University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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28 THE LINGUIST EVANGELIZING WITH DR. MACKLIN A morning spent with Dr. Macklin in the Nanking tea houses is anovel fascinating experience. Dr. Macklin is better known to the masses of people in this section of China than any other foreigner. He is not only known but is honored and lovedg honored for risking his life to Isave the city of Nanking from destruction during the revolution, and lovfed for his many years of medical service. During his thirty years in .China he has been one of the most daring and aggressive pioneers. inievangelisni, and .he is still at it. I-Ie attacks the absurd temple practices and yet is respected by the priests. .. . .1 ' On 'Sunday morning before breakfast Dr. Macklin with two or three students starts out on foot. After an hour's walk wc arrive at one of the big tea houses in the centre of Nanking's densest popula- tion. The tea house will seat five hundred people and is visited by more than that number during the course of the morning. The Doctor selectsa table directly in front of the door, gets the tracts ready for distribution, orders the meal, and as the people come in we hand each one some Christian literature. The novel and surprizing experience is not one whit more pleasant to a new-comer than are the delicious new flavors of the Chinese food. To adequately describe that meal alone would take more room than this whole narrative. so eating such a meal may be looked forward to as one of the delightful experiences awaiting the new-comer. Before all the literature is distributed hundreds of people will be seated at the tables reading the bible stories and the Christian messages. Tea and food will get cold on many a table as the readers learn of that bread of life, and of the water of life. perhaps for the first time. Here a silk gownecl business man will stop to talk with the Doctor or a Buddhist priest will sit and- chat. What seed is there sown, much of it in good ground, if fine faces and vigorous personalities are any evidence. One might sit in an American commercial hotel and see no more capable looking men than come to these tea houses to talk business and drink tea. In one day we distributed fifteen hundred pieces of literature. During the past eight years Dr. Macklin has distributed about one quarter of a million pieces of Christian literature. How many church members owe the inception of their interest in Christianity to Dr. Macklin's aggressive evangelism,ronly the judgment day will tell. To recount the fascinating incidents of one such morning would require many pages and to tell of similar trips to the country and to the villages would require a whole book. The mornings with Dr. Macklin are an invaluable part of a new missionaries introduction to China and to his particular type of evangelism. No missionary in China knows better how to talk to the common people than does Doctor Macklin. One of the best tributes to his conversational powers. in meeting with the rnan on the street was given by a Chinese who said, His slang is excellent. ' p D

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TUHE GLAD EVANGEI, 27 THE NEED FOR EVANGELISTIC WORKERS As to the need for evangelistic workers in China, we want to present the situation as we see it. Medical missions were established for the combined purposes of the alleviation of suffering which is consequent upon the lack of medical care, and of winning the good will of the people. They have accomplished these purposes most gloriously. Now on the one hand medical education is firmly established in China, and sl1e is rapidly producing young doctors, and on the other hand the people are open to all kinds of missionary work and are generally very friendly toward the foreigner. The evangelistic workers should now quickly step into the open door which our medical brethren have provided for us. They have done their work well. VVill the church now send out the thousands 'of capable, trained men needed to teach the millions that can be reached. Educational workers, also, have had two chief aims 5 to introduce Western education as an aid to the spread of the gospel, and to train leaders for the church and for the nation. China has learned the need for modern education and is establishing schools of every grade from kindergarten to university. There is still equally great need for instilling Chinese leaders with the Christian ideal, but these leaders must now be very largely reached during their period of study in government schools. The great need now is for evangelistic workers with preparation in the best methods of religious education, so that the pupils of government schools can be preached. We can let the government schools teach what are usually thought of as the secular subjects while we supply the religious training so greatly needed by China's future leaders. No more opportune moment could be desired than the present offers. Students are interested in everything western, and can be reached thru athletics and games of all kinds, clubs, bible classes, etc. The ancient religions of China are almost utterly discredited among students and something must quickly take their place. Fellow Christian students ot the homeland, it is for yon to say what it shall be. The heart of the Chinese student,like many of his ancient temples from which the images have been cast out is an empty slhrine. Can you say To write the name of Jesus there is my supreme elightf'

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NW i v THE GLAD' EVANGEI. 29 E WORK DURING THE FIRST YEAR During the first year in China and while we, the new mis- sionaries, are still in the language school our evangelistic work resembles the efforts of a young bird learning to fly. lt is feeble and circumscribed. We must study with patience the methods of older missionaries in hopes that later we will have language enough to take our place with them. Most of the language school students have class- es either for the teaching of English or for bible teaching at one or another of the Chinese schools in the city. This gives an oppor- tunity for reaching some of the many Chinese students in the city. The daily contact with teachers gives abundant opportunity to use what little language we have in presenting the Christian message. 'The teachers are a very fine group'of.scholarly men. a number of whom are not acknowledged Christians. However the consecrated Christian life is ever the most potent factor in Christian evangelism and the day must come when the influence of Christian lives will win .all the teachers to Christ. As the year progresses students take more and more part in the work at various mission centres in the city, while second year students teach bible classes and occasionally preach in Chinese. Tract distribu- tion and occasional broken conversation with casual Chinese acquain- tances together with the above activities make up the chief evangelistic efforts of the Language School year. ,, THE WORK OF THE FOREIGN EVANGELIST l , I.N,Cl-IINA This is the day of great- 'intellectual awakening in Chinag her ,young men are fearlessly searching for truth wherever it may be found. The book-stores are flooded with magazines filled with all sorts of progressive ideas on philosophy, science, religion, and society, thc product of the mind of Young China, During this time of intellectual quickening naturally the Chinese Christians feel that they should have control of their own church. Many foreign workers believe that the present generation will surely see the management of the Christian church pass from foreign to Chinese hands. ln such a situation what shall be the work of the foreign evange- list? It is for older and more experienced men to give an adequate answer. To one in the Language School, looking ahead however, it seems thata few main lines of effort need emphasis. The foreign evangelist must be a man of spiritual power, that is, he must be a genuine representative of Christ. China has intellect, physical power, and marvellous adeptness in manual arts. She can learn only from those who have been with Jesus of the riches and depth of spiritual life with God. The evangelist should be a representative of Christ rather than of any denomination. Today in China when all things are being tested and nothing is accepted on authority of foreigners, the various sects of western Christendom are under scrutiny as never before. The Chinese see no need for some hundred and fifty different groups all professing to work toward the same end, and nevertheless often conflicting with each other. The evangelist of today must place his loyalty above denominations, even with Christ.