UC-NRLF ^B 3D2 b^M Ao I mJw I Ai>w Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/chineseastheyareOOsaunrich The Chinese as They Are By J. R. Saunders, Th. D. Graves Theological Seminary, Canton, China The Chinese as They Are i2mo, cloth net Si. 50 The well-known missionary writer in his latest work shows the exact situation now confronting the Chinese and the Western world. A book of great fascination for all interested in the Chinese question. Men and Methods That Win in the Foreign Fields i2mo, cloth net $1.00 The author gives in practical form the result of years of experience, (his own and others') of workers bearing upon the problems of Foreign IMissions, the conditions of non-Christian lands and the kind of missionaries needed to accomplish the greatest results. The book is an examination of the imperative need of the foreign field. The Cross and the Reconstruction of the World i2mo, cloth net $1.50 Dr. George W. Truett says: "This book traces the present rapidly changing world conditions pohtically, industrially, socially, educationally, religiously, making the earnest insistence that Christianity must now and ever be the one, only, all-sufiicient hope for humanity. It has a distinctly vital message— a message supremely needed for these momentous days." a member of an influential official family, who declined a high official position to help christianity in south China. ■, ■' , » 5 » 9 ' . ? > ', » > ' ' ' 1 ' The Chinese as They Are By J. R. SAUNDERS, Th. D. Author of ''Men and Methods That Win in the Foreign Field,' "The Cross and the Recon- struction of the Worlds'' etc. ILLUSTRATED New York Chicago Fleming H. Revell Company London and Edinburgh .«■••■» ''Cdpyngfit^*i92i,' by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. London : 2 1 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street Because of his great love for the world's Saviour and longing desire that the Gospel be preached speedily to all the waiting heathen nations, as shown by his making the largest gift ever made in the Southland for foreign missions by any Baptist brother this book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of the late COLONEL JOSEPH NEWTON BROWN Anderson, South Carolina (^Deceased January 24th, ig2l) /* •''* <"^ V" T" c Preface IN the past the West and East have been widely separated, but the time has come when we must walk together. We must know each other, join our civiHzations and combine our re- sources in meeting the world's needs. Before we can do this effectively, we need to understand each other and the forces that have been the basis of our civilization. Travellers and the dwellers in the port towns have written much about China, but these have confused rather than revealed the people as they are. We need to spend many years in actual contact with the people before we can know them. Dr. Arthur H. Smith, whose missionary experience extends over nearly fifty years, answers the question, Who Knows China? thus: "I have met only two classes of people who are able confi- dently to assert, * We Do.' They are the news- paper reporters and globe-trotters. As for myself, I am continually discovering a continental area still unexplored" ("New Currents in China"). The world's civilization and destiny depend on our understanding the Oriental situation and meet- ing it wisely. We have not yet understood the im- portance of the crisis fast approaching its crucial 7 ^ 8 PREFACE stage. I wonder if the Christian forces realize this as the business men do. Thomas W. Lamont, representing thirty-six of the leading banking cor- porations in the United States and indirectly the leading banks in England, France and Japan, was sent to China to examine the financial situation with a view of organizing the Consortium to finance that country. After six months he re- turned to New York City and made this state- ment: "If ever a people deserve our effective friendship these are the ones. In a material way they will repay it a thousandfold. China has un- told wealth in her natural resources. It requires only the stabilization of political conditions there in order to develop these resources and make the country perhaps the greatest in the world in actual as well as potential wealth. "As I went into the interior, rode on horseback through the little villages and then on through the cultivated plains, coming into personal contact with the people at work, tilling the soil with infinite in- dustry, and as I began to see how they had carried on their civilization without let or hindrance through thousands of years, I became thoroughly imbued with the innate strength of this great people." My object in preparing this volume is to enable the Christian forces of the West to know the peo- ple as they are and " become thoroughly imbued " with the supreme opportunity and the greatness of PREFACE 9 the task now ours. We need to understand this in seeking to reveal Christ, the world's Saviour, to them. Western commerce with its usual attendant social evils and Western civilization without the moral ideals and dynamic force of Christianity ought not to be permitted to mould New China. These forces are likely to hinder rather than to help except as Christianity is given first place in the dawning age. Principal Gaudier at the Des Moines North American Student Conference, 1920, spoke these significant words: " Probably the future of the world depends on no one thing so much as this: Will Chinese education in the next genera- tion be dominated by a Prussian or a Christian spirit? I believe the future of humanity depends on the answer to that question, and the churches of Jesus Christ must answer the question." Our brethren in the Orient struggling for better things need " a brother who will walk in the sun- light and show them the way." If we will do this, they will be a blessing to the world for all future days. I sincerely hope that the Christian forces ever5rwhere will be aware of the situation and will render the necessary effort to meet the conditions for their needs and the glory of the Father. J. R. S. Richmond, Va. ^ V The Christian greeting that occurs ' in the letters of all Christians to their '^ fellow-Christians. This means in a ^'^^ rough translation the following: "Ear- " ci^ nestly desire that the big pastor, San, obtain constantly from God and my Lord Jesus Christ grace and mercy. -^j^ Amen." Every character is a word with dis- ^5?} tinct meaning, written from right to ^t left and from the top to the bottom. This is regarded by the Chinese as very fine handwriting. J«^ Bf5 'fa 10 Contents I. Their Country M II. Their Language 24 III. Characteristics of Greatness . . 30 IV. The Chinese and Foreigners 37 V. The Chinese and Business . . 44 VI. The Chinese and Music 52 VII. The Chinese and Labour . . 58 VIII. The Chinese and Government . 63 IX. The Chinese and Customs . . 69 X. The Chinese and Women . 7^ XI. The Chinese and Their Worst Classej 5 81 XII. The Chinese and Education . 87 XIII. The Chinese and Medical Science . 97 XIV. The Chinese and Ancestral Worship . 106 XV. The Chinese and Religion . . 113 XVI. The Chinese and Christianity . . 121 XVII. The Chinese and Missions — Opening New Work .... • 131 XVIII. The Chinese and Missions — The Com- pound . 137 XIX. The Chinese and Missions—Me OF Work II thodj . 142 12 CONTENTS XX. The Chinese and Christianity's Great Opportunity . . . .148 XXI. The Chinese and Their Appeal to the Volunteer 1^5 XXII. The Chinese and How to Meet Their Needs 161 XXIII. The Chinese and the World Politic . 167 XXIV. The Chinese and the Kingdom of God 171 Illustrations FACING PAGE A Member of an Influential Official Family, Who Declined a High Official Position to Help Chris- tianity IN South China .... Frontispiece Hon. Go\^rnor Mok of Kwangtung Province, China. He Gave Largely to Mission Work and With His Fellow Officials Gave Valuable Lands for Schools AND Hospitals 30 Imperial Grounds in Peking. Until 1900 No Foreigners Were Permitted to Enter but Now the Grounds Are Open to Everyone Interested in Chinese History 38 Chong Lip Sz, Banker, Business Man, and Friend to the Missionary 44 Wong Kok Shun, a B.anker Who Has Contributed About $50,000 to Christian Work During the Last Five Years 44 Mrs. Saunders' Most Talented Pupil in Music in China or America 52 The Blind Organist; for Years in One of the Best Churches near Canton 52 A Chinese Farmer and His Mother. The Man Won His Wife to Christ and Then His Mother, Who was 75 Years Old 58 Christian Chinese Family. Notice the Length of the Man's Clothing and that of the Mother and Daughter. The Latter was not Engaged when a Child, but Allowed to Select Her Own Husband . 70 Girls' High School and Main Building at Hangchow, Central China. Such Schools are the Hope of New China 76 A Christian Whose Brother was a Leper. He Himself was a Monk for Years, His Mother was a Woman of Bad Character 82 13 14 ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE " The Home Day " of Nanking Christian University's Alumni. They are Raising $50,000 for this Great University 88 A Leading Young Physician in Canton, and Helper in Christian Work 98 Dr. Jew Hawk, Hongkong, China. A A^estern Trained Physician 98 A Tomb of One of the Ming Emperors. It is 500 Years Old and Located Near Nanking 106 The Altar of Heaven in Peking, Where the Rulers of China Turn their Prayers at the Beginning of Each Year 114 Chinese Students in the Leading Educational Institu- tions in the United States from tee Pui Ching Academy, Canton, South China . . . . .122 The River-side Where We Entered Ying-tak and Started the New Work. Our Compound Was Located Nearby. (Insert.) A Young Hak-ka Preacher, Who Helped to Make the Work a Success 132 A Section of the Shanghm College Compound (Campus) 138 A Section of the Baptist Compound, Tung Shan, Canton 138 A Christian Family of Great Influence. Two Sons and Two Daughters are in the United States Preparing for and Doing Christian Work. The Father is a Native Preacher and Leader 142 Primary BL^LDING in Canton, Erected in Part by Funds from the Chinese. The Governor sent Nearly $1,000. Another Building is Being Erected . . 148 Head of Police in Canton, a Great Friend to the Mis- sion Work i.')6 C. Y. Hui, FROM South China, now Completing His Third Year in Richmond College, Va 156 A. Section of Great Wall at Nanking . . . .162 B. Entrance to Confucian Temple, Peking . . . 162 C. Entrance to Lama Temple, Peking . . . .162 Map of China 176 THEIR COUNTRY NOWHERE in all the world and during all time do we find another nation quite like the Chinese. The other great fam- ilies of nations, that have played so large a part in the world's history, have acted their part and one by one disappeared, but the Chinese remain^ ever increasing in numbers and power with a continu- ous history dating from nearly three thousand years before Christ. During all this history they have successfully resisted all forces without and within, and remain to-day with greater potentiali- ties than ever. To know these unique people and the forces that have held them together as one family is to understand one of the great problems of the human race. They have many lessons for the present age that bear on all lands and peoples. The Chinese have been the greatest force in the Orient during the last five thousand years. Count- ing India we have in the Eastern Hemisphere more than half of the human family, and the domi- nant people in the highest ideals in these lands have ever been the people of China. These ideals •—and not the country — ^have made the people 15 16 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE stand out as one of the greatest civilizations in all history. They are the only people who have wholly absorbed the Jews as far as we can ascer- tain from authentic history. The sons of Abra- ham reached China a thousand years ago (much earlier some people think) and settled in Honan Province, close by the early home of the Chinese. These people from across the mountains were amalgamated. Their religion, customs, language disappeared without leaving any lasting impres- sion on the Chinese ideals. The religious leaders of India had a profound influence on the Chinese in modern days (com- paratively), yet the religion of China antedates Buddhism thousands of years and was never des- troyed by it, but rather the foreign religions were adapted and made a part of the Chinese. Chinese have given the Japanese their highest ideals. Bishop Bash ford in his book, " China: An In- terpretation," says: "Two facts at least are be- yond question. The Chinese nation is the largest in numbers of all the nations on the face of the earth, and their civilization is the oldest continuous on the globe. The virility of the race is indisput- able. The physical vitality is so great that they have captured industries and trades from the Rus- sians at Vladivostock and along the Trans-Siberian railway, and have led in industries and commerce in competition with the Japanese, Indians, Arabi- ans, Europeans and Americans in every neutral THEIR COUNTRY 17 port m Malaysia. The Chinese people can probably labour more continuously under extremes of heat and cold than any other people on earth." Yes, these people have played the principal role in the Far East for the last five thousand years. In natural resources and man power, they still are the greatest in potential power. They will, no doubt, in the near future take their place in the nations of the world as one of the greatest. The origin of the Chinese People. Although they are the oldest nation with a con- tinuous history, yet they are not the first to occupy their present country. There are still to be foimd the aborigines who have never submitted to the Chinese. These aborigines are found in many of the mountains and on the islands. They are a dis- tinct people in customs, appearance, language, and religion. They have no written language, do not worship idols except where they have come in close touch with the Chinese, have strange mar- riage laws ; some are larger and much whiter than the Chinese. They have their own government, peaceful if left alone; otherwise cruel and resent- ful. They certainly antedate the Chinese people. As to the origin of the Chinese people Julian Arnold, in his "Commercial Handbook" says: " The origin of the Chinese Is a matter of dispute. The fertile lands In the Wei Basin in Southern Shensi Province In West China, are spoken of as the cradle of China, indicating that the Chinese 18 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE either came from Central Asia or that the race originated here." As to their earliest period he has this to say: " The legendary history of China is believed by the Chinese to extend back to the beginnings of all things. The historical period takes its inception from B. c. 2852, the supposed date of the birth of the first of the Emperors as credited in Chinese history. The Emperor is supposed to have given to the people (1) the marriage ceremony, (2) mu- sical instruments, (3) the ideogram in writing to replace knot notation, (4) the six domestic ani- mals, ( 5 ) the mulberry leaf for the feeding of the silkworms, and (6) fish nets. " The Emperor Shen-nung, B. c. 2700, is re- puted to have given to his people the wooden plow and the art of husbandry. At this time China was supposed to extend as far east as Shantung Prov- ince and as far south as the Yangtze Valley.'* As to her present territory he gives this infor- mation : " Relative position of China, — " The distance from the coast of China to the coast of California is about equivalent to twice the distance from San Francisco to New York City. The northern latitude of China's territory corre- sponds with a line running through southern Can- ada, and the southern latitude with a line trans- versing southern Mexico. From east to west China's territory extends over a distance similar THEIR COUNTRY 19 to that between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. " Area and Population, — " Since China has not carried out a proper land survey or census, the area B.-M population of its territory can be given only as estimates, as in the following table (figures for certain other coun- tries are added for purposes of comparison) : Area Density Region (sq. miles) Population (per sq. mi.) China proper, exclusive of the Manchurian Provinces 1,533,000 336,271,000 219. Manchuria 364,000 14,917,000 41. Mongolia 1,370,000 2,500,000 2. Chinese Turkestan 550,000 1,200,000 2. Tibet 460,000 6,500,000 14. Total Chinese Territory 4,277,000 361,388,000 84. (As to population estimates differ very greatly. We usually think that 450,000,000 is more likely to be the cor- rect number — Author.) South America 6,850,000 35,000,000 5. United States, exclusive of dependencies 3,620,000 100,000,000 33. Japanese Empire 260,000 70,000,000 270. France (continental) .. 207,000 40,000,000 150. " China is probably one of the best watered countries on the face of the globe. The Yangtze River, about 3,200 miles long, and the Yellow River, about 3,600 miles, rise in Tibet and flow east across North and Central China, emptying into the Pacific. The West River, about 1,200 miles long, rises in Yunnan Plateau in southeast- 20 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE ern China and flows east through South China into the Pacific." China has all kinds of climate from the frigid winters of the North to the mild winters and long summers of the South, being modified greatly and made a greater blessing by the large and well- regulated annual rainfall (as a rule). This va- ries from twenty-five inches in the North to sev- enty or more in the South. Tientsin and Peking are in about the same latitude as San Francisco; Shanghai near that of New Orleans, and Canton to that of Havana, Cuba, yet the temperature in China differs very greatly from that of the corre- sponding places mentioned in the Western Hemi- sphere, owing to ocean currents and various other modifying causes. Take Canton for example. This city has the loveliest autumns I have ever seen anywhere in the world with three to four months in the winter needing fire. There is usu- ally a little frost and ice each winter and once in a great while a little snow. Canton is reported to be the coldest city in the world with the same lati- tude and altitude. Nature has wonderfully blessed the Middle Kingdom and suited it for a large family. Its pro- ductiveness and climatic conditions fit it for one of the greatest nations in the world. Owing to sanitary conditions and the Westerner's failure to adjust himself to existing problems of health, he may not be as strong at first as in his native coun- THEIR COUNTRY 21 try, but this is not due primarily to climate. Most likely to his failure to make the proper adjust- ment which every country requires of its inhabit- ants. China unquestionably has one of the best climates in the world though many wrong impres- sions have come to us in the West. Again there are many wrong impressions as to the food and the manner of living. They live very differently in the various sections and do not eat the same things. Taking the nation as a whole, more people live on wheat products than rice, yet rice is the staple food in the South as nature provides. Sweet potato, beans of various kinds, water chestnuts, many varieties of greens and vegetables are used extensively. They have many more vegetables than we have in the West. In a recent issue of the London Times, as quoted by Bishop Bashford, we have this information: " China has the richest temperate flora in the world. Professor Sorgent, of the Harvard Ar- boretum, in connection with E. H. Wilson and other botanists, has introduced into the United States some twelve hundred species of trees, plants, and flowers from China. The same has been done for England. Thus the Western world is being enriched by the unusual productiveness of China. Instead of the Chinese being limited to rice alone, they use a far larger variety of vege- tables, grains, and tubes than do Europeans and Americans." 