The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-11-08

room, or peeped in at the doorway,
and two of his pretty little slave girls
waited on the table. The family feel
ing, or rather clan feeling, is not
based primarily on affection, but
mutual selfinterest. The quarrel
someness of the Chinese family is
patent to the ears of every resident.
II any one thinks that the ordinary
Chinese woman, especially after she
becomes mother-in-law, is a crushed
and down-trodden sister, he should
hear her in action for Ave minutes.
No man is better able to look out for
himself than this same small-footed
creature.
The absence of anything approach
ing the home life known to America
or Great Britain is conspicuous fact
about China. The cities are noisy,
not with traffic, for they have none, of
our ear-splitting western sort, but
with the perpetual and everywhere
present sounds Of squabbline and
strife. Here it is Every man fot him
self, and the devil take the hi3der-
most" Only yesterday as rode
along the street in a ricksEaw, saw
grown man trying to steal bundle
OF old straw fuel from a group of tots
whose ages must have ranged from
four to eight. And the furious fashion
in which they were assailing him
showed how early young China learns
to look out for ITSELF China is q
synonym for selfishness.
In all these observations have not
had out of mind the virtues of the
Chinese patience, their indus
try, their frugality, the obedience to
authority and their respect for the
established order. All these have
been magnified in their place. The
present design is simply to point out
certain deficiencies which Christian
ity, ideally, at least, would remedy
Missionaries would not be wanted In
China, but they are needed.
Are the Christians Better?
A study of the facts compels the
statement that in the case of many ma
tive converts these Objectionable Chi
nese characteristics have been elm
mated, showing that Christianity
really has the power to make over the
people. From one viewpoint this is
the crux of the missionary question.
Are these converts genuine? Do they
display the virtues which are com.
monty supposed to accompany the
Christian religion?
While it is true, as the Oldest liv-
ing missionary to the Chinese said to
me recently, that There are more
heather in China to-day than there
were when Robert Morrison began
work 100 years ago." owing to the in
crease in population, yet there is also
body of native Christians whose
faith is ineradicable. The Boxer
movement convinced China that
| Christianity among her people is here
| to stay, and cannot be stamped out.
These native Christians are for the
| most part sincere and steadfast. Sub
tracing all those who may in any way
| be called rice Christians" and who.
! 50 far as l can ascertain, are a de-
cided minority, there remains a body
of men and women who have been
made over by Christianity. The light
in their faces alone is enough to mark
them. Repeatedly, in various parts
of the empire, I have seen hundreds
SUCH some have come to know per-
sonally. The unpleasant traits OF
their fellow countrymen which have
just been enumerated have been cast
! off by them; they bear the marks by
which sincere disciples of the Naza
rene have been distinguished in all
ages.
Slow, hard and discouraging are
the labors of the missionary, but 6
handful of such converts are his re
ward. Despite the dead weight O.
inertia which continually confront.
him, and the more or less active op
position and hostility of the people a.
we'll, he is steadily winning his way
underwriting the foundations of thu
old creeds, disseminating a new spir
it of understanding, tolerance ant
sympathy among the people, and pre-
pairing for the advent of that day
whose dawning he confidently ex
poets, when the century of Gospe
seed-sowing in China will bear fruit
in great harvest of conversions.
Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles)