The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-18

we ma tnat you nave deceived US ABOUT
your religion. and that you do not practice
it. what can the Chinese do but keep
away from your religion? What do we
want of it, since you do not want it your
seIves?"
"But we do want it, and we follow it"
1 retorted. "You admit that there is such
a thing as crime. do you hot?''
Eyes, certainly
"And you believe that crime must be
punished?'
"Yes"
Chinese have committed crimes, and the
missionaries ask only that the criminals
be punished
THOUGHT HE HAD HIM.
This was the first time that had sue
ceeded in against the willy Yang. Do not
think, however, that he permitted himself
TO show defeat. He merely closed his eyes
tight, as is the right of an old man, and
smoked out the few whiffs that were left
in the tiny metal bowl of his pipe. After
few minutes he bestirred himself to brew
two more bowls OF tea. This done, and
one bowl handed to me-we slowly slipped
at the fragrant mess. In China ii is al
most sacrilege to talk while the flower OF
best tea is under your nostrils. Yang Szu
was doing some quiet thinking, though
nothing in his stolid yellow face betrayed
the fact In the course of five minutes,
however, this old man of Shan-si had di-
gested my last remark sufficiently TO be
able to reply TO it,
'Over in your country" he suggested,
f,n1 4 no
who was wronged decides what the pun
ishment is to be?'
"Oh, no. The courts decide that.
But the one who was wronged tells the
court what the punishment ought to be-"
.'Of course he doesn't. If he did, he
would get few days in Jail for his impu-
dence.'
"Yet your missionaries are telling the
foreign-devil nations what they ought TO
do by way Of punishment"
Yang opened his eyes quite wide. That
was sign that he thought he had me.
.sThe missionaries 1 retorted, "are adj
vising the outside governments because
the governments themselves know very
little about the Chinese. The missionaries,
being right on the ground, know the Chi
nese very well, and are. therefore, COM
petent to advise"
lover in your country" replied Yang,
sit must often happen that the one who is
wronged knows much more about the GRIM
inal than the judge does. Yet you tell me
that the one who is wronged would be put
in the stocks if he dared tell the judge
what to do. Why do your missionaries ask
greater privilege before the law in
China than they would in their own coun-
try?"
This said, Yang turned his whole .atten-
ton to his pipe, emptying it with care and
refilling with even more care. He lighted
the tobacco and smoked the pipe out in
silence, edging little away from the odor
of the Manila cigar that / was smoking.
Cinnamon profess a great disdain for our
tobacco, which is another of their affecta-
tions 1t is all 1 can do to endure Yang s
detestable Chinese tobacco.
WHAT THE NATIONS SHOULD DO.
shall tell you at last inquired the
old yellow banker, what the nations
ought to do here in China?'
by all means"
"Well then, first of all let me tell you
that the missionaries by demanding whole
undoing all the work they have spent so
many years in building up. They are miss
ing a great opportunity in not taking the
part of the Chinese. When your country
and the countries of Europe stamp around
here in shoes that are made of iron and
talk with the voice of thunder your mis-
sionaries should remember what they have
taught us, and should obey their own
teachings. When your diplomats and your
generals come here among us TO exact pun
ishments your missionaries should step in
between our people and the foreign devils
and say: Stop These are the people we
are trying to make Christians of. They
have done wrong. but they are sorry. We
have taught them that Christians forgive
wrongs and that the man who does not
forgive a wrong is not a Christian. That
is what we have taught these Chinese and
they have believed us. Do not make liars
Of US. If you do the Chinese will never
again believe US and there will be no more
Chinese Christians.
Poor old Yang had talked so fast that he
was out of breath, but he talked, too, with
the earnestness of man who believes all
that he says.
'If the missionaries would talk thus, and
them, then we would see that your religion
Is something that you really believe in"
continued Yang SzI- 1T would help your
Christianity with us, for every man likes
to be forgiven, rather than punished 1t
would help trade, too, and that is some
thing that want to see. The foreign devil
soldiers have been killing our people. Can
you trade with the dead? Your sodiers-I
do not say the Americans, but some of
your white soldiers-have been depopulat-
ing this metropolitan province of Chilli
Yet it is the center of the government, the
money and the trade of China. Is that the
way for your foreign devils to make money
here?
CHINESE HISTORY.
Last night was reading some Chinese
history. Ours is the most wonderful his
tory in the world. The story runs that
in the time of the Sung dynasty the an
cient capital of Kai-Fung-Fu revolted
Kai-Fung-Fu was the greatest city that
ever stood in China Nowhere in all the
world was there ever city as great for,
within its walls dwelt 100000 people.
When the city revolted. the imperial gem
erals and armies were sent TO take the
city. There was a long siege and much
fierce fighting. Thousands OF the EN-
paror'c eofdfarc mare killad and MANI 90