22 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE The Chinese do not know the boundless re-« sources of their country in natural wealth. Su- perstition, lack of official protection, money and transportation have prevented these resources be- ing discovered and developed. The mountains are full of coal and iron ore and other minerals, but the people have thought if they dig into the mountains the demons would come out with the dragon and kill the people. These evil spirits would bring bad luck, with sickness and death. This superstition has done much to hinder the mining of these great beds of wealth which God has created for their good and the world's needs. Also the officials have been more concerned about their profits than the protection of the mining in- terests. The lack of railroads and proper trans- portation facilities have made it unprofitable to spend much on the mines. These barriers will be removed in New China and she will become one of the wealthiest nations in the world. The dire poverty of the masses will disappear. " Baron Richthofen pronounced the coal and iron resources of China the greatest of any nation on earth. He estimates the coal area for China at 419,000 square miles, as compared with 310,- 000 square miles for the United States" (Bash- ford). It was reported years ago by an expert that there was enough coal in one province, Shansi, to supply the world for a thousand years at the then rate of consumption. A nation's THEIR COUNTRY 23 wealth is fast being determined by the amount of coal and iron deposits. This great wealth of natural resources will be developed in the near future and do much to make China a new country, yet it is not of this kind of wealth we are most concerned. It is the people, their history, present condition and outlook, possi- bility as a great nation, being a blessing to each other and the world, that give us the most interest and concern. Indeed they are the marvel of his- tory. Mr. Rounsenvelle Wildman has this to say about the people: "Since the dawn of history China has been a civilized and a religious nation with a written history. She has had a continuous national life, and has never been driven from her Garden of Eden. The Chinese of 3,000 years B. c. are the identical Chinese that greeted us at the opening of the Treaty Ports." These people in their relation to each other and the outside world, their ability to help solve the world problems and the mutual help the Occident and Orient may render in the dawning of the present complex age we are facing, how we can help them In their struggles to know and appropri- ate the blessings of advancing civilization which we have In Christ, are the questions most oppor- tune and will have largest place in this volume rather than the country and past records not ger- mane to present problems. II THEIR LANGUAGE THE Chinese language is probably the old- est in the world to-day. Mr. Wildman says the Chinese we met at the opening of the Treaty Ports were the identical Chinese of 3,000 years before Christ. This may not be true in every respect, but as to written language is, no doubt, quite true. The characters they use in writing have been modified by different genera- tions, yet the general make-up is the same and the ideas and ideals conveyed must be much the same. The very age of the language and the vast num- bers speaking it add great interest to its study. These characters, which look so strange to us, do service for not only the 450,000,000 in China, but are used in Japan and many of the surrounding countries with more or less modification. Origi- nally Japan had no written language. She bor- rowed her characters from China and has been using these ever since. In recent years the Japa- nese have an alphabet of forty odd letters, yet in the cultural literature and many of the official doc- uments we see Chinese characters still used. Even with Japan's splendid adaptation of Western life to meet her needs, she has not given up altogether the Chinese characters. Truths written In Chi- 24 THEIR LANGUAGE 25 % nese characters may reach a third of the human race. This cannot be said of any other language. There is a distinct difference between the writ- ten and spoken language. The written may be understood wherever read. There is also a dif- ference in the written language. We have the classical, the book and newspaper, and the collo- quial styles. The classical is the language of the sages, the book and newspaper is that used by the writers of to-day all over China, and the colloquial is used by the common people. It is called the vulgar language by the scholars as the classical scholars in Athens now think of the colloquial Greek. The colloquial has been used mostly by the missionary in his efforts to reach the masses with the gospel. The scholars are trying to make a modern alphabet to use in place of these characters. At this time the language has no alphabet, only 214 radicals, of which each character is composed of one or more, but there is an effort to produce an alphabet somewhat like we have in the West. The language has no grammar of any consequence. The first Protestant missionary to reach China was Robert Morrison in 1807. He felt he must make a grammar. He did so, but this grammar is not used to-day, and no one since has found it necessary to make another one. The early priests from the West tried, but their efforts as well as Morrison's were not fruitful in learning the lan- guage. Missionaries in recent times have tried to 26 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE modernize the language by systems of Romaniza- tion. These have had local use, but have not ap- pealed to the scholars. The efforts to make a modern alphabet ought to succeed, but it remains to be seen whether the Chinese will give up the old for the new. The tides of Western civilization are sweeping over the country, and may change the language as far as the alphabet is concerned. Commerce and intercourse with the outside world will encourage the making of the modern alphabet. The Chinese people love these characters with thousands of years of sacred memory. Years ago I was walking with a Chinese scholar. I read a leaf and threw it down by the roadside. He picked it up and said to leave the characters to be walked over would give great offense to his people. He picked up the leaf and