acquired a considerable 
 amount of religious information. His views on the 
 existence, unity, and spirituality of God, and of the 
 folly and vanity of idolatry, were clear and accurate. 
 He needed light, however, in respect to Christ and His 
 salvation. I spoke to him at length on this theme, 
 and soon after had the pleasure of hearing him preach- 
 ing to his fellow-countrymen with much earnestness of 
 manner and clearness of thought " Jesus," said he, 
 "is God incarnate. Man could not find God, so God 
 came to seek man, and, in order to save him, died for 
 him, and thus bore his burden on the Cross. If you 
 worship the true God, believe in Jesus as the only 
 Saviour, and repent of your sins, you shall go to 
 heaven, etc. etc." In speaking to an old woman, he 
 told her that she knew that he had not worshipped 
 idols for a long time, because he had learnt that 
 idolatry was false. There were others in the villages 
 who had heard the Gospel at our chapels, and who 
 were consequently well disposed towards us. I believe 
 that there are hundreds, if not thousands, around us 
 who have given up idolatry. Constantly am I told by 
 them that they have got so far. Last week a hearer 
 said that he had not worshipped idols for five years. 
 
224 Yet Further Afield 
 
 May the day not be far distant when they shall decide 
 for the Lord. 
 
 I You can have no idea of the darkness of the 
 heathen mind without coming in contact with it in 
 this way. To-day I have conversed with many im- 
 mortal beings who have not the remotest idea of the 
 dignity of their own being and their relation to the 
 Infinite and the Eternal. Their hopes and aspirations 
 do not extend beyond the grave. Those of them who 
 think that the soul is not extinguished in death hope 
 for nothing better than its reappearance on earth in a 
 human form and in a condition of improved happiness. 
 The woman hopes to reappear in the form of a man ; 
 the poor man hopes to reappear as a rich man or a 
 Mandarin. They dread to be turned into beasts and 
 reappear as cattle, cats, dogs, mice, vermin, etc. etc. 
 The doors are covered with two large figures called 
 door spirits, and charms, to ward off demons and 
 noxious influences of various kinds. Over the doors 
 you often see a looking-glass ; and what think you is 
 the object of it ? Well, they say that it is put there in 
 order to frighten the devil by a sight of himself when 
 he attempts to enter the house. Even the devil can 
 find no other way into their houses than by a door, 
 and they fancy that when he discovers himself in the 
 glass he is discovered by the inmates also, and so he 
 takes to his heels. 
 
 I 1 called at a little temple on the top of a hill near 
 the villages, where I met with two Tauist priests. I 
 had a long conversation with them, the substance of 
 which I will now relate in as few sentences as possible. 
 
The Tauist Priesthood 225 
 
 Hanging from under the roof there were three cones of 
 incense. I asked the priest whence they came, and 
 was informed that they were votive offerings. I asked 
 him again what were the motives of the worshippers in 
 presenting such offerings. The reply was that they 
 sought merit and immortality. He was asked what 
 meaning did he attach to the word immortality. He 
 replied that he meant not dying. " But," said I, " you 
 don't mean to say that those who come here to worship 
 are exempted from death." " Of course they are not," 
 replied he, " it is mere talk. How can ordinary people 
 escape death ? Talk, mere talk." " Why did you 
 join the priesthood ? " " We are only among the 
 many," was the reply. " True, but you must have 
 been actuated by some motive. Did you become 
 priests in order to gain a worldly advantage ? " " No," 
 was their reply, though I feel sure that they were 
 actuated by no other consideration. It is an easy life, 
 and that is what they sought in forsaking the world. 
 " Well," I added, " what was your aim ? Was it the 
 desire of happiness in the next world that led you to 
 take the step ? " " The next world," said he, " the next 
 world, what do we know about that ? We know 
 nothing about that." " Do you know anything about 
 the origin of your religion ? " " No, nothing," etc. etc. 
 ' Such are most of the priests of China. They, like 
 the people, are enveloped in thick darkness. All they 
 seek are the necessaries and luxuries of life. Their 
 religion is a delusion and a lie. When are these 
 people as a people to turn to the Lord and worship 
 Him who is a spirit, in spirit and in truth ? That day 
 
 Q 
 
226 Yet Further Afield 
 
 must come ; but when ? when ? I sometimes seem 
 to think that it can never come. And then I remember 
 that it is not by might nor by power, but by God's 
 Spirit, and I feel encouraged and strengthened.' 
 
 Early in 1868 Mr. John started on a pioneering 
 trip of a very different character from his ordinary 
 itinerating tours. The first hint of it in his correspond- 
 ence appears in letters to Dr. Mullens and Mr. Jacob 
 on the first day of the new year : ' Were it not for 
 the state of the finances,' he writes, ' I would ask your 
 permission to go and try to establish a mission in 
 Cheng-tu, the capital of Sze-Chuen. What say you to 
 my bearing this in mind ? Long has it been a 
 cherished prospect of mine.' 
 
 The journey up the Yang-tse to Chung-king is 
 constantly being made now, and steamers ply regularly 
 between Hankow and Ichang, which is half way. The 
 scenery of the gorges has become familiar by the pen 
 and pencil of many travellers, all of whom seem to 
 agree that it is of such exceptional grandeur that words 
 altogether fail to convey any adequate sense of its 
 majestic size and wonderful variety of form and 
 colouring. The perils of the journey through 100 
 miles of rapids, so strong that they tax to the utmost 
 the strength of gangs of as many as 100 trackers 
 towing the boats up from the bank, unfortunately have 
 not been diminished by familiarity, as not a few 
 travellers have discovered to their cost. When Mr. 
 John and his old friend and comrade, Mr. Wylie of 
 Shanghai, adventured the journey in April 1868, very 
 few Europeans, if any, save missionaries of the Roman 
 
A Perilous Journey 227 
 
 Catholic Church, had gone so far, because there was no 
 open port above Hankow at which they could establish 
 themselves. The travellers left Hankow at the 
 beginning of April in a native boat, and on June 7 
 Mr. John reported himself from Chung-king : 
 
 ' It is very slow work, only 721 miles in more than 
 two months. It requires a residence of many years in 
 this antique country, and among this slow and easy- 
 going people, to be able to bear the irritation of such a 
 life with something like patience and resignation. The 
 country through which we have passed, however, is all 
 new to me ; and throughout my curiosity has been 
 thoroughly excited and sustained by the various 
 interesting scenes and events which have passed under 
 my notice. On the whole I have greatly enjoyed the 
 trip so far ; and I shall always feel thankful that I have 
 gone through this experience. A journey like this 
 writes a new chapter in one's life a chapter of deep 
 interest, and never to be forgotten. 
 
 ' We have passed through many scenes of danger on 
 the way. The gorges and rapids are as dangerous as 
 they are grand fine to look at, but not always com- 
 fortable to encounter and pass through. Some of the 
 boats which accompanied us a part of the way have 
 been wrecked, and in one case four lives were lost. 
 We, however, have been highly blessed and tenderly 
 watched over. No harm has been permitted to come 
 nigh unto any of us. To appreciate this blessing one 
 has to pass through the experience. 
 
 ' We have had many opportunities of doing good. 
 Many cities, towns, and villages have been visited. 
 
228 Yet Further Afield 
 
 Many books have been sold, and many sermons 
 preached. Of course nothing has been done ex- 
 haustively, the journey being too long for that. It 
 will take us five months to accomplish our task 
 according to our present plan, and that will be as much 
 time as I can spare. We intend to proceed from 
 Cheng-tu, the capital of Sze-Chuen, to Si-ngan-fu, the 
 capital of Shen-Si, and return to Hankow by the river 
 Han. The whole length will be from 2500 to 3000 
 miles. I shall feel satisfied if this journey will turn 
 out to be a commencement of good things the means 
 of directing the thoughts of others to these almost 
 unknown regions, and of exciting the interest of the 
 Protestant Churches in the spiritual welfare of these 
 distant regions. 
 
 ' Nature in these regions presents a grand spectacle. 
 Every day do we pass through some of the noblest 
 works of God. One's thoughts are powerfully directed 
 to the Infinite and Eternal in beholding these sublime 
 scenes. 
 
 * Chung - king is only second to Hankow with 
 regard to population and commerce, whilst it far 
 surpasses it with regard to beauty of scenery. The 
 whole country about here is extremely picturesque and 
 abounding in historical associations of the greatest 
 interest. The Roman Catholics are very numerous in 
 the province, and Chung-king is one of their strong- 
 holds. I am told that they have some three or four 
 thousand converts in the city itself. Oh that we could 
 rejoice over scenes connected with our work such as 
 those which I have witnessed in connection with Roman 
 
Zeal of Hankow Christians 229 
 
 Catholicism in this province. We must not neglect 
 Sze-Chuen. I hope that we may be the first Protestant 
 mission and I the first Protestant missionary that will 
 take possession of Chung-king in the name of Christ.' 
 
 The long and adventurous journey was successfully 
 accomplished, and the two missionaries reached Hankow 
 again on September 2, none the worse for their varied 
 experiences. The interest of the Church in Hankow 
 in this journey was very deep, and expressed itself in a 
 very true and beautiful way. Mr. Bryson, in his report 
 for the year, calls attention to 
 
 ' The spirit and conduct of the native Church in 
 relation to the journey. From the first it was evident 
 that a deep interest was taken by them in this extension 
 of the Gospel to the regions beyond. On the day of 
 the departure many of the members met at Mr. John's 
 house to commend their pastor to God's care, and a 
 crowd of believers accompanied him to the ship. 
 Never, from that day until his return five months later, 
 did they forget to make prayer and supplication on his 
 behalf and on behalf of those who should hear the 
 word. The spirit of missionary zeal spread from heart 
 to heart, and a more sustained and fervent interest was 
 felt by many in the spiritual enlargement and welfare 
 of the Church.' 
 
 Apparently one at least of the two pioneers had 
 serious doubts as the journey advanced whether he 
 would survive its perils and its strain. Three days 
 after his return to Hankow he wrote to the confidential 
 friend to whom so much of his correspondence has been 
 addressed, in words which afford a glimpse of his inner 
 
230 Yet Further Afield 
 
 thoughts, while there is a tone in them which tells of 
 overstrain : 
 
 * Telling you the truth, my dear brother, I hardly 
 expected to come back. My brightest hope was that 
 God would permit me to see Cheng-tu, where, I 
 thought, I could die in peace, knowing that my grave 
 at that great and distant city would stimulate others to 
 come and occupy it in the name of the Lord. Here I 
 felt a thrill of the true missionary spirit which I value 
 more than many years of ordinary life. Oh that it were 
 with me an abiding sentiment, a ceaseless inspiration. 
 There are, dear friend, two ways of looking at the work : 
 the one is the prudential one which you refer to, and 
 the other is the enterprising, doing, soul-stirring one, 
 of which the great Apostle to the Gentiles is our 
 greatest type and representative. Most modern 
 missionaries are satisfied with the former. I long for 
 the latter.' 
 
 Notwithstanding the feeling expressed in the words 
 just quoted, Mr. John was greatly moved by what he 
 had seen, and began to look at the possibility of going 
 forward to the West for further annexation of China in 
 the name of Christ. He was pressed by the Directors 
 of the Society to return to England for rest and change, 
 and his own heart had long been looking wistfully to 
 the possibility of going home for a while. Yet he 
 lingered in China. In March 1869 he told Mr. Jacob 
 that there were rumours of a revision of the treaty at 
 an early date, and of the probable opening of some 
 additional ports, among them Chung-king. He went 
 on to say that if this actually happened he would feel 
 
Divine Ambition 231 
 
 strongly impelled to go on there. ' I shall probably 
 feel it to be my duty to try and establish a mission 
 there. I long to see the Gospel introduced into 
 Sze-Chuen, and I should consider it a great honour 
 conferred upon me by the Great Head of the Church 
 to be sent there to labour and to suffer for His name's 
 sake.' 
 
 This purpose was not encouraged by the Society, 
 and could not be carried out, but he did not cease to 
 urge time after time that a mission should be 
 established at Chung-king, and his joy was great when, 
 twenty years after, he saw the first L.M.S. missionary 
 appointed to Chung-king actually start on his journey 
 thither. ' You may imagine the joy I feel in seeing 
 this long-cherished hope realised. Twenty years is a 
 long time to wait, is it not? Well, I can say to-night, 
 " Bless the Lord, O my soul." ' 
 
 The influence on the missionary career of Griffith 
 John of this divine ambition to press ever to the front 
 has already been noticed and commented upon. It is 
 well to notice it, and to allow ourselves to come under 
 the spell of this ' heroic passion for saving souls.' Such 
 men increase our responsibilities, but they expand and 
 enrich our life. When the tree ceases to push forth 
 more branches it means that its roots are losing their 
 vitality, and that the time of maturity is the beginning 
 of the process of decay. When the spirit of the 
 pioneer is dead, the Christian Society which has to 
 record the fact begins to write its own epitaph. 
 
 Yet the story of Griffith John's career may also 
 provide another and a most helpful and valuable lesson 
 
232 Yet Further Afield 
 
 for many an ardent heart which is charing under 
 restraints that prevent the realisation of some high and 
 holy ambition in God's service. Sometimes there is 
 much of self-accusation, and sometimes there is great 
 perplexity of thought, because, with the most earnest 
 desire to respond to the call, circumstances seem to 
 make it impossible to obey the heavenly vision. 
 Griffith John has experienced this impulse to go forth 
 to some new enterprise more than once. 
 
 When Dr. Mullens was in Hankow in 1865 he 
 discussed with Mr. John the question of commencing a 
 mission in Japan, which was then opening gradually to 
 Christian effort. At once the heart of the missionary 
 leapt to the suggestion, and he declared his readiness to 
 lead such a mission. More than twenty years after his 
 visit to Sze-Chuen, when Hunan became open to 
 missionary effort, largely through his own exertions, 
 again the strong impulse came to be himself the first 
 missionary worker and settle at Chang-sha. No one 
 can doubt that if in any of these cases circumstances 
 had been favourable, and he had obeyed the great 
 impulse, he would have succeeded as he did in the 
 early days at Hankow. But circumstances were not 
 favourable, the impulse had to be restrained, the zeal 
 and enthusiasm had to be made the means of intensify- 
 ing effort in the sphere in which God had placed him. 
 As the story of his life and labours is reviewed, it 
 becomes abundantly evident that the providence which 
 prevented him from carrying out these great and true 
 impulses had a larger work for him to do at Hankow. Had 
 he gone to Japan or Sze-Chuen or Hunan, he would have 
 
Exceptional Floods 233 
 
 been a splendid pioneer ; but he would never have been 
 able to do that larger and more lasting work by means 
 of his pen which has given him access to the heart of 
 tens of thousands of Chinese, not only in China and 
 Manchuria, but even in distant Australia and America. 
 The frustration by unfavourable health conditions, or 
 lack of means, or some other cause, of an earnest 
 desire to respond to God's call for special service is not 
 to be taken as an evidence that the call was not of 
 God, but that He knows better than we do how and 
 where we can be of the greatest use in relation to that 
 service. 
 
 Shortly after his return from his long journey Mr. 
 and Mrs. John and their children removed from Hankow 
 to Wuchang for a time. There was a mission-house there 
 which was occupied only by an unmarried missionary, the 
 Rev. T. Bryson, and in which there was room for them, 
 and the accommodation at Hankow seemed likely to 
 be required for Dr. Shearer, the medical missionary who 
 was on his way from England. A few months later he 
 was driven back to Hankow and to the shelter of a 
 friend's house by a very exceptional flood. As already 
 mentioned, the Yang-tse valley is flooded every summer 
 by the surplus water which falls in the rainy season over 
 the vast area of country which the river drains. In 
 ordinary years the water rises about thirty feet at 
 Hankow, but when the rains have been excessive and 
 the winter snows on distant mountain-ranges have been 
 unusually heavy, the mass of water coming down is 
 greatly increased. In 1866 the river rose more than 
 forty feet. In 1869 the flood was higher still. The 
 
234 Yet Further Afield 
 
 following letters give a vivid idea of the conditions of 
 life in Hankow at the time. 
 
 Writing to Dr. Mullens on July 24, 1869, Mr. John 
 says : 
 
 1 You were informed by the last mail that the water 
 had risen unusually high, and that Hankow was 
 threatened once more with a flood. Since then the 
 river has been steadily rising and spreading, and to-day 
 it is nearly two feet higher than its highest mark in 
 1866. The whole of the foreign settlement is from 
 three to eight feet under water. Many of the foreign 
 houses, though erected on well-raised foundations, have 
 been invaded by the unwelcome intruder, and their 
 lower rooms rendered uninhabitable. Goods have been 
 raised above the floors of godowns on wooden stands, 
 and in some cases have been removed into cargo boats. 
 These immense boats, scattered among the hongs, 
 present a novel spectacle. Beyond our verandahs we 
 have not an inch of walking ground at this end of the 
 town, and boating has become our only mode of 
 locomotion. Our mercantile friends have taken to 
 paddling canoes as the only exercise possible in the 
 circumstances, and some of the missionaries are 
 beginning to feel that they can do nothing better than 
 imitate their good example. 
 
 ' I am glad to be able to add that the foreign 
 merchants at Hankow maintain their character for 
 generosity and liberality in the midst of disappointments 
 and discouragements. Dr. Shearer and myself have 
 just called on the community in behalf of the hospital. 
 Everywhere did we meet with the kindest reception, 
 
Work Interrupted 235 
 
 and a sum, sufficiently large to cover the current 
 expenses of the institution for the ensuing year, was 
 readily and heartily subscribed. Most seemed to think 
 that it is a privilege to give towards this benevolent 
 object, and to feel thankful for the opportunity afforded 
 them on this occasion of showing their good-will. 
 
 ' Our work as missionaries has been sadly broken in 
 upon. The hospital, including the preaching -hall 
 attached to it, has been flooded for a week or ten days. 
 No religious services have been held there during this 
 period, and the doctor has not been able to do much 
 in his department. Our chapel in Wuchang is also 
 flooded, and the daily preaching there has been 
 suspended for some days. Our chapel in the centre 
 of the town of Hankow is still high and dry, and 
 the work there has been carried on without interruption 
 by our excellent and faithful native brethren Shen and 
 Yii. On account of the intervening obstacles, we have 
 not been able to visit it as often as we could have 
 wished. Our chapel at Han-yang is above the flood ; 
 but the strength of the current, and the strong south 
 wind which prevails at this season of the year, make 
 the attempt to reach it a formidable task. Nevertheless 
 we have been trying to do the little within our power ; 
 and we are now longing to see our sphere opening out 
 to its fullest extent once more. 
 
 * I was compelled to leave Wuchang yesterday morn- 
 ing with my family and retire to Hankow for a season. 
 We clung to the place till the water had reached to 
 within four inches of our floor. Having no upper rooms 
 to flee to, we were forced to go. Mr. James Crawford, 
 
236 Yet Further Afield 
 
 an old and valuable friend, invited us to come and stay 
 with him. Here I am thankful to say we have found a 
 comfortable home. We have left our furniture behind, 
 hoping to return as soon as circumstances permit. 
 
 * Notwithstanding the many inconveniences to which 
 we are put by the flood, and the intense heat, which in 
 the circumstances is felt to be specially trying, the 
 health of all the members of the Mission continues to 
 be good. I am glad to be able to say, too, that our 
 houses, though surrounded, are not flooded. The 
 occupants have still the use of the lower rooms, which 
 is a great boon and comfort to them. Should the 
 water cease to rise, the flood will subside, leaving the 
 lower floors six or seven inches above its highest mark. 
 
 * I fear, however, that the houses themselves will 
 suffer considerably. More than half the boundary walls 
 around the foreign compounds have fallen already, and 
 the others will follow as the water retires. Many of the 
 palatial residences in the Settlement are materially and 
 permanently injured, and some of them must be taken 
 down without delay. The amount of damage done in 
 this respect will not be fully seen till the water has 
 fallen some feet below its present mark. I am much 
 concerned about our own houses. The house occupied 
 by myself formerly, and at present by Dr. Shearer, 
 suffered a good deal from the flood in 1866. The 
 foundation has been sinking gradually ever since. The 
 walls are now showing evident signs of a further 
 disturbance, and I think it highly probable that a part, 
 if not the whole, of the block will have to be taken 
 down. 
 
Good-humour and Patience of Chinese 237 
 
 ' But if our condition as foreigners is bad, that of the 
 natives is far worse. Thousands of native houses have 
 been rendered uninhabitable, and tens of thousands of 
 the poorest of the people have been driven from their 
 homes. Some have taken refuge on the walls of the 
 cities, and others on the neighbouring hills. From these 
 heights many can see the roofs of their miserable huts 
 just peeping through their watery grave. Others look 
 in vain for their former abodes, the flood having 
 swallowed them up, and for the present obliterated 
 every trace of their existence. Most cling to their cots 
 to the last moment. By means of raised boards and 
 piled-up tables and benches, they continue to live with 
 several feet of water inside their houses. Confined to 
 a very contracted space between the water and the 
 roof, you see them sometimes moving about their huts 
 bent double, and sometimes crawling on all fours as if 
 they were so many quadrupeds. Here and there a 
 faithful dog is to be seen perched on the top of the 
 roof, evidently greatly perplexed to account for this 
 new thing which has happened to the dwellers upon the 
 earth, and wondering where he is to be driven to next. 
 
 ' It is wonderful, however, how patiently and 
 good-humouredly the Chinaman endures it all. There 
 he is in a state of half-nudity, laughing, punning, 
 gambling, smoking, sipping tea, and merry-making, as 
 if nothing strange had happened to him. In England a 
 calamity of this nature would elicit a universal wail of 
 distress. Here it creates but a slight sensation. The 
 Chinaman seems to think that this calamity, like all 
 others, must come and go, and that when it has done 
 
238 Yet Further Afield 
 
 its work it will leave him pretty much in the same 
 condition as it found him. Two years hence there will 
 be no trace of it. In the meantime he has his bowls 
 of rice and pipe of tobacco, and in the possession of 
 these, with a tolerable appetite, he cares for neither life 
 nor death. As to his mud and straw huts, he will run 
 them up faster than the flood pulled them down. He 
 will soon be in a position to make his hundred or two 
 hundred cash a day, and gradually to pay back the 
 small debt which he is now contracting. Why should 
 he allow himself to be crushed under the weight of 
 heaven's decree ? Fate is inevitable, and he must 
 submit to it without a murmur, and bear it without a 
 struggle. 
 
 * The present flood is owing principally to the heavy 
 rains which have fallen in Hunan and Kiang-Si. The 
 rise in the Tung-ting lake is caused by the former, that 
 in the Po-yang by the latter. We were informed some 
 time before it reached us that Hunan was flooded. 
 The rains in this province (Hupeh) have also been very 
 heavy. For about three weeks the heavens kept 
 sending down torrents almost incessantly, and this did 
 much towards enlarging the swollen stream which the 
 Tung -ting lake was sending forth. The Sze-Chuen 
 waters do not seem to have contributed anything to 
 the extra volume which now floods the land. We 
 can always distinguish between the Sze-Chuen and the 
 Hunan waters, the latter being much clearer, owing to 
 the deposit which takes place on their course through 
 the Tung-ting lake. In the Han there is hardly any 
 current, and the ascent near its mouth is almost as 
 
Memories of Greater Floods 239 
 
 easy as the descent. At the junction of the two 
 streams there is quite a rush from the Yang-tse into 
 the Han. Thus there can be no doubt as to the 
 source of this extra rise. It is to be traced to the 
 extraordinary heavy rains which have recently fallen 
 in those hydrographical regions that are drained by the 
 streams which discharge themselves into the Tung- 
 ting and Po-yang lakes. With this fact before us, we 
 find no difficulty in believing what the natives say 
 about still greater floods which have been witnessed 
 from time to time in these parts. They tell us that 
 the water rose nineteen years ago nine or ten feet 
 higher than it is to-day. To be convinced that such 
 an event might take place, we have only to imagine a 
 rise in the Sze-Chuen and Han waters similar to that 
 which has taken place this year in those of Hunan, 
 and all three pouring down their swollen volumes 
 simultaneously into the valley below. Let us have 
 this, and the wonderful phenomenon of 1850 will be 
 repeated. Let us hope that it will not be our fate to 
 witness such a sight this year. There is time enough 
 for it, and all depends on the state of things at the 
 sources of the Yang-tse and the Han. If it be dry 
 there, the water will begin to fall forthwith, and we 
 shall soon be walking on terra firma again. If not, 
 evil times may befall us, and we shall be compelled to 
 flee for safety to the surrounding hills. 
 
 1 August 7. The water is falling rapidly, and we 
 are hoping to see dry land soon. During the last 
 fortnight the daily preaching at Hankow and Han- 
 yang has been carried on with vigour. The con- 
 
240 Yet Further Afield 
 
 gregations have been excellent, and a great deal of 
 work has been done by both the missionaries and the 
 native agents. We have not been able to resume our 
 labours at Wuchang and the hospital on this side.' 
 
 When the waters had subsided he wrote to Mr. 
 Jacob on October 21 : 
 
 ' You cannot imagine the state of things here just 
 now. It is wonderful, however, how the people bear it 
 all. An event of this kind in England would elicit a 
 great wail of distress ; here it creates but a slight 
 sensation. ... I fear, however, that worse times are 
 coming, and that next year will be a severe one to 
 hundreds of thousands of this poor people. The early 
 crops of the year were destroyed by the first rise ; and 
 the seed-time has already passed away for this year. 
 There are now more than a hundred thousand dis- 
 tressed people living in mat houses on the hills in our 
 vicinity. These are provided for by the wealthier 
 natives of Hankow. One of the Mandarins has given 
 an excellent example of humanity. As a class the 
 officials in China are a rapacious lot, but this man is 
 a bright exception. It is very interesting to observe 
 a heathen of this stamp. He is a devout man ; and 
 I believe that his living faith in a Being higher and 
 better than himself though that being is not the true 
 God has done much towards raising him above most 
 of his fellow-men in this land. What puzzles me is 
 that a man of this kind does not embrace Christianity 
 at once. He loves goodness. How is it that he does 
 not love Christ, the perfect embodiment of goodness ? 
 This is a perplexity to me. There are moral heathen. 
 
Justification by Works 241 
 
 There are devout heathen. There are God-fearing 
 heathen. But these do not seem to be the nearest to 
 the Kingdom of Heaven. How is this ? There is one 
 reason at least for this, namely, that they seek justi- 
 fication by works and not by faith. This makes an 
 enormous difference, and I think that it is that which 
 marks off the Christian from all others. Justification 
 by faith in the Son of God offends these devout 
 heathen as murh as it does any class of men. Their 
 piety is grounded in self-righteousness.' 
 
CHAPTER X 
 IN DEFENCE OF MISSIONS 
 
 THE term of service for Europeans in China is 
 now generally fixed at seven or eight years, at 
 the end of which time a long furlough is regarded as in- 
 dispensable. This is recognised not only by Missionary 
 Societies, but by the Imperial Customs service and by the 
 commercial community. In fact the Missionary Societies 
 have been slower to recognise the need than the general 
 community. The constant strain on physical strength 
 and on nerve power resulting from climatic conditions 
 is very great, even for those engaged in purely secular 
 work. The Christian worker has, in addition, the 
 demands on his nature which belong to the constant 
 outflow of spiritual energy, and the tax levied on all 
 the finer qualities of the heart and life by constant 
 contact with heathenism, often waiting long for results 
 from his earnest efforts to make known Christ, and 
 much patience and care in watching over and leading 
 ignorant and weak-kneed converts. A missionary 
 needs mental and spiritual uplifting and revival as 
 well as physical change ; often the restoration of 
 spiritual tone is the more urgent need of the two. 
 
 It is a good evidence of the physical strength of 
 242 
 
The Soldierly Spirit 243 
 
 Mr. John that he was able to remain in China for 
 fifteen years without a change, but it is not surprising 
 that for several years before he returned to Britain he 
 looked wistfully forward to the time when he might be 
 able to lay aside for a while the responsibilities of his 
 work. The references in his private correspondence 
 to the need for rest and change are very frequent from 
 1866 onward. Many men would have felt justified in 
 leaving as soon as a colleague arrived, or would have 
 pleaded that some locum tenens should be found for 
 them from the staff at the older mission station in 
 Shanghai. Such, however, has never been Mr. John's 
 idea of duty. Having been commissioned of God to 
 work for Him in China, the claims of His work have 
 ever been foremost in his thought. This strong, self- 
 repressing, soldierly spirit has found even more touching 
 and striking expression in later years, but it was there 
 ruling his younger manhood as it has ruled his riper 
 years. Thus it happened that he remained in China 
 year after year until 1870, though in 1869 he wrote 
 to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 ' I often feel I am hardly discharging the duties of 
 a parent to my children. But there is the work. 
 Which is the more important? What has the first 
 claim ? It is not easy to leave a work like this.' 
 
 Some months earlier, in September 1868, he replied 
 as follows to a resolution from the Directors of the 
 Society, urging him to come home : 
 
 ' Many, many thanks to the Board for the cordial 
 manner in which the resolution respecting my paying 
 a visit to England was passed. From this you will 
 
244 In Defence of Missions 
 
 see that the special boat excursion has been made. 
 I shall certainly not leave the Mission as long as it 
 indispensably needs my presence, whatever sacrifice 
 the delay may entail. My heart is too full of the 
 Hankow Mission and God's work generally in this 
 region to admit of my doing that. I feel in a way 
 that I have never felt before that the valleys of the 
 Yang-tse and the Han have been taken possession of 
 in the name of Christ, and that it is for me to live and 
 die for the millions of precious souls that line these 
 two truly magnificent streams. Still I must return 
 for various reasons ere long. If I remain for a year 
 or two longer I shall in all probability make one or 
 two more excursions into some distant parts of the 
 country.' 
 
 At the time that Mr. John was expressing his deep 
 satisfaction that the valleys of the Yang-tse and the 
 Han had been taken possession of in the name of 
 Christ, a disturbance took place at the town of Yang- 
 Chow, a place of some importance on the banks of 
 the Yang-tse, nearly midway between Hankow and 
 Shanghai. It was caused by the attempt of a some- 
 what large party of missionaries belonging to the 
 China Inland Mission to settle in the town. They 
 were attacked by the mob, plundered of all they 
 possessed, and escaped with their lives only by the 
 intervention of the native authorities. 
 
 The case was not a very exceptional one, and it 
 was evidently due to local causes. The British 
 authorities, however, were not content with the action 
 of the Vice-Consul, who had sent a gunboat to succour 
 
Violent Attack on Missionaries 245 
 
 the fugitives. There had been a number of cases 
 of violation of the treaty and ill-treatment of 
 foreigners, so that it was thought advisable to make a 
 demonstration in force by sending seven men-of-war 
 up the river. 
 
 The outcome of the affair when it was reported in 
 England was a violent attack on missions and mission- 
 aries. There was nothing new or original in this 
 attack. The same kind of statements have been 
 repeated time after time since then, and were uttered 
 with much emphasis during the late Boxer rising. It 
 would scarcely be worth while to stir the cold embers 
 of this forgotten excitement were it not for the way 
 in which it touched the work of Mr. John, and the 
 strong vindication of the missionary position it called 
 forth from him. 
 
 The Times of March 10, 1869, contained a leading 
 article, with the following edifying paragraph : 
 
 * A discussion, the like of which we have often 
 heard before, and shall often hear again, occurred 
 yesterday in the House of Lords on the subject of 
 missionaries. Missionaries are people who are always 
 provoking the men of the world. We occasionally 
 meet them at home and find them very commonplace 
 persons, not very well educated, not quite gentlemen, 
 very much given to tell long stories, the gist of which 
 is that some native of somewhere said, " Oh, sir, how 
 happy I feel. How much I am indebted to you and 
 Mrs. Brown." Graphic anecdotes of ex-cannibals who 
 know by heart more texts than the most experienced 
 Sunday School teacher form an interesting part of 
 
246 In Defence of Missions 
 
 their annual reports, and while these duly extract the 
 guineas of their habitual patrons, they are apt to be 
 received with unbelief and contempt by those who 
 give the tone to political discussions. Parliament is 
 not fond of missionaries, nor is the press, nor is general 
 society. Some recent occurrences in China have 
 tended to revive the prejudice against them.' 
 
 This had reference to a debate on the previous day 
 in the House of Lords, in which the Duke of Somerset 
 made a violent attack on missionaries in China, reveal- 
 ing alike his ignorance of geography, his ignorance of 
 the progress of missionary work in China, and his 
 ignorance of the character and spirit of the Protestant 
 missionaries. In concluding a long speech, the Duke 
 is reported to have said : 
 
 ' A missionary, indeed, must be an enthusiast ; if 
 he is not an enthusiast, he is probably a rogue. No 
 man would go and live up one of those rivers and 
 preach Christianity unless he were an enthusiast, and 
 being an enthusiast he is the more dangerous. Now, 
 I am anxious to know what chance we have of reduc- 
 ing these missions, or, at least, of not allowing them to 
 go still further up the country. They have already 
 got as far as Yang-Chow, and I am afraid they will go 
 further up the country unless they are stopped, and 
 the further they go the more it will be prejudicial to 
 the interests of Christianity. It may, perhaps, be said 
 that they go at their own peril ; but this is not the 
 fact, for if a riot occurs and a missionary is injured or 
 killed, a naval force is called on to interfere, unless 
 Peking is so close at hand as to allow time for an 
 
House of Lords' Debate 247 
 
 appeal to the Chinese Government. Nobody is so 
 much responsible for this mischief as the London 
 Missionary Society, and that Society had much better 
 send its missions to some other part of the world, and 
 leave China unconverted, than pursue their present 
 course. He wished to know whether the Government 
 would not adopt some more efficient and stringent 
 mode of dealing with these missionaries, either by 
 sending them out of the country, or by telling them 
 that they should go no further and imperil our friendly 
 relations with China by their proceedings.' 
 
 The Earl of Clarendon, replying on behalf of the 
 Government, continued the attack, and said among 
 other things : 
 
 1 The fact is quite plain that, not only the authorities 
 and influential persons, but the whole population of 
 China, are adverse to the spread of missionary estab- 
 lishments. It is not only most dangerous for the 
 missionaries themselves, but it is much to be con- 
 demned with respect to the Government and people of 
 the country. The course of things is exactly what my 
 noble friend has described. An outrage occurs, life is 
 jeopardised, blood is shed, property is sacrificed, an 
 appeal is made to the nearest consul, who straightway 
 calls to his aid the nearest naval commander, and gun- 
 boats go up to exact reparation. The consequence is 
 that we never know what tidings the next mail may 
 bring us, and we are always on the brink of war, not 
 on account of the violation of any British rights, of 
 any insult to the English Government or flag, or of 
 any injury done to commerce, but on account of the 
 
248 In Defence of Missions 
 
 protection of good but imprudent men, who cannot or 
 will not perceive the natural consequences of their own 
 acts.' 
 
 Fortunately the noble lords were not allowed to 
 enjoy very long the satisfaction of attack without 
 effective reply ; for the Bishop of Peterborough (Dr. 
 Magee) was in the House, and vindicated the cause of 
 the missionaries in a speech which supported his 
 already great reputation, and effectually demolished 
 the arguments of their opponents. He said : 
 
 1 The noble Duke (the Duke of Somerset) had given 
 a piece of advice to missionaries which he thought no 
 missionary would accept namely, to leave some 
 particular parts of the world unconverted, or flee from 
 attempts to convert them, because, forsooth, these 
 attempts might prejudice the interests of British trade. 
 The youngest and least zealous of missionaries would 
 probably reply that, important as were the interests of 
 British trade, there was something in his eyes more 
 sacred even than that sacred opium trade for which 
 Great Britain once thought it worth while to wage war 
 namely, obedience to the command of his Master to 
 go forth and seek to convey the Gospel to every living 
 soul, at whatever risk to himself or others. 
 
 ' English subjects, as he understood, possessed rights 
 under treaty, and, provided they did not transgress the 
 limits imposed by the treaty, they were equally entitled 
 to protection, whether they sold cotton or Bibles. It 
 was surely unworthy of a Christian nation to say that 
 if its subjects engaged in any trade, however demoral 
 
Defence by Dr, Magee 249 
 
 ising, they should be protected from the least infraction 
 of their rights, or from the least insult, by all the might 
 of Great Britain ; but that if they became missionaries 
 and happened to displease the susceptibilities of the 
 Chinese, they should be left to their fate, or saved from 
 the mob by a forcible expatriation. 
 
 
 
 ' The noble Earl, the Foreign Secretary, had advised 
 the missionaries to "follow in the wake of trade." 
 Perhaps the noble Earl would mention the kind of 
 trade in whose wake they were to follow? There 
 happened to be trades carried on by British subjects, 
 and protected with a high hand by the Government, 
 which would make a most unhappy preliminary to the 
 preaching of the missionary. Were they to " follow in 
 the wake " of the opium trade, or to wait until the 
 beneficent influence of fire-water had prepared the 
 minds of the barbarians whom they were teaching, or 
 were they to wait until the British traders had in- 
 oculated them with all their vices, before they com- 
 menced teaching them the Gospel ? Instead of wait- 
 ing for this, the missionary felt that he had a duty 
 imposed on him by a higher Master to go forth and 
 preach the Gospel.' 
 
 So great, however, was the storm raised by the 
 press that the Directors of the London Missionary 
 Society deemed it advisable to send out instructions 
 that their missionaries should confine themselves to the 
 treaty ports, and should not attempt to settle in other 
 places. In accordance with this decision they in- 
 structed Mr. John to withdraw from Wuchang. 
 
250 In Defence of Missions 
 
 Fortunately their missionary was one whose diction- 
 ary did not contain the word ' retreat.' He protested 
 vigorously and successfully against any withdrawal 
 from Wuchang as practically closing the door against 
 any advance whatever. When all other arguments 
 failed he pointed out that the buildings of the mission 
 in Wuchang had been erected with money contri- 
 buted by the European community in Hankow, and 
 that they ought to be consulted. Finally the Directors 
 cancelled their instructions and he gained the day. 
 
 In the course of his correspondence on the subject 
 he mentioned an aspect of the matter which is not 
 always remembered. * Matters are in a very different 
 state now from what they were formerly. Of late a 
 great deal has been written and spoken about the 
 missions and their work. Our Viceroy is a very 
 intelligent man, and anti- foreign to the backbone. 
 He knows just as well as I do all that has been said 
 in the House of Lords, and all that has appeared in 
 The Times on missionaries and the missionary enter- 
 prise. He sees that we are despised and distrusted, 
 and he knows that we are at his mercy. It is certain, 
 too, that the Chinese Government will grant us no 
 privileges willingly. The policy of the Government 
 is, was, and ever will be to oppose the hated foreigner, 
 whether missionary or merchant, in his every attempt 
 to obtain a foothold in the interior.' 
 
 The nature of the correspondence between H.M. 
 Government and the British Minister in Peking having 
 been made known, and containing some remarkable 
 statements by the Minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock, 
 
Incredible Ignorance about Missions 251 
 
 about missionaries, strong protest was made by the 
 united body of missionaries in Peking. Mr. John also 
 sent to the Directors of the London Missionary Society 
 two long and important letters expressing his views. 
 The greater part of the contents of these letters 
 necessarily referred to the subject from the point of the 
 immediate controversy, and it is not necessary to 
 reproduce them now. There are, however, some 
 portions of the letters which may assist some even now 
 to understand the reasons why difficulties occur, and 
 are likely to occur, in the intercourse between the 
 Chinese and Western nations. Great and remarkable 
 changes have taken place of late, yet the bulk of the 
 Chinese people, literati and commoners, still answer to 
 Mr. John's description of them. The urgency of the 
 appeal that comes from China that the Church of 
 Christ should be wise, generous, and prompt in 
 responding to the present demand for Western 
 education lies in the fact that the forces of ignorant 
 conservatism, pride, and reaction are so vast, and that 
 prejudice is so deep-rooted. 
 
 * We are now drawing to the close of the year 
 1869. With regard to China, this has been a year 
 fraught with deep interest. As missionaries we have 
 every reason to be thankful that so much public 
 attention has been drawn to our existence and work. 
 The English press, the Foreign Minister at Peking, and 
 the Duke of Somerset have all done us good service. 
 The irrational cry against missions and missionaries, 
 elicited by the Yang -Chow riot, shows that an 
 incredible amount of ignorance existed in respect to the 
 
252 In Defence of Missions 
 
 missionary enterprise in China. The work and the 
 agents have been misrepresented, calumniated, and 
 ridiculed in no measured terms by many of your 
 leading newspapers, and by some of the peers of the 
 realm. Here in China, too, they have been handled 
 rather roughly by a section of the press. Men who 
 have never put a foot within the door of a missionary's 
 house, chapel, or schoolroom think that they have a 
 right to speak authoritatively of him and his labours. 
 In attacking missionaries there is nothing to be feared 
 here. To asperse them is a perfectly safe employment ; 
 for it is generally supposed that they have no reputation 
 to be tarnished. 
 
 1 Whilst the missionaries can afford to treat all 
 unjust accusations maliciously or thoughtlessly preferred 
 against them by their enemies with the silent contempt 
 which they deserve, it is a duty, which they owe to 
 themselves as well as the cause, to do what they can to 
 remove any erroneous views honestly, though ignorantly, 
 held by those who take a deep interest in their labours, 
 and who would greatly rejoice in their success. 
 
 * There is a great deal of talk about y Chinese 
 civilisation. It is greatly overrated and underrated. 
 In many respects it is a wonderful civilisation. It is 
 very interesting to study its rise and progress till arrested 
 many centuries ago (by some mysterious cause), to be 
 succeeded by a long and dreary period of lifeless 
 conservatism. For many ages the Chinese have 
 scarcely advanced a step in the path of true progress. 
 
The Stereotyped Chinese Mind 253 
 
 The Chinaman of to-day is, in all the important 
 features of his life and character, the facsimile of the 
 Chinaman of the remote past. He sees things in 
 the same light in which his ancient brother saw them, 
 and talks and reasons about them in the same old- 
 fashioned way. The sweep of his vision is bounded by 
 the same horizon. The great universe presents the 
 same aspect to him as it did to his prototype, neither 
 larger nor smaller, neither more nor less sublime. 
 Heaven and earth speak to him in no new voices ; and 
 exhaustless nature discloses to him no new laws, forces, 
 or elements. The civil wars of the Chinese have been 
 protracted and carried on on gigantic scales ; yet hardly 
 one of them resulted in anything higher or better than 
 a temporary change of masters. Though we read of 
 one or two political and social changes of some 
 importance effected by these dynastic revolutions, we 
 fail to discover any traces of an impression produced on 
 the national mind by any or all of them. That has 
 always remained stereotyped, and more than proof 
 against all disturbing forces. In character, principles, 
 aspirations, and aim, the nation has successfully 
 emerged out of each cataclysm unchanged. The 
 enfranchisement of the people, progress, and reform, in 
 the sense in which these terms are understood in the 
 West, are never aimed at by an insurrectionist or a 
 great minister in China. The idea of establishing a 
 new order of things, which shall be an improvement on 
 the old, never enters the mind of any one. There are 
 one or two memorable exceptions on record ; but this 
 is emphatically the rule. Such a change the people 
 
254 In Defence of Missions 
 
 neither expect nor desire. All they look for is the 
 removal of certain grievances arising from maladminis- 
 tration, the rectification of corrupted manners, the 
 reformation of abuses, and the complete restoration of 
 primeval order. Beyond this point their hopes and 
 aspirations never go ; and a political or an insurgent 
 chief who should attempt anything more would be an 
 object of almost universal execration. Hence the 
 reason why Chinese history is, on the whole, the driest 
 and most uninteresting of studies. It is not a record 
 of either progress or regress, but of stagnation. And 
 hence it is, also, that the Chinese are the most 
 inscrutable and unattractive specimens of humanity we 
 come in contact with. They belong to the past, of 
 which we know but little, and with which we cannot 
 sympathise much. The impress of the ages is stamped 
 on the Chinaman's brow. He is more nearly related to 
 the men beyond the flood than to the men of the 
 present. If one of the Abraham ic age were to rise from 
 his --grave, he would recognise in the modern Chinaman 
 a contemporary and a brother. They would have no 
 difficulty in understanding each other, whilst both would 
 be equally puzzled as to what to make of us. ... 
 
 * But are we not much superior to them ? Are we 
 not more manly, more intelligent, more skilful, more 
 humane, more civilised, nay, are we not more estimable 
 every way ? Yes, according to our way of thinking. 
 No, emphatically no, according to theirs. And it 
 would be nearly as difficult for us to alter our opinion 
 on the subject as it is for them to alter theirs. . . . 
 
 c There is more than fear and policy in the opposition 
 
Perpetuation of the Past 255 
 
 which China makes to free intercourse with Western 
 nations. That these exist, and that they operate most 
 powerfully, is patent to all. The handful of Tartars 
 who now hold the country, and the body of officials 
 who govern it for the purpose of enriching themselves 
 at the expense of the people, do unquestionably dread 
 the admission of foreign enterprise and skill, and the 
 spread of religion and knowledge, on purely selfish 
 grounds. They know that free intercourse tends to 
 enlighten the people, stimulate independent thought, 
 and destroy the despotic rule of the Mandarins. They 
 know that new light must bring with it a revolution 
 sooner or later, and that in the struggle they would 
 have nothing to gain, but everything to lose. To them 
 the introduction of foreign elements is a matter of life 
 and death, and to be resisted to the utmost. But the 
 man who sees nothing more than this in the nature of 
 the resistance which China opposes to foreign enterprise 
 and skill does not see to the bottom of the question. 
 Behind the official class there is the powerful literary 
 class. The literati are the conservatives of China, 
 and the formers and guides of public opinion, in so far 
 as such a thing may be said to exist in this country. 
 These men's eyes are intently fixed on the past. In 
 their heart of hearts they believe that it cannot be 
 excelled ; and the supreme aim and end of their 
 existence is to perpetuate it. According to their way 
 of thinking China has always been, is now, and is ever 
 to be the source and centre of true civilisation. . . . 
 
 * Such are the literati. It is impossible not to 
 displease them. To preach is to insult them, for in 
 
256 In Defence of Missions 
 
 the very act you assume the position of a teacher. To 
 publish a book on religion or science is to insult them, 
 for in doing that you take for granted that China is 
 not the depository of all truth and knowledge. To 
 establish hospitals and other benevolent institutions is to 
 insult them, for there is in the idea a reflection on the 
 native skill and charity. To propound progress is to 
 insult them, for therein you intimate that China has 
 not reached the very acme of civilisation, and that you 
 stand on a higher platform than they. This is the way 
 the literati think and feel with respect to foreigners 
 and everything that is foreign ; and the anti-foreign, 
 anti-progressive, exclusive, self-satisfied, proud, and 
 supercilious spirit of this class is the resisting medium 
 in China. . . . 
 
 ' Behind the literati are the people. These are, on 
 the whole, quiet, industrious, and harmless. With 
 respect to foreigners, the people seem to me to be 
 passive, except when roused to antagonism and hatred 
 by their superiors. It would be too much to say that 
 they like us or desire intercourse with us ; but it 
 would be equally wide of the mark to say that they 
 are ill-disposed towards us. Of course I am not now 
 speaking of those who have come into close contact 
 with us, and who have been benefited by us religiously 
 or otherwise. Among these there are many thousands 
 who are warmly attached to us, who desire sincerely 
 that China should come into warmer and more intimate 
 relations with the nations of the West, who readily 
 acknowledge our superiority in many respects, and 
 who pity the blindness of those who set their faces so 
 
Protestantism and Romanism 257 
 
 resolutely against all progress. I am speaking of the 
 people at large ; and of them it may be said without 
 fear of contradiction that they neither love nor hate 
 us ; that they would rejoice in any relations with us 
 that would secure to them any obvious benefits ; that 
 they are susceptible of good impressions ; and that we 
 have no quarrel with them. If we had to deal with 
 them only, our intercourse with China would be 
 eminently peaceful and satisfactory. But they are in 
 the hands and under the control of the official and 
 literary classes ; they are ever obedient to impulses 
 which descend upon them from above ; and they are 
 most cruel and revengeful whenever their suspicions 
 are aroused and their passions excited. They have 
 been taught to think that their superiors alone have 
 a right to think on public matters ; they say that as 
 the Mandarins are paid for attending to politics it is 
 no business of theirs ; and they feel that it is for them 
 simply to obey orders whenever issued. The Govern- 
 ment can do with them what it likes. Let them be 
 told in a language that cannot be misunderstood that 
 they are expected to treat all foreigners kindly and 
 respectfully, and they will do so, and residence in the 
 interior will be as safe as at the open ports. . . . 
 
 1 1 now proceed to notice the grounds on which a 
 restrictive policy with respect to missionary operations 
 in the interior is recommended. 
 
 ' We are informed by Lord Clarendon that there 
 are " grave differences between the Protestant and the 
 Roman Catholic missionaries, of which Sir R. Alcock 
 gives very unseemly instances." That there is a vital 
 
 S 
 
258 In Defence of Missions 
 
 difference between Roman Catholicism and Protest- 
 antism we all know and admit. For this, however, 
 the missionary is not responsible. This he cannot 
 and must not conceal. In preaching and teaching, 
 both parties are bound to declare what they believe 
 to be God's truth. 
 
 ' But whatever hostile feelings the two classes of 
 missionaries may cherish towards each other, they both 
 seem to make it a point to keep them from public 
 view as much as possible (of the Protestant missionaries 
 this may be said emphatically) ; so that wranglings 
 and bickerings between them are things almost 
 unknown. 
 
 ' Of a piece with this is another charge. The 
 Protestant missionaries quarrel not only with the 
 Roman Catholic priests, but also with each other ; 
 and this is another reason why they should confine 
 themselves to the treaty ports, and even there exercise 
 great caution. It seems that many years ago they 
 had a dispute with each other about the proper terms 
 to be employed to translate Elohim and Theos into 
 Chinese. This philological discussion, like most dis- 
 cussions of the kind, was carried on with a degree of 
 acrimony on both sides, and was the cause of a 
 temporary estrangement between certain able, earnest, 
 and devoted brethren. It did doubtless interfere to 
 some extent with the peace and harmony of the 
 missionary circle, and so far must have told prejudicially 
 on the highest interests of the work. The discussion 
 was necessary and inevitable ; it is only to be regretted 
 that it could not have been carried on without an 
 
4 Erred in Good Company ' 259 
 
 admixture of human infirmities. It was, however, 
 confined to the missionaries themselves. Neither the 
 Government nor the people of China knew anything 
 about it. Even the converts were not affected by it. 
 And it was over more than fifteen years ago. Ever 
 since, each missionary has been using the terms which 
 commended themselves to his judgment. On this 
 point complete toleration exists, and has existed for 
 a long period. It is difficult to see what the British 
 Government has to do with an affair like this, or why 
 it should have been brought forward after the lapse of 
 years, or why it should be urged at all against the 
 extension of missionary operations. 
 
 * There is another charge which calls for an ex- 
 planation. Sir. R. Alcock "has alluded in strong 
 terms of condemnation to the sympathy which many 
 of the Protestant missionaries manifested towards the 
 Tai-p'ing rebels." It must be allowed that not a few 
 of the Protestant missionaries did manifest considerable 
 sympathy with the T'ai-p'ings. But it ought not to be 
 forgotten that, if they did err in this matter, they erred 
 in good company. Among the well-wishers of that 
 great movement were to be found merchants, British 
 naval officers, consuls, and even the Governor of Hong- 
 Kong. . . . But whatever opinions the missionaries 
 held, and whatever sympathies they felt, it is a well- 
 known fact that they (with perhaps one exception) did 
 nothing of which the Chinese Government could 
 reasonably complain. They did not give the rebels a 
 particle of assistance or a word of encouragement in 
 their rebellion. If the missionaries went among them, 
 
260 In Defence of Missions 
 
 it was simply with the view of procuring information, 
 of teaching them more fully the way of truth, or 
 exhorting them to banish their erroneous opinions 
 and unchristian practices, and of rebuking them for 
 imitating their enemies in deeds of cruelty and violence. 
 They made it a point to eschew politics in their inter- 
 course with them. 
 
 ' There is another objection to the missionaries 
 extending the sphere of their operations in China, 
 namely, that they do not go about their work in the 
 right way. Lord Clarendon informs us that Sir R. 
 Alcock has stated " that if ever Christianity were to 
 become general in China it would be through the 
 upper classes, and not in spite of them." In this 
 remark it is clearly implied that there is something 
 faulty in our plan, which must be removed ere the 
 work can succeed. Every genuine missionary must 
 desire above all things the conversion of the whole of 
 this great nation, and would feel sincerely thankful to 
 any one for any valuable suggestion as to the best and 
 speediest way of achieving a result so desirable and 
 glorious. But the above remark, like many more of 
 the same kind, volunteered by men who will write 
 without bestowing any serious thought on the subject, 
 betrays great ignorance of what has been done, of 
 what we are attempting to do, and of the difficulties 
 which beset our path. 
 
 ' As a matter of fact we do not ignore the upper 
 classes, and it is not our desire to convert the Chinese 
 in spite of them. The doors of our chapels are thrown 
 open daily to all classes, and if any class keeps aloof 
 
Upper Classes not Ignored 261 
 
 it is not the missionary's fault. Among our hearers, 
 scholars and respectable people are often to be seen. 
 We are always glad to welcome them, and sometimes 
 we have most interesting discussions with them. Not 
 a few of the missionaries study the ancient classics 
 thoroughly, and read extensively in the general 
 literature of the country, in order to be able to meet 
 the learned on their own ground, enter with them into 
 the labyrinths of their philosophical speculations, and 
 gradually prepare their minds to listen to the message 
 of salvation. Our literature, too, has been prepared 
 with the view of meeting the wants of all classes. 
 Many of our books are written in the simplest style. 
 These are intended for the common people, to whom 
 the highest style would be as unintelligible as Latin or 
 Greek. Not a few have been prepared expressly for 
 the educated class. Some of these are admirably 
 adapted, both in matter and style, to command the 
 attention and respect of the learned ; and they would 
 do so were it not for the general indifference of this 
 class to all religious truth, and their special contempt 
 for every foreign religion. 
 
 ' I fear, nevertheless, that for a long period to come 
 we shall be compelled to prosecute our labours in spite 
 of the wise, the noble, and the mighty of the land. 
 Pride, prejudice, worldly interests, education, prospects, 
 and position, all combine to steel their hearts against 
 the truth. " I have heard," said Mencius, " of men 
 using the doctrines of our great land to change bar- 
 barians, but I have never yet heard of any being 
 changed by barbarians. I have heard of birds leaving 
 
262 In Defence of Missions 
 
 dark valleys to remove to lofty trees, but I have never 
 heard of their descending from lofty trees to enter into 
 dark valleys." To the upper classes the foreign teacher 
 is (to use the language of Mencius) " a shrike-tongued 
 barbarian whose doctrines are not those of the ancient 
 kings, and whom the great Chow -king would have 
 smitten and driven out of the country." Interest, as 
 well as pride, prevents their giving a fair hearing to 
 the Gospel. Their position in society is against it. 
 To embrace the faith would blight their brightest 
 prospects, and involve the loss of all that they have 
 ever deemed precious. A man cannot be a mandarin 
 and a Christian at the same time. But what is worse 
 than all, the religious instinct is almost, if not quite, 
 dead in the upper classes. Religion exerts no influence 
 on their life. To them there is no personal God, no 
 immortality. They do not pray except as a matter 
 of form, and in obedience to the rites ; for they 
 maintain that all things recur according to the un- 
 changeable laws of an endless progression. We find 
 the people, on the other hand, more humble, docile, 
 and religious. In them there seems to be something 
 left to which the Gospel can appeal, whilst the neutral- 
 ising elements are fewer and less operative. This will 
 account for the fact that the bulk of our converts 
 belong to the working classes. Nearly every missionary 
 station can boast of some scholars ; but, with few 
 exceptions, they are not our most earnest, warm- 
 hearted, or even intelligent Christians. In China the 
 fact is constantly verified that these things are hid 
 from the wise and prudent, but revealed unto babes. 
 
A Question for Sir R. Alcock 263 
 
 1 That the Gospel should have taken this course in 
 China ought not to be a cause of wonderment to any 
 one who reads his New Testament, or who has but a 
 smattering of knowledge of Church history. Our 
 Saviour's life was spent among the poor. At the 
 hand of the upper classes he received little else than 
 ridicule, opposition, persecution, and death. " Not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
 many noble are called." Such was the experience of 
 the great Apostle. " Let no educated, no wise man 
 approach ; but whoever is ignorant, uneducated who- 
 ever is like a child, let him come and be comforted." 
 These words, put into the mouths of the Christians 
 by Celsus, sufficiently indicate the social and literary 
 standing of most of Christ's followers in his day. My 
 impression is that Christianity in China will have to 
 lodge itself in the hearts and consciences of the people 
 generally, and manifest itself in their lives in power 
 and beauty, before the upper classes will take Con- 
 fucius down from his lofty throne and bow the knee 
 to the Nazarene. Here, as elsewhere, the weak things 
 of the world seem destined to confound the things that 
 are mighty, yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
 nought things that are. Our Saviour commenced at 
 the bottom of the scale, and we have to do the same. 
 Sir R. Alcock would have us reverse the order, and 
 commence at the top. But he does not tell us how 
 this is to be done. Would he kindly inform us how 
 the upper ten thousand in China are to be reached ? 
 We desire their conversion most earnestly, but cannot 
 get at them. We do what we can to move them, but 
 
264 In Defence of Missions 
 
 find that we might as well try and move the " Five 
 Mountains." It is easy to criticise our work ; but we 
 want our friends to take a practical interest in our 
 enterprise, and to show us how the plans recommended 
 by them are to be embodied in action. We find 
 ourselves surrounded by certain conditions that shape 
 our schemes and direct our course. Will any one 
 point out to us a way by which we may surmount or 
 break through these conditions, and place ourselves in 
 the midst of others more favourable to the evangelisa- 
 tion of the whole country ? 
 
