The Irish standard., 1895-09-07
THE fiEATHEN CHiNEE..

| Much is said and written nowadays re-
| garding the Chinese massacres which
still continue with more or less maligni-
| ty. Rev. Mr., Donohue, a Presbyterian
| minister Of Pittsburg, who has been q la
borer for a long time in this country for
the salvation of the Chinese, thinks it
futile to pursue the work further because
| of the meager and unsatisfactory results.
He says the conversions gained are not
worth the time, suffering, danger, effort
and the money expended each year. TO
use this gentleman s own words Of his ex-
pelience in this country, he says:
II have never yet found one who gave
evidence Of thorough conversion to Chris
tianity, though have known a large
number who have been in our Sabbath
schools and q few who have protested
conversion"
Commenting upon this the Chicago
Tribune says:
.If this be the result of attempted evan7
gelization in this country where the Chi
Inese are surrounded with what is called
Christian civilization, what must it be
in China, where the people are in the
very heart Of invincible conservatism
and cherish not only prejudice but abso-
lutte contempt for Christianity, as we'll as
a deep-seated hatred for all foreigners?
The doubts set forth by the Pittsburg
!, ioy1n
OF the Rev. Mr.. Nevins of Rochester, n.
Y, who was a missionary in Central
China for many years. He found the
same impossible barriers in his way.
His conclusion is that the only possible
method of converting the Celestials is by
establishing schools for children catch
ing them when very young, boarding and
clothing them, and then infusing Chris
tan truths into their minds. Even then
the most of them would backslide into
Confucianism when they were educated
and sent out among other people or they
would turn out to be rice converts =
that is, converts who protested to be-
Christians for the sake of material adj
: - s y -
vantages.
d Again in his numerous controversies
with Chinese priests they stoutly insisted
that the moral code of Confucius was
every wit as good as that of Christ and
that he antedated the founder Of Chris
tianity by some seven centuries They
even suggested that Christ may have de-
rived his code Of ethics from Confucius
doctrines which are widespread in the
east. Some. of the German higher criti
cism writers, it is we'll known, claim that
between his twentieth and thirtieth year
Christ may have travelled in Persia, In
dia and China, as the gospels make not
the slightest allusion to his occupation
until after his thirtieth year. But aside
from this theory, which is only founded
upon supposition, DR.. Nevins asserts
that it is far more difficult to turn the
Oriental Chinese to Western world dog
mas than it would be for the Chinese
priests to come here and convert Chris
tians to Confucianism by preaching to
our people in pigeon English, as hardly
any American or European missionary
ever succeeds in learning to speak any OF
the Chinese dialects in way that does:
not cause derisive laughter among the
native Chinese. He also affirms that the
Chinese civilization is far more rigid and
immuvable than ours and that there is
no element Of the population running up
and down in quest of new dogmas and
following all sorts Of yagaries as is the
habit in this country.
A great deal Of missionary effort has
been expended upon the Chinese in Cali
fornia, and especially In San Francisco,
but it requires microscope to discover
any real con versions after 40 years Of la
Dor. In the way Of doing actual good for
the wretched people of our slums $100l
will accomplish more than $4,000 spent
in trying to change the Chinese in their
Flowery Kingdom into followers Of
Christ and heretics to the doctrine Of
Confucius. Taking everything Into con-
sideration it is a fair. question whether
there Is not great waste OF. Christian eff
fort as we'll as Of money in these at
tempts to convert Chinese who won't be
converted and whether it would not be
more practical as we'll as more Christian
to concentrate some Of this effort and
money upon the heather at our very
doors who know neither Christ nor Con-
fucius.