tenderly cared for it. These characters are indeed precious by reason of their age and holy memories, and splendid use through their long history. The language is one of tones and idiom very different from anything in the West. The vocab- ulary is complex and extensive. The number of words is likely greater than in English. So many words mean the same though used by different classes. We get some Idea of the number and make up of the words by their dictionaries and encyclopaedias. K'ang HsI was a literary ruler who lived in the early period of the Manchu Dy- nasty (1644-1911). His greatest work was the massive concordance and encyclopaedia which THEIR LANGUAGE 27 contained 44,439 characters. About 200 years before his day (1407) there was completed an en- cyclopaedia of 22,877 volumes. Its table of con- tents consisted of sixty volumes. The above refers to the written language, yet in addition to the written characters there are many colloquial words in daily use for which they have no characters to represent these. The writ- ten character — a single character — always repre- sents a word, yet many words in the common spoken language have no characters. The mission- aries have with the help of the Chinese teachers in- vented a number of characters for colloquial use in conveying the message of Christianity to the people. A number of books and tracts are writ- ten in this colloquial, but these are not popular with the better class. Characters pronounced alike, but with different tones, have altogether different meanings. This is why the colloquial and the spoken language may differ in different sections, and one section will not understand the language of another section, yet they use the same characters. The Mandarin is spoken by most of the people. This has four tones, yet many speak the Cantonese. It has nine tones, and some think they can find eleven. Per- haps forty or fifty millions speak Hak-ka and this has six tones, and there are many local dialects varying in the number of tones. If one does not give the right tone, the meaning may be very different from what one expects. 28 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE Dr. Martin tells about a man in North China who asked his cook to get eighteen yang mi, a plum- like fruit. The cook returned bringing twelve sheep tails (very bushy and heavy in North China), saying he had walked a long distance and had been able to secure only twelve sheep tails. Sheep tail has the same pronunciation as the plum- like fruit, but a different tone. The missionary failed to get the right tone for the fruit, giving the one for the sheep tail. Another missionary was walking the streets in a Chinese city, and heard the boys making fun of this new arrival. He thought he told them to return to their homes, but he gave the wrong tone, and told them to go to the demons (devil) — a very bad advice for a missionary to give to Chinese boys. Fan kwei may mean return or go to the demons, depending on the tone you give. We must master the tones and give the exact idiom if we are to know the language well, and be a real help to the people. The tones and idiom are both exceedingly important. Those who would know the people and think with them concerning the real problems of life, must know the language well. No Westerner ought to be satisfied with a poor knowledge of both the written and spoken language. Chil- dren learn it more readily than they do English — it is monosyllabic and simple if we follow the ex- act idiom of the people. A man from the West should not hesitate to go there because of the Ian- THEIR LANGUAGE 29 guage. Any one with average attainments and a determination to give his talents fully to the task may get a working knowledge of the language. A musical ear and a willingness to learn from others will be a great help, yet the most important thing is ability and willingness to do hard, persist- ent work on the characters and idiom and a readi- ness to mix with the people and learn from them. When one has learned their language, one can speak a message to the largest group on earth to- day. It is well worth our time and best effort. The time spent in learning the language gives an opportunity to learn the people, which after all is more important, and one of the chief reasons we learn the language. A good knowledge of the language and the people places us in a position to think with them and help them in all problems of this life and the life to come. The task of learning so strange a language is trying with some, yet with others it is very fasci- nating. I have never enjoyed any study as I did my first years with the Chinese. I am sure m.y enthusiasm for the task and the newness of the work had something to do with the interest and joy, yet study still has great pleasure for me, and many others. When I reached Canton, China, I found Dr. Graves had been there forty-five years. He was studying Chinese though he must have spoken the language better than the ordinary Chinese and knew well the written language. Ill CHARACTERISTICS OF GREATNESS 1 ^HE Occident has known but little of the Orient. Each has stood aloof from the other, thinking too often that one is superior to the other. I have known a little about all classes, and the more I know the better I appre- ciate their real elements of greatness in spite of the weakness and backwardness of their civiliza- tion as we consider real greatness in the West. Western nations have enjoyed certain blessings which have not reached them ; but wherein we are greater than they, we can trace this directly or in- directly to the Saviour with His enlightening and liberating powers which Christianity brings to the individual and society. These forces have marched westward since the days of Paul, yet China has retained her civilization and many ele- ments of greatness to a surprising degree which those of the West do not understand unless they have intimate relation with the people as a whole. As mentioned in the Preface, Mr. Thomas J. Lamont was sent to China for the leading bankers of the world. When he returned after six months' stay, he made his report to the world's leading financiers. I wish to quote further from 30 Hon. Gov^ernor Mok of Kwangtuxg Provinxe, China. He gave largely to mission work and with his fellow officials gave valuable lands for schools and hos- PITALS. CHARACTERISTICS OF GREATNESS 31 this report: " As to China, I am aware that many- people characterize it as a great disorganized, almost chaotic people. No one can spend even the short while I was in China without being deeply impressed with the industry and