Evening star., 1901-02-07
THE REAL CHINESE PROBEEM
TO CIVILIZE WITHOUT INCURRING
NATIVE ENMITY. as -
by Washington Mis-
sionary Who Has Served I'm
Yeung Kong Province.

| F al
The following extractis from letter of
missionary In the Yeung Kong province,
China the only foreigner VINO has ever
mastered the dialect of that province. He
is a Washington boy, educated in the. pub
lie schools and Columbian University, and
this fact gives added interest to his ub-
serVatiOnS:
The people of the west do not understand
the Chinaman at all. Western tolerance IS
looked upon as weakness, for the Chinese,
like all savage people, will only respect a
show Of force. The longer 1 live here the
more l realize that the Chinese have from
their standpoint an excuse for what they
have done, although they have done 1T ~
the manner of the savage. The IDEA Of
central government is myth; the empire,
so called, Is very lightly held together po-
Htically. The greatest ties are those or
social nature. Custom stands higher tnlA
utility freedom of thought. So aow'
when the representatives ar Pek IN try 10
act toward the Chinese as If they were
civilized people they show their ignorance
of the real condition of and in CHINA.
China cannot and Will not understand the
usages of international law. She only
sends representatives to other governments
because other governments demand them,
not because they can be of any use TO the \
Chinese rulers. 1t is the same with every
other ASSOCIATION with other nations. Wnen
other nations come to realize that now, and
even in the future, China, if able, wodld
drive every fore gn barbarian and his Gus
toms into the the sooner they Will be-
gin to recognize the fact that the subjuga-
ton of China must be the next step in the
great drama of the east. To be sure there
are many Chinese who would welcome new
regimes, and VINO, if the present conditions
continue, may be driven to rebel against
the imbeciity of the court in the''north tn. /
However, the question at this time, and the
end toward which the efforts OF foreign fa-
lt he z,
is the proper respect for the dignity ana
power of foreign nations. This It IS neces-
sary to show first by the actual use Oh
armies and force; but there are other
methods of impressing the Chinese with
the power and dignity Of the -fnreigner
Let the foreigner respect the Chlnese su-
perstitions, for the time being atSleaSt Let
the foreigner remember that there have
been times in the past when witches were
killed in the west, and then let nm look
at the Chinese as in that period of~deVel- !
opment where the disturbance of the super
stitions in regard to their graves and their
dragons. their flung shut and thousand and
one beliefs with which at the present "faey
are inseparaby united is direct danger to
them. These very superstitfons,, Accord
ing to q native of China, are. responsible
for the safety of his life, the peace of his
village and the integrity of his country
Disturb these conditions and what is there
left for the Chinese to--liNe for! Rather
death than to live surrounded by haunting
spirits, unlucky influences and dread. or
so reason the Chinese, 'that must accrue
from the disturbances of graves by the iron
horse and its track, by the destruction OF
the flung shut by the bridges and the
shriekng whistles of the engines W hien,
IN the dusk of the evening. lCok like phan7
toms and sound like avengng monsters IN
vading the once quiet of his native village
Rather die says he, and then why not dle
striving to drive out the hated causes OF
these evils? Hence the destruction or rail-
roads and slaughter of foreigners and ma
tive Christians because they study the
WAYS of the hated barbarlanS IhlS is very
simple: perhaps that is why 1t IS overlooked
What the Chinese want u education. II
the foreign powers had let China alone
for a few more tens of years without m
vading with railroads and other sudden
departures of a world of which they have
never dreamed the missionary with MS
gospel of peace, would have given differ
ent tint to the now savage colors In Whlcn
western people are painted.
This revulsion against the powers which
rule China was inevitable. and what Is now
abortive would have been success in the
near future. But no, the foreign powers
must force all these new things on the chi
nese. and as result OF force. the INVADER
has been wounded for his hastiness. This
is the condition now that must be met.
Force should be used and pressed TO the
end. while at the same time; when II is
possible, polienesS and regard for the
Chinese customs should be the order of the
day 1t is unfortunate that this is the case,
but II is too late now. To save our reputa-
ton we must carry out what has been SO
foolishly begun. The missionary has al
ways lived in friendly rela ions with the
Chinese so long as the missionary is alone.
But when the naughty foreigner, who
| comes for gain makes his appearance, and
| without In the least attempting to learn
| the manners and methods of politeness
understood by his host, begins to -tfample
| under foot all that is dear TO the Chinese
| heart, then the missionary feels the change
/ oil sentiment and trouble begins. This has
/ occurred all through China in hundreds of
| cases. The missionary comes seeking and
! imparting good. the mercenary man comes
| dispensing his vicious customs and seeking
/ nothing but gain. As an example, one may
/ see the foreigners living with concubines
/ in unblushing manner. The native Chinese
| have never civilization outside of
the few missionaries he meets, except the
bad example set by the trading foreigners
! with whom he comes in contact The better
/ class of foreigners live apart from the
mass of Chinese, and they have no oppor-
! tunity to see their habits. nor. learn their
| good points. Foreign officials complain OF
| the lack of honesty on the part of the Chi
nese. Where, pray, have the Chinese had
| an example of honesty from which to
| learn? Surely not from the trader foreign
| er who has been thrown to their level, and
| seldom, | am sorry TO say, from some of
| those TO whom we are pleased to accord
| social distinction. This is a severe arraign-
ment, but L think you would agree with
me should You see with what disgust the
! missionary hears the news that other for
eigners are coming to live in the town
! This is not bgotry, for, in our loneliness
We would welcome the presence of our
| countrymen if of the right kind
|