 * The panacea recommended by many is the appoint- 
 ment by the various Missionary Societies of a superior 
 class of men for China. There is a general impression 
 abroad that the missionaries as a class are uneducated 
 and incapable men. They may be equal to the task 
 of raising the savages of Africa, Madagascar, and the 
 South Seas ; but " it is vain " (to use the language of 
 Sir R. Alcock) " to hope for the conversion of a 
 shrewd, rationalistic, and sceptical nation like the 
 Chinese by instrumentality so imperfect." Merchants 
 and others seem often greatly surprised to find that 
 a missionary knows anything at all. " Why," said a 
 merchant the other day, speaking about a man of 
 whom he absolutely knew nothing, " that man would 
 have been a shoemaker at home, but he comes out 
 here as a missionary, and commands a good salary and 
 a respectable position in society." I happen to know 
 both the missionary and the merchant, and I can safely 
 say that of the two the missionary is by far the 
 better man. He is not only better educated than 
 
Educational Status of Missionaries 265 
 
 the merchant, but well educated, and is in every way 
 admirably qualified for the duties of his sacred office. 
 It is a strange notion but a very common one. It is 
 handed about from the one to the other and believed 
 blindly by all. I know not why Sir R. Alcock should 
 have spoken of the " human instrumentalities brought 
 to bear upon the Chinese people for their conversion 
 as seemingly ill-adapted to secure the end proposed." 
 Though all the missionaries in China would feel 
 thankful if they were better fitted for the gigantic 
 task which lies before them, and would rejoice to see 
 men more highly endowed with all moral, spiritual, 
 and intellectual gifts than themselves coming out to 
 take up the work, yet they have no need to be 
 ashamed of themselves, and the Churches need not 
 blush on their account. Compared with the other 
 classes of foreigners in China, they are not inferior 
 either in capacity or attainments. Neither the diplo- 
 matic service, nor the consular service, nor the mercan- 
 tile enterprise can boast of men of greater ability, of 
 higher culture, and in every way better adapted to 
 secure the end proposed. Of the majority of the 
 missionaries Sir R. Alcock can know but little. His 
 knowledge of a few, however, must be pretty intimate, 
 and what seems unaccountable is that he should have 
 formed such an opinion of the whole from the specimens 
 that have come under his immediate notice. Such men 
 as Medhurst, Lockhart, Edkins, Martin, and Burns are 
 the missionaries whom he has known best. Surely 
 he is not prepared to say that such human instru- 
 mentalities are seemingly ill-adapted ? Moreover, he 
 
266 In Defence of Missions 
 
 cannot be altogether unacquainted with the literary 
 productions of the missionaries. He must know that 
 the Chinese are indebted to the missionaries alone for 
 all the scientific as well as the religious works that 
 have been translated into their language. He knows, 
 too, that the world is indebted to the Protestant 
 missionaries for " all the Chinese dictionaries yet made 
 for English students of Chinese," for the best and most 
 learned translation of a large portion of the Chinese 
 classics, for the Chinese Repository, for the Middle 
 Kingdom, and for many other valuable works on the 
 language, the religions, and the manners and customs 
 of China. 
 
 ' But it must be confessed that some of the best 
 missionaries are men of whom the noisy world hears 
 least. They are not authors, not because they are 
 wanting in taste or ability for the production of 
 literary works, but because they deem it to be their 
 duty to crucify the natural predilections, in order to 
 devote the whole of their time and energies to what 
 seems to them to be a more urgent and toilsome work. 
 All honour to the translator and the author. They 
 are doing a good and valuable work. Our enterprise 
 needs them both. Still I maintain that theirs is the 
 easiest and by far the most congenial sphere. It is a 
 much more pleasant thing to spend one's days in the 
 study with an intelligent native than to mingle with 
 the people at large. The man who is to be found in 
 season and out of season superintending his churches, 
 schools, and Bible classes, preaching and teaching in 
 the chapels, the streets, the tea-gardens, and other 
 
The Missionary 'Par Excellence' 267 
 
 places of public resort, travelling among the surround- 
 ing towns and villages, everywhere dispensing the 
 bread of life to perishing men, and striving to impress 
 immortal spirits with the image of Jesus : this is the 
 true Apostolic succession, the missionary par excellence^ 
 the kind of man that China most needs at the present 
 time. Such men cannot be manufactured. Such a 
 work cannot be carried on mechanically. The men 
 for such a work must have the thing in them. They 
 are the missionaries " that are sown by nature ; men 
 endowed with highest gifts, the vision and the faculty 
 divine." They are the real powers, though they may 
 go to the grave unthought of by the wise and the 
 learned. Xavier wrote no books, but since the days 
 of the Apostles the world has not seen a greater 
 missionary. Call him a fanatic, a Papist, and a Jesuit 
 if you like ; but look at his love to God, his phil- 
 anthropy, his glowing faith, his enthusiasm, his 
 Apostolic energy, his daring, his unutterable longings, 
 his restless activity. " But this I dare to say," said 
 he, " that whatever form of torture or of death awaits 
 me, I am ready to suffer it ten thousand times for the 
 salvation of a single soul." The man did not so much 
 believe ; he saw. What wonder if his being thus 
 became sublime and comprehensive ! Rome has not 
 assigned a seat among the demi-gods to a hero of 
 nobler mould or of more exalted magnanimity than 
 Francis Xavier. Ricci, Schaal, and Verbiest were 
 men of great erudition, and did much towards paving 
 the way for the introduction of Roman Catholicism 
 into every province of China. But it is not from these 
 
268 In Defence of Missions 
 
 that their successors draw their inspiration. It is the 
 spirit of Xavier that burns within them, it is his 
 mighty influence that rests upon them, it is his 
 wonderful life that animates them. It was not Ricci, 
 Schaal, and Verbiest who established the Roman 
 Catholic Church in China. The rich and the noble 
 who were induced to join the Church by the Court 
 influence of these and other great men vanished before 
 the first breath of persecution. But the tens of 
 thousands gathered in by earnest and zealous men of 
 Xavier's stamp (whose names, however, are not known) 
 remained firm to the end. The Christians that we 
 meet now in every district of every province are the 
 descendants of those early converts. The one class of 
 missionaries have left behind them books of more or 
 less value ; the other class have left behind churches 
 of living men and women. As missionaries, which of 
 the two classes stands highest ? 
 
 ' Now I maintain that those who criticise our work 
 ought to bear in mind our supreme aim. Let the 
 subject be thoroughly discussed ; let the defects of the 
 present mode of operation be pointed out clearly ; let 
 suggestions be given freely ; but let everything be 
 done in true sympathy, and with a genuine desire to 
 promote the real interests of the missionary enterprise. 
 What we aim at is the Christianisation of this great 
 people. Our object is not to make the people more 
 skilful, more rich, more powerful, but simply to make 
 them holy and happy evermore. We believe that 
 Christianity alone can do this, and we therefore devote 
 ourselves to the one thing of propagating it. We 
 
Tientsin Massacre 269 
 
 believe that in doing this we are seeking to promote 
 the highest interests of the nation, and preparing the 
 minds of the people for universal progress.' 
 
 The state of affairs in China at this time was very 
 unsatisfactory politically, in commerce, and in mis- 
 sionary work. There was a feverish sense of trouble 
 everywhere, which seemed to bode ill for peace. In 
 June 1870 there was an outbreak of popular feeling 
 in Tientsin, directed against the Sisters of the Roman 
 Catholic Mission there, which resulted in a terrible 
 massacre. Nine Sisters of Mercy and about fifty 
 Roman Catholic converts were killed ; the Roman 
 Cathedral, the Sisters' house, and some Protestant 
 chapels were destroyed. France promptly demanded 
 reparation, and the Chinese Government sent a Special 
 Envoy to France to apologise. Having done this, 
 they sent a circular to the Powers attacking all 
 missionaries, and making very serious demands re- 
 garding the restriction of their work. The Chinese 
 claim was of so reactionary a character that, as Mr. 
 John remarked, when the news reached him, * if 
 complied with, it will shut every church, chapel, and 
 school in China, and restore the days of Morrison, so 
 far as the missionaries are concerned.' 
 
 Fortunately the British Foreign Office was presided 
 over by one who was able to discuss the position of 
 the missionaries with intelligent sympathy. Earl 
 Granville's temperate yet firm reply to the Chinese 
 circular reaffirmed some broad principles very clearly, 
 and there has been no attempt to repudiate them 
 since then. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 THE FIRST FURLOUGH 
 
 AT length the time arrived when, after more than 
 one delay, the wearied missionary felt himself 
 free to start for home. Mrs. John had for some time 
 been in very poor health, and greatly needed the 
 change, and the mission in Hankow and Wuchang was 
 in the capable hands of Messrs. Bryant and Bryson 
 and their trusted native helpers. Passages were taken 
 on the ' Imperatrice/ which sailed on July 26, 1870. 
 Before they left there was a gathering of the native 
 Church to bid farewell to their spiritual father. Mr. 
 Bryson sent a report of the meeting to the Directors : 
 'On the 23rd of July, when the flood was rising 
 rapidly in the streets of Hankow, and the only means 
 of getting to the hospital chapel was by employing 
 a boat, or wading through the dirty, stagnant water, 
 a large congregation assembled from all parts of 
 Hankow, Wuchang, and Han-yang. The number of 
 women, too, who had managed to be there that day, 
 notwithstanding the difficulty and danger of locomo- 
 tion, was astonishing. They had come, both male and 
 female, old and young, to take leave of those who had 
 been a father and mother to them for nine years, who 
 
 270 
 
Arrival in England 271 
 
 had guided many of them into the fold of Christ, had 
 defended them against adversaries, and cared for them 
 in all their sicknesses and adversities. The service 
 was a simple one, consisting principally of prayers and 
 addresses by the native Christians, in which they called 
 to mind all that God had done for them through their 
 pastor, commended him and his family to the grace 
 and protection of God on the journey home, spoke of 
 the joyous hope of meeting in the better land, and ex- 
 horted each other to fidelity and work, seeing that the 
 days were short and the end would soon come. It 
 was a most solemn and affecting meeting/ 
 
 The travellers reached England on September 30, 
 after a pleasant voyage, and settled for a time in Mrs. 
 John's old home at Machynlleth, where her mother still 
 resided in her widowhood. They afterwards removed 
 to Swansea for greater convenience. As they passed 
 through London they naturally made their way at 
 once to Blackheath, where their two boys were in the 
 School for the Sons of Missionaries. It is not surpris- 
 ing to learn that the boys did not recognise their 
 father, the elder had not seen him for nearly ten years. 
 The fact, however, suggests one of the great trials of 
 missionary life, the necessity for the separation of 
 parents and children during the years which are most 
 critical for the formation of character. The facilities 
 for frequent correspondence have greatly increased, and 
 the kindness of many friends is very great, but nothing 
 can quite compensate for the loss of the personal inter- 
 course and the influence of the personal oversight and 
 guidance of the father and mother. 
 
272 The First Furlough 
 
 Mr. John left China with the intention, if possible, 
 to devote a considerable portion of the leisure of his 
 furlough to study, and especially to spend some months 
 in Germany in the study of philosophy. On arrival 
 in Britain, he very soon found himself drawn into the 
 vortex of ' deputation ' work, and these plans for study 
 vanished away. The earnest friends of missions are 
 always eager to see the missionaries whom they have 
 been supporting by their gifts and prayers, and the 
 large class of the lukewarm, and of those who though 
 professing Christians have no real interest in the spread 
 of the Kingdom of Christ among the heathen, need to 
 be enlightened and aroused from their apathy by the 
 missionary story and appeal. The closer contact with 
 the thought and life of the great heathen world which 
 has been the result of missionary effort has been the 
 means of greatly broadening and enriching our con- 
 ceptions of God, humanity, and destiny. The constant 
 witness by earnest men who have been face to face 
 with heathenism as to the universal sinfulness and 
 demoralisation of human nature ; the evidence of the 
 insufficiency of the religious systems of the world to 
 bring deliverance to the captive, and recovery of sight 
 to the blind ; and the testimony to the wonderful adap- 
 tation of the Gospel to the universal need, and its un- 
 failing power to lift up and renew humanity, have had 
 an incalculable yet largely unnoticed influence in 
 reshaping Christian doctrine as well as in maintaining 
 the fervour of Christian love and consecration. The 
 missionary is usually thought of in connection with his 
 direct work on the field, yet his message to the home 
 
Deputation Claims 273 
 
 Churches is often as valuable as his message to the 
 heathen. 
 
 Mr. John received a very warm welcome from his 
 countrymen in Wales, and responded willingly to their 
 invitations to speak. He worked hard and successfully 
 to renew his fluency in his own Welsh tongue, to which 
 he had been an entire stranger all the time he had 
 been in China, and it was soon discovered that he 
 could preach. Requests for his services then poured 
 in upon him from all parts of Wales ; and, as he be- 
 came known, the demands for his help from the 
 principal auxiliaries to the London Missionary Society 
 in England and Scotland were numerous and pressing. 
 Writing to one of the secretaries of the Society he 
 says : 
 
 ' The invitations from different parts of the Princi- 
 pality are simply innumerable. If you say that I 
 must go to those large places in England, I can only 
 say that I must obey. What reply am I to give to my 
 Welsh friends ? The annual and quarterly associations 
 are passing resolutions in reference to my services, 
 arid I am expected to comply with the requests 
 of all. If I had Wales alone to think about, I could 
 manage matters. But it is more than I can do to 
 attend to England and Wales. Please give me some 
 idea as to the best way of managing affairs. 
 
 * I have been to some important places in North 
 Wales, and I trust that some good has been done. 
 Next week there is to be an immense association at 
 Llanelly, and another in Anglesea the week following. 
 I am to preach at both. These services are certainly 
 
 T 
 
274 The First Furlough 
 
 trying ; but they are glorious opportunities for doing 
 good. One sermon on such an occasion is worth 
 twenty on ordinary ones.' 
 
 These constant demands had an effect in two 
 directions. Before long his strength gave way alarm- 
 ingly, and for a little while he was quite incapacitated 
 for work. On March 28, 1871, the first note of 
 warning appeared in a note to the Rev. W. Fair- 
 brother : 
 
 ' We have had some splendid meetings, the largest 
 chapels actually crowded. But I am feeling that my 
 health is giving way, and I am anxious to put my case 
 fairly before you. I believe that I need absolute rest 
 for some months, and that unless I get it I shall fairly 
 break down. I am extremely nervous, my memory 
 seems to be forsaking me quite, and I can't rest. 
 This state of things began in China, and it has been 
 growing worse and worse since I have been at home. 
 It cost me a desperate effort to get the old language 
 back, so that I have really had no rest. I feel some- 
 times as if my mind were about to forsake me. I am 
 anxious to do what I can for the Society, and I see 
 that good may be done ; but I am not equal to the task 
 just at present. We have had some fine meetings, but 
 I can't tell you what each meeting costs me and how 
 miserable it makes me. Such is the state of things. 
 What do you advise me to do ? Am I to go on, or 
 am I to stop ? I have a fortnight more here, and I 
 intend to try and finish the task which lies before me ; 
 but I shall make no further promises till I receive a 
 reply from you to this.' 
 
Overstrain 275 
 
 A week later he wrote again to the Rev. R. Robin- 
 son : 
 
 ' MY DEAR MR. ROBINSON, I am much obliged for 
 your kind and affectionate letter. You may be sure 
 that I am truly anxious to promote the interests of the 
 Society to the utmost of my ability. I fully intended 
 to be at the May Meetings, and try and do my part ; 
 but I am convinced now that I require perfect rest 
 from mental anxiety and labour. I can't tell you how 
 the slightest anxiety affects my mind. I wrote Dr. 
 Lockhart last week, and his reply is this : " You must 
 not take any work at present at all. You must have 
 complete holiday for a long period. What I interdict 
 is all public services? I consulted the first practitioner 
 in Swansea on Monday last, and herewith enclose his 
 communication. You have probably seen Dr. Lock- 
 hart, and heard from him his own opinion. If in view 
 of these opinions you think I am justified in taking 
 immediate and complete rest, I shall be very glad. I 
 am convinced that it is entirely mental^ and that it has 
 been coming on for two years. Now and then I am 
 blessed with a lucid hour, and I am myself; but then 
 comes darkness and dread, and I am simply miserable. 
 No one sees it in my face ; but my friends feel it in- 
 tensely. I broke down completely last Sunday, and 
 have cancelled my engagements for this week. Yours 
 faithfully, (Signed) G. JOHN. 
 
 'Will you kindly inform Mr. Fairbrother of the 
 purport of this note ? ' 
 
 Fortunately, though the signs of overstrain con- 
 
276 The First Furlough 
 
 tinued for some months, they yielded to rest and care, 
 and they do not seem to have recurred. 
 
 The other result of his popularity was a strong 
 conviction among his friends in Swansea and else- 
 where that he ought not to return to China. Very 
 strong pressure was brought to bear on him in various 
 quarters to accept a pastorate at home. Allusions to 
 this pressure occur in several of his letters to his 
 colleague, the Rev. T. Bryson, and one or two of these 
 reveal the earnestness, consecration, and fidelity to 
 principle of Mr. and Mrs. John in a very beautiful 
 way. Only a month after arriving he says : ' I 
 confess it will cost me more to return to China than 
 it did to go out for the first time, and I cannot but 
 see that there is a noble sphere of usefulness inviting 
 me here. Conscience, however, is wholly on the side 
 of China.' 
 
 A little later he wrote again to his colleague a 
 letter, some sentences of which read strangely in the 
 light of later years, but which is valuable as a revela- 
 tion of his estimate of the value of the work to which 
 he had been called, and of the spirit in which he felt 
 that work should be approached : 
 
 ' MACHYNLLETH, November 28, 1870. 
 1 1 am convinced that there is no work like the 
 missionary work. It seems to me to be far more 
 real and more noble than anything I see around me. 
 So far as personal comforts are concerned, I could 
 have more here than in China. It would be the 
 easiest thing in the world for me to find among my 
 
Intense Belief in Preaching 277 
 
 own people a most comfortable home and a very 
 useful sphere of labour. But, to tell you candidly, I 
 should feel that I was descending from a much higher 
 platform. Even the position of a Spurgeon is inferior 
 to ours. I am telling you what I really feel in my 
 deepest heart, after seeing a little of home life and 
 feeling somewhat its attractions. But in writing this 
 I find that I am thinking of my ideal missionary 
 what I have longed to be, but never was. You will, 
 in reading this, remember the many long chats we 
 have had about our ideal missionary. I felt then that 
 that was the sort of man China needed ; and, at this 
 distance, I feel so still. I never thought less than I 
 do this moment of the book-makers, the dictionary- 
 makers, the grammar-makers, etc. It is only in those 
 #spiritual communities the book-makers are looked 
 upon as the model missionaries. They are useful. 
 Thank God for them all. But book-making is not 
 the highest department of missionary work. I wish 
 that we all believed more strongly in the Gospel, and 
 felt more firmly convinced that it, and it alone, is the 
 power of God unto salvation. What I feel this 
 moment is, that if I were back in China again, I 
 would do nothing but preach preach everywhere and 
 always. I would try and live as intensely as possible 
 in this one thing, and care but little whether my life 
 were long or short. 
 
 1 Believe me, dear Bryson, we trifle a great deal too 
 much in our attempts to carry on this intensely earnest 
 work. Don't think that I am lecturing you. Far 
 from it. I am simply telling you, as a dear friend, a 
 
278 The First Furlough 
 
 little of my own heart. I feel that I might have done 
 more nay, a hundred times more than I have done 
 towards bringing the Chinese to the knowledge of my 
 Saviour, and that I would have done so if I had lived 
 nearer to Him, and if my eye had been more single 
 and my heart more true. I feel sometimes anxious to 
 have another trial. And then I imagine that my best 
 days are gone, and that nothing remains to me but to 
 go on in the half -dead and half -alive sort of way 
 of the past. But enough of this.' 
 
 As the months went on the idea of remaining at 
 home presented itself to him again, associated with 
 his duty to his children and with the claims of his 
 delicate wife. What sharpness and severity of inward 
 conflict is involved in deciding on the course of duty 
 under these conditions is known to many a missionary, 
 and to not a few who have felt themselves compelled 
 to come to a different decision. No one can decide 
 for his brother, or judge his brother, in these crises of 
 life. Both the following quotations are from letters to 
 the Rev. T. Bryson. The first refers to his children : 
 
 'SWANSEA, March 14, 1872. 
 
 ' My time is nearly up, and I must soon think of 
 preparing to return. It will be harder to leave this 
 time than the first. I hardly know what to do when 
 I think seriously of the claims of my children upon 
 me. My friends are very anxious to keep me here, 
 and they talk a great deal about the bright prospects 
 before me at home. But these things do not move 
 
Temptations to remain at Home 279 
 
 me at all, or even touch me. But these children speak 
 in a language that goes to my heart. Of course my 
 mind is made up. For me, I know, there can be no 
 alternative. Still it is hard/ 
 
 Nine months later, when his prolonged furlough 
 was very near its end, he referred to the subject once 
 more with touching reference to his noble wife : 
 
 'SWANSEA, December 19, 1872. 
 
 ' The great drawback is Mrs. John's state of health. 
 She is very weak as compared with what she was 
 when we left China. I hope she will be able to 
 reach China safely. As to her living long, I confess 
 that I have hardly sufficient grounds to build even a 
 slender hope upon. Still, she has never uttered a 
 word to try and induce me to remain at home, but the 
 reverse. The temptations to remain are numerous 
 and weighty enough were I open to their influence ; 
 but it has never been an open question with me as to 
 whether I should remain or return. As in China, so 
 here : people have been saying from the beginning 
 that China would never see Mr. John again. People 
 hardly believe in the disinterestedness of missionaries. 
 We are missionaries because we are allured by the 
 romance of the enterprise, or because it pays us better 
 than the ministry at home. So far as I am concerned, 
 I hope to be able to convince some that missionaries 
 may be actuated by higher and nobler principles than 
 they are prepared to give them credit for. But it 
 would be impossible for me to return were it not for 
 
2 8o The First Furlough 
 
 the genuineness of Mrs. John's missionary character. 
 She will leave without any expectation of seeing her 
 children again, and she is hardly fit to leave the house 
 at all ; still it is her settled conviction that it is my 
 duty to return, and it is her fixed resolve to accom- 
 pany me.' 
 
 The list of places visited by Mr. John in England 
 and Scotland, as well as in Wales, includes most of the 
 principal towns in the country, and everywhere his 
 vivid descriptions of the work which was being done in 
 China, and his fervid appeals for help in China's great 
 need t proved most effective. Notwithstanding the 
 uncertain state of his health, he was one of the 
 speakers at the annual meeting of the Society in 
 Exeter Hall on May n, 1871, and thrilled the great 
 audience by his vindication of the work of missions in 
 China Two or three extracts must suffice as illus- 
 trations of the nervous force and charm of his style : 
 
 ' We cannot do without books, because the Chinese 
 are a literary people, and if we publish a book it is 
 understood all over the country. The great Book of 
 all is of course the Bible, and you know that the Bible 
 has been translated into Chinese. The brethren at 
 Peking are now bringing out a new version in the 
 Mandarin that is, the Court dialect, and tens of 
 thousands and millions of persons in China will be 
 able to read that who are not able to read the Bible 
 in the literary style. We cannot do without the Bible 
 in China. I am surprised how the Roman Catholics 
 can get along without that precious Book. I do think 
 
Inexhaustibility of the Bible 281 
 
 I might as well stay at home as go to China without 
 my Bible. The inexhaustibility of that Book is a 
 marvellous thing. You know the Chinese have 
 wonderful memories. They take in anything, and can 
 keep it in the most marvellous manner. I can give 
 you hundreds of specimens of the wonderful power of 
 memory of the Chinese. One of my converts once 
 came to me and said, " I want a book." I gave him 
 one, and he came back in a few days for another. I 
 said, " Have you read that ? " ' Yes," said he. " Do 
 you remember it ? " " Yes ; please ask me a few 
 questions " ; and I found that he had got it all in his 
 mind. Then I gave him another, and in a few days 
 he came back again and asked for another. I said, 
 " What about the book I gave you the other day 
 have you read it ? " " Yes." " Do you understand 
 it ? " " Yes, I understand it too." And then I gave 
 him another, and so on, till he had exhausted all the 
 books I had. What was then to be done ? I asked 
 him about the Bible. " Have you read that through 
 yet ? " " Yes," he said, " I have read it." " Do you 
 understand it ? " " No, I cannot say I understand it ; 
 I find it inexhaustible. I find in every chapter I read, 
 even those that are most familiar to me, there are 
 mysteries that I never can fathom." That is the case 
 here, and it is the case in China too. We find that 
 the old Book is just as inexhaustible there as it is here. 
 * In addition to giving them a Bible we give them 
 theological works. We have our tracts and various 
 theological works, that are of very great value. We 
 give them also scientific books. I fancy that some 
 
282 The First Furlough 
 
 very good people in this vast assembly would ask me, 
 " What have you to do with sciences ? What have 
 you as missionaries to do with teaching the Chinese 
 history, geography, and the sciences ? " Well, I believe 
 in various gospels. I know there is but one great 
 Gospel, the power of God unto salvation, and, as we 
 missionaries know, the Chinese need that ; there is 
 nothing that can raise them from their moral degrada- 
 tion but that. We know that the preaching of the 
 Gospel is God's established means to bring it to bear 
 upon the hearts of the people. But then I believe 
 there are other gospels for other diseases. 
 
 ' Let me give you one or two illustrations. One 
 of the greatest difficulties we have with the Chinese 
 arises from their intense pride and arrogance. This is 
 based upon ignorance ignorance of a little geography 
 and a little history. The Chinese have a map of the 
 world : China is represented as covering nearly the 
 whole of it ; and as for other places, such as Africa, 
 Europe, and Great Britain, they are represented as 
 small islands dotting the four seas which are supposed 
 to surround the great country of China. Now, you 
 see, the gospel necessary for that is a little geography. 
 They call their Emperor the Son of Heaven, and their 
 theory in respect of him is that he is the vicegerent of 
 God upon earth, the supreme lord of all the kings of 
 the world. Now, the gospel for that is a little history. 
 Again, the Chinese have many gods, but not much 
 religion, I am sorry to say. One of their principal 
 gods is the god of thunder, who is represented as a 
 very ugly demon, with a mallet in his hand, surrounded 
 
Various ' Gospels ' Necessary 283 
 
 by a circle of kettle-drums, which he beats furiously, 
 and that produces thunder. The goddess represented 
 along with him is the goddess of rain, who is repre- 
 sented as pouring water out of a basin. Then there is 
 another god, the god of wind, who is represented with 
 a tremendous fan in his hand, which he waves to and 
 fro, and thus produces wind. Now the gospel for that 
 is a little science. Now the missionaries teach these 
 things, not because they believe that history, geography, 
 and science can save human souls, but they know that 
 there is a great preparatory work to be done, a great 
 amount of rubbish to be taken away. The Chinese 
 are indebted to the missionaries for every particle of 
 history, geography, and scientific knowledge they have. 
 Consuls, merchants, and others will tell you missionaries 
 are a very inferior race. Let them do a hundredth part 
 of what the missionaries have done for the Chinese, 
 and then it will be time enough to talk against 
 them. Missionaries have taken an interest in the 
 Chinese, not only in their moral and spiritual welfare, 
 but also in their intellectual cultivation. They have 
 done an immense amount of good in that respect. 
 But after all, my brethren, preaching is our great work 
 in China. This is the work to which we devote hours 
 of every day, and I am happy to be able to tell you 
 that preaching is doing its work in that country, and 
 that it has precisely the same effect upon the Chinese 
 that it has upon yourselves. Give them a book, and 
 they read it carefully, perhaps, but they do not seem 
 to feel. I have never seen a Chinaman weep over a 
 book, but I have seen a Chinaman weep under a 
 
284 The First Furlough 
 
 sermon. I have myself many times made a Chinaman 
 weep by the proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ.' 
 
 A year later the Directors of the Society pressed 
 upon Griffith John another task which was at the same 
 time the highest honour they could confer. He enjoys 
 the almost unique distinction as a missionary of having 
 preached the annual sermon before the Directors and 
 constituents of the London Missionary Society. No 
 more convincing evidence could have been found of his 
 popularity and power as a preacher than his selection 
 for this duty. The sermon, which was published 
 under the title * Hope for China/ was from the text 
 Galatians vi. 9, * Let us not be weary in well-doing : for 
 in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.' It was a 
 most powerful and inspiring statement of the missionary 
 position and hope, which produced a profound im- 
 pression on those who heard it. The keynote was 
 struck at the outset : 
 
 ' One of our most influential ministers told me 
 some time ago, that he very much questioned whether 
 the Chinese would ever be christianised, and that not a 
 few of his brethren held views similar to his own in 
 regard to the matter. During a missionary career of 
 fifteen years, I have been compelled to examine and 
 re-examine the grounds of my convictions on this 
 subject, and I am glad to be able to tell you that my 
 faith in the reality and ultimate success of the mission- 
 ary enterprise was never stronger than it is now. I 
 firmly believe that " in due time we shall reap, if we 
 faint not." ' 
 
Great Missionary Sermon 285 
 
 This was followed by a warning against hasty and 
 ignorant expectations of success : 
 
 * I have never met a heathen who seemed to be 
 troubled with a sense of sin, or appeared to have the 
 least desire to be delivered from its dominion. The 
 missionary alone can form anything approaching to an 
 adequate idea of the blindness, the hardness, the 
 impenitence, and the godlessness of the heathen mind 
 when the Gospel first comes into contact with it. It 
 is not the work of a day to build up afresh the ruins 
 of nations that have been going to decay for ages, 
 or to overthrow ancient, subtle, and consolidated 
 systems which are deeply rooted in the minds of the 
 people and interwoven in the very fabric of their 
 society.' 
 
 The reasons for belief in the reality and ultimate 
 success of the missionary enterprise were next stated : 
 
 (I.) ' The bright future revealed in God's word 
 induces us to believe that " we shall reap, if we faint 
 not." ' 
 
 1 Mere theorists may fancy that the world is rapidly 
 outgrowing the Bible ; but I feel perfectly sure that as 
 long as any practical missionary work remains to be 
 done, the Grand Old Book, with its sublime revelations 
 and glowing visions, will not cease to live and give life.' 
 ' Very mistaken estimates are often formed, and 
 missionaries are often bitterly disappointed with the 
 failure of the bright hopes of early days. The 
 missionary, however, is able to persevere on account of 
 his faith in God's word and the bright future revealed 
 therein.' * He knows that the work is God's work, that 
 
286 The First Furlough 
 
 the plan is God's plan, that the time is God's appointed 
 time, and that if there be danger, it is God's own 
 word and honour that are in danger. In view of the 
 glorious future revealed in God's word, his heart throbs 
 with unutterable joy even in the darkest hour ; and he 
 cannot but believe, even in the midst of reverses and 
 disappointments many, that his work is a real work, 
 and that success is a mere question of time. Dr. 
 Judson was asked on one occasion what were the 
 prospects for the conversion of the Burmese. His 
 reply was, " The prospects for the conversion of the 
 Burmese are as bright as the promises of God." Do 
 you ask me what are the prospects for the conversion 
 of the Chinese ? My reply is, " They are as bright 
 as God's promises " ; for, " behold, these shall come 
 from afar ; and, lo, these from the north and from the 
 west ; and these from the land of Sinim " that is 
 China/ 
 
 (II.) 'The present aspect of the work induces me to 
 believe that " we shall reap, if we faint not." ' 
 
 A vivid bird's-eye view of the results already attained 
 in various parts of the mission-field was given in support 
 of this head, culminating naturally in a lengthened 
 statement regarding the work in China. The difficulties 
 which confronted the missionary in China were first 
 explained. These are to be found in ' the vastness of 
 the field,' ' the vastness of the population,' ' the antiquity 
 and civilisation of the Chinese.' c These ancient and 
 civilised people have, according to their way of thinking, 
 their Scripture and their Infallible Teacher, just as we 
 have ; and, according to their standard of orthodoxy, 
 
'A Foul Blot' 287 
 
 the things most firmly believed by us are rank heresy.' 
 
 * The great absence of religious life and moral 
 earnestness which characterises the nation as a nation/ 
 
 * the inertness and conservatism of the Chinese' ; finally, 
 the influence of British action towards China. 
 
 ' I cannot do more than mention the opium trade, 
 and the selfish and unchristian conduct of the British 
 Government in respect to it ; but it would be a sin to 
 allow an opportunity of this kind to pass without 
 referring to it. Our consuls and merchants may speak 
 of the opium trade as a " political necessity," and as 
 being " regulated by the ordinary laws of supply and 
 demand." That is one way of looking at it and a 
 very soothing way, I suppose, to those who may be 
 interested in it. But the Chinese themselves say that 
 " England trades in opium because she desires to work 
 China's ruin." And the missionary is made to feel, 
 constantly and deeply, that this vile trade, with its 
 disgraceful history, speaks more eloquently and 
 convincingly to the Chinese mind against Christianity 
 than he does or can do for it. And yet opium 
 merchants will sometimes ask, Why is it that the 
 Gospel does not make greater progress in China ? 
 " The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles 
 through you." That is one reason, at least. The 
 trade is immoral, and a foul blot on England's 
 escutcheon. Would to God it were possible to bring 
 the British Government to see its unchristian character, 
 and to induce them to " sacrifice their opium revenue 
 on the altar of our national Christianity and China's 
 well-being." No one can study the history of modern 
 
288 The First Furlough 
 
 missions in India, China, Polynesia, America, the West 
 Indies, and Africa without being solemnly impressed 
 with the fact that the positively wicked policy often 
 pursued by Christian Governments in heathen lands, 
 and the unchristian conduct of many of the foreign 
 residents and visitors, have formed one main hindrance 
 to the progress of Christ's Kingdom. When I think 
 seriously of these, I am only astonished that we have 
 any success to record, and not at all that it has not 
 been greater.' 
 
 Having stated and enlarged upon these various 
 difficulties, he proceeded to say : 
 
 * I do not despair of the conversion of the Chinese, and 
 I will tell you the reason why : . . . ( I ) The marvellous 
 way in which God has been pleased to open up that 
 immense Empire. 
 
 'Just think of it. Only thirty years ago no 
 missionary durst stand up in any city in China and 
 preach Christ. Now he may go, with the Bible in his 
 hand and the Gospel on his lips, and declare the life- 
 giving truth, that there is " one God, and one mediator 
 between God and man, the man Christ Jesus," in every 
 city and town and village in the land. Missionaries 
 are to be found now in Peking, the capital, and in 
 Hankow, that immense mart in the very centre of the 
 Empire. 
 
 ' An effort was recently made by the Chinese 
 Government to close the door once more against the 
 missionary ; for that was the object of the famous 
 " Chinese Circular." But it cannot be. That door, I 
 verily believe, had been opened by God Himself, and it 
 
The Invisible Results 289 
 
 is such that no man can shut. I am not sure but that 
 the Chinese will make one effort more to exclude all 
 foreigners. The exclusive and anti-foreign spirit of 
 the officials and scholars remains unchanged. They 
 still desire to see their great country stand apart, like a 
 great world within itself, from the rest of the globe. 
 But this also cannot be. That Empire is no longer 
 self-contained and self-poised. We cannot unravel the 
 future, and learn what is mingled in its web ; but we 
 know that that magnificent country can never return to 
 its former state of isolation and seclusion. There are 
 mighty forces at work which are impelling China 
 forward, and to which she must yield whether she will 
 or no. The world is advancing, and China must 
 advance too.' 
 
 ' (2) The noble band of men God has given China.' 
 This was touched upon in vindication of the Protestant 
 missionaries against the aspersions recently made upon 
 them. 
 
 ' (3) The amount of work that has been accomplished 
 in spite of the numerous and formidable obstacles in 
 the way.' After a statement of the various obstacles 
 and of the results already visible, he proceeded to lift 
 the question above statistics. 
 
 1 The invisible results are, I verily believe, far greater 
 and far more important than the visible. The growth 
 of our work is similar to that of a plant. The root of 
 a plant takes a longer time to grow than the stem ; 
 but maturation takes less time than either. The giant 
 oak is wrapped up in that tiny acorn ; but to develop it, 
 the acorn must have time to strike its roots, and the 
 
 U 
 
2 QO The First Furlough 
 
 sapling must be exposed to the necessary influences. 
 Summer and winter, spring and autumn, the stormy 
 winds and soft breezes have all had a share in, and 
 were all necessary to, the development of the baby-oak 
 into the fair tree you see to-day. So it is with our 
 work. All great work requires time. 
 
 ' In looking back upon my missionary life, I can see 
 clearly that I have committed many blunders, and that 
 the principal cause was my hurry and bustle. I have 
 had many an illustration in China of the old proverb, 
 " The greater haste, the less speed." I would say, Let 
 us beware of allowing ourselves to be driven on by the 
 cry for results. God takes time to accomplish His 
 grand purposes ; let us do the same. There was a 
 time when we thought the work of creation was 
 completed within six ordinary days. Geology has 
 taught us a different lesson. Slowly, very slowly, did 
 God build up this wondrous fabric ; but see the amount 
 of work that He has put into it. Slowly, very slowly, 
 is He now carrying on a still more glorious work in the 
 moral world ; but the foundation has been laid, the 
 superstructure is advancing, in due time the temple will 
 be finished, and again it shall be recorded, " And God 
 saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was 
 very good." 
 
 ' I don't say that all our converts are genuine ; 
 neither do I say that all that are genuine are all that 
 we could wish them to be. But I do mean to say that 
 we have genuine Christians there, and that they have 
 risen rather than fallen in my estimation since I have 
 had an opportunity of comparing them with the pro- 
 
'A Pledge and Proof 291 
 
 fessing Christians of this country. Christ, I firmly 
 believe, is taking possession of China. When it shall 
 become wholly His, I know not, hundreds of years 
 hence, perhaps ; tens of years hence, perhaps. It has 
 not been given to me to know the times and the seasons. 
 But I know that it is becoming His ; I feel that it is 
 becoming His ; I see that it is becoming His. I have 
 no more doubt of the ultimate evangelisation of the 
 Chinese than I have that the sun will rise to-morrow.' 
 
 * (III.) In the supernatural origin of the Gospel, and 
 the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, we have a 
 pledge and proof that " we shall reap, if we faint not." ' 
 
 ' I believe in the advancement of commerce ; I 
 believe in saturating China with a knowledge of the 
 arts and sciences, and secular learning of every kind ; I 
 believe in introducing into China railways, telegraphs, 
 and all our mechanical inventions and appliances ; but 
 I believe, too, that China will never rise without 
 Christ. I don't decry commerce ; still, I cannot shut 
 my eyes to the fact that there is no power in British 
 manufactures to save souls. What the Chinese must 
 have before they can possibly advance in the path of 
 true progress are deep religious convictions and acute 
 moral sensibilities. What the Chinese need above 
 everything else is something to infuse into the nation 
 a new and divine life ; something to make them good, 
 holy, and happy evermore. Without this they must 
 ever remain the untruthful, dishonest, deceitful, and 
 impure people they are ; and material prosperity in 
 their present moral condition would be a bane rather 
 than a blessing to the nation. The religions of China 
 
292 The First Furlough 
 
 are entirely powerless to accomplish this. Buddhism 
 and Tauism have made the people extremely super- 
 stitious, but not religious. Confucianism has dried up 
 the religious sentiment in the Chinese mind, and left it 
 the most worldly and unspiritual thing imaginable. 
 Commerce can do a great deal ; the arts and sciences 
 can do a great deal ; but they cannot bid the dead in 
 trespasses and sin rise and live again. The Gospel 
 alone is the power of God unto salvation, and salvation 
 from her moral and spiritual misery is the great need 
 of China. And the great need of China is the great 
 need of India, Africa, and all heathen lands, and the 
 Gospel is equally adapted to all. You have read of 
 the pearls that filled the water-skins of the fainting 
 Arab in the desert, and which he flung down with the 
 despairing cry, " Alas, they are only pearls." Just so ; 
 your arts and sciences are only pearls. The world 
 has a great thirst, and the Gospel alone can quench it.' 
 
 ' (IV.) The relation of Christ to the world makes it 
 absolutely certain that " we shall reap, if we faint not." ' 
 This division of the sermon was a lengthened appeal 
 in lofty and earnest words to the Christian spirit. 
 One passage only need be quoted : 
 
 ' It is not my habit to say anything to induce 
 young men to devote themselves to this work, for I 
 have a wholesome dread of man-inspired missionaries. 
 But I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without 
 telling you young men who are preparing for the 
 ministry, that I thank God most sincerely and devoutly 
 that I am a missionary. I have never regretted the 
 step I took many years ago in opposition to the 
 
'A Glorious Work' 293 
 
 strongly expressed wishes of my best friends ; and if 
 there is a sincere desire burning within my breast, it is 
 that I may live and die in labouring and suffering for 
 Christ among the heathen. Oh ! it is a glorious work. 
 I know no work like it so real, so unselfish, so 
 Apostolic, so Christ-like. I know no work that brings 
 Christ so near to the soul, that throws a man back so 
 completely upon God, and that makes the grand old 
 Gospel appear so real, so precious, so divine. And 
 then think of the grandeur of our aim ! Our cry is, 
 " China for Christ ! " " India for Christ ! " " The world for 
 Christ ! " Think of China and her hundreds of millions 
 becoming our Lord's and His Christ's ! Is there not 
 something grand in that idea ? Is there nothing soul- 
 stirring in the prospect ? Is that not an achievement 
 worthy of the best efforts of the Church, and of the 
 noblest powers of the most richly endowed among 
 you ? And then think of the unspeakable privilege 
 and honour of having a share in a work which is 
 destined to have such a glorious issue ! Oh, young 
 men, think of it ; dwell upon it ; and if you hear the 
 voice of God bid you go, manfully take up your cross 
 and go, and you will never cease to " thank Christ 
 Jesus our Lord " for counting you worthy to be 
 missionaries.' 
 
 The Nonconformist, in a special article on the 
 anniversary meetings, referred to the preacher in the 
 following terms : 
 
 1 The interest of the morning service drew together 
 a congregation which completely filled Surrey Chapel. 
 That interest was a remarkable one. It was not such 
 
294 The First Furlough 
 
 as gathers around an occasion when the preacher is one 
 of wide fame, and which always serves to draw together 
 a promiscuous crowd. The preacher was a young 
 missionary, till now all but unknown. Some fifteen 
 years ago a few of the friends of the Society heard 
 that a young Welshman of high promise was pursuing 
 his studies, not in one of the colleges, in an almost 
 private way, with a view to missionary work in China. 
 After a few years there appeared from time to time, in 
 the " Reports " and " Chronicles," letters, and extracts 
 from letters, of remarkable discrimination and power, 
 bearing the signature of Griffith John. It was evident 
 that the Society had sent out a man who had more 
 than usual understanding of what a missionary's work 
 in China ought to be. At the last annual meeting in 
 Exeter Hall this same young Welshman appeared on 
 the platform, and was introduced to the meeting by 
 Dr. Mullens, who, at the same time, bespoke the for- 
 bearance of the assembly, as Mr. John had been suffer- 
 ing from failing health. Such forbearance, as the case 
 turned out, had but very slight demands made upon it. 
 In a few minutes the Welsh fire and the missionary 
 ardour in the young missionary's breast conspired to- 
 gether to produce a speech which took captive the vast 
 assembly, and held them in willing chains for more 
 than an hour. At the autumnal meeting of the 
 Congregational Union at Swansea, Mr. John was again 
 called upon to deliver a missionary speech, and here, 
 on his own Welsh soil, and surrounded by crowds of 
 his own fellow-countrymen and fellow-Christians, he 
 carried his audience with him to a height of sanctified 
 
Testimony of * Nonconformist * 295 
 
 enthusiasm which is seldom reached. It was spoken 
 of as the most marvellous and thrilling missionary 
 speech which had ever been heard. It was little to be 
 wondered at, therefore, that the Directors of the 
 Missionary Society invited Mr. John to preach the 
 annual sermon before the Society in Surrey Chapel, 
 and it could have surprised no one to find the chapel 
 filled to hear him, and that in spite of rumours that 
 had been circulated that Mr. John's health, it was to 
 be feared, would not allow of his undertaking the 
 service. The thing announced was what is not often 
 to be had the missionary sermon of the year of one of 
 the great Societies preached by a missionary. But one 
 or two similar instances of the kind occur to us in con- 
 nection with the London Missionary Society, the most 
 recent being that of Dr. Legge delivering the sermon 
 in Surrey Chapel a few years ago. It is undoubtedly 
 the true idea. The occasion is one, not for the display 
 of great pulpit power, as it has come, perhaps, very 
 generally to be supposed : it is a coming together of 
 the representatives of the Churches to receive fresh 
 missionary impulses ; and what can more directly tend 
 to this than for a missionary of known culture, and 
 strong sense, and warm emotion, a man who has been 
 out into the field of missions, and looked over it, and 
 understood and felt something of the work that needs 
 to be done and the right way of doing it, to come into 
 the midst of such a congregation and talk out in his 
 own way the thought that is in him ? Mr. John did 
 this most effectively on Wednesday morning. . . . 
 Very powerful were the appeals which in clear and 
 
296 The First Furlough 
 
 rapid tones he rung out over the vast and interested 
 audience, and so mighty was the electrical thrill that 
 passed through their souls that audible response in 
 suppressed applause not infrequently broke forth.' 
 
 The effect of such preaching was no mere outburst 
 of admiration of the power and eloquence of the 
 preacher. The May sermon was blessed to many, and 
 the missionary spirit throughout the country was 
 quickened to a new enthusiasm by the appeals of the 
 earnest missionary. One who received his first impulse 
 towards missions by hearing Mr. John in Wales, and 
 who after a few years followed him to China, the Rev. 
 W. Hopkyn Rees, of Chi-Chou, tells the story and 
 also expresses his feelings about him as follows : 
 
 ' My recollection of Dr. John goes back more than 
 thirty years. In those days a lad was taken by his 
 father to a missionary meeting held in a town near 
 his native hamlet. To see a missionary was no 
 common thing in those days, and in those parts, and 
 crowds always followed wherever he was to speak. I 
 am right in saying that no meetings were better 
 attended than those at which missionaries were ex- 
 pected to be present ; and what strange tales we listened 
 to ! The lad referred to sat in the gallery of the large 
 chapel, which was crowded to its utmost capacity. 
 The missionary entered the pulpit and took a text, 
 " Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel," and, 
 unless memory betrays, the words were added, " Yes, in 
 China." The large audience was carried away by the 
 rush of eloquence, and the intense interest aroused by 
 the speaker. The impression was deep and lasting, 
 
Rev, W. H. Rees' Recollections 297 
 
 and to this day some remember that address. Some 
 of the old pilgrims on life's way, sitting in the front 
 pew as they always do in that country, gave vent to 
 the feelings stirred within their breasts, and " Diolch " (in 
 English, " Thanks ") and " Amen " were often and loud. 
 Tears flowed freely over many faces. The congrega- 
 tion was swayed as the wind sways the ripening and 
 golden grain. 
 
 1 The lad lost all sense of his surroundings, carried 
 away by the wondrous effect of the address, and, turn- 
 ing to his father now in glory said : * May I go out 
 to help that man ? I will go, father.' The seed 
 planted that day grew and fructified. The lad began 
 to preach when fifteen years of age, but his whole 
 desire and determination was to become a missionary 
 " like Griffith John." He entered college, and, when 
 seventeen years of age, offered his services to the 
 London Missionary Society, but, for obvious reasons, 
 they could not be accepted at that age. When 
 twenty-one years of age the same person was ordained 
 pastor of a church in rural Wales. The same year 
 Dr. John was home again, and in September 1881 he 
 gave two addresses at the ordination of a young 
 Welshman who was proceeding to China as a 
 missionary. The services were memorable, and Dr. 
 John's addresses created a most profound impression, 
 though, this time, delivered in English. The lad 
 referred to before determined to wait no longer, re- 
 newed his offer to the London Mission, which was 
 graciously accepted, and in 1883 he accompanied 
 the sainted Gilmour to Peking ; so that now, at the 
 
298 The First Furlough 
 
 close of twenty-one years' service in China, I am proud 
 to call myself a son of Dr. John in the missionary 
 faith. Can I ever fail to thank God for the meeting 
 where I first heard the great missionary? 
 
 'On my arrival in Shanghai in 1883, I met Dr. 
 John again, who had come to meet his wife on her 
 return from the homeland. He took me for a walk, 
 and we held sweet converse in our mother tongue. He 
 gave me, then, new visions of the China yet to be, 
 warned me against certain tendencies in the actions 
 and plans of new-comers, placed before me high ideals, 
 and gave me sane and helpful advice. It was an 
 inspiration to listen to him, as his soul glowed with 
 the enthusiasm born of the Spirit of God, and I 
 determined to do my utmost, by the help of God, to 
 possess the same faith and zeal. 
 
 1 1 did not see Dr. John again for some years. In 
 1901 it became necessary for me to visit Hankow in 
 connection with the indemnity arising out of the terrible 
 losses incurred in the dark days of 1900. Dr. John 
 was as active, energetic, enthusiastic, and fresh-spirited 
 as ever, with both hands full of work for the redemption 
 of China's millions. It was my privilege to preach in 
 his church, and to do so from a pulpit presented by 
 the Welsh churches. Two hymns from our native 
 language, which I had translated into Chinese, were 
 sung on that occasion, and they aroused tender echoes 
 of the sweet singers at home. We talked much, and 
 prayed together, and I caught new glimpses of the 
 glory of the work as I conversed with the Grand Old 
 Man. 
 
Departure for China 299 
 
 ' During my twenty-one years in this land I have 
 received scores of letters from him, but most of them 
 were destroyed when my house was burned by the 
 Boxers. A good old book says, " A wise son heareth 
 his father's instruction." I have had occasion all these 
 years to consult " my father in the faith," and have 
 sought advice and counsel at his hands. Complicated 
 and difficult questions arise often during the career of 
 a missionary in a strange land. Young ones, especially, 
 are in need of guidance, and still more so when trying 
 to organise new work in a new sphere, as was my lot. 
 Dr. John never failed me. His unrivalled experience 
 and wise judgment were always given to me unstint- 
 ingly. He has helped me out of some tight corners, 
 and given unerring guidance in times of anxiety and 
 doubt. Chi-Chou Mission owes more to him than any 
 feeble words of mine can express, and I can never 
 sufficiently thank God for his generous sympathy, 
 wise counsel, and wealth of love. I write of him as 
 I have been privileged to know him. His labours 
 cannot be tabulated, though the records of some of 
 his work may be found in the histories of Bible 
 Societies and Tract Societies and our own beloved 
 Society. We magnify God in him, and pray the 
 Father in Heaven that many more years be added to 
 his life, that he may bring to fruition some of the 
 schemes which are so fertile in his brain, all for the 
 uplifting of the Cross of Christ and the salvation of 
 this people.' 
 
 The furlough was extended several months beyond 
 the time originally fixed, but at length on February 8, 
 
300 The First Furlough 
 
 1873, Mr. and Mrs. John sailed from Liverpool by the. 
 s.s. ' Hector.' It was a sad and anxious start. Mrs. 
 John was so unwell that she was not fit to travel, and 
 the parting with their three children had been a v ry 
 severe trial. The voyage did her no good, and at 
 length as the vessel entered the harbour of Singapore 
 she passed away. Some details of the voyage and of 
 her last hours were sent by Mr. John to his friend Mr. 
 Jacob : 
 
 ' We found the Red Sea very oppressive, and the 
 Indian Ocean was not much better. I bore it well ; 
 but my poor wife found it very trying. Ere this you 
 have been informed of her death, which took place as 
 we were entering the harbour of Singapore. She 
 evidently took a fresh chill on board the tender at 
 Liverpool. We were told to be on board at 2 P.M., 
 but she did not start till about 4. It was a cold day, 
 and there was no place on board into which my poor 
 wife could retire. She never rallied. Gradually her 
 throat, mouth, and tongue blistered and swelled. Eat- 
 ing and drinking became a painful task, and her 
 sufferings latterly were very great. But she bore all 
 with wonderful patience and resignation to her Father's 
 will. Whilst quite prepared to depart and be with 
 Christ, she hoped and believed to the last that she 
 should see China, and labour a little time longer for 
 the good of the Chinese. The day before she died she 
 told me that she believed she should get better ; " but," 
 she added, " I am in my Saviour's hands. I have 
 placed myself there that He may do with me as He 
 thinks best. Do you think He will accept me ? I am 
 
Photo] [Lai Koog, Hankow, 
 
 MRS. MARGARET J. JOHN. 
 Born in Madagascar, Nov. 17, 1830; died at Singapore, March 24, 1873. 
 
Mrs* John's Missionary Character 30 l 
 
 very unworthy." " Yes," said I, " He has done that 
 long since, my dear." " Yes, He has," was her reply. 
 And then she talked about devoting herself to the 
 missionary work more heartily than ever.' 
 
 The missionary's wife too often gets scant recog- 
 nition in the story of missionary life and work. Her 
 part is usually quieter and more unobtrusive than her 
 husband's, though it involves quite as much of the 
 strain, and makes as large a demand on faith and 
 grace. When Mr. John got back to Hankow he wrote 
 to Dr. Mullens a brief statement, which presents a very 
 striking picture of an exceptionally gentle, patient, and 
 high-toned Christian woman : 
 
 ' Believing that work is the balm for me at present, 
 I have plunged into it with all the energy I can 
 command. The language is as fluent as ever, and 
 I am able to enter fully into every department of the 
 work. How I shall get on without my dear wife, I 
 know not. For eighteen years she was to me a loving, 
 devoted, self-sacrificing, and efficient helpmate. We 
 have a goodly number of women in our little Church 
 in Central China, and this is to be ascribed in a great 
 measure to her exertions and influence. The mission- 
 field has never seen a more true-hearted missionary. 
 She was in every respect a born missionary. Her 
 parents were missionaries ; her birthplace was Mada- 
 gascar ; the atmosphere which she breathed from her 
 childhood was a missionary atmosphere ; and when she 
 dedicated herself to the missionary enterprise she did 
 so with the firm resolve to live and die a missionary. 
 She was kind and genial in her bearing towards the 
 
302 The First Furlough 
 
 heathen ; she invariably received the converts as 
 brothers and sisters in Christ ; she never failed to 
 enter into my plans cheerfully and heartily ; and she 
 was ever prepared to sacrifice everything in order to 
 promote the interests of the work. She has lived 
 contentedly in inland cities ; and many a time has she 
 remained alone for weeks and months while I have 
 been travelling in distant provinces, and that without 
 hearing but seldom from me. I have seen her attend 
 on the sick in the hospital, and, from pure love to 
 Christ and sympathy with human suffering, perform 
 services of kindness which were extremely loathsome 
 in themselves, and from which she felt an instinctive 
 shrinking. Had it not been for the genuineness of her 
 missionary character, it would have been impossible for 
 her to return to China. When I spoke to her about 
 the matter, her words were : " I believe it is your duty 
 to return to your work. I don't believe that God's 
 blessing will follow you if you remain at home." 
 When Mrs. Griffiths, late of Madagascar, was asked 
 how she felt in the prospect of parting with her 
 daughter, she said : "If she were well I should not 
 mind it so much ; but I am proud that I have a 
 daughter who can do what she is doing." And well 
 might the aged mother of 81, with the missionary 
 fire still flaming in her breast, be proud of her 
 daughter ; for few could do what she did. She was 
 one of the meekest, most patient, most unselfish, and 
 withal bravest of women. In her Master's cause she 
 seemed capable of daring all things and enduring all 
 things. To appreciate her thoroughly it was necessary 
 
'A Succourer of Many' 303 
 
 to know her intimately. She was no talker, and 
 especially about herself and her work, but she could 
 act, and that with wonderful self-abnegation and moral 
 courage. In her own quiet, unostentatious way she 
 accomplished a great work ; and though she has 
 entered into her rest, the blessed influence of her 
 life and labours still remains, and will remain for years 
 to come.' 
 
 The Rev. T. Bryson, who had exceptional oppor- 
 tunities of seeing and knowing her in the course of her 
 life in Hankow, says : 
 
 * I should like to tell you of the love I bore to the 
 first Mrs. John, and my great admiration of her quiet, 
 motherly, beautiful Christian character, and how nobly 
 she sustained her husband in his consecration to the 
 highest and most self-sacrificing ideals of his missionary 
 life. One or two of the letters, especially those relating 
 to his return to China after the furlough of 1873, w ' 1 ^ 
 give you some hints of this. No missionary's wife 
 ever deserved to be had in remembrance as " faithful 
 unto death " more than Margaret John, or fulfilled 
 more truly the words chosen by her bereaved husband 
 as descriptive of her life, and inscribed on a tablet 
 erected to her memory, and placed on the walls of the 
 Chinese church, " She hath been a succourer of many, 
 and of myself also." 
 
 ' After I had been alone in Wuchang for about a 
 year, as the Mission was being reinforced by the arrival 
 of Dr. and Mrs. Shearer, for whom there was no house 
 accommodation in Hankow, Dr. John and his family 
 came over temporarily to live with me in Wuchang. 
 
304 The First Furlough 
 
 The memory of these days when Mrs. John was as a 
 mother to me (she was often taken by the Chinese to 
 be my mother when we were out walking together in 
 the city) is one of the most precious recollections of 
 my life in Central China.' 
 
 Sixteen years after, when the need for a separate 
 hospital for women began to be felt in the Mission, 
 Mr. John built one and called it the * Margaret ' 
 Hospital, in memory of his wife. One of the native 
 assistants spoke of the work he had seen her doing 
 among the patients in the Mission hospital, and said : 
 * I have heard much about love, but I never saw love 
 until I saw Mrs. Margaret John.' 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 GROWING WORK AND WIDENING 
 INFLUENCE 
 
 THE period between Dr. John's first and second 
 home-coming was one of continuously happy and 
 successful work, and of growing influence. He was 
 greatly cheered, when he got back to Hankow, by the 
 warmth of the welcome given him by the native Church, 
 and by finding that there had been decided progress 
 during his absence. Some of the converts had gone 
 back, either through failure in character or lukewarm- 
 ness, but the majority had stood firm in their Christian 
 profession, and the numbers in the Church had 
 increased. The zeal and earnestness of the members 
 evidently received a new impulse as the result of his 
 return. Self-help became more thoroughly recognised 
 as a duty by the Church, and renewed efforts for the 
 evangelisation and salvation of others were made in 
 Hankow itself and in the country around. 
 
 One result of this evangelistic zeal is interesting, 
 because it reveals a side of native non-Christian life 
 and thought which is not generally recognised. In 
 1874 it was decided to open the city chapel in the 
 evening as well as during the day for evangelistic 
 
 305 X 
 
306 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 preaching, which was to be carried on chiefly by the 
 voluntary help of the members of the Church. The 
 fact that it was considered safe to open a Christian 
 preaching-place after dark was a good evidence of the 
 peacefully recognised position which Christianity had 
 gained. The suggesting cause of the new effort was 
 the activity of a non-Christian Preaching Association. 
 Mr. John told the story in a letter to the Missionary 
 Society : 
 
 * Besides these paid native agents, several of the 
 private members have been giving us most valuable 
 assistance during the last four months. They have 
 been the chief speakers at our night services. These 
 services were commenced in the month of August, 
 and have been carried on with considerable spirit and 
 vigour ever since. A brief account of their origin 
 will, I think, interest you. Soon after our arrival in 
 Hankow, more than twelve years ago, the natives 
 themselves began to hold night services for public 
 preaching in certain temples and open spaces along 
 the thoroughfares. I was told at the time that the 
 movement was set on foot in imitation and rivalry of 
 the Protestant missionary. And such was probably 
 the case ; for though it be by law required that 
 portions of the Sacred Edict be read in every district 
 by local officers on the first and fifteenth of every 
 month, in public halls set apart for the purpose, 
 and though this order has been complied with for a 
 hundred and fifty years with more or less regularity, 
 yet this was the first time for the people themselves 
 in this part of the country to take the matter in hand. 
 
