Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-11-13
Rev. w. Ar. Martins First Lecture on
China


Rev. DR.. Martin, last night, addressed an
attentive audience in Smith & Nixon's Hall,
upon Chinese character as it exhibited itself
70 him while in attendance upon the recent
United States embassies to that country as
an interpreter, and also while engaged in
missionary labors. .il
The history of those embassies is familiar
to our readers. We shall, therefore, notice
only some of the incidental facts mentioned
by the speaker, calculated to throw light
upon the peculiar character Of that remarka-
BILE people. =
Upon receiving an invitation to accompany
the embassy, Dc. Martin employed native
artist to attend him, for the purpose of
sketchiug scenery. The peculiarly OF these
Chinese artists Is that they invariably give
t. level landscape the appearance of sleep
declivity, and thus they pile Pelion on Ossa
and Ossa on 0y mpus to the skies.
A visit to the birth place of Confucius led
the speaker to a brief account of that re-
ma1kable man. He was not one of those
characters who alter the course of events By
being protruded into them, but rather like a
skillful engineer excavatiDg a channel by the
force of his own native talent. After the
lapse of twenty-four centuries, he is still re-
yeIed by men of letters, and Mandarins con
slider him authority in questions of civil
polity. As an instance Of the reform he
province
which he resided, it was sufficient to mem
tion that men dropped articles in the streets,
where they remained undisturbed, and that
they no longer watered their hocks before
driving them to market, which facts will be
appreciated when we remember that the
Chinese of the present day are given to thiev-
ing, and that they feed animals with pellets
of sand before selling them to the butchers.
Confucius drew Ms first breath about the
ffVaa ha1aa ,yr,fr ON nd
with Pythagoras. Greece, however, had
furnished no man worthy to be compared
with him except Socrates and Aristotle, botl
| of whom he excelled in practical talent.
! Like Franklin, he was fond of proverba
| philosophy, and expressed his ideas in SEN
tences short, terse and comprehensive. Be-
ing asked wherein consisted good govern.
ment he replied, "The prince prince, the
father a father, the son a SOD and the subject
a subject" When asked what is knowledge
he replied, "To know what we know anC
to know what we do not know" Hi
great rule Of intercourse among men wa
DO not to another that you would not h
should do TO you" A com mparison had oftel
been instituted between this and the colder
rule Of the Christian religion, but the differ
enCe was worldwide, it being only negative
whereas the injunction of Christ was affirm
alive and inculcated active beuevolence.
Illustrative of Chinese character, which w
are obliged to omit.
All the seaports of China are built inIant
from twenty-five to fifty miles, which
rendered necessary by the prevalence of pi
ratical fleets in the surrounding seas, ofte
strong enough to capture any of their towns
The speaker had himself, with a companion
been captured by pirates when on a mission
ary voyage, but their captors, upon learnin
that they were missionaries, or good men,
after detaining them one night let them q
with present of chest of tea and other al
ticles. The speaker bore witness to the bene
fetal qualities of tea, which the exDerienC
of four hundred millions attest.
Opium, however, was the great bane {
China, eighty thousand chests of whicl
valued at forty million dollars, were cor
sumed annually.
The speaker concluded with an account
the three prin cipal religions of China: Buddt
issn, Touism, and that of Confucius, I'll
two former of which were essentially atht
istic.