sobriety of that people, with the idealism of many of their leaders, with the growth of public opinion there, with the profound effort that is steadily being made to establish a central government that will function as well as the local governments func- tion. The present government at Peking, as every one knows, is weak and inefficient. Yet if the American people lend to the Chinese the coun- sel and aid, material and spiritual (words of one of the world's greatest financial experts) which the Chinese are so longing for and which they look to America to give them, we shall, I am con- fident, witness in the coming years the develop- ment of a great and powerful nation there, a na- tion of 400,000,000 whose admiration and warm friendship for the United States, if we bestow proper thought and effort upon the matter, will secure for all time to come." His short stay of six months revolutionized his Ideas of the people. He went and saw and realized their innate great- ness and possibilities. The true greatness is not in material wealth and militarism as the uncultured soul may think. The moral ideals and nobility of character do much to determine a people's greatness. Judging the Chi- 32 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE nese from this standard, they are among the world's greatest. These ideals have been the basis of much of their greatness. Dr. Martin, who spent sixty-six years in close contact with the leaders in that country, said of their ideals, that \ they had the greatest of any nation except that of the ancient Israel. He speaks of their literature: ** They recognize under the name of Shang Ti and Ti'en a Supreme Power, who presides over the destinies of men and dispenses rewards and pun- ishments, but they do not inculcate the worship of that august Being. He is consequently forgotten by the people, and His place usurped by idols. Yet so pure are the moral teachings of these ancient wTitings that no nation, with one exception (an- cient Israel), ever received from antiquity a more precious heritage. While some of the Sacred Books of the Hindus are unfit for translation, in the Chinese Canon there is nothing to offend the most delicate sense of propriety." These moral ideals from the sages have had much to do with their greatness, yet idolatry and false religion from other lands have done much to weaken the ideals with the masses. This is seen in the superstition and cruelty all too prevalent. However, idolatry has had less influence over the morals of the people than anywhere else in the world. Wedhurst says as to their idol worship: " In every other non-Christian country idolatry ^ has been associated with human sacrifice and the CHARACTERISTICS OF GREATNESS 33 deification of vice accompanied with licentious rites and orgies; nothing of all this exists in China." In winning most idolatrous people to Christ, we must wait years for the development of high moral ideals. This is not true in China. Like Paul, in many cases we have great characters with which the work of grace begins its work of devel- opment and guidance, conserving all forces for the ideals of our Master. They need to see in Him the fulfillment of their perfect ideals and the power to realize these in the daily life of the peo- ple, and then they will unite with the forces of all righteousness and holiness to make themselves and others — all mankind — ^honour and glorify the Fa- ther of us all. Their moral ideals and noble char- acters explain, in part anyway, why the Chinese make such wonderful Christian leaders in a sur- prisingly short time. These moral ideals are not found in all. Also many are not able to make great spiritual leaders. In fact, the masses are not quick to give up the old. They are considerate and careful to weigh the realities of any religion and the relation of these to the common problems of life. This may mean less in numbers, but more in quality in the early efforts in any field, but it means the most in the end when we have perfect truth and power for all needs as in Christ Jesus. One element of greatness is seen in their ability 34 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE to do things. They have invented far more than we reahze and given many original ideas to the world. A recent writer in China called our at- tention to the fact that thirty years ago Kang Yu \ Wei advocated a League of Nations and claims that he received his idea from Confucius, who lived twenty-five hundred years ago, and is still their greatest teacher. Mr. W. J. Clennell, in an article describing the Chinese contribution to the civilization of the West, says: "The use of printed books, the use of paper money and the negotiable instruments of exchange, the use of glass lenses . • . the use of cotton materials for weaving, the mariner's compass . . . coal as a fuel and gunpowder as an explosive, of firearms and artillery as weapons of war . . . all, with many more, were carried to the West in the wake of the Mongol Conquest, and fructuated and im- proved in the soil of Europe, adapted somewhat to Western needs. Are they not precisely the mate- rial and mechanical scaffolding inside which the whole fabric of our modern Western life is built up?" Comparing the Chinese civilization of the thirteenth century with that of the West, he says, " It Is an unhumlliated China with no cause to feel Itself inferior to the Western visitor, nor does the Western visitor feel that he Is among a people of lower culture ; he certainly calls them ' idolaters,' but in all arts of war and of peace, he seems to acknowledge them, at least, his equal. He is CHAEACTERISTICS OF GREATNESS 35 somewhat overwhelmed by the sense of the splen- dour and immensity of their world." Since that day the Reformation and the ad- vance of Christianity in the West have changed our civilization, but the Chinese have remained much the same with a larger emphasis upon peace at home and elsewhere. When the dynamic of noble ideals of service which we have in Christ Jesus permeates their life and civilization, then they will become one of the greatest factors in the whole world for the very best civilization. They will be our brothers for world peace and reconstruction on the basis of unselfish brotherhood. They will even add their conservatism to the forces of right- eousness and good-will which the whole of Europe and the other parts of the world so much need at this time. Their persistent plodding and self-control in meeting the trials of life are a marvel even to the Christian who has the patience and forbearance of the Master. "New Life Currents in China says": " I accompanied a missionary doctor to the clinic in one of the Red Cross Refuges. She could treat only a small fraction of the many who flocked to her improvised bamboo hut, and it wrung my heart to see how patiently the rest turned away. They showed that spirit in all their trouble and losses. I wonder if in all the world there can be found another people as patient and uncomplain- ing as the Chinese." 