A Godless Association 307 
 
 The institution is connected with certain benevolent 
 halls, for which Hankow is justly celebrated ; and all 
 the working expenses are defrayed by the native 
 merchants, shop-keepers, and others. The poorer 
 people of a neighbourhood will sometimes raise a 
 small sum of money among themselves, invite a few 
 preachers, and hold a series of meetings for their own 
 special benefit. The preachers, who are for the most 
 part undergraduates, receive a small stipend for their 
 services. Their text-book is the Sacred Edict, one of 
 the best known and most highly respected works in 
 China. It consists of sixteen moral maxims, in 
 sixteen sentences of seven words each, written by the 
 Emperor Kang-hi, and amplified by his son and 
 successor. The popular editions are issued with an 
 amplified paraphrase in the Mandarin dialect. In its 
 tone this celebrated work is utterly godless. It holds 
 Buddhism and Tauism in supreme contempt, and 
 denounces Roman Catholicism as rank heresy. All 
 religious rites and practices are discouraged, and the 
 people are told plainly that the only gods they need 
 concern themselves about are the two living Buddhas 
 at home that is, their parents. 
 
 * These preachers, however, find that bare morality 
 will not do, and that if they would secure the 
 attention and move the hearts of their audiences the 
 religious element must not be dispensed with ; and 
 hence they supply themselves with selections of moral 
 tales, drawn from all quarters, and richly interlarded 
 with Buddhist and Tauist legends and myths. This 
 it is, I believe, that lends to their preaching any little 
 
3o8 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 power and attraction it may have. So far as I can 
 learn, they never allude to us or our work, and, so far 
 as I can see, there is nothing in the movement to 
 excite either hope or fear on our part. I have to 
 thank it, however, for one good result. 
 
 1 In the month of July I attended one of those 
 open-air meetings, held on the piece of ground 
 occupied at present by our new hospital. Whilst 
 standing there, in the midst of a large crowd of 
 listeners, the duty of opening the chapels for night 
 services forced itself upon my conscience. I had 
 thought of it many a time before, but never felt it till 
 now. At our next church meeting I spoke to the 
 converts on the subject, and asked them if there were 
 any among them who would volunteer their services. 
 My appeal met with a prompt and hearty response, 
 and within two or three weeks seven or eight of our 
 best men were to be seen night after night proclaiming 
 the glad tidings of salvation according to their ability. 
 Most of the attempts were lame and feeble at the 
 beginning ; but by degrees confidence, strength, and 
 readiness were acquired, and by this time some of 
 these brethren have developed into admirable preachers. 
 We commenced at the hospital chapel, but the 
 volunteers soon became dissatisfied with the limited 
 scope afforded to them there, and expressed a desire 
 to hold services at the principal chapel, which is 
 situated in the centre of the town. Of course I was 
 only too glad to gratify their wishes, and ever since 
 three night-services in the week have been held at 
 each of these chapels. Then some of the converts in 
 
A Stimulating Movement 309 
 
 Han-Yang expressed themselves as inclined to try the 
 experiment there, and it was resolved at once that the 
 doors of that chapel should be thrown open three 
 nights in the week. The converts of one of the other 
 
 o 
 
 missions, hearing of what was going on in our chapels, 
 applied for permission to carry on a similar work in 
 their own. Thus the idea was warmly taken up, and 
 so far, has been very heartily worked out. 
 
 * How long the impulse may last it is impossible to 
 tell, but, from all that appears now, it bids fair to do 
 so for some time at least. In any case, good must 
 result from it. The truth is more widely made known. 
 The congregations are often very large, and most of 
 the hearers are men who either cannot or will not 
 attend in the daytime. The volunteers are deeply 
 interested in the work, and evidently derive much 
 reflex benefit from it. The whole Church is more or 
 less stimulated and ennobled by it. It is also pro- 
 ducing a favourable impression on the heathen around. 
 The preachers are able to tell those who call the 
 Christian religion the " rice-eating religion " that the 
 charge is a libel, and that, so far from depending on 
 the Church for their sustenance, they are giving their 
 services gratuitously, and that the very oil and candles 
 which light up the chapels are paid for by themselves. 
 The heathen are beginning to see this, and it is certain 
 that the tendency of what they see is to remove their 
 prejudices and give them a more exalted view of 
 Christianity and the Christian Church.' 
 
 On October 23, 1874, Mr. John married again. 
 The second Mrs. John was one whom he had known 
 
310 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 ever since he went to China. She was an American 
 lady, the widow of Dr. Jenkins, a missionary of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and had been living in 
 Shanghai for three years after her husband's death, 
 engaged in active Christian work among the natives 
 and also among foreign sailors. Mrs. Jenkins was a 
 cultured and able woman, deeply spiritual, and with 
 exceptional power and consecration as a worker. Her 
 advent to Hankow was a great addition to the strength 
 of the Mission, for knowing the Shanghai dialect well 
 she gave herself earnestly to the acquisition of the 
 Hankow dialect, and speedily entered with great 
 energy into work among the women. The result of 
 this was soon seen in the increasing number of women 
 who found courage to confess themselves Christians 
 and join the Church, and in the gathering thus of 
 whole families into the Christian fold. Mrs. John's 
 ability as a Christian worker evidently affected very 
 powerfully her husband's views on the value of un- 
 married European Christian ladies as missionaries to 
 the heathen. At that time the idea of sending out 
 unmarried ladies to the mission-field was comparatively 
 novel, and the experiment was being watched with 
 considerable anxiety and hesitation. At the beginning 
 of 1875, Mr. John received a letter from Dr. Mullens 
 asking, on behalf of the Directors of the London 
 Missionary Society, for his opinion as to the expediency 
 or otherwise of sending lady missionaries to China, 
 and as to the work which they could do. In reply, 
 he wrote from Hankow, February 16, 1875, a verv 
 decided expression of his opinion. 
 
Openings for Women Workers 3 1 1 
 
 ' You want to know what kind of mission work 
 might be undertaken in our stations by duly qualified 
 Christian women other than missionaries' wives. There 
 are three kinds of work which might be carried on by 
 foreign Christian women at this place, namely, con- 
 ducting classes for female converts, visiting heathen 
 women at their homes, and superintending schools for 
 girls. These three kinds of work are exceedingly 
 important ; and no station can be said to be complete 
 in its organisations, and thoroughly efficient in its 
 operations, where they are wanting. They all lie, 
 however, beyond the sphere of the missionary. Since 
 my return I have been doing all in my power to get 
 up a good girls' school, and have utterly failed, whilst 
 Mrs. Scarborough, of the Wesleyan Mission, has suc- 
 ceeded admirably. Though the female converts con- 
 nected with our Church attend divine services with 
 great regularity, I should find it impossible to get 
 them to attend a Bible class established for themselves 
 exclusively and conducted by me. And as to visiting 
 heathen women at their homes, I hardly need remark 
 that it would be worse than useless for any man, 
 whether foreign or native, to attempt it. This kind of 
 work, then, if done at all, must be done by Christian 
 women ; and in order to carry it on efficiently two 
 classes of female agents are necessary, namely, foreign 
 and native. Too much importance cannot be attached 
 to the native element. So far as schools and visiting 
 are concerned, the foreign agent can do little more 
 than direct, superintend, and encourage the native. 
 This, however, is essential. Without it the native 
 
312 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 force would be misdirected, and would soon expend 
 itself. The classes for the female converts would be 
 more exclusively in the hands of the foreign agent. 
 In course of time women might be trained to under- 
 take the conduct of them ; for the present the entire 
 work would devolve upon the foreign teacher. 
 
 ' As to the foreign agent, there can be no doubt 
 that the missionary's wife has immense advantages 
 over any other, if equally qualified in other respects. 
 Let her possess the necessary mental, moral, and 
 spiritual endowments for the enterprise, and it is 
 certain that she will carry on the work which I have 
 now specified as no other woman can. Time, however, 
 is an important element ; and there are missionaries' 
 wives who, though richly endowed with all the requisite 
 gifts and graces, and anxious to devote them to active 
 missionary work, are unable to do much on account of 
 the multiplicity of domestic duties to which they have 
 to attend. Yet I have often been surprised to see how 
 much can be accomplished by an earnest, devoted, 
 Christ-loving woman even when placed in circumstances 
 of the most unfavourable and trying kind. My reply, 
 then, to your first question is this : There is no kind of 
 mission work in this station that might not be better 
 accomplished by the missionary's wife than by any 
 other, provided she possess the necessary qualifications 
 and is able to command the requisite time. And I 
 am glad to be able to add that Mrs. John is able and 
 willing to undertake the female department of the 
 work connected with this Mission. At Shanghai she 
 was actively engaged in mission work. Besides super- 
 
Funds for Women's Work 313 
 
 intending schools, she did much in the way of visiting 
 heathen women at their homes. Her heart is wholly 
 devoted to God, and her chief desire is to be the means 
 of elevating the moral and spiritual condition of the 
 women in these parts whilst permitted to dwell among 
 them. Since her arrival at Hankow she has been 
 studying the dialect of the place, and her progress is, 
 I think, remarkable. In due time she will be in every 
 way qualified for the task which awaits her here. In 
 addition to superintending schools, she will have her 
 classes in Hankow, Wuchang, and Han-Yang. What 
 we shall need in this Mission is a grant of 50 or 
 100 towards the employment of native women as 
 school teachers and Bible readers ; and this, I have no 
 doubt, the Directors will gladly make, should they 
 deem it desirable to extend their work by female 
 agency in China. 
 
 ' Were I differently situated, my reply to the above 
 question would probably have been different. Were 
 my wife unable or unwilling to undertake the work 
 which I have described, I might ask for a female agent ; 
 I don't know that I should, but it is possible. Were I 
 an unmarried man I should certainly object to a young 
 lady being sent out to join me. I should say em- 
 phatically, never send unmarried women to a mission 
 constituted exclusively of unmarried men ; to do so 
 would be the most effectual means of bringing the 
 whole Mission into disgrace in the eyes of the Chinese. 
 As matters stand, my only request is that the Directors 
 will kindly assist my wife to carry out her plans by 
 furnishing her with the necessary means. 
 
314 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 'You will probably conclude from the tone of this 
 letter that I am not a strong believer in unmarried 
 female agents for China. I am sorry to find myself in 
 opposition to my friend Mr. Edkins on this question, 
 but I must confess that such is the case. Theoretically 
 I have but little faith in the scheme, and the slight 
 knowledge I have of the practical working of the 
 agency in this country has not tended to remove my 
 doubts. What we really need are genuine missionaries' 
 wives women as devoted to the work as their husbands 
 are. Thank God there are many such women in 
 China, and they are doing a noble work.' 
 
 A few months later he referred to the subject 
 again : 
 
 1 We shall certainly not make an application for an 
 English female missionary. With Mrs. John at 
 Hankow, and, I hope, Mrs. Bryson at Wuchang, this 
 station will not require one. Our wives will be able to 
 do a great deal more for the work than young ladies 
 could. I confess to a deep scepticism in regard to the 
 whole scheme of employing " English female mission- 
 aries " in China. Time will show, but I feel sure that 
 you are going to waste a good deal of money and 
 introduce elements of discord into missions.' 
 
 Since then an ever -enlarging experience of what 
 consecrated Christian women can do in the mission- 
 field as evangelists, as teachers, and as doctors has 
 shown how groundless and unworthy were the fears 
 which many had in the earlier days of the movement. 
 Dr. John, as a wise man, has advanced with the times. 
 
Mrs. John's Work for Sailors 3 1 5 
 
 Probably he still might say that, 'all things being 
 equal/ the married woman who works in close 
 association with her husband has greater influence 
 than the unmarried ; but experience of the work of 
 unmarried women in Hankow and Central China has 
 altered his old opinion. There is not now a kinder 
 and more sympathetic friend or a more appreciative 
 observer of the Christian service rendered by lady 
 missionaries than the veteran head of the London 
 Missionary Society's Mission in Hankow. 
 
 Mrs. John brought her love for the sailors with her 
 from Shanghai to Hankow, and speedily found that 
 she had an open door for work among them. There 
 were usually one or more gunboats anchored in the 
 river for the defence of foreign rights, and also to keep 
 order among foreign merchant sailors at the great 
 treaty port. Hankow being a great centre of the tea 
 trade, there were usually merchant vessels there bringing 
 merchandise and carrying away cargoes of tea. During 
 the brief tea season, especially, a fleet of swift steamers 
 gathered to carry off the new season's teas as rapidly as 
 possible to the thirsty Western world. The European 
 crews of these vessels were exposed to great and 
 constant temptations, and there were no special 
 agencies at work for their help. They soon discovered 
 that a friend had come to whom their interests were 
 very precious. Meetings were arranged for their 
 special benefit, and temperance and evangelistic work 
 was carried on. * Jack ' is very responsive to kindness, 
 and God blessed the efforts of His servants. Writing 
 to Mr. Jacob on May 26, 1875, Mr. John says : 
 
3 1 6 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 ' During these last ten days we have had a series of 
 services in my house for the benefit of the sailors on 
 board the tea ships visiting this port at this season. 
 They have been wonderful meetings. Many have been 
 deeply impressed, and ten at least have been really 
 converted. At the meetings I speak for twenty or 
 twenty-five minutes, and then throw the meeting open 
 to all present. After the meeting is over I meet those 
 who are impressed in my study. The night before last 
 there were three men in my study weeping like children 
 on account of their past sins, and expressing a strong 
 desire to lead a better life. I point them to Christ as 
 an all-sufficient Saviour from sin and its consequences, 
 and this message I find to be the " power of God unto 
 salvation " to sinners as hardened as I have ever known. 
 My dear wife is my " right-hand man " in this work. 
 She prays and speaks with great power at these 
 meetings. The singing is in her hands entirely, and it 
 could not be in better hands. We sing those simple 
 American hymns which have become so popular in 
 England since Moody and Sankey's visit, and they 
 are doing a good work. Our missionary work is 
 progressing also.' 
 
 This work was steadily and successfully continued. 
 In 1884 a building was erected by private contributions 
 to provide more suitable and adequate accommodation, 
 and testimony came from many quarters of the great 
 value of this gracious ministry. In that year Mr. John 
 wrote : 
 
 ' A good work is going on among the blue-jackets. 
 We have had three gunboats here this year. The first 
 
Death of Mrs* John 3 1 7 
 
 came up without a Christian on board, and left with 
 six ; the second came up in the same condition, and 
 left with four ; the present one came up with two, and 
 will leave with eight or ten. The Sailors' Rest is to 
 be opened to-morrow evening. It is a very pretty 
 little building, standing in the corner of our com- 
 pound where the bamboo mound used to stand. It is 
 a real ornament to the compound and the settlement. 
 I trust it will be a great comfort and a great blessing in 
 many ways to many.' 
 
 Less than eighteen months after the date of this 
 letter the earnest, loving heart had ceased to beat. 
 Writing to an intimate friend of Mrs. John when on 
 his way to Shanghai to bury his wife, Mr. John was 
 able to tell her not only of the death, but of a touching 
 incident which had occurred on the journey : 
 
 * Her death was in perfect harmony with her life. 
 Jesus was her Lord, her Saviour, her Beloved. She 
 loved Him passionately, and served Him faithfully. It 
 was her delight to speak of Him in season and out of 
 season, and she was the means of leading many souls 
 to Him. Yesterday we met the "Sual" at Kiu-kiang. 
 The first officer is a young man who was converted 
 some months aga through Mrs. John's instrumentality, 
 and who is now an earnest worker for God. When he 
 heard I was on board the " Kiang Kwan " he came to see 
 me. His eyes were full of tears, and he said, " I feel as 
 if I had lost my mother." When he was at Shanghai 
 a few days since, a lady there said that what she did 
 not like about Mrs. John was that she would talk about 
 religion. " Yes," replied the young man, " but you must 
 
318 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 remember that that is the very reason why I am a 
 Christian to-day. I should never have been a Christian 
 but for Mrs. John." She was very intensely earnest, 
 and worldly men and women, whether in the Church or 
 out of the Church, could not understand her. But she 
 has been the means of leading scores and scores of 
 people from the darkness and misery of sin into the 
 light and joy of the salvation in Christ.' 
 
 Later in the same year another friend was told : 
 ' We are having splendid meetings with the sailors 
 these weeks. This is the tea season, and we have been 
 holding special meetings for the benefit of the sailors. 
 The dear little Rest is often crammed, and the meetings 
 have been fruitful in blessed results. From twenty to 
 thirty have been brought to God during these five or 
 six weeks, some backsliders have been restored, some 
 dead Christians have been made alive again, and a 
 large number have found Christ for the first time. 
 What strikes some of us is, that the very spirit of the 
 departed one seems to be resting upon us. We feel as 
 if she herself in spirit was working with us and bidding 
 us go on. "It is expedient for you that I should go 
 away." What Christ said of Himself is true of every 
 one of His true servants. We cannot see this always, 
 and the heart is slow to believe that it can be so. 
 Expedient that the dearest one on earth should go 
 away ! Impossible ! And yet it must be so, for God's 
 name is love, and He does all things well. 
 
 . i 
 
 ' As one draws near the end of life, one gets to feel 
 that the one thing in it of any real value is what has its 
 
Influence of the Second Marriage 319 
 
 spring in God and its consummation in God, -from 
 God and for God. I look back on my life, and I feel 
 that much of it is utterly rotten, tested by this standard. 
 How many of my most conspicuous deeds have had 
 their inspiration in self, done, not for Christ ; done, 
 not because inspired by the love of Christ, good 
 deeds in themselves, but morally worthless in their 
 results to me. May God forgive the past blot out the 
 sins of our good deeds. How we are made to feel day 
 by day that we have nothing to fall back upon but the 
 blood of Jesus the blood that cleanseth from all sin.' 
 
 The influence of his second marriage on the 
 personal life of Mr. John was as marked as its 
 helpfulness in the work of the Mission. Like all high- 
 strung and eager natures, he has been liable to suffer 
 from fits of depression. After his return to China this 
 depression of spirits was frequent and acute. He was 
 living alone, and though he told his friends that he was 
 being well looked after by old and faithful servants, the 
 shadow of his recent great bereavement rested heavily 
 upon him, and was made harder to bear by the 
 weakening effects of an attack of dysentery. He found 
 his anodyne for grief in giving himself with redoubled 
 energy to his work ; but this did not suffice. He 
 confessed in more than one letter that ' fits of deep 
 depression are not uncommon/ that he is ' very lonely 
 and depressed, and does not know how he can go on/ 
 and it is probable he would have had a serious break- 
 down had not this new light and love come into his 
 life. The house became a home again, and the busy 
 man found that refreshment of spirit and helpful 
 
320 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 sympathy which growing intimacy with a like-minded 
 and clever woman was fitted to afford. Mrs. John 
 was musical, and her rich voice and skill in playing 
 gave great enjoyment to her husband. She was 
 very fond of flowers, and was successful in growing 
 them, so that the little garden became a constant 
 delight. 
 
 The following extract from a letter written in 
 October 1876 gives a bright peep at this side of their 
 life : 
 
 1 We have in front of our house a flower-garden. 
 Mrs. John is extremely fond of flowers, and when she 
 comes home from her work in the city she generally 
 spends an hour or two in the garden. It is a good thing 
 for her health thus to keep out in the open air, and it 
 seems for us the prettiest garden in Hankow. The 
 sight of it these mornings bathed in morning dews, 
 whose every drop outvies Golconda's gem, is most 
 lovely. There is a dahlia in front of our door with 
 seventy large red flowers on it. It is difficult to look 
 at so much beauty without thinking of the beautiful 
 God who makes all these things.' 
 
 Just ten years later, writing to another intimate 
 friend, the deep pathos of his bereavement comes out in 
 connection with the garden : 
 
 1 On my return yesterday I found four beautiful 
 Yucca Gloriosas in full bloom the first time I have 
 ever seen them in bloom. They were planted by 
 her years ago, and she longed to see them in bloom, but 
 never did. Have you ever seen these flowers ? They 
 are worth going miles to see. They wing my thoughts 
 
Photo] \_Theod. G. Diintners, New York. 
 
 MRS. JEANNETTE JOHN. 
 Born in New York, July 26, 1834 ; died at Hankow, Dec. 29, 1885. 
 
First Full Vision of Christ 321 
 
 upwards and tell me of the beauty in which she herself 
 is clothed. Do you think the glorified ones take 
 pleasure in the beauties of earth ? Mrs. John was 
 passionately fond of flowers. Is she so still ? God is 
 a Spirit, and yet He must delight Himself in the 
 beautiful things which His own hands have made. 
 Can it be that the spirits of His perfected children do 
 not participate in His joys in this respect ? ' 
 
 Strong, independent, and masterful as Mr. John has 
 been in his views of truth and convictions of duty, he 
 has always been open-minded and sensitive to new 
 thoughts, new views and aspects of truth, and new 
 impressions. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the 
 increased prominence given in his writing and speaking 
 during these years to certain spiritual aspects of the 
 truth was largely, if unconsciously, due to the influence 
 of his wife. At any rate it is evident that, coincidently 
 with his marriage there came to him the beginning of 
 a new deepening of the spiritual life which greatly 
 enriched his nature and increased his power. 
 
 In an article by him in the Life of Faith in 1894, 
 occurs the following remarkable statement : ' I was 
 eight years old when I joined the Church, I preached 
 my first sermon when I was fourteen, and yet I 
 was a missionary for twenty years before I had a 
 full vision of Christ as an ever-present Saviour from sin. 
 This vision of Christ is absolutely necessary for success.' 
 
 The time of this enlightenment must have been 
 during the year 1875. Early in 1877 he wrote to his 
 life-long friend, Mr. Jacob : 
 
 1 My own soul is going out in strong desires towards 
 
 Y 
 
322 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 God these days. Read Ephesians iii. 16-20, and you 
 will see what I am praying for, " filled with the fulness 
 of God." I long to be filled with divine knowledge, 
 divine wisdom, divine love, divine holiness, to the 
 utmost extent of my capacity. I want to feel that 
 "all the currents of my soul are interfused in one 
 channel deep and wide, and all flowing towards the 
 heart of Christ." I hardly begin to know what 
 treasures there are for us in Christ. It seems to me 
 that every one of us might be spiritually and ought to 
 be unspeakably mightier than we are. It is the Holy 
 Ghost in us that is everything, and the Father is willing 
 to bestow Him upon the weakest if he will but ask in 
 the spirit of implicit faith and entire self-surrender. My 
 cry these days is for a Pentecost, first on myself and my 
 missionary brethren, and then on the native Church, and 
 then on the heathen at large.' 
 
 This train of thought evidently influenced him in 
 the choice of his subject for address at the Shanghai 
 Missionary Conference in May 1877. The first general 
 Conference of Protestant Missionaries in China, held in 
 1877, was a very small gathering compared with that 
 which was held in 1890. Twenty Missionary Societies 
 were represented by 126 missionaries of both sexes, 
 the American element predominating. Griffith John 
 accepted very heartily the proposal for a Conference, 
 and took an active part in the proceedings. He spoke 
 with more or less fulness in the discussions on a great 
 variety of subjects : Buddhism and Tauism, preaching, 
 medical missions, Christian literature, secular litera- 
 ture, the elevation of the native Church, the opium 
 
Address at Shanghai Conference 3 2 3 
 
 question, questionable practices among the converts, 
 treaty rights, systematic co-operation among Societies, 
 and the training of the native agency. His most 
 important contribution to the Conference was an 
 address on ' The Holy Spirit in connection with 
 Mission Work,' based on Luke xi. 1 3, * If ye then, 
 being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
 children ; how much more shall your heavenly Father 
 give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him ? ' It was 
 a very comprehensive, interesting, and searching state- 
 ment of his views on the subject. He began from the 
 position that the missionary was engaged in a work 
 which was primarily and essentially spiritual, and that 
 the spiritual aspect and aim of his work must always 
 be foremost in all his thoughts. 
 
 ' We are in China in obedience to the command of 
 our Lord ; and the purpose of our Mission is to disciple 
 and make Christians of this great nation. . . . 
 
 * This is a great spiritual work, and to secure success 
 in it we need the abiding presence of the Spirit, and 
 through the Spirit such a full baptism of power as will 
 perfectly fit each one of us for the special work which 
 God has given him to do.' 
 
 ' I. The Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual 
 illumination.' Knowledge, even religious knowledge, 
 without spiritual illumination is of the letter, and its 
 possession brings no spiritual power. * The things of 
 God as facts and doctrines are fully revealed in this 
 blessed Book. . . . Still the Bible is not enough for 
 us. The vital question is, how are we to know " the 
 things that are freely given us of God " ? How are 
 
324 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 we to reach the sunlit summits of full assurance about 
 them ? ' 
 
 'Then look at our converts. The ease with which 
 many of them acquire a knowledge of the facts and 
 doctrines of the Bible is simply astonishing. But 
 where is the missionary who does not lament the lack 
 of spiritual discernment on the part of the great bulk 
 of his converts ? The truths that are lodged in their 
 intellects, and which they accept as unquestionable 
 verities, do not appear to move them deeply. Their 
 spiritual nature is not intensely quickened and greatly 
 expanded by " the things of the Spirit of God," neither 
 are their moral activities powerfully energised by them. 
 They lack that divinely illumined, soul-transforming 
 apprehension of spiritual truth essential to the develop- 
 ment of a strong, manly, noble Christian character.' 
 
 ' II. The Holy Spirit is the immediate source of all 
 holiness. The missionary must above all things be a 
 holy man. The ideal teacher of the Chinese is a 
 holy man. " He is entirely sincere, and perfect in love. 
 He is magnanimous, generous, benign, and full of for- 
 bearance. He is pure in heart, free from selfishness, 
 and never swerves from the path of duty in his 
 conduct. He is deep and active like a fountain, 
 sending forth his virtues in due season. He is seen, 
 and men revere him ; he speaks, and men believe him ; 
 he acts, and men are gladdened by him. He possesses 
 all heavenly virtues. He is one with Heaven." This 
 is a lofty ideal ; but the Chinese do not look upon it 
 as existing in fancy or imagination only. They believe 
 that it has been realised in some instances at least ; 
 
The Ideal Teacher of the Chinese 325 
 
 and I am convinced that no Christian teacher can be a 
 great spiritual power in China in whom this ideal is 
 not embodied and manifested in an eminent degree. 
 He must be more than a good man (shan jeri) ; he 
 must be a holy man (sheng jeri), exhibiting "the vigour 
 of every right purpose, and the intensity of every 
 devout affection." He must be a man full of the 
 Holy Ghost, and the divinity within must energise 
 mightily through him. He must be a man who will 
 take time, not only to master the language and literature 
 of this people, but to be holy. It is not ourselves our 
 poor selves the Chinese want to see, but God in us.' 
 
 4 Such holiness is needful also in the Church as the 
 only convincing evidence of the efficacy of Christ's 
 work.' 
 
 'III. The Holy Spirit is the source of spiritual unity.' 
 
 ' IV. He is the Fount of all true joy.' Under this 
 head is an interesting paragraph on the need for 
 spiritual joy among the converts to replace the joys 
 they have lost : 
 
 ' We as missionaries need the fulness of this joy. 
 Without it our work will be a burden to us, and we 
 shall toil on with the hearts of slaves ; and the hearts 
 of slaves are never strong. But especially do our 
 native brethren need it. They had their pleasures in 
 their heathen condition, both religious and sensuous. 
 We have taken these away from them. How are they 
 to be kept from falling a-lusting for the flesh-pots of 
 Egypt for the leeks, and onions, and garlic of their 
 pagan life ? There can be only one way : the new 
 religion must be made a joy to them.' 
 
326 Growing Work and Widening Influence 
 
 ' V. The Holy Spirit is the source of power in 
 dealing with souls.' 
 
 ' VI. He is the inspirer of all true prayer.' 
 
 The exposition of the subject under these headings 
 was followed by three questions : ' ( I ) Are we and 
 our converts filled with the Holy Ghost ? (2) Is a 
 new Pentecost possible^ (3) How is the fulness of 
 the Spirit to be obtained ? ' The address ended : 
 
 ' I want to return from this Conference, not only 
 stimulated in mind, and enriched with a store of 
 valuable information, but filled with the Holy Ghost. 
 China is dead terribly dead. Our plans and 
 organisations can do very little for this great people. 
 They want life. Christ came to give life ; and He is 
 not the I was, but the I am. " Lo, I am with you 
 alway, even unto the end of the world." The secret 
 of the success of the Apostles lay not in what they did 
 and said, but in the presence of Christ in them and 
 with them. They saw with the eyes of Christ, felt with 
 His heart, and worked with His energies. They were 
 nothing ; Christ was everything. Christ was living, 
 breathing, and triumphing in their personal lives. Their 
 entire nature being replete with His life, their spirits 
 bathed in His light, and their souls kindled with the 
 fires of His love, they moved in the midst of men as 
 embodiments of supernatural power. They spake with 
 the demonstration of the Spirit ; when they came into 
 contact with men, a mysterious energy went out of 
 them, and under their vitalising touch dead souls started 
 into life. The Spirit had taken hold of the highest 
 faculties of their nature, and was working with them 
 
Secret of Spiritual Success 3 2 7 
 
 according to His own will. Brethren, this is what we 
 must be, if this mighty Empire is to be moved through 
 us. But to be this the throne of grace must be our 
 refuge the secret place of the Most High must be our 
 daily and hourly habitation. We must take time to 
 become filled with His power ; we must take time to 
 be holy. Let us put our desires into one heart-felt 
 petition for a baptism of the Holy Ghost, and not cease 
 to present it until we have prevailed. So Elijah 
 prayed ; he threw himself on the ground, resolved not 
 to rise again till his request was granted. So Jacob 
 WRESTLED with the angel. So Daniel set his face unto 
 the Lord his God. So the disciples continued with one 
 accord in prayer and supplication.' 
 
 The general progress of the Mission during the 
 decade 1873-1882 was steady and encouraging, but 
 there was no outstanding feature that made the years 
 memorable. 
 
 Another and larger mission hospital was built in 
 1874 m place of the old one, at a cost of >\ 350, which 
 was contributed by natives as well as by Europeans. A 
 year later Dr. Kenneth Mackenzie joined the Mission as 
 medical missionary, and he was Mr. John's companion 
 six months later on that first journey to the Wei 
 village when the excited country mob attacked them 
 with such violence as to seriously endanger their lives. 
 This experience of trouble was a very exceptional one. 
 As a rule the evangelistic tours which Mr. John kept up 
 at frequent intervals were marked by the friendliness 
 of the people and by great enjoyment in preaching 
 to them. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 EVANGELISING BY THE PEN- 
 COLPORTAGE 
 
 THE pioneer of Protestant Missions in China, 
 Robert Morrison, forbidden to preach, speedily 
 discovered the power of the press. He and his 
 colleague, Milne, devoted themselves to the prepara- 
 tion of Christian literature. One of their tracts, ' The 
 Two Friends/ is even now of great value. Griffith 
 John had freedom to preach, and power as a preacher ; 
 but he also soon discovered the value of the printed 
 page in China, and was not slow to avail himself of 
 it. After his first furlough literary work increasingly 
 claimed his attention. He has sketched his own 
 methods of working in his sketch of the character and 
 work of his senior evangelist : 
 
 * Every morning, Sunday excepted, about half-past 
 eight, he is in my study, where he stops till one. These 
 four or five hours are spent in writing books, tracts, or 
 letters, and in reading and expounding some important 
 native or foreign works. Between one and two he 
 dines. At half-past two he is in the chapel, where he 
 remains till five, doing his part in the preaching, 
 talking, and debating which go on during these hours. 
 On the door of the chapel and in different parts of the 
 
 328 
 
Duties of a Pundit 329 
 
 city he has notices posted up, informing all that 
 between the hours of 6 and 9 P.M. he will be in his 
 vestry behind the chapel ready to receive any who may 
 wish to converse on Christian subjects. On Sundays 
 he generally takes some part in the services, and when 
 I am absent the whole work and its responsibilities 
 devolve upon him. He is sometimes sent to visit the 
 out-stations to instruct the catechumens and strengthen 
 the hands of the native evangelists.' 
 
 The work of such an assistant or pundit is not 
 simply to copy what has been written by the missionary. 
 His duty is to give the necessary literary accuracy and 
 finish to the work of the foreigner. Even in the use of 
 languages nearly related to our own, it is no uncommon 
 experience to find that knowledge which is quite full 
 enough and accurate enough for all ordinary purposes 
 is not equal to the niceties of an official document or 
 a written treatise. In China, where exactitude and 
 refinement of literary expression have been cultivated 
 for centuries as a fine art, and are so highly esteemed, 
 it is practically impossible for a foreigner to be sure 
 that he will avoid mistakes which would at once be 
 detected by the trained eye and offend the refined 
 instincts of a cultivated Chinaman, and cause him to 
 turn away from what is written as the production of an 
 uneducated person. 
 
 Writing to Dr. Mullens in 1875 with reference to 
 the results of the examination of a young missionary in 
 the language, Mr. John expresses regret that he had 
 spent so much time as he appeared to have spent in 
 trying to write Chinese, and he says : 
 
330 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 ' The ability to write the character is by no means 
 essential to thorough efficiency in speaking and reading, 
 whilst these two are the only branches which a 
 foreigner can ever hope to master. Chinese composition 
 appears to be beyond our reach. I have never seen a 
 production by a foreigner which in a literary point of 
 view did not excite the ridicule of an ordinary native 
 scholar. The consequence is that most of the 
 missionaries leave the writing to the Chinese pundits, 
 whilst they concentrate their energies on the more 
 feasible and vastly more important accomplishments of 
 reading and speaking with ease, accuracy, and fulness. 
 When they want to publish, they convey to the pundit 
 the substance viva voce, which he puts into good, 
 idiomatic Chinese. Though the missionary may not be 
 able to compose himself, he ought to be able to form a 
 critical judgment on the composition of his pundit. 
 This power is acquired in course of time in connection 
 with extensive reading, and it is all that is necessary in 
 order to turn out productions of incomparably greater 
 value than the missionary can ever hope to turn out by 
 his own unaided ability.' 
 
 The formation of the Hankow Tract Society in 
 1876 marked the beginning of a new stage in Mr. 
 John's Christian activities, the importance of which was 
 not dreamed of at the time. He had written tracts and 
 booklets already, but the rapid development of the new 
 Society furnished alike fresh channels for distribution 
 and greater demands for books. 
 
 The Society was formed by the missionaries in 
 Hankow on a modest capital of 50 granted by the 
 
GRIFFITH JOHN AND HIS PUNDIT. 
 GRIFFITH JOHN IN HIS STUDY. 
 
Central China R TVS. 331 
 
 Religious Tract Society. One of its founders and first 
 Secretary says that for some time its whole stock-in- 
 trade was stored in a bedroom in his house ! ' At first 
 no more was expected from it than that by its aid its 
 members would be enabled to circulate tracts without 
 personal pecuniary loss.' ' The supply soon gave rise 
 to a greater demand than had ever been anticipated, 
 while the number of new tracts which the Committee 
 in time added to the Society's catalogue found 
 acceptance wherever they became known, and orders 
 for them were sent in from all parts of China, not- 
 withstanding the fact that non-members had to pay 
 full price.' 
 
 In eight years the operations of the Society had 
 become so widely extended that its name was changed 
 to the ' Central China Religious Tract Society/ and a 
 de"pot specially devoted to it was opened in Hankow. 
 The report of that year (1884) mentions that the 
 circulation of tracts and books had grown from 9000 
 in 1876 to 340,000 in 1883. The report for 1904 is 
 able to state that during 1903 'the circulation had 
 reached the record figure of 2,171,655 publications.' 
 A colportage branch is now in operation, and, during 
 I 93> 7 colporteurs were employed in Hupeh and 
 Hunan, who sold 328,766 books and tracts. 
 
 Not only has Griffith John been the President of the 
 Society almost without break from the outset, but to 
 him more than to any other it owes the literature for 
 which it has now so large a demand. In the report 
 for 1884 already quoted there is a list of 50 new 
 publications which had been issued, and of these 3 1 
 
33 2 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 were written by Mr. John. Since then his busy pen 
 has seldom rested, and he has enriched the Christian 
 Church in China with a very large amount of most 
 popular and valuable Christian literature, which has 
 found its way wherever Chinese are to be found. Dr. 
 Hudson Taylor told the Committee of the National 
 Bible Society of Scotland in 1884 that Mr. John was 
 { the author of most of the Hankow series of tracts, 
 which in the judgment of many of us were far and 
 away the best prepared and best adapted Christian 
 tracts we had ever had in China.' 
 
 Mr. Hoste, the successor of Dr. Hudson Taylor as 
 the Director of the China Inland Mission, wrote quite 
 recently : 
 
 1 It will not be out of place, however, for me to 
 refer to his work, both as a translator of the Scriptures, 
 and as an author of a large number of books and tracts 
 setting forth the truths and doctrines of the Christian 
 faith. These latter works are used universally by the 
 missionaries of the China Inland Mission in our stations 
 throughout the interior, and it is found by all workers 
 of competent experience that they form a Christian 
 literature of unique value, both for circulation amongst 
 the more thoughtful Chinese outside the Church, and 
 for the use and instruction of Church members and 
 inquirers. Many years of experience in a district 
 where there was a large Church impressed upon me 
 the great value of Dr. John's tracts as a means of 
 instructing converts and inquirers in the leading 
 doctrines of Christianity. As is well known, he has 
 written a series of small booklets, expounding, with 
 
Value of Dr. John's Tracts 333 
 
 much clearness, the great fundamental truths of our 
 holy religion, such as The Need of Repentance, The 
 Doctrine of the New Birth, The Forgiveness of Sins, 
 The Doctrine of the Resurrection, and so on. It is no 
 exaggeration to say that this particular branch of Dr. 
 John's work has provided China with a clear, concise 
 statement of sound, evangelical doctrine, the value of 
 which cannot be over-estimated.' 
 
 The Rev. Gilbert Y. Warren, the Chairman of the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society Central China Mission, 
 whose remarks on Dr. John's gifts as a preacher have 
 already been quoted, furnishes similar testimony to the 
 value of Dr. John's literary work. He says : 
 
 1 Had Dr. John himself never written a tract, the 
 Central China Religious Tract Society might legiti- 
 mately claim that his influence had been a prominent 
 factor in its work and success, for preaching and tract- 
 selling are close allies. But Dr. John's influence on 
 the Tract Society has been by no means merely an 
 indirect influence. His name occurs in the Tract 
 Society's lists of authors more frequently than any 
 other writer's. Nor is it enough merely to mention 
 the number of his writings ; their value, judged by the 
 supreme test, stands unrivalled. In trying to recall 
 the books which young converts have specially men- 
 tioned as helpful to them, I know none more frequently 
 mentioned than the Gate of Wisdom and Virtue, the 
 Catechism of Christian Doctrine, and the Great Themes 
 of the Gospel, all from Dr. John's pen.' 
 
 Applications for the supply of large quantities of 
 these tracts and books constantly reach the Tract 
 
334 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 Society's dpot in Hankow from all parts of the 
 mission-field in China, from Korea, Jamaica, the United 
 States, Australia, and in fact from every part of the 
 world where Chinamen are to be found in any numbers. 
 One specially interesting direction in which this 
 Christian literature has been largely distributed has 
 been among the students who gather from time to 
 time in various provincial centres in China for exami- 
 nation for the various literary degrees. Wuchang is 
 one of these centres to which men come every three 
 years from all parts to sit for what is equivalent to 
 an M.A. degree. From 10,000 to 20,000 students 
 assemble on such occasions, and, though many of them 
 are hostile or entirely indifferent, many have been 
 found very willing to receive Christian books. Mr. 
 John prepared a statement of Christian doctrine for 
 the benefit of those who assembled in 1879, when 
 10,000 copies were distributed among them. The 
 booklet proved very generally acceptable, and has had 
 an exceptionally large circulation. Shortly after his 
 return from his second visit to England, when the 
 unexpected return of Mrs. John's malady had rendered 
 it necessary for her again to leave China for advice 
 and help, he wrote to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 'HANKOW, October 3, 1882. 
 
 ' I am working as hard as I can, and in this way 
 trying to forget my grief as much as possible. Besides 
 other work, in the shape of daily preaching, teaching, 
 and looking after the Church, I have written six tracts 
 since my return. The last, finished to-day, is quite a 
 
Tracts for Scholars 335 
 
 long one, and I believe will make one of the two best 
 I have ever composed. In it I describe my ideal 
 Christian in his own life, and efforts to save- his family, 
 relations, and friends. It is a sort of a novel, specially 
 adapted to the Chinese. I feel that I can ask the 
 Master's blessing on it. Oh that I could write a book 
 that could touch the heart of this people. I thank 
 God for what He has enabled me to accomplish in 
 this respect. About three years since, I prepared a 
 book for the scholars, called The Gate of Virtue and 
 Wisdom. Ten thousand copies were distributed at the 
 examinations of that year. Tens of thousands of copies 
 of it have been distributed in the various provinces 
 since by missionaries of various Societies and nation- 
 alities. This year the missionaries of the Che-Kiang 
 province have ordered 10,000 copies for scholars of 
 that province who are attending the examinations at 
 the provincial capital this year. It is a good tract ; 
 but I am not so satisfied with it, being very far behind 
 my ideal. I want to get out a few that will live in 
 this land when I am gone, and speak when my tongue 
 lies silent in the grave. Then I feel that if I am to do 
 much more for China I must do it quickly. A few 
 more years and all will be over. This thought comes 
 over me often, and sometimes with overwhelming 
 solemnity.' 
 
 The reverence of the Chinese for the printed page ; 
 the large proportion of the male population who can 
 read a little ; the remarkable fact that the printed 
 character is the same and has the same meaning all 
 
33" Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 over the vast area of the Empire, notwithstanding all 
 dialectic variations of the common speech ; and the 
 well-known curiosity of the people to hear and read 
 any new thing, give an importance to the diffusion of 
 Christian literature unequalled in any other part of the 
 world. Some years after the letter just quoted, Dr. 
 John, relating some of the results of his work in 
 Hankow and the surrounding districts, said : 
 
 ' It was delightful to make the discovery day after 
 day that the Gospel was becoming rapidly and widely 
 known all over the country. This is to be ascribed in 
 a measure to the daily public preaching, and in a 
 measure to the extensive distribution of books and 
 tracts. We sent out from Hankow last year more 
 than 300,000 tracts and more than 190,000 portions 
 of Scripture. What an army of preachers and teachers! 
 Our books and tracts find their way into every province 
 in China, and are read extensively by all classes of the 
 people. They find their way also into the Straits, into 
 Australia, and even into the United States of America. 
 Much of this seed is doubtless lost, but, thank God, not 
 a little of it has fallen into good soil, and is bringing 
 forth fruit. Many facts came before us last year 
 which fully justify us in this hope. One of the most 
 satisfactory converts we have is a man who was 
 brought to the knowledge of the truth by reading our 
 books. He was one day at one of our chapels listening 
 to the preaching. At the close of my discourse I 
 began to catechise my hearers. This man answered 
 every question put. I asked him where he had got 
 his knowledge from. He replied that he had been 
 
A Mother's Intercessions 337 
 
 reading such and such books, and that he was indebted 
 to them for all his knowledge of the doctrine. Then I 
 catechised him on the books, and found that he had 
 read them carefully. I exhorted him to give his heart 
 to God, and make a profession of his faith in Christ. 
 He said he would, and promised to attend the services. 
 He began on the following Sunday, was baptized after 
 a period of probation, and became a most earnest 
 Christian. He has passed through the fires of perse- 
 cution, and has had to flee from his home more than 
 once. The members of his clan have been wanting to 
 cut him off on account of his religion ; but his aged 
 mother's intercessions on his behalf have prevailed so 
 far. " Why," said she, " do you want to deprive me of 
 my child ? He is my only son, and, as you know, he 
 is one of the best of sons. The only fault you can 
 find with him is that he is Christian. Spare him for 
 my sake." He is a Hunan man, and in no province is 
 the anti-foreign feeling so strong as it is there. He, 
 however, has been kept by the power of God, and is 
 growing in grace and knowledge.' 
 
 In addition to the presidency of the Hankow Tract 
 Society, Mr. John in 1878 agreed to the request of 
 the National Bible Society of Scotland that he would 
 exercise a general supervision of the work of the 
 representative they had just sent out to Central China. 
 He occupied this position for two years, and then with- 
 drew from it as no longer necessary, but has continued 
 ever since in close association with the Society as one 
 of its most active and valued helpers. 
 
 The National Bible Society of Scotland has taken 
 
 z 
 
338 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 in China a different position from the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society on the question of notes and 
 explanations. The great English Society has resolutely 
 in every version adhered to its rule that the Scriptures 
 are to be circulated ' without note or comment,' while 
 the Scottish Society has given a somewhat larger 
 liberty to those who have to provide the Scriptures 
 for non - Christian peoples, and has sanctioned in 
 Central China the provision of explanatory notes and 
 of an annotated paragraph Bible. 
 
 Mr. John Archibald, the young representative whom 
 the National Bible Society entrusted to Mr. John's 
 sympathy and control in 1878, still occupies his 
 important post, and has maintained throughout his 
 whole course an intimate and affectionate friendship 
 with Mr. John. One missionary neighbour, the 
 Secretary of the Central China Religious Tract 
 Society, has already furnished a sketch of Mr. John 
 as the preacher ; it will be interesting to have a 
 companion picture from Mr. Archibald of Mr. John as 
 colporteur : 
 
 ' Dr. John was in the country when I arrived at 
 Hiau-Kan, I think, and the first time I met him was 
 in the porch of St. John's Church, where he was taking 
 the forenoon English service. At first sight he struck 
 me as a man the like of whom one does not meet with 
 every day. Under the average height, but strongly 
 built and muscular ; a massive head well set on power- 
 ful neck ; features prominent, but regular and pleasing ; 
 a flashing eye and a wealth of jet-black hair he 
 looked the very personification of ability and energy. 
 
'The Best of Chums' 339 
 
 The sermon he delivered that morning to barely a 
 baker's dozen of Europeans would have crowded the 
 largest church in London. 
 
 1 At the request of my Directors, Dr. John kindly 
 agreed to superintend, an official relation which he held 
 for two years, when, with equal kindness, he wrote the 
 Directors saying they might have confidence in leaving 
 everything to myself. To the young missionary it 
 makes all the difference in the world into whose hands 
 he falls at the start, and I was fortunate indeed in 
 having Dr. John to look after me. 
 
 ' With regard to Bible work, Dr. John held that the 
 wide circulation of the Story of the Life of Christ, as 
 told by the Evangelists, was one of the best of plans 
 for making the Gospel known ; and, granted such 
 writers, such a story, and a people able to read and 
 appreciate it, who can say he was wrong ? From the 
 day of his first arrival in Shanghai he was an enthusi- 
 astic Bible-worker. 
 
 * With such a friend to encourage, I was speedily 
 at work, travelling about in all directions circulating 
 Scriptures and other Christian books a lowly form of 
 service perhaps, but one which just then conferred 
 unique honour on the men engaged in it, viz. the 
 honour of being the first to carry the Gospel to many 
 great cities and populous towns. On these journeys 
 Dr. John would sometimes come along, to my great 
 delight. It is true he was old enough to be my father, 
 but one never thought of years in connection with him : 
 he was simply the best of chums. 
 
 'In December of 1879, I remember, we started 
 
340 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 together for a tour in the provinces of Kiang-Si and 
 Hunan, which lasted five weeks. In a little native 
 boat we crossed the Po-yang Lake, admiring the scenery 
 of the lofty Lu Mountains, little thinking that in after 
 years we were to be largely instrumental in having 
 placed on the top of them one of the largest sanatoria 
 in the East. We favoured little boats for the sake of 
 economy, and because in these one could travel faster 
 and get further than in a big one. Such a boat con- 
 sists of a square space like a box, some eight feet by 
 five, with a stem and a stern to it. It is covered with 
 a mat roof, but open at both ends for the winds to 
 whistle through. In the daytime, when it rained, we 
 sat in the box, and at night, wrapped in our quilts, we 
 slept on the floor. For the formation of close com- 
 panionship there could be no better school. 
 
 ' The good days and most of the days were good 
 we spent in walking along the river banks talking to 
 the people we met till we happened on a town. There 
 we would remain a few hours preaching and selling 
 books. The great aim was to get on friendly terms 
 with the people, and to try and convey to them some 
 idea of the Gospel message, in both of which difficult 
 arts Dr. John was a past master. I used to say he 
 could make a Chinaman do anything he pleased, if he 
 set his mind on it, and he was something of the same 
 opinion himself. One day, while resting under a 
 shade tree in company with a pedlar of peanuts, as 
 a challenge I asked him to get the pedlar one of the 
 kind who, as the Chinese say, would rather part with 
 a drop of his heart's blood than the value of a cash 
 
Talked into Good Order 341 
 
 to present us with a handful of his wares. It took 
 him half-an-hour's eloquence, but we got the nuts ; 
 then with many expressions of gratitude and a hand- 
 some book in acknowledgment, with some more serious 
 talk, we left him a happier and more thoughtful pedlar 
 than he had been for many a day. 
 
 * Two incidents in that Kiang-Si trip stand promi- 
 nently out in my memory. One was our visit to 
 King-teh-tsin, in the north-east of the province. It is 
 here the porcelain is made for which China has so long 
 been famous. The whole town is given up to its pro- 
 duction. It contains an immense population, and the 
 air is thick with the smoke of its numerous furnaces. 
 The workmen had a reputation for rowdiness, and had 
 previously driven away a party of scientists, in spite of 
 their special passports from Peking. They had also 
 proved too many for another gentleman who tried to 
 steal into the town disguised as a native. For us in 
 our foreign dress to succeed, come, as we were, not to 
 look quietly around, but for the purpose of preaching 
 and selling books to as many of the people as we 
 could reach, required very careful strategy. We there- 
 fore adopted the plan which we had learned by experi- 
 ence is the best under doubtful circumstances we 
 went straight at it, and walked right in. 
 
 ' There was an uproar. The workmen buzzed out 
 in thousands and thousands like bees from their hives. 
 Fortunately we hit on a large space in front of the 
 Imperial Pottery, where, standing on an elevation, all 
 could get a look at us, while Dr. John, his voice 
 ringing to the furthest limit, talked them into good 
 
34 2 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 order. He told them who we were, and who they were 
 who had sent us the Christian friends of England. 
 He explained why we had come. We wished them 
 to know the only true God, whom their fathers had 
 forgotten ; the Supreme Ruler who made heaven and 
 earth, and cares for men and all things. He urged 
 them to abandon idolatry and put their trust in Jesus 
 the Saviour of men, and said we had books to sell 
 explaining these matters more clearly. 
 
 ' The preaching and selling, once started, had to be 
 carried on. No stopping was possible, for the news, 
 spreading from street to street, brought ever -fresh 
 crowds on the scene. It was just like as if, in some 
 densely populated manufacturing city at home, the 
 word were to go round that a couple of strange beings 
 dropped from the moon were on exhibition in the 
 principal square. To control a crowd like this is 
 extremely exhausting. The eye and voice, mind and 
 body, are strained to the utmost ; a moment's inatten- 
 tion and they get out of hand. As there is no stopping, 
 so there is no getting away ; to attempt a retreat means 
 bringing the whole crowd on in pursuit, whooping and 
 yelling like mad. On this occasion night brought 
 release, when, tired out, but happy and grateful, we 
 found that some 5000 books had been disposed 
 of. This was the biggest end-on sale I was ever 
 engaged in. Once the public curiosity was satiated, 
 we had no further difficulty in King-teh-tsin. Next day 
 we were able to move about freely, and, in company with 
 a friendly Hankow merchant, visited many of the pottery 
 works, highly interested in the different processes. 
 
' Freedom of the City' 343 
 
 ' The next incident was at Nanchang, the capital of 
 the province. It is a fine city on the right bank of 
 the Kan, a river which enters the Po-yang Lake from 
 the south. Quite a number of missionaries had visited 
 it previously, but none had ever been allowed to enter 
 its gates. Its strong walls were doubly gated, and in 
 the interval between each pair of gates was a guard of 
 soldiers who watched closely all who came out or went 
 in. Any foreigner trying to enter was gently but 
 forcibly invited to drink tea in the guard-house, as the 
 guards could not permit them to go in till they had 
 communicated with their superiors inside. As nothing 
 ever came of this communication, the guest would be 
 finally dismissed with a polite request to come back 
 another day, when the whole performance would be 
 gone through afresh. 
 
 * On our arrival at Nanchang, the guards were as 
 usual ready with the usual " heart comfort " (" come 
 again to-morrow "), but Dr. John insisted that we must 
 see the magistrates, and ultimately two of them came 
 out to persuade us to go away. The people, they 
 said, would never stand the presence of foreigners in 
 their city ; we must pass on now, and when they (the 
 magistrates) had properly instructed them (the people) 
 on their duty towards strangers we might come again. 
 Their powers of persuasion were of no mean order, 
 but in Dr. John they met their match. The result of 
 a long interview was that his persuasions prevailed, 
 and the freedom of the city was conferred upon us ; 
 that is, we were allowed to enter it on the following 
 day, permitted to go wherever we pleased, and to 
 
344 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 preach and sell books to our heart's content. This 
 incident put an end to all after attempts to exclude 
 foreigners from Nanchang. 
 
 * From the capital, after visiting many cities and 
 towns, we made our way into Hunan by the Pingshang 
 and Liling route. Travellers will find a railway there 
 now, but at that time it was all new ground. By day 
 we tramped along the narrow roads, followed by a 
 gang of coolies carrying our books and baggage, and 
 at night we rested in the by no means luxurious local 
 inns. In these a door propped on two stools, or a 
 couple of tables placed together, did service for a bed, 
 while the remaining floor space accommodated the 
 coolies, and occasionally the family pigs. 
 
 ' The native inns may be noisome, but there is one 
 good point which they have they secure that the 
 traveller sets out betimes in the morning, he is so 
 thankful to escape into the pure air. One night, I 
 remember, it was really too much for one of us, so to 
 their surprise the coolies found themselves roused up 
 and started off hours before daylight. They grumbled 
 a bit, but soon regained their good-humour ; they even 
 excused our unreasonable behaviour when one of them 
 remembered that " these beyond-the-ocean men cannot 
 of course know that the sun does not rise in our 
 Kiang-Si at the same time as in their honourable 
 country." 
 
 1 On crossing the border into Hunan we hit upon 
 what is very rare in China a piece of good road. 
 By the side of the road were rows of wheelbarrows 
 waiting for hire. Just then it came to our mind that 
 
Stoned at Siang-tan 345 
 
 Confucius on state occasions rode in a chariot, so we 
 felt it fitting in this instance that we should follow his 
 august example. We therefore mounted a wheel- 
 barrow each, and were merrily trundled into the city of 
 Liling. Here we took another open-ended boat, and 
 pushed on for Siang-tan, the largest commercial centre 
 in Hunan. It is on the left bank of the Siang River, 
 thirty miles above Chang-sha, the capital. On the way 
 we met with a blizzard, and enjoyed the novel 
 experience of sleeping under snow-covered quilts, as 
 the wind blew the snow in in shovelfuls. 
 
 ' I had been to Siang-tan before, and had left it 
 somewhat hurriedly while the chief magistrate was 
 having his head bound up which had been broken 
 by the mob, instead of mine and his runners were 
 collecting the fragments of his official chair. I was, 
 therefore, somewhat diffident about venturing on its 
 streets again. Not so Dr. John. No sooner did the 
 prow of the boat touch the landing than he was off up 
 the nearest street, with me after him. The crowd 
 collected with its usual rapidity, and Dr. John began 
 to preach with more than his usual persuasiveness, 
 but all in vain. The Siang-tan crowd of those days 
 had no ear for eloquence, so we were soon on board 
 the boat again. The officials came to our rescue. 
 They were deeply grieved we had been annoyed, and 
 would at once provide a strong military escort to 
 overawe the unruly. Meanwhile they moved us down 
 to where a fleet of war junks was anchored, and began 
 to make arrangements for our safety ! As the 
 promised escort was being mustered, a great smoke 
 
346 Evangelising by the Pen Colportage 
 
 rose from the shore right in front, and the fire-gongs 
 clanged all over the city. In a few moments 
 thousands of people collected, who at once began to 
 stone us, our protectors apparently unable to prevent 
 them. For safety's sake we moved our boat out of 
 range and anchored in mid -stream, when a worse 
 thing happened. A loud shouting up the river 
 claimed our attention, and there we saw bearing 
 down upon us a number of huge ferry-boats filled 
 with buckets of filth and crowded with men waving 
 long-handled ladles. On they came, yelling and 
 waving. Their intention was plain enough. Had it 
 been a case of any of the orthodox forms of martyrdom 
 the sword or the stake I believe we might have 
 faced it, but to be smothered in filth of such a kind 
 that I may not describe it was too much. I sprang 
 to the anchor chain, Dr. John lent a hand in raising 
 the sail, and in a moment we were off as fast as the 
 wind could take us. There are three Missions at 
 work in Siang-tan now, and a London Mission chapel 
 close to the spot where they stoned us. We stopped 
 at Chang-sha in passing, and had an interview with the 
 officials, who gave us much " heart comfort " with 
 respect to another day, but just then strongly advised 
 us to pass on, and we took their advice. The promised 
 other day, when the gates of Chang-sha would be open 
 to the missionary, did come round at last, but it was 
 seventeen years after/ 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 HIAU-KAN 
 
 IF the Church of Christ is really beginning to feel 
 restive and impatient on account of the ever- 
 increasing demands made by the advocates of missions 
 on its purse and its energy, it ought to be careful what 
 manner of men it sends out to the mission-field. Such 
 men as Griffith John are the despair of Generals who 
 want the army of Christ to march as if on parade ! 
 He believes he has gone to China, not as a toy soldier, 
 but in deadly earnest to fight the foes of God and 
 man, and to win the kingdoms of human life for Christ. 
 In this war he knows no truce and no rest. He must 
 press the enemy at every point and by all means. 
 His correspondence with the London Missionary 
 Society during these years is full of evidence of the 
 earnestness and persistency of his effort to extend the 
 kingdom of Christ in China. Sze-Chuen had already 
 been suggested to the Directors as a suitable field for 
 occupation. In March 1877 a long statement was 
 prepared by him and endorsed by his colleagues, 
 making a definite proposal on this subject, and giving 
 a detailed account of the size and vast population of 
 the province. Its special difficulties and its special 
 
 347 
 
348 Hiau-Kan 
 
 importance were pointed out, and the conditions under 
 which work should be commenced were stated. 
 
 In June 1878 he wrote: 'Let me once more 
 entreat you to send us two men for Sze-Chuen such as 
 I have already described in my former communications, 
 and God will bless you and the Mission. I feel I 
 could make almost any sacrifice in order to carry out 
 the Sze-Chuen scheme.' 
 
 In August 1878 he refers to the news that Mr. 
 Owen has been appointed to commence the work in 
 Sze-Chuen. He rejoices in this ; but one is not 
 enough. * Two at least ought to be sent out at the 
 same time. In fact I should like to see four men 
 appointed to Sze-Chuen, two for the Chinese, and two 
 for the Miautse and aborigines of the west part of the 
 province.' 
 
