Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-12
OUR COUNTRY AND CHINA.

The Youngest and Oldest of the
 Worlds Nations Destined to Become
 the Leaders of the World-Some In-
 terestins Facts About the Flowery | Kingdom Given Last Evening by the l Rev. J. l.. Nev1us. | Rev. J. L. Nevius D. D., chairman of the American conference at Shanghai, spoke in Dwight hall last evening on "China and the Chinese" China is now, said the lecturer, practically as near to us as India. The oldest nation of the world confronts the youngest. The sea there is now swarming with steamers, and the pop ulation has increased from 380, 100000 to 500, O,OOO,000. In all probability China and the United States will in future be the leading nations of the world.
 China has an astonishingly high state of civilization. It has territory about equal to the United States, population eight times as great as ours, and one-fourth that of the world. Its climate is not semi tropical, but rather colder than our coun- try, though in the same degrees of | latitude, on account of the monsoons Rice is seldom seen in the northern part, the prevailing cereals being winter wheat, indian corn, etc., as here. The most strik- ing point of China is tho great antiquity and stability of it's institutions, presenting one single nation extending through the whole history of the world. There have been no general changes to the present time You will find the same textbooks in all the schools in every part of the eighteen provinces, that have always been Confucian and post -Confucian classics. kNs,yi %o,,% r.. # 4la Gsra inal virtues, love, righteousness, pro- priety, wisdom and faithfulness. The first refers to the emperor primarily, the second to father and mother, the third to marital relations, the fourth to the rela- tions of brothers and sisters, and the fifth to those of friends. The object of these classics is the pacifcation of the empire, and the cardinal virtues stand at the head of government and are considered of prime importance. The emperor is considered as the perfect man, sent by heaven to rule them, and he rules not so much by force as by example. Theirs is the purest system of morals outside of Chris tianity. The classics themselves are sys- tems of political economy on the basis of morals. China announced the principles of the republican government more than two thousand years ago. Prominent among Chinese ideas is filial piety, and to this is due much of their prosperity. The present time is the Chinese crisis. Old China has come to an end. The institu- tions are falling away. Nothing can now save China but Christianity and that high CT moral standard which rests on religious faith. The missionary work began ir about 1861, when it was new field. Now in the place where I am there are 7,00( Christians and 1 200 waiting for baptism The curriculum of our schools differs lit tie from that of the colleges in America The work is full of promise, and China is remarkable field for it. It has an immense literature. Its fiction, especially the his torical, is remarkable for truth and style There are local histories, biographies and immense encyclopedias and public libraries everywhere. The telegraph system is now , part of the country. With the establish ment of postal and railroad system (o which the latter has been begun, and g taste for reading among the multitude, vast field will be open.
 Dr. Nevius then gave short sketch o the unexampled transformation of Japa1 in the last two decades, and concludes by an appeal to Yale students for their per sonal support of the missionary interest," | of China.