The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-10-16
RELIGION OF
THE CHINESE
lslamism Is an observation-disclosures in
Republic Are Very Numerous and
Devout-Faith in Their Be
lief is Strong in Them.

lief is Strong in Them.
Picking, China-The great majority
of the Chinese are Confucianists.
They follow tho ethical teachings OF
%Confucius, the great sage OF China,
Who lived from $50 to Az H.. {. The
doctrine of Confucius deals With mans
relations to man, and not With his
relations or responsibilities 10 God. II
can therefore not be considered a re
ligion. but a system of ethics. The
true followers of C%cnfusius can prop
erly be said 10 be irreligious, using
the word in les best sense.
Besides the doctrines OF the sage
most Confucianists have religious no,
tons, borrowed either from the Budd-
hist or Taoist religions. or from both
These religious notions do not tend
TO become convictions influencing the
lives OF the believers nor TO bind them
together in religious communities.
Worship, with the great majority of
the Chinese, is an individual matter.
One does not see people gather to-
gether in the temples for ensemble
worship. This condition of affairs ac-
counts in part for the strange indiffer-
ence which the Chinese show toward
their religious systems, There
are very few feryent Confusianists,
Taoists or Buddhists. The vast ma
jority of the Chinese do o take relig-
ion seriously.
In this respect the Chinese Moham-
medans present a striking contrast to
the rest of their fellow countrymen.
Excepting the Christians they seem TO
be the only Chinese who are conscious
of having a religion and whose lives
are shaped by religious convictions.
They stand more or less apart and
aloof from the rest of the Chinese.
Firm in their conviction that the
alone know the true God they despise
their idol worshipers. Many Chinese,
especially those who have been edu'
Gated, are ashamed TO admit that they
have any religious convictions.
The Mohammedans, on the contrary,
affirm with pride their adherence TO
the DOCTRINES of the prophet. An Amer
lean professor in the Chinese govern
ment university tells of an incident
which illustrates the frank and cour.
aseous way In which the Chinese Mo
hammedans profess their faith, The
professor in question was conductina
a recitation in western history. 1hs
topic OF the DAY was the rise aha
spread OF isia:-, Ihe professor asket
one of the students to state the lead
ing ieatures OF the Mohammedann re
l'gioh. he student made a good rec
eauon ahd enumerated the elements o
strehslh IN the lslamic faith. sitt
The professor then asked the stu
dent to point out some of the FAULT
and Weaknesses of this religions. Thl
student answered firmly but respect
fully, ~ know ofnone; 1 am a Mohan
medan.' Needless TO say the profes
SCR marked the recitation perfect. Ii
the same class OF fifty students tn,
Mohammedar was the only one VIII
was willing TO admit that he had an
religious convictions. The fidelity o
the Chinese Moslems to their religion
and the, proud and manly way in whicf
they profess their faith are refreshin!
TO any II familiar with the indffel
ence aud ca~liousness which the aver
age Chinese manifests towards al
things spiritual. as.
Mohalnmedanism in China date
from the year 151 A. d., when the en-.
peror Hsuan Tsung OF the Tang dynas
~ invited 1000 Arabs to come to hi
q soistanco in a w,,. AGAINST Mn T,,rlru
by the assistance of the Arabs the en-
peror was able to o his two cap
tails. Sianfu and Honanfu, and to driv.
the enemy back to their home on tn,
northwest frontier. The Arab troops
garrison on the frontier of I'urkestau