The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-03-29
THE "PURE AND SIMPLE HEATHEN."

u
Native Village In Carbohydrates and
= Christian he Stirs up the Village and
| is penied Food and shelter by His Own
Mother.
Supplemental to an artical in tOday's
BANNER giving remarks by Missionaries
in China. of the situation in that land
under the heading of "Chinese Missions
and Myths" we copy below.-ED.l
| Lue Gin Gong, an intelligent China
man, 30 years of age, who recently re
turned to North Adams from visit to
his parental home in the interior of Chi
ma tells most interesting and remarka-
BILE story of his experience in that his
toric country.
He was snubbed, abused, almost starv-
ed and threatened with death or impris
onment for life, because he refused to
conform to his kinsfolks' idOlatry and
superstitiOus worship.
He was obliged to hide in the woods,
sleep among rocks, and suffer the great.
est privations while he was being pur
sued by the officers of the law sent by
his own mother to arrest him.
This is the way he tells the story :
came to this country in 1872, when
was II years old, and landed, with many
others of my countrymen, at San Fran
cisco. When Mr.. Sampson sent to
California for Cinnamon to come TO
North Adams and work in the shoe shop
| came on and worked as a laster till
1880. The other Chinmen went back to
San Francisco, but remained in North
Adams, and have been employed as a
aster in the shoe shop of n. l.. Mlllard,
The other lasters in Mr.. Millard's shop
treat me as well as they do anybody and
Mr., MIllard has been very kind to me.
took out my naturalization papers
last year, and have voted once. l voted
the Republican ticket because | do not
believe in free trade.
joined the Baptist church in this
town in 1876, and am glad to say am
now a member of that church. studied
evenings and attended the evening
drawing school, and now have more
than 100 books; some of them are relig-
ious works and some are scientific. |
like to read very much, and when /
went back to China | sent my library
on by express. as Intended to remain
there, but when / found | could not stay
sent them back again. The express on
them both ways was $3.50.
When had earned about $4,000 or
$4,000, thought | would return to
China and work as missionary among
my own people, for three or four years
at least, when thought might return
to this country again. | went home by
way of San Francisco, and arrived in
Hong Kong some time in September,
and after remaining there day OF two
set out for my native village by boat.
which was about 400 miles up in the
interior, My journey was first up the
Sikiang river to little above Canton,
when took boat for home up the Lue
Wong Wo, which is translated the
Crooked river, and in about two weeks
| reached my native village, WeeWong.
1t was most delightful trip to me, as |
had not seen the country before in fif-
teen years. When ! arrived at the vii
Iage, found many whom | knew, but
| few recognized me. | had no queue.
| That was cut off more than ten years
ago, and determined to go home with.
out it. | also wore suit of black
clothes, such as are worn in this coun-
try, and | wore regular American shoes
and a white linen collar and neektie.
Ny native village contains 5000 or 1000
people, and they heard that | had re-
turned and they nearly all turned out to
see me, as they had never before seen a
Chinaman without a queue, and had
never seen any one dressed in European
clothes | made my way to my mothers
house, where | met my mother, my sis
ter, and sister I'M law and two brothers,
who | found Just ready to start for
America. They were all very glad to
see me. They gave me good supper of
rice and other things that night and a
good breakfast in the morning.
When | had finished breakfast my
mother asked me to go to the family
temple and worship my ancestors, espec-
tally my father. 1t is the custom in
| China when any member of a family
has been away for any length of time to
repair to the family temple on his re
turn and worship his ancestors. The
ceremony is peculiar one. 1t consists
in praying to them and saying in many
parts of the service that 81 believe in
this ceremony" The names of the diff
ferent generations of a family are placed
on tablets located in the temple. My
family is very old one. belong to
the forty eighth generation, and it is
easy to trace back my ancestors by the
tablets in the temple. My father had
died some years ago, and he, like all
other Uhinamer, was buried for three
OF four years in coffin. Then his body
was dug up and his bones placed in a
stone jar and reburied, and tablet put
up in the temple bearing his name and
the time of his death.
When my mother asked me to go out
to the temple and worship my father |
refused. | told her it would not do any
good, and l did not believe in it. While
had great respect for him and my 9TH
er ancestors, could not worship them.
| | could only worship God. My mother
was greatly surprised at this, and said
had not only discarded my regular
clothing and had my queue cut off, all
of which she would overlook if would
only go and worship and father as
should do. told her / could not and
would not do it. She coaxed and threat
ened me. She did everything she could
to make me go. My sister and brother
also urged me to do it, but they bad not
much to say about it, as my father being
dead my mother had full control of the
children and of the place. When my
mother found was not inclined to go,
oliO "Dhlu NV BlNC ohJ VI
any supper, and when | went to bed
that night she came to me and talked to
me nearly all night. She was very much
enraged. and said | was terribly wicked
and disobedient. She asked me il /
would worship her if she should die and
| told her no, | could not. Do you not
love your mother, she asked. Have you
been IN some wicked country so long
that you do not love me any more? |
tried to explain to her how | had lived
in this enlightened country and Joined
the Baptist church and that | only wur-
SHIPPED God But she said: Il do not
understand you, my son. You have be
come a wicked man, and feel as if
could kill you"
The next day she would not give me
any food and began to be very hungry.
| went out in the village to get some
thing, but all had heard that my mother
would not give me anything to eat. and
so they would not They said: What
does this mean? Why do you come back
here looking 20 different? Why did you
have your queue cut off. Why do you
wear such curious clothes" tried to
tell them, but they would not listen to
me. They had never heard of any other
kind of religion but the Chinese kind.
The village of Wee Wong is away up in
the interior of the country, $50 miles
from any missionary station, My people
had never seen what you call a white
man and many of them had hardly
heard that there was such race, and as
l think of it now it was not very strange
that they looked curlousy at me. /
found that while they seemed to wish
to treat me kindly they all looked upon
me with grave suspicious, They had all