China
China
SEE SINIM, a vast county of Asia, extending (including its dependencies) from 20º to 56º N., and from 144º 50´ E. to 90º E. Its area is over four and a half million square miles, including one third of Asia, and nearly one tenth of the habitable globe. The empire is divided into three principal parts: first, the eighteen provinces; second, Manchooria; third, colonial possessions. The last includes Mongolia, Sungaria, Eastern Turkistan, Roko-nor, and Thibet. The second is the native country of the Manchoos, the reigning family in China, and includes the territory lying east of the Inner Duarian Mountains, and north of the Gulf of Lian Yung. Thefirst division is China Proper (between 18º and 40º N. lat., including Hainan on the south; and between 98º and 124º E. long.). It is the only part settled by Chinese. "It lies on the eastern slope of the high table-land of Central Asia, and in the south-east angle of the continent, and for beauty of scenery, fertility of soil, salubrity of climate, magnificent and beautiful rivers, and variety and abundance of its productions, will compare with any portion of the globe" (Williams, Middle Kingdom, 1:7). Its estimated area is nearly 2,000,000 square miles, or two fifths of the empire.
I. Population, Usages, etc. — The total population of China Proper was 371 millions in 1815, 396 millions in 1852, and is at present estimated at 410 or 420 millions.
This vast population has an ancient and peculiar civilization. The Chinese are generally classed in the Mongolian variety of the human race. "A tawny or parchment-colored skin, black hair, lank and coarse, a thin beard, oblique eyes, and high cheek-bones, are the principal characteristics of the race. Of the general character of the Chinese. it is not easy to form a fair and impartial judgment; and those who have resided long in the country, and know them well, have arrived at very different conclusions. M. Huc asserts that they are 'destitute of religious feelings and beliefs,' 'skeptical and indifferent to everything that concerns the moral side of man,' 'their whole lives but materialism put in action;' but 'all this,' says Mr. Meadows (The Chinese and their Rebellions, Lond. 1856), 'is baseless calumny of the higher life of a great portion of the human race.' He admits, indeed, that these charges are true of the mass of the Chinese, just as they are true of the English, French, and Americans; but as among these there is a large amount of generosity and right feeling, and also 'a minority higher in nature, actuated by higher motives, aiming at higher aims,' so also, he maintains, is there among the Chinese a similar right feeling, and a like minority who live a higher life than the people generally. The Chinese are, as a race, unwarlike, fond of peace and domestic order, capable of a high degree of organization and local self-government, sober, industrious, practical, unimaginative, literary, and deeply imbued with the mercantile spirit. It is to be observed that the inhabitants of China Proper are essentially one people, the differences, except in dialect, being hardly more marked than between the Northumbrian peasant and the Cornish miner. The south-eastern Chinese — the people of Kwang-tung, Fuh-keen, and the south of Che-keang — are the most restless and enterprising in all the eighteen provinces, and may be regarded as the Anglo-Saxons of Asia. In the mountainous districts of the four south-eastern provinces of China, but principally in Kwang-se, are certain tribes who maintain a rude independence, wear a peculiar dress, and are descended from the aboriginal inhabitants of China. Of these the Meaou-tze are the best known.
"Women hold a very inferior position, and are little better than slaves. Polygamy is not recognized by law, but secondary wives are common, especially when the first proves barren. Infanticide, though regarded as a crime, is undoubtedly practiced to some extent, as is proved by edicts issued against it. Milne (Life in China) denies its prevalence [but Doolittle (vol. 2, ch. 8) abundantly confirms it]. Parents possess almost unlimited authority over their children. The intercourse of the Chinese with each other, especially in the upper classes, is regulated by a tedious and elaborate etiquette; indeed, they are the slaves of custom, and everything is done by precedent. 'A Chinaman,' says Mr. Oliphant, 'has wonderful command of feature; he generally looks most pleased when he has least reason to be so, and maintains an expression of imperturbable politeness and amiability when he is secretly regretting devoutly that he cannot bastinade you to death.' The Le-King, or Book of Rites, regulates Chinese manners, and is one cause of their unchangeableness, for here they are stereotyped. and handed down from age to age. The ceremonial usages of China have been estimated at 3000, and one of the tribunals at Pekin — the Board of Rites — is charged with their interpretation.
"In everything that relates to death and sepulture, the customs of the Chinese are singular. They meet their last enemy with apparent unconcern; but, while their future state troubles them little, they regard the quality of their coffins as of vital importance, and frequently provide them during their lifetime; indeed, a coffin is reckoned a most acceptable present, and is frequently given by children to their parents. Education, as the high road to official employment, to rank, wealth, and influence, is eagerly sought by all classes. Literary proficiency (confined, however, to the ancient 'classics' of the country) commands everywhere respect and consideration, and primary instruction penetrates to the remotest villages. Self-supporting dayschools are universal throughout the country, and the office of teacher is followed by a great number of the literati. Government provides state examiners, but does not otherwise assist in the education of the people" (Chambers, Encyclopaedia, s.v.). The best modern account of the customs and religious usages of the Chinese is given in Doolittle's Social Life of the Chinese (N. Y., Harper and Brothers, 1865, 2 vols. 12mo). See also Oliphant, Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan (N. Y., Harper and Brothers, 1859, 8vo).
'There is a general impression that the climate of China is specially insalubrious. That this is not so may be seen from the following statement, condensed from the Chinese Repository (vol. 16, p. 12 sq.): "From the commencement of Protestant missions in China, by the Rev. Dr. Morrison, A.D. 3807 to 1847, a period of forty years, eighty-six missionaries had entered this field. During that time twelve died, and twenty-three retired from the work. Of those who died, one had lived twenty-seven years in the field, another sixteen years, two for eight years, and the rest for shorter periods. Thus, on an average, during forty years, the number of deaths among the Protestant missionaries was at the rate of one in three years. Of those who retired from the work, some engaged in other departments of labor in China; some returned, for various reasons, to, their native land, and others were obliged, in consequence of ill health, to leave the field. Forty-one of the eighty-six are still in China. Of these, one has been more than thirty years in the field, and still enjoys excellent health. Others have been here for twenty, ten, and five years, according to the time they entered the work. We have not the means for making an extensive comparison, but we think these statistics will compare favorably with those of any body of ministers in America or England. It should also be remembered, that as China has only recently been opened to missionaries, a great part of those referred to in the foregoing calculation labored at other places on the coast, south of China — as Malacca, Singapore, and Batavia- where the climate is warmer and more unwholesome than in China. From these statements, we think ourselves justified in saying that the opinion in regard to the unwholesomeness of this climate is not sustained by facts" (Maclay, in Methodist Quarterly, Oct. 1850, p. 596).
II. Religions of China (modified from Pierer, Universal-Lexikon, 4:6). —
1. Primitive Religion. The oldest religion of the Chinese was very simple. Their supreme object of worship was Schanti (supreme ruler; also called during his life Te-en, Tion, or Tien [Heaven]). Objects of inferior worship were the spirit of the earth, the spirits of the cities, the mountains, the streams, the tutelar deities of agriculture, of the hearth, of the borders, of the gates, the originators of agriculture and of the raising of silk-worms, the wise men of olden times, the souls of ancestors, particularly of the deceased emperors. The gods were to be propitiated by prayer, and their favor purchased by sacrifices. Nowhere in this system do we find any trace of immortality or of a moral law.
2. Confucianism. — After the fall of the Tscheu dynasty this old religion fell into disuse. About B.C. 551 appeared the reformer Kong-fu-tse, SEE CONFUCIUS, who attempted to introduce better morals, and at the same time to improve the political and social relations of the people. Confucius taught that from the Original Being Tai-ki proceeded Yang and Yen. Yank, the Perfect, is the essence of heaven, of the sun, day, heat, and manhood, and is represented by —— Yen, the Imperfect, is the essence of the moon, earth, night, cold, and womanhood, and is represented by — — . These two, by simple combination, give four signs (Sse-si-ang), viz. [Diagram]; and by double combination the eight trigrammes of the Kua, viz. [Diagram] Heaven, [Diagram] the original dampness, [Diagram] the fire, [Diagram] wind, [Diagram], water, [Diagram] mountains, [Diagram] thunder, [Diagram] the earth. These figures, disposed in a circle, were used by Confucius to illustrate the creation of the world. They had also an ethical meaning, being used to represent the cardinal virtues, piety, morality, justice, and chastity. But of any spoken or written revelation there is no trace in his doctrines. Confucius says himself that the Heavens are silent; they are to be known in their effects, but no further. Those who obey the law of Heaven as presented in Nature will be happy; those who do not, become unhappy. In this system we find no notion either of immortality or of religious doctrine; it contemplates this life only, not the future. It has no special priesthood nor temples; each family sacrifices to the tutelar deities of the household in its own dwelling, but the emperor alone 'is permitted to sacrifice to the highest Heaven. The writings of Confucius are read and expounded with great solemnity on the 1st and 15th of every month by a mandarin in robes of ceremony, and Confucius himself is honored as a saint. His doctrines are followed by the higher and more cultivated classes of China almost universally. The golden rule of the Savior, which Locke designates as the foundation of all social virtue, is found among the sayings of Confucius in the negative form: "What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others." In the "Conversations," bk. 15, ch. 23, it appears condensed, like a telegram, into eight characters, a good specimen of Chinese style:
ki su pok ük uk sic ü ing. self what not wish not do to man.
3. Lao-Tse or Lö-chü. — Nearly on a level with Confucius we find the reformer and philosopher Lao-tse (Lao-kiun) or Lö-chü, who considers the Tao (or Original Reason) as the origin of all things, from whom proceeded at first one, then two, then three divine natures (Ki, Hi, Quei). His smoral teaching is that man is to enjoy life, the highest aim being to become free from external evils and from inward cares. In this religion (the followers of which are called Tao-sse, Tauists) we find a belief in spirits having an influence over the destinies of man. After death the material part only of man belongs to the earth; the higher and lower spiritual parts (Ling and Hu-en) pass, after this life, into different spirits. Each place has its tutelar spirits; bad spirits always lead man into evil, but they are confined to the earth. This religion has a particular priesthood (in the higher degrees of which celibacy is enforced), and a great number of temples. It was originally embraced by the higher and richer classes, but has much degenerated of late, and its priests have become little better than jugglers.
"Sang Ching, the 'Three Pure Ones,' is the title of certain three idols found in temples belonging to the Tauist religion and worshipped by Tauist priests. The images are seated side by side. One of them, as some explain, represents Lo-chii, or the 'O'd Boy,' the founder of that religion. Others explain that the three images refer to three different incarnations of Lö-chü There is very little known among the common people about these divinities, and they are very seldom worshipped by them, Tauist priests of both classes universally worship the Three Pure Ones" (Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese, 1:249).
4. Buddha. — The third religion of China is that of Fo, or Buddha, introduced from India about the year A.D. 65, which, however, became commingled with the remains of the old Chinese religion and with the maxims of Confucius. With the great majority of the people it has sunk into a coarse idolatry. The Dalai Lama is in China replaced by the Ban-dschi-in- er-de-ni as the spiritual head. The priests are called bonzes (Chinese Seng or He-shang), and number more than one million. The lower orders of priests are ignorant, live in convents, and go about begging; the higher orders (Ta-he-shang) are educated, and obliged to study their religious books. There are also female bonzes, living in convents like the Romanist nuns. The temples are either mere chapels, or else large edifices surrounded by columns, at the end of which is a hall (Ting) containing the image of the god. The larger temples are merely a reunion of several smaller ones, having in the corners pavilions two stories high, in which the image of the god is kept, and which are surmounted by pyramidal octagonal towers (Taa) 7 to 10 stories in height, each story being separated from the next by a cornice projecting in imitation of a Chinese roof, and from each angle of which depend dragonheads and bells. By the side of the hall are the cells of the bonzes, and accommodations for a number of animals. On occasions of great ceremony, such as the feast of the temple of Te-en (Heaven) and Te (Earth), at Pekin, the New Year's day offering, the equinox, the processions of July and August in honor of rain, the feast of the dead, and the emperor's plowing (which is also considered as a religious ceremony), the emperor officiates as high-priest. Buddhism, although the religion of the emperor, is not the religion of the state, and is actually only tolerated, like the Tao-sse. Both systems have been so much altered by the influence of the doctrine of Confucius that the three religions can morally be considered as but one.
Religion (so far as professing it is concerned) is in China confined principally to the educated classes, somewhat like science in other countries. The great mass of the people live on without making any distinction between the different religions, and pray in any temple without inquiring as to its form of worship. But the only worship which. really seems to carry the minds and hearts of the people with it is the filial worship of ancestors.
"The hall of ancestors is found in the house of almost every member of the family, but always in that of the eldest son. In rich families it is a separate building, in others a room set apart for the purpose, and in many a mere shelf or shrine. The tablet consists of a board called chin chu, i.e. house of the spirit, about twelve inches long and three wide, placed upright in a block. and having the name, quality, and date of birth and death carved in the wood. A receptacle is often cut in the back, containing pieces of paper bearing the names of the higher ancestors, or other members of the family. Incense and papers are daily burned before them, accompanied by a bow or act of homage, forming, in fact, a sort of family prayer. The tablets are ranged in chronological order, those of the same generation being placed in a line. When the hall is large and the family rich, no pains are spared to adorn it with banners and insignia of wealth and rank; and on festival days it serves as a convenient place for friends to meet, or, indeed, for any extraordinary family occasion. A person residing near Macao spent about $1500 in the erection of a hall, and on the dedication day the female members of the family assembled with his sons and descendants to assist in the ceremonies. The portraits of the deceased are also suspended in the hall, but effigies or images are not now made.
"In the first part of April, during the term called tsing-ming, a general worship of ancestors, called pai shan, nor worshipping at the hills,' is observed. The whole population, men, women, and children, repair to their family tombs, carrying a tray containing the sacrifice, and libations for offering, and the candles, paper, and incense for burning, and there go through a variety of ceremonies and prayers. The grave is also carefully repaired and swept, and at the close of the service three pieces of turf are placed at the back and front of the grave, to retain long strips of red and white paper; this indicates that the accustomed rites have been performed, and these fugitive testimonials remain fluttering in the wind long enough to announce it to all the friends, for when a grave has been neglected three years it is sometimes dug over and the land resold" (Williams, Middle Kingdom, 2:268, 269).
