Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1913-10-08
Is Not Worship but Merely a
System Of Ethics.
Islamlsm ls an ENeeptlon-MosIsms In
Republic Are Very Numerous and
Devout-Fsith In Their Be-
lief 10 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 AIT b. G. The
doctrine of Confucius deals with mans
relations to man, aud not with his
relations or responsibilities to God. 1t
can therefore not be considered re-
llgion. but a system of ethics. The
true followers Of Confusius can prop
erly be said to be irreligious. using
the word In It's best sense.
Besides the doctrines OF the sage
most Confucianists have religious no
tions. borrowed either from the Budd-
hist or Taolst religions. or from both.
These religious notions do not tend
10 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 &C
counts in part for the strange lndifrer-
ence which the Chinese show toward
their own religious systems There
are very few ferVent Confuslanists
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
a 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-
liglon The studeh, made good reel
tatlon 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, Il know of ROne; ! am a NOLAN.
medan." Needless to say the profes.
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 ali
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 a 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 this
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 Siantu, where
they married Chinese wives and thu
became the nucleus OF Mohammedan
ism in China This Mohammedan col
ony not only maintained itself, bu
grew rapidly and became the paren
of other Mohammedan colonies II
western China,
These colonists we're greatly in
creased after the conquests OF Jenghi
Khan had opened up a highway be
tween the east and the west. His sue
eessors Ogotai and Kublai Khan wer,
probably the most tolerant rulers Q
their age. During their reigns a fioot
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