 In August 1879, there being temporary need of 
 help in Hankow, because Mr. Bryant and possibly Mr. 
 Bryson would shortly be leaving on furlough, he asks 
 that Mr. Owen may remain in Hankow during the 
 absence of one or both, especially as it does not seem 
 right that one man should go to Sze-Chuen alone, but 
 goes on to say that when the time comes for com- 
 mencing the new mission, Mrs. John and he will be 
 quite prepared to go to Chung -king for a while, 
 though it may involve the postponement of their 
 furlough. 
 
 The Society was at this time passing through one 
 of those periods of financial difficulty which recur in 
 the experience of all Missionary Societies from time to 
 time, because the Church at home finds it so difficult 
 
New Form of Agency Suggested 349 
 
 to rearrange its conceptions of what the work needs 
 fast enough to keep pace with its growth. So acute 
 was the difficulty that the grants made to the missions 
 for carrying on their evangelistic work had been 
 reduced. Consequently the Directors had not felt 
 able to take any further step towards extension to 
 Sze-Chuen. The pertinacious missionary, however, 
 did not feel he could let the matter rest. Having 
 waited some time, he wrote from New York in 1881 : 
 c Is it not time to carry out the promise of four years 
 since ? We have talked about the matter for years, 
 and I do trust that we shall now act with energy and 
 promptitude.' 
 
 While he was looking out upon the distant province 
 of Sze-Chuen with the eager eye of the Christian 
 pioneer, he was also devising plans for the more 
 effective occupation and evangelisation of the province 
 of Hupeh. In 1877 he sent to the Directors of his 
 Society a long letter containing a carefully worked-out 
 proposal for the employment of a band of European 
 evangelists, who should come out to the field unmarried, 
 and should agree to remain unmarried for a certain 
 number of years. They were to be men of a plainer 
 type, without college training, but truly converted and 
 consecrated men, instructed in the Scriptures and the 
 broad outlines of Christian doctrine. They were not 
 to live at the central stations, which were to be 
 occupied by a couple of fully trained married mission- 
 aries, but were to live in the country in Chinese houses, 
 and were to form a kind of auxiliary evangelistic force. 
 Such men would have to work under the direction and 
 
35o Hiau-Kan 
 
 leadership of some experienced superintendent, and he 
 offered to devote himself to this work. He proposed 
 that an effort should be made by this means to reach 
 the rural population of the two provinces of Hupeh 
 and Kiang-Su. To Mr. John's great disappointment, 
 the Directors of the Society were unable to adopt his 
 scheme, and after a time he was led to change his 
 opinion on the subject, and came to the conclusion 
 that it would not be wise to introduce two classes of 
 missionaries to the field. 
 
 Meanwhile, the spirit of evangelism which Mr. John 
 had done so much to cultivate in the native church at 
 Hankow was being manifested in many directions. 
 4 The disciples went everywhere preaching the Word.' 
 The result was twofold. In the first place the number 
 of converts largely increased, and little groups of 
 Christians were gathered in many places throughout 
 a wide area. The natural result of this was that after 
 a time it became absolutely necessary to open additional 
 central stations with European missionaries, in order 
 that this widespread work might become consolidated 
 and still further developed. It is thus that the re- 
 sponsibilities of Missionary Societies are increased in 
 all prosperous missions by the natural and irrepressible 
 process of expansion. Two such fully equipped new 
 central stations in the province of Hupeh, in addi- 
 tion to Wuchang, have already sprung out of the 
 Mission at Hankow, and a third centre has for some 
 time been chosen and is about to be occupied by 
 two missionaries. The earliest of these new centres 
 to be occupied, and the district in which the work has 
 
Mr, Wei 'an Israelite Indeed' 351 
 
 been most fully developed, is Hiau-Kan, and the story 
 of its beginning and growth is one of intense interest. 
 
 In 1874 a man named Wei Teh-Yung was received 
 into the Church at Hankow. He was not a resident 
 in the city, but was a small farmer and packman whose 
 home was in a village about forty miles away, and 
 whose business brought him frequently to the city. 
 Curiosity took him into the Kia-Kiai Chapel one wet 
 day when Dr. John was preaching to an audience of 
 six persons ! He listened that he might learn what 
 this ' foreign doctrine ' was, and the Spirit of God spoke 
 to him there and revealed Christ to him as his Saviour. 
 He took the Gospel home with him, and at once began 
 to tell his relatives and his clansmen the glad tidings 
 he had heard. God blessed his faithful witness, and in 
 the course of a few months about twenty had joined 
 him. Mr. Wei was a good representative of that in- 
 teresting class which has already been referred to, who 
 are the hope of the Church in China, and whose 
 character is an indication of the intelligence, strength, 
 and spiritual enthusiasm which will be found among 
 Chinese Christians. 
 
 In his report on the work of the Mission during 
 the year 1875, Dr. John referred to Mr. Wei and his 
 earnest efforts for the salvation of his neighbours 
 in the following terms : 
 
 * Among the many interesting features connected 
 with these new converts, the fact that one of our private 
 members has been the principal agent in the conversion 
 of thirteen of the most satisfactory of them stands first 
 and foremost. This man's name is Wei, and he is a 
 
352 Hiau-Kan 
 
 native of a district called Hiau-Kan, about forty miles 
 from Hankow. He and most of his friends are but 
 farmers and packmen, and spend their time partly in 
 cultivating the fields, and partly in selling cloth in the 
 streets of Hankow. Wei, though not a graduate or 
 even an undergraduate in the Confucian School, is by 
 no means ignorant of the Confucian classics, and will 
 often quote them in a way that indicates on his part 
 a more thorough appreciation of their meaning than 
 is evinced by many of the so-called scholars. Wei 
 is a plain, honest, straightforward -looking man, and 
 naturally endowed with a considerable amount of sound 
 common sense and force of character. After a short 
 period of probation he was baptized in May 1874, and 
 he has proved himself an Israelite indeed ever since. 
 
 * No sooner did he become a Christian than he felt 
 that he must be a living, working Christian. He began 
 at once to teach and exhort others ; but the fruits of 
 his efforts did not appear till the commencement of last 
 year. All through the year, however, we were constantly 
 reminded of his presence amongst us as a great power 
 for good, and were cheered by unquestionable proofs 
 of his devotion to Christ. It appeared to be his aim 
 to get hold of all his Hiau-Kan acquaintances when- 
 ever they visited Hankow, and bring them to me. Often 
 has he filled my study with his friends, and often has 
 my heart been cheered by the Christian intelligence, 
 warmth of feeling, and earnestness of manner which 
 he displays whenever he speaks. He is a thorough 
 believer in the Holy Ghost, and never fails to dwell 
 especially on the importance of prayer for the divine 
 
Mr. Wei appointed Evangelist 353 
 
 influence in order to illumine the mind and change the 
 heart. Pointing to one, he will say : " This friend has 
 heard the truth repeatedly and knows it intellectually ; 
 but he does not understand it it has no meaning to 
 him. He has not received the Holy Ghost." Pointing 
 to another, he will remark : " This brother (thank God) 
 has received the Holy Ghost at last. I have been at 
 him for a long time, but he could not see it. I could 
 do nothing for him but pray. It is all clear to him 
 now. The Holy Ghost has revealed it to him." 
 Thirteen of our converts have been brought to Christ 
 by means of his prayerful efforts.' 
 
 The report for the following year tells of the call of 
 Mr. Wei by the church to the work of an evangelist in 
 his native district. 
 
 ' It will be remembered that the work in these 
 villages is not the outcome of any direct effort put forth 
 by missionaries and paid native agents, with a view to 
 their evangelisation. All the Christians in Hiau-Kan 
 have been baptized at Hankow, and Wei, a non-paid 
 convert, has been the chief agent in their ingathering. 
 I am glad, however, to be able to add that this earnest 
 worker has just been set apart by the native church of 
 Hankow for the specific work of an evangelist in Hiau- 
 Kan, his native district. He is not to settle down 
 anywhere, but to keep travelling over the whole 
 district, spending a night here and two or three nights 
 there as opportunities present themselves, and thus to 
 carry the Gospel into the homes of the people as 
 noiselessly and unostentatiously as possible. He has 
 the full confidence of the entire church, and will be 
 
 2 A 
 
354 Hiau-Kan 
 
 supported wholly by it. I have strong faith in the man 
 as a thoroughly sincere and earnest Christian. Time 
 alone can prove his fitness for this special work. He 
 assures me that he has laid himself on the altar, and 
 has but one desire now, and that is to glorify God in 
 bringing men to the Saviour. May God's richest 
 blessing rest upon Wei and his labours ; and may he 
 be only the first of a large band of evangelists sent forth 
 by the native churches in Hankow and Wuchang to all 
 the surrounding districts of the province.' 
 
 It has been the habit of Dr. John from the earliest 
 days of the Hankow Mission to make frequent short 
 itinerating trips in the country round Hankow for the 
 purpose of visiting and confirming the converts, and 
 these visits have been used as opportunities of 
 evangelisation along the route. In accordance with 
 this practice he promised Mr. Wei that he would pay 
 a visit to his village during the Chinese New Year 
 holidays of 1876, when every one would be at home 
 and free to listen to the preaching. At the New Year's 
 morning service in Hankow, to their great surprise, Mr. 
 Wei appeared and informed them that his heathen 
 clansmen had been stirred up to violent opposition to 
 the Gospel, and that while he and some of his friends 
 were holding a service, the house in which they were 
 assembled had been attacked and pulled down, the 
 furniture had been broken, and he had himself been 
 beaten. He thought, however, that the proposed visit 
 would do good in arousing interest and disarming 
 hostility. The next afternoon the party started. Dr. 
 John had invited his ardent young colleague, Dr. 
 
A Perilous Journey 355 
 
 Kenneth Mackenzie, to accompany him. They took 
 with them Siau, the hospital evangelist, another 
 Christian named Chia, and Mr. Wei and his brother. 
 A walk of ten miles across the muddy plain brought 
 them to a point on the Han where they hired a small 
 boat, into which they squeezed themselves with their 
 baggage, and travelled up the river through the night. 
 At 9 A.M. on Tuesday they landed, and walked across 
 country. No European had ever been seen in those 
 parts before, so they were surrounded and followed 
 from the first by a crowd of people who gathered from 
 the fields and hamlets as they went along, curious to 
 see the foreigners. What happened thereafter is 
 narrated by Mr. John in very sober terms in a letter to 
 Dr. Mullens. Dr. Mackenzie gave his friends a far more 
 full and graphic account of their experiences. It is 
 evident that for a time they were in great peril of their 
 lives, and that one hasty act on their part or on the 
 part of their native friends might have been the means 
 of precipitating an attack which would have had fatal 
 consequences. 
 
 ' On the 3 ist January, Dr. Mackenzie and myself left 
 Hankow with the view of visiting the converts in those 
 parts, and doing all in our power on the way by means 
 of teaching and healing. Everything went well with us 
 till we came within a mile or two of the Wei village. 
 That part of the country having never been visited by a 
 foreigner before, we had to encounter along the whole 
 journey the usual excitement connected with the 
 missionary's first visit to a place, and for this we 
 were quite prepared. But the villagers, so far from 
 
35 6 Hiau-Kan 
 
 attempting to injure us, seemed glad to see us. In 
 some instances we were received very kindly. Often 
 were we pressed to stop and preach, and supplied with 
 benches and tea. When, however, we came to a group 
 of villages distant from the Wei village about two 
 miles, the whole aspect of things changed, and we 
 soon found ourselves exposed to an attack, the violence 
 of which surpassed anything I had ever witnessed in 
 China, though I have lived in the country twenty 
 years and travelled over large portions of nine pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 ' It became evident at once that the people of these 
 villages had combined to assault us in order to make it 
 impossible for foreigners to visit their part of the 
 country again. I tried to remonstrate with them in a 
 way that I have often done in similar circumstances 
 with perfect success ; but it was worse than useless in 
 this case. Remonstrance only intensified their rage. 
 They commenced with hooting and yelling ; but they 
 soon proceeded to pelt us with lumps of hard clay. 
 Fortunately for us there were no stones lying about. 
 Dr. Mackenzie, though not wounded, was struck scores 
 of times. I received two cuts, one on the face and one 
 on the head. The general cries were, " Beat the 
 foreigners Kill the foreigners Back with them to 
 Hankow Let them go and preach in Hankow We 
 won't have them come here and preach." One man 
 had a large club in his hand ; another had a rapier ; 
 and many looked like very fiends. 
 
 c About a mile on this side of the Wei village, there 
 is a creek which had to be crossed ere we could reach 
 
Saved from a Violent Death 357 
 
 our destination. When we came to this spot there 
 must have been a thousand people at least gathered on 
 the banks. The villagers on this side wanted to drive 
 us over the creek, and those on the other side 
 threatened to kill us if we came within their reach. We 
 ventured to attempt it ; but the moment I set my foot 
 on the bridge I was saluted with a perfect shower of 
 hard lumps of mud. We made our way back from this 
 dangerous position as soon as possible ; and though an 
 attempt was made to force us on, we succeeded in 
 regaining the bank. 
 
 1 From what I have heard since, as well as what I 
 saw at the time, I feel convinced that if we had not 
 retreated we should have been murdered. Seeing that 
 to proceed was simply impossible, I asked the permis- 
 sion of the mob to return to Hankow, and, to my aston- 
 ishment, obtained it. Having walked about two miles 
 in a different direction from the one we came, one of 
 our native companions remembered that one of our 
 converts was living in a village hard by. We sent 
 him on to see if he could find him, and to ask the 
 villagers if they would receive us for the night. It was 
 now quite dark, and we were in a hostile country. In 
 about half-an-hour our friend reappeared, bringing the 
 convert with him. I asked the latter if he was not 
 afraid to receive us. His reply was : " No, not in the 
 least. We will receive you and protect you." As we 
 entered the village we met his brother, who, though not 
 a convert, is not wholly ignorant of the truth. He also 
 gave us a hearty welcome. 
 
 * On Wednesday morning, having done some work 
 
358 Hiau-Kan 
 
 in the way of preaching and healing, we started for 
 Hankow, which place we reached about 8 P.M. 
 
 1 The conduct of the converts and of many of their 
 friends exceeded my most sanguine expectations. 
 When they were informed of our difficulties, they 
 hastened to our rescue, identified themselves with us, 
 and did all in their power to protect us. One of our 
 friends insisted upon walking side by side with me in 
 order to shield me from harm. This noble act exposed 
 him to many a hard blow ; but he bore it all bravely 
 and cheerfully. Another of our converts in the very 
 height of the storm begged the mob to kill him, but 
 spare the pastor. I was struck with the calmness and 
 forgiving spirit displayed by these men. During the 
 attack, they maintained the utmost self-possession ; 
 and when it was over they never breathed an angry 
 word. When lodged safely in the village, I asked 
 them how they felt. Their reply was : " Never better. 
 Our hearts are full of peace and joy. God has greatly 
 honoured us in thus permitting us to suffer for His 
 name and cause." " Have you any revengeful feeling? " 
 I asked them again. " No," was the reply, " not the 
 least. We only desire their salvation, and believe that 
 God intends this to be the beginning of a great work 
 in the district of Hiau-Kan.' 
 
 On his return to Hankow, Dr. John promptly laid 
 a statement of the case before H.M. Consul, and he in 
 turn addressed himself to the Chinese authorities, com- 
 plaining of this unwarrantable attack on British subjects 
 who were entirely within their treaty rights in travelling 
 as they had done. The effect of this official remon- 
 
Subsequent Visits to Wei Village 359 
 
 strance was thoroughly satisfactory. Mr. John was 
 invited to visit the place again, and did so after an 
 interval of a few months. In June of the same year 
 he wrote to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 * I never felt more calm in my life than I did in 
 that storm. The Saviour was felt specially near as 
 my strength and comforter. For about five minutes 
 it appeared as if I were going to die, and yet the 
 prospect did not disturb my peace in the least. When 
 it was all over I felt thankful that I had been per- 
 mitted to shed my blood in the cause of Christ. I 
 had laboured many years for Him, but never before 
 had I been called to lose a drop of blood for Him. 
 The thought brought real sweetness to my soul. 
 Everything has been going on very quietly since in 
 that region. I visited it again, called at all the 
 villages, and preached the Gospel fully and freely. I 
 was very cordially received everywhere. In some of 
 the villages platforms were erected for me to preach 
 on, and hundreds came to hear what I had to say 
 about these things. A good work has been begun 
 there, and the prospects are bright.' 
 
 From this time onward the spread of Christianity in 
 the whole district has been remarkable. In the report 
 for 1878 Mr. John tells of a visit paid in 1877 : 
 
 ' Having reached the farthest village, and preached 
 there to large and attentive audiences, we returned to 
 the Wei village. We were tired and hungry, and I 
 had been unfortunate enough to sprain my ankle early 
 in the morning. We greatly needed an hour's rest, 
 and made an effort to obtain it. But there was no 
 
360 Hiau-Kan 
 
 rest for us till midnight. No sooner had we finished 
 our evening meal than the house was besieged by 
 visitors from the surrounding villages, who declared 
 that they must see and hear the foreigners before they 
 would return ; so I was compelled to go out and 
 preach to them. Standing under a large tree, with 
 the moon shining brightly on the scene, I preached 
 with all my might to a large and interested congrega- 
 tion. Whether any of them were savingly impressed, 
 I know not ; but preaching has never been a greater 
 joy to me than it was on that occasion. As soon as 
 the crowd dispersed we had a service with the converts, 
 at which not a few of the heathen of the village were 
 present. Several were impressed. Teh-kwei was 
 under deep conviction ; and one very satisfactory 
 candidate was baptized. A few of the Christians 
 stayed on till midnight. Teh-kwei felt that he could 
 not leave, and before we parted he declared his resolu- 
 tion to make a public profession of his faith in Christ. 
 
 ' On Tuesday morning, very early, we were off for 
 the Wei village, in which we have a few Christians. 
 As we were passing through the Wei village, the 
 evangelist requested me to follow him into the temple 
 of the god of the land and grain. " Do you see," said 
 he, " the godless condition of this temple ? " I told 
 him that I did, and asked him for an explanation. 
 He then told me how the children of the village had 
 taken the gods some months previously, and, having 
 amused themselves with them awhile, pitched them 
 into the village pond. He assured me that this was 
 done by the children of the heathen, and that it was 
 
Idols Thrown Away 3 61 
 
 their own idea. This fact, as well as many other facts 
 which came under our observation during our sojourn 
 at the Wei village, showed me clearly that idolatry 
 had lost its hold on the convictions of the people. 
 The village contains about five hundred souls, and I 
 did not meet a man in it who seemed to have any real 
 faith in either the idols or the idolatrous rites of the 
 land. I do not see why it should not become a 
 Christian village within a reasonable period.' 
 
 Again in 1879 ne was able to tell of the intro- 
 duction of the Gospel into another village in the neigh- 
 bourhood in a very similar way : 
 
 * You are familiar with the name Hiau-Kan, having 
 been mentioned often in my letters. We have had a 
 good work going on there for about two years at the 
 Wei village. About four months since another interest 
 sprang up quite suddenly. A man who was converted 
 at Hankow about three years ago asked permission at 
 the time of the flood to visit his home. When he 
 came back he told me that many in consequence of 
 his preaching had lost all faith in their idolatry, and 
 some had thrown their idols into the flood. I hastened 
 to the place, and found the state of things to be just 
 as he had represented them. Many seemed to have 
 given up their idolatry ; but their knowledge of 
 Christian truth seemed very limited. I did what I 
 could to help them, and immediately on my return 
 sent a native assistant to live in their midst for a 
 month and instruct them. 
 
 ' A fortnight ago I visited them again, and found 
 that a wonderful change had taken place in the 
 
362 Hiau-Kan 
 
 villagers. Several had fully made up their minds to 
 join us ; a large number were halting between two 
 opinions, and all were well disposed. The children 
 delighted me much. The fundamental truths of the 
 Gospel seemed to have taken a hold of their minds, 
 and they could answer any question I might put to 
 them. Before I left, nine whole families had joined 
 the Church, and a large number besides had become 
 deeply interested in the truth. I am expecting to see 
 the whole village becoming Christian within a year or 
 so. There are in the villages about seventy families 
 and between three and four hundred souls. But the 
 work is spreading into the other villages around, so we 
 may reasonably hope to see a rich harvest in that 
 region within a reasonable period. May God grant it.' 
 
 Thus the gracious influence spread from village to 
 village, and has continued to spread ever since. Soon 
 the people of Wei-kia-wan needed a place of worship, 
 and the spirit of self-help and of brotherly love and 
 sympathy were called out by the need. In 1880 they 
 appealed to Mr. John for advice, and he took at once 
 the very sound position that they must help themselves. 
 
 It is easy to be wise after the event, and in the 
 light of the experience which has now been gained in 
 every part of the mission-field to urge the importance 
 of insisting upon self-help in chapel -building and 
 maintenance of the ministry. Perhaps if missionaries 
 had always been firm in carrying out this rule, there 
 would not have been so much of that spirit of de- 
 pendence on European help which is so serious a cause 
 of anxiety for the future of the Church in some parts 
 
Providing their own Chapels 363 
 
 of the field. Yet it is not surprising that in the earlier 
 days of the Missions such mistakes should have been 
 made. When Christianity was still a very foreign and 
 unfamiliar creed, and its first disciples, who are usually 
 the poor, were surrounded by men who violently 
 opposed and persecuted those who had changed their 
 faith, it was not at all unnatural for the missionary to 
 try to encourage the converts by providing shelter and 
 maintenance when necessary, and by relieving them of 
 as many burdens as possible. Such help, however, 
 though occasionally necessary, is very apt to become 
 pauperising. Mr. John took in this case what results 
 have proved to be the wiser course. He declined to 
 lay the burden of building chapels on the Missionary 
 Society, though as a personal, sympathetic friend and 
 member of the Hankow church he contributed 
 privately. In his report of work done during 1880 
 he wrote : 
 
 ' The spirit of Christian giving has received a real 
 impulse in our little church this year. The last time I 
 visited Hiau-Kan the matter of chapel-building came 
 up before us. The converts were told that the Society 
 could not undertake to provide them with chapels, and 
 that it was the plain duty of the Chinese Christians 
 to undertake the entire responsibility of providing 
 themselves with accommodation. I promised, however, 
 that, if they would furnish ground and contribute 
 according to their means towards the buildings, I would 
 bring the matter before their brethren at Hankow and 
 try and get them to help. Two pieces of land, valued 
 at about 100 dollars, were offered at once, a 
 
364 Hiau-Kan 
 
 subscription list was opened, and promises were made 
 by the Hiau-Kan converts which reflected considerable 
 credit on their zeal and liberality. I brought the 
 matter before the native church at Hankow, and was 
 greatly delighted by the way it was taken up. Every- 
 body seemed charmed with the idea : some gave well, 
 the poorest gave something, the widow threw in her 
 mite, and all gave cheerfully. The consequence is, 
 that two little sanctuaries, with a prophet's room 
 attached to each, are being built in Hiau-Kan by the 
 natives themselves, the missionaries helping only as 
 members of the church, according to their private 
 means. 
 
 1 This is the first time that this has been done in 
 these parts, and, so far as our Mission is concerned, it 
 is likely to be taken as a precedent by the converts. 
 The contributions of the native church this year will 
 be over 300 dollars, or about three times as much as 
 they have contributed in any one previous year. The 
 Chinese are a money-loving people. Their principal 
 divinity is the god of riches, and their one aim is the 
 acquisition of pelf. When the converts begin to give 
 of their money, it may be taken for granted that they 
 have given their hearts.' 
 
 What was meant by self-help in this case is described 
 by the Rev. W. Owen, who visited the Wei village at 
 the beginning of 1881 : 
 
 1 On my arrival at the Wei village, I found almost 
 every Christian in the place fully and freely engaged in 
 helping the masons and carpenters to put up the first 
 place of worship to the true and living God in the 
 
First Chapel erected by Converts 365 
 
 whole of that region. I stayed there five days, and 
 happier five days I never spent at any place in my life. 
 I was perfectly delighted with the spirit which was 
 manifested, and the energy put forth by our brethren 
 when building this house of prayer. No one had any 
 difficulty in seeing that the people had a mind to work, 
 and no one did more than, and rejoiced so much in the 
 idea of having a chapel in the place as Mr. Wei, our 
 native brother and preacher. I have been told that 
 for about a fortnight, when the chapel was building, 
 this good, earnest, and warm-hearted Christian hardly 
 closed his eyes. During the day he was engaged in 
 helping the men, and during the night he kept watching 
 lest any one should come and steal or destroy some of 
 the materials. The Wei-kia-wan chapel stands on a 
 slight elevation, and can be seen for miles almost in 
 every direction ; a more delightful spot for the chapel 
 could not have been fixed upon in the whole place. 
 
 * During my stay with them we had services every 
 evening in Mr. Wei's house, and certainly it was a time 
 of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The joy 
 of the Israelites when returning from captivity could 
 not have been much greater than that of our brethren 
 at the Wei village at this time ; their mouths were filled 
 with laughter and their tongues with singing, and their 
 daily language was, " The Lord hath done great things 
 for us, whereof we are glad." ' 
 
 Shortly after, Mr. John was able with joy to write : 
 
 ' One of the last things I did before leaving was to 
 
 open our new chapel at the Wei village in Hiau-Kan. 
 
 This little sanctuary is the first that has ever been 
 
Hiau-Kan 
 
 erected in Central China by the converts themselves. 
 It is a pretty little building, beautifully situated on a 
 low hill, and seen miles all around. The converts are 
 delighted with it, and the heathen seemed pleased. 
 On Sunday week we had a church meeting in the 
 morning, when four deacons were elected ; in the 
 afternoon Mr. Bryson and myself preached ; and in the 
 evening we had a delightful prayer-meeting, in which 
 several of the converts spoke with much earnestness 
 and warmth. Between forty and fifty partook of the 
 communion, and among them there were eleven or 
 twelve women. Five adults and eleven children were 
 baptized. I left the Wei village feeling that a good, 
 solid foundation has been laid there, and that the work 
 cannot but prosper in that region. The chapel at the 
 Liu village is going up, and will be ready in a month 
 or so.' 
 
 It is not necessary to tell the rest of the Hiau-Kan 
 story at any length. The reports and letters from that 
 time onward contain frequent references to the district, 
 and all of them have been encouraging. In 1880 
 premises were secured in the prefectural city, and, 
 though it was not safe at that time nor for some years 
 after for a European to reside there, a native evangelist 
 could do so, and Europeans could visit the place 
 without difficulty or disturbance. 
 
 The city of Hiau-Kan has a population of 2O,ooo j 
 and has jurisdiction over the district comprised by 
 a plain about one hundred miles long by twenty 
 miles broad, densely populated by a vigorous, agricul- 
 tural people. The desirability of occupying the place 
 
Activity of Converts 3 6 7 
 
 permanently as a new station as soon as it was safe to 
 do so became increasingly apparent as the work in the 
 district prospered. It was, however, thirteen years later 
 before the Society was able to make the move. In 
 1893 the place was occupied by two European 
 missionaries. At that time there were church members 
 in eighteen villages, while the truth was penetrating 
 into scores of other places. 
 
 At the end of 1897, after one of his periodical 
 itinerating tours, Dr. John wrote : 
 
 ' I was very much struck this time with the 
 marvellous way the work is spreading over the whole 
 of the Hiau-Kan district, and that chiefly through the 
 instrumentality of the converts ; nearly all the candidates 
 for baptism I examined had obtained their knowledge 
 of the truth from private members. The few native 
 paid agents in Hiau-Kan are working hard, and 
 rendering admirable service. But it would have been 
 impossible for them to instruct all the men who came 
 before me as candidates. One of the men baptized by 
 me at the beginning of the year must have spent a 
 great deal of his time in teaching others, for his name 
 was often mentioned by the candidates as their 
 instructor. 
 
 * We have converts now in all parts of the district, 
 and their number is multiplying rapidly. People are 
 pressing in from every quarter. It looks as if the whole 
 of Hiau-Kan might be evangelised within the next two 
 or three decades.' 
 
 Recently a large slice of the farther end of the 
 district has been cut off and connected with a new 
 
368 Hiau-Kan 
 
 station at Tsao Shih, yet there are now upwards of 
 2400 members in Christian fellowship in connection 
 with the Hiau-Kan Mission, while a most gracious and 
 successful ministry of healing is being carried on in the 
 mission hospital and the leper asylum, which have been 
 established in connection with the Mission in the pre- 
 fectural city. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 HOME AGAIN 
 
 ONLY once since 1873 has the face of Griffith 
 John been seen among his friends in Britain. 
 He has been urged to come home by the Directors of 
 the Society on more than one occasion. He has been 
 elected to the Chair of the Congregational Union 
 of England and Wales. He has actually agreed 
 to come more than once, but circumstances and his 
 strong sense of duty have hindered him. The struggle 
 in his mind between the claims of his family and 
 his duty to the Mission, which has already been 
 noticed, sometimes found very strong and pathetic 
 expression in his correspondence. His two sons were 
 growing up to manhood ; in fact, the elder of them was 
 already being trained for his profession, and the second 
 was at that critical stage when wise advice and help 
 were needed to help him to decide for the future. 
 His daughter, too, was growing up, and her education 
 and development in character were naturally a subject 
 of much concern. So he writes in 1878 : 
 
 ' Would I could come home and see you all once 
 more. Home, sweet home ! But how can I leave 
 my work ? I long to see the children. I feel it to be 
 
 369 2B 
 
370 Home Again 
 
 a duty to look after their interests. But here I am in 
 the midst of work, and sinking deeper and deeper 
 into it.' 
 
 Again in 1879 : 
 
 * I have received a letter from Griffith, David, and 
 Mary to-day, and the burden of the whole is " Come 
 home." My dear friend, my mind is much burdened 
 and saddened as I write this. The impulse of the 
 heart is decidedly Wales-ward. But how can I leave 
 my work ? If I am anything at all, I am a missionary. 
 I am a missionary, not in profession, but in heart and 
 soul. In regard to the work, necessity is laid upon 
 me, and woe be unto me if I forsake it. Let me 
 leave the work, and my doom is sealed. I shall go 
 through the rest of my days with a heavy heart and 
 a burdened conscience. I feel the power of your 
 appeals, and the power of my children's love, together 
 with the claims which the dear old lady has on me 
 and mine. But this is my life-work, the work which 
 God has given me to do, and I feel that I cannot give 
 it up without sinning against Him and cutting in two 
 the line of my destiny.' 
 
 In 1880 Mrs. John had shown serious signs of ill- 
 health, and ultimately it was felt to be advisable that 
 she should go home to America via England. Most 
 men in the present day would have felt that this, 
 added to the call of parental affection and responsi- 
 bility, would have been sufficient to justify handing 
 over work for a time to the care of colleagues. Even 
 this does not move the Spartan sense of duty of this 
 true soldier of the Cross. Until it is shown to be 
 
Spartan Sense of Duty 37 l 
 
 absolutely necessary, he cannot forsake his post, so he 
 writes to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 * Mrs. John has been out in China in all twenty-six 
 years, and the only change she has had for sixteen 
 years has been one short six months ten years since. 
 The consequence is that her health has been running 
 down for two or three years ; her digestive organs are 
 thoroughly out of order ; and about four months since 
 she had a severe sprain of the ankle, which has kept 
 her in the house ever since, and given a decided 
 impetus to the downward course of her health. I 
 don't feel that I should be justified in consulting 
 my own happiness and keeping her here over another 
 summer. It will be a great trial to us both ; but life 
 is made up of trials. You will say, " Why not come 
 home with her ? " My reply is simple " I cannot." ' 
 Five months later the same faithful friend is told : 
 ' And now to the purport of your letter. You 
 want me to come home, and that at once. In some 
 respects I should much like to come home at this 
 time. It would be a great joy to see you all, and I 
 feel the claims of my children upon me. But the 
 fact is, I cannot come just now. That is, I cannot 
 come without detriment to the work here. The work 
 is now in that state in which it requires in a special 
 manner my presence and help. In four or five years 
 hence I shall probably be able to leave it without 
 much risk. I cannot explain all this to you, but if 
 you were here for a day or two I could show it to 
 you. As to my health, I have seldom felt better than 
 I have been feeling of late. I am really a strong, 
 
372 Home Again 
 
 healthy man, and physically I can do more work than 
 any one of the younger missionaries in the place.' 
 
 Then came the intelligence from New York by 
 telegram that Mrs. John's illness was much more 
 serious than had been supposed, and that a critical 
 operation would have to be performed. This at last 
 turned the scale, and he started at once direct for 
 the States, yet he did it as one who even then was 
 in a strait betwixt two. He wrote to the Mission 
 House : 
 
 'It is hard to break off from a work that I so 
 much love, and leave these dear converts whom I love 
 as my own children. Besides this, I had many 
 cherished plans which I hoped to carry out this year. 
 There are several little churches to be consolidated, 
 and office-bearers to be appointed. There are signs 
 of life in many parts. At some of the stations the 
 zeal of the Christians seems to be breaking forth anew, 
 and in some districts the heathen are becoming more 
 interested in the truth. One new chapel built by 
 the native Christians is finished, and the other is going 
 up apace. A house is being purchased in the very 
 city of Hiau-Kan for evangelistic purposes, but not 
 with the Society's money. The native hospital is 
 flourishing, but needs my presence. There is a new 
 chapel to be erected in the city of Hankow ; but I am 
 afraid the idea will have to be laid aside during my 
 absence. Then I had my literary work cut out. It 
 was my intention to bring out a Life of Christ, a 
 scientific catechism, a book on moral philosophy. All 
 this has to be given up. It was my intention to 
 
Letters to a Colleague 373 
 
 spend five years more in China, and then come and 
 see you all. It is a greater trial to me to leave China 
 at this time than I can possibly tell you.' 
 
 He was greatly shocked by the change in his wife's 
 appearance ; but after the operation she began slowly 
 to mend, and they were comforted by the assurance 
 that the trouble was not malignant and was not likely 
 to return. During the slow process of Mrs. John's 
 return to convalescence he used diligently his oppor- 
 tunities of seeing and hearing all he could, and spoke 
 frequently and with great acceptance on his beloved 
 China. He heard Moody, and was greatly impressed 
 by him, and he kindled in the son of his host, the Rev. 
 LI. D. Bevan, D.D., the missionary fire which ultimately 
 drove him to China, where he is now labouring as a 
 missionary in Shanghai. 
 
 The following brief letters, written from New York, 
 to his close friend and colleague, the Rev. Arnold 
 Foster, are interesting, not only as telling something 
 of his hopes and plans, but also as revealing some- 
 thing of his keen and clear discernment and power of 
 criticism : 
 
 ' NEW YORK, May 24, 1881. 
 
 ' MY DEAR FOSTER, I was glad to receive your 
 last letter from Hankow. I sympathise with you in 
 regard to the trial of waiting. ... I am not surprised 
 
 that you have found much in to love and respect. 
 
 There is real gold in him, and a great deal more of it 
 than there is in many with more glitter. He is a good 
 man. You will be pleased to hear that our prospects 
 
374 Home Again 
 
 are growing brighter every day. Mrs. John is improv- 
 ing rapidly and surely. We now intend to return by 
 way of England, and shall probably leave New York 
 in about a month from this. When we have been in 
 England a few days we shall be able to make up our 
 minds as to the time to start for China. I am hoping 
 to be in China some time in the autumn. Sometimes 
 I feel it might be my duty to go and try and rouse the 
 Churches, but the prevailing voice is, Go back to your 
 work. 
 
 * Give my love to all the native assistants and 
 Christians, especially to Shen, Yang, and the washer- 
 man. My love to all the missionaries, and with our 
 best love to you. I remain, ever your affectionate 
 friend, G. JOHN.' 
 
 To the same : 
 
 ' NEW YORK, June 9, 1881. 
 
 ' I went to hear Talmage on Sunday morning. It 
 was a sermon on the Revision, and his aim was to 
 make it out to be a mutilation and a profanation. I 
 never in my life listened to anything which pained or 
 disappointed me more. . . . Yet he Jills his immense 
 tabernacle up and down.' 
 
 On July 2, Mr. and Mrs. John were able to leave 
 for England on their way back to China. They were 
 apparently full of hope that they would only be 
 detained a few weeks, and be able then to hurry out 
 as quickly as possible to Hankow. Mrs. John's im- 
 provement, however, was so slow that the stay in 
 England was extended to several months. They did 
 
A Memorable Address 375 
 
 not leave until the last day of February 1882, and 
 reached Hankow at the end of April. The hopes that 
 had been raised by physicians in New York and in 
 London proved delusive, and in less than six months 
 Mrs. John had to return to America for a further 
 operation. Once more she recovered, and rejoined her 
 husband in Hankow in November 1883. For two 
 years she was permitted to live and labour in the 
 Mission, and then, on December 29, 1885, she passed 
 away, apparently of peritonitis, triumphing in death. 
 
 Mr. John's stay in England in 1881-82 was very 
 brief as compared with his previous visit, but he man- 
 aged to crowd into it a large amount of earnest, eloquent, 
 and powerful advocacy of missions. Many who heard 
 him will never forget the impression produced by his 
 speeches. The combination of clear statement of fact, 
 telling illustration, strong argument, and eloquent and 
 fervent appeal revealed him as a true orator of high 
 order. It was, however, not the oratory that affected 
 men so much as the conviction his words carried of 
 absolute sincerity and of whole-hearted and intense 
 consecration to missionary work as the most urgent 
 and the noblest service on earth. 
 
 The most memorable of these addresses was that 
 delivered at the Jubilee meetings of the Congregational 
 Union of England and Wales, in Manchester, in October 
 1 88 1. In subject-matter it differed little from those 
 he delivered at other meetings ; but the occasion was 
 a very special one, and his words were heard by repre- 
 sentative Congregationalists from all parts of the 
 world, as well as by a great concourse of people from 
 
376 Home Again 
 
 various parts of Great Britain. He commenced his 
 address by speaking of the faith and courage of Robert 
 Morrison, the father of Protestant Missions in China. 
 He went on to say: 'The treaty of 1842 began to 
 open the country to merchants and missionaries.' ' I 
 mention the missionary, not because he was thought of 
 by the plenipotentiaries of that time, but because I see 
 in that event the finger of God, and a Divine purpose 
 infinitely superior to that of saturating China with 
 opium, or even British manufactures.' 
 
 The position in which the work in China was at 
 the time he commenced his missionary labours was 
 described as follows : 
 
 ' When I arrived in 1855 there were only five spots 
 in the whole Empire at which the missionary could 
 pitch his tent. The vast interior was closed against 
 him. He might go wherever he pleased, but he must 
 be back again within twenty-four hours. It was the 
 last treaty of 1860 that opened China; and it is 
 during the last ten or twenty years that our work has 
 succeeded in that Empire at all. That treaty not only 
 added nine new ports to the preceding five, but also 
 threw the whole Empire open so far as the right of 
 travelling is concerned, and, at the present time, there 
 is only one province whose capital is closed against 
 us Hunan. 
 
 ' Some centuries ago Xavier, the great missionary 
 of Rome to the East, attempted to enter China, but 
 failed ; and he could only exclaim with his dying 
 breath, " Rock, rock, when wilt thou open ? " About 
 forty years ago, God, in His mysterious providence, 
 
The Gospel the Need of China 377 
 
 smote the rock, and it trembled, and it shook, and it 
 yawned ; and a few missionaries rushed in, but were 
 not allowed to go far. About twenty years ago God 
 smote that rock again, and it sank and disappeared ; 
 and now we may go up into the land, every man 
 before him, and possess it. This, I say, is God's doing, 
 and it is marvellous in our sight. And what are the 
 voices that we hear at this time ? I do not know 
 what voices you hear ; but I do know the voices that 
 we ought to hear. In the first place, we ought to hear 
 that Voice from yonder Throne, high and lifted up 
 the voice of God ringing in all our Churches and 
 saying, " Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? " 
 and from these Churches we ought to hear 10,000 
 voices rising in gladsome response, saying, " Here am 
 I; send me."' 
 
 Alluding to previous addresses in which one or two 
 of the American speakers had been describing the 
 extent and the future greatness of the United States, 
 Mr. John pointed out that in China it was not a 
 question of future population or future greatness, but 
 of a very urgent present. He sketched the size of 
 China, its vast population, its great civilisation, in very 
 clear and forcible terms. This brought him to the 
 point of his address : 
 
 ' Then there is another point which I wish to bring 
 before you, and that is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
 is the great need of China. Buddhism and Tauism 
 can make the people superstitious, but not religious. 
 The tendency of Confucianism has been to dry up the 
 religious faith of the nation, and make it the most 
 
3 7 8 Home Again 
 
 unspiritual thing imaginable ; there is no power in the 
 religion of the country to develop a high and holy 
 character; there is no power there to clothe humanity 
 with beauty and grandeur. Christianity alone can do 
 this ; and hence I plead here most earnestly for China, 
 that you send missionaries out to China your very 
 best men to make known the glad tidings of salvation, 
 because in my deepest heart I believe that the re- 
 generation of China depends upon it.' 
 
 Then he asked, ' What are the Churches of Christ 
 doing for China ? ' and gave a description of the 
 wonderful opportunities presented in every direction in 
 that country for preaching the Gospel, describing what 
 work had been done, and spoke in warm terms of the 
 value and character of the converts, illustrating this by 
 examples within his own experience. He next 
 appealed for men, and told the meeting what kind of 
 men were needed : 
 
 * We want also your best men. We want able- 
 bodied men, because there is a great deal of physical 
 work to be done in China. We want able-souled men. 
 You must not send us to China, nor, I believe, to any 
 other part of the heathen world, inferior men. We 
 want men with the three G's at least grace, gumption, 
 and grit. A graceless man as a missionary is a pitiful 
 object to behold ; but I have almost more hope of a 
 graceless man to begin with than of a man without 
 common sense ; for, as Jonathan Lees told you some 
 time ago, if a man has no grace, he can get it for the 
 asking, but if he does not bring common sense with 
 him into the world, he cannot get it at all. 
 
Future Condition of the Heathen 379 
 
 ' We do not want John Bulls ; we do not want 
 Taffys ; we do not want Jonathans ; we do not want 
 men to go to China and say, " I am an Englishman, or 
 a Briton, or an American." No, we want men many- 
 sided men, full-orbed men, full of solar light, full of 
 humanity, and full of the Holy Ghost. Give us such 
 men, not by the tens, but by the hundreds, and I will 
 promise you that within twenty years a great revolution 
 will take place in that Empire. What is the great need 
 of China at the present time ? A mighty band of 
 mighty missionaries, a mighty band of mighty preachers 
 meni that can preach like Whitefield, like Wesley 
 men that can talk like Dale. Do not send us into 
 China your weaklings men that stammer, and cannot 
 interest an English congregation. A man that cannot 
 talk English will never be able to talk Chinese ; and 
 do you expect to see a man that cannot influence an 
 / English congregation move the hearts of the phlegmatic 
 Chinese ? It is utterly impossible. We must have the 
 best men if we have any at all ; and as for your 
 inferior men, keep them for yourselves.' 
 
 This naturally led on to the serious question of the 
 missionary spirit in the Church, and the need for a 
 fresh kindling of that spirit. The address then closed 
 with a very bold and faithful dealing with the question 
 of the future condition of the unevangelised heathen, 
 controversy on the future state being at that time a 
 very serious question in the thought and life of the 
 Churches : 
 
 ' There is one important point on which I want to 
 have a little talk with you ; and the point is this. I 
 
380 Home Again 
 
 have come back from China at the end of some twenty- 
 six years, and I find that the England and Wales at 
 the present time are not the England and the Wales 
 of my boyhood. I find that great changes have taken 
 place in the attitude of many in this country towards 
 the missionary cause. You do not seem to me to 
 believe in the old-fashioned way at all many of you ; 
 and one reason for that is that a great and important 
 change has taken place in your theological opinions in 
 regard to the destiny of men, and especially in regard 
 to the destiny of the heathen. Now I am a missionary, 
 and I have been compelled to look at these changes 
 and to put this question to myself: " If this view is 
 the correct one, or that, or that, or that, what would 
 be the result to me as a missionary ? " I am not 
 going to tell you what my views are : you have no 
 right to ask me, and I am not going to ask you. I 
 am not going to commit myself here to-night at all. 
 I do maintain one thing, however, that in view of these 
 differences of views, I as a missionary have a right to 
 accept that view that God gives me on my knees, and 
 I do protest, with all my might, against any brother 
 calling me a heretic because I differ from him. 
 
 ' Now, then, let us go on. In going up and down 
 this country, a man comes to me sometimes and says, 
 " Mr. John, do you suppose that all the heathen are 
 going to hell ? " And his impression is that if they do 
 not go to hell, he has nothing to do with the mission 
 work. Well, that is one way of putting the question ; 
 but there is another way of putting it, and I sometimes 
 turn round and say, " Sir, do you suppose that they 
 
Not Fit for Heaven 381 
 
 are all going to heaven ? " I do not know where they 
 are going to ; but one thing I am perfectly sure of, 
 that they are not fit to go to heaven ; and if I could 
 tell you to-night that all the Chinese were launched 
 into heaven just as they leave this world, I venture to 
 say, my friends, that very few of you would care to go 
 there at all, unless you went as missionaries. Another 
 says, " Mr. John, here is a man trying to live up to the 
 light, feeling after God. What becomes of him?" 
 That is a difficult question, too, but I have no 
 hesitation in saying this, that he who worketh 
 righteousness, whether in China or England, is ac- 
 cepted by Him. But then another man tells me, 
 " Well, Mr. John, my theological views are changed, 
 and I do not see that I can take any special interest 
 in the missionary work after this." There is the old 
 / view, which, I suppose, may be presented in this aspect 
 that the majority of the heathen go down into 
 endless conscious misery on their departure from this 
 life. Do you believe this ? Do you know what you 
 are believing ? I do not say you are not right, but do 
 you really know what you are believing ? If that be 
 true, just look at what it means in regard to China. 
 In China it is computed that some 33,000 die daily 
 that the daily mortality of China would drain England 
 of its population in two years, London in four months, 
 and your Manchester in nine days. Do you believe 
 that these millions upon millions of adults are sinking 
 into hopeless misery as they depart this life? If you 
 do, then I do ask, in the name of God, why don't you 
 send missionaries out to save them ? If you do, why 
 
382 Home Again 
 
 is it that you do not go out yourselves to try and save 
 them from such a terrible calamity ? 
 
 * " Well, but I do not believe," another man says, 
 " in the old view. I believe in the destruction of men 
 after a certain period of probation or punishment ; I 
 believe that they are blotted out of existence or 
 shrivelled up into nothing." I have been compelled 
 to put this question to myself, " Granted that this is 
 the Biblical view, what then ? Do you go on with 
 your missionary life ? " and I have come to the con- 
 clusion that, if this is the true view, I can draw from it 
 sufficient motive to go on with my missionary life. 
 Here is a soul, capable of dwelling for ever with God. 
 Here is a soul, capable of eternal existence, of eternal 
 blessedness and happiness, capable of extending into a 
 seraph, shrivelling up into nothing, or blotted out of 
 existence. What would be the blotting out of ten 
 thousand worlds compared with the blotting out of one 
 soul ? I do not know how you feel, but I feel that it 
 would be worth my while going round and round the 
 world in order to save one from such collapse. 
 
 * Then there comes the universal restoration view. 
 Some say, " I do not believe in the old or in the second 
 view, but I believe all souls shall be restored at last." 
 What then ? I am glad to be able to tell you I have 
 looked at that view in its face, and I have come to the 
 conclusion that I can draw even from that view 
 sufficient motive to go on with my missionary work. 
 Suppose, for instance, an angel were to come to me 
 when I lay my head upon my pillow this evening, and 
 whisper these words in my ears, " Brother, all souls 
 
Mr. John's own Views 383 
 
 are to be restored at last ; all the heathen are to be 
 restored at last; the Chinese are to be restored at last. 
 You are only just beginning your missionary work, 
 there is a long, long missionary life before you ; your 
 work in China is a mere school in which you are 
 preparing yourself for a grander work by and by." 
 What would be the effect of it upon my mind ? To 
 paralyse my hand ? To prevent me going back to 
 China ? No, on the contrary. I feel that if an angel 
 were to reveal that to me as the truth of God, the 
 spark of missionary enthusiasm in my heart to-day 
 would burst into a flame. 
 
 ' 1 should reason in this way, " Is it so ? Can it be 
 that the human soul is worth so much ? Can it be 
 ythat human souls are so dear to the heart of the 
 Father ? Can it be that that great atonement can 
 cover all guilt, and that that mighty Spirit contains all 
 souls ? " If this be true if it be true that all souls 
 are to be redeemed, then I go in for the missionary 
 life, not only for this aeon, but for the aeons of aeons 
 until the Christ of whom we have heard so much these 
 days has put all His enemies under His feet, and pre- 
 sented the kingdom to God the Father.' 
 
 Mr. John's address produced a profound impression, 
 but men asked with interest what his view on this 
 debated subject really was. The following letters may 
 help to answer this question. The first was written 
 to an intimate friend in England whose acquaintance 
 Mrs. John and he had made during their visit, and 
 with whom he has ever since kept up a close corre- 
 spondence : 
 
384 Home Again 
 
 ' Have you read Dr. Dale's missionary sermon at 
 Dr. Allon's church on the missionary Sunday ? I like 
 it and I don't like it. ... His main point is that 
 the heathen have no chance except that which is 
 given to them in this life. If that is the case, 
 let us say at once that all the heathen populations 
 of the earth from the beginning till now are lost, 
 for none of them live up to the light which they 
 have. There may be one here and there, but they 
 need not be taken into account, for they count for 
 nothing as compared with the mass who live not 
 up to that light. All the heathen annihilated without 
 a chance except the poor one given them in this life ! 
 What an awful fact, if it be a fact. It makes my soul 
 tremble all over as I think of it. Better annihilate 
 them with Dale than send them to endless torment 
 with Spurgeon. But both thoughts are terrible.' 
 
 Mr. Foster was in England on furlough in 1887, 
 and to him also Mr. John wrote about Dr. Dale's 
 sermon, and entered more fully into criticism of Dale's 
 position and of the whole subject. He had shortly 
 before written to Mr. Foster about another preacher 
 who seemed to be stating and emphasising the old 
 view on the subject. These two letters indicate very 
 clearly the direction in which his thoughts were 
 tending, if not the conclusions he had reached : 
 
 * Have you seen Dale's sermon at Allon's church ? 
 If you have not, I should like you to try and get it 
 and read it. It is far from being characterised by 
 clearness of thought. But it is an emphatic declaration 
 of his sentiment in regard to the destiny of the heathen 
 
Destiny of the Heathen 385 
 
 in view of the controversy which has been raging in 
 America of late on this mysterious theme. If I under- 
 stand Dale rightly, his position is this : ( I ) Christ died 
 for all, and all may be saved. (2) All who reject 
 Christ in this life are hopelessly lost. (3) The heathen, 
 not knowing Christ, cannot reject Him, and therefore 
 cannot be lost on this account. (4) They, however, 
 have the law of righteousness written on the tablets of 
 their hearts, and will be saved or lost according as 
 they obey or disobey this. (5) Very few of them do 
 obey this law perhaps none. (6) Hence the heathen 
 are hopelessly lost, and must be so in the future as in 
 the past, unless the Gospel of Christ is given them. (7) 
 /Their destruction, however, consists in their annihilation 
 as conscious beings. There is to my mind something 
 very dreary in all this. I would prefer the old Cal- 
 vinistic view. God has His elect whom He will save 
 in and of His infinite mercy. The rest perish on 
 account of their sin and in their sin. Only I would 
 adopt the destruction theory in regard to the future of 
 all such. The doctrine of eternal conscious misery is 
 not an organic part of Calvinism, and might be safely 
 left out. By leaving it out Calvinism becomes not 
 only the most logical scheme that has ever been 
 propounded, but a perfectly tolerable one also. 
 
 1 1 see that Mr. is making use largely of the 
 
 argument based upon the old view of the doom of 
 the heathen in his addresses. That does tell 
 upon certain minds ; but his way of presenting the 
 argument is becoming more and more unbelievable to 
 
 2 C 
 
386 Home Again 
 
 thinking minds. The educated Christian consciousness 
 finds it impossible to accept the views of our fathers on 
 this subject. What is the ground I mean Christian 
 ground on which our appeals on behalf of missions 
 should be made in these days, so as to command the 
 homage of men of culture and piety ? Perhaps you 
 are getting new light on this subject, and if you are, 
 perhaps you will send me a ray or two when you 
 have time.' 
 
 At the Valedictory Meeting held in the Weigh House 
 Chapel on January 12, 1882, Mr. John spoke again at 
 some length upon the condition and needs of China, and 
 the kind of work that was being done, and laid stress 
 once more upon two points of urgent need, the first 
 being the revival of the spirit of prayer in the Churches 
 and the restoration of the missionary prayer-meeting, 
 and the second the urgent need for strong men for 
 China : 
 
 ' But these figures do not represent even the 
 apparent results of our labours. There are hundreds 
 around the various mission stations who are standing 
 somewhere between the two kingdoms, and we are 
 constantly receiving men into our churches who have 
 been halting between two opinions for years. We 
 are gradually filling the air with the music of the Cross, 
 and saturating the minds of the people with the story 
 of Jesus. In many places the people are beginning to 
 question their old creeds and superstitions. Some have 
 already cast them aside as worthless things ; and there 
 are not a few who have become Christians in sentiment, 
 though they have not joined us. Among our converts 
 
Missionary Prayer-Meeting 387 
 
 there are men who have undoubtedly been born again, 
 and who would adorn any Church in any Christian 
 land. Since my return I have had an opportunity 
 of comparing the Christians of China with those of this 
 country, and I am bound to confess that they have 
 risen rather than fallen in my estimation. 
 
 ' I would suggest that special attention be given to 
 the missionary prayer-meeting. Let it be resuscitated 
 where it has died out, and let an earnest effort be put 
 forth to make it a really interesting, instructive, and 
 attractive service in every case. The materials for 
 x this are abundant ; and the pastor in whose soul there 
 dwells a spark of missionary enthusiasm would have no 
 difficulty in kindling a fire that would light up and 
 keep warm the hearts of all present. If, in addition to 
 this, a missionary sermon were preached occasionally 
 by the minister himself, it would be a comparatively 
 easy matter to create and sustain the missionary spirit 
 in the church and congregation. The effect of this 
 on the general contributions of the churches towards 
 missions can be easily foreseen. Once an intelligent and 
 prayerful interest in the work is generally awakened, 
 there will be no lack of means to carry it on. 
 
 ' Then shall we have systematic, conscientious giving 
 practised by rich and poor in this department of 
 Christian service. If I may judge from my own 
 observation, I should say that the poor of our 
 congregations are less to be blamed than the rich in 
 this matter of giving, and what we want is to get the 
 rich to give of their superfluities as freely as the poor 
 
3 88 Home Again 
 
 are giving of their necessities. Let the wealthy men of 
 our churches deny themselves a few of their easily- 
 dispensed-with luxuries for the sake of Christ and His 
 kingdom, and we shall have no difficulty in doubling our 
 forces in China as well as in other fields. Why should 
 not some of those whom God has so richly blessed with 
 means undertake the entire support of one or more 
 missionaries ? And why should not some of our 
 wealthiest churches do the same ? 
 
 ' In conclusion, I appeal for men. We want men of 
 sterling character and worth men of tact, spirit, and 
 energy manly men, full of grace and common sense. 
 Give us highly cultured men, if they can be found. 
 But if not, then give us men possessing a good, sound 
 English education. Such men, if filled with the Spirit 
 of God and fired with the missionary enthusiasm, will 
 not fail to do a noble work for God in any part of the 
 mission-field. The great need of China is men not 
 mere wise men or learned men, but men of deep 
 conviction ; men who feel that they have been 
 separated and called for a great work ; men who are 
 conscious of the all-consuming power of the love of 
 God ; men with whom it is a passion to save men, and 
 who are prepared to brave all things and endure all 
 things in order to finish the work which they feel in 
 their inmost soul that God has given them to do. 
 The old dread of the man-inspired missionary is still 
 upon me. 
 
 ' I have not the least desire to see any of such going 
 forth to the heathen world. But can I be wrong in 
 supposing that there are in our universities, colleges, and 
 
Appeal for Men 389 
 
 churches many who are called of God to be missionaries? 
 It is to them I appeal. I ask them to consider the 
 claims of China and other parts of the mission-field, 
 and to listen for the Divine voice in respect to 
 the course which they should adopt. I do not invite 
 them to a life of ease and self-pleasing, but to one of 
 trial and self-abnegation, of hard toil and patient 
 endurance. Still, I am prepared to promise them a joy 
 in this work such as will enable them to understand 
 what the Master meant when He said, " My peace I 
 give unto you." The romance of missions is a home 
 dream ; but the blessedness of the missionary life is a 
 reality, gloriously verified in the experience of every 
 one baptized to the work. Are there no young men 
 of independent means who will go forth and support 
 themselves on the field? Are there no fathers and 
 mothers who are prepared not only to offer their sons 
 and daughters on the altar for this high and holy 
 purpose, but also the gold and the silver required to 
 meet their wants ? ' 
 
 Such appeals, urged with all the force of a life 
 which had responded to the Divine call, could not fail 
 to produce a deep impression upon any young and 
 earnest hearts who listened to them, though it is 
 not possible to trace the result in many cases. 
 Many years after, when the Central China Religious 
 Tract Society issued an appeal for the commemoration 
 of the Jubilee of their President by the erection of a 
 building at Hankow to be used as their de"p6t, a 
 Baptist missionary in Shantung sent a contribution, 
 and wrote : 
 
39 Home Again 
 
 { I do so with peculiar pleasure, not from any special 
 interest in the Tract Society good causes are legion, 
 and this does not appeal to me more than others but 
 solely as a small token of veneration for the Prince of 
 living missionaries in China. As a school-boy aged 
 sixteen, I heard Griffith John in 1881, and then and 
 there vowed I would be a missionary in China. In 
 1892 the vow was fulfilled, and the vow made as a boy 
 under the influence of a single speech of Griffith John's 
 has never been regretted. It is more than twenty-three 
 years since I saw his face and heard his voice, but I 
 am glad of this opportunity of showing, in however 
 small a way, my appreciation of one who under God 
 called me to the noblest service and the grandest 
 mission-field in the world.' 
 
 Before leaving England, Dr. John gathered up the 
 substance of his speeches, with a great deal of other 
 matter, in a pamphlet on China's Need and Claim, a 
 statement of the whole case as it then presented itself, 
 which was of great value to many who were anxious to 
 promote the cause of missions. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 SORROW ANXIETY HONOUR 
 
 \ 
 
 THE renewed illness of Mrs. John almost 
 immediately after their return to China, neces- 
 sitating her departure to America for further medical 
 treatment within six months, was a very heavy trial to 
 Mr. John. He met it by entering more fully and 
 earnestly into the varied work which came to his 
 hand. 
 