Aside from the three above-named religions, there has lately appeared another, the Tai-ping, which is a mixture of the ancient religion with some fragments of Christian doctrine made known by the missionaries. This religion is purely theocratic, partly on the model of the O.T. It holds that its God is the only true one; that he came to earth and spoke to his children, telling them what to do and what to avoid. The leader of the movement, Hung-Siu Tsuen, or, as he styles himself, Tien-Wang (king of Heaven), was a native of an insignificant village 30 miles from Canton, and was born in 1813. His parents were too poor to give him the education required for competing successfully at the state examinations. From his 19th year he repaired annually for half a dozen years to Canton to these examinations, but each time failed of success. At one of these visits, an American missionary Rev. I. J. Roberts, gave him a package of tracts in Chinese. He did not read them until five years later, after his recovery from a severe illness, during which he had seen visions and uttered inflated rhapsodies in regard to his future. He now found in these tracts the key to the visions; he abandoned the belief in the teaching of Confucius, adopted views which were a mixture of ancient Chinese and of Christian doctrines, and betook himself to the mountains to make converts for his views. In 1840 he had made a number of converts, who were called God- worshippers. Not long after, in a single district, the number of his followers was reported to exceed 2000. Attacks on some Buddhist temples brought him into collision with the state authorities, and for several years he again led a retired life, though he seems to have remained in constant communication with his followers. A great change in his views took place in 1850. A rebellion had sprung up in the province of Canton, and the rebels, when pressed by the government troops, endeavored to enlist the influence of the God-worshippers in protecting them. The authorities sought to arrest SiuTsuen as their leader, when he, calling together his followers, seized a market-town, and thus, in December, 1850, the Tai- ping (great peace) rebellion assumed more formidable dimensions. Siu- Tsuen gave to several of his most prominent adherents the title Wang (king), and began to issue politico-religious proclamations. He assumed the title Tien-Wang (king of Heaven), and began to claim divine honors. At first be declared himself the brother and equal of Christ, and required the same homage; but subsequently he grouped in his manifestoes God the Father, Jesus Christ, himself, and his son, whom he styles the Junior Lord, as the coequal rulers of the universe. At one time he conferred the title of the third person of the Trinity upon Tung-Wang, the most blood-thirsty of the subordinate kings; but later this title was again withdrawn, and no other divine personages were recognized but those already mentioned. He professed to have often visited heaven, and declared that his favorite wife (he was reported to have 118) had also been permitted to ascend to the heavenly regions. The rebellion made rapid progress, and in 1853 Nanking was captured, and made the capital of the insurrectionary government. The inhabitants of Nanking and other captured towns were treated with extreme severity, which was justified by Tien-Wang by reference to the Old Testament. The people, he said, were idolaters, whom it was his right, as king of Heaven, to destroy. The advance of the rebels was not arrested until, after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the imperial government and England and France, the two latter powers deemed it their interest to come to the aid of the Chinese government (1862). From that time the power of the Tai-pings steadily declined, until, on the 19th of July, their capital, Nanking, fell into the hands of the Imperialists. The head of the sect, Tien-WVang, burned himself in his palace with all his wives. Thus the Tai-pings lost their center and nearly all their leaders, and ceased to be formidable, but the rebellion still continued in May, 1867. For several years, however, the political character of the movement had altogether overshadowed the religious. See Annual American Cyclopaedia for 1862, s.v. Tai-ping Rebellion; for 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866, s.v. China; Die Gegenwart (vol. 8, Leipzig, 1852); Unsere Zeit (vol. 1, Leipzig, 1856; vol. 8, Leipzig, 1864).
III. Christianity in China. — Arnobius (3d cent.) mentions the Ceres, who are generally held to have been Christians. It is certain that the Nestorians (q.v.) had flourishing missions, which began in the 7th century (see below). The missions of the Roman Church commenced in the 13th, the Protestant missions in the 18th century (see below). In 1586 Macao was ceded to the Portuguese, under whose dominion it has since remained. In 1842 the English secured the island of Hong Kong, and at the same time five cities (Canton, Fuhchau, Ningpo, Amoy, and Shanghai) were declared free ports. In 1844 France made a treaty with China, in which China promised toleration of Christianity in the five cities. In 1858, after a two years' war with England and China, treaties were made with France, England, the United States, and Russia, in each of which toleration of Christianity throughout the empire was stipulated. The perfidy of the Chinese government, which tried to evade the execution of the treaties, led to a renewal of the war in 1859 and 1860. It ended with a ratification of treaties with England and France on the 24th and 25th of October, 1860. These treaties not only grant toleration to the professors of Christianity, but expressly acknowledge that the principles and practices of Christianity tend to benefit mankind. Permission was also given to preach and travel in the in terior, provided that the missionary be furnished with a passport. The stipulations of the four treaties were as follows (see Schem, Ecclesiastes Year-book for 1860, p. 222 sq.):
American Treaty, Article 29. "The principles of the Christian religion, as professed by the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, are recognized as teaching men to do good, to do to others as they would have others to do to them. Hereafter, those who quietly profess and teach these doctrines shall not be harassed or persecuted on account of their faith. Any person, either citizen of the United States or Chinese convert, who, according to these tenets, peaceably teaches and practices the principles of Christianity, shall in no case be interfered with or molested."
English Treaty, Article 8. "The Christian religion, as professed by Protestants or Roman Catholics, inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man to do as he would be done by. Persons teaching it or professing it, therefore, shall alike be entitled to the protection of the Chinese authorities; nor shall any such, peaceably pursuing their calling and not offending against the laws, be persecuted or interfered with."
French Treaty, Article 13. "The Christian religion having for its essential object to lead men to virtue, the members of all Christian bodies (communions) shall enjoy full security for their persons, their property, and the free exercise of their religious worship; and entire protection shall be given to missionaries who peacefully enter the country, furnished with passports such as are described in Article 8. No obstacle shall be interposed by the Chinese authorities to the recognized right of any person in China to embrace Christianity if he pleases, and to obey its requirements, without being subject, on that account, to any penalty. Whatever has been heretofore written, proclaimed, or published in China, by order of government, against the Christian faith, is wholly abrogated and nullified in all the provinces of the empire."
Russian Treaty, Article 8. "The Chinese government, recognizing the truth that the doctrines of Christianity promote the establishment of peace and good order among mankind, promises not to persecute its subjects who may wish to follow the requirements of this faith; but they shall enjoy the same protection which is granted to those who profess other forms of religion tolerated in the empire.
"The Chinese government, believing that Christian missionaries are good men, who seek no material advantages for themselves, hereby permits them to propagate the doctrines of Christianity among its subjects, and allows them to pass everywhere in the country. A fixed number of missionaries passing through the cities or open ports shall be furnished with passports, signed by the Russian authorities." In March, 1861, the ambassadors of England and France, and in July, 1861, the ambassador of the United States, took up their permanent abode at Pekin, and this city became at once a center for the missionary operations of both Protestants and Roman Catholics. Since that time the free propagation of Christianity has not been again interrupted. After the death of the emperor Hien-Fung (Aug. 22, 1861), the administration of the empire, which, in the name of the minor emperor Ki-Tsiang, was conducted by Prince Kung, became still more favorable to the free and friendly intercourse with Christian nations. Commercial treaties were concluded with almost all the nations of Europe; thus, on Sept. 1,1861, with Prussia and the German Zollverein (ratified 1863); in 1862, with Spain, Belgium (Aug. 8), and Portugal (Aug. 13); in 1863, with Denmark (July 10). Besides the ambassadors of the United States, England, and France, those of Russia and Spain took up their residence at Pekin, while a Portuguese minister was appointed at Macao and a Prussian at Shanghai.
1. Nestorian Missions. — The Nestorian patriarchs are said to have sent missionaries to China in the 5th century. Between A.D. 636 and 781, seventy Nestorian missionaries, among whom Olopun (arrived in 696) was distinguished, labored in China. The history of the Nestorian missions is given in an inscription, discovered in 1625 by Jesuit missionaries in Si-anfu. Its genuineness, long doubted, has been recently defended by Abel Remusat and others. In 714 the patriarch Salibazacha is reported to have sent a metropolitan to China. Timotheus, who appears to have been the Nestorian patriarch upwards of forty years, was zealously devoted to Christian missions. During his patriarchate, Subchaijune, a learned monk from the convent of Beth-oben, after having been ordained bishop, penetrated China, and there extensively preached the Gospel. He was soon followed by others. In the 9th century Christians were found in Southern China by two Arabian travelers, and in 877 many Christians, conjointly with Jews, Mohammedans, and Persians, were massacred in Canton by one Baichu, who had revolted from the emperor. In 845, Wutsung is reported to have ordered 3000 priests from Ta-tsin to retire to private life. Marco Polo, the distinguished traveler of the 13th century, who spent more than twenty years in China, for a time holding a high office, speaks of his meeting with Chinese Christians. Rubruquis, in 1250, tells of fifteen cities where there were Nestorians; and the author of the I'Estat du gran Caan (1330) reports 30,000 Nestorianns in China. The, Nestorian missions seem to have been wholly or nearly extirpated simultaneously with tie expulsion of the Monguls in 1369 by the Ming dynasty. At present no Nestorian churches are known to exist in China, and no Nestorian translation of the Bible is known to exist (Newcomb, Cyclopaedia of Missions, p. 262). SEE NESTORIANS.
2. Roman Catholic Missions. —
(1.) The first period in the history of Roman Catholic missions in China was introduced by the labors of Johannes de Monte Corvino, who entered India in 1291, and after meeting with great opposition, not only from the pagans, but also from the Nestorians, was so successful in his labors that in 1305 he had baptized 6000 converts. His labors were confined principally to the Tartars, whose language he had learned, and into which he translated the N.T. and the Psalms. In 1305 Pope Clement V constituted him archbishop of Pekin, and sent seven suffragan bishops (Franciscans) to his assistance. He died in 1330. Another archbishop of Pekin was appointed in 1336, and 26 additional laborers joined the mission. In 1369 the Ming dynasty came into power, and seems to have crushed out Christianity altogether, both Roman and Nestorian.
(2.) Several unsuccessful attempts were made in the years 1556, 1575, and 1579, by Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustines, to re-establish missions in China, but it was left for the Jesuits finally to accomplish it. Matteo Ricci led the way. He reached Macao in 1581, and by persevering efforts made his way to Pekin, and into the good graces of the reigning emperor. Several high mandarins were converted through his efforts, chief among whom was Sieu, an officer of the highest rank and of great personal influence. Ricci died in 1610 at the age of 80, and was buried with great pomp and solemnity. In 1628 Adam Schaal, a German Jesuit, arrived, and through the influence of Sieu was favorably received by the emperor. His great talents and extensive acquirements caused him to be ranked among the first men of the empire. In 1631 the Dominicans and Franciscans entered China, but their success was not very great. The cause of Christianity suffered a great loss in 1632 in the death of Sieu. In 1644 the Tartars completed the conquest of China, and with the Ming dynasty the Christian missions almost expired. Schaal, however, by his genius and learning, rose into favor with the new dynasty, and by his influence obtained permission for 14 other missionaries to enter the country, among whom was the celebrated Ferdinand Verbeest. The patron of Schaal died in 1662, and the minor, Kanghi, ascended the throne. The Jesuit star remained for a short time in the zenith, but Schaal was soon thrown into prison, and sentenced "to be cut into a thousand pieces." This decree was not executed; Schaal died in 1669, in the 78th year of his age. Another missionary died in prison, and several Franciscans and 21 Jesuits were banished to Canton. Verbeest became a favorite of the emperor Kanghi after he had dismissed the regents and assumed supreme control. Satisfied of the great abilities of Verbeest, Kanghi commanded him to correct the calendar, which he did with entire satisfaction to the emperor. He was appointed president of the Astronomical Tribunal. He cast many cannon, and in other ways rendered himself serviceable to government.
(3.) For some time after this the missions prospered. In 1703 they numbered 100 churches and 100,000 converts in the province of Nankin alone. But in 1734, not only the Jesuits, but all Roman missionaries, were xupelled. Yet many congregations survived under protracted persecutions. Native priests were trained both in seminaries in China and in Europe (in the Propaganda at Rome and in a Chinese seminary at Naples, and many European missionaries were able to penetrate into the interior. Not a few were put to death, but the missions survived. Since the treaties of 1859, which promise liberty of worship for both Roman Catholics and Protestants, great preparations have been made for extending the Romanist missions. A few years ago, when China was divided into 20 Vicariates Apostolic, the Roman Catholic population of China amounted, according to the Univers, to about 300,000. Other Roman Catholic writers claim a much higher number, e.g. Huc, who estimates it at 700,000.
Since the treaty with France in 1858, the Roman Catholic missionaries claim to have received large accessions to their congregations, and to have a total membership in their Church of about one million. The number of missionaries, especially French, who have since been sent to China, is considerable. On January 1, 1867, a new cathedral was consecrated at Pekin, which is one of the largest buildings of the capital. A bloody persecution of Roman Catholic missionaries took place in 1866 in one of the dependencies of China, Corea. SEE COREA.
According to the Shanzqhai Courier for 1887, there were in China 35 Roman Catholic Vicariates Apostolic, divided among the orders as follows: Fuhkien and Formosa, Dominicans; North Shantung, Shansi, Shensi, South Hunan, Hupeeh, the Franciscans; South Shanthng, Kansuh, Mongolia, Belgian Seminary; Honan, Hong Kong, Mail'd Seminary; North Hunan, Augustines; Kiangnan, S. W. Chihli, Jesuits; Kiangsi, Chekiang, S. W. Chihli, Lazarists; Kwangsi Szechuen Yunnan, Corea, Manchuria, Thibet, Parisian Seminary; Kwangtung, Kweichow. The European priests in all China numbered 628; the native Chinese priests, 335. The Catholic population was 541,720; catechumens, 24,900; churches and chapels, 2942; schools, 1879; pupils, 31,625; seminaries, 36; students, 744. The oldest mission is the Jesuit mission of Kiangnan, established in 1660, where the Catholics number 105,000, and have 13,300 pupils. The Lazarists were the next to enter the field, which they did in 1690. The Dominicans and Franciscans entered in 1696; the Parisian Seminary in 1831; the Mail'd Seminary in 1843; the Belgian in 1878; and the Augustines in 1879. The missions are, mostly supported by the " Society for the Propagation of the Faith," which has its center in France. Special, attention to Chinese missions is also paid by the "Society of the Holy Childhood of Jesus," a children's missionary society for buying and baptizing those children who by their parents have been destined to death, and giving to them a Christian education. The receipts of the society amounted in 1856 to 872,000 francs. Up to that year 329.388 children had been bought and baptized, of whom 247,041 had died shortly after baptism.
3. Protestant Missions. — The first Protestant mission was undertaken by the London Missionary Society, which in 1807 sent the Rev. Robert Morrison to Canton, principally for the object of translating the holy Scriptures into Chinese. He was appointed (in 1808) translator of the East India Company's factory, with a salary which rendered him independent of the society's fund. In 1813 he was joined by the zealous and learned Mr.
Milne. The translation of the New Testament was completed in 1814; of the whole Bible in 1818. In 1814 the first Chinese convert was baptized. A valuable assistant the missionaries found afterwards in Leang-Afa (baptized by Milne in 1816), who distinguished himself as the author of several valuable tracts, and by his zeal in preaching the Gospel, and in distributing books at the literary examinations. One of the books distributed on this occasion fell into the hands of the leader of the insurgents, and was the foundation of his earliest Christian impressions. The American missions commenced in 1829, when the American Seamen's Friend Society sent out two missionaries, one of whom, in 1830, transferred his services to the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, which from that time has had a mission at Canton. The Rhenish Missionary Society sent out, about 1830, Mr. Gützlaff, who soon became perfectly master of the language, and made frequent journeys through the coast countries of China. He was especially active in circulating the Scriptures, which were received with great eagerness. In 1835 the American Protestant Episcopal Church established a mission in Batavia, which in 1842 was removed to Macao. During this first period the continual hostility of the Chinese compelled the English, American, and German missionaries to restrict their labors mostly to the printing and circulating of Christian books. Permanent settlements were only made at Canton, but at Malacca also an Anglo- Chinese college was founded.
The peace of Nankin in 1842, the cession of Hong Kong to the English, and the opening of the five ports to European and American Christians, gave a new impulse to missionary zeal. The London Missionary Society gave instructions to their Chinese missionaries to meet in Hong Kong to consider the plan for future operations. Agreeably to the recommendations of this meeting (August, 1843), the Anglo-Chinese college in Malacca was changed into a theological seminary for the training of a native ministry. Also the printing apparatus of the mission was transferred from Malacca to Hong Kong, and a medical establishment opened in connection with the mission. In 1843 Shanghai was occupied, and in 1844, Amoy. The American Board stationed missionaries at Amoy in 1842, and at Fuhchau in 1847. The American Episcopal Board, whose missionary, Dr. Boone, while on a visit to the United States, had been consecrated missionary bishop; fixed? on Shanghai as the most suitable station. Other missionary societies hastened to occupy the interesting field. The operations of the American Baptist Union commenced in 1842; those of the Southern Baptist Convention (of America) and of the (American) Presbyterian Board in 1844; those of the Church Missionary Society, one of whose missionaries, Rev. George Smith, was appointed bishop of Victoria, in 1849; of the General Baptist Missionary Society (England) in 1845; those of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1846; those of the (American) Seventh-day Baptists in 1847; those of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1848; those of the English Wesleyans and the Free Church of Scotland in 1850.
"The first Protestant mission at Fuh-chau was established by a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in January, 1847. The mission has averaged three or four families since its commencement. In April, 1856, occurred the first baptism of a Chinaman at this city in connection with Protestant missions. In May, 1857, a brick church, called the "Church of the Savior," built on the main street in the southern suburbs, and about one mile from the Big Bridge, was dedicated to the worship of God. Its first native church, consisting of four members, was organized in October of the same year. In May, 1863, a church of seven members was formed at Chang-loh, distant seventeen miles from the city. In June of the same year a church of nine members was organized in the city of Fuh-chau, having been dismissed from the church in the suburbs to form the church in the city. For the first ten years of this mission's existence only one was baptized. During the next five years twenty-two members were received into the first church formed. During the next two years twenty-three persons were baptized. Between 1853 and 1858 a small boarding-school, i.e. a school where the pupils were boarded, clothed, and educated at the expense of the mission, was sustained in this mission. Among the pupils were four or five young men, who are now employed as native helpers, and three girls, all of whom became church members, and two of whom are wives of two of the native helpers. There are at present a training-school for native helpers, and a small boarding-school for boys, and a small boarding school for girls connected with the mission. It employs six or seven native helpers, and three or four country stations are occupied by it. Part of the members of this mission live at Ponasang, not far from the Church of the Savior, and part live in the city, on a hill not far from the White Pagoda, in houses built and owned by the American Board (see Statistics of Societies, below).
"The mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church was established in the fall of 1847. It has had an average number of four or five families. In 1857 it baptized the first convert in connection with its labors. In August, 1856, a brick church, called the 'Church of the True God,' the first substantial church building erected at Fuh-chau by Protestant missions, was dedicated to the worship of God. It is located near Tating, on the main street, in the southern suburbs, about two thirds of the way between the Big Bridge and the city. In the winter of the same year another brick church, located on the hill in the suburbs on the south bank of the Min, was finished and dedicated, called the 'Church of Heavenly Rest.' In the fall of 1864 this mission erected a commodious brick church on East Street, in the city. Its members reside principally on the hill on which the Church of Heavenly Rest is Statistics of Protestant Missions in China (Dec. 188.) built. One family lives at a country station tell or twelve miles from Fuh-chau. This mission has received great and signal encouragement in several country villages and farming districts, as well as in the city and suburbs. It has some eight or ten country stations, which are more or less regularly visited by the foreign missionaries, and where native helpers are appointed to preach regularly. It has a flourishing boys' boarding-school, and a flourishing girls' boarding-school, and a printing-press. At the close of 1863 there were twenty-six probationary members of its native churches, and ninety-nine in full communion.. It employs ten or twelve native helpers. It has established a system of regular Quarterly Meetings and Annual Conferences in conformity with the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church" (Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese, N. Y., Harper and Brothers, 1865, 2 vols. 12mo).
The following table will show the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in China for the year 1889. (It is compiled from the Society's Report for One of the most remarkable awakenings that is known in the whole history of Protestantism of China took place in 1866, in connection with the out- stations of the Tientsin mission of the English New-Connection Methodists, especially at LouLeing, where, in September, 45 persons were admitted to baptism. The converts added to the mission churches of the London Society, in Shanghai, and the province of which it forms the capital, numbered, during the year 1866, 189. An event of considerable importance for the Protestant missions of China is the establishment of a monthly religious paper in the English language (the Missionary Recorder) by the missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Fuh-chau.
4. Greek Missions. — A mission of the Greek Church was established by the Russians in Pekin under the reign of Peter the Great. Its object, until recently, was limited to the spiritual care of a colony of Russian subjects, who had been captured on the Amoor and settled near Pekin. A treaty between China and Russia authorized the Russian government to keep six missionaries at Pekin, changing them once in ten years, with the right of having a few students to learn the Chinese and Manchoo language, and to obtain a general knowledge of Chinese affairs. A letter from one of the American missionaries in Pekin, in the Boston Missionary Herald (February, 1865), states that "the Russian missionaries in Pekin now labor devoutly for the Chinese in the country as well as in the city. It is an interesting fact, and one which marks a difference between them and the Roman Catholics, that they translate and use the sacred Scriptures. Their version of the New Testament into Chinese is now in print in this city [Pekin]. They have obtained also from the English missionaries the version of the Bible by Messrs. Swan and Hallybras, and published by the British and Foreign Bible Society, for the use of their ministers to the Mongolians, and the versions of the New Testament published by the same society for the use of their missions in Russian Manchuria." In 1866, the Pekin mission numbered about 200 converted Chinese and Tartars. See Annual American Cyclopaedia for 1865, s.v. China.
IV. Literature. — Pierer, Universal-Lexikon, 4:1-30; Gitzlaff (missionary in China), History of China (Canton, 1833; translated into German, and continued by Neumann, Stutfgardt, 1847); Abeel, Residence in China (1830-33, 12mo); Thornton, History of China (London, 1844); Geschichte der katholischen Missionen im Kaiserreiche China (Vienna, 1845); Davis, Description of China (London, 2 vols. 8vo); Wittmann (Romans Cath.), Die Herrlichkeit der Kirche in ihren Missionen; Williams, Middle Kingdom (Lond. and N. Y. 1848, 8vo); Morrison, View of China (4to); Annales de la Propagation de la Foi; Annual Reports of the Protestant Missionary Societies in America and England; Dean, The China Missions (N. Y. 12mo); Newcomb, Cyclopaedia of Missions; Schem, Ecclesiastical Year-book for 1859, p. 139, 140, 220 sq.; Edkins, The Religious Conditon of the Chinese (Lond. 1859, 8vo); Milne, Life in China (Lond. 1857, 8vo); Hue, Journey through the Chinese Empire (N.Y., Harper and Brothers, 1855, 2 vols. 12mo); Bush, Five Years in China (Presbyt. Board); Meadows, The Chinese and their Rebellions (Lond. 1856, 8vo); Fortune, Three Years in China (Lond. 1847, 8vo); Maclay, Life among the Chinese
(N.Y. 1860, 12mo); Davis, General Description of China (Lond. 1857, 8vo; N. Y. 2 vols. 18mo); Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese (N. Y. 1866, Harper & Brothers, 2 vols. 12mo); Oliphant, Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission (Edinb. 1859; N. Y. Harpers, 1860, 8vo); Cobbold, Pictures of the Chinese by themselves (Lond. 1859, 8vo); Smith, Consular Cities of China (N. Y. 1850, 12mo); Dimon, Early Christianity in China (New Englander), Nov. 1853); Whitney, China and the Chinese; China and the West (New Englander, Feb. 1859, and Jan. 1861). SEE CONFUCIUS; SEE COREA.
