Evening star., 1908-01-12
Awakenin9 Of China.
Commercially, Educational1y and Morally-New
Era Pervades the Celestial Empire,
Says F. S. Brockman.

! they are ocmirg to that. She has not mad
enough teachers nor enough money. But
! in the normal schools she has established
she is preparing men who Will be the
| teachers in the common schools.
| To the moral awakening Mr. Brockman
next urred hts interview. and he showed
tl:at in that l'lc 'ie Chinese i.aTe no. been
more backward than in the other tive.
! I'm all this change-industrial political
i educational-in the far east, he began
| 'of course. there has been a heavy stra n
| ON the ability and moral stamina of the
| individual. Many reports have been made
! of the failure of some re tOrmS. because
| there were no men to put them through
! But the people .'eel the need for individuals
of moral stamina. Yuan Shi Kai. head of
| the board of foreign affairs and member
of the grand council. who is the leading
man in the empire has been handicapped
because of this lack.
For this reason the leaders are asking,
| What are the influences which make
men, and What are the influences which
destroy men?' That has been the llv-st
| topic throughout the country recently.
THE recent agitation in regard to opium
is the result of this new attitude. From
D. Willard Lyon. Y. NJ. c. A. secretary
| for China I have this report: An i'm
perial edict of most drastic character
| has been issued ordering that immediate
steps be taken toward the complete sup
preston OF the opium traffic. No one who
| is acquainted with the history of edicts in
| .he task of opium suppression Will be as
easily accomplished as the imperial man
date seems to imply. On the other hand
1t is unquestionably true that very
strong anti-opium sentiment has been de-
veloped in China. Large mass meetings
presided over by those high in authority
have been held in several of the large
cities in China to add fuel to the agitation.
Not few officials have taken vigorous
steps toward reducing the consumption of
the poisonous drug In many places only
those who are confirmed smokers are al
lowed to purchase opium and even they
are limited to the quantity which they are
able to buy. If the Christian world will
give China her moral support in this de-
serving campaign there is every reason to
believe China will do her part to eradicate
the curse.
IL. f. McLachlin. secretary at Foochow,
reports this matter follows: Today
there is not one opium den in all FoochoW.
Not long ago there We're over 5000
1t is the desire to get men of moral
stamina which led to the Apium reform. l
have never known of such drastic meas
ures taken in the suppression of Vice in
any country as taken by China in this in
stance. This desire for men o. moral
stamina and Of unimpeachable moral char
acter has also put men in China in the
way of asking of Christianity never be-
fore.
I'm this new era. the old systems of re-
ligion in China are absolutely helpless. l
do not mean by that that Confucianism
has not done good. but it is a system of
ethics and nothing more. In the opium
dens and low dives of the Chinese cities
sayings of ConfuciuS are found on tile
walls and nothing is thought ofNit. You
do not see sayings of Christ in such places
in America.
1.-The power of the old religion is disap-
pearing before the influx of western life.
l am frequently asked if we missionaries
are fighting the old religions. The mis-
sionaries are not fighting them, If we
tried to keep them alive we could not do
It, They are dying natural death.
For this reason there is a great in
quiry as to what moral force to get into
the country to hold the people in the new
era. The pot of opportunity is boiling.
There is more action in China today than
in America. | believe China and Japan
will be Christian nations, and, in view
of the present opportunities. there is
great responsibility on Christian Amer
ica."
When asked regarding the associations
work in the celestial empire. Mr.. Brock
man referred to a report on the years
work from D. Willard Lyon. in which Mr..
Lyon says:
1.-The chief event toward which the plans
Of the earlier part of the years work
converged and out of which the work
of the later months has grown was the
fifth general convention. held in Shang
hal. March 1922. 1t was attended by l5S
voting delegates, 154 non official delegates
and fifty-one fraternal delegates making
total registered attendance of 343. They
represented twelve provinces of China
proper. Manchuria and Korea, and came
from nine city associations, twenty one
student associations in Christian colleges
and one student association in a govern
ment college The convention was sig
nificant for the large part which the Chi
nese themselves took in its leadership. All
the officers of the convention were orien-
tails. The recognition accorded by Vice
roy Tuan Fang in sending his special rep
resentative Mr. Kwia Chik. TO attend the
session and to represent him In two Off
cial deliverances was most remarkable.
During the five and a half years which
elapsed between the fourth and fifth gen.
eral conventions. striking progress has
been made in the association movement
along several lines.
when the Nanking convention assem-
bled in November. 1901. the associations
efforts were largely confined to the student
department and chiefly to students in
Christian colleges. Now they include stu
dents in government and non Christian
schools, as we'll as in such cities as Tien-
tsin. Shanghai, Hongkong and Toxic. De-
partments have been added which direct
their attention mainly toward reaching
the business young man Of the great cities
and the literati. In 1901 only seven sec
retaries of the international committee
were at work in China and Korea: now
there are seventeen. Then the city as
sociations were only In their embryonic
stage; now there are ten in all. five Of
| which have foreign secretaries. Then the
mover had but one or two publca-
tions: now it has about thirty. The sum-
mer schools had not even been seriously
contemplated: now four are held each
year. Then the movement was but little
known; now it is embarrassed by its
/ ,lar rif