36 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE Julian Arnold, in his " Commercial Handbook of China/' has this to say: "The Chinese people have the capacity for organization, for repre- sentative government, for modern industrial and commercial development. They need the con- structive sympathy of the West. A country v^ith a civilization as old as China's, with the culture of the centuries filtered down through the masses, with the peace-loving, industrious propensities of the people, and with the mental and physical quali- ties of its sons and daughters, commands our deepest respect and our genuine sympathy in its struggles now to bring itself in line with modern civilization. The people can work out their own salvation if they are given time and assistance. It is well to remember that China has not in all its history repudiated any of its foreign obligations and that damages to foreign interests in China have been indemnified in full by the Chinese." These people whom Mr. Arnold, Commercial Attache to the United States Government in Pe- king, describes so admirably and understands their possibility as a world benefit, are just the people the world needs for the present crisis. When .once won to Christ, they will do much to make the kingdom of this world that of Christ's. The Yellow Peril is a potential danger, yet if we go to them In the spirit of the Saviour, we will be brothers for the world's salvation. IV THE CHINESE AND FOREIGNERS FOREIGNERS have much to overcome in China before they can remove the bad ef- fects of the early traders. The first to reach the Orient from the Occident were traders who went there to exploit the country — get gain, and were willing to use almost any method to ob- tain their selfish aims. For every dollar they put in their enterprise in that country they ex- pected many in return. Though they came from Christian countries in name, they never mani- fested the slightest indication of the spirit of Christ. Mr. Wildman tells about these early traders: "In 1516 Rafael Prestello (Portuguese) landed in the mouth of the Canton River. He re- turned to Malacca and reported on the favourable trade opportunities. This led to the dispatch of Perez de Andrade for Canton with a squadron of eight vessels. The behaviour of himself and his nationals was such that the newcomers were rightly styled * foreign devils ' — a term of oppro- brium that is still applied to all foreigners. They rifled the tombs (the worst possible offense), in- vaded the temples, robbed and pirated, and acted upon the same lines as did Cortez in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru ; but unfortunately for them they soon found that they were dealing with a race that knew how to treat * Tartars/ and the pirate An- 37 38 THE CHINESE AS THEY AEE dres was arrested and beheaded at Peking by the order of the Emperor Chiaching. " Four hundred years of commerce and inter- course with European nations has not been suffi- cient to correct the impression of foreigners that was obtained from these early Portuguese ' Navi- gators.' . . . These Christian pirates virtu- ally closed the door in China, and it has taken cen- turies with an expense of millions of treasure and thousands of lives to force it open even so little." The Chinese also learned about the Christians of the West by the way they were treated by the Spanish in the Philippine Islands. Wildman again : " For no other reason save the Spanish feared that too many Chinese were settling in their islands, they ordered a massacre of the un- offending settlers, and slaughtered over twenty thousand of them at one time." From these early days until the present other nations have not dealt with the Chinese as their equals. They have forced by the sword many treaty rights which the Chinese did not wish to give and sometimes not fair to them. The na- tions of the West and Japan have forced terri- torial claims and spheres of influence wholly out of keeping with a brother nation. So late as twenty-five years ago there was a strong m.ove by these nations to partition China's territory. Rus- sia and Japan laid claims to certain lands In the North, Germany and England territory in Shan- tung, and England made further claims in the 7. > w - y. -V c Tl H « Z CJ r^ w c 2: /. ■-^ () '^/ () O" ^ 1"* tJ ^ H ^ X ^ /^ THE CHINESE AND FOREIGNERS 39 South, and France took Tong Kin. In addition to actual territory much of the whole nation was laid off into spheres of influence with trading and mineral rights. All these greatly endangered the nation's independence. There were trivial troubles or offenses these foreign nations used to base their claims, but these were mere excuses for grabbing a weak nation's territory because this nation sought to live in peace to itself and the world. It is easy to see how China commenced to suspect every man from the West as her enemy with sinister motives. In many cases she was right. The Chinese did not naturally hate foreigners. Possibly the first to reach China from the West in good large numbers were the Nestorians, who came with a message concerning the true God. Many accepted their message even among the offi- cial and educated class. These early mission- aries did not have a full Gospel, hence could not conquer the native religions — finally disappeared altogether. The next were the Jews and the Catholics. The Catholics were received most kindly by all classes. Many were made converts. It looked for a while the nation would become Catholic. Soon questions arose bearing on the re- lation of the convert to his government, duties to the E^mperor and to the Holy See at Rome. These questions could not be decided by the local priests and congregations. Many of these intricate questions must be referred to the Pope. The 40 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE rulers of China soon saw that such a policy as the ** Holy Catholic Church " was fostering in that country would mean disloyalty with the converts to the throne in China. Persecution followed and many of the converts and friends of the new religion were killed. The priests were either martyred or had to leave the country. The breach between the East and the West