 Even before Mrs. John left, he wrote : ' I seem to 
 have been plodding on in China, attempting much, but 
 achieving little. Ten years more and my working days 
 will be over. Others will take my place and carry on 
 the work. Oh how I desire to make these ten years a 
 decade worth living, fruitful in deeds and results.' His 
 anticipation as to the termination of his life-work has 
 been happily falsified, but the years were certainly 
 richly fruitful in varied results of hard and earnest 
 labour. 
 
 There was a considerable change in the personnel of 
 the Mission at the beginning of this period. The Rev. 
 E. Bryant, who came to England on furlough in 1880, 
 found it necessary to retire from the Society's service 
 in consequence of the state of Mrs. Bryant's health, but 
 
3 9 2 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 acted as the agent of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society in North China for some time. The Rev. T. 
 Bryson left on furlough in 1883, and was transferred 
 to the North China Mission when he returned to the 
 field. Dr. Mawbey also, who had been medical 
 missionary in Hankow from 1879, returned to 
 England in 1883, and his place was taken by Dr. 
 Thomas Gillison, who had been sent out to be one of 
 the pioneers in Sze-Chuen. The Rev. Arnold Foster 
 was happily still in Hankow, and the Rev. William 
 Owen, who had been detained in Hankow to fill the 
 vacancy caused by the successive furloughs of Messrs. 
 Bryant and Bryson, became, like Dr. Gillison, a 
 permanent member of the Mission, and for ten years 
 rendered devoted service in Wuchang. The Mission 
 was further reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. A. 
 Bonsey in December 1882, followed by the Rev. C. G. 
 Sparham in January 1885. Since then the staff of 
 workers connected with the London Missionary 
 Society's Mission in Central China has been nearly 
 quadrupled, but Messrs. Foster, Gillison, Bonsey, and 
 Sparham are still active associates of Dr. John in a 
 delightfully intimate fellowship of service. 
 
 China was not in a particularly happy condition in 
 her foreign relations. Trouble with Great Britain on 
 account of the murder of Mr. Margary had only just 
 been settled after long and tiresome negotiations. A 
 war with France, in consequence of disputes and 
 misunderstandings in Tonquin, broke out in 1884, and 
 dragged its humiliating course through several weary 
 months of mutual recrimination before it was settled by 
 
War with France 393 
 
 the payment of a very heavy indemnity on the part of 
 China. Mr. John's allusions to this conflict, however, 
 show how little such troubles affected China as a 
 whole. For a time there was considerable unrest and 
 apprehension in Canton and South China generally, but 
 the peace of the Yang-tse valley was never seriously 
 disturbed. In November 1884 he wrote: 
 
 This miserable French war is still dragging along 
 its slow and trying existence. We wonder when it will 
 come to an end. I am glad to be able to say it has 
 not affected our peace. Everything has been very 
 quiet here, and we have been able to carry on our work 
 without interruption.' 
 
 In another letter written about the same time he 
 says : ' The people around us seem to me to take no 
 other than a speculative interest in the quarrel.' A few 
 months later, after a tour in the country, he again 
 notes that the war with France does not trouble the 
 people in Hupeh much. ' There is but little patriotism 
 in the Chinese mind. The Chinaman feels a good 
 deal of interest in his family, but not much in his 
 country.' 
 
 While all this was true, and evidences multiplied 
 that the people when left to themselves were not only 
 peace-loving, but disposed to be very friendly, there 
 were also evidences that the official suspicion and 
 dislike of all foreigners was never dead, though often 
 dormant, and that when it set itself to the mischievous 
 task of rousing ill-feeling, the ignorant populace were 
 very easily excited to a condition of fear and passion 
 which might prove quite uncontrollable. Mr. John 
 
3 94 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 had very clear evidence and very painful personal 
 experience of the way in which the passions of the mob 
 were roused against the foreigner by the direct action 
 of the officials during more than one visit to Hunan. 
 He was also the principal means of tracing to its source, 
 and compelling the Government to stop, an official 
 agitation in 1891, which threatened the life of every 
 European and every Christian convert in Central 
 China. 
 
 A very striking illustration of the way in which the 
 Chinese can be excited to the wildest condition of 
 panic occurred at Hankow early in 1883. The writer 
 was at that time visiting China as a deputation on 
 behalf of the London Missionary Society. As the 
 steamer approached Hankow, some miles before 
 reaching it, numberless boats of all sizes were met 
 crowded with people who seemed to be hurrying down 
 stream in a great state of excitement. Then crowds 
 appeared on the river bank, increasing every moment 
 in density, all laden with boxes and bundles, or 
 wheeling their belongings along in barrows, and all 
 evidently intent on flight. Thousands of persons, men, 
 women, and children, were leaving Hankow. On 
 arrival, the city was found to be almost deserted. 
 Warehouses, shops, and houses were closed, and the 
 streets, which are usually thronged with hurrying 
 crowds, were empty and silent. Mr. John wrote during 
 the panic to Mr. Bryson, who was in England, as 
 follows : 
 
 1 We are in the midst of a fearful panic, which 
 commenced at the beginning of last week. It is now 
 
A Fearful Panic 395 
 
 subsiding, I am thankful to say ; but it has been a 
 terrible time to the people. On Thursday last the 
 people seemed to me almost daft with terror. The 
 gates of Hankow had been closed, on account of the 
 flocking of the people out of the place, and there was no 
 exit x 4br them except by river. In the afternoon and 
 evening they were paying as much as 1000 and 2000 
 cash for crossing the river, or for being taken below the 
 city wall. Tens of thousands of people spent the night 
 on the plain. 
 
 * The whole thing sprang from a vague rumour that 
 the place was full of members of certain secret societies, 
 and that they were going to rise on Thursday night. 
 Nobody seemed to know where the enemy was or 
 what he was. The danger was felt to be a sort of evil 
 spirit hovering over the place invisible, impalpable 
 but there, and threatening the destruction of all the 
 inhabitants. Thursday evening and night passed off 
 quietly, and a beautifully bright sun rose on us on 
 Friday morning. Mr. Thompson and I were going to 
 Wuchang on Saturday afternoon to spend a little time 
 with the converts. On Saturday morning we learnt 
 that the panic had reached Wuchang, and that all the 
 gates except two were sealed, and that it was with 
 difficulty any one could pass through. On Saturday the 
 authorities began to chop off people's heads, and they 
 have been going on with the terrible work ever since. 
 Between forty and fifty heads have been taken off 
 already, and there are more to follow. A real evil, I 
 think, has been discovered, though I am afraid some of 
 the innocent are among the executed. I trust that rest 
 
Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 and peace are about to be restored. But the people 
 have had an awful scare, and have been put to heavy 
 expense in moving. More than half of the population 
 of Hankow left the place, and at the end of last week 
 it looked empty.' 
 
 Mrs. John returned from New York in November 
 1883, and for two years was able to take her place and 
 exert her active and useful influence in the life of the 
 Mission before the final parting came. Mr. John's only 
 daughter also returned from school in November 1884, 
 and has ever since ministered to her father's comfort 
 with most devoted and loving care. Miss John 
 married the Rev. C. G. Sparham in 1891, the marriage 
 being one which gave very great satisfaction to her 
 father. 
 
 It is scarcely possible, and if it were it would not be 
 desirable, to enter with any fulness of detail into the 
 ordinary course of Mr. John's work during these busy 
 years. There was certainly no relaxation of energy, or 
 limitation of work, or diminution of enthusiasm. True 
 to that imperial instinct which is so marked a feature 
 in his life, he had not been back in Hankow many 
 weeks before he wrote to the Directors of the 
 Society : 
 
 ' I want to call the attention of the Directors to 
 Korea. America has just concluded a treaty with 
 Korea. England will follow immediately. Shall not 
 the London Missionary Society be first on the field ? 
 First or not first is a matter of little importance, all 
 I am anxious about is that we should enter in at 
 once. I tried to move the Directors to establish a 
 
Photo] [ Yung Fong, Hankow. 
 
 GRIFFITH JOHN AND HIS GRANDSON, BRYNMOR SPARHAM. 
 
Perilous Trip in Hunan 397 
 
 Mission in Japan, but in vain. I do trust they will 
 not ignore the claims of Korea/ 
 
 Six months later he went in company with Mr. 
 Archibald upon another adventurous, and as it turned 
 out, perilous trip into Hunan. In justification of this 
 journey, he says, ' I wanted to have a good preaching 
 tour, and I wished to do something towards opening 
 up that magnificent province more effectually for 
 missionary operations.' A single extract from Mr. 
 John's narrative will suffice to illustrate the perils of 
 the journey, and to give point to the statement that 
 anti-foreign agitations have usually been commenced 
 and engineered by the ruling class : 
 
 1 The first place of importance we came to after 
 crossing the lake is the city of Lung-yang. In order 
 to make what follows intelligible it is necessary that I 
 should mention the fact that a Roman Catholic priest 
 was at Lung-yang when we arrived. He was on his 
 way to Hankow from Chang- teh, where he had been 
 making an ineffectual attempt to purchase property 
 and establish himself. Living in his boat, and anchor- 
 ing on the opposite side of the river, the people 
 and himself had seen nothing of each other during the 
 seven or eight days he had been at Lung-yang. It 
 would appear, however, that the magistrate and the 
 gentry had made up their mind that he had come 
 there with the view of attempting a settlement among 
 them, and that they were determined to give him a 
 hot reception should he have the hardihood to show 
 his face on shore. I may state that we knew nothing 
 of his movements beforehand, and that we saw nothing 
 
3 9 8 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 of him during our short stay at Lung-yang. It was 
 late in the afternoon when we arrived, and therefore 
 did not land that day. Next morning, about 9 o'clock, 
 we went on shore, and began our work of preaching 
 and book distribution. 
 
 ' For some time everything went on very quietly, 
 and I thought I had never met with a people more 
 inoffensive than the people of Lung-yang. Soon after 
 entering the city gate, a man passed us, with a long 
 slip of red paper in his hand, which we found to be a 
 placard, denouncing the foreign barbarians, and calling 
 on the people to rise en masse and cast them out of 
 the city. I followed the man to the gate, and saw 
 him post the placard. I thought it advisable to take 
 no notice of it, and went on with my work. By and 
 by another came up to me with a handful of placards, 
 which he was going to scatter over the place. He 
 shook them in my face, and told me that I must get 
 out of the city at once. I told him that I had a 
 perfect right to be there ; that my object was not to 
 rent houses or buy ground, but simply to preach the 
 Gospel and distribute good books ; and that before 
 leaving the city I must see the magistrate and explain 
 matters to him. He told me that it was a matter 
 which concerned the people and not the magistrate, 
 and that the people insisted on my leaving the city at 
 once. I called his attention to the fact that the 
 people were quiet enough, and that he and two or 
 three more with whom he appeared to be associated 
 were the only persons who showed the least objection 
 to our presence in the city. He then took hold of 
 
Moral Rottenness of Chinese 399 
 
 me, and, dragging me by the coat, declared that I 
 must get out of the city at once. The others went 
 for Mr. Archibald and made a similar attack upon him. 
 
 ' By this time a crowd was gathering around us, and 
 becoming every moment more and more excited. 
 Among them I observed three or four soldiers, and 
 now and again I could hear them say, almost in a 
 whisper, " Don't strike." We showed our passports, 
 and endeavoured to explain matters to the people ; 
 but the few men who were acting as ringleaders were 
 inexorable. Nothing would satisfy them but our 
 immediate exit from the city and departure from the 
 place. We asked these men to show us the direction 
 of the magistrate's office ; but they positively refused 
 to do so. We asked the people, and they declined. 
 We then went in one or two directions in quest of the 
 office, and, with the help of the boys who were follow- 
 ing in the crowd behind us, we managed to find it. 
 
 ' At the office an attempt was made to keep us 
 out ; and, having got in, another attempt was made 
 to get us out without seeing the magistrate. After 
 long waiting, however, and much useless quibbling on 
 the part of the underlings, we were introduced to the 
 great man. 
 
 ' You have been often told how sadly wanting in 
 truthfulness the Chinese as a people are, and how 
 much in their element they appear to be when telling 
 a barefaced falsehood. We had a striking instance 
 of the moral rottenness of the Chinese in this respect 
 during this interview. A despatch was sent by the 
 magistrate of Yo-Chow to the magistrate of Lung- 
 
400 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 yang respecting us. We had a conversation with the 
 messengers on their way thither, and we met them 
 again on their homeward journey ; so there can be 
 no doubt as to the despatch having been sent and 
 delivered. When, however, the attention of the Lung- 
 yang magistrate was called to this fact, and pointed 
 to as a reason why he should have known who we 
 were and whence we had come, he immediately denied 
 that any such document had been received at his office, 
 and got all the underlings of the establishment to join 
 him in the denial. " Did any despatch reach this office 
 from Yo-Chow?" The question was put with much 
 show of indignation. " No ! no ! no ! " was the prompt 
 and emphatic reply. It was a sad spectacle ; but it 
 would have been useless to argue with men who think 
 no more of perjuring themselves than they do of 
 sipping a cup of tea. 
 
 1 Gradually the fact that we were not connected 
 with the priest, and that we had not come to Lung- 
 yang to purchase property and settle down at the 
 place, dawned upon the mind of the magistrate. He 
 seemed somewhat amused when the mistake became 
 quite apparent, and expressed his willingness to allow 
 us to remain in the city for a day or two and do our 
 work. He sent for the constables of the place, in 
 order to explain to them the object of our coming to 
 Lung-yang, and to give them instructions respecting 
 our safety. As they made their appearance one after 
 another, we had no difficulty in recognising them as 
 the very men who had been troubling us in the streets. 
 " Why," said I to the magistrate, " these constables are 
 
Where the Uproar was Hatched 401 
 
 the men who have been doing all the mischief. They 
 have been doing their utmost to inflame the mob. 
 Even the placards have been carried about and 
 posted on the walls and gates by them. It is very 
 clear to me that the uproar of to-day has had its 
 origin in this office, and that these men have been 
 acting under instructions." The magistrate did not 
 attempt to deny the fact, but simply excused the 
 policemen and himself on the ground that it was done 
 in ignorance of our non-identity with the priest and 
 of the object of our visit. He then sent for two of 
 the leading gentry. Whilst he was explaining to 
 them the mistake which had been made, it became 
 still more clear that the entire scheme had been 
 hatched in the magistrate's office by the gentry, with 
 the magistrate himself at their head. I endeavoured 
 to point out the wickedness, meanness, and danger of 
 such a course ; but they evidently looked upon it as 
 an excellent stroke of policy, and begged us not to be 
 offended, as it had not been intended for us. 
 
 * By this time the large square in front of the office 
 was crowded with an excited mob. It became clear 
 to us that no more work could be attempted in the 
 circumstances, so we expressed our willingness to return 
 to our boat and leave the city at once. The gentry 
 and authorities had succeeded in bringing the mob 
 together, and in rousing the fears and rage of the 
 ignorant people to a pitch which no ordinary methods 
 could control. The one question of importance to us 
 now was, how to get to our boat, and away from the 
 place, without further molestation. The magistrate 
 
 2 D 
 
402 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 himself felt the gravity of the situation, and sent for 
 an escort of soldiers from a camp hard by. Without 
 this escort we could not have reached our boat without 
 being seriously bruised ; and something worse might 
 have happened. Even with the help of these men 
 we escaped with difficulty. One cut-throat made a 
 rush at me in the street, and would have prostrated 
 me in an instant, but for the prompt intervention of 
 one of the braves in charge. 
 
 1 1 shall never forget the sight which the square in 
 front of the magistrate's office presented as we emerged 
 from the inner court. It was thronged with thousands 
 of people, among whom there were not a few who 
 would have rejoiced to imbrue their cruel hands in our 
 blood. A narrow path was cleft for us in the midst 
 of that thick mass by the soldiers and policemen ; and 
 with the help of the military mandarin and his braves 
 we passed through, and ultimately reached our boat, 
 without receiving any injury. We were obliged, how- 
 ever, to leave the place at once, for any attempt at 
 delay would have led to an assault on the boat. Just 
 as we were leaving for Chang-teh, the priest left for 
 Hankow. 
 
 ' Let it be understood that the opposition to the 
 priest, both at Lung-yang and Chang-teh, does not 
 spring from the fact that he is a Roman Catholic, but 
 from the attempt he has been making to establish him- 
 self at the latter city. Any foreigner attempting to 
 effect a settlement in that region would meet with a 
 similar treatment. There are cities in Hunan into 
 which no Protestant missionary has been allowed to 
 
Hostility of Rulers to Foreigners 403 
 
 enter and carry on any work whatever. Lung-yang 
 and Chang-teh were not among them. Both cities have 
 been visited repeatedly, and a good deal of work has 
 been carried on even within the walls. It was only 
 when an attempt was made to rent or purchase houses 
 that this bitter anti-foreign feeling broke out at these 
 two places ; and the result is that even the ordinary 
 work of preaching and book distribution can now be 
 carried on in that part of the province only with much 
 inconvenience and no little risk. 
 
 ' The Lung-yang case throws no obscure light on 
 the way most of the rows with which foreigners have to 
 do, in travelling in China, are got up. The people by 
 means of placards are inflamed, an assault is made, the 
 foreigner has to run, and the news of a mighty uprising 
 and a glorious victory is noised abroad. The placards 
 are always issued by the gentry with the full cognisance 
 of the magistrates, and simply fathered on the people. 
 In the magistrate of Lung-yang, and the two scholars 
 we met at his office, we had unquestionably the very 
 authors of the placards that were issued on that day ; 
 and the very spirit of the storm which threatened our 
 destruction must have come forth from the office 
 itself.' 
 
 Hunan was not to be opened to the Gospel for 
 several years after this, and not until after the powers 
 of anti-foreign and anti-Christian hatred had made a 
 tremendous effort to rouse the whole country against the 
 intruders. Griffith John himself had another experience, 
 fourteen years after, of the hostility of the rulers to foreign 
 intrusion, but he steadfastly maintained his aim, and 
 
404 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 had the joy at last of being welcomed where he had 
 been cast out. 
 
 In 1884 a great trouble arose in the mission 
 church at Hankow owing to the discovery that some of 
 the members had yielded to the opium habit. The 
 evil was dealt with promptly and faithfully as soon as 
 it was discovered, but it recurred more than once in 
 subsequent years. We have already learned the opinion 
 on opium and the opium traffic formed by the young 
 missionary when he first came in contact with it, and 
 his impressions of all things Chinese were still fresh and 
 vivid. He had also made known his opinion in a 
 series of letters to the Nonconformist when he was at 
 home on furlough. It is instructive to learn to what 
 extent his judgment had been affected by the experi- 
 ences of thirty years of exceptionally wide and intimate 
 observation of Chinese life. The conclusions he arrived 
 at are all the more serious as coming from one endowed 
 with Mr. John's optimistic and hopeful temperament. 
 The following quotations are taken from his annual 
 reports of work to the Directors of the London Mis- 
 sionary Society. The first relates to the condition of 
 the church in 1884, the next was written four years 
 later : 
 
 ' The life of the church stands nearly where it was. 
 I can see no marked progress. On the other hand, I 
 can see no declension. At the beginning of the year 
 the existence of an evil in the church became known 
 to me for the first time. I found that a number of 
 the converts had fallen into the habit of smoking 
 opium. Most of them were men who were addicted 
 
Opium Vice ar-Calamity 405 
 
 to the vice before their baptism and had been cured 
 at our hospital. In their case it was a relapse easily 
 accounted for. Some, however, had contracted the 
 habit since their admission into the church. The evil 
 was at once faced and tackled. The opium-smokers 
 were exhorted to come to the hospital and be cured, 
 and told positively that if they did not give up the 
 habit at once, they would be excommunicated from the 
 church. I am glad to be able to say that, with two 
 or three exceptions, all have been reclaimed. Some 
 evinced very deep contrition, and gave us good grounds 
 for hope that their restoration will be final. 
 
 ' This opium vice is a terrible calamity, and is likely to 
 be a source of much trouble to the churches in China. 
 Once a man has fairly contracted the habit of smoking 
 the fascinating drug, the hold it has upon him is so firm 
 and strong that it becomes almost an impossibility to 
 shake it off. And even when a cure is effected, and 
 freedom obtained, the temptations to fall back into the 
 old state of bondage are so many and so great that no 
 missionary of any experience will ever rejoice over a 
 reformed opium-smoker except with fear and trembling. 
 We were compelled, to our great grief, to cut off one who 
 had given us much joy in the years gone by. At the time, 
 I looked upon this man as one of the brightest as well 
 as most genuine specimens of an earnest, happy, loving 
 Christian man I had seen in China. To find that he 
 had become an opium-smoker was in itself a great 
 sorrow to me. But to find what a wreck of his former 
 self he had become through this vice, made me feel 
 unspeakably sad. In trying to help him out of this 
 
406 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 vice, I discovered that the moral man was gone, and 
 nothing left but a low, cunning, lying, unredeemable 
 wretch. All that kindness and firmness could do for 
 him was done by the native brethren as well as our- 
 selves, but in vain. He had sunk too low to be reached 
 by any means possible to us. 
 
 ' Most of those excluded were opium-smokers who 
 had been cured at the hospital. For a time (some 
 for years) they persevere, but ultimately fall back into 
 their old habits. We did all in our power to save them. 
 We invited them all to the hospitals, and paid the ex- 
 penses of most of them while staying there. Those 
 who accepted our invitation were cured for a time, but 
 only for a time. Back they fell again. I hardly know 
 what to say about converted opium-smokers. We 
 have in our church some genuine cases of conversion 
 from among the opium-smokers ; but I must confess, 
 after many years of earnest and prayerful efforts to save 
 this class, that my experience has been sad and dis- 
 appointing. It is not so very difficult to so cure the 
 smoker as to send him out of the hospital healed and 
 reformed. The difficulty begins when he leaves the 
 hospital and gets back into the midst of his old sur- 
 roundings. The temptations are too strong for him, 
 the craving returns with renewed force, and the poor 
 slave is once more bound fast hand and foot. Then a 
 slight illness is often enough to undo the hospital work. 
 The ailment is almost sure to be put down to the 
 giving up of the pipe. Even the wife in such a case 
 will do all in her power to persuade her husband to 
 take it up again. 
 
Opium Condemned by Missionaries 407 
 
 ' This opium-smoking is an awful curse in China. 
 The longer I live the more I feel it to be so. I cannot 
 understand how any sensible man can speak of it as 
 innocent, and look on the agitation against the opium 
 traffic as a " senseless agitation," an 4C Exeter Hall craze," 
 arising from the loose statements of a few missionaries. 
 In regard to the evil of opium-smoking, there is only 
 one opinion among the missionaries. They condemn 
 it utterly, and that without a single exception. Why 
 should they do so if opium-smoking is the innocent 
 thing which some men would make it out to be ? They 
 do not object to other articles of commerce. Why do 
 they single out this ? Is it conceivable that, as a 
 body of men, they should desire to deprive England of 
 an enormous revenue, by abandoning the trade in 
 opium, if they saw no harm in the indulgence ? And 
 let it be remembered that the missionaries are the best 
 authorities on the subject. They have better oppor- 
 tunities of knowing what the real state of the case is 
 than any other class of men in China. Among the 
 missionaries we have a large number of medical men, 
 who possess every qualification and every opportunity 
 necessary for forming a right opinion in regard to the 
 opium vice. Not only have they the requisite theoretical 
 knowledge, but also that practical knowledge which 
 arises from personal and practical dealing with the vice. 
 
 ' What I have said of the missionaries generally, may 
 be said with equal emphasis of the medical missionaries. 
 They condemn it utterly and without an exception. 
 You cannot find a man among them who does not look 
 upon opium-smoking as an unmitigated evil. Surely 
 
40 8 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 this is a fact worthy of serious consideration. These 
 men are neither fools nor knaves. They certainly 
 know the truth concerning the matter. Can it be that 
 they have combined to misrepresent it in order to blind 
 the world ? Why should they do so ? What would 
 they gain by deception ? It would be very much more 
 pleasant to them, and very much more convenient to 
 all the missionaries, if they could bring themselves to 
 look upon the vice in a more favourable light. Our 
 converts would be more numerous ; for many of those 
 who are now kept out of the churches, on account of 
 the habit, would be admitted, and those who are cut 
 off for the same reason would be retained. We should 
 also move among the people with lighter hearts and 
 brighter hopes. Let it never be forgotten that the 
 missionaries, whether ordained or medical, take the 
 dark view of this question, not because they desire to 
 do so, but because they are left without an alternative. 
 They are compelled to do so. 
 
 ' In regard to the opium trade I would repeat what 
 I have said before. The trade has damaged the 
 Christian name in China to an extent hardly conceiv- 
 able by people at home. Not only has it retarded the 
 progress of Christianity by creating a strong prejudice 
 against us, the preachers of it ; it has brought Chris- 
 tianity itself into contempt. As a people the Chinese 
 cannot distinguish between England and Christianity, 
 and consequently the acts of the British Government 
 are supposed to be the expression of Christian morality.' 
 
 While in England Mrs. John had collected some 
 money towards the erection of an additional chapel in 
 
A New Chapel at Hankow 409 
 
 Hankow, the old Kia-Kiai Chapel and the hospital chapel 
 being too small for the growing requirements of the 
 Mission. Friends in Hankow, as usual, provided more 
 than half the money needed. It took two years to 
 obtain land on a really good site on the main street of 
 the city. Then a building was erected which, with its 
 various rooms, provided an exceptionally well-equipped 
 and attractive centre for missionary work of many 
 kinds. Above all, it afforded a further and larger 
 opportunity for evangelistic preaching, of which Mr. 
 John availed himself to the full. There is a character- 
 istic reference to this in one of his letters to Mr. Jacob, 
 written in September 1886. It had been a sickly 
 season, and he had himself been seriously unwell. 
 He says : 
 
 * Life is not exactly what it used to be. I work 
 hard still. For instance, I have had three services on 
 more than one day this week, almost every day two, 
 and lots of other work besides. In former days I 
 could go through all this whistling. Now it is labour 
 and more or less of a task. 1 
 
 In addition to this constant evangelistic effort in 
 the city, the practice of making tours in the districts 
 specially occupied by the Mission was kept up 
 regularly. In fact, though travelling is much more 
 fatiguing now, Dr. John still finds pleasure in this 
 itinerating and pastoral work. It is not difficult to 
 imagine how eagerly those whom he visited must have 
 welcomed the brave and honoured leader of the 
 Mission, and how helpful his teaching and counsel 
 would be to them. Reports of these excursions appear 
 
4 1 o Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 frequently in his official correspondence and in the 
 Society's periodicals. Those reports are necessarily very 
 similar to each other in their main features, and it is not 
 necessary to reproduce them all. An amusing glimpse 
 of the conditions under which this kind of work had 
 usually to be done occurs in the account of a more 
 than usually extended journey in 1889 to the farthest 
 outpost, one hundred miles north of Hankow. The 
 journey had commenced by a visit to a number of the 
 out-stations in the Hiau-Kan district. 
 
 ' We left the Liu village on Monday morning, 
 passed through a well-cultivated country, preached and 
 sold books at all the market towns on the way, and 
 reached Whitesand Town a little before dark. This 
 market town is twenty miles from Hiau-Kan city, 
 where we have a station, and about the same distance 
 from Teh-ngan, where the Wesleyan Mission has a 
 station. Wherever we called we found that there were 
 Roman Catholics at the place or the immediate 
 vicinity. We were told, however, that many of their 
 converts are leaving them, and that their number is 
 growing less day by day. Years ago multitudes joined 
 them from all sorts of unworthy motives. These have 
 been gradually rinding out their mistake, and the 
 result is a pretty general apostasy. In the cities of 
 Hiau-Kan and Teh-ngan their work is in a perishing 
 condition, and has been so for some time. 
 
 ' We had no difficulty in rinding an inn in 
 Whitesand Town. But, oh, what wretched holes 
 these inns are ! In these parts they are specially 
 dark, dingy, and in every way filthy. The floor and 
 
THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY'S CENTRAL CHAPEL, HANKOW. 
 
 In the foreground may be seen some of the Theological and Normal School students 
 
 and native e-vangclists. The four schools meet in this chapel for worship every 
 
 morning, and Sunday and Wednesday afternoons. 
 
A Characteristic Inn 4 11 
 
 walls are mud, the tiled ceiling is black with the soot 
 of ages, and the rooms are richly festooned with 
 immense ropes of broken cobweb. The lodger has the 
 choice between a " lofty bed " and a " floor bed." The 
 " lofty bed " consists of a low wooden framework 
 covered with a thick layer of straw. The " floor bed " 
 consists of a straw mattress laid on the bare mud floor. 
 The foreigner who wishes to sleep in peace must avoid 
 both beds ; for the pulex (aye, and companions more 
 objectionable than pulex) abounds in these inns. The 
 native beds are places where the aphaniptera, the 
 anoplura, the heteroptera, and all kinds of unclean 
 animals delight to hold their nocturnal revelries. 
 
 4 My plan in travelling overland is to secure two 
 benches and a door, or two square tables, at every inn, 
 and have my own bedding laid upon the top. In this 
 way I manage to get beyond the leaps and bites of 
 these little tormentors. In these inns the lodger is 
 almost sure to have two or more pigs for chums. Just 
 as we were going to ascend our lofty beds the pigs 
 were brought in, and one by one they made their beds 
 in front of our bedroom door. After a little squealing 
 and grunting on their part, we all settled down for the 
 night, and both they and ourselves were soon drowned 
 in deep slumber. In spite of all adverse circumstances, 
 we slept soundly, arid rose in the morning greatly 
 refreshed. Immediately after breakfast we went out 
 into the streets to preach and sell books. The people 
 were quiet and respectful in their behaviour, and we 
 had no difficulty in doing a good hour's work before 
 starting on our journey. 
 
4 i 2 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 ' We did not proceed far on our journey before it 
 began to rain. The wind also rose very high, and, 
 between both wind and rain, we were compelled to 
 seek shelter more than once on the way. At one 
 place we turned into a small hut, occupied by two old 
 women, one sixty years old and the other seventy- 
 three. They received us very kindly, and we had 
 some interesting conversation with them. The old 
 woman of sixty seemed much surprised that I was 
 nearly as old as herself and was able to walk through 
 wind and rain at the rate of twenty miles a day. 
 "Have you not a sedan-chair?" "Not a horse?" 
 " Not even an ass ? " My reply in the negative 
 evidently puzzled her, and led her to conclude that I 
 was doing all in order to accumulate merit, and that 
 a large heap of it must be laid up by this time. She 
 was told that we were not actuated by the idea of 
 accumulating merit, but impelled by love to God and 
 man. This was a new idea to her. She had never 
 heard of such a thing before. I spoke to her of my 
 hope of eternal life in Christ, and told her that my hope 
 might be hers also. " I am not a vegetarian," she 
 replied. " I have performed no deeds of charity. 
 How can I go to heaven ? Your merit is great, and of 
 course, you will go straight there ; but it is useless for 
 me to think about that." 
 
 ' I endeavoured to point out to her the way of 
 salvation, and she listened in a way that led me to 
 hope that my effort was not altogether in vain. The 
 old woman of seventy-three was asked by our native 
 assistant if she was prepared for death ? She replied in 
 
'The Woman of Samaria ' 4 1 3 
 
 the affirmative with a smile that quite delighted me. I 
 asked her what she meant. " The coffin," said she, 
 " and the grave-clothes are all ready." I asked her 
 where she kept them. Pointing to her bedroom, she 
 replied, " There, in my bedroom." " A strange people 
 these Chinese," I said within myself. But how often 
 are we compelled to say this as we become better 
 acquainted with their ways and habits of thought ! 
 Having congratulated the old lady on her good fortune 
 so far, I asked her if she had made any provision for 
 her soul. To this she had nothing to say ; and, so far 
 as I could gather, the thought of preparing for death in 
 this respect had never entered her mind. She appeared 
 to be going down to the grave without hope and without 
 fear. Her one source of consolation seemed to be the 
 fact that the " longevity boards " had been purchased 
 and the coffin made. I did what I could to show her 
 the value of the soul, and how it might be saved. 
 
 ' Both old women listened very attentively, and the 
 old woman of sixty appeared to be taking it all in. In 
 parting, I thanked them for their kindness in receiving 
 us into their house, and told them that I was going to 
 heaven very soon, and that I should be glad to meet 
 them there. They were evidently pleased, and I left 
 thanking God for the opportunity of speaking a few 
 words to them. The story of the woman of Samaria 
 has been of great use to me in China. One is apt to 
 pass these ignorant women by, as being beyond the 
 reach of Gospel teaching. Whenever I feel so, this 
 story is sure to remind me of my duty and drive me to 
 my work. 
 
4 i 4 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 ' We had not gone far when the rain came on 
 again, and compelled us to remain at Barley Town for 
 the rest of the day. Of all the holes in which I have 
 spent a night, Barley Town is the most wretched. We 
 entered the best inn in the place ; but I would gladly 
 have exchanged it for the poorest stable I have ever 
 seen in Wales. The inn of the previous night is a 
 palace compared with the best house Barley Town 
 can boast of. Next to our inn was a dilapidated, 
 unoccupied house. This was taken possession of by a 
 company of beggars, between whom and ourselves there 
 was only a thin wattle-mud partition, full of cracks and 
 holes. The nine beggars appeared to be very jolly. 
 Before turning in for the night they sang a merry song ; 
 and about midnight they woke up and had a good 
 smoke. As the inn itself afforded hardly any shelter 
 from the cold wind, we thought we could do nothing better 
 than follow the example of the beggars and go to bed. 
 It was not quite six o'clock when we thrust ourselves 
 into our sacks (clothes and all) ; in less than ten 
 minutes we were comfortably warm, and in half-an-hour 
 Barley Town and all its discomforts were forgotten. I 
 commend Barley Town to Canon Taylor's thoughtful 
 consideration. Should he feel inclined to become a 
 missionary, he would find Barley Town the very place 
 to begin his missionary life at. He would have 
 nothing to do but to adopt the habits of the inhabitants 
 of Barley Town in order to have realised in himself his 
 ideal missionary. Mr. Sparham and myself often felt 
 on this journey that the blessing of Canon Taylor was 
 resting upon us. 
 
At Ying-shan 415 
 
 ' It rained a good deal during the night, threatened 
 all the morning, but cleared up beautifully in the 
 afternoon. Our walk to-day was through a hilly 
 region, which charmed us very much. We spent the 
 night in a small hamlet, situated in the midst of 
 delightful scenery. Next morning we started for 
 Ying-shan, and reached the city early in the after- 
 noon. Having deposited our baggage in an inn at 
 the south gate, we went to the north gate, hoping to 
 hear something of Mr. Lo, our convert in Ying-shan. 
 Whilst I was preaching to a large congregation, I saw 
 a venerable-looking old man making his way towards 
 me through the crowd. He asked me if I was 
 Shepherd John, and invited me to come to his house, 
 where I learnt that he was Mr. Lo's father. I told 
 him that Mr. Sparham was a short way behind. He 
 therefore went to find Mr. Sparham, and gave him a 
 similar invitation. At the time, Mr. Sparham was 
 having some difficulty with one of his hearers, who 
 happened to be a little the worse for drink. The 
 old gentleman spoke a word or two to the man, and 
 peace was at once restored. We then went with him 
 to his house, and were much pleased with the house 
 itself (being large and clean), and still more pleased 
 with the inmates. Mr. Lo himself was not at home 
 when we arrived, but was expected every hour. The 
 old gentleman pressed us to stay with him, but we had 
 already made our arrangements for the night, and 
 respectfully declined his kind invitation. In course 
 of the evening, however, he came to see us at our inn, 
 and we had a delightful hour together. 
 
4 1 6 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 ' Very early on the morrow, Mr. Lo himself was at 
 the inn, accompanied by Mr. Liu-tsai, another of our 
 converts in the Ying-shan district. Mr. Lo inquired 
 of Mr. Sparham about the invitation Shepherd John 
 had received to become Prime Minister of England ! 
 It seems that a brother missionary had told him that I 
 had been asked to take the chair of the Congregational 
 Union, and that brother Lo had failed to grasp the 
 exact idea. Lo and Liu were delighted to see us, and 
 we were equally delighted to see them. It was not 
 our intention to go beyond the city on this journey ; 
 Mr. Liu, however, pleaded so hard on behalf of his 
 village that we felt we had no alternative but to go. 
 We took our baggage to Mr. Lo's house, and then 
 proceeded on our way, accompanied by Lo and Liu. 
 Much of the country through which we journeyed is 
 very picturesque, and we greatly enjoyed the walk. 
 We preached and sold books at all the places through 
 which we passed, in which work both Lo and Liu 
 helped us to the utmost extent of their ability. They 
 seemed to be well known to all the people, and were 
 treated with great respect by every one. Speaking of 
 Lo, one man said : " He is a very good man. He was 
 a good man before he became a Christian, and he has 
 been a good man since he became a Christian." Liu's 
 village is fifteen miles beyond Ying-shan city. The 
 journey thither took us more time than we anticipated; 
 it was quite dark when we arrived. Liu-tsai and his 
 friends received us warmly, and did all in their power to 
 make our visit a joy to us. After an excellent repast, we 
 had a short service with them, which all seemed to enjoy. 
 
A Lovable Chinese Family 417 
 
 Next morning we had another service, at the close 
 of which Liu-tsai's son and grandson were baptized. 
 These are the first baptisms administered in Ying-shan 
 by a Protestant missionary. After the service we 
 started for the city. Lo and Liu insisted on our 
 going back in sedan-chairs, and on paying for the 
 chairs themselves. On our arrival at Ying-shan we 
 found that Mr. Lo's father had prepared a sumptuous 
 feast for us. After the feast we had a very interesting 
 service, conducted by Mr. Sparham and attended by a 
 large number of outsiders. 
 
 * The next day was Sunday. My first Sunday in 
 Ying-shan I shall, never forget. In the morning we 
 had a service in the large hall, at the close of which 
 Mr. Lo's father and mother, aged respectively sixty- 
 three and sixty-six, were baptized. In the afternoon 
 we went out into the streets to preach. In the 
 evening we had another service in the hall, when I 
 preached again to the converts, and Mr. Sparham to 
 the heathen. The hall was full, and the attention 
 paid to the preached word was marked. At the close 
 of this Sabbath day we felt that we had taken 
 possession of Ying-shan in the name of the Lord. 
 
 ' When I think of Ying-shan, what rejoices me 
 most is the thoroughly satisfactory character of the 
 converts we have there. Mr. Lo himself is a perfect 
 gem. His father is a man of solid worth. He is a 
 manly man, venerable in appearance, dignified in 
 manners, and greatly respected by his neighbours. 
 He holds the place of a peacemaker among them, and 
 I was told that his decisions are respected as final. 
 
 2 E 
 
4 1 8 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 Mr. Lo's mother is a dear old lady. She reads and 
 writes, and is very intelligent for a Chinese woman. 
 Her sister, who is living with them, is such another. 
 She was extremely anxious to be baptized, but did 
 not see her way to give up Vegetarianism. She has 
 been a member of the Vegetarian sect for more than 
 twenty years. I took a great liking to this old lady. 
 When we were about to leave she wept, and said she 
 found it hard to part with us. Her tears brought the 
 tears into my eyes and filled them to overflowing. 
 I have never known in China a family like the Lo 
 family. It is not easy to find a Chinese that you can 
 love ; but I can truly say that I love Mr. Lo, his father, 
 his mother, and his aunt. The old man is a fine 
 specimen of a paterfamilias. Lo is a perfect son, and 
 both are strong Christians. My impression is that 
 we shall soon see a good work springing up in Ying- 
 shan. If we do, it is certain that it will be greatly 
 due to the character and worth of Liu-tsai and the 
 Lo family. 
 
 ' On Monday we made an early start, in order, if 
 possible, to reach Teh-ngan by night. The distance 
 is thirty miles, and we made a desperate effort to 
 perform the feat, but we had to stop short on account 
 of our coolies. When we entered our inn, we found 
 the front part occupied by a company of gamblers, 
 who were busily engaged with their cards. They went 
 on gambling all night, and looked as fresh at six in 
 the morning as they did at six on the previous evening. 
 I spoke to them about the wickedness of their conduct, 
 but to no purpose. They hardly looked at me, so 
 
A Unique Distinction for Mr* John 419 
 
 intent were they on the game. Gambling is universal 
 in China. The Chinese are a nation of gamblers. 
 Fornication, gambling, and opium-smoking are spoken 
 of by the Chinese themselves as the three great vices 
 of the country, and it is difficult to say which is the 
 greatest curse to them as a people.' 
 
 In 1887 the Directors of the London Missionary 
 Society invited Mr. John to pay a visit to England, 
 in order that he might take part in the great 
 International Missionary Conference to be held in 
 London in the following year. The Congregational 
 Union of England and Wales also paid him the high 
 compliment of electing him in his absence to the 
 position of Chairman for the year 1889. The choice 
 of a missionary to this office was a unique distinction, 
 and Mr. John's friends pressed him very strongly to 
 accept the position. It was felt that he well deserved 
 the honour. The official recognition of the missionary 
 enterprise in so marked a way by the Congregational 
 Churches was a thing to be thankful for, and the 
 opportunity of setting forth its claims and telling the 
 story of its triumphs was one which promised large 
 results if used by one who could speak with the 
 eloquence he was known to have. Mr. John had 
 declined the invitation to take part in the Missionary 
 Conference, and he declined to accept the Chairman- 
 ship of the Congregational Union, partly under a 
 nervous sense of insufficiency, but mainly because, 
 after very earnestly considering the matter, he came 
 to the conclusion that his duty was to remain in China. 
 
 In reply to the suggestion that he should take a 
 
420 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 holiday and come to England for the purpose of taking 
 part in the International Missionary Conference, Mr. 
 John wrote to Mr. Thompson, under date December 3, 
 1887, as follows : 
 
 1 1 have been in China nearly thirty-three years, and 
 I have not been away from it more than about three 
 years in all. In China itself I have to take my first 
 holiday yet, so if I felt the need of a change I should 
 not hesitate to take it ; but I don't feel the need, and I 
 should like to go on with my work. Indeed, of late 
 my feeling has been that I should like to spend the 
 rest of my days in China, and never go home at all. 
 As the years roll on, and the end is drawing nigh, one 
 feels scarcely prepared to spare even a month for any 
 work except direct work in the country itself. Work 
 seems to be growing on my hands as I go on, and I 
 don't see how I can turn my back upon it whilst health 
 and strength last. 
 
 'The one thing that weighs with me most just now 
 is the fact that I have a piece of work in hand and 
 that I cannot possibly complete it before the end of 
 next year or the beginning of the following. I am 
 revising my Wen-li version of the New Testament, and 
 turning it into Mandarin. This I must finish before I 
 leave China. As it now stands it is an unfinished 
 piece of work, and if I leave it in this state it will never 
 be finished. Having spent so much time and strength 
 upon it, I cannot afford to drop it in the midst. I 
 hope the New Testament in Wen-li and Mandarin 
 will be completed by the end of next year. Still I 
 cannot tell, for I have many other duties to attend to, 
 
Again declines Chair of Union 421 
 
 and the work is moving on but slowly. When the 
 New Testament is finished it is possible I may feel it 
 to be my duty to proceed with the Old. Some of the 
 brethren are urging me to this ; but I am not at all 
 anxious to attempt the task.' 
 
 In November of that year a letter appeared in the 
 Nonconformist from the Rev. H. Arnold Thomas of 
 Bristol, proposing that Mr. John should be elected to 
 the Chairmanship of the Congregational Union. When 
 the news reached China, Mr. John wrote more than 
 once to various friends begging that his name might 
 be withdrawn. 
 
 ' HANKOW, April 23, 1888. 
 
 ' I hope you have made it impossible for my name 
 to come up in May, for I could not possibly accept the 
 honour, even if elected. / cannot leave China just now y 
 and I don't feel equal to the task of occupying the 
 Chair of the Congregational Union. The very thought 
 of it makes me feel strange. Please, dear Mr. Thompson, 
 put an end to the attempt of my friends to put me 
 where, I believe, God has not intended that I should 
 be, and I shall feel very much obliged to you. It may 
 come to nothing, and if it does I shall be glad ; though 
 it would give me great pleasure to see another mission- 
 ary elected to the Chair.' 
 
 After he had sent his answer declining the 
 position which his friends desired to honour him with, 
 he wrote to Mr. Jacob : 
 
 ' My mind has passed through a great conflict, but 
 I sincerely believe that I have been guided by God, 
 
Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 and that I have done the right thing in the circum- 
 stances. 
 
 ' As to the Chair itself, I can say sincerely that it 
 presents no attractions to me. I know the honour is 
 great ; but it is an honour that I do not covet. The 
 work in China so completely absorbs my thoughts and 
 affections, that everything else appears to me compara- 
 tively insignificant by its side. 
 
 ' The one thing I have had to consider seriously has 
 been the question of duty, in view of the possibilities 
 of doing good to the missionary cause, which the 
 occupancy of the Chair by a missionary would neces- 
 sarily bring with it. I am not blind to this aspect of 
 the case ; and it has cost me a hard struggle to come 
 to the conclusion that, in spite of it, it is my duty to 
 decline the invitations of the Churches.' 
 
 A fortnight later, July 18, 1888, he wrote to 
 another intimate friend, Mrs. De Selincourt, a letter 
 containing a keen and suggestive criticism of the 
 May Meetings : 
 
 * Thank you very much for sending me the special 
 numbers of the Christian World ; also for the Pall 
 Mall and other papers which you send me from time 
 to time. It is more than kind of you thus to re- 
 member your brother in China. I have read with a 
 good deal of interest much of what the special numbers 
 contain. What a wonderful month your May is. Is 
 there anything like it in any part of the world ? And 
 yet I often wonder whether these May Meetings are 
 what they might be and ought to be. It strikes me 
 that the spiritual element in them is not very strong. 
 
Attempts to get Mr, John to England 423 
 
 Man is very visible in them, but is the presence of God 
 much felt? I don't know. You are in a better 
 position to judge. In reading the addresses and 
 speeches I cannot but see and feel the ability, clever- 
 ness, and earnestness of many of the speakers and 
 readers ; but I feel that something real is lacking.' 
 
 Two years after, referring to the expression of a 
 hope by the Foreign Secretary of his Society that he 
 might yet see the way clear for a visit to England, he 
 wrote as follows : 
 
 ' My life-work has been the establishment of this 
 Central China Mission. Translating, book-making, 
 and tract-making have been my pastime. You may 
 imagine my feelings when I think of leaving it 
 especially when the thought comes up that the next 
 time I leave it, it will be, perhaps, to return to it no 
 more. When I leave it finally it will be with a great 
 wrench the great wrench of my life. This is the 
 possibility which stares me in the face whenever I think 
 of going home. It has always been my desire to die 
 in China among my people at Hankow, and be buried 
 in the soil of Hupeh. You may call this mere senti- 
 ment, and perhaps it is. But sentiment is worth some- 
 thing in this prosy world. It has done much for the 
 world in the days gone by, and will do more in the 
 days to come. I wish I had more of it.' 
 
 Though it is somewhat anticipating the order of 
 events, it may be convenient to refer here to the next 
 attempt to get Dr. John to visit England. The 
 Centenary of the London Missionary Society was 
 celebrated in 1895, and it was naturally desired that 
 
424 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 on an occasion so memorable the workers in the field 
 should be represented by two or three of the best 
 known and most widely honoured of their number. 
 Dr. John was selected as being facile princeps the 
 representative of the China Mission, and great expecta- 
 tions were cherished as to the value of his presence 
 and advocacy of missions on this memorable occasion. 
 A pressing invitation was sent to him by the Directors 
 of the Society to come home and assist them in the 
 celebration. The opportunity was at once seized by 
 friends who loved and honoured him, and who felt that 
 his great work ought to have fitting acknowledgment, 
 to nominate him again for the Chairmanship of the 
 Congregational Union. 
 
 Thus once more he had to face the question of duty. 
 He decided it so far as related to the Congregational 
 Union by begging his friends not to persist in the 
 nomination, because he was not prepared to accept the 
 onerous distinction offered him. The invitation from 
 the Directors of the Society presented itself in a 
 different light, and after much deliberation he decided 
 to come and take part in the celebration of the 
 Society's Centenary. On June 25, 1894, he wrote 
 to the Secretary of the Society : 
 
 'Your letter of May 17 is just to hand. Many 
 thanks for all its kind words. It gave me great pain 
 to send the note that stopped my election. I had no 
 idea of the state of feeling with regard to me. Had I 
 fully realised it, I could not have said no. I sent my 
 letter in all honesty, and from a deep sense of what was 
 right and best, and I trust that I acted according to the 
 
Invitation from Directors 425 
 
 will of God. I am glad Mr. Josiah Thomas is the 
 Chairman-elect. He will do splendidly. 
 
 ' The question now is, shall I come home next year ? 
 You still ask me to come, and evidently think it my 
 duty to do so. What I desire to do is to stick to my 
 work in China live the rest of my days here and die 
 here. My heart is here, my soul is here, and, according 
 to my view of things, my work is here. But this call 
 from home, repeated and urgent, is beginning to make 
 me feel that I must tear myself away from China and 
 go. The attractions of the Chair could never move me, 
 and I feel thankful that they never did move me the 
 least bit. But this call, apart from the Chair, touches 
 me ; so, God helping me, / will come, and do what I 
 can to help you. But the Directors must be held 
 responsible for taking me away from my work in 
 China ! ! 
 
 ' I have just been reading the Independent of May 
 17, and have been greatly moved by your speeches 
 and those of others. I feel more sure than ever that 
 the forward movement is of God, and that it must 
 succeed. I bless God for the faith He has put into 
 your heart and the hearts of others. If God brings me 
 home, it will be my joy to stand side by side with 
 Arnold Thomas, Professor Armitage, Dr. Horton, 
 Stanley Rogers, and yourself, and push this movement 
 victoriously through. It has done a vast amount of 
 good already, and it will do more yet.' 
 
 Before the year ended a great change had come over 
 the situation in China in consequence of the outbreak 
 of China's infatuated war with Japan. The unrest of 
 
426 Sorrow Anxiety Honour 
 
 the three previous years threatened to break out again. 
 It was impossible to foresee what would happen. 
 After much anxious debate and some correspondence, 
 he finally decided that the post of duty was Hankow. 
 His decision was conveyed to the Directors in terms 
 which left no alternative but to accept it. 
 
 'HANKOW, February n, 1895. 
 
 ' I don't feel that I can leave these converts in the 
 midst of the possibilities which are right before us. It 
 appears to me, as well as to others, that the Mission in 
 Central China needs my presence just now ; and I 
 cannot bring myself to see that it would be right on my 
 part to turn my back upon it at such a time as this. 
 
 1 Then I want to be here at the close of the war, to 
 take advantage of the opportunities which may present 
 themselves of bringing forward the claims of missions, 
 and of securing further facilities for the propagation of 
 the Gospel in these parts. I am feeling the deepest 
 interest in the momentous events that are now 
 transpiring in China, and in the possibilities connected 
 with them. 
 
 4 Then I am troubled about the present state of the 
 Mission. 
 
 ' Such is the state of things without ; and such is 
 the state of things within. Looking at both, do you 
 not think that it is my duty to stick to my post for the 
 present ? Can I serve the cause of Christ, or even the 
 interest of the Society, in any better way than by 
 watching over the Mission in Central China in the midst 
 of this crisis ? ' 
 
Centenary Gift to L.M.S* 427 
 
 ''February 18, 1895. 
 
 ' I can only say, with Morrison, " It is my duty. 
 Look up ! Look up ! " We had a glorious day 
 yesterday. The afternoon meeting was turned into a 
 farewell meeting for Mr. and Mrs. Sparham, and a 
 meeting of rejoicing over the centenary of the Society. 
 When our converts in Hupeh heard that I was going 
 home to take part in the celebration of the Society's 
 Centenary, they resolved to send you a congratulatory 
 address along with me. The address is worked in gold 
 and silk on satin. It consists of four pieces, forming a 
 complete set, as for a Chinese hall. It is a magnificent 
 piece of work, and will, I think, be greatly prized by 
 you all. The very sight of it, as coming from the 
 Christians in Hupeh, ought to move many hearts. 
 The idea rose spontaneously in their own breasts, and 
 all the expenses connected with the getting up of it has 
 been borne by themselves. The address was exhibited 
 yesterday afternoon to a crowded congregation of 
 Christians. The day was very wet ; but the chapel 
 was crammed, and a genuine " forward movement " 
 spirit pervaded the congregation. I wish you had been 
 here to see what I saw yesterday, and hear what I heard. 
 
 ' Mr. Sparham will take the address home with him, 
 and present it to the Directors. I hope you will see your 
 way to put it up in Exeter Hall in May next. Let it 
 have a place there ; and let it be regarded as a voice 
 of gratitude and praise from Central China for all that 
 God has accomplished in and through our beloved 
 Society during the first hundred years of its existence.' 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 IN a letter to the London Missionary Society, just 
 quoted, giving the reasons why he could not accept 
 their invitation to attend the great Missionary Conference 
 in 1888, Mr. John alludes to the pressure on him of a 
 * piece of work ' which he is anxious to finish. ' I am 
 revising my Wen-li version of the New Testament and 
 turning it into Mandarin. This I must finish before I 
 leave China.' The reference takes us back several 
 years in the story of Mr. John's life, and it touches a 
 subject of the first importance in the mission-field, and 
 which has probably proved more difficult and thorny 
 in China than anywhere else. In 1883 Mr. John 
 commenced a translation of the four Gospels into what 
 is known as easy Wen-li. He was led on to the 
 translation of the whole New Testament. Then he 
 undertook the task of rendering the Wen-li translation 
 into the Mandarin colloquial. Having done this, he 
 commenced the translation of the Old Testament, and 
 is still engaged upon that important work. When it is 
 realised that all this has been done in conjunction with 
 much other literary work, and with daily preaching, 
 
 428 
 
Difficulties of Bible Translation 429 
 
 occasional itineration, and much occupation of time 
 daily in seeing and talking to Chinese visitors, a fresh 
 idea is gained of the amazing power of work and 
 strength of will which have always characterised 
 Dr. John. 
 
 The uninitiated, however, may well ask why such 
 translations were necessary, and what is meant by easy 
 Wen-li and Mandarin colloquial. Are we not taught 
 that amidst many variations in the speech and 
 pronunciation of various parts of China there is but one 
 written language, and that this can be read by educated 
 men throughout the Empire ? Is it not a fact also that 
 a version of the Scriptures in Chinese has been in 
 existence for many years, and has been spoken of as 
 remarkably good ? All this is true, but it is not all 
 the truth. 
 
 The story of the translation of the Scriptures into 
 Chinese brings out in the most striking form the 
 difficulties which have beset modern missionaries in 
 giving the peoples of the world the word of God. 
 These difficulties begin in the fact that they are not 
 natives of the countries for whose benefit they labour, 
 and that consequently their knowledge of the language 
 is only an acquired knowledge. The versions of God's 
 word used by the Western nations were prepared from 
 the original tongues by men of the races for whom they 
 were intended, and who were intimately acquainted with 
 the vocabulary and idiom of the language they used, 
 because it was their mother tongue. The modern 
 translator into the languages of heathendom has a more 
 difficult task. He translates from a language which is 
 
430 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 not his own into another which is also foreign to him. 
 This initial difficulty necessitates the revision and re- 
 revision of versions as knowledge of the niceties of the 
 languages grows and as the services of native experts 
 become increasingly available. 
 
 A further difficulty arises in the highly developed 
 languages of the East from the fact that their scholars 
 have for many generations cultivated a learned and 
 classical style founded on ancient models and widely 
 differing from the current speech. The Brahmins of 
 South India, for example, have introduced into their 
 literature a large amount of Sanscrit ; and the Chinese 
 literati have prided themselves on their classical 
 style, which is necessarily archaic and pedantic as 
 compared with ordinary speech. The result is that 
 while early versions of the Scripture in the languages 
 of barbarous and unlettered people are faulty, because 
 the missionary's vocabulary is still faulty, and he has no 
 books to help him to increase it, early versions in such 
 a language as Chinese are in danger of being too 
 classical and stiff, because the missionary has studied 
 the language largely from books and has not yet 
 become familiarised with the freer idiom of common 
 life. The difficulty of translation has been increased 
 still further in the case of Chinese by a controversy 
 which was maintained with painful bitterness for forty 
 years, over the terms to be employed for God and 
 the Holy Spirit, and which divided the missionary 
 community into two camps. 
 
 The Rev. William Muirhead, in an essay read 
 before the Missionary Conference in Shanghai in 1890, 
 
Delegates' Version of New Testament 43 * 
 
 on the history of translations, made the following 
 reference to the version of the Delegates : 
 
 * The so-called Delegates' Version of the New 
 Testament was made by Dr. Medhurst, Dr. Bridgman, 
 and Mr. Stronach ; and following it in immediate 
 connection, the translation of the Old Testament was 
 made on corresponding lines by Dr. Medhurst, 
 Messrs. Stronach and Milne. Bishop Boone was 
 associated with the former as a delegate, but was 
 unable from his state of health to take any part in the 
 work. The whole was accomplished between the years 
 1847-53, an d ranks high in the estimation of native 
 scholars. It has been largely circulated, and forms 
 the version in use by the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society. No one can fail to admire the classic beauty 
 and rhythm of the style, and though it is sometimes 
 objected that it is not always so literal as it might be, 
 and that in general it largely exceeds the grasp of 
 ordinary readers, which is, however, a matter of question, 
 there is no doubt as to its supreme excellence as a 
 literary production, its perfect scholarship, its adapta- 
 tion to the native culture, its unequalled appreciation 
 by careful students, its expression of the highest 
 attainments of Biblical learning, which in numerous 
 cases it seemed to antedate, and, in a word, its 
 incomparable suitability for the end in view.' 
 
 This version had no sooner been completed than 
 efforts were made to improve it. Drs. Bridgman and 
 Culbertson, two American missionaries, prepared a 
 version at the request of many of their fellow-workers. 
 This aimed at a more literal rendering of the original 
 
43 2 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 and a less classical style. It was adopted by the 
 American Bible Society, and largely circulated by it. 
 
 Other workers followed, such as Mr. Goddard, of the 
 American Baptist Mission in Ningpo, with versions of 
 the New Testament, which have been favourably spoken 
 of, but have not found general acceptance. 
 
 The next important step towards the provision of a 
 version of the Scriptures which would be generally 
 acceptable was taken by a small group of missionaries 
 in North China about 1 86 1 . Dr. Burdon, of the Church 
 Missionary Society, afterwards Bishop of Victoria 
 (Hong- Kong); Dr. Blodget, of the American Board 
 of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ; Dr. Edkins, of 
 the London Missionary Society ; Dr. Martin, of the 
 American Presbyterian Mission, afterwards for many 
 years first President of the Peking University ; and 
 Dr. Schereschewsky, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Mission, united to prepare a translation in the 
 Mandarin colloquial, which is the common form of 
 speech of more than half the population of China. It 
 occupied them eight years before the New Testament 
 was completed. As might be expected, this was a 
 work of great merit in its fidelity to the original, and it 
 proved widely acceptable in North China, but it was 
 not classical Chinese. 
 
 Griffith John followed next with his single-handed 
 attempt to make a translation which should combine 
 accuracy of rendering and classical finish with simplicity 
 of diction. 
 
 All these efforts to provide a new version of the 
 word of God are indications of a felt need. The high 
 
Dr* John's Wen-li Version 433 
 
 Wen-li or classical language of the scholar is not suited 
 for present-day life. The man of ordinary education 
 uses plainer and more modern forms of speech, 
 generally described as easy Wen-li, while throughout 
 the whole of North China and down to the Yang-tse the 
 Mandarin colloquial is universally current in common 
 life. A version of the Scriptures in the high Wen-li or 
 classical style gratifies the taste and appeals to the 
 pride of the scholar, but for current use it is quite 
 unsuitable. What this means in giving the word of 
 God to the people of a heathen country may be 
 imagined from the effect which a Latinised Bible would 
 have produced in our own land. Archbishop Trench, 
 referring to the Rhemish and other Latinised and stilted 
 versions of the English Scriptures, says, ' Who does not 
 feel that if our version had arrayed itself in such diction 
 as this, had been composed in such Latin English as 
 this, our loss would have been great and enduring ? ' 
 
 There was certainly no man in China better fitted, 
 and few so well fitted, as Griffith John to undertake 
 the task of preparing a version in easy Wen-li. He 
 had already proved his thorough command of the 
 language by his power as a preacher, and by the 
 remarkable success which had been achieved by his 
 writings. He was also a careful and accurate student, 
 and a man of sound and balanced judgment. Mr. 
 Archibald tells the story of the beginning and 
 progress of the work from close personal knowledge 
 of every step : 
 
 ' Another matter which brought Dr. John and 
 myself into close association was his translation of 
 
 2 F 
 
434 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 the Scriptures into Chinese. His desire to do some- 
 thing in this direction arose from a knowledge of the 
 need of a version of the Gospels more suitable for 
 general distribution than either of the two then in 
 use. Of these, one was known as the " Delegates' 
 Version." It had been produced upwards of thirty 
 years previously, and was in the highest possible 
 classical style. Its translators, with the fear of the 
 fastidious taste of the native scholar ever before their 
 eyes, had produced a remarkably fine and polished 
 piece of work, but one which was far above the 
 comprehension of ordinary readers. The other was 
 the Mandarin colloquial ; perfectly intelligible, but as 
 open to objection from its lack of literary style as the 
 other was from having too much of it. This was the 
 version generally used in Mandarin-speaking districts, 
 the missionaries rightly considering that intelligibility 
 was the main thing. Still, there was no reason why 
 both good points might not be combined in the same 
 book. Many missionaries thought Dr. John's popular 
 and widely circulated tracts hit the happy medium, 
 and urged the matter on his attention. 
 
 ' This matter was frequently discussed between Dr. 
 John and myself, and one day I remember we were 
 wind-bound in the Tungting Lake at the time he 
 resolved that if the north wind would only cease its 
 blowing, and allow us to return to Hankow again, he 
 would translate one of the Gospels. His idea was, 
 not to embark on a translation of the whole Bible, 
 but simply to give a specimen of what he thought 
 was desirable. The Gospel according to Mark was 
 
Completion of a Great Task 435 
 
 chosen, as being the smallest, and duly translated into 
 what we called " easy Wen-li," or easy literary style, 
 a name which since then has come into general use as 
 descriptive of this particular kind of composition. 
 When ready, the Directors of the National Bible 
 Society voted the 5 asked for in order to meet the 
 expense of publishing 1000 copies, and all the more 
 readily that a friend subscribed the money on the spot. 
 
 * A great work was then begun, although no one 
 at the time was aware of the fact. Had the translator 
 known that, after the lapse of twenty odd years, he 
 would still be toiling as hard as ever at that trans- 
 lation, or the Bible Society Directors that their modest 
 5 meant many thousands, and that the thousand 
 copies would total to upwards of six millions, both 
 parties would have begged most heartily to be excused. 
 It is well that the magnitude of the undertakings 
 which men may be called upon to accomplish is at 
 the outset hidden from them, otherwise they would 
 never dare to take them in hand. 
 
 ' The thousand copies of Mark were circulated 
 amongst the missionaries for their opinions. The 
 expressions received were so favourable, and were 
 accompanied with so many orders for the book, that 
 more printing and further translations followed as a 
 matter of course. Thus, step by step, the work went 
 on till 1890, the year of the Shanghai Conference. 
 By this time the New Testament, together with Psalms 
 and Proverbs, had been completed in both the easy 
 Wen-li and Mandarin styles.' 
 
 Of course the work was not universally or com- 
 
43 6 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 pletely approved. In August 1885 a letter appeared 
 in the Chinese Recorder, criticising the New Testament 
 severely. The writer admitted that it was ' a most 
 admirable translation in many respects concise, simple 
 Wen-li, and for the most part faithful to the original 
 Greek/ He objected, however, to so great and im- 
 portant a work being undertaken by one man, and 
 referred to the work of those who prepared the 
 Septuagint Version, and also to the company of 
 translators who produced the Authorised Version of 
 the English Bible, as illustrations of the kind of 
 reverent combination required. Moreover, he insisted 
 on strict rendering of the original text by the inclusion 
 of an equivalent for every word, and he protested 
 against paraphrasing under any circumstances. 
 
 This letter led to one from Bishop G. E. Moule, 
 vindicating Griffith John's translation against the 
 criticisms which had been passed, and expressing 
 commendation of the work. It also called forth a 
 communication from Mr. John, in which he made a 
 very interesting statement of his views as to the duty 
 of a translator : 
 
 * To translate is to carry ideas and thoughts from 
 one language into another ; and a true version is one 
 in which the ideas and thoughts are translated in 
 harmony with the genius and laws of the other 
 language, and with all the fulness, force, and beauty 
 possible to it as a medium. It is hardly necessary to 
 observe that a perfect translation into any language 
 is impossible. Languages differ widely in their 
 character and capacity. Men of different nations 
 
Dr* John's Rules for Translation 437 
 
 view the same object differently, and consequently 
 express themselves differently in respect of it. Then, 
 every nation has regions of thought which are 
 peculiarly its own, and for the expression of which 
 it is rich in words ; whilst its neighbour, being 
 destitute of the idea, is destitute also of a fit vehicle 
 with which to carry the idea over. 
 
 ' Diversities such as these make it often extremely 
 difficult to carry even the thought over from one 
 language into another, whilst they render it impossible 
 always to translate literally. Hence the translator, if 
 he would translate thoughts and ideas, must some- 
 times abandon the letter, and aim at simply com- 
 municating the sense, with all accuracy and fulness 
 possible to him in the circumstances. 
 
 * The following are the principal laws by which I 
 have been guided in this work. They are few and 
 simple, and such, I think, as will commend themselves 
 to every student of Chinese who is at the same time 
 a lover of the Grand Old Volume. 
 
 * i. Aim at making the version an exact image of 
 the original. 
 
 ' 2. Use those words, and only those words, which 
 shall clearly express all the meaning of the original. 
 
 * 3. In so far as it is possible, use those words 
 which best correspond with those of the original. 
 
 ' 4. Where a translation ad verbum would result in 
 an obscuration or a perversion of the author's meaning, 
 abandon a literal version and translate ad sensum. 
 
 '5. In doubtful passages a version ad sensum is to 
 be preferred to a literal translation. 
 
438 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 ' 6. Where particular words are wanting in Chinese, 
 have recourse to circumlocution, if by so doing the 
 sense can be made clear. 
 
 ' 7. In all cases consult the genius of the language 
 in which the version is made, and let its characteristic 
 qualities rule as far as faithfulness to the truth and 
 exactness of interpretation will permit. 
 
 * These are the few rules which I have laid down 
 for myself. I must leave it to others to judge as to 
 how far they have been adhered to in this version, or 
 rather how far they have been judiciously used as 
 leading principles.' 
 
 Mr. John's views on the Delegates' Version, and on 
 the place which such a work as his own would take, 
 were expressed in a letter to the North China Daily 
 News in July 1886, in reply to a review in that paper 
 of his version of the Psalms : 
 
 4 It has not been my object to bring out a version 
 as a rival to that supplied by the Delegates. I quite 
 agree with the reviewer in almost every word of praise 
 which he bestows upon that great work, and join him 
 in the verdict that Christianity is much beholden to 
 its authors. He is quite right in pronouncing it the 
 most scholarlike work, and I have not the least desire 
 that it should be superseded by mine, or by any other 
 version that may yet appear. But I am a practical 
 missionary, and I know from actual experience that 
 the Delegates' Version is, in point of style, far beyond 
 the reach of ordinary readers. Whilst very many of 
 our converts can read intelligently and with pleasure 
 to themselves the Scriptures in the easy Wen, there 
 
Vindication of Dr. John's Version 439 
 
 are but few among them to whom the style of the 
 Delegates does not render the sacred volume a sealed 
 book. The number of people who can read a book 
 in high Wen-li is very small. 
 
 ' The following is an extract from a letter written to 
 Mr. Archibald by one of the oldest and most in- 
 telligent missionaries in Southern China. The writer 
 is an enthusiastic admirer of the Delegates' Version, 
 and yet he feels compelled to confess that its circula- 
 tion is a waste of time, labour, and money. Speaking 
 of Fuh-Kien he says : " In a province like this, how- 
 ever, where not one per cent of the population can 
 make any intelligent use of a book in Wen-li, the 
 high style of the Delegates' Version is absolutely 
 beyond the literary powers of the majority of the one 
 per cent. The country literati as a rule are below 
 par. Under these circumstances the circulation of the 
 Delegates' Version, I have been long convinced, is a 
 waste of time and labour and money in this province, 
 especially in the country parts. It would be different, 
 of course, in the great city of Foochow, where there 
 are a good many reading men, and for them I would 
 have the Delegates' Version, though Mr. John's Version 
 should be given to these also. We want a version 
 such as that of Mr. John's, and I rejoice that it is 
 being produced." Such is the state of things in Fuh- 
 Kien ; and the state of things in the other provinces 
 is no better. 
 
 ' My object, then, in bringing out a new version of 
 the Psalms as well as of the New Testament has been 
 to meet this state of things. Having finished the 
 
440 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 latter, it struck me that it would be well to bring out 
 the former in a style uniform with it, and thus try and 
 make this greatly neglected portion of the Scriptures 
 more familiar to the Chinese converts. In order to 
 realise my object, it was absolutely necessary that the 
 high style of the Delegates should be eschewed, and 
 a much simpler one adopted. It has been my 
 endeavour to hit upon a style somewhat between the 
 high Wen-li and the low Suhwa not beyond the 
 literary powers of the ordinary reader, and yet high 
 enough to command the respect of the more advanced 
 scholar.. It must be left to others to decide as to 
 whether I have succeeded or not. The scholars 
 around me pronounce the version smooth, clear, and 
 idiomatic ; and the less well-read converts, who have 
 found the Delegates' Version useless to them, read this 
 with ease and profit. 
 
 ' My translation has been made from the original 
 Hebrew, with the help of the English versions, and all 
 other help I could command in the shape of com- 
 mentaries. I have also freely consulted the versions 
 made by the Delegates, Burns, Burdon, Schereschewsky, 
 Bridgman, and Culbertson ; I have used every one of 
 these versions, and am greatly indebted to them all. 
 In point of style the Delegates' Version is pre- 
 eminently the classical version ; in point of fidelity 
 to the original Hebrew it is inferior to the versions 
 just mentioned.' 
 
 Notwithstanding the criticisms of some, it is evident 
 that the new version met with very general acceptance. 
 Bishop Moule, writing in 1884, expresses his satis- 
 
Additional Testimony 441 
 
 faction with the portions which had reached him in 
 warm though discriminating terms, and says the verdict 
 of his old Chinese teacher is, ' It has literary style, yet 
 they read as easy as colloquial.' 
 
 The Rev. A. V. Noyes, of Canton, the well-known 
 missionary of the American Presbyterian Mission, 
 wrote in March 1885: 'I read it (the four Gospels) 
 through carefully, and was greatly pleased with it. I 
 have formerly given to the native preachers under my 
 care one or other of the Gospels, asking them to ex- 
 amine particularly and then let me know their opinion. 
 They have all expressed themselves as much pleased 
 with the translation. I would myself be glad if this 
 could be adopted as a Union Version by all the 
 Missions, admitting the use of either term for God and 
 the Holy Spirit.' 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Eitel, of Hong-Kong, whose reputation 
 as a Chinese scholar made his judgment exceptionally 
 valuable, and who examined 'the work with the minute 
 accuracy of criticism characteristic of German scholar- 
 ship, said after examining the Epistles : ' I have had 
 occasion to compare a small portion of your version 
 with the previously existing versions at my command, 
 and I am satisfied that your version is a decided 
 improvement upon them all. Nevertheless I am not 
 satisfied with your version.' 
 
 Others into whose hands copies came expressed 
 themselves with equal heartiness of approval. In fact, 
 so general was the acceptance of the work, that the 
 following letter was addressed to Mr. John on 
 December 20, 1887, by the British and Foreign Bible 
 
44 2 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland, 
 jointly asking him to undertake the preparation of a 
 version in the Mandarin colloquial : 
 
 ' The Committees of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland 
 have unanimously and very cordially agreed to join in 
 a request which it is now our privilege to submit to 
 you, namely, that you should undertake the preparation 
 of a new Mandarin Colloquial Version for China, to be 
 published on the joint responsibility and at the joint 
 cost of the two Societies. 
 
 1 We believe that the plan sketched in the enclosed 
 basis, on which we would propose to proceed, is one 
 fitted to give satisfaction to the greatest number of 
 missionaries concerned, and to secure the issue of a 
 version which, as we would fain hope, may become the 
 authorised version for the Mandarin- speaking districts 
 of China ; but we shall be ready to consider any modi- 
 fication of it which you may be pleased to suggest. 
 
 ' We are deeply impressed with the importance and 
 necessity of this work, to which, assured of your pre- 
 eminent qualifications for it, we venture to call you. 
 We are not ignorant of the personal sacrifices that may 
 be involved in your consent, but, persuaded that it is 
 in your power thus to complete the great work you have 
 already done for your adopted country by the publication 
 of your Wen-li Version, we pray God to incline your 
 heart to undertake, under these new conditions, this further 
 task, and to give you strength and grace to carry it 
 through for His own glory in the bringing in and 
 building up of His Church in China.' 
 
Title of D.D. Conferred 443 
 
 In 1889 the University of Edinburgh recognised 
 the great value of Mr. John's services in literature, and 
 especially as a translator of the Scriptures, by confer- 
 ring upon him the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity. 
 The only reference to the matter in his correspondence 
 is in a letter to his friend Mr. Jacob, replying to his 
 congratulations, in which he says he does not feel at 
 all at home or comfortable in the new honour ! 
 
 The relative value of a version translated by a 
 single missionary and one prepared by a company of 
 translators is a question which opens very wide issues, 
 and cannot be discussed here. In like manner, the 
 tempting question of the necessity, or otherwise, for 
 absolute fidelity in rendering every word in the original 
 by an equivalent in Chinese is one which must be 
 avoided. There is much to be said on both sides of 
 these questions, and it is not at all surprising that, 
 general as has been the recognition of the value of Dr. 
 John's labours, the result did not entirely satisfy the 
 missionary community. 
 
 One of the most important subjects which occupied 
 the attention of the Shanghai Conference in 1890 was 
 the question of harmonising usage in the versions of 
 the Scriptures, and of providing versions acceptable to 
 all parties. ' It was known beforehand that this subject, 
 which had been the cause of so much discussion and 
 division in the past, would come up for consideration. 
 Much prayer had been offered for the Conference with 
 reference to this special point. Many felt very scep- 
 tical as to the possibility of reaching any practical 
 result, and few felt sanguine of success. When the 
 
444 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 large representative Committees appointed to consider 
 the subject brought in unanimous reports, proposing 
 practical schemes for realising the end desired, there 
 was a general feeling of surprise ; and when, twenty- 
 four hours later, the Conference unanimously adopted 
 these reports, the high-water mark of unanimity and 
 enthusiasm was reached. This achievement was no 
 doubt the great work of the Conference, the attainment 
 of which alone is worth far more than all the Con- 
 ference cost/ 
 
 Three Committees were appointed by the Conference 
 to arrange for the preparation of Union Versions in 
 the high Wen-li, the easy Wen-li, and the Mandarin. In 
 each case the Committee asked Dr. John to join their 
 number and become one of the revisers whom they 
 selected for the work. Unfortunately he had been 
 prevented from attending the Conference, and had not 
 witnessed lor been inspired by the enthusiasm which 
 led the assembly to adopt with such unanimity the 
 resolutions which were intended to bring to an end the 
 differences of the past. He had such a practical 
 knowledge of the difficulties attending the work under 
 the most favourable conditions that he felt convinced 
 these difficulties would be so intensified as to be 
 practically insurmountable when men who represented 
 distinct and strongly divergent principles of translation 
 met to review each other's work. On July 8, 1890, 
 he wrote to the Secretary of the London Missionary 
 Society on the subject, quoting letters which had 
 reached him from Dr. Faber, the Rev. David Hill, the 
 Rev. T. Bryson, and the Rev. J. W. Stevenson, who 
 
A Gigantic Task 445 
 
 wrote on behalf of the three Revision Committees, 
 pressing him in the strongest and most gratifying terms 
 to put aside his objections and join them in their 
 important and difficult task. 
 
 He goes on to say : 
 
 ' But I feel that the task before the Committees is a 
 gigantic one and I tremble at the thought of entering 
 upon it. This consideration alone is enough to make 
 me hesitate. But over and above this consideration, I 
 have no great faith in the ultimate success of the 
 scheme. The idea is a good one, and I sincerely wish 
 it the most signal success. But how it is going to 
 succeed, I cannot say. Then such questions as these 
 trouble me : Am I called to the work ? Would it be 
 right on my part to give up my work as a preacher to 
 the heathen, and a teacher and pastor to the churches ? 
 I have always felt that God has called me to preach 
 and teach, and my work as a translator and book- 
 maker hitherto has not interfered materially with this 
 other work. But if I go in for this scheme, everything 
 else must be laid aside for its sake. Would it be 
 right on my part to take a step which would involve 
 this consequence? Then is it God's will that I should 
 give up the thought of going home ? If I take this 
 step I shall be fixed in China for all the years to come. 
 And then I cannot ignore the fact that my brethren are 
 thinking deeply and praying earnestly over the matter. 
 The paths of duty seem so divergent and I am puzzled 
 to know what I should do. Please tell me what you 
 think of it all. I want to get your advice in the 
 matter. I know my friend Dr. Lockhart would advise 
 
446 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 me strongly against entering on this work. My friend 
 Foster does not believe in the scheme, and cannot 
 advise me to enter upon it. I have very little faith in 
 it myself. Still it is hard to be told that if it fails the 
 blame will be mine.' 
 
 Further correspondence failed to alter his feeling, 
 and though he placed all the work he had done 
 unreservedly at the disposal of the revisers, he did not 
 alter his decision not to take any personal share in the 
 proposed revision. How far Dr. John acted wisely in 
 thus standing aside must be a matter of individual 
 opinion, but even those who most deeply regretted and 
 disagreed with his decision must have recognised the 
 purity of motive and the strength of argument 
 expressed in the letter which embodied his final 
 decision : 
 
 'HANKOW, February 10, 1891. 
 
 ' REV. C. W. MATEER, D.D., 
 Chairman of the Executive Committee 
 on Mandarin Revision. 
 
 1 REV. J. W. STEVENSON, 
 Secretary of the Executive Committee on 
 easy Wen-li Revision. 
 
 1 MY DEAR BRETHREN, I am very sorry that I 
 have not been able to write you before now, in reply 
 to your communications of November 2Oth and 
 December 2Qth respectively. I assure you, it is not 
 because the purport of your letters was dismissed from 
 
Question of Union Versions 447 
 
 my mind. You will believe me when I say that the 
 question of Union Versions, and its bearing upon the 
 action that I should take in regard to 1 it, is the one 
 question which has been absorbing my thoughts ever 
 since your letters came to hand. I have had to 
 consider seriously many points relating to myself and 
 my work, and I have had grave doubts as to whether 
 it was my duty to lay aside other projects and other 
 lines of work in order to enter upon this new venture. 
 
 1 Then I have had to consider the scheme, and try to 
 come to a definite conclusion as to whether it is likely 
 to succeed. It has appeared to me that I should not 
 be justified in taking up this work, unless the scheme 
 commended itself to my judgment as likely to secure 
 the desired result. 
 
 * The idea of the Conference, to secure one Bible in 
 three harmonious versions, is a magnificent one, and 
 every missionary in China cannot but wish to see it 
 realised. So truly am I in sympathy with the idea, 
 that I am prepared, so far as personal considerations 
 are concerned, to make any sacrifice in my power to 
 help on the work. It has cost me something to come 
 to this point, for these considerations are neither few or 
 insignificant. 
 
 1 But I have had grave doubts as to the practicability 
 of the scheme, and, I am sorry to add, the more I think 
 about it, the more doubtful I become. I cannot see 
 how the scheme as it now stands can possibly bring 
 about the result hoped for and prayed for by the whole 
 missionary body ; and I am very much afraid that the 
 upshot will be the multiplication of versions, and not 
 
448 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 the production of one version that shall take the place 
 of the existing ones. Let me touch on a few points of 
 real difficulty which present themselves to my mind and 
 influence my decisions! 
 
 ' First. There is the question of basis. The 
 Conference has decided that the text which underlies 
 the Revised English Version of the Old and New 
 Testaments shall be made the basis of the three new 
 versions. Are we likely to agree on that point ? 
 There are men on these three Committees who would 
 adhere strictly to that text, and there are others whose 
 faith in it is by no means strong and whose policy 
 would be to use it very cautiously and sparingly. The 
 " privilege of deviations in accordance with the Authorised 
 Version " can only give rise to many complications. 
 Bishop Moule has given expression to his views on 
 this important point in the January number of the 
 Missionary Recorder^ and I must say that my views are 
 in substantial agreement with his. And we are not 
 alone. There are many missionaries in China to-day 
 who would be very sorry to see the decision of the 
 Conference on this point acted upon, and who would 
 be very slow to use any version based upon that text. 
 
 * Secondly. There are the principles of translation. 
 Can twenty representative men be found in China whose 
 views coincide on this vital point ? But if unanimity 
 on this point cannot be secured, the idea of one Bible 
 in three harmonious versions can never be realised. 
 The split among the Delegates of 1847 sprang from a 
 divergence of views on this point. Though only five 
 in number, they found it impossible to work together. 
 
Common Chinese Basis Necessary 449 
 
 Again the text underlying the Medhurst and Bridgman 
 Versions was one and the same, but the principles of 
 translation were different, and as a result we have two 
 versions of the same Bible widely divergent in most 
 important respects. Can the present scheme land us 
 in anything better than this ? Is it not likely to land 
 us in something far worse ? Will not the Committees 
 split and resplit on this very point? And should the 
 separate versions reach completion, shall we find our 
 idea of one Bible in three harmonious forms realised ? 
 
 ' Thirdly. In order to realise the idea of the 
 Conference a common Chinese basis is necessary ; but 
 there is no provision for this in the Conference scheme. 
 The Peking Mandarin Version, and the Burdon-Blodget 
 Version in Wen-li, are two harmonious versions, and for 
 the same reason. In order to secure three harmonious 
 versions, you must begin with one, and make it the 
 basis of the other two. In this way the end would 
 stand a chance of being secured ; without this, I, for 
 one, cannot see how it could possibly be secured. One 
 of the three Committees, a select Committee of, say, 
 seven, might be secured to prepare a draft of a standard 
 version in easy Wen-li. The others would act as a 
 general Committee, to whom this draft would be 
 submitted for revision, to be returned to the original 
 revisers for their final revision. In this way a standard 
 version in Chinese might be secured, which would serve 
 as the basis for all other versions, high Wen-li and 
 Mandarin included. Indeed I think it would be 
 possible to find in China seven men who could unitedly 
 prepare a draft of each of the three versions. Some of 
 
 2 G 
 
450 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 them would be better versed in high Wen-li, some in 
 low Wen-li, and some in Mandarin ; but unitedly they 
 would, so far as their knowledge of Chinese is con- 
 cerned, and fitness in other respects, be equal to the 
 task. I am decidedly of opinion that you must have a 
 standard version in Chinese to work from as a basis, and 
 that this standard version should be in easy Wen-li. I 
 don't suppose for a moment that the hint that I 
 am thus throwing out will be taken up, but I am 
 convinced that some such plan will have to be adopted 
 if the desired result is ever to be attained. Even then 
 the difficulties would be many and great ; but this, 
 it seems to me, would give the venture a chance of 
 reaching a satisfactory conclusion. 
 
 1 Fourthly. Apart from the general scheme, there 
 are two difficulties which would face me at once as a 
 member of the two Committees on which I have been 
 invited to act. There is the easy Wen-li Version on 
 which Bishop Burdon, Dr. Blodget, and myself have 
 been elected as translators. We are all three, I trust, 
 equally earnest in our aim to serve Christ in this work 
 of translating His word into Chinese. But our views 
 as to how the work should be done differ widely. 
 Bishop Burdon tells us that easy Wen-li is " practically 
 the same thing as Mandarin with the exception of the 
 pronouns and particles " (see Records of the Missionary 
 Conference^ p. 102). Dr. Blodget's ideas on this point 
 coincide with those of Bishop Burdon (see Missionary 
 Recorder, October 1885, p. 38). The Burdon-Blodget 
 Version in easy Wen-li is not only based on the Peking 
 Mandarin Version, it even follows the grammatical 
 
Difficulties Stated 451 
 
 structure and double-character words of the Mandarin 
 dialect throughout. It may be taken for granted, 
 therefore, that this is their idea of what the new 
 version should be as far as style is concerned. This 
 being the case, they and myself would find it extremely 
 difficult to work together harmoniously on a version 
 in easy Wen-li. From the very commencement we 
 should find ourselves at variance on a point of no 
 small importance. My own idea is that Mandarin is 
 Mandarin, and that Wen-li is Wen-li, and I could have 
 nothing to do with a version in Wen-li which meant 
 nothing more than' the changing of pronouns and 
 particles throughout and making slight changes here 
 and there. That is one of the difficulties. 
 
 ' The other is a difficulty which I should have to 
 face as a member of the Committee on the revision in 
 Mandarin. Speaking of my colleagues, I will say at 
 once that I do not think it would have been possible 
 for the Executive Committee to make a better selection 
 of men. Every one is abundantly worthy of the 
 honour bestowed upon him. But they are all, so far 
 as I know, northern men, and consequently in sympathy 
 with the northern version, and with what is distinctly 
 northern in style. In this they cannot, it seems to 
 me, help themselves. On the other hand, I stand 
 alone, as the sole representative not only of my own 
 version, but also of Central China. Now, in case of 
 difference of opinion, what chance would I have on 
 a Committee so constituted ? I do not doubt the 
 perfect integrity of my brethren. I am sure they 
 would, one and all, try and do the right thing in 
 
45 2 Translating the Scriptures 
 
 every instance. In making the above remark, I am 
 simply dealing with a difficulty which must spring up 
 from a certain condition of things. This being the 
 case, would it not be better for me to stand aloof, and 
 for the brethren to take my work and use it as they 
 may think best? A revised edition of it is being put 
 through the press ; and it is the best thing I can 
 produce. Even if I were on the Committee, I could 
 give my colleagues nothing better. Where it differs 
 from the Peking and Nanking Versions, I, of course, 
 think it the best. This, however, the Committee will 
 take for granted. It is not necessary that I should 
 be present to make known my preference. 
 
 * After much anxious thought, I find that I cannot 
 take up this work in faith, and I know, from past 
 experience, for me to take up such a work as this, 
 without the requisite faith and enthusiasm, would be 
 a great mistake. It is a work that demands great 
 sacrifice, personal and otherwise, and nothing but a 
 firm conviction as to its ultimate success could possibly 
 carry me along. In the circumstances, I feel that I 
 must decline the honour of sharing in this great and 
 important undertaking. 
 
 * Nevertheless, I shall ever pray that God's best 
 blessing may rest upon the translators and their work. 
 It will be a great joy to me to find that all my fears 
 are unfounded, and to see the labours of my brethren 
 crowned with signal success. What I have written in 
 this letter has been written with the simple view of 
 explaining my own position. I should be extremely 
 sorry to write a word or say a word to discourage 
 
Translation Work Suspended 453 
 
 another. I wish the scheme had been such as to 
 command my own faith and enthusiasm ; for in that 
 case I should have felt bound, having been elected, to 
 join the Committee. 
 
 ' In conclusion, let me express my very sincere 
 thanks to the Committees for their unanimous election 
 of me, and to your two selves for the kind and 
 brotherly way in which you have written me on the 
 subject. To such an invitation and to such letters it 
 would have been a real joy to send a different reply. 
 I am, dear brethren, yours very faithfully, 
 
 'GRIFFITH JOHN.' 
 
 As soon as Dr. John had come to a decision on 
 this important question, he laid aside the work of 
 translation. The New Testament and the Psalms 
 were already completed, both in easy Wen-li and in 
 Mandarin, and he had agreed to complete the trans- 
 lation of the Old Testament. He felt, however, that 
 as companies of translators were now about to under- 
 take the duty, it would be better that he should give 
 himself to other work. It was some time before, in 
 deference to the urgent appeals of friends, he resumed 
 his labours on the Old Testament. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 YEARS OF EXCITEMENT AND CHANGE 
 
 THE years during which Dr. John was most closely 
 engaged in the work of translating the Scrip- 
 tures were by no means barren in other directions. 
 His intellectual activity and his keen interest in public 
 affairs came out again and again in his correspondence, 
 and his wakeful activity in the interests of the Mission 
 found expression in very definite forms. 
 
 The time was one of great political excitement and 
 change in Great Britain, and the missionary, though far 
 away from home, and engaged in a work which was 
 entirely detached from the party politics of his own 
 country, was none the less a man and a loyal son of 
 the great Empire of which he was a citizen. As might 
 be expected from his early associations and training, he 
 began active life as a Free Churchman and a Liberal 
 in politics. He is a Free Churchman still, and his 
 Liberalism has survived all the influences which affect 
 the Briton abroad, and which in so many cases convert 
 the democratic Liberal with strong views on the rights 
 of man into the pronounced Conservative with Imperial 
 views on the supremacy of the British race. Writing 
 to intimate friends, Dr. John expressed his opinion 
 
 454 
 
Affairs and Men 45$ 
 
 freely on English politics as he learned of them 
 through the newspapers. It is interesting to observe 
 how closely he followed the course of events and how 
 decided his judgment was upon many important points. 
 His political faith has been as decided and as militant 
 as his missionary ardour. 
 
 A bright glimpse of that inner life which as a rule 
 strong men say little about comes in a letter to another 
 intimate friend when telling of the progress of the 
 work of translation : 
 
 'September 24, 1885. 
 
 ' To-day I finished my translation of the first twenty- 
 three Psalms. These twenty-three contain my favourite 
 Psalms, taking them on the whole. The first I have 
 always taken as the guide of my life, the last as the 
 story of my life, and both as an assurance from God to 
 me that the life of faith in God and obedience to God 
 is the only true and blessed life.' 
 
 In the year following this note George Miiller of 
 Bristol visited Hankow during a lengthened tour, and 
 Henry Ward Beecher visited England. Dr. John's 
 impressions of both men found their way into a letter 
 to the same friend : 
 
 ' We have just had a visit from George Miiller of 
 Bristol. He is a very remarkable man in many ways. 
 He preached once on Saturday, twice on Sunday, and 
 twice on Monday. When leaving on Monday night 
 he told me that he was not feeling at all tired ; yet 
 he is eighty-two years old. On Sunday afternoon he 
 preached to the native Christians in English, myself 
 
456 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 acting as interpreter. Our new chapel, which is the 
 largest in Central China, was full to overflowing with 
 Christians. It was a fine sight, and the old patriarch 
 must have felt the inspiration. On Sunday evening at 
 the Sailors' Rest we had a splendid congregation, and 
 Mr. Miiller gave us an address of an hour. It was a 
 remarkable narrative of God's dealings with him and 
 work through him. On Monday morning his address 
 to the missionaries was long and impressive. We 
 cannot soon forget the visit. In George Miiller our 
 ideal of what a Christian man should be seems to have 
 found a striking realisation. 
 
 ' I am glad you have heard Beecher. Mr. Simon 
 calls him a teacher. In this estimate Mr. Simon is, 
 I think, wrong. I cannot look upon Beecher as a 
 great teacher. I am sure he is talking a great deal of 
 nonsense in England these days. His heart is, how- 
 ever, sound through and through. He is a great 
 preacher unquestionably, and his visit to England 
 ought to do good. But it is devoutly to be hoped 
 that young preachers will not begin to ape Henry 
 Ward Beecher. That would be a great calamity. 
 You are quite right in your estimate of Beecher's 
 prayers. I felt the same whenever I heard him talk 
 to God. He seemed to me to get very near to God, 
 and to have the power of carrying his congregation 
 with him ; and that is a gift which very few possess 
 in anything like a large degree/ 
 
 A few months later, in 1887, he wrote again : 
 * I see you have Dr. George MacDonald with you. 
 His sermons, as they have been coming out in the 
 
Immanence of Spirit of God 457 
 
 Christian World Pulpit, I have read with much interest. 
 He is at the heart of things, and in his case one feels 
 that it is a big, deep heart dealing with them. I need 
 not ask if you have read The Gifts of the Child Christ, 
 by him. I have just read it through, and have found 
 it a gem. What a beautiful thing the human mind is 
 when it is beautiful. And how beautiful God's mind 
 must be, for all these beautiful things come from that 
 fountain.' 
 
 Another letter written before the close of the same 
 year contains a passage of deep interest, as it reveals 
 the worker at the fountain of truth and revelation, and 
 finding new inspiration and strength in a new vision of 
 God's great saving purpose. The doctrine of the im- 
 manence of the Spirit of God in the world, and of His 
 universal gracious witness in the heart and life of man, 
 in preparation for the fuller revelation and the richer 
 spiritual influence associated with the Gospel, has 
 become a source of light and encouragement to many 
 a worker for God since it has come into prominence 
 and has been more clearly apprehended by the Church. 
 For workers among the heathen especially this aspect 
 of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of peculiar 
 value, bringing the strength and inspiration of renewed 
 hope when the heart is weary and depressed. Dr. John 
 writes : 
 
 ' HANKOW, December 27, 1887. 
 
 * The subject on which my mind has been dwelling 
 of late is God's sympathy with man in his weakness 
 and sin. I preached the other Sunday on the text, 
 
45 8 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 " The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity," and the subject 
 has been on my mind ever since. The idea of the 
 Great Spirit being always and everywhere present as 
 the sympathising friend and helper of man has laid 
 hold of my mind with new power. I used to think of 
 the missionary going, and taking the Spirit with him 
 where he went. Now I think of the Spirit as being 
 already there, and inviting the missionary to come and 
 join Him in the work. The Spirit was in China before 
 I was born, and He brought me in to be a co-worker 
 with Himself. And so everywhere and always. What 
 would have become of the world but for the presence 
 of the Divine Spirit in it ? People seem to think that 
 the heathen world has been without God all these 
 centuries. The heathen, it is true, have not known 
 God, but God has known them all the time. The 
 measure of men's knowledge of God is not the measure 
 of what God is to men. If God had not been in 
 China, China would have been a hell. What keeps a 
 man from becoming a demon ? Is it not the presence 
 of the Spirit in his soul ? I have had more tenderness 
 of soul in dealing with men ever since this truth has 
 been brought home to me by God's Spirit. How 
 thankful ought we to be that hard theological views 
 and dogmas are giving way, and that the Spirit of 
 Christ is coming in and quietly taking their place. 
 The one precious thing in God's universe is love, and 
 it is the divinest thing in the heart of man. Blessed 
 be God, no one can rob us of Christ, and no one can 
 separate us from the love of Christ. As long as we 
 have Christ and His precious love, we are rich in the 
 
Spread of the Truth 459 
 
 one thing that is of any value in the sight of God. 
 Christ is drawing men to Himself everywhere, and by 
 and by He will draw all men. May He become a 
 greater power in our lives and in the lives of all His 
 people.' 
 
 The more thorough evangelisation of the province 
 of Hupeh occupied Dr. John's thoughts a good deal at 
 this time. Notwithstanding the progress which the 
 Mission had made or perhaps it would be more correct 
 to say, in consequence of the progress the Mission had 
 made the need for a large increase in the number of 
 workers seemed very urgent. * You have no idea/ he 
 wrote to Mr. Jacob, ' of the way the knowledge of the 
 truth is spreading over the land. Everywhere now 
 you meet with men who know the truth, and believe in 
 it also ; while some years ago it was a rare thing to 
 find a man away from the ports who had read a book 
 or heard a sermon.' 
 
 The opportunity and claim presented by such facts 
 as these pressed heavily on the heart of the great 
 missionary. His own literary labours in connection 
 with the Central China Tract and Book Society were 
 largely responsible for the wide diffusion of the know- 
 ledge of Christianity, and he longed to see the fruits 
 gathered in to the Church of Christ. Some years before 
 he had, in his eagerness for the evangelisation of Hupeh, 
 elaborated a scheme for the employment of a number 
 of European missionaries. There had been grave ob- 
 jections to this, which had caused its rejection by the 
 Directors of his Society. Now he approached them 
 
460 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 afresh, with a proposal for the establishment of an 
 auxiliary mission, to consist entirely of self-supporting 
 missionaries. In this he was joined by his colleague 
 the Rev. Arnold Foster, who was already an honorary 
 member of the Mission. This scheme, however, also 
 came to nothing, because the men who were wanted 
 could not be got. Some paragraphs in the letter in 
 which he first broached his scheme are worth pre- 
 serving : 
 
 '(i) For many years, as you know, I have given a 
 good deal of thought to the question as to how to get 
 this province evangelised. The idea of getting out a 
 number of men on a lower salary held possession of 
 my mind for some time. Ultimately I gave this idea 
 up as not workable. I don't think the plan of dividing 
 your men into the two classes of high-salaried and low- 
 salaried would ever work. If you could bring all the 
 missionaries down, it would be all right. But that you 
 cannot do. Besides, I do not think it would be right 
 on your part to attempt it. The unmarried men are 
 not getting too much. The married missionaries are 
 getting less in proportion, and need every farthing of 
 their salary. But if college men and university men 
 need the high salary, how can you very well ask others 
 to take less ? 
 
 '(2) Having given up this idea, I began to cast 
 about for another. About a year or two ago the 
 thought of establishing a self-supporting mission in 
 connection with the London Missionary Society 
 occurred to me. But I had one difficulty to face, 
 namely, that in order to start such a mission I must be 
 
Dawn of New Era in China 461 
 
 a self-supporting missionary myself. At that time I 
 did not see my way to take this step, and was con- 
 sequently compelled to let the scheme simmer. Some 
 months since, I was led to think over the matter 
 seriously again. It seemed to me that God had made 
 it possible for me to take the step, and that it was my 
 duty to go forward. I spoke to Mr. Foster about it 
 for the first time, and asked him if he would join. Mr. 
 F. was very much delighted with the idea, and ex- 
 pressed his readiness to go in for the scheme most 
 heartily. 
 
 ' My principal idea in offering to become a self- 
 supporting missionary just now, is this : I wish to move 
 the hearts of men and women at home who have the 
 means of supporting themselves to come out and join 
 me in the great work of evangelising this province. 
 Should I succeed, the Society will be helped very 
 considerably, and the missionary work in China will 
 be greatly benefited.' 
 
 The period from 1891 to the present time may 
 fairly be regarded as the dawn of a new era in China, 
 a period marked by violent convulsions, and then by 
 changes of startling extent and rapidity. In the 
 Hankow Mission, also, the year 1891 was the be- 
 ginning of important changes and developments, by 
 which the methods of the Mission have been steadily 
 modernised to meet the requirements of the new 
 era. 
 
 On Sunday, March 22, the Margaret Memorial 
 Hospital for women was opened. As already men- 
 
462 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 tioned, the building was erected mainly at the cost of 
 Dr. John himself, as a memorial of his first wife, 
 the brave and tender companion of his early days 
 of pioneering in China. It contained one large ward 
 with ten beds, a small private ward, an isolation 
 ward, an operating-room, a sitting-room for patients, 
 and bedroom and parlour for the Chinese matron. 
 
 The opening of this hospital was the means of 
 breaking down the objection to the employment of lady 
 missionaries in Hankow. It was speedily found that a 
 woman doctor would have a freedom in dealing with 
 the Chinese women patients which was not possible 
 for a man, and that a sphere of most valuable influence 
 in the homes of patients would be open to her. The 
 next year, therefore, saw the appointment of the first 
 lady medical missionary in Central China connected 
 with the London Missionary Society. There are now 
 a lady doctor and a qualified lady nurse in Hankow, 
 the same in Wuchang, and a lady nurse in Hiau- 
 Kan. 
 
 In the month following the opening of the hospital, 
 a conference of evangelists and deacons connected with 
 the native Church was held, which was also the sign of 
 the beginning of a new stage of profound significance 
 in the development of the Mission. There is no 
 question of more serious importance for the perma- 
 nent strength and the healthy expansion of the native 
 Church than the training of the native ministry. In 
 the early days of a mission, helpers are necessarily 
 employed without any special training. Where all 
 are ignorant, earnest and intelligent men, who have 
 
Conference of Native Workers 463 
 
 some clear knowledge of the great fundamental truths 
 of the Gospel, can do a great and valuable work as 
 evangelists. But as the number of the converts in- 
 creases, as the Bible gets into the hands of the people, 
 and the Church is organised, and questions are asked, 
 and difficulties arise, it becomes absolutely necessary 
 that the leaders of the Church should be trained men. 
 In such a country as China especially, if the Christian 
 Church is to be really strong and influential for good 
 among all classes of the community, the training for 
 the Christian ministry will have to be broad, com- 
 prehensive, and thorough. This gathering of preachers 
 and deacons connected with the Mission in Hankow 
 was the first clear evidence that the Christian com- 
 munity was emerging from the elementary stage into 
 a more settled and intelligent life. Dr. John wrote : 
 ' From the very commencement of our work in Hankow, 
 the missionaries have not been unmindful of the im- 
 portance of giving their native helpers a good Bible 
 training, but of late it has been felt that special and 
 more systematic efforts should be put forth with this 
 object in view.' 
 
 The Rev. T. M. Morris, of Ipswich, one of a 
 deputation to China from the Baptist Missionary 
 Society, happened to be at Hankow at the time of the 
 meeting. He was present at the opening reception, 
 and gave an address. 
 
 After this the Conference met three or four times a 
 day. Regular lectures were given by the Rev. A. 
 Foster on Pastoral Theology, by the Rev. W. Owen 
 on Prophecy, by the Rev. C. G. Sparham on 
 
464 Years of Excitement, and Change 
 
 Geography, and by Dr. John on Biblical Exegesis. One 
 lecture was also given by Dr. Gillison on Physiology, 
 and one by Mr. Sparham on the Mission to the South Seas. 
 The instruction given was greatly appreciated. It 
 seemed to open the eyes of all to an entirely new 
 vision of the Christian revelation of God. Dr. John's 
 lectures on the Epistle to the Hebrews especially opened 
 up to them vistas of truth which they had never 
 dreamed of, much less explored. Three of the sessions 
 were for conversation on practical questions. Of these, 
 and of the general result of the Conference, Dr. John 
 wrote : 
 
 'HANKOW, May 1-4, 1891. 
 
 1 The three sittings for the discussion of native 
 customs were full of deep interest to us all. Among 
 the subjects discussed by us the following stood out 
 prominently: the practice of usury, opium -smoking, 
 gambling, theatre-going, foot-binding, early betrothals, 
 ancestral worship, funeral and wedding rites and 
 customs. We wanted to get at the real nature of 
 these customs and practices, and to find out the views 
 entertained by our native helpers as to the attitude 
 which the converts should assume in regard to them. 
 They were encouraged to speak out their minds fully 
 and freely, and not allow themselves to be influenced 
 in the least by the presence of the missionaries or the 
 opinions supposed to be held by them. All that we 
 did was to draw them out, and thus get at their real 
 thoughts. 
 
 * In this we succeeded beyond my expectations. We 
 
Native Christian Opinion 4 6 5 
 
 were soon made to feel that we were dealing with men 
 who had thought for themselves on all practical sub- 
 jects connected with Christian work, and who had 
 arrived at clear views, and possessed deep convictions 
 on every point. On every point they seemed to us to 
 be thoroughly sound in principle and resolute in pur- 
 pose. They expressed themselves as utterly opposed 
 to any compromise with idolatry and superstition of 
 every kind. On the question of ancestral worship 
 they were perfectly clear. Whilst they urged the im- 
 portance of attending to the graves of their ancestors, 
 they denounced ancestral worship in every shape and 
 form. They would have nothing to do with candles, 
 incense, fire-crackers, or any such things at the marriage 
 ceremony. Some of these things they admitted might 
 be regarded as innocent in themselves ; but they main- 
 tained that they are so closely associated with idolatry 
 that nothing but evil could spring from their tolera- 
 tion in the Christian Church in China at this stage of 
 its progress. On gambling, opium-smoking, theatre- 
 going, and kindred practices, they expressed themselves 
 in terms which would have delighted the hearts of our 
 Puritan Fathers. " We will have none of these things." 
 Such was the language of one and all. They confessed 
 the evil of early betrothals, but could suggest no 
 remedy in the present social condition of China. They 
 condemned the habit of foot-binding, but they did not 
 express themselves as sanguine of any great change 
 with regard to it in the immediate future. They prom- 
 ised to do what they can to set a good example to 
 the Christians, and gave it as their opinion that the 
 
 2 H 
 
466 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 time had come for bringing the matter prominently 
 before the churches. As the result of our conversation 
 on this unnatural habit, the feet of two little girls have 
 been set free. This is a good beginning, and we are 
 very thankful for it. The habit, though cruel, is deeply 
 rooted in a national taste as universal as it is depraved, 
 and it will take ages to root it out. As Christianity 
 wins its way in the land, this habit, like all other un- 
 natural habits, must yield to its benign influence and 
 pass away ; but it will linger long and die hard. There 
 are missionaries who would proceed at once to legislate 
 on the subject ; but I am convinced that the time is not 
 come to adopt so drastic a measure. The right thing 
 for the present is to try and create a Christian con- 
 sciousness in regard to the matter among our converts, 
 by bringing it often before their notice, and by inducing 
 the stronger men among them to face the difficulty and 
 take the lead. We had a very interesting conversa- 
 tion on the duty and privilege of Sabbath keeping, 
 the healthful result of which will, we trust, be seen and 
 felt in the days to come. 
 
 * Of these seventeen men, preachers and deacons, 
 there is not one in whose Christian character we do 
 not feel the utmost confidence, not one who does not 
 command our love and esteem, not one of whom we 
 are not justly proud. The days we have spent in close 
 association and fellowship have only deepened our 
 respect and affection for them. They have endeared 
 themselves to us and to each other as they never did 
 before. 
 
 * But we all feel that they need more instruction, 
 
Training Institution Needed 4 6 7 
 
 instruction more continuous and systematic in the 
 word of God and in various branches of useful 
 knowledge. It is our intention to hold these con- 
 ferences twice a year, and thus do what we can to help 
 them on. But even this will not meet their needs and 
 the requirements of the work. The time is coming, 
 and it is not far distant, when the Hankow Mission 
 will be compelled to take into serious consideration a 
 scheme for the thorough training of native agents. 
 Our minds are working towards this point, and no 
 doubt we shall reach it sooner or later. 
 
 ' Oh that I were only just beginning my missionary 
 life ! I have come to the close of it, and all the work 
 seems to be still before me. Nothing has been done 
 as compared with what remains to be done.' 
 
 In another letter Dr. John refers again to the 
 thought expressed in the last paragraph : 
 
 1 My impression is that ere long the Hankow Mis- 
 sion will be forced to establish an institution for the 
 regular training of native assistants as preachers, evan- 
 gelists, and pastors, and that the institution will have 
 to be established on a basis broad enough to take in 
 both departments the medical and theological. I 
 should be greatly delighted to see such an institution 
 in connection with our Mission. We have just had a 
 glorious Conference with our native helpers, and we are 
 feeling now as we never felt before that we must go in 
 for the systematic teaching and training of these fine 
 men whom God has given us.' 
 
 Missionary societies are, unfortunately, seldom in 
 
468 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 a position to provide for the future by meeting such 
 needs before they actually become pressing. It was 
 thirteen years before the Theological School Dr. John 
 desired was provided. Then the building was erected 
 and paid for by himself, and furnished by his friends, 
 as a gift to the Mission. It was dedicated to the 
 service of God on April I 8, 1904, during the visit to 
 Hankow of a deputation from the London Missionary 
 Society. Dr. John's gift is a handsome two-storey red- 
 brick building, with verandah on four sides. It con- 
 tains lecture hall capable of seating two hundred, library 
 and class-rooms and dormitories, with accommodation 
 for sixty students. 
 
 It is the unexpected that always happens in China, 
 and the truth of this statement was never more pain- 
 fully illustrated than during 1891. While the Chris- 
 tian churches were steadily growing in numbers, and 
 work was progressing on every hand with every appear- 
 ance of peace and good-will, forces of evil were silently 
 at work over a very wide area in the Yang-tse valley, 
 in the hope of stamping out Christianity and driving 
 away the foreigner. The first riots occurred during 
 the month of May at Chin-kiang, Nanking, and other 
 places far down the river. Then a riot broke out at 
 I-chang, 400 miles above Hankow, in which the Con- 
 sulate, the Presbyterian Mission premises, and other 
 foreign property was destroyed, and the Europeans 
 escaped with difficulty. It became evident that the 
 whole region of the Yang-tse was in an unsettled state. 
 In response to indignant remonstrances and appeals 
 from the ministers of the various foreign Powers, an 
 
Anti-Foreign Agitation 4 6 9 
 
 Imperial edict was issued in June or July, which was 
 remarkably liberal and friendly as compared with any- 
 thing which had been said by the Chinese Government 
 before. This edict strongly condemned the evil-dis- 
 posed persons who were causing riots. The rights of 
 the missionaries to reside and to pursue their calling in 
 the country were stated and insisted on, and also the 
 right of converts to Christianity to enjoy freedom and 
 the protection of the magistrates in the profession of 
 their faith. The character of the Christian teaching 
 was referred to in highly commendatory terms, and the 
 governors of all the provinces in which there had been 
 trouble were commanded to put down all disturbances, 
 and adequately to punish all who promoted them. 
 
 This edict was made public everywhere, and was 
 posted up in prominent places in all the cities. It was 
 at first hoped that it would have the effect of stopping the 
 disturbances. It soon, however, became evident that this 
 would not be the case, and that an agitation was going 
 on which was inflaming public opinion so generally and so 
 seriously that there would be a great catastrophe before 
 long. Violent anti-Christian literature, consisting largely 
 of scurrilous and blasphemous illustrated placards and 
 broadsheets, had been circulated freely throughout Hunan 
 for years. It had reached Hupeh, and to some extent 
 was affecting other provinces. 
 
 Dr. John's intimate knowledge and long experience 
 led him at once to the conclusion that the agitation 
 was begun and maintained in official quarters, and he 
 obtained information from his native friends which 
 enabled him ultimately to trace the whole vile plot to 
 
470 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 its source. He promptly communicated his informa- 
 tion to the newspapers as well as to the British and 
 other foreign authorities. It was largely as the result 
 of his energetic action that the Government took 
 measures to have the mischief stopped at the fountain- 
 head. Meanwhile, however, the situation was for a 
 time very serious. On September 7, 1891, he wrote 
 to the Foreign Secretary of the Society : 
 
 ' Once more we are brought face to face with a 
 great crisis in China. A plot has been laid to drive 
 out all foreigners at once from the valley of the Yang- 
 tse, and ultimately from the whole of China. The 
 home of this plot is the province of Hunan. The 
 Hunanese have been planning with this end in view 
 for years, and they are now busily engaged in working 
 it out. A conclave was held in Wuchang last week, at 
 the head of which were influential Hunan men. The 
 resolution come to was that no foreigner shall be allowed 
 to dwell in the provinces of Hunan, Hupeh, and Kiang-Si. 
 " The Hunanese," they say, " have only to utter one 
 growl in order to make the foreigners skedaddle." 
 They are confident in their strength, and they mean 
 death and destruction to the foreigner. The I-chang 
 riot is an illustration of what they can do. An hour 
 before the riot broke out Mr. Cockburn had not the 
 least suspicion of danger. It was a thunderbolt from 
 a clear sky. Yesterday morning a placard was found 
 in the compound of the Roman Catholic mission in 
 Wuchang, and another in the compound of our mission 
 there, warning the foreigners of the coming storm. 
 We are enjoying perfect peace so far ; but the I-chang 
 
Enmity of Chinese Officials 471 
 
 affair makes us feel that we are sitting on a volcano. 
 We know not what a day may bring forth.' 
 
 Three weeks later he wrote again : 
 
 ' We have had no further trouble since the I-chang 
 riot ; but the state of feeling among the people is 
 by no means satisfactory. The people themselves are 
 apprehensive of danger, and it is the opinion of many 
 among them that it is the presence of the gunboats 
 alone that prevents an outbreak. Our Consul's advice 
 to us all just now is to confine our work to the ports, 
 and not to move about the country much. Much will 
 depend, so far as the immediate future is concerned, 
 upon the action of the foreign Powers. 
 
 c Our great enemy is the Chinese official. The 
 higher officials are not sincere, and the lower officials 
 act, of course, as is most pleasing to the higher. This 
 is my view, as it is Mr. Gardner's also. What it 
 may all lead to, it is impossible to say. But I sincerely 
 believe that nothing but a most determined policy on 
 the part of the foreign Powers will put matters right.' 
 
 * September 29. 
 
 * In the midst of these troubles we have much to 
 be thankful for. The elements of danger at Wuchang 
 and Hankow are many, but we have been graciously 
 preserved so far. We owe much to the fact that we 
 have a strong man in the Viceroy. We do not sup- 
 pose that he has any particular love for us. In fact, 
 we know that he is anti-foreign to the backbone ; but 
 he knows that it is to his own interest as well as the 
 interest of his country to keep things quiet at this 
 
472 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 important centre. We owe much to the presence of 
 foreign gunboats at the port. If two weeks ago there 
 had been no foreign gunboats here, we should have 
 had, in all probability, an outbreak. Things looked 
 very threatening, and the natives themselves were 
 expecting an uproar. Some of them declared that if 
 the gunboats left they would leave too. Then we owe 
 a great deal to H.B. M. Consul, C. T. Gardner, Esq. 
 He has displayed great courage, tact, and ability in 
 the management of affairs since the beginning of these 
 riots. He has shown the deepest interest in the wel- 
 fare of all, and genuine sympathy with the sufferers. 
 Above all, are we indebted to God for His loving care 
 and constant watchfulness. " Except the Lord keep 
 the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." ' 
 
 It was rumoured in Hankow that the storm centre 
 was in Chang-sha, and that some high official was the 
 moving spirit ; but it was not until October that any 
 definite clue was obtained. In that month Dr. John 
 was on one of his brief itinerating journeys, and at 
 Hwang-pi he saw a copy of a letter from Chou Han 
 to the Governor of Hupeh. This gave the anxiously- 
 sought-for clue to the person who was chiefly responsible 
 for writing and providing the cost of the campaign. 
 Dr. John followed it up, and was able to discover the 
 name of the publishing houses in Chang-sha which 
 printed and sent out the literature. 
 
 It is not expedient that the missionary should be 
 constantly meddling in local politics ; but there are 
 times when considerations of the public credit or the 
 
Massacre at Kucheng 473 
 
 public safety compel him to lay aside his reserve and 
 express his views. Such a crisis had been reached in 
 Central China. Dr. John felt that this was more than 
 a question of missions and missionaries ; the future 
 relations of China to the world and the safety of every 
 foreigner in China depended upon the prompt and 
 resolute stopping of such an agitation as this. He 
 therefore said so clearly and forcibly, and supported 
 his statement by the evidence which he had gathered. 
 Mr. Gardner, H.M. Consul at Hankow, was one who 
 knew and valued the missionary ; he supported Dr. 
 John's representations with all the weight of his official 
 position. The result was that the Court of Peking was 
 compelled to take decisive action. Chou Han was 
 degraded from office, and the circulation of the mis- 
 chievous literature was effectually stopped. 
 
 The poison, however, was not at once eradicated 
 from the public mind. The year 1892 was one of 
 great unrest In 1893 two Swedish missionaries were 
 murdered at Sung-pu, sixty miles from Hankow, and 
 there were anti-foreign riots in many parts of China. 
 Then followed a time of quiet and of official friendli- 
 ness during the Japanese War ; but the war was no 
 sooner over than troubles began again. The year 
 1895 saw the whole of Sze-Chuen aflame against the 
 foreigner ; and though all the missionaries escaped, 
 there was wholesale destruction of property in Chentu 
 and thirty other places, and the native Christians, 
 Protestant and Catholic, suffered severely. In the 
 same year occurred the terrible massacre at Kucheng 
 in the Fuh-Kien province, when eleven Europeans, men, 
 
474 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 women, and children, were, without the slightest warn- 
 ing, brutally murdered. All these troubles had one 
 common feature and significance : they were not only 
 connived at, they were actually inspired by men in 
 high places, and had the scarcely concealed sanction of 
 authority. 
 
 Dr. John's public-spirited and successful efforts to 
 trace and expose the source of the anti-foreign feeling 
 which was becoming so serious a cause of anxiety were 
 freely recognised and appreciated outside mission 
 circles, and many expressions of gratitude appeared in 
 the press. One of the most striking of these was in a 
 letter written to the North China Daily News by M. 
 Bryois, a prominent French journalist in Shanghai, 
 who expressed the views of his countrymen, and was 
 evidently made the spokesman of the opinions of the 
 Roman Catholic clergy. The letter is too long to 
 quote in full, but the following paragraphs will be read 
 with interest : 
 
 1 Le reverend John est un savant docteur, un e>udit 
 sinologue, qu'une existence entiere d'homme, passee 
 dans ces regions extreme-orientales, un labeur e"norme, 
 un esprit observateur et philosophique, et la pratique 
 continuelle de tous les dialectes du peuple chinois, ont 
 rendu particulierement apte et competent pour donner 
 un avis se"rieux sur les graves questions qui nous pre"- 
 occupent. Son jugement est pondre, grave, logique. 
 Ses pense"es sont nettes, claires, traduites dans une 
 langue pure, simple, mais dont la simplicity n'exclut 
 pas la richesse, parfois. 
 
