THE PRESENT CRISIS IN CHINA FROM THE STANDPOINT OF A CHRISTIAN CHINESE.
REV. JEE GAM, CAL.
Ever since the Boxer outbreak, I have been repeatedly asked by friends far and near to express my opinion of the matter. I have kept silent for a long time, but still the requests come, and I feel constrained to endeavor to set forth some of the facts which caused the uprising and which resulted in the massacre of so many missionaries and other foreigners, and thousands of Chinese Christians. Those who have survived the massacre are destitute and homeless. Our hearts ache with sorrow for the occurrence of these outrages. We know of no words that are adequate to express our horror at them. Every instigator of these cruel wrongs should be severely punished in proportion to the enