New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-17

THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION.


deacon in MidChlna. lie appears TO have been al
most constantly travelling between the great Clues
where his duties lay, ard his experiences WIN 'le
rural population of the districts in which ne "orho
have apparently been full and instructive Us '0o
In the towns. The general tone OF MS views co"0o'n
sng the future of China is optimistic. lie thilas !"
by no means impossible that the country may reaH oo
one Of tie coming great Powers. China, ne declares
Is at last really waking up and though IL hoo u "
expected that so essentially conservative peoPie WI"
consent to great changes as easily or as qulcNs a ~
the japanese, he believes that the sheh mas pcon
hroken and that progress Of genuine KIND VIII ensue'
o.sn.e tho d,sanpoInment which has attended every
effort thus far made to introduce railroads Ill C'
Archdeacon Moule thinks that before long INC |nn0
Government itself win take this enterprise Ill NAM"
Hitherto the Flung Shut has been one Oh the nus
formidable obstacles to every kind OF Internal improve
mont The "FungShui" is a curious system OIL super
stit,on nv which tie position Of every omiuns Is
regulated In accordance with rules suppoSeo W e"'
GOOD luck and whatever nberferes Win INC ooSei
OF these rules has incurred the anathemss Oh .ne Pi
and geomancers who explain ana Apply 'ie'' a"u -
IN. snperstious masses who observe and depend upon
them.
But It appears that the Chinese Government. -
+rono enough n IL will exercise its strength to over
ride the influences which support the fungShu' al.
Archdeacon Moue gives signncant llue''a"S ,s
this When the electric telegraph was nr9t lh"0U"'.
in China the usual "Fung-Shu' objections "eTo n's
10 planting
An emf them down as fast as they were erec'eu' IL
,his casa however the Government was detemlnca 10
,ave the meals of swift communication ana accou-
inplv edicts we're issued threatening severe pe"'0'
Cor interference with the work. and each telegraph p
ms soon as erected, labelled with COPIES VI I0
edict The effect was prompt and conclusive 80.
ing moro was heard of Flung Shut, and the WORK "e'
on without any further interruption lHe '"',o
energetic exercise of authority in behalf OF riro'u
would probably have similar results, Tor INC U!'0
understand very clearly on which side 'heIr OI'"u
buttered Archdeacon MOule entertains a hlsh oiiN"
of the vitality and the cohesive force Oh INC NNi"0
Tmpire He even thinks that at no distant ,'o IL
I'm no IN a condition to try conclusions with some
ono ~ the great Western Powers, and he holus as
oelusive Professor Dummond's predictions as " 'no
decay and dissolution of the Empire IL Is necessary
IN add that the authors OPTIMISM rainier ui'' ""'
facts of trustworthy character leads MN 10 100" oi
yard 10 the conversion of the Chinese 10 ChnSta|
80 rIsch however much to be desired certainly
.nneors as little probable today as Is the conversion
Of Christendom 10 Confucianism Bncdhsm OF i"oisi"
PINT the Archdeacon sees clearly enough IN O'her
directions lie does not fall into the MISTAKE Oh as
GINNING arbitrarily that Western institutions must DC
tbo host thing for an ancient people like the Chinese
Gle n nossiblep he observes, chat China may De
snared the excitement and temper and eXaegerauoh
,nscparable from the representation OF the people oS
rnatorities9 Can the sharp disruption in towns anu
villages and homes caus1 by antagonistc pohucs DC
aVOidcd7 is IL possible lidt t'N u'V"i'' -'~'
realized in China which has been lately in the houeh's
~ NOT a few of England's large-minded politicians,
weary Of party strife, where triumph OF the party
md not the good of the State is the supreme OBJECT
dream of one patriotic party, representing the whole
realm. by which trntlStIall not be suppIeSsed ana
falsehood condoncd; but by which. with que "a'c'u
ness and free criticism, all energies shall be bent 10
All, the government of the day? II such system
can come for China. let it soon and with power
But If she must groan under the squaoDles OF con
tested elections, and the turmoil of political Stiie' anu
the verbosity and obstruction Of parliamentary ue-
bates then let her alone with her old government her
contentedness and her cohesion" OF course 1t VIII De
nerccived at once that the dream Of q one-pary
parliamentary government is indeed, vision OF the
night and not in any sense practical or even pos
eible solution of existing difficulties Bnt the con
sideration as to whether the Western democratic sys
tenn would sut the Chinese character IS deserving Oh
study and the suggestion that the cohesion OF the En-
pre might not be able to withstand such entirely
novel and upsctting conditions is to the point.
The anthor naturally directs his attention most
eagerly to religious questions. The three religions OF
China, he thinks, get along well together. because
the people hold either all of them together Con,
fucianism is really not religion, but philosophic
system kind of agnOsticsm. 1t IS the Official Syst'n
however and represents the ethics Chinese
Buddhism which is Very corrupt form OF the OIlghal
religion furnishes supernatural scheme for the con-
ISOLATION of those who find Confucianlsm too arid ana
its limitations too narrow. The same may be SAID
of Taoism, which, however is lower form OF
faith than Buddhism The people generally appear
to observe the Confucian ceremonial, and to derive
emotional satisfaction from one Of the other two
religions The most formidable obstacle to the progress
of Christianity in China consists in the attitude taken
by the missionaries toward ancestor worship This
latter system has the strongest hold of any upon the
whole Chinese people. Mr.. MOule admits that If
YOU denounce ancestor worship before an intelligent,
educated Chinamln he is shocked through and
fOrciCD ridiculpd Dpllpf
a God before pious Christian. AS the mis-
sionarics have almost unanimously come to
tho conclusion that ancestor worship is doa-
irous-though it appears that educated Cinnamon deny
the accuracy Of this pOsOn-they demand its
abandonment as necessary preliminary to reception In
the Christian Church. AS the Chinese generally will not
hear of giving up ancestor worship, conversion
naturally langushes. The ArchdeacOn at the end Of
his book gives some statistics which their face
seem TO indicate considerable gains to Christianity.
Those however, who familiar with the experience
OF missions among the Chinese in California
aware that very large proportion of the nominal
conversations are fictitious. The Chinese join the
missions to obtain the educational and other ad-
vantages which they hold out; and having learned
English and got all they can, the majority of them re-
turn their original faith or faiths and the missions
know them no more. There can be no doubt that
these crafty folks have pursued the methods In
China
Archdeacon Moule's book is not all discussion. how
ever To many its most interesting chapters will be
those in which he gives his experience OF Chinese
hospitality, and of manners and customs and of ways
Of ne lie possesses quite gift Of description, and
we can recall, in books about China nothing which il
Illustrates popular life in the Middle Kingdom moro
graphically than his account Of Hangchow. The
chapter on country life is also full of interest
and almost for the first tme find the Chinese
represented hospitable hosts, kindly and even gen
erous 10 those whom they know, and, amonV the
lower classes generally ready to help foreigners who
speak their language. On these things the authors
travels have made him authority For years no has
been going about alone, or with single servant by
land and water and he does not appear to have
been in any danger though often I'm very uncOmfort
able Situations through stress Of weather. losing his
way, and such happenings. He does not deny that
;s of TONS in he I,i