University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

Page 52 text:

JOTTINGS FROM CHINESE HISTORY 49 ago,-outwardly nor inwardly. About three fourths of China Proper IS now claimed by Protestant forces, and 7 provinces of the 18 report 110 unclaimed area whatever. In the last 20 years as many missionary residential centres have been opened as in the previous 93 years. There is a tremendously rapid increase of Christian contacts totaling now nearly 10,000 evangelistic centres of all kinds. A part of the royal way to the Ming Tombs. the resting place of the first emperor of the ming dynasty. 1338-1398. The small stones on the backs of the elephant monoliths were tossed up by women wishing sons, each believing that She would be-blessed with as many sons as stones lodged on the back of the elephant. It is not recorded who started the idea or when. FOREIGN INTERESTS IN CHINA. H The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 marks the beginning of formal treaty relations between China and foreign nations. As early as 266 A. D.-during the Han Dynasty,-overland routes of intercourse were begun with India, Greece and Rome. It was not until 1516, however, that maritime trade began. The Portuguese were the Iirst to arrive, settling at Ningpo, Amoy, alld later, at Macao. In 1548 the Spaniards followed, taking possession of the Philippines. The Dutch came somewhat later, settling at Formosa and the Pcs-- cadores. Maritime trade gradually gravitated to Canton where the English had succeeded in spite of Portuguese opposition, in establishing a factory. The year 1720 saw the birth of the notorious Co-Hong System in Canton,-an organization of native merchants to regulate the prices of commodities in their own interest. Later it became a government organization and made itself useful to officials as a channel of wealth. Pigeon-English is a relic of Co-Hong days. It was form- ed at Canton by taking words from all European and Asiatic lang- uages and corrupting them sufficiently to suit Chinese taste and grammar. About this time trade was being carried on at Canton with the French, Danes, Prussians, Mexicans and other foreign nations, but none was so important as that of England. England was naturally anxious to begin diplomatic relations with China, so in 1792 she sent Lord McCartney as an ambassador. He knelt on both knees before the Emperor but could not bring the latter to discuss a single point

Page 51 text:

48 'FI-ll? LINGUIST JOTTINGS FROM CHINESE IIISTCRY ',l'I-Ili GROWTI-I AND 1'lX'I'lf1N'll OF T1--lkl CHURCH IN Cl-UNA. The jesuits, coming to China by way of the overland routes. began their work as early as 1600. Matteo Ricci and joannes Adam Schaal figure prominently in Chinese annals. They made no attempt to interfere with Chinese customs like ancestor worship and idol wor- ship, so no hostility was encountered. By 1636 no fewer than 340 treatises had been published,-some on religion, some on natural philosophy and mathematics. The troubles attending the fall of the Mings had a serious effect on the work of the Jesuits, but it revived under the Manchus. Protestant Christianity began to come to China about the middle of the last century. The period previous to 1900,-the year of the Boxer Uprising,-can be called the Pioneer Period, the planting-time of the Church in China. It took Christianity into every province, altho in many cases the occupation was weak. In North China the era of greatest advance was the decade immediately preceding the Boxer Movement. During this time mission stations increased nearly four- fold. The China Inland Mission and the Church Missionary Society were particularly active. The Christian Church was largely known but little understood. lt was supported by treaties which gave it a political tinge much enhanced for a time,-about 1900,--through in- demnities and special privileges granted to Roman Catholic priests. Suspicion on the part of the officials and misunderstanding on the part of the people were the predominating attitudes before 1900. Then came the Boxer Uprising against Western expansion, which included Christianity as something also Western. Territorially it affected only one tenth of China, but the effect went deep into the whole country and into the whole life of the Christian Movement. How real was the stoppage of Christian work is shown from the fact that all the schools in the north and west of China were temporarily abandoned or closedg churches, chapels, and other foreign property were looted, burned, or destroyedg hundreds of native Christians and employees, as well as many missionaries were massacred. ' But the Boxer Movement came as a stimulus. 'It focussed thc attention of the world on China, and the attention of China upon her- self. Pagan superstition gave an exhibition of its futility which will never be forgotten. The two decades since 1900 have been distinctly revolutionary in tendency. More significant than any other change has been that in the temper ofthe people. China is now moving in the direction of a Chinese Church giving in its own terms its Christian belief. There is no longer that passive Chinese acquiescence in Christianityg the Chinese Church is now positively reacting to its inner message. Since 1900 it has entered into its own experience: it is no longer dependent only on the experience of the missionaries. It is making an earnest attempt to live first thc spirit of Christ, and in addition to promoting the salvation of the individual it is now trying to put him to work. China today is not the China of 20 years

Page 53 text:

so p H THE LINGUIST of business, for in theteyes of the Chinese an envoy came to do homage- and to bring tributeg it was his duty to receive his orders and not claim to negotiate business. The manner of reception of this English ambassador confirmed the belief of the Chinese that the emperor was the universal sovereign. In 1816 a second English embassy was sent under Lord Amherst. upon his immediate arrival he was summoned to appear before the Emperor. He begged to be excused on the ground of fatigue and the non-arrival of his uniforms. This so offended the Emperor that he prtleged the embassy to leave at once. Thus England's second overture ai e . From 1840-43 England engaged in the Opium War with China. Opium is mentioned in China annals as early as the Sth century. In 1729 laws were made interdicting its use. But it continued to pour in from India under the East India Company in spite of the efforts of the government. In-1834 England appointed a Superintendent of Trade to protect the traffic and extend it to other parts of the Empire and to open direct communications with the central government. Thereupon the opium question took on a new phase. The Chinese awoke to the fact that for years enormous wealth had been going out of the country and in return they had no benefit except the baneful opium. In 1839 the English merchants were ordered to deliver up all the opium in their possession. 20,000 chests representing a market value of 89,000,000 were disposed of by mixing the opium in trenches of lime and salt water and drawing them off to the sea. The foreign merchants were then asked to file a bond binding themselves not to engage in opium trade on pen- alty of summary execution, and confiscation of ships and cargo. The English objected. The result was war. The Treaty of Nanking drawn up after the war provided among other things that five ports should be opened to foreign trade and residence, Canton, Amoy, Fooehow, Ningpo and Shanghai. These are called treaty ports. A treaty was made with America, France and other nations also, and was subject to revision at the end of twelve years. In 1858 the Treaty of T.ientsin provided for the opening of 3 more ports, on the Yangtze River, foreign residence at Peking, and the toleration of Christianity. The question of Customs Tariff was also made a part of the treaty. By it China was deprived of her free will in the matter of import and export duties, and from that day to this has not been able to adopt any measure of her customs revenue without the consent of foreign governments. p .. In 1876 the Chinese legation was established in London, and later in other countries. The Chino-japanese war, 1887-95 opened the eyes of- the Chinese to the errors of Lheirgovernment. China came out of the struggle deeply humiliated. , European powers, eager for land, busied them- selves with schemes for the division of her territory. Their threaten- ing attitude naturally frightened the Chinese and lent strength to the new forces that had been gradually but steadily gaining ground in China. After the Chino-Japanese war there was a marked increaseof