Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1900-09-20
MISSIONARIES IN CHINA.
Almost Inseperable Obstacles to Thsii
Success.


representing the different Protestant
churches of the United States. They
follow actively their various branches
of the work in the different provinces
| OF the empire. Many OF them, in incl
lectual and spiritual gifts, are far
above the average of our home work
ers In their doings with the natives
they prove to be influenced by the
highest principles OF goodwill and hu-
mainly as well as by Christian charity.
They are men and women Of whom
! America may well feel proud.
The home of the missionary is n
center of light for all the surrounding
| districts. The children of the mission
| schools and colleges see the home life
of the missionary families, learn the
meaning of the stars and stripes ol
| the national flag, understand their
! f. ling of patriotism in its highest
| sense, and delight to learn the history
| of the country that has sent them SO
| much help from purely philanthropic
motives. 1t is the spirit of patriotism
that the Chinese need next to the spirit
| of Christianity; and it is the American
missionary who is eminently qualified
| to teach it to them even in the face OF
the corrupt government OF China.
Some who crticise the labors OF
missionaries depend only upon bare
statistics. They reckon up the number
| of mission stations and church mem
bers with the number OF years of work
| and take these as the measure Of use
fulness. Such people do not realize
the difficulties of the situation, which
mako the results beyond the reach OF
! arithmetical computation. The re
! ligious beliefs, the customs and preJu-
dices of the Chinese are entrenched
behind centuries upon centuries OF SUI
perstition. 1t must be remembered
! that China is the most ancient empire
| in the world. Before the Jews became
a nation, say twenty-five centuries be-
| fore Christ, China's civilization had
| already reached a high standard. Her
wealthy inhabitants wore silks and
| satins while the Israelites were in
! Egypt, and long centuries before
| Greece and Rome were thought Of.
Her ethics, her laws and administra-
| ton of government have come down
| almost unchanged through all those
! thousands of years. As far back as
! history goes the Chinese were gov
| erned by almost the same form Of pa
| ternal or patriarchal government that
has stood mistaken amid the rise and
| fall of western empires, and is still as
| influential in its strength and yigor.
1t is this antiquity which the Chinese
| fall back upon with so much pride that
stands in the way of their accepting
ANYTHING so modern as Christianity.
"But in the consideration OF the diff
iculties the missionary has to oncount
eT there is not only the antiquity but
also the enormous size OF the nation
and the extent Of country Out OF a
total of 5.O00,O00 square miles the elgh
teen provinces, or China proper, con
tain 800 900 square miles. In the
middle Of China is one Of the greatest
and most densely populated plains in
the world, through which flow the lcl-
low river and the Yang-tse. This one
plain supports a population Of lI5, 00O,-
600, or nearly three times as many peo-
Die as lnhabit the United States. The
emperor OF China rules over one-tenth
of the surface of the habitable globe
and nearly half of the population Of
our planet. Both the land and the PEG
all gt4,,s
whelming, but strange, unique and
without analogy. The methods used
for preaching the gospel in our own
lands or among unciyilized races have
TO be modified greatly, IL not entirely
changed. when applied to the ciyllizd-
ton OF China. The mass to be moved
is enormous, and the power applied
must be great in proportion.
Added to this difficulty Of the size
of the nation there Is the completely NJ
the language. The old saying That the
devil invented the Chinese characters
70 keep Christianity out OF China, ap'
peqrs 10 have some show Of reason
when we find that In place Of a Chinese
atphahet there are tens of thousands 81
formidable hieroglyphics Of pictorial
characters. and that each constitutes Z
separate monosylllbic word. Further
more. this written language ls % le
seen and not heard, TO be read and not
spoken Then there Is the official Or
court language used 10 the northern
and central provinces, with hundreds
OF different dialects spoken south 5i
the Yang-tse The missionary there
has therefore to learn the local diaie1-
the court language, and the written or|
classical language. before he can
preach. read the TRANSACTIONS q the
s4rintpras and carry on oral and wri.