ought to have been healed by Christianity, but it was not, rather widened. The Jews, as mentioned, were absorbed by the Chinese. Wherever the foreigner has gone to China and treated the people with kindness and brotherly love, they have been treated thus by the Chinese. There have been exceptions due to misunderstand- ings and previous erroneous ideas which had their origin in many cases in the results of bad dealing on the part of traders and others from the West who have counted the Chinese unworthy of real equality. Those who will manifest the spirit of Christ, as all His disciples should, will be received graciously whenever understood, and do much to heal the wounds of the early contact of the East with the West. Marco Polo reached China in an early day and manifested a different spirit from any others. He came as their friend and was anxious to know and serve the Chinese. He represents the noble class from the West who go there and treat them as brothers. The " Commercial Handbook of China" gives these words about him: "Marco THE CHINESE AND FOREIGNERS 41 Polo, the Venetian traveller, gave to the world a vivid picture of this wondrous land, in many re- spects with a civilization in advance of Europe at that time.'* Marco Polo brought to the Chinese knowledge of Western art and life, adjusted him- self to their conditions, w^as ready to help them any way he could. They received him most kindly and trusted him as their friend. Kublai Khan, the ruler of that day, chose him as his special in- spector of the various provinces; no greater posi- tion of trust could have been given him. He did his work faithfully. He was also given one of the most important cities to rule. He was ever the people's friend, and has ever since been appre- ciated by them. He went over the most danger- ous sections in his day and was treated with re- spect everywhere, and is most fondly remembered by the Chinese even to-day. There is an idol wor- shipped in one of the leading temples in Canton in honour of this man. Also close to Canton there is a temple named in his honour. He lives on in the memory and lives of the Chinese. If this were true of Marco Polo, who did not seek to show more than a brother's kindness to an appreciative people, how much more will it be true if we go in the spirit of our Lord and Master and reveal His unselfish life of service. Wherever the missionary is able to reveal this spirit and have a part in the common problems of life, such things as the Chinese can see and understand, he has been appreciated very greatly. I could mention hun- 42 THE CHINESE AS THEY ARE dreds of examples, yet I shall give only one as typical of many. Foreigners from all lands are in Canton. It is the first place where the missionary of the West reached that country. Many live there now. More and more the masses are beginning to real- ize the importance of the place of the missionary in their nation's life. One missionary was asked to serve with the Chinese in meeting the common problems that come to a certain section of that great city. He did this by their request. It did not take much of his time. Municipal problems and questions of sanitation, education, gambling, parks, public roads and streets, etc., were handled by the missionary and the Chinese. This was nothing more than any missionary ought to do if occasion comes, yet for this help, the officials of all classes and many of the men concerned about the welfare of the people were anxious to show their gratitude for his aid. The Civil and Military Governors, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and a number of the lower of^cials sent or gave words of appreciation. The head police of China's greatest city gave him and his wife a great recep- tion in token of his appreciation of this mission- ary's labours. Such incidents as this are occurring in many parts of China wherever the missionary is able to manifest the spirit of Jesus Christ in meeting the tangible needs of the people. Christianity holds the key to all hearts and can yet remove the chasm between the East and the THE CHINESE AND FOREIGNERS 43 West, which bad dealings on the part of the West in the past have created, but we must reveal Christ, live Him and follow His example in meet- ing all the needs. If we will, there will be no " foreign devils " or " native wretches " ; we will be brothers with common needs and sympa- thetic hearts for each other. The first American minister, who sought to re- place force wath fair play in dealing with the Chi- nese, was the Honourable Anson Burlingame, 1861-1867. He sought to change the action of his fellow-ministers from various nations from force to honourable persuasion. He so impressed the Chinese with this spirit, that at the suggestion of Sir Robert Hart (an English friend with great love for the Chinese), the Emperor wanted to make Mr. Burlingame Ambassador-General to represent China in dealing with all foreign na- tions. The suggestion was accepted. The Em- peror wrote: "The envoy, Anson Burlingame, manages affairs in a friendly and peaceful man- ner, and is acquainted with general relations be- tween this and other countries. Let him, there- fore, now be sent to all the treaty powers as the Minister Plenipotentiary empowered to attend to every question arising between China and these countries. This is from the Emperor" (" China: An Interpretation," pp. 422-434). This example from a statesman and one also from a missionary show how the Chinese appreci- ate kindness in any phase of life. V THE CHINESE AND BUSINESS THE business world is just beginning to understand the potential power of China's natural resources. A number of great business enterprises in the West are send- ing their men to China to report on conditions. These findings are bringing much valuable infor- mation. I noticed this recently in the Chicago JWihune: " China is on the point of a tremendous development. What Japan has accomplished in the last twenty years (this indeed has been great — Author) in all probability will be duplicated in China in the next ten years. China needs, at least, thirty thousand miles of new railroads. She IS building new cotton mills so fast that the presi- dent of the Saco-Lowell Company (Massachu- setts), builders of cotton mill machinery, recently said that his factory could operate for ten years solely on orders he has on his books from China. China's present 7,000 miles of railroad, although in the hands of politicians and inefficiently man- aged, are tremendously prosperous. The entire world is knocking at China's doors for her native 44 Q a -- O < y. o ■^ D o