Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1853-09-10
AFFAIRS IN CHINA.

HermeS, lOr tHe pun pose w
some accurate and reliable iniorma
ton respecting the rebellion; Hl
Interpreter, Dr.. Meadows, had an in
,crview with some Of their chiefs, ant
was filled with admiration at their aP
pearancs and language. They gave
linn the strongest assurances OF the
most friendly feelings and intentions
towards the foreigners, aud told HIN
that they were their Christian broth,
rs! Mr.. Meadows was astonlshed
at the evidences he witnessed OF the
sincerity Of their belief aud OF their
practical consistency. He brought
away several Of their religious books
one Of which, called tho Religious
Precepts of Tacping Dynasty, has
been translated by DR.. Medhurst,-
When we consider from whom this
work comes, it appears one Of the
most extraordinary aud wonderful
productions that ever came frnm man.
i hope you will see in some OF the
public papers a copy oft.
To understand it justly, it is neces,
sary to understand the character OF
the Chinese, and.lo have some knowl-
edge of their past history. 1t IS a
compilation, by tho Chinese them
selves, of their ideas Of religion as
drawn from the Bible. There ap..
pears no, the lens, sign Of the hand OF
a forei. ner in it; on thecontrary' the
internal evidence is very strong that
no foreign missionary, Romish or
Protestant, could have dictated 1t III
any way.
|, does not come forward to an
nounce to the Chinese world the
"glad ,idings that Saviour is born
aud I'd that light has come into the
world TO show them the way t" heay.
en-; bu, appears totake it for granted
thu, the Holy Scriptures are known )"
10 exist, and that Christ is the Re-
deemer. 1t says, "now the Great
God has made gracious commun'ca.
ton to man, aud whoever repents Of
his sins, &C., shall ascend to heaven;
and .whosoeyer. does not, &c, shall
most certainly be Sent to- heil!-
(Which Of these is best, and which the
worst, we leave it for you to judge"
|. then goes into an argument a.
lapted to the Chinese mind, to show
the reasonableness oflhe new doc
trine, and declares, THAT all people
throughout the world, no matter
whether they he male or female, Chi
nese or foreigners, must worship the
Great God"
Their doctrines are chiefly drawn
from tho Old Testament, and their
references to Christ appear to he
merely incidental. They have many
forms of prayer, some of which are
beautiful, especially that for pen''
ten, sinner; all are in the main scrip
,ural-the chief objection being the
occasional rcquisi'ion Of the Offering
reyeren,ly of animals, tea, Tins, and
r;ce N tbe Grent God our Heavenly
Father.
But there is something touching in
this, when not idolasrons or exPlatory
showing the natural desire in the
heart of the oriental people to make
offerings like the Israelises of old
Then follow the Ten Command
men,s, whichare ordered to be strictly
observed. Each commandment is
written out, well explained, and ac-
companied by hymn. One singular
feature in their explanations is, that
in defining the meaning ofthe seventh
Commandment. they say it forbids,
among other things, the smoking q
opium. Some of their other hooks
exhibit estrayagant notions; but we
mus. not expect among people like
the Chinese, so full of superstition,
and SO imbued with the inherited
darkness Of ages, tina, there should not
at first be some perversion of Under
standing in reference to the new reii-
riou. But we may hope that light
from heaven has been struck in their
midst, which. though family glim.
merinr at first, will not s" out. but
will increase aud shine brighter aud
brighter, until its beams shall spread
all over the land and SO scntter the
darkness from the minds Of this vast
people. that they shall all become TO
use u their own words, ",he sons aud
daughters of'hc Great God"
The Mid starts back from con'emplas-
ing what may be the effect Of this presen,
movement, mol only upon ille Shiliese:pu
upon the world al large. The political
and religious movements i'll Europe, sink
into compate,ive iasignlirance when we
contras, them with whs. may be the et-
fec, upon the whole world. Of the sudden
introduction of this vast portion Of the
human family into Christendom. Sarh .
nation us this "born ir a day" .
If the Chinese become Chfistianizea,
they VIII reuc, upon alf the popuious IA.
tons Of eastern Asia: the Hindoos, Tat
tars, Burmese, Siamese, Japanese and 9th.
ers-more than half the whole human
family and the knowledge Of the Lord
llIM cover the earth as the watcrs cover
the sea.
n f,L:.. ,,.. hol;oy.