 ' Mais, a cdte" de 1'^crivain, de 1'homme erudit et 
 
Perc Heude's Testimony 475 
 
 du penseur profond, il y a, chez le re"vrend John, le 
 missionnaire brave et re"solu, qui connait tous ses devoirs 
 et pretend les accomplir jusqu'au bout. Son oeuvre 
 de proselytisme, sa mission de propagande chre"tienne, 
 sa charite de pasteur, ne vont pas jusqu'a abdiquer sa 
 " nationality d'Europe"en " ; car nous ne sommes ni 
 Anglais, ni Allemands,' ni Frangais en Chine ; il y a 
 comme une fusion de tous les groupes d'Europe et 
 de la race blanche, unis dans un mdme intret de 
 defense. . . . 
 
 'Je ne saurais terminer ce long article, sans citer 
 l'apprciation que me faisait du docteur Griffith John, 
 il y a quelques jours, un celebre jsuite de Zi-ka-wey, 
 le pere Heude, dont le reputation de savant est 
 universelle : " Je ne connais pas M. Griffith John 
 personnellement. Je ne 1'ai jamais vu. Mais ses Merits, 
 sa courageuse campagne, la nettet de ses vues, la 
 bravoure de ses affirmations, mille autres qualits 
 d'ecrivain et d'homme, me le font admirer et aimer. 
 Mon opinion est de"sinteresse"e, nous ne servons pas, lui 
 et moi, la meme cause de proselytisme. II est pasteur 
 protestant, je suis prete catholique. Et ne"anmoins, je 
 ne puis m'empecher de dire, parceque c'est la ve"rite", 
 que le brave docteur a plus fait, dans sa campagne 
 d'homme seul, et par ses Merits, que tous nos diplomates 
 assembles a Pekin avec leurs ultimatums, qui ne 
 portent guere, et dont les pointes sont singuli&rement 
 emousses. Griffith John a plaid, plus loquemment et 
 plus courageusement que quiconque ne Ta su faire, la 
 grande cause des Strangers en Chine." ' 
 
 Such troubles could not fail to affect mission work 
 
476 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 somewhat, and at one time the Consul deemed it neces- 
 sary to ask all missionaries in outlying places to come 
 into Hankow and to suspend itineration in the country 
 districts for a while. Yet it is evident that at least 
 within the sphere of regular Christian work people 
 did not join heartily or generally in the agitation. In 
 his report of the work of the year 1891 Dr. John 
 says : 
 
 ' We have much to be thankful for as we look back 
 upon the experiences of the year. We passed through 
 a period of danger and trial ; but not a particle of the 
 London Missionary Society's property was destroyed 
 anywhere, and not a person injured in any way. Our 
 work was somewhat interfered with by the alarming 
 rumours which kept floating about for several months. 
 Our hospital has never been so empty, and the schools 
 have been a great deal deserted. For some months 
 travelling was not deemed safe, and the out-stations 
 have been somewhat neglected in consequence. The 
 daily and Sunday congregations, however, kept up well, 
 and we carried on the preaching with as much ardour 
 as ever. As a matter of prudence, we did not open 
 the chapels in the evenings ; but in no other respect 
 did the riots interfere with the daily preaching at the 
 chapels. The Sunday congregations, as you are aware, 
 are made up of converts, and you will be pleased to 
 hear that they have never, been better attended than 
 they were during the whole of last year. I saw no 
 falling off whatever. With one or two exceptions our 
 converts came through the fiery trial splendidly. We 
 all feel proud of the courage and steadfastness which 
 
Cheering Facts 477 
 
 they evinced in the midst of circumstances which tended 
 so much to try their faith and patience. 1 
 
 There is also an interesting letter from Dr. John to 
 the Society written before the troubles were over, and 
 illustrative of the buoyant and confident spirit which 
 has made him so helpful a leader, in which he refers to 
 the condition of the work : 
 
 1 Let me mention two or three facts which have 
 greatly cheered my heart these days. Being facts con- 
 nected with our work, they cannot fail to interest you 
 also. 
 
 ' Our daily congregations have been exceedingly good 
 in spite of all the adverse influences with which we have 
 had to contend of late. The chapels have been opened 
 daily, and the preaching has been carried on without 
 interruption. The attendance has kept up well, and 
 the hearers have never listened better. 
 
 ' Our Sunday congregations have been excellent. 
 The converts have shown no lack of courage either 
 here or in the country. On last Communion Sunday 
 eight adults and one child were baptized. Every Sunday 
 afternoon the hospital chapel is well filled, and the joy 
 of preaching has been very great. Last Sunday after- 
 noon was given to the examination of the Sunday 
 school. The place was well filled, and every one 
 seemed to be in good spirits. The converts were ex- 
 amined in the Book of Exodus. It would have done 
 your heart good to have heard the answers given to 
 the questions put by the examiner. Four chapters 
 were recited by grown-up men, of whom one is a 
 mandarin of the sixth rank. Thus you will see that 
 
478 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 these riots and commotions have not interfered materi- 
 ally with the religious life of our Church or with the 
 daily preaching. The hospitals, however, have felt their 
 effect greatly, and so have the schools in a measure. 
 
 ' You are aware that the missionaries of the Scotch 
 Mission at I-chang have had to leave for a time. The 
 work has been left entirely in the hands of Mr. Fung, 
 Mr. Liu, and Mr. Niu, the three native evangelists. 
 Being members of the London Mission at Hankow I 
 hear from them constantly. Mr. Fung has written me 
 twice, and both letters have greatly cheered my heart. 
 He, together with the other evangelists, have had much 
 to try them since the missionaries left ; but they have 
 been holding the fort splendidly. The Christians meet 
 for worship regularly, though reviled and threatened by 
 the rowdies of the place. About forty boys and more 
 than ten girls still attend the day schools. Mr. Fung 
 writes : " God is caring for us. Don't be anxious 
 about us. Continue to remember us in your prayers." 
 If you could realise the situation you would join me in 
 praising God for raising up at Hankow such men as 
 these. Mr. Fung is naturally a very timid man, and 
 any courage he has must come from a consciousness of 
 Christ's presence with him. 
 
 ' A fact of great interest came before me on Saturday 
 last. You have heard a great deal about Hunan lately. 
 Well, we have, even in Hunan, some genuine Christians. 
 A Hunan man named Tab-Kwangtah was baptized at 
 Hankow in 1876. Soon after his baptism he left 
 Hankow for his native city in the west of Hunan, and 
 he has never been here since. For a year or two he 
 
* After Many Years' 479 
 
 wrote us occasionally, but for more than twelve years 
 no letter was received from him, and he had passed out 
 of our minds. On Saturday last I received a letter 
 from him, reminding me of the fact that he was baptized 
 at Hankow in 1876, and asking me to supply him with 
 a New Testament, a hymn-book, and any other Christian 
 books that might be helpful to him. His story is that 
 his boat had capsized, that all his books, including his 
 copy of the New Testament, were lost, and that he was 
 very anxious to get another copy. Is it not cheering 
 to get such a letter as that in the midst of the present 
 trials? Think of a native Christian all alone in that 
 hostile province, feeding on the word of God, and thus 
 maintaining his Christian life for fifteen years without 
 any human help, never writing to his pastor till his 
 New Testament was lost, and then from sheer hunger 
 writing for a new supply ! 
 
 ' On Saturday I received a letter from a convert 
 away in Kiang-Si province, many hundreds of miles 
 distant from Hankow, named Yang Shan-hien. He 
 was baptized here some years since, and soon after his 
 baptism he left for his native province. We had lost 
 sight of him, and knew not whether he was dead or 
 alive, or, if alive, whether he still maintained the in- 
 tegrity of his Christian profession. Last year mission- 
 aries of the Inland Mission visited his native town. 
 Mr. Yang made himself known to them as a Christian, 
 and identified himself with them. Mr. Lawson wrote 
 me to ask whether the man was really connected with 
 us, at the same time speaking very highly of him. I 
 wrote Mr. Lawson telling him that Mr. Yang was one 
 
480 Years of Excitement and Change 
 
 of our converts, and was baptized on the 6th of 
 September 1885. In the letter just received Mr. 
 Yang gives me some account of himself; but what 
 cheers me most is the testimony which Mr. Lawson 
 heard as to his Christian character. Mr. Lawson writes : 
 " I am very thankful for the information you gave me 
 regarding Mr. Yang. The Lord is truly working in 
 his soul. I may say I have not engaged him ; I would 
 rather wait awhile and allow him to testify at home, 
 which, I think, will be best." 
 
 * One fact more. We had a tremendous fire in 
 Hankow on Saturday night, which almost touched our 
 chapel in the Kia street. From one to two thousand 
 houses were burnt to the ground, about three thousand 
 families were driven from house and home, and several 
 of our converts were among the sufferers. At the close 
 of our church meeting on Sunday morning I walked 
 up to each to express my sympathy with them in their 
 trial. One of them had lost two houses, the rent of 
 which has been his main support for years. Before I 
 could speak a word to him the old man lifted up his 
 hands and said : " Venerable pastor, it is all right. The 
 Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away. God is per- 
 fectly just and good. Blessed be the name of the 
 Lord." He then told me how the Christians had come 
 to his help, and how a good deal of his furniture, 
 clothes, etc., had thus been saved. He seemed to think 
 more of God's goodness in sending him this help than 
 of the great loss which had befallen him. In the after- 
 noon he was at the examination of the Sunday school, 
 and no one showed a more thorough knowledge of the 
 
Important Developments 481 
 
 Scriptures than he did. In fact, I had to pay him a 
 compliment in the presence of all, and hold him up as 
 an example to all.' 
 
 In the following year a new and handsome chapel 
 was opened in Hankow, and two missionaries settled 
 in the city of Hiau-Kan, and thus completed the 
 occupation of that large district. The native evan- 
 gelists were able to report steady growth in various 
 directions, and a new district was occupied which was 
 destined in 1896 to be the centre of further permanent 
 work by the settlement of two missionaries at Tsao 
 Shih. 
 
 2 I 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 HUNAN 
 
 THE story of the Hunanese convert in the letter 
 just quoted is one of the many references to his 
 thought about Hunan which at this time began to 
 appear in Dr. John's correspondence, and which found 
 expression in the following letter to the Foreign Secre- 
 tary of the Society : 
 
 1 September 14, 1891. 
 
 * What about the future ? I have no doubt in my 
 mind that the result will be the further opening of this 
 country to the Gospel. I believe that Hunan is going 
 to be opened, and that I shall be in Chang-sha before 
 I die. I have prayed for this long, and I am confident 
 God is going to answer my prayer. This I want you 
 to look upon as settled and fixed ; and I want you also 
 to be prepared for the good time coming.' 
 
 In the report sent home at the beginning of 1893 
 Dr. John wrote : 
 
 ' Ten of the Hunanese have joined our church within 
 the last twelve months, and there are some fine fellows 
 among them. Chou Han's quondam cook is one of the 
 
 482 
 
An Interesting Enquirer 483 
 
 ten. A great many Hunan men have been coming 
 about us of late. They are influenced by a great 
 variety of motives, and it requires no little experience 
 and insight in dealing with them. It is now over a 
 year since I became acquainted with the name of Teng 
 Meu Hwa, one of the three publishing firms in Chang-sha 
 employed by Chou Han in his anti- foreign crusade. 
 The eldest son of the firm is now at Hankow, reading 
 Christian books and attending Christian services. The 
 first time he visited me he was very timid and sceptical. 
 He was introduced by one of the Hunan Christians, 
 and, according to my custom, I ordered tea for both. 
 The Christian soon drained the cup. Mr. Teng, how- 
 ever, never touched it, and I learnt afterwards that he 
 was under the delusion that it might contain some 
 grain of the bewitching medicine which is supposed to 
 be used by the missionaries in making converts. Mr. 
 Teng has called on me once and again since, and I am 
 glad to be able to say that all his fears are gone, and 
 that his faith in my tea has been thoroughly established. 
 He would like to be baptized, but we are not quite so 
 sure of his faith in the Gospel, and think it best to put 
 him on a long probation. 
 
 1 We are looking wistfully in the direction of Hunan. 
 A great change for the better has come over Chang-sha, 
 the capital. There are three or four of our converts 
 in the city at present, and they are sending me very 
 cheerful accounts of the state of things there. They 
 meet together at the house of Brother Siao for worship, 
 sell Christian books in the streets, and speak freely at 
 the tea-shops about Christ and His salvation. I have 
 
484 Hunan 
 
 just received a letter from one of these converts, and 
 he tells me that they are carrying on the work quite 
 openly, and selling books at the rate of about five 
 hundred cash worth per day. At no former period in 
 the history of Chang-sha could this kind of work be 
 carried on within its walls.' 
 
 The province of Hunan was for many years the 
 stronghold of Chinese conservatism. When all the 
 other provinces of the Empire had opened their gates 
 to the settlement of the foreigner, it still refused to 
 have anything to do with him. We have already 
 seen how Dr. John and his companions were treated 
 on their first two attempts to enter the province. 
 Though two or three heroic missionaries of the China 
 Inland Mission, notably Mr. Adam Dorward, who for 
 years had been seeking to carry the Gospel to Hunan, 
 had been more successful in pioneer journeys, no one 
 had been allowed to remain as a permanent resident in 
 any city in the province. Yet it was a province worth 
 winning for Christ. Its population of 21,000,000 had 
 a reputation in China for their strong, energetic, and 
 independent character. * Everywhere Hunan men are 
 to be seen occupying the very highest positions as civil 
 and military officers ' ; and the material resources of the 
 province are such that the people are prosperous and 
 wealthy. 
 
 'The opening of Hunan,' said Dr. John in 1891, 
 1 will tell powerfully on the whole Empire, and especially 
 on the temper of the people in all the surrounding 
 region. It will also greatly further the missionary 
 enterprise in China. We have a number of Hunan 
 
Work of Hunan Converts 485 
 
 men among ,our converts, and they are, taking them 
 all in all, the finest specimens we can boast of.' 
 
 The longed-for opening and change did not come at 
 once, nor did it come without persecution often re- 
 newed. Two things, however, have been strikingly 
 evident : the opening of Hunan to the Gospel has been 
 very largely due to the faith, courage, and the char- 
 acter of Hunanese Christian workers ; and the liberality 
 of Hunanese Christians has been conspicuous. 
 
 At the close of 1892 three of the Hunanese con- 
 verts, who were natives of Chang-sha, found their way 
 to their native city with a supply of Testaments and 
 Christian literature. To the work of circulating and 
 speaking about this literature they devoted themselves. 
 They found a ready sale for their books, and willing ears 
 for their message, among the people ; but they had not 
 been there many days before the magistrates and high 
 officials took alarm, and they were ordered out of the 
 city. Delaying to go, they were turned out by force, 
 and were compelled to find their way back to Hankow 
 with the story of their defeat. 
 
 One of those who took part in this pioneering 
 effort was Mr. Peng Lan-Seng, to whose energy, tact, 
 and devotion the development of Christian work in 
 the cities of the Siang valley has been very largely due. 
 Mr. Peng's life-story was told by Dr. John in the pages 
 of the Missionary Chronicle in February 1900. It 
 furnishes a further striking illustration of the strength 
 and quality of Christian character which may be ex- 
 pected in the Church of Christ in China, and will 
 probably, before many years have passed, make the 
 
486 Hunan 
 
 Chinaman as enterprising and successful a missionary 
 among other races as he is now trader and settler. 
 Dr John says : 
 
 * Ten years ago Mr. Peng Lan-Seng was not only a 
 heathen, but, like most of his fellow-provincials, bitterly 
 anti-foreign and anti-Christian. He thoroughly be- 
 lieved in the bewitching power of Christianity, and had 
 a wholesome dread of entering a missionary's house 
 or chapel, lest he might be turned into a " foreign 
 devil." The missionary's tea and cake he regarded as 
 poison, and dared not touch either. He was a 
 thorough believer in the old Hunan story about the 
 inhumanity of the foreigner and the bestiality of the 
 foreign religion. 
 
 ' Mr. Peng was also a notoriously bad man. He is 
 never weary of telling people the story of his con- 
 version ; and when he does so, he never fails to remind 
 his hearers that of all the sinners in China he himself 
 was the chief. About three years ago Mr. Teng, a 
 native of Chang-sha, and the publisher of Chou Han's 
 books, was in my study. Among other things he told 
 me this interesting story : " I want to tell you," said 
 he, " what has brought me to Hankow. I have come 
 to see what it is that has worked such a change in 
 Peng Lan-Seng. He is a native of Chang-sha, and an 
 old comrade of mine. He used to be the worst man in 
 Chang-sha ; but he has given up all his bad habits, 
 and is now a new man. When I ask him the reason 
 for this great change, he tells me that it is the Gospel 
 that has done it ; and I have come down in order to 
 find out the truth about this matter." 
 
Mr. Peng's Life-Story 487 
 
 'When, in 1892, Mr. Peng presented himself as a 
 candidate, we all the native helpers and the foreign 
 missionaries stood in great doubt of the man. Many 
 rumours reached us about his past life, which made us 
 hesitate to admit him into our communion. He 
 waited, and waited long. When at last he was ad- 
 mitted, some of us had grave doubts as to the wisdom 
 of the step. Some were strongly in favour of pro- 
 longing the time of probation. 
 
 * No sooner was Mr. Peng admitted than he began 
 to work for Christ. He was ever to be found at the 
 Kia-Kiai chapel, preaching away with all his might. 
 Some of us felt that it was somewhat early for him to 
 begin to exercise his gifts in this particular way, and 
 that it would be well to put a stop to his preaching. 
 But Mr. Peng was irrepressible. Preach he must, and 
 preach he would. Very soon the salvation of Hunan 
 became the centre of his thoughts. He began by 
 working for the Hunanese in and around Hankow. 
 His prayers on behalf of Hunan in those days were 
 something indescribable. They were impassioned 
 pleadings with God on behalf of his own people his 
 kindred according to the flesh. The missionaries of 
 other missions were very much struck with them, and 
 would sometimes speak of them as the thing of the 
 meeting. Mr. Peng is a thorough believer in prayer. 
 A gentleman of the place invited Mr. Peng, Mr. 
 Sparham, and myself to a feast yesterday. There 
 were several others there, and among them a nephew 
 of the Viceroy, Chang Chih-tung. Mr. Peng gave them 
 the story of his conversion and subsequent trials. It 
 
488 Hunan 
 
 was most graphically told. " I tell you what it is," he 
 said in conclusion, " if a man wants to be a genuine 
 Christian, he must pray, and he must pray till the tears 
 flow from his eyes and the perspiration runs down his 
 back. That has been my experience." ' 
 
 For some time Mr. Peng devoted himself to the 
 evangelisation of his Hunanese countrymen entirely 
 as a voluntary worker. In 1895 he was asked to 
 become a colporteur in Hunan, and amidst many perils 
 he and his colleague were greatly blessed. 
 
 Towards the close of 1896 the two colporteurs 
 returned to Hankow from a long trip, and among their 
 other news they told of a little company of Christians 
 in Heng - Chow who had sent through them an 
 invitation to Dr. John to visit them and form them 
 into a church. 
 
 The story of the beginning of the Christian Church 
 at Heng-Chow is worth repeating. Dr John wrote, 
 after the visit he paid to the city in response to the 
 invitation sent him : 
 
 ' A word with regard to Wang Lien - King, the 
 founder of the church at Heng-Chow. A few years 
 since a young man was baptized at Hankow. He was 
 at the time in the employ of a Hunan official at this 
 place. Soon after his baptism the choice was placed 
 before him of giving up his situation or renouncing his 
 faith in Christ. Without a moment's hesitation he 
 chose the former, and returned to his native home at 
 Heng-Chow. There he began to work for God at 
 once ; and the result of his labours has been the in- 
 gathering of that most interesting little band of 
 
Perilous Visit to Heng-Chow 489 
 
 Christians. To meet Mr. Wang at his home was a 
 great joy. He is a young man, and a most earnest 
 and lovable Christian. He is still there, and will, I 
 feel sure, do all in his power to keep the little flock 
 together.' 
 
 The visit, which was undertaken in March 1897, 
 in company with the Rev. C. G. Sparham and Mr. 
 Peng, was in some respects a great disappointment. 
 The travellers reached Heng-Chow only to find the 
 city greatly excited in consequence of the visit of Dr. 
 Wolfe, a German scientist, who had preceded them by 
 a ( few days, and had unfortunately aroused the ani- 
 mosity of the people. Their boat no sooner came 
 within the bounds of the city than they were greeted 
 with showers of stones and mud from a crowd on the 
 bank of the river, who made it impossible for them to 
 land. After a day of great peril, during which their 
 boat was constantly pelted with stones, and the de"p6t 
 of the National Bible Society, which had only recently 
 been opened, was utterly destroyed by the mob, they 
 dropped down the river under the protection of a 
 Chinese gunboat, and anchored for the night two miles 
 away. The rest of the story may be more fully told 
 in Dr. John's own words : 
 
 ' Now for a story that will cheer your heart. On 
 our arrival at Heng-Chow several converts came to see 
 us ; and we were told by Mr. Wang Lien-King, the 
 leader among them, that there were from twenty to 
 thirty candidates for baptism at the place. We felt 
 that we could not leave the place entirely without 
 seeing something more of these neophytes. Having 
 
49 Hunan 
 
 drifted down the stream about two miles, we ordered 
 the boat to stop for the night. Some of the candidates 
 were with us on board the boat, and others followed. 
 The question of their baptism came up, and it was 
 soon found that it could be solved only in one way. 
 They begged us to baptize them. We called their 
 attention to the circumstances in which they and our- 
 selves were placed, and suggested delay. " You see," 
 we said, " that we cannot protect you in the event of 
 difficulties springing up. We are ourselves driven out 
 of the place, and are helpless to protect ourselves. 
 What could we do for you should an attack be made 
 upon you ? Had you not better wait, and seriously 
 count the cost before taking the next step ? " " We 
 have waited long," was the reply, " and we cannot 
 allow you to return without baptizing us. We are not 
 afraid of the consequences. Please administer to us 
 the rite of baptism, and admit us into your fellow- 
 ship." After some consultation with each other, we 
 resolved to comply with their wishes. Some time was 
 spent in examining the candidates. We were delighted 
 to find how well they had been taught by Mr. Wang 
 Lien - King, and were deeply impressed with their 
 evident sincerity. The examination over, we had a 
 service, at which both Mr. Sparham and myself 
 preached for about an hour. Then the rite of baptism 
 was administered to thirteen men. In the circum- 
 stances we found it impossible to do anything for the 
 female converts. To allow them to come on board 
 the boat would have been suicidal, and to visit them at 
 their homes was out of the question. Some of the 
 
A Floating Bethel 491 
 
 converts were away in the country, and could not be 
 present. 
 
 ' It was to us joy unspeakable to admit these 
 thirteen men into our communion. We have many 
 Hunan men in the Church, baptized at Hankow and 
 elsewhere. But these thirteen are, so far as I know, 
 the first baptisms ever witnessed in Hunan itself that 
 is, in connection with the Protestant Church. It was 
 a glorious ending to a very stormy day. That day, 
 April 6, 1897, I shall never forget, and that evening 
 I can never forget. If there ever has been a Bethel 
 in this world, surely our boat was a Bethel that even- 
 ing. As to the thirteen men, I feel sure that most of 
 them will stand fire well. The little church at Heng- 
 Chow will take root and grow. 
 
 After the service on board the boat, we sat down 
 together to a feast, provided for us by the Heng-Chow 
 Christians. Though we did not eat it at the city, 
 as was originally intended, we ate it in sight of the 
 city. 
 
 1 " Thou preparest a table before me in the presence 
 of mine enemies ; Thou hast anointed my head with 
 oil ; my cup runneth over." 
 
 * We did not leave our anchorage till the morning 
 of the 8th. We stayed on in the hope that the magis- 
 trates would try and put matters right, and ask us to 
 return to the city. We were also anxious to re-open 
 the de"p6t, and put a man in charge. This we 
 managed to accomplish. But no invitation to return 
 came, though we did all in our power to procure it. 
 We started early on the 8th, and reached Hankow late 
 
49 2 Hunan 
 
 on the 1 6th, having been away twenty -six days in all, 
 and travelled about 900 English miles.' 
 
 Such was the beginning of the church at Heng- 
 Chow. Mr. Peng was sent back shortly after as 
 evangelist to encourage the Christians. He rented a 
 house and converted part of it into a preaching-hall ; 
 but the time was not yet quite ripe for the peaceable 
 occupation of Hunan. Within a few months his 
 house was wrecked, and he and his family had to flee, 
 suffering the loss of everything. He had not pro- 
 ceeded many miles down the Siang River before he 
 was overtaken by messengers sent by the magistrates 
 begging him to return. He went back, and though 
 that was not by any means the last riot in the city on 
 account of Christianity, he has worked on with splendid 
 faith and courage, and has made it the centre of a 
 widely extended and remarkable influence. 
 
 Dr. John has repeatedly visited Hunan since this 
 memorable occasion in 1897. He went back in the 
 spring of 1899, with the special sanction of H.E. the 
 Viceroy, Chang Chih-tung. On his return he sent 
 home full and most interesting accounts of his 
 experiences, from one of which the following is an 
 extract : 
 
 'The journey itself was in every way a remarkable one. 
 The round trip was 1076 English miles. We travelled 
 926 miles by water and 150 by land. Thanks to the 
 little steam launch " Li Han," we managed to do it in 
 thirty-two days. There are now several steam launches 
 running between Hankow and Chang-sha, of which the 
 " Li Han " is the largest and fastest. The distance 
 
Fourth Visit to Hunan 493 
 
 between Hankow and Chang-sha is nearly 300 miles, 
 and we did it in a little over two days. We made the 
 return trip in less than two days ; so the round trip 
 from Hankow to Chang-sha and back did not take us 
 more than four days, whilst in native boats it might 
 have taken us three or four weeks. 
 
 * On the journey we were treated with the greatest 
 courtesy and consideration by the local officials. They 
 did all in their power to protect us and make the visit 
 a pleasant one to us. For this we are mainly indebted 
 to the Viceroy, Chang Chih-tung, and to H.B.M. 
 Consul, Pelham L. Warren, Esq. But for the kindness 
 of the Consul in bringing our case before the Viceroy, 
 and the stringent orders sent by the Viceroy to the 
 Hunan officials with regard to our comfort and safety, 
 the journey would have been a very different one. 
 The local authorities, everywhere and always, were all 
 attention, and consequently the people were quiet and 
 inoffensive. In passing from place to place we visited 
 some cities and many towns, and preached to thousands 
 of people. Some of the congregations were very large, 
 and the rowdy element was not always absent ; but 
 we encountered no persecutions anywhere, or even trials 
 of any kind. 
 
 * This was my fourth visit to Hunan, but the first 
 on which I was not made to feel that my life was in 
 danger. All this is to be ascribed to the friendly bear- 
 ing of the officials towards us, and the great care they 
 took of us. The eyes of the people are on the officials, 
 and their conduct towards us depends on what they 
 suppose to be the mind and policy of the officials 
 
494 Hunan 
 
 with regard to us. On this occasion there was no 
 mistaking of the official mind, and hence the friendly 
 attitude of the people. 
 
 ' The kindness of the evangelists and converts made 
 the journey a very pleasant one to us. The Christians 
 everywhere gave us a right royal reception. The 
 fearlessness, the warmth, and the generosity of the 
 Hunan converts struck us as something remarkable 
 and made a deep impression on our minds. The 
 multitude of converts also astonished us ; and the 
 character and bearing of very many of them rilled our 
 hearts with gratitude and hope. There are strong 
 men among them men who are sure to occupy a 
 prominent place in the future development of the 
 church in Hunan. Many of them reminded us not 
 so much of the neophyte as of the long-tried and 
 experienced Christian. 
 
 * The admission of so large a number of Hunanese 
 to church fellowship added a deep interest to the 
 journey. There were baptized in all 192 persons 
 adults, 173 ; non-adults, 19. We might have baptized 
 hundreds more, for there were many hundreds of candi- 
 dates ; but it seemed to us that we could not be too 
 careful in regard to this matter at this initial stage of 
 the work in Hunan. These 173 adult believers were 
 admitted only after a very careful examination, and 
 may be regarded as the very pick of the candidates 
 who came before us. 
 
 ' Another event of deep interest to us was the 
 setting apart of six evangelists. One was set apart 
 for Chang-sha, one for Siang-tan, one for Heng-shan, 
 
Changed Official Attitude 495 
 
 one for Heng-Chow, one for Lei-yang city, and one for 
 Sin-shih-kiai. All of them have been actively en- 
 gaged in evangelistic work for some time ; but it was 
 on this occasion they were formally set apart for the 
 office. They are good men and tried, and will, we 
 feel sure, do valuable work in their respective spheres. 
 In addition to these six evangelists, four men were 
 set apart for colportage work, and definitely appointed 
 to four definite spheres, which they will visit regularly 
 and work systematically. Their circuits unitedly will 
 cover seven prefectures, all situated in and around our 
 sphere of influence in the Siang valley.' 
 
 In addition to the important work of forming 
 churches and arranging for regular ministration to 
 them, property was secured for the use of the Mission 
 in Chang-sha, the provincial capital, Siang-tan, the chief 
 commercial centre, and Heng-Chow. 
 
 In October of the same year Dr. John paid another 
 brief visit to Hunan. He only went as far as Yo-Chow, 
 but it was on a very pleasant errand. That city had 
 just been declared an open port, and he went with 
 Mr. Greig, who had been appointed by the London 
 Missionary Society as the first missionary of that 
 Society for Hunan, to secure premises for him and for 
 the medical colleague who was to join him. There 
 had been a wonderful change in the official attitude 
 towards the foreigner and the missionary since his 
 previous visits. Three times he had attempted to 
 visit the city, and three times he had been compelled 
 to retire under conditions of no small peril. Now 
 the veteran missionary was known to be in the sun- 
 
49 6 Hunan 
 
 shine of vice-regal favour, and the Government at 
 headquarters was smiling on foreigners, the attitude 
 of all officials was completely changed, and the people 
 welcomed the visitors with enthusiasm. 
 
 * Mr. Greig and myself left Hankow on the 26th 
 ult, above half-past five p.m., by the " Wentsing," one of 
 the Viceroy's little steam-boats, and arrived at Yo-Chow 
 on the following afternoon about half-past four. On 
 our arrival we found the landing covered with bunting 
 in honour of the occasion. An official boat came off 
 to take us on shore, and we were carried to our inn 
 in two sedan-chairs, both chairs and bearers having 
 been provided by the district magistrate himself. In 
 course of the evening all the officials sent their cards, 
 with kind inquiries after our health and comfort ; and 
 not a few of the most respectable people of the place 
 called on us. The magistrate's grandson, a young 
 man of twenty-six or twenty-seven, was one of the first 
 to come. He gave us a very hearty welcome, and told 
 us that he would do all in his power to make our visit 
 a success. During our stay at the place he called on us 
 several times, and made himself very useful to us in 
 more ways than one. 
 
 ' The next day we called on all the officials. The 
 district magistrate is the same man who treated Mr. 
 Sparham and myself so rudely in 1887, but com- 
 pletely transformed. He seemed delighted to see us, 
 and treated us with the utmost courtesy and friendli- 
 ness. On the following day he returned our call, and 
 partook freely of our tea and biscuits. When leaving 
 he expressed himself as delighted with the prospect 
 
Intercourse with Officials 497 
 
 of seeing our Mission established at Yo-Chow. The 
 Tau-tai gave us a right royal reception. He and I 
 had met in 1880 at Chang-sha. He recognised me 
 at once, shook me by the hand, and said, " We are 
 old friends." He then took us into a private room, 
 where we found a table covered with a cloth of fault- 
 less whiteness, and spread with tempting refreshments 
 in the shape of foreign biscuits and sweetmeats. We 
 had tea served in the foreign style, with milk and 
 sugar. His champagne we did not drink, and his 
 cigars we declined with thanks. His Excellency is a 
 most affable man, and a great talker. We discussed 
 all manner of subjects for about half -an -hour, and 
 parted the best of friends. We called also on the 
 prefect and the grain intendent, from each of whom 
 we received a most cordial reception. The grain 
 intendent had just come down from Chang-sha to 
 arrange about the opening of the new port. He seems 
 to be a man of weight, and we were very glad to have 
 an opportunity of making his acquaintance. Such was 
 our intercourse with the officials, and nothing could 
 have been more satisfactory. 
 
 ' The people could not have behaved themselves 
 better than they did. No stones were thrown after 
 us, no opprobrious epithets were hurled at us, and no 
 black looks were to be seen anywhere. We walked 
 about in every direction, both inside and outside the 
 city, and found the people perfectly quiet and friendly. 
 On the first day after our arrival we had an escort of 
 two or three soldiers to lead the way and to protect 
 us ; but finding that they were not at all needed, 
 
 2 K 
 
49 8 Hunan 
 
 their services were dispensed with during the rest of 
 our stay. Mr. David Jones, one of the American 
 Bible Society's colporteurs, was there at the same time. 
 He was living on board his boat, but carrying on his 
 work on shore. He called on us at our inn, and we 
 met him afterwards in the streets selling the Scriptures. 
 He seemed to be doing his work with perfect immunity 
 from all the annoyances which usually accompany 
 street work in China. When we met him, there was 
 no crowd following, and no excitement whatever was 
 created by his presence.' 
 
 In^April and May 1901, Hunan was again visited 
 after tne dark and stormy interval of the Boxer rising. 
 The modernising of China was illustrated by the fact 
 that Dr. John and his companion were able to go up to 
 Chang-sha * by one of the ordinary steam-boats running 
 between Hankow and that city.' From thence they 
 were conveyed up to Heng-Chow in the governor's 
 private steam-launch. They visited Chang-sha, Siang- 
 tan, and Heng-Chow, and at each of these places they 
 had enthusiastic receptions and abundant opportunity 
 for preaching to large and attentive audiences, and 
 were filled with joy and gratitude to God as they 
 observed what progress had been made in gathering 
 inquirers and converts. As usual, Dr. John sent a full 
 report of his journey to the Directors, from which only 
 a brief extract can be taken. After describing the 
 extraordinary demonstrations of friendliness on the part 
 of the chief magistrates of Heng-Chow, and also of the 
 people, he says : 
 
 * We moved freely among the people of Heng- 
 
Advantages of Heng-Chow 499 
 
 Chow, and were received everywhere with every mark 
 of respect. There was not a black look to be seen 
 nor an angry word to be heard anywhere. We went 
 to see the ground on which our chapel stood before its 
 demolition in July last ; and there we found the bare 
 ground and nothing else. There was not a brick to 
 be seen ; the whole building had been pulled down, 
 and everything in the shape of materials carted away. 
 We found the same state of things at Heng-shan ; 
 and we were told that such is the state of things at 
 all our stations in the Heng-Chow prefecture. The 
 London Missionary Society had in that one prefecture 
 between twenty and thirty places of worship. All, 
 without a single exception, were destroyed last year. 
 In this, as in most things, the Hunanese have shown 
 their thoroughness. They do not do things by halves. 
 You will be pleased to learn that orders to start the 
 work of rebuilding have been given, and that we hope 
 to see all our chapels up before the close of next year. 
 Our chapel and dwelling-houses at Heng-Chow will, 
 we trust, be up before the close of this. 
 
 ' We saw a great deal of the city on this visit. 
 The whole city was open to our inspection, and we 
 made the best use of our opportunity. We were 
 struck with its size and population, being larger in both 
 respects than we expected to find it. The population 
 cannot be less, we think, than 200,000, it is probably 
 50,000 more. Looked at from a missionary point of 
 view, its importance cannot be over-estimated. It is 
 a splendid centre in every way. The work of the 
 London Missionary Society in the prefecture is even 
 
5 Hunan 
 
 now a truly great work, being carried on in six out of 
 the seven districts or counties of which it consists. 
 And I may add that up to the present time the 
 London Missionary Society is the only Protestant 
 Society that has ever had any work in the prefecture. 
 
 1 The Sunday spent at Heng-Chow was a day 
 never to be forgotten. A goodly number of Christians 
 residing in the country round about Heng-Chow had 
 heard of our arrival, and came in to see us. Others 
 came in as candidates for baptism. We had two 
 services, at both of which Mr. Sparham, Mr. Greig, 
 and myself preached. At the close of the morning 
 service twenty-eight persons were baptized, and at the 
 close of the afternoon service nine more were added to 
 their number. The morning congregation was a large 
 one ; the afternoon congregation was smaller, many of 
 the Christians having had to leave for their distant 
 homes in the country after the morning service. 
 
 ' Among the baptized on this occasion there is one 
 very remarkable woman. Some five or six years since, 
 Mr. Peng was passing through a market town, about 
 fifteen miles distant from Heng-Chow, called Chiian- 
 hi-shih. There he made the acquaintance of a well- 
 to-do family. Mr. Peng preached the Gospel to them, 
 and both husband and wife became much interested in 
 the truth. The husband, being an opium-smoker, has 
 not taken an active part in propagating the Gospel, 
 but the wife became at once an earnest propagandist. 
 Having mastered to some extent the contents of the 
 Christian books procured from Mr. Peng, she began to 
 teach others. She turned part of her house into a 
 
A Chinese Heroine 501 
 
 meeting-place, and invited the believers to come and 
 join her in Christian worship. In this way about one 
 hundred persons have been influenced by her, of whom 
 nine or ten were baptized on this occasion. When 
 asked to whom they were indebted for their knowledge 
 of the truth, the answer invariably was, " We are in- 
 debted to Mrs. Wu for all we know." They spoke of 
 her as their teacher, and of themselves as her scholars. 
 This little band of Christians was put to a severe 
 test during the persecutions of last year. They were 
 all tried, but especially Mrs. Wu. Her house was 
 destroyed, her business ruined, and all her property 
 stolen. Mr. Peng estimates her loss at about 4000 
 dollars. She is now penniless. Her life was sought 
 by the enemy, and for four months she wandered 
 about from place to place in a state of abject poverty. 
 Nevertheless her heart is full of gratitude, and her 
 faith in God is as strong as ever. She told us that in 
 the midst of her trials she cherished no hatred of her 
 enemies, no ill-will, no desire for revenge. And all 
 the other persecuted ones spoke in the same way. It 
 was very interesting to listen to their tale of suffering, 
 but still more interesting to learn that in the hour of 
 trial they were able to manifest the Christian spirit so 
 fully. The Christian Church in China can boast not 
 only of heroes, but of heroines, among whom Mrs. Wu 
 of Chiian-hi-shih must be regarded as occupying a fore- 
 most place. It would have been worth while going all 
 the way to Heng-Chow if only to see this one woman 
 and to listen to her story of trial and Christian heroism. 
 
502 Hunan 
 
 1 The one fact that stands out prominently in the 
 foregoing narrative is this : Hunan is open. I have 
 longed for many years to be able to pen that sentence 
 of three words, but could not do so until now. Once 
 and again have I said, during the past four years, that 
 Hunan was opening, but never till now have I been 
 able to say that it was actually open. Thank God, I 
 can say so now, and my heart is full of gratitude and 
 joy as I do say it. 
 
 ' And now what are you going to do ? We want 
 two men for Chang-sha, two men for Siang-tan, and 
 two men for Heng-Chow, at once. At Siang-tan we 
 have a house in which two unmarried men, or a 
 married couple, could live with comfort. At Heng- 
 Chow we shall have a similar arrangement. All this 
 is done by us with funds at our disposal, and we do 
 not ask the Board for financial help so far as these 
 two places are concerned. If we plant two men in 
 Chang-sha, we shall want two or three thousand taels 
 in order to provide them with a suitable house. I do 
 not think there is room for hesitation on the part of 
 the Directors. Chang-sha is a beautiful city, and the 
 most important city in the province. It is the very 
 heart of Hunan. It is also in the centre of our work. 
 Siang-tan is only thirty miles from Chang-sha, and 
 Heng-Chow is one hundred and thirty miles nearer 
 Chang-sha than it is to Yo-Chow. Now that God has 
 opened this magnificent city to us, in answer to the 
 prayers and efforts of many years, let us take possession 
 of it in His name for His sake, and let us do so at once. 
 
 ' Again do I entreat you to send us men for Hunan. 
 
'One Great Ambition ' 503 
 
 If you cannot send eight, send six ; if you cannot send 
 six, send four ; if you cannot send four, send two. 
 Make a beginning anyhow. Chang-sha and Heng- 
 Chow must be occupied at once.' 
 
 In December 1901 the irrepressible and persistent 
 leader was in Hunan again. This time his journey 
 was accomplished under conditions which would have 
 made most men consider it their duty to turn back and 
 nurse themselves. Soon after leaving Hankow he had 
 an attack of dysentery and he was in pain and dis- 
 comfort all the way, yet he persevered through a five 
 weeks' trip. Writing from Hankow on January 8, 
 1902, he says : 
 
 ' At one time I hardly expected to see Hankow 
 again. I am now on the mend, but feeling very weak. 
 I look on this illness as a solemn warning. I have 
 one great ambition, namely, to see my hopes with 
 regard to the mission in Hunan and the educational 
 scheme at Hankow realised before going hence. God, 
 however, knows what is best, and my deepest prayer is, 
 " Thy will be done." ' 
 
 The special object of this trip was to arrange for 
 the transfer of the headquarters of the Mission from 
 Yo-Chow to Heng-Chow, the work having developed 
 much more rapidly and extensively in and around the 
 latter place. 
 
 ' You know that our great work is in the Heng- 
 Chow prefectures and two of the adjoining prefectures. 
 We have in that region 5000 candidates for baptism 
 at least. At Heng-Chow itself we have a beautiful 
 congregation of Christians, and in the prefecture we 
 
504 Hunan 
 
 have between twenty and thirty more. Our work 
 extends to the Canton province in the south and the 
 Kwang-Si province on the west. It is a marvellous 
 work. Mr. Greig in going to Heng-Chow is not going 
 to create a new work, but to superintend and develop 
 a work already created by Mr. Peng and his fellow- 
 workers. At Yo-Chow there is hardly any work at all. 
 So far it has turned out to be a barren field.' 
 
 The two missionaries removed to Heng-Chow in 
 April 1902, the station at Yo-Chow being given up, 
 and reoccupied after a short interval by the mission 
 of the American Reformed Church. Since then Dr. 
 John has had the joy of seeing missionaries of his 
 own Society settled at Chang-sha and Siang-tan, and 
 many other Christian workers have entered the great 
 province. The China Inland Mission, not at all dis- 
 heartened by the failure of its early and devoted 
 pioneers, has pushed on with its usual zeal and energy, 
 and is occupying several centres even in distant parts of 
 the province. The American Presbyterian Mission, the 
 American Reformed Church, the American Episcopal 
 Church, the Wesleyan Missionary Society, the Christian 
 Missionary Alliance, the Norwegian Mission, the Ameri- 
 can United Evangelical Mission, and other labourers 
 are now sharing in the great opportunities afforded by 
 the opening of Hunan. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 NEW MOVEMENTS AND THE OLD 
 MISSIONARY 
 
 WE have anticipated somewhat the course of 
 events in Dr. John's life and work, while 
 completing the story of the opening of Hunan. It is 
 scarcely necessary to narrate in any detail the course 
 of his life and labours during the last fifteen years, 
 because it would, on the whole, be only a repetition of 
 what has been said of his earlier work. After sus- 
 pending his labours as a translator of the Scriptures 
 for some years, in deference to the arrangements made 
 at the Shanghai Conference in 1890 for the prepara- 
 tion of Union Versions by committees appointed for the 
 purpose, he resumed the work again when it became 
 evident that many years must elapse before any Union 
 Version could be ready. Since then he has steadily 
 toiled, first at the completion of the Bible in Wen-li, 
 and then the translation of the Old Testament into 
 Mandarin. The Central China Tract Society has con- 
 tinued to enjoy his constant help. Notwithstanding 
 the growing weight of years, he has maintained his 
 power and a large amount of his energy as a preacher, 
 and his letters show no abatement in his itinerating 
 labours. Enough has already been said on these 
 
 505 
 
506 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 subjects to show how tireless, strenuous, and many- 
 sided a worker Dr. John has been throughout the 
 whole of his missionary life. Some points stand out 
 prominently in the course of the years, which it may 
 be well briefly to occupy in turn. 
 
 The invitation sent to Dr. John to be one of the 
 special representatives from the mission -field at the 
 celebration of the centenary of the London Missionary 
 Society in 1895 has already been mentioned ; also his 
 nomination a second time for election to the Chair of 
 the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 
 1894. Much as he appreciated the honour which 
 his friends sought to confer on him in connection with 
 the Congregational Union, he did not feel at all pre- 
 pared to accept it, and made known his feeling very 
 clearly. He was, however, strongly tempted to pay a 
 visit to England for the celebration of the Society's 
 centenary. He was intensely interested in the for- 
 ward movement which had been commenced in 
 anticipation of the centenary, by which it was pro- 
 posed to send out in four years one hundred additional 
 missionaries to supply some of the many pressing 
 needs in the mission -field. There are frequent refer- 
 ences to the subject in his letters. The proposal was 
 closely in accord alike with his own strong convictions 
 of the greatness of the need, and with the spirit of 
 confident faith which led him fearlessly to undertake 
 any apparent duty or service, confident that God would 
 supply every need of His servants if they sought to do 
 His will. The following is a very characteristic expres- 
 sion of his feeling : 
 
Belief in Forward Movement 507 
 
 'Will you kindly put my name down for 100 
 towards the Centenary Fund ? I wish I could multiply 
 this by ten, and make it more worthy of our noble 
 Society and of this grand occasion. May the God 
 who has watched over the Society in the past watch 
 over it in the future, and may the second celebration 
 be a celebration of a world conquered and won for 
 Christ. A hundred years hence ! I envy our children, 
 grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We can only 
 see in a vision the great things that will be seen in 
 their day. But we do see and rejoice. I am thankful 
 you have resolved to go on with the forward move- 
 ment. I admire your faith, and pray every day that 
 God will respond to it and honour it. 
 
 The steps of faith 
 Fall on the seeming void, and find 
 The rock beneath. 
 
 May you find it to be so.' 
 
 He was kept in China by anxiety as to what might 
 happen during the war between China and Japan, and 
 then by the evidences of wide-spread renewal of the 
 spirit of unrest and hostility to the foreigner, which 
 found expression in the Kucheng massacres and the 
 agitation throughout Sze-Chuen in 1895. His view 
 of the situation and of his duty in relation to it is 
 expressed in his correspondence very clearly, e.g. : 
 
 * HANKOW, December 3, 1894. 
 
 * It looks as if the existing dynasty had reached its 
 close ; but there is no one who has the least chance of 
 
5o8 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 succeeding in any attempt to become the founder of a 
 new dynasty. Can the Empire hold together ? Will 
 it go to pieces ? Will the great Powers divide it 
 among themselves ? These questions are being asked 
 and discussed on every hand ; but no one seems to 
 have any light to throw on the subject. 
 
 ' In view of all sorts of troubles that may arise, and 
 of all sorts of possibilities that may spring up, I feel 
 strongly that my right place is here ; that it would not 
 be right for me to leave my post. In the event of 
 trouble, the converts would need me. My presence 
 would be a great help to them in many ways. My 
 colleagues would need me also. Should it be necessary 
 that the married people should leave the place at any 
 time, it would be necessary that I should be here to 
 hold the fort and keep things going as long as possible. 
 I have been here since '61 ; my interest in Hankow is 
 greater than that of any one else ; my experience is 
 more extensive than that of any one else ; the burden 
 of China is on my heart these days, and I cannot shake 
 it off. Then there are possibilities which may present 
 themselves during the next year of infinite importance 
 in connection with missionary work, and I want to be 
 here to avail myself of them.' 
 
 * HANKOW, September 9, 1895. 
 
 ' China's future ! Who can say what it is to be ? 
 It looks to me sometimes as if it must break up and 
 be divided between the more powerful of the Treaty 
 Powers. There is no man in China to-day who can 
 help China out of her misery. The Peking Govern- 
 
Dangerous Excitement 509 
 
 ment is as weak as water, and the provincial Govern- 
 ments are utterly corrupt and incapable. Poor China ! 
 She is in a sad plight. And yet you have here a magnifi- 
 cent country and a great people, capable of the highest 
 development. What they need is a good Government.' 
 
 { HANKOW, September 9, 1895. 
 
 ' I think that the Kucheng tragedy will be the 
 means of breaking up that dangerous society in that 
 part of Fuh-Kien. It is called Vegetarian, but it is 
 really a political society, and, like all these societies, 
 has the subversion of the existing dynasty for its main 
 aim. 
 
 * Here at Hankow and Wuchang there is a good 
 deal of unhealthy excitement among the people. There 
 are many bad characters in the place, and an uprising 
 might take place at any time but for the vigilance of 
 the authorities. Publications have been issued reciting 
 the marvellous deeds of Liu Ying-fuh, the leader of the 
 Black Flags in Formosa. He is fabled to have driven 
 all the Japs out of Formosa, to have exterminated the 
 foreign armies that had come to their aid, and to have 
 sunk any number of English ships of war. As soon 
 as Formosa is pacified, he will come to the mainland, 
 drive all the foreigners into the sea, and restore to 
 China the glorious days of Yau and Shun. This is 
 the food on which the people of Hankow are feeding 
 these weeks. They believe every word of it, and the 
 casting out of the foreigners has become the talk of 
 the tea-shops and the streets. I brought this matter 
 before our Consul two or three weeks since. He at 
 
5 1 o New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 once wrote to the Tau-tai, and got proclamations issued 
 forbidding the talk and suppressing the literature. The 
 books and prints disappeared at once, and matters have 
 improved somewhat. But the place is full of all sorts 
 of wild rumours. Our Viceroy, however, is awake, and 
 doing all he can to keep things quiet. This being the 
 case, I feel pretty sure that we shall have no serious 
 trouble here. It is rumoured that we are to have an 
 uprising early in the next month ! ' 
 
 It is rather remarkable that, at the very time when 
 the spirit of suspicion and hostility to the foreigner 
 was finding such disquieting expression in various 
 quarters, a strong and wide-spread movement in favour 
 of Christianity was going on in some of the country 
 districts of Hupeh. Writing to the Foreign Secretary 
 of the Society in July 1895, after referring to the 
 Sze-Chuen troubles and the joy which had come to his 
 heart in the reports of the steadfastness of the converts 
 in that province, Dr. John went on : 
 
 ' Now for a bit of news that will cheer your heart. 
 Last year I gave you some account of a remarkable 
 work that had sprung up in the district of King-shan. 
 I told you that I had baptized there on one Sunday 
 41 adults and 19 children, 60 in all. Mr. Hiung, one 
 of the native assistants at Hankow, has just returned 
 from a visit to King-shan. He tells us that all the 
 converts baptized last year remain strong and firm in 
 the faith. There are more than 190 now waiting for 
 baptism, of whom about 100 are deemed quite satis- 
 factory. The Christians have bought a large house for 
 
Remarkable Movement in Hupeh 511 
 
 chapel purposes, and paid for it themselves. About 
 forty villages have become more or less Christian, and 
 the work looks as if it might spread all over that part 
 of the country. 
 
 1 In the district of Tien-men there is a most 
 interesting work springing up in the immediate vicinity 
 of our station at Pah-tsze-nau. The place is called 
 Peh-ho-kou, and I am told that from twenty-eight to 
 thirty people are seeking baptism there. What they 
 told Mr. Hiung was this : " We have given up idolatry. 
 We do not believe in Roman Catholicism. We wish 
 to be Christians, and desire to join the Gospel Church." 
 The " Gospel Church " is our specific designation. I 
 am sure you will join me in blessing God for this good 
 news. When are you going to send us men for Ying- 
 shan and Yun-mung on the one hand, and for Tien- 
 men and King-shan on the other ? ' 
 
 Three years after, in an address to a missionary 
 company at Ruling, Dr. John referred to this move- 
 ment very fully and in a way which showed that he 
 was not at all misled by the glamour of numbers and 
 the excitement of a popular movement to make more 
 of it than was wise, though he realised the serious 
 responsibilities such a movement entailed on the mis- 
 sionaries : 
 
 'It was in 1894 that I was, for the first time, 
 brought face to face with this remarkable movement. 
 In the beginning of that year our evangelist Wei Teh- 
 sheng, who was then a colporteur, visited King-shan. 
 As he was passing through the district he came into 
 contact with a number of people who seemed wonder- 
 
512 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 fully prepared for his message. They had lost all 
 faith in idolatry, and professed to have no faith in 
 Roman Catholicism. They gave up their idols to Mr. 
 Wei, and begged him to stay with them and teach 
 them. Having spent some weeks at the place, he 
 returned to Hankow, and gave us a report of the work 
 such as took us all by surprise. I had visited King- 
 shan before, and we had had a few converts there for 
 some years. But this was a new work, and quite 
 different from the old in both spirit and character. 
 Mr. Wei wanted us to visit the place at once, and see 
 with our own eyes what God was doing in King-shan. 
 We thought it best to wait, and give the movement 
 time to develop and disclose its true nature. The fact 
 is, we stood in doubt of it, and were slow to commit 
 ourselves to it. 
 
 ' It was not before October of the same year that 
 Mr. Bonsey and myself visited the place. We took 
 with us one of the most experienced and trustworthy 
 of our native assistants at Hankow, in order to sift the 
 movement to the bottom, and find out the real character 
 of the candidates. On our arrival we were met by a 
 large number of converts. They gave us a right royal 
 reception, and would have killed us with kindness. 
 Out of the multitude of candidates who came before us 
 we baptized only forty-five adults. We might have 
 baptized hundreds had we been less exacting. Both 
 Mr. Bonsey and myself were surprised at the amount 
 of knowledge the candidates possessed, and the evident 
 sincerity which most of them evinced. The work in 
 King-shan has been growing steadily during these four 
 
Three Classes of Converts 5 J 3 
 
 years, and we have now in that one district several 
 hundreds of baptized converts. Most of the Christians 
 are respectable farmers and farm-labourers. A similar 
 work is going on in the districts of Tien-men, Yun-mung, 
 and Hiau-Kan. We have had a work in Yun-mung for 
 many years ; but till quite recently it was slow, heavy, 
 and discouraging. About three years ago it began to 
 show signs of a new life, and now our chapel, which 
 holds nearly 200 people, is too small for the congrega- 
 tion. In Hiau-Kan we have had a good work for more 
 than twenty years. The progress there has been steady 
 and substantial from [ the beginning ; but of late there 
 has been a wonderful revival. On a recent visit I 
 baptized in the Hiau-Kan district 166 persons, of whom 
 i 3 1 were adult believers. 
 
 ' Thus the fire has been spreading during these four 
 years in a wonderful manner, and, so far as I can see 
 at the present time, is destined to spread. The move- 
 ment took me by surprise. Though I had been in 
 China forty years I found myself unprepared for it. I 
 could hardly believe in its reality. It seemed too good 
 to be true. And yet this is what I had been praying 
 for ever since I came to China. 
 
 * I would divide the candidates with whom I have 
 had to deal in connection with this movement into 
 three classes : those who are actuated by good and 
 pure motives wholly ; those who are actuated by bad 
 and false motives wholly ; and those who are actuated 
 by mixed motives motives not bad themselves, still 
 not exclusively religious and spiritual. All the candi- 
 
 2 L 
 
514 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 dates with whom I have had anything to do belong to 
 one or the other of these three classes. Those who 
 are actuated by good and pure motives solely are 
 easily dealt with ; but they are not, I fear, very 
 numerous. Neither is it difficult to deal with those 
 who are actuated by bad motives solely, for if the 
 missionary is straight in his dealings with them, they 
 will soon fall off of their own accord. The great mass 
 of candidates are to be found among the third class, or 
 those who are influenced by mixed motives, and they 
 are not so easily disposed of. 
 
 1 In what light shall we regard these men ? How 
 shall we deal with them ? Shall we look upon them 
 as so many hypocrites, and dismiss them on account 
 of the imperfection of the motive by which they are 
 actuated ? Some would say yes. I say no, a thousand 
 times no. I would say : " Take them by the hand, 
 pour more light into their souls, and lead them on to 
 higher and nobler things." Do this, and in many 
 cases the lower motive will die down, and the higher 
 motive will grow in strength and become dominant. 
 Out of that mass of candidates, not very satisfactory 
 perhaps at the outset, you will get some of your 
 brightest converts, and most valuable helpers in the 
 work. Such has been my experience. Some of 
 the best men we have in Central China are men 
 who were in the first instance actuated by mixed 
 motives. And there is nothing strange in this. The 
 Apostles were actuated by very mixed motives right 
 up to the time of the crucifixion. Who shall be 
 the greatest in the kingdom ? that was one of their 
 
Appeal for Advance 515 
 
 grand ambitions. And yet our Lord did not reject 
 them on this account. He bore with them, and 
 patiently led them onward and upward. When the 
 Holy Ghost came down upon them at Pentecost, the 
 low motive was burned up, and the higher motive 
 became regnant in their hearts and lives. So will it 
 be with these imperfect converts, at least with many 
 of them, if we adopt the method of Christ in dealing 
 with them.' 
 
 It is not surprising that under conditions such as 
 these the old spirit of appeal for advance should have 
 burned up very strongly, and that he wrote to the 
 Directors of the Society in August 1896 in the follow- 
 ing terms : 
 
 ' I do most earnestly plead with the Directors on 
 behalf of the Mission in Central China. Did I not 
 believe in God, I should feel inclined to despair utterly 
 as I think of the claims of the work and your inability 
 to meet them. I can only throw myself on God's 
 mercy and ask His forgiveness if I do sometimes 
 allow myself to yield to unworthy despondency. I am 
 getting to be an old man ; the men on whom I have 
 been building my hopes for the future are being taken 
 away x ; and the work is spreading rapidly in every 
 direction around us. There are hundreds in the 
 counties of Tien-men and King-shan asking for bap- 
 tism ; the next time I go there I shall baptize, in all 
 probability, from 200 to 300 persons, the interest 
 in the truth is wide-spread in the whole of that 
 region ; and yet I am told that you can do nothing 
 to help on the work there. You have been praying 
 
516 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 for results. God is giving you results ; but your 
 only reply to the call for gratitude is an emphatic 
 non possumus. I do not find fault ; but I do feel 
 sad and sorrowful. I feel that we are bound to go on 
 and daily enlarge our boundaries. We dare not go 
 back, we cannot stand still ; that would be suicidal. 
 God is marching on, and we are bound to follow. 
 Can you do nothing to help us ? Are we to under- 
 stand that King-shan and Tien -men are not to be 
 manned by you ? Would you advise us to hand these 
 two counties over to another mission ? ' 
 
 The Directors of the Society could not resist 
 such an appeal as this, though the finances of the 
 Society were, as usual, in a condition which made 
 advance almost impossible. A clerical missionary was 
 appointed ; a new station was commenced at Tsao 
 Shih ; whilst two generous friends undertook the 
 support of a medical missionary and provided the 
 funds required for the erection of a hospital. 
 
