Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1917-03-08
Another Letter From China.
Marking, China, Nov. 27, 1916.

The foreigner on his first arrival in China
is bewildered with the very multitude OF
strange impressions made upon him. He
feels first OF all how utterly impossible il
will be 10 make his friends al home real
ize the queer conditions here through the
medium OF letter. The horrible sounds
and the unbearable odorS peculiar TO
heaihen countries can not be registered
or photographed in any letters that go
home 10 America. Filth and disease en-
gage your attention everywhere you 60.
The slums Of China can not be restricted
to small parts OF cities like New York and
Chicago, but they extend over the most
part OF almost every city in the land.
Most OF our life at the language school
is exceedingly pleasant. My daily rou-
tine is about as follows About six o'clock
awake at the call OF the bugleS. The
hour is spent in Bible study. We have
family prayers at and breakfast at 730.
The students take turns leading the chapel
services, which are conducted al the
language school at $50. From g to II
and from to 4 our teachers give us the
steady repetition OF hundreds OF Chinese
words. During the whole year we do
not use single book. However, by the
new process Of studying language by
ear we day by day absorb more and more
OF these sounds and words. Al Attirstyour
lips seem not constituted TO make these
tongue-twisting sounds. You cannot
notice any difference between the slight
variations OF pronunciation in the five
tones You are amazed that one little
monoSyllable like "Sau" represents about
twenty different words. BY little care
lessneSs in your pronunciation you may
make as bad mistake as the student did
last year, who desiring 10 compliment
his teacher called him black devil. On
the other hand, we get much pleasure in
using the small vocabulary OF 100 words
we have already learned in making many
combinations of sentences.
A person able TO speak the Chinese
language would get quite voluminous in
sight into Chinese life and character on
his first arrival in the country by falling
into conversation with people on the
streets for several hours each day. How
ever, we are most consciously babes not
able 10 carry or The simplest converSa-
ton with the hordes of interesting people
we see on the streets. Hence, we gain
our information about them very slowly.
This afternoon had an exciting ex-
perience with twelve male language STU
dents. Last Saturday night $50 families
living in straw huts outside the city wall
were burned out ot their homes by a
sweeping fire. The next morning these
straw huts, formerly the homes OF these
$50 families, were reduced TO small heaps
OF ashes. These poor people were shiv-
ering in the bleak morning air in their
scanty clothing. Here and there you
could see a woman tryingto strain a small
measure OF rice from an ash heap. This
grinding poverty touched the sensitive
heart of Our physician, Dr. Perkins, who
this afternoon took twelve ofus, language
students, with him 10 the scene the fire.
A single man could not possibly have
performed this act OF charity, for he would
have been mobbed in few minutes by
starving people. However, the twelve
OF us formed in a straight line and dis
tributed small copies Of the Gospels in
the Chinese language with an envelope
containing 30 cents. Each family might
get several meals and read the Book OF
Books. In about three minutes we had
distributed all the Gospels 10 more than
l20 families and started hurriedly away
from the crowds. In few seconds the
families discovered the money hidden in
the Gospels and came focking after us.
For single man this would have been
an exceedingly dangerous procedure, fer
the starving crowd would have seized
him in few minutes hoping 10 get all the
money he possessed The twelve OF us
got away very quietly.
The Church in China is growing in
spite of the greatest obstacles. At the
present time the Parliament in Peking is
considering the passage OF a new law
favored by the President TO make Con-
fucianism the State religion Of China.
Only last week DR.. Price with many
other missionaries went TO Shanghai to
attend meeting OF the Continuation Com
mittee, which sent strong protest against
the new law by telegram TO Peking. We
are all working and praying that in the
next few weeks this new law may not be
passed, which would Withdraw much
needed protection from missionaries and
Christians and so retard the progress OF
Christian church by the national prestige
it would bestow upon Confucianism.
CHARLES GHISELIN, JR.