The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1877-05-24
WONG GRIN FOO.
In a Lecture EeCUre "a New York AHdi
ence. Reviews the Relative ReIiE-
iOUs System Of China and
EhrIsGCudOm-

MIR. Ten Wing TIE Way Shin Shua
Shing TIE. Way Shing Show Tan Tze
Wav Keo Ton Ne Che POh kOw ShU
Yu Lee Yeh Wong Chin Foo (barring a
few middle names left out for brevity's
sake), addressed Il small but very able
audience last evening in Steinway hall
on % The DamnatiOn of the Heathcn.'
Among the audience were many who
had the habit of heterOdOx thought
stamped on their brOws, but none who
we're personally known to the World re-
porter, excepting the Hierophant, q few
other members of the TheOsOphical so
ciety and Rev. Alvah WisWall.
At about quarter past eight o'clock
the vivaCiOUs little heather advanced
with a quick, nervous gait to the front
of the platform aud said that on account
of his cOpiOUs name, which few AmeTi-
cans were familiar with, he usually in
troduced himself He then pronounced
the numerous syllables gibly, and the
audience, despite it. intellectually,
snickered. He then, a. preface, apollo
gized for his imperfect English in q
fashion more modest than necessary, and
said that he was not responsible for being
called a missionary, as he was not one
and did not think missionaries were
UtCUCO III AAulNllCd fNliN AitOiC btAeAA III
China or elsewhere. lie was, however,
anxious to explain a few things in Tela-
ton to his country. The missionaries,
who he did not think intended to lie. had
misrepTescnted the Chinese, partly on
account of their prejudice and partly on
account of their imperfect knowledge.
And it was for their interest TO say what
they did, for If they told the truth the
mission boards would not spend money
TO keep them there. In enumerating
the wrong impressions the Americans
have of the Chinese, he said they thought
nothing was raised in China but rice, and
that the Chinese lived exclusively on
rice and rats and puppies. Why" said
he, - l never knew rats and dogs were
GOOD 20 eat till ] learned it from Amer
leans"
Attacking his subject without further
Dreambie. he said '' You have been
told that we have 10 belief in God, and
a critic in one Of the newspapers attacks
me on this ground, saying that there Is
no word meaning God in Chinese. II
the word were translated into Chinese
| it would mean spirit, and we believe IN
| the Over-ruling spirit The hottest word
we have Is heaven, and l DEFY you TO
/ find one among the four hundred and
| fifty million Chinese who will use that
word lightly, excepting as they have
| learned it from the missionaries. They
! will swear in English, some OF them. We
| don't need missionaries or the Bible 10
/ show us God. Our own nature, and all
! the wonderful works Of nature, show us
/ that there Is a God. The very drop of
water that falls from somewhere on top.
! Do YOU think there are no philosophers
/ I'm China Do Won think that the Chi
/ nese who have come in such numbers to
! America, or even the lecturer before
/ YOU Is 4 fair representative Of the Chinese
/ literary men2 If 20, you are greatly
/ mistaken. Aside from our wonderful
! history, look a: the inventions Of The
| Chinese. They made the first printing,
/ the first mariner : compass, the ITst PCr-
/ celain, the first gunpOwder, the first can
non and the first system Of laws And
! if, with all the intelligent statesmen who
assist IN governing forty million OF Peo'
/ Ble here, there Is much trouble IL gov
ernipg Alright, how do the Chinese man.
age to govern their four hundred and
fifty million All your intelligence,
| your higher religion, your greater laws,
! and your more excellent principles are
/ powerless to prevent crime, yet / affirm
! that YOU have twice a. many murderer
as the Chinese with ten tires a many
| people And how do we accomplish
this? will tell you. 1t Is by the ex
cellencv Of the laws. These laws have
come down through many generations Of
philosophical minds. And we dom
choose our ruler By favor and by vote
Out OF fifty thousand men who have
] studied twelve or fifteen years th'