 The strain of incessant work, with constant anxiety, 
 was steadily telling on the strong frame of the veteran 
 leader, and he had more than one serious warning that 
 he could not go on as he had been accustomed to do. 
 In 1893 he had a very serious illness, during which at 
 one time his life seemed to be trembling in the balance. 
 In succeeding years the trouble recurred again and 
 again. He was also greatly depressed by sickness 
 and death in the Mission. In 1894 Mr. Walford Hart 
 was suddenly stricken down very shortly after his 
 marriage, and his young widow followed him a year 
 later. Mrs. William Owen, a worker of ripe experience 
 
A Fatal Year 517 
 
 and great power, died in 1895. The year 1896 was 
 a very sickly one in Central China ; death visited the 
 Wesleyan and also the London Missions, and amidst 
 the joy of a rapidly extending work came great sorrow. 
 Writing to Mr. Bryson in August 1896, Dr. John 
 said : 
 
 ' I am getting to feel more and more that earth is 
 growing poorer and heaven richer. I don't know how 
 you feel. I hope you do not feel exactly as I do, for 
 you are younger, and the end in your case is not so 
 near. 
 
 1 This year has been a very fatal one at Hankow 
 and the vicinity : David Hill gone, Turner gone, 
 Terrell gone, and others gone. Gillison had to go 
 to Japan in quest of health at the beginning of the 
 summer, and Hodge has had to follow. I broke down 
 about six weeks ago, and had to fly to Ruling. Had 
 Ruling been ready, it would have been the very place 
 for Gillison and Hodge. The Archibalds gave me a 
 pressing invitation to come and take a room in their 
 bungalow ; but there was not a hole or a corner for 
 Gillison or Hodge on the estate. 
 
 * Turner was a most promising young fellow, and 
 would have developed into a fine missionary. As to 
 Terrell, he was a splendid missionary. I loved and 
 admired him for his character and worth very greatly. 
 He was a robust Christian, a most enthusiastic mis- 
 sionary, and a genuinely manly man. He was just 
 made for Hiau-Ran and the country work of that 
 region. He was to me a son, and I loved him as a 
 father. His death is a great loss to our Mission in 
 
5i8 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 Central China; to Hiau-Kan it is irreparable. You 
 would have liked Terrell a man full of life, health, 
 and vigour, a man of great singleness of purpose and 
 wonderful devotion to Christ. Why should such a 
 man be taken away from such a work in the midst of 
 his days and usefulness ? That is a question I cannot 
 answer with any satisfaction to my own mind. God 
 cannot make a mistake. He is love ; He is light. 
 The work is His, and nearer to His heart than it can 
 be to mine. He must mean some great good to the 
 work in taking such a man from it. " What thou 
 knowest not now, thou shalt know hereafter." " It is 
 expedient for you that I go away." We can only rest 
 in God Himself. I thank God every day for the faith 
 He has given me in Himself \ apart from all His out- 
 ward dealings with me.' 
 
 Fortunately, just at this time it became possible to 
 obtain summer quarters on the lofty mountains to the 
 south of the Yang-tse. For many years this had been 
 greatly desired by the missionary circle and other 
 foreign residents in Hankow and other parts of the 
 Yang-tse valley, where the summer heat is intense, 
 steamy, and unhealthy ; but every effort to find a suit- 
 able place, or, finding it, to get a settlement there, had 
 been in vain. The story of the acquisition of Ruling 
 and of its subsequent extension is a most interesting 
 illustration of Chinese official methods of obstruction, 
 which were only overcome by long years of patient 
 pressure on the part of a small committee, of which 
 Dr. John was from the first the chairman, and in the 
 efforts of which he took a very active part. The result 
 
Summer Quarters at Kuling 519 
 
 of their labours was the acquisition by purchase from 
 the Government, first of a piece of land, and then, after 
 negotiations extending to 1904, of a considerable ex- 
 tension in * a beautiful, well-watered mountain valley, 
 with an elevation of 4000 feet, on the top of the Lu 
 mountain, close to the port of Kiu-kiang, convenient of 
 access from all parts of Central China. In ancient 
 times it had been covered with temples, but these had 
 all long been destroyed, and the whole mountain top 
 abandoned to the wild beasts. No one owned it, no 
 one lived there, and the officials seemed to be ignorant 
 of its very existence.' 
 
 At first a small colony of missionaries established 
 themselves there for summer quarters ; but every year 
 has seen an increasing number of houses and visitors 
 from the commercial and official communities oi 
 Shanghai and other more distant places. Fully 1200 
 Europeans now find a resting-place there during the 
 heat, and have cause to thank the three enterprising 
 and persistent missionaries whose efforts have secured 
 for them this great boon. * The number of sick folk 
 who have been restored to health through its pure, 
 cool, and bracing air can no longer be counted, while 
 not a few amongst them declare they owe their lives to 
 Kuling. Only residents on the broiling plains of the 
 Far East can appreciate the boon it is.' Dr. John 
 found the benefit from the outset, and, humanly speak- 
 ing, the continuance of his life and power of work 
 during recent years has been largely due to the effects 
 of the annual change to Kuling. In 1897 he wrote to 
 his old friend Mr. Jacob from Kuling : 
 
520 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 * I was here last year for about six weeks on account 
 of a break-down. In May of this year I had a similar 
 break-down, so the doctor ordered me up here for the 
 summer. I left Hankow in the beginning of June, 
 accompanied by Mary and Gito, and here I am likely 
 to be to the end of August. I have already derived 
 much benefit from the change, and am expecting to 
 derive more. In any case, the change has saved me 
 from the heat of Hankow, which is very intense in the 
 months of July and August. During my forty-two 
 years in China I have had hardly any holiday life. 
 Last year and this have been the only years in which 
 I have taken any holiday whatever, and in both years 
 I have been driven away by illness. It is not all re- 
 creation, however, for I am working at Revelations 
 some five or six hours every day. I am turning the 
 Psalms into Mandarin, and I hope to take both the 
 Psalms and Proverbs with me to Hankow when I 
 return.' 
 
 Significant indications have not been wanting for 
 many years that there was a party in China, small 
 perhaps, but growing, who were not disposed to lose the 
 benefit of the mechanical superiority of Western nations 
 by clinging to their own antiquated methods. There 
 have also been a small number of Chinese who have 
 received Western education and have learned the value 
 of it. The disastrous war with Japan in 1894 was a 
 very forcible and convincing object-lesson in this direc- 
 tion. Their small neighbour, who had opened her 
 doors to European education, and had remodelled large 
 sections of her national life under Western influence, 
 
A Wondrous Change 5 21 
 
 was able with the greatest ease to defeat their armies, 
 sink or capture their men-of-war, annex Formosa, set 
 Korea free from Chinese suzerainty, and make China 
 realise her utter impotence. The party of advance and 
 the movement of reform made rapid progress after this 
 experience. 
 
 This changed feeling showed itself in a new attitude 
 towards Western education, and a new desire to learn 
 something of Christianity. Dr. John mentions in his 
 report for 1897 that even in the Chinese examination 
 halls questions were being put which only those who 
 had some acquaintance with the Bible could answer, 
 and states that at the examination in Nan-chang, the 
 capital of Kiang-Si, the candidates were asked, ' What 
 do you know of the repeopling of the world by Noah 
 and his family after the flood ? ' The text-book recom- 
 mended to the students was the Old Testament ! 
 
 Again, writing to the Rev. G. Cousins in January 
 1898, he says : 
 
 ' There is one point, however, on which I did not 
 touch in my last letter, namely, the adoption of English 
 as part of the scheme. There was a time when I was 
 strongly opposed to the introduction of this element 
 into our schools ; but the times have altered, and my 
 own views have undergone a complete change. There 
 is in China at the present time a great demand for 
 English, and the demand will have to be met. The 
 Chinese will have English, no matter what the mis- 
 sionaries may do. Shall the demand be met by the 
 Christian missionary, and the teaching be made sub- 
 servient to the Christianisation of the nation ; or shall 
 
522 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 it be met by men who are out of all sympathy with 
 missions, and thus the teaching be made subservient to 
 the diffusion of anti-Christian principles throughout the 
 land ? That is a question which presses itself on my 
 mind, and to which I find it impossible to give but one 
 answer. Then English teaching will bring hundreds of 
 men of high social standing under our influence, with 
 most of whom we should find it impossible to come 
 into contact in any other way. Moreover, the mission 
 that will ignore this element will find it impossible in 
 the days to come to compete with the more progressive 
 ones. There is a tremendous change coming over 
 China, and the missions must adapt themselves to 
 the new order of things, or fall behind ; and this the 
 London Mission must do if it would maintain its 
 rightful position among the organisations that are now 
 seeking to promote the intellectual, moral, and spiritual 
 elevation of this great people. Forward ! ! ' 
 
 That year, 1898, was one of startling and momentous 
 changes in China. The party of progress obtained for 
 a time the ascendency in the Imperial councils, and 
 the young Emperor propounded a very radical and 
 sweeping scheme of reform. The movement was, how- 
 ever, too sudden, the change proposed was too violent, 
 and the forces of conservatism were aroused in alarm 
 and self-defence. The young Emperor was practically 
 dethroned, his aunt, the Dowager Empress, assuming 
 again the reins of government. Some of the most pro- 
 minent reformers were seized and executed, and others 
 had to flee for their lives. The Boxer rising of 1900 
 may not have been actually instigated by the reactionary 
 
Boxer Rising in 1900 523 
 
 leaders in Peking, but it unquestionably was encouraged 
 and spread by official approval. If it could have 
 succeeded, it would have meant not only the expulsion 
 of the foreigner from China and the crushing for the 
 time of the Christian Church, but also the complete 
 and perhaps prolonged triumph of the anti-reform and 
 unprogressive party in China. 
 
 In Central China the Viceroy of Hupeh, Chang 
 Chih-tung, by his enlightened policy and by his firm- 
 ness, was mainly instrumental in preventing any serious 
 outbreak against foreigners and native Christians. The 
 ladies and children were ordered from Hankow and 
 other places in the interior to the coast, and many 
 mission stations were, as a wise precaution, entirely 
 deserted by their occupants for several months. The 
 majority of the missionaries in the interior of Northern 
 and Western China who escaped from the fury of the 
 Boxers found their way to safety through Central China 
 and down the Yang-tse valley by way of Hankow. 
 The letters from that mission are full of a pathetic and 
 tragic interest as they tell of the condition of those 
 who in succession arrived. The following letter from 
 Dr. John, dated August 27, 1900, describes some of 
 the perils even in Hankow, and refers to the sorrowful 
 travellers who were passing through from the interior : 
 
 ' Missionaries are arriving here almost every day, 
 on their way from the interior to the coast. The tale 
 which some of them have to tell is enough to make 
 one's blood run cold. I have never heard anything so 
 gruesome as the story of the suffering and barbarism 
 which the Shan-Si refugees have brought with them. 
 
524 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 Others also have sad tales to tell ; but this is the 
 saddest I have heard. There are tales that have not 
 reached us yet, which will surpass this in horror. The 
 Pao-ting-fu tale when told will throw every other into 
 the shade. I am looking forward to it with absolute 
 dread, as I do to that of Tai-yuen-fu. The mission- 
 aries from Shan-Si and Honan have, almost without an 
 exception, passed through great sufferings. Those 
 from Shen-Si and Sze-Chuen have not been called to 
 pass through any trials arising from ill-treatment on 
 the part of the officials or people. 
 
 4 We cannot but feel thankful to God for the 
 peace we have been permitted to enjoy at Hankow 
 and Wuchang. We have had our trials here. The 
 rumours have been many, constant, and very alarming. 
 We have been also in great perils. Last week, for 
 instance, we were in great danger, owing to the plot- 
 tings of the reformers. They had entered into collu- 
 sion with the Kolao sect and the vilest vagabonds of 
 the place, with the view of killing the officials, from 
 the Viceroy downwards, and taking possession of these 
 three cities. But for the vigilance and energy of the 
 Viceroy, these three cities would have been in ashes 
 before the end of last week. I have always had great 
 confidence in the good intentions of our Viceroy, and 
 this has enabled me to go on with my work here in 
 the enjoyment of much mental peace. 
 
 * You will be pleased to learn that here at the 
 centre, and in all the surrounding counties occupied by 
 the Society, there has been no suspension of work. 
 Christians have been meeting for worship as usual, the 
 
Standing by the Christians 525 
 
 healing work at the Hankow hospital has been going 
 on as heretofore, and our day schools have never been 
 closed. Till a fortnight ago the daily preaching was 
 carried on regularly, and with as much energy as ever 
 After the attacks made on the chapels by the mob, the 
 officials suggested that it would be advisable to sus- 
 pend this branch of the work for the present. We 
 thought it only right to meet their wishes in this 
 matter, so there has been no daily preaching for about 
 a fortnight. 
 
 * I am sure we have acted wisely in staying here to 
 comfort and strengthen our native brethren. It would 
 have been cruel to leave them whilst there was a possi- 
 bility of staying with them. Had I left them when 
 these troubles began, I could never return and preach 
 faith and courage to them again. Our presence here 
 has been most helpful to them in many ways. I 
 think you will say that we have acted rightly and 
 wisely in the way we have distributed our forces. The 
 ladies and children are safe in Japan. Some of the 
 gentlemen are there also, but most of us are here. I 
 trust the day is not far distant when we shall all be 
 gathered together at this centre again. 
 
 ' My impression is that such will be the case, and 
 hence the reason why I have been advising the mission- 
 aries not to go far away from their stations, so that 
 they may return to their work at the earliest oppor- 
 tunity. " Go to Japan ; don't go home ; you will, I 
 hope, soon be wanted again." That has been my 
 advice to most of my brethren of various missions. It 
 will be some time before the missionaries can return 
 
526 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 to the more remote places in the interior ; but my 
 hope is, and belief also, that they will soon be able to 
 resume work at the ports and places in the vicinity of 
 the ports. 
 
 ' I do not take a desponding view of the future, but 
 the reverse. There are glorious days for missions in 
 China right before us. I am surprised to hear that 
 people are talking about giving up the work in China ; 
 they must be mad, surely. Our prospects to-day in 
 China are vastly brighter than they were six months 
 ago. I was beginning to despond at that time ; I do 
 not despond now. My heart is full of hope, full of 
 eager expectation. The demand for missionaries will 
 be greater than ever ; the demand for the Bible and 
 other Christian books will be greater than ever ; the 
 demand for Western education will be greater than 
 ever. The Chinese mind will be better prepared for 
 the truth of the Gospel and truth of every kind than 
 it has ever been in all the past. All these sufferings 
 through which the Church is passing in China these 
 days are terrible to think of; but we shall find that 
 they have a place in God's plan. There is a needs be 
 for these pains and trials. Don't despair about China. 
 You mention Hunan. Don't despair about Hunan ; 
 Hunan will soon be all right. The only question that 
 troubles me when I think of China generally, and 
 Hunan specially, is this : Will the Church of God be 
 prepared for the magnificent opportunities which the 
 new order of things in this land is about to present to 
 it ? China will be ready for you ; will you be ready 
 for China ? The doors of Hunan will be open as they 
 
Bold Confession of Christ 527 
 
 never were before ; will you be prepared to enter in ? 
 Will you still grudge ten men for that magnificent 
 province ? May God prepare all the Societies for the 
 China that He, in His own mysterious way, is pre- 
 paring for them.' 
 
 Dr. John's long experience and sound judgment 
 made him a valuable counsellor to H.M. Consul in the 
 very anxious and responsible position in which he was 
 placed ; and he was a tower of strength to the native 
 Christians. His reference to his experience is charac- 
 teristic : 
 
 * During these three months converts used to come 
 in batches, and fill my study from the early morning 
 down into the depths of the night. They came for 
 comfort, guidance, and help in many ways. They had 
 wonderful tales to tell of their trials, their sufferings, 
 and fears. Their anxiety reached its highest pitch 
 when the ladies were ordered away by the Consul- 
 General and the missionaries began to take their 
 departure. It was a sad time for them, and it was a 
 trying time to ourselves. But I shall never cease to 
 thank God for the privilege of being here at the time. 
 I would not have missed it for much gold. The 
 mental peace which God gave me right through is an 
 experience never to be forgotten. Then there was a 
 wonderful deepening of my interest in the Christians, 
 and an intensifying of my interest in the work itself. 
 The Christians did not rise above fear, and we can 
 pardon them for that. But they did rise above 
 cowardice. Many efforts were made to get them to 
 recant ; but, so far as I know, not a man among them, 
 
528 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 nor a woman either, proved unfaithful. Their con- 
 fession of Christ was bold and uncompromising. One 
 old woman faced the tempter and said : " You can kill 
 me if you like, but I will never forsake Christ ; I have 
 only one life to live, I can only die once. Kill me if 
 you like, my mind is made up." That was the front 
 which our converts presented to the enemy during 
 those months of trial. None of our converts in Hupeh 
 were called upon to die for Christ, but many of them 
 would have died cheerfully rather than deny their faith 
 in Him. Of this I have no doubt whatever.' 
 
 As soon as peace was restored, the progressive spirit 
 in China began to reassert itself. In his report for the 
 year 1901, Dr. John called attention to ' three remark- 
 able Imperial decrees on education which have recently 
 been issued, and which have very powerfully affected 
 public opinion. The first of these decrees was that 
 abolishing in all public examinations the " Wen Chang," 
 or Chinese essay, and substituting for it essays 
 and articles on modern subjects. This was followed 
 by another requiring all colleges to be turned into 
 schools of Western learning. Every county is to have 
 a primary school, every prefecture is to have a second 
 grade school, and every provincial capital is to have a 
 college. In all these Western as well as Chinese 
 subjects are to be taught. Finally, viceroys and gover- 
 nors are commanded to select young men of marked 
 ability and to send them abroad to study. Such 
 edicts as these may not be sufficient evidence of any 
 real and permanent change of feeling towards foreigners, 
 but they express the present views of the rulers, and, 
 
The Awakening of China 529 
 
 as a natural result, they greatly stimulate the desire 
 for Western knowledge.' 
 
 The awakening of China has continued, and the 
 demand for education on Western lines has become 
 very general. Japanese influence since the remarkable 
 success of that country in the recent war with Russia 
 has by no means lessened this desire, though at present 
 it is stimulating a new national feeling which threatens 
 to become quite as anti-foreign as the feeling of the 
 old conservatism. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to repeat that to all Chris- 
 tian missions in China the awakening which has come 
 in recent years is a new opportunity of unique im- 
 portance, and hence is a very great responsibility. The 
 people for whose special enlightenment they have so 
 long been labouring, often in spite of determined 
 opposition and persecution, have not been blind to 
 their efforts on their behalf, and in the hour of their 
 new need have turned first to the missionaries for help. 
 
 In view of the attacks made on missionaries by 
 European writers during the Boxer rising as the cause 
 of all the troubles between China and the nations of 
 the West, and as the class who were distrusted and 
 disliked by the Chinese more than any other foreigners, 
 it is extremely suggestive that every high school and 
 college opened by missionaries is crowded with paying 
 pupils, and that missionaries are being largely looked 
 to for guidance and help in the Government scheme 
 for the establishment of national universities in each 
 of the eighteen provinces ! 
 
 In 1897 the Hankow Mission, of which Dr. John 
 
 2 M 
 
53 New Movements and the Old Missionary- 
 was the head, entered upon a new educational scheme, 
 to meet the new needs which were beginning to be 
 felt, and to provide for the growing wants of the large 
 Christian community which was springing up in the 
 districts around. The scheme provided for boys' 
 schools, a girls' boarding - school, a high school, a 
 normal school, and a theological college ; subse- 
 quently a medical school was added to it. Dr. John 
 in this, as in many other things, gave evidence of the 
 youthfulness and freshness of his spirit. He had been 
 for more than forty years a great evangelist and had 
 urged upon all his colleagues and upon other workers 
 that preaching the Message of Life was the great 
 means by which they might best win China. As soon, 
 however, as he recognised the changed conditions and 
 the new opportunities, he threw himself heartily into 
 the new schemes of education, and has rejoiced as 
 heartily as any in their progress and success. 
 
 In February 1899 he wrote to the Foreign Secretary 
 of the Society to say that in two months the educa- 
 tional scheme of the Mission would be in full swing, 
 and he proceeded : 
 
 * As to the future, I feel pretty sure that there are 
 great developments awaiting us in the very near future. 
 I am not at all cast down by the coup in Peking. The 
 reform movement must go on, and I am not sure but 
 that the Empress herself will eventually head it. 
 Indeed, I have been expressing this opinion for weeks. 
 One thing is certain, China cannot go back. If we 
 could only maintain the " open door " policy, we 
 should have everything to hope for and nothing to 
 
j 
 
 J 
 
 i-i k 
 
 3 Q 
 
 I | 
 
 ^ 
 
 s ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 f 
 
Dreams Fulfilled 531 
 
 fear, so far as the Protestant missions are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 'As to my coming home, I have not fully made up 
 my mind not to come. My dreams the dreams of 
 y ears ar e being fulfilled one by one. My dream of 
 seeing a strong mission in Central China is fulfilled. 
 My dream of carrying the Gospel from Hankow 
 through Hunan to the borders of Canton has been 
 fulfilled. My dream of seeing an educational institu- 
 tion established in connection with our Mission in 
 Central China has been fulfilled. In three years hence 
 the Hunan Mission will be on its feet, and so will the 
 educational institution ; and I shall be seventy years 
 of age then. It strikes me that I might come home 
 then with a good conscience. Don't you think so your- 
 self? It would be a great delight to see you and 
 many more of the friends that are still left. It will be 
 sad, however, to miss so many faces. Some of my 
 best and dearest friends are gone, and I shall miss 
 them sadly if I ever go home again. But all is 
 uncertain, except the glorious assurance we have of 
 meeting in the presence of our blessed Lord and 
 Master.' 
 
 A large Chinese house was purchased to provide 
 temporary quarters for the boarding and high school, 
 and, as already mentioned, Dr. John himself erected 
 and gave to the Mission a handsome building well 
 adapted for a theological school. It is now proposed 
 to erect permanent and suitable buildings for the high 
 school, medical school, and enlarged women's hospital, 
 as a memorial of Dr. John's life and splendid service. 
 
53 2 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 When the new theological college was opened in 
 1904 Dr. John expressed his views on mission work 
 very clearly. He said, as reported in the North China 
 Daily News : 
 
 ' He was afraid his attitude with respect to educa- 
 tion had sometimes been misunderstood. People 
 spoke to him as if he had been an enemy who had 
 somehow got converted, and wanted to know how it 
 was done. The simple truth was that in his methods 
 of mission work he believed he had always been 
 divinely led. At the beginning he saw that the great 
 need was for evangelistic effort. He wanted to see 
 strong churches and many of them, so it became his 
 whole ambition, whether by tongue or pen, to make 
 the hills and valleys of Central China resound with the 
 music of the Cross. He worked for this, and tried to 
 get all others to work for it. He gloried in the fact, 
 and were he beginning afresh he would do the same 
 again. He was no enemy of education, but thought 
 it should be left to the few. He sympathised with 
 schools and hospitals and every department of Christian 
 effort, but for the great mass of missionaries he would 
 say, " Let them evangelise." There was no better work. 
 Ten years ago the increasing number of converts, and 
 the changing aspect of the times, led him to think the 
 education question must now be faced. A scheme was 
 formulated, and in 1899 the high school was opened, 
 and the divinity school in the same year. Then 
 followed the normal school and the medical school. 
 With regard to all of them he was enthusiastic, and 
 yet bated not a jot of his evangelistic fervour. It was 
 
Dr. John's Jubilee 533 
 
 because he was an evangelist first that he had now 
 become an educationalist.' 
 
 Dr. John completed his jubilee of missionary service 
 on Sunday, September 24, 1905. 'His eye was not 
 dim, neither was his natural force abated.' Endowed 
 with a fine constitution, a physical frame capable of 
 enduring an exceptional amount of fatigue and strain, 
 an active and tireless brain of no common order, and a 
 heart aflame with love to his Divine Master and to the 
 Chinese, he might well be described as the ' Grand Old 
 Man ' of Central China. 
 
 The occasion of his jubilee was made the oppor- 
 tunity of a great demonstration of affection and honour 
 in which missionary friends of many missions and 
 Chinese Christians from far and near took part. In 
 addition to the large number of letters expressing the 
 congratulations of absent friends, and the speeches and 
 addresses of those who were present, expression was 
 given in permanent form of the love and trust of his 
 colleagues past and present, and also of the strong 
 feeling of gratitude for all his services cherished by 
 the Chinese Christians. One who was present at the 
 meeting says : 
 
 ' As we listened there seemed to be two key-words 
 constantly recurring as each paid the tribute of respect 
 friendship and persistence. When the Rev. Arnold 
 Foster had read the address presented by his colleagues, 
 and Dr. John replied, these two characteristics came 
 out again and again : " I love my work, I love my 
 colleagues ; and as I have begun so I follow on as 
 long as life shall last" This was the warp on which 
 
534 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 Dr. John seemed to weave his address. Here are a 
 few of his thoughts spoken from a full heart : 
 
 ' " A missionary life is the greatest of all possible 
 lives." " If a messenger from God should come and 
 tell me my life was to be spared for another fifty years, 
 China should have them all" " That Inner Voice I 
 have always obeyed it, and it has never failed me. 
 Even when, in earlier days, going into Hunan with my 
 life in my hands, I knew no fear return alive or not, 
 I knew this was the will of God for me." 
 
 ' The speaker told us of his youthful ambition to be 
 a popular Welsh preacher, and how the missionary 
 desire had entered in and driven out that ambition. 
 In a glowing tribute to his colleagues he said : 
 
 ' " My colleagues I love them. Never man had 
 such colleagues as I have. This great work in Central 
 China is not the work of one man ; all my colleagues 
 have had a share in it. The work is theirs as much 
 as mine, and all the glory is God's. 
 
 ' " I learned a great secret many years ago : Never 
 judge a man by what he says, or even by what he may 
 do. Judge a man by what he is, what I know him 
 to be. 
 
 * " Love love love this is the secret of a happy 
 co-operation." 
 
 ' There cannot be a better way of bringing this 
 article to a close than by giving Dr. John's pronounce- 
 ment on optimism : " Some seem to imagine I am an 
 optimist because life has been easy and I have never 
 known trial or sorrow. But I tell you I am an 
 optimist because of what I see the changes that have 
 
Dr. John's Optimism 535 
 
 taken place these fifty years. Sorrow ! loss ! I have 
 known the bitterest wife, children I have gone 
 through it all. Disappointments, dangers many ! 
 But I am an optimist in spite of it all." ' 
 
 The Chinese Christians decided that they would 
 have a special demonstration a few weeks later in 
 addition to that held at the actual date of the jubilee. 
 An enormous pavilion was erected, in which about two 
 thousand people assembled and held a meeting of 
 thanksgiving to God and congratulations to Dr. John. 
 
 * Just over Dr. John's head was suspended the 
 Chinese ideograph for " love," made of white chry- 
 santhemums ; and indeed the key-note of the after- 
 noon was " love." " He has loved us " came again and 
 again from the lips of the speakers. It is something to 
 have taught this great lesson, even though fifty years 
 be spent in the teaching. 
 
 ' After the service came the reception of delegates 
 a long, long string of them filing past the Doctor, 
 bowing, and voicing the congratulations of their various 
 churches. From thirty -one counties in Hupeh and 
 Hunan came a delegate or a congratulatory letter. 
 Such is the vast extent of the Central China Mission's 
 field ! It was [one of the most moving sights of the 
 jubilee celebrations, native or foreign. 
 
 ' Then most significant fact just before Dr. John 
 delivered a telling speech, came deputations of school 
 children, boys and girls (remember it was in China), with 
 their floral offerings and good wishes to the man who 
 had begun the great work that was setting them free.' 
 
 Since this happy meeting the great missionary has 
 
536 New Movements and the Old Missionary 
 
 had a serious break-down in health, and has been com- 
 pelled for a time to quit the scene of his labours and 
 find rest with his sons in the United States. Yet such 
 is his extraordinary vitality that already physicians 
 say that he may probably be spared to labour quietly 
 for eight or ten years longer in the land of his adoption. 
 
 If the story of the life and labours of Dr. John has 
 been fairly told, some of his most marked characteristics 
 cannot fail to have been noted. His clear and strong 
 intellectual grasp of truth, his whole-souled devotion to 
 the service of his Lord and Master, his splendid and 
 inspiring optimism, his tireless persistence in whatever 
 he has set his hand to, his practical wisdom as a 
 counsellor, his rich endowments as a preacher and 
 writer, and his personal charm of character, have 
 increasingly distinguished him from the rank and file 
 of workers, and marked him out as a great man and 
 a great leader of men. He believes and thinks the 
 best about men, and so gets the best out of them. 
 
 Many friends have been anxious to express their 
 feeling about the " Father of the Central China 
 Mission," and pages might be filled with these tributes 
 of affection and esteem. It would, however, be dis- 
 tasteful to Dr. John and altogether unbecoming during 
 his lifetime to give full expression to the thoughts con- 
 cerning him which affection suggests, or to attempt 
 any detailed estimate of his personal character. Long 
 may it be before the opportunity will present itself for 
 adding such a final chapter to his biography. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adams, Rev. J. , describes Dr. John's 
 preaching services, 181 
 
 Alcock, Sir Rutherford (British 
 Minister in Peking), correspond- 
 ence with British Government 
 about missionaries, 250 
 his charges against missionaries 
 replied to by Dr. John, 257 
 
 Allies defeated at Pei-ho, 109 
 capture of Peking by, 79 
 
 Alliot, Mr. ( Bedford College), 25 
 
 Alltwen, strange experience of Griffith 
 John at, 9 
 
 Ambassadors, foreign, take up resi- 
 dence in Peking, 78 
 
 America, treaty guaranteeing religious 
 freedom of little value, in 
 
 Archibald, Mr. John (National Bible 
 Society of Scotland), sketch of 
 Dr. John as a colporteur, 338 
 perilous trip with Dr. John, 397 
 story of Dr. John's Wen-li New 
 Testament, 433 
 
 Armitage, Professor, 425 
 
 Bedford Missionary Academy, 23 
 
 Beecher, Henry Ward, Dr. John's 
 impressions of, 456 
 
 Bevan, Rev. LI. D. (D.D.), and his 
 son, 373 
 
 Blodget, Dr., 432 
 
 Bogue, Rev. Dr. (Gosport), views on 
 training of candidates for mis- 
 sionary service, 23 
 
 Bonsey, Rev. A. (Hankow), 392, 512 
 
 Boone, Bishop, 42, 431 
 
 Bourboulon, Mons. , 143 
 
 Boxer rising (1900), 522 
 
 Brecon College, history of, 15 
 
 Bridgman, Dr., 431 
 
 Britain and China, quarrel between, 
 resulting in opening of latter to 
 the Gospel, 34 
 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 
 policy regarding publication of 
 
 Scriptures, 338 
 invite Dr. John to undertake 
 
 Mandarin translation of Scrip- 
 tures, 442 
 Bruce, Mr. (Shanghai), treatment of 
 
 T'ai-p'ing rebels by, 143 
 Bryant, Rev. Evan (Hankow), 198, 
 
 270, 391 
 Bryois, M. , French journalist, letter 
 
 in praise of Dr. John, 474 
 Bryson, Rev. Thomas (Hankow and 
 
 Wuchang), reminiscences of Dr. 
 
 John, 199 
 various references to, 211, 270, 
 
 276-8, 366, 392, 394 
 estimate of Mrs. John's character, 
 
 303 
 
 Burdon, Rev. J. S., 42, 432 
 Burns, Rev. W. C, 42 
 
 Canton war, 66 
 
 Chang Chih-tung, His Excellency, 
 
 492-3, 523-4 
 Chang-sha (capital of Hunan), 482-3 
 
 mission property secured at, 495 
 Chau-king Monastery, examination 
 of candidates for priesthood at, 
 
 94 
 
 Chefoo, first visit of Dr. John to, 152 
 China, awakening of, i, 521, 529 
 
 opium quarrel with Britain, 34 
 
 length of journey to, in 1855 and 
 1906 contrasted, 42 
 
 transport in, 73 
 
 war between Japan and, 426 
 
 dawn of new era in, 461 
 
 sad plight of, 507-509 
 
 new attitude towards Western edu- 
 cation and Christianity, 521 
 
 unique opportunity for Christian 
 missions in, 529 
 
 537 
 
538 
 
 Griffith John 
 
 China 
 
 Dowager - Empress of, assumes 
 
 reins of government, 522 
 Emperor of, scheme of reform 
 
 frustrated, 522 
 
 China Inland Mission, title might have 
 been claimed for Dr. John's work, 
 72 
 Chinese Government, far - reaching 
 
 effect of treaty with France, 79 
 send envoy to France to apologise 
 
 for Tientsin massacre, 269 
 attack upon missionaries by (and 
 
 Earl Granville's reply), 269 
 Chinese treachery at Pei-ho, 79 
 language, limitations to acquire- 
 ment by foreigners, 330 
 Chou Han, exposure of, by Dr. John, 
 
 472-3 
 
 Christianity in China, toleration of, 79 
 Chung - king, journey of Messrs. 
 
 John and Wylie to, 226 
 missionary appointed to, 231 
 Chung Wang ('Sincere King'), 
 
 leader of T'ai-p'ing rebels, letter 
 
 to Dr. John, 139 
 attitude towards Christianity, 148 
 Chu-Sao-an, Mr. , ' the first-fruits of 
 
 Hupeh,' ordained to Wesley an 
 
 Methodist ministry, 215 
 * death of, 216 
 
 Clarendon, Earl of, attack upon mis- 
 sionaries in House of Lords, 247 
 Cockburn, Mr., 470 
 Confucianism, tenacious grasp of, 59 
 Confucius, sayings of, 64 
 Congratulatory scrolls from Hupeh 
 
 Christians to L.M.S., gift of, 
 
 427 
 
 Congregational Fund Board, 15 
 Cox, Rev. J., reference to Rev. R. 
 
 Wilson, 194 
 his Chinese pundit, 215 
 Crawford, Mr. J., 235 
 Culbertson, Dr., 433 
 
 Dale, Rev. R. W. (D.D.), criticism 
 by Dr. John of sermon by, 384 
 
 Davies, Rev. David (M.A.), one of 
 Dr. John's tutors, 14 
 
 Davies, Rev. Thomas (Swansea), 8, 
 12 
 
 Delegates' Version of New Testa- 
 ment, 431 
 
 Dorward, Mr. Adam, 484 
 
 Duthie, Rev. James, fellow-student 
 of Dr. John, attains his mission- 
 ary jubilee, 25 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel (Swansea), 4, 12 
 Edicts, Chinese, issued in 1891, 469 
 
 issued in 1901, 528 
 Edkins, Rev. Joseph (D.D.), 48 
 visit to Su-Chow, 67 
 other journeys with Dr. John, 
 
 109-110 
 visit to T'ai-p'ing rebels with Dr. 
 
 John, 127-8, 141 
 
 establishes mission at Chefoo, 152 
 Bible translation work by, 432 
 death of, 49 
 Eitel, Rev. Dr., 441 
 Elgin, Lord (British Ambassador), 
 arrival at Hong-Kong, 66 ; and 
 at Shanghai, 76 
 
 interviewed by missionaries, 145 
 Equipment for missionary service, 
 early ideas on, 23 
 
 Foreigners, right to reside in interior 
 
 of China, 79 
 Forward movement of L.M. S. , Dr. 
 
 John's belief in 425, 506-507 
 Foster, Rev. Arnold (Hankow), 213, 
 
 373-4, 384, 392, 460-61, 463, 
 
 France, far-reaching effect of Chinese 
 
 treaty with, 79 
 
 war between China and (1884), 
 392-3 
 
 Gardner, Mr., Consul, 471-2 
 
 Gillison, Dr. Thomas (Hankow), 
 392, 464, 517 
 
 Goddard, Mr., 432 
 
 Gordon, Major, engaged to subdue 
 T'ai-p'ing rebellion, 149 
 
 Granville, Earl, replies to attack and 
 demands of Chinese Govern- 
 ment concerning missionaries, 
 269 
 
 Greig, Mr. A. L. (Hunan), 495, 
 500, 504 
 
 Griffiths, Rev. David (of the Mada- 
 gascar Mission), father of the 
 first Mrs. John, 26, 30, 31 
 
 Griffiths, Mr. (Carnarvon), 16 
 
Index 
 
 539 
 
 Griffiths, Rev. Professor Henry (Prin- 
 cipal of Brecon College), one of 
 Dr. John's tutors, 15 
 duration of his principalship, 16 
 encourages Griffith John's mission- 
 ary purpose, 19 
 
 commends Griffith John to L. M.S. , 
 22 
 
 Hall, Rev. , visits T'ai-p'ing rebels, 
 
 127 
 Hang-Chow ('Athens of China '), 
 
 Dr. John's scheme for work at, 
 
 72, 78 
 
 visit byjMessrs. John and Lea to, 89 
 other visits to, 92 
 Sing-yun monastery at, 93 
 closed against missionaries, no 
 visit by Messrs. John and Wylie 
 
 to, 118 
 
 Hankow opened to foreign trade, 159 
 arrival of Messrs. John and Wilson, 
 
 160-62 
 
 four times in hands of rebels, 162 
 vast influence of, 163 
 mission house chosen at, 163 
 unique geographical position and 
 
 extent of, 167 
 entrance of Wesleyan and China 
 
 Inland Missions, 174 
 first baptism at, 191 
 gifts by foreign community to 
 
 mission at, 203-204 
 hospital built at, 204 
 boys' school commenced at, 205 
 exceptional floods at, 233 
 farewell of Church to Dr. John 
 
 (1870), 271 
 
 new mission hospital built at, 327 
 formation^of Tract Society at, 330 
 development of Tract Society and 
 
 change of name, 331 
 panic at, 394 
 new chapel built at, 408 
 important changes and develop- 
 ments in mission at, 461 
 Margaret Memorial Hospital 
 
 opened at, 461 
 theological school established at, 
 
 463 
 
 educational scheme for, 530-31 
 Han- Yang city, extent of, 168 
 Hart, Mr. and Mrs. Walford, death 
 
 of, 516 
 
 Heathen, future destiny of the, Dr. 
 
 John's views on the, 379, 384 
 Heng-Chow, foundation of Church at, 
 
 488 
 
 perilous visit by Dr. John to, 489 
 first baptisms at, 491 
 mission property secured at, 495 
 population of, 499 
 Hiau-Kan Mission, story of beginning 
 
 and growth of, 351 
 attack upon Messrs. John and 
 
 Mackenzie at Wei village, 355 
 first chapel erected by converts in, 
 
 365 
 
 premises secured in prefectural 
 city of, 366 ; and occupied by 
 European missionary, 367 
 mission hospital and leper asylum 
 
 at, 368 
 
 settlement of two missionaries at, 48 1 
 Hill, Rev. David, death of, 517 
 Hodge, Mr., 517 
 Hope, Admiral, naval expedition up 
 
 the Yang-tse under, 162 
 Horton, Rev. R. F. (D.D.), 425 
 Hoste, Mr. (Director of China Inland 
 Mission), testifies to value of Dr. 
 John's literary work, 332 
 Hunan, perilous journey by Messrs. 
 
 John and Archibald in, 397 
 Dr. John's plan for work in, 482 
 first baptisms in, 491 
 visits by Dr. John to, 489, 492, 
 
 495. 498, 503 
 
 ' Hunan is open,' 502 
 
 transfer of headquarters to Heng- 
 Chow, 504 
 
 entrance of other missions into, 504 
 Hung Jin ('The Shield King'), 
 leader of T'ai-p'ing rebels, char- 
 acter of, 125 
 
 letter to Dr. John from, 138 
 
 visited by Dr. John, 140 
 
 put to death, 149 
 Hung-siu-tsuen (head of T'ai-p'ing 
 
 rebels), life-story of, 123 
 Hupeh, Dr. John's scheme for evan- 
 gelisation of province of, 459 
 
 remarkable movement in favour of 
 Christianity in, 510 
 
 Immanence of the Spirit of God, Dr. 
 
 John's views on, 457 
 Inns, characteristic Chinese, 410-14 
 
540 
 
 Griffith John 
 
 Jacob, Rev. Ebenezer, prepares 
 
 Griffith John for college, 13 
 nobility of life of, 13 
 letters from Dr. John to (numerous) 
 Japan, war between China and, 426 
 John, Rev. David (Manchester), 8 
 John, David and Rees, uncles of Dr. 
 
 John, 4 I 
 John, Rev. Griffith (D.D.), birth and 
 
 parentage, 3 
 
 godly ancestry and religious in- 
 fluences, 4 
 becomes a church member at age 
 
 of eight, 5 
 
 enters business life, 8 
 strange experiences as a boy 
 
 preacher, 9 
 leaves Onllwyn, 12 
 prepares for college, 13 
 indebtedness to Rev. E. Jacob, 13 
 his tutors at Brecon College, 15 
 decides to become a missionary, 18 
 offer of service to L.M.S. , 20 
 removes to Bedford Academy, 22 
 attraction towards Madagascar, 25 
 the call to China, 28 ; and its ac- 
 ceptance, 31-32 
 ordination, marriage, and departure 
 
 for China, 33 
 incidents of voyage, and arrival at 
 
 Shanghai, 43-47 
 looks back fifty years, 47 
 study of Chinese, 50-51 
 first evangelistic tour alone, 53 
 preaching his chief joy, 56 
 illustrative incidents of work, 58 
 depression and disappointment, 63 
 visit to Su-Chow, 67 
 second year's work in Shanghai, 
 
 67-69 
 
 doors into the interior, 71 
 daring journey towards Yellow 
 
 River, 72 
 
 scheme for work in Hang-Chow, 72 
 transport in China, 73 
 far-reaching effect of Chinese treaty 
 
 with France, 79 
 
 unique trip along Grand Canal, 84 
 other special trips, 89-97 
 curse of opium-smoking, 95, 405 
 trip to Yellow River, 97 
 attack upon missionaries and con- 
 verts, 105 
 visit to Hang-Chow, 112, 118 
 
 John, Rev. Griffith (D.D. ) 
 visit to Sung-kiong, 117-8 
 visit to T'ai-p'ing rebels, 127 
 receives letters from rebel leaders, 
 
 138 
 
 second visit to rebels, 140 
 rebels before Shanghai, 143-4 
 third visit to rebels, 146-9 
 visit to Chefoo, 152 
 sends children home, 154 
 departure for Hankow, 159 ; and 
 
 arrival there, 162-4 
 death of two children, 164 
 conducts services for foreigners, 172 
 his apostolic method, 175 
 a preaching service, 181 
 his optimism and faith, 188 
 first baptism by, 191 
 power of his pen, 177, 192 
 Rev. T. Bryson's reminiscences of, 
 
 199 
 
 gifts of foreign community to, 203 
 gains entrance to Wuchang, 210 
 testimony to Mr. Shen, 213 
 zeal of Chinese Christians, 216 
 evangelistic tours, 220 
 journey to Chung-king, 226 
 exceptional floods at Hankow, 236 
 declines invitation home, 243 
 refuses to leave Wuchang, 250 
 on Chinese civilisation, 252 
 replies to Sir R. Alcock's charges, 
 
 257 
 
 departure for England, 270 
 speech at Exeter Hall (1871), 280 
 anniversary sermon (1872), 284 
 Rev. W. H. Rees' recollections of, 
 
 297 
 
 return to China, 299 
 death of Mrs. John, 300 
 godless Association, 306 
 marriage to Mrs. Jenkins, 309 
 openings for women workers, 311 
 work for sailors, 316 
 death of Mrs. John, 317, 375 
 deepening of his spiritual life, 321-2 
 address at Shanghai Missionary 
 
 Conference (1877), 323 
 attacked by Wei villagers, 327, 355 
 methods of literary work, 328 
 contributions to output of Tract 
 
 Society, and testimonies to value 
 
 of same, 331-5 
 tour with Mr. Archibald, 338 
 
Index 
 
 John, Rev. Griffith (D.D.) 
 
 plea for mission to Sze-Chuen ,350-51 
 life-story of Mr. Wei, 351 
 visits to Wei villages, 355-65 
 trial of leaving China, 369-72 
 return to Hankow, 374-5 
 memorable address at Manchester 
 
 by, 375 
 valedictory address at Weigh House 
 
 Chapel (1882), 386 
 testimony of a Baptist missionary, 
 
 39 
 war between China and France 
 
 (1884), 392 
 fearful panic, 394 
 appeals to Society to work in Korea. 
 
 396 
 
 perilous journey in Hunan, 397 
 extended journey in 1889, 410 
 declines chair of Congregational 
 
 Union, 419-21 
 New Testament translation and 
 
 revision work, 420-28 
 criticises May Meetings, 422 
 attempts to get him to England, 423 
 accepts Directors' invitation, 425 ; 
 
 but subsequently withdraws, 426 
 belief in forward movement of 
 
 L.M.S., 425 
 centenary gift of Hupeh Christians 
 
 to L.M.S., 427 
 title of D.D. conferred, 443 
 views on scheme for Union Version 
 
 of Scriptures, 446-53 
 his militant political faith, 454 
 impressions of Miiller, Beecher, 
 
 and MacDonald, 455-7 
 views on immanence of Spirit of 
 
 God, 457 
 scheme for evangelisation of Hupeh, 
 
 459 
 gift of Margaret Memorial Hospital 
 
 by, 462 
 
 conference of evangelists, 464 
 gift of Theological School, 468 
 unmasks Hunanese plot, 469-73 
 tribute of French journalist to, 474 
 the troubles of 1891, 476 
 cheering facts, 477-81 
 plans for work in Hunan, 482 
 life-story of Mr. Peng, 486 
 notable visits to Hunan, 489, 492, 
 
 495- 498, 53 
 resumes Bible translation, 505 
 
 John, Rev. Griffith (D.D.) 
 
 interest in forward movement of 
 
 L.M.S., 506 
 remarkable movement in Hupeh, 
 
 51 
 
 serious illnesses, 516-7 
 
 visits to Ruling, 520 
 
 Chinese demand for English teach- 
 ing, 521 
 
 Boxer rising (1900), 525 
 
 dreams fulfilled, 531 
 
 views on education, 532 
 
 celebration of his missionaryjubilee, 
 
 533 
 
 why he is an optimist, 534 
 
 health visit to America, 536 
 
 his most marked characteristics, 536 
 John, Miss, birth of, 193 
 
 marriage to Rev. C. G. Sparham, 396 
 John, Mrs. Griffith, marriage of, 33 
 
 journeys in China, 73, 95 
 
 arrival at Hankow, 164 
 
 visit to England, 197 
 
 death of, 300 
 
 her missionary character, 280, 299, 
 
 304 
 John, Mrs. Griffith (Mrs. Jenkins), 
 
 marriage of, 310 
 her ability as a Christian worker, 
 
 310 
 
 her work for sailors, 315 
 visit to America, 391 
 return to China, 396 
 death of, 317 
 
 John, Mr. and Mrs., sen., 3 
 death of Mrs. John, sen. , 3 
 death of Mr. John, sen., 13 
 Jones, Mr. David (American Bible 
 Society colporteur), work in 
 Hunan, 498 
 Jukes, Mr. (Bedford College), 25, 28 
 
 King-kow, establishment of out- 
 station at, 207 
 out-station abandoned, 208 
 
 King-shan, remarkable Christian 
 movement in, 510 
 
 King-teh-tsin, visit by Messrs. John 
 and Archibald to, 341 
 
 Klockers, Mr. (English Baptist 
 Mission), visit to T'ai - p'ing 
 rebels with Dr. John, 146 
 
 Korea, appeal by Dr. John to L. M. S. 
 to work in, 396 
 
542 
 
 Griffith John 
 
 Kucheng, massacre of Europeans at 
 
 (1895), 473 
 
 Ruling, summer quarters at, 518 
 Kwan-jin, celebration of birthday of, 
 
 92 
 Kwun-Shan, visit by Dr. John to, 90 
 
 Lady medical missionary in Central 
 China, appointment of first, 462 
 
 Lawson, Mr., 479 
 
 Lea, Mr. (Amoy), journey on Grand 
 Canal with Dr. John, 84 
 
 Leang Afah (convert of Dr. Morrison), 
 123 
 
 Lees, Rev. Jonathan, 378 
 
 Legge, Rev. J. (D.D.), of Hong- 
 Kong, opinion about Hung Jin, 
 
 I2 5 
 missionary sermon by, 295 
 
 Lewis, Rev. George, 16 
 
 Lewis, Rev. Jenkins, 16 
 
 Life of Faith, remarkable state- 
 ment by Dr. John in, 321 
 
 Li Hung Chang, cruelty towards 
 T'ai-p'ing rebels, 149 
 
 Lockhart, Dr. William, 42, 48 
 
 Lords, House of, attack on mission- 
 aries in the, 246 
 
 M'Clatchie, Rev. (chaplain to Han- 
 kow foreign community), 203 
 
 Macgowan, Rev. J. (Amoy), visit to 
 T'ai-p'ing rebels with Dr. John, 
 127 
 
 Machynlleth, visit by Mr. and Mrs. 
 John to, 271 
 
 Mackenzie, Dr. Kenneth, in charge 
 of Hankow hospital, 204, 327, 
 
 355 
 attacked by Wei villagers, 327 
 
 Margaret Memorial Hospital, Han- 
 kow, opening of, 461 
 
 Margary, Mr., trouble with China 
 on account of murder of, 392 
 
 Martin, Dr., 432 
 
 Mateer, Dr., 446 
 
 Mawbey, Dr. , 392 
 
 Meadows, Dr. (Shanghai), opinion 
 about Hung Jin, 125 
 
 Medhurst, Dr., 42, 46-48, 431 
 
 Milne, Rev. Dr., 431 
 valuable tract by, 328 
 
 Missionaries, journeys beyond pre- 
 scribed limits, 70 
 
 Missionaries 
 
 the chief agency in remov- 
 ing Chinese prejudice against 
 foreigners, 80 
 
 attack in Parliament and the 
 Times upon, 245-6 ; and Dr. 
 John's defence, 257 
 
 Missionary enterprise, Dr. John's 
 reasons for believing in ultimate 
 success of, 285 
 
 Morris, Rev. T. M. (Ipswich), visit 
 to Hankow, 463 
 
 Morrison, Rev. R. (D.D. ), indebted- 
 ness of T'ai-p'ing Wang to, 123 
 valuable tract by, 328 
 
 Moule, Bishop, 436, 440 
 
 Muirhead, Rev. W. (Shanghai), 42, 
 59, 61-62, 69, 72, 97, 430 
 
 Mullens, Rev. J. (D.D.), visit to 
 China, 169 
 
 Miiller, Mr. George, Dr. John's im- 
 pressions of, 455 
 
 Nanchang, visit by Messrs. John and 
 
 Archibald to, 343 
 Nanking, Treaty of, 39 
 
 visit by Dr. John to T'ai-p'ing 
 
 rebels at, 71, 127, 140, 146-9 
 the treaty a remarkable concession, 
 
 but defective, 78 
 headquarters of T'ai-p'ing rebels 
 
 at, 124 
 
 no vestige of idolatry at, 148 
 finally taken by Imperial troops, 149 
 National Bible Society of Scotland, 
 policy regarding publication of 
 Scriptures, 337 
 
 invitation to Dr. John to undertake 
 Mandarin Version of Scriptures, 
 442 
 Native ministry, importance of a 
 
 trained, 462 
 
 Conference of evangelists at Han- 
 kow, 462-8 
 Non-Christian Preaching Association, 
 
 306 
 Nonconformist testimony to Dr. 
 
 John's missionary sermon, 293 
 North Wales Academy, 16 
 Noyes, Rev. A. V., 441 
 
 Onllwyn, where Griffith John was 
 apprenticed, and preached his 
 first sermon, 9 
 
Index 
 
 543 
 
 Opium traffic 
 
 case against, stated by the bio- 
 grapher, 35 
 
 first opium war, 35 
 
 growth of trade in, 38 
 
 curse of opium-smoking, 95, 405 
 
 Christianity brought into contempt 
 
 by, 408 
 
 Owen, Rev. W. , 348, 364, 392, 463 
 Owen, Mrs. W. ( death of, 516 
 
 Parkes, Mr., Consul, journey with 
 naval expedition up the Yang- 
 tse, 162 
 
 Pau Ting Chang, Mr. (evangelist at 
 Wuchang), life-story of, 211 
 
 Pei-ho River, treachery of Chinese at, 
 
 79 
 
 defeat of Allies at, 109 
 Peking, foreign ambassadors take up 
 
 residence at, 78 
 captured by Allies, 79 
 Peng Lan-Seng, Mr., life-story of, 
 
 485-8 
 visit to Heng-Chow, 489; and work 
 
 there, 492, 500 
 
 Peterborough, Bishop of (Dr. Magee), 
 defence of missionaries in House 
 of Lords by, 248 
 Ping-hu (Bing-oo), work of Dr. John 
 
 at, 71-72, 76, 95 
 
 catechumens and baptisms at, 76-77 
 Prout, Rev. E. (Secretary of L. M.S. ), 
 invites Griffith John to go to 
 China, 28 
 
 Rees, Mr. W., Griffith John's 
 Sunday School teacher, 7 
 
 Rees, 'Rev. W. Hopkyn, recollections 
 
 of Dr. John, 297 
 departure for China, 297 
 
 Reid, Dr. A. G. , in charge of Han- 
 kow hospital, 204 
 
 Religious toleration, edict by T'ai- 
 p'ing leader, 147 
 
 Religious Tract Society, Central 
 China, growth of, 331 
 
 Riots in Yang-tse valley (1891), 468 
 
 Roberts, Mr. (American Baptist 
 Mission), and the T'ai - p'ing 
 Wang, 123 
 
 Rogers, Rev. Stanley, 425 
 
 Sacred Edict, preachers of the, 307 
 Schereschewsky, Dr., 432 
 
 Selincourt, Mrs. De, 422 
 
 Shearer, Dr., in charge of Hankow 
 
 hospital, 204 
 
 Shen Tsi Sing, Mr. (Hankow), testi- 
 mony to character of, 213 
 Shanghai, 40, 47 
 
 mission chapel damaged by mob, 
 
 107 
 retreat of T'ai- p'ing rebels from, 
 
 126 
 rebels again before city, 143 ; and 
 
 their discomfiture, 146 
 missionaries gathered at, 145 
 Missionary Conference at, 323, 442 
 Siang-tan, visit by Messrs. John and 
 
 Archibald to, 345 
 mission property secured at, 495 
 Society of Worshippers of God, 123 
 Somerset, Duke of, attack on mis- 
 sionaries by, 246 
 Sparham, Rev. C. G., arrival in 
 
 Hankow, 396 
 
 marriage to Miss John, 396 
 visit to England, 427 
 visit to Heng-Chow, 489 
 other references to, 463, 500 
 Stevenson, Rev. J. W. , 446 
 Stronach, Mr., 431 
 Su-Chow, visit by Messrs. Edkins and 
 John, 67 ; and by Messrs. John 
 and Lea, 89-90 
 first preaching-hall opened by Dr. 
 
 John, 72 
 
 closed against foreigners, no 
 Sung-kiong, 53 
 
 residence of Rev. A. Williamson, 
 
 72 
 visit by Messrs. John and Wylie, 
 
 117 
 Sung - pu, Swedish missionaries 
 
 murdered at, 473 
 
 Swansea, Griffith John's birthplace, 
 3 ; and residence during first 
 furlough, 271 
 Swedish missionaries murdered at 
 
 Sung-pu, 473 
 Sze-Chuen, riots in (1895), 473 
 
 T'ai-p'ing rebels, visited by Dr. John, 
 
 71, 127, 140, 146 
 defence of, 116, 124 
 elements of good in the rebellion, 
 
 120-22 
 leader of, 123 
 
544 
 
 Griffith John 
 
 T'ai-p'ing rebels, sad feature of 
 
 rebellion, 124 
 
 accession of Hung Jin to, 125 
 movements between 1853-1860, 126 
 religious element of the rebellion, 
 
 133 
 rebels before Shanghai, 143 ; and 
 
 their discomfiture, 144 
 edict of religious toleration, 147 ; 
 
 of no permanent value, 148 
 end of the movement, 149 
 attempts to interdict opium, 153 
 Taku forts captured by Allies, 79 
 Taylor, Rev. Hudson (M.D. ), 42, 
 
 Terrell, Mr. W. G., death of, 517-8 
 Thomas, Rev. H. Arnold, 421, 425 
 Thomas, Rev. Josiah, 425 
 Thompson, Rev. R. W. (Foreign 
 
 Secretary, L.M.S.), visit to 
 
 Hankow (1883), 394 
 Tientsin, Treaty of (1858), 78-79, 159 
 
 massacre of Catholics at, 269 
 Times, attack on missionaries by, 245 
 Tract Society, Hankow, formation 
 
 of, 330 
 development and change of name, 
 
 33 1 
 
 Transport in China, means of, 73 
 Treaty of Nanking, 39 
 of Tientsin, 78-79 
 with France, 79 
 American, guaranteeing religious 
 
 freedom, of little value, in 
 ports, first five, 40 
 ports, additional nine, 79 
 Tsai-tien, establishment of out-station 
 
 at, 206 
 
 out-station abandoned, 208 
 Tsao Shih, establishment of head 
 
 station at, 368, 516 
 Turner, Dr. E. P., death of, 517 
 
 Wang Lien-King, Mr., founder of 
 
 church at Heng-Chow, 488-90 
 Wang, T'ai-p'ing, suicide of, 149 
 Ward (American) engaged to sub- 
 due T'ai-p'ing rebels, 149 
 Warren, Consul Pelham L., 493 
 Warren, Rev. G. , testimony to Dr. 
 John's preaching power (180), 
 
 helpfulness to other missions 
 (314), and valuable literary work, 
 
 333 
 
 Wars, opium, 35 
 Canton, 66 
 
 second war with Britain (1856), 78 
 France and China, 392-3 
 Japan and China, 426 
 Wei Teh -Yung (Hiau-Kan evan- 
 gelist), life-story of, 351 
 Wells, Dr. W., appointed to Han- 
 kow, but died at sea, 196 
 Williams, Mr. J., Griffith John's first 
 
 employer, 8, n 
 
 Williamson, Rev. A. and Mrs., 
 colleagues of Dr. John, leave 
 for China with him, 33 
 Wilson, Rev. R., visit to T'ai-p'ing 
 
 rebels with Dr. John, 149 
 settlement at Hankow, 160-62 
 visit to Japan, 164 
 death of, 166, 193 
 kindness of Hankow community 
 
 to widow of, 195 
 Wolfe, Dr. (German scientist), trouble 
 
 at Heng-Chow caused by, 489 
 Women, gathering of, into church 
 
 membership, 218 
 openings in the mission-field for 
 
 foreign Christians, 311 
 Wong, colporteur, 54 
 Wu, Mrs., Hunanese Christian 
 
 heroine, 500 
 
 Wuchang, extent of city of, 169 
 entrance gained for missionary 
 
 work, 210 
 
 Wylie, Mr. Alexander, 42, 48, 117, 
 226 
 
 Yang-Chow, attack on missionaries 
 
 at, 244 
 Yang - tse - kiang River, opened to 
 
 foreign trade, 159 
 riots in valley of (1891), 468 
 Yellow River, daring journey by 
 
 Messrs. John and Muirhead 
 
 towards, 72, 97 
 Ying-shan, 415 
 Yo-Chow, mission property secured 
 
 at, 495 
 mission station given up, 504 
 
 Printed bv R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh. 
 
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