Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-12
BOTH BLAME AND PRAISE OF
PEKING MISSIONS.

Ing throughout, both in the institutions
mentioned and in the Peking university,
Is the strength of the enterprise. II there
were room, should like to enumerate the
men and women who are pouring their
power into the creation of new leader
ship for China. Such teachers as Rev. DR..
w. A. p. Martin, long head Of the Imperial
University; Rev. DR.. d. r. Sheffield and
Rev Dr. j. Wherry, the eminent authors
and educators; Rev. DR.. c. Goodrich, lin
guist and theologian, whose dictionary
every student Of China knows; Miss Luella
Miner, author and leader in woman's edu-
cation; Prof Isaac T. Headland, author of
books on Chinese folk lore and art-such as
these would make any educational work
great.
If there were room for particulars could
tell incident after incident to illustrate
what all this means in the awakening OF
China. CHANGED upon ESSAY afternoon
at the woman's college. when the girls were
having their weekly social exercises. Now
Chinese girls look stupid; their express
kionless. unattractive faces reveal nothing.
Yet l heard those girls get up and make
speeches. without five minutes warming,
upon the general subject of reform of pro-
gress, that would have made the statesman
of ten years ago call for the rheadsman.
The girls are studying foreign governments
and reading their own newspapers and
what they had to say about the needs OF
Chinese government was SO pointed and
practical as to take ones breath This Is
the sort Of thing that no end of Manchu
reactions can overcome.
So
have dropped into two street chapels in
Picking, one belonging TO an Independent ma.
tive church and one attached to the American
board compound. The street chapel is the
approved method of reaching the crowds in
Chinese cities. 1t is typical Chinese
room, open to the street. where a native
or a missionary spends two or three hours
every afternoon expounding Christianity to
whoever drops in, and there Is a deal of
coming and going, since 1t no longer brings
disgrace upon a man to listen to the preach
ing of 1.-THE Jesus way"
Various methods of approach are used,
all depending upon the bent of the preach
er's mind. At the Congregational street
chapel 1 heard a native pitching into Idol
worship as a foreigner would scarcely con-
slider 1t polite to do. Advantage is often
taken Of the Chinese ignorance Of the physi
cal world to lead him up to the teaching of
astronomy. l asked a missionary If natives
are often converted by single hearing of
the Christian story, and the answer was
that occasional we'll instances
of such are known to almost every mis-
sionary.
The service / attended in the native
chapel partook largely of the nature Of
prayer meeting, with participation by nu
merous persons. At the close several hear
ers expressed an interest In Christianity
and desire to become 'inquirers.' Since
there we're absolutely material advan-
tages to be gained by this STEP inasmuch
as the work was exclusively native, could
not but regard this as one evidence of the
sincerity of the Chinese desire for the
Christian teaching In this chapel noticed
a list of the martyred members who had
persisted in 1900.
In Pao-Ting-fu and Tung Chow I found