The evening times., 1900-07-26
CHINA AND CATHOLICISM.
A Time when the MonEols Were on
the Verge of the Church.
(From the Kansas City SJar)


How many persons are there who know
ahat II was only by a chance that Chira
did not become Roman Catholic In the thir-
teenth century? II Kublai Khan had ds-
cided in favor OF Catholicism. and China
lad become Roman Catholic, the effect Cn
the history OF the world would have teen
Of a tremendous and decisive character.
With the impetus OF European diplomats
teachers and military adventurers lo-king
TO the court Of China Il might have become
the greatest power in the world, as. indeed
IL was during Kublars reign
Kublai Khan was the founder OF Pekin,
where he reigned as Emperor from the
China Sea TO the VOlga- Adventures f.cm
all parts OF Asia. and even from ByzaEtium
still the seat Of the degenerate Eastern
Roman Empire-and from Venice, served In
his armies and in his court and govern
meut But this greatest Of Empzro-s cf
China selected Buddhism as his favored Ie-
ligiou, after a brief attempt to secure Eu-
ropean priests
Kublai Khan was a grandson or GeuE-
mis- Khan. the terrible MongoI conqueror
Genghis Khan devastated North China
but established nothing Nor did Kub-
lai nor TamerIane establish ANYTHING
for the Mongols had nothing 10 give
and. wherever and wherever they
erected empires. they derived civiliZa-
ton from the conquered peoples. Thus
KubIai Khan encouraged Chinese cfviliza-
ton. which existed before him and con
tiRued after his MougoI dynasty was
swept away Likewise TamerIane. who
created a brilliant MongoI capital at
Samarcand. really added nothing tc civ
ilizatiOn. fOr his Empire broke into pieces
and the NongOl hOrdes whose miIitsry
prowess was its foundation were resolved
into mere tribes and clans.
The inner. OF Tartar City" OF Pekin
was built by Kublai Khan about the
years 1854 to 1851. Up 70 his successio ion
as the sovereign Of the Mongols the na-
tive dynasty. called Sung. had main
tanned itself in Southern China. From
1854 to 1873 the native Chinese of the
south withstood the MongoI conquerors.
and. even when their twin capitals on the
Han River were taken. they kept I'D an
intermittent struggle against MongOl rule
for half a century afterwaTd.
But Kublai did not attempt TO extermi-
nate the population and lay the country
waste. as was the manner OF his bIco y
grandfather. Genghis Khan On the n
trary, he proposed not 70 be Emperor over
dead enemies. but over live Chinese. He
patroniZed Chinese literature and horOred
Cinnamon In his administration. although
the first ranks of the Empire were al ed
with ca-petbaggers from many lands ard
cllmes. Marco Polo was one of these
Kublai established paper money and D st
roads ard devoted much effort 10 finding a
suitable religion for his people Tibet an
Buddhism was the result.
The great feature of this MongoI dynasty
which changed the capital of China to
Pekin-was that China remained Chinese.
In 1868 revolution, led by a native Chi
nese priest, resulted in the expulsion OF the
degenerate successors of Kublai Khan and
the progeny Of the Chinese Washington
reigned until 1914 as the Ming DYNASTY.
Then came the Manchus-another Moneol
tribe-who were invited to enter China to
help put down a rebellion. and. having done
So decided 20 stay. They established the
present Manchu dynasty But China. vii h
had remained the same through the reign
Of kublai Khan and his successors, did not
change under Manchu rule, and the Man-
ehus have adopted Chinese civilization and
become virtually Cinnamon.
II the Chinese nation has tins baeo
as lasting as the coHtinent Of Asia it
selt-so far as records go-it is reason
able to assume that it would have re-
mained Roman Catholic beyond the power
Of change had the religion of Rome been
accepted instead OF Buddhism Under the
tutelage of the great Roman Church
China might have attained heights of
power aand influence surprising anything
dreamed Of making the whole of Europe
seem puny beside its enormous magnitude
IL might have attacked Islam and turned
all Asia into Chinese Roman empire and
spread across North Africa. as the Sara
Gems did But China. with a religion Of
peace and isolation, never felt the great
passion to proselyte. II it had-if China
had undertaken a crusade. what would
have been the result2