The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1913-10-24
RELIGION OF CHINESE
Is Not Worship but Merely a
System of Ethics.
isiamIsm 10 an Observation-Disclosures In
Republic Are Very Numerous and
Devout-Faith In Their Be-
lief ls Strong In Them.

Picking, China-The great majority
of the Chinese are Confucianists.
They follow the ethical teachings of
Confucius, the great sage of China,
who lived from $50 to ATT b. c. The
doctrine Of Confucius deals with mans
relations to man, and not with his
relations or responsibilities to God. 1t
can therefore not be considered a re-
ligion, but a system of ethics. The
true followers Of Confusius can prop
erly be said to be irreligious. using
the word in Its best sense.
Besides the doctrines Of the sage
most Confucianists have religious no.
tions, 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 own religious systems. There
are very few fervent Confusianists,
Taoists or Buddhists. The vast ma
jority of the Chinese do not 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 they
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-
ageous way In which the Chinese Mo-
hammedans profess their faith. The
professor in question was conducting
recitation In western history. The
! topic of the day was the rise and
spread of Islam. The professor asked
one Of the students to state the lead
| ing features of the Mohammedann re-
| ligion. The student made a good reel
tation and enumerated the elements of
strength in the Islamic faith.
The professor then asked the stu
dent to point out some of the faults
and weaknesses of this religion. The
student answered firmly but respect
fully, II know of none; am Mohain-
medan." Needless to say the profess
sor marked the recitation perfect. In
the same class of fifty students the
Mohammedan was the only one who
was willing to admit that he had any
religious convictions. The fidelity Of
the Chinese Moslems to their religion
and the proud and manly way in which
they profess their faith are refreshing
to any one familiar with the indiffer-
ence and callousness which the aver
age Chinese manifests towards all
things spiritual: .----.>.
Mohammedanism In China dates
from the year 757 A. d., when the en-
peror Hsuan Tsung of the Tang dynas-
ty invited 1000 Arabs to come to his
assistance In war against the Turks.
BY the assistance Of the Arabs the en-
peror was able to recover his two CAPT.
tails, Sianfu and Honanfu. and to drive
the enemy back to their home on the
northwest frontier. The Arab troops,
who had probably come from some
garrison on the frontier Of Turkestan.
never returned home, but remained
in China, settling at Sianfu, where
they married Chinese wives and thus
became the nucleus of Mohammedan-
ism in China. This Mohammedan col
ony not only maintained Itself, but
grew rapidly and became the parent
of other Mohammedan colonies in
western China.
These colonists were greatly In.
creased after the conquests Of Jenghis
Khan had opened up highway be-
tween the east and the west. His sue
cessors Ogotai and Kublai Khan were
probably the most tolerant rulers OF
their age. During their reigns flood
of Mohammedans of all kinds, Arabs,
Persians, Bokhariots and Turks took
advantage of the hospitality of the
Mongol rulers and settled In the lead
ing cities Of China. These immigrants
mixed with the Arab colonists of the
eighth century and thus formed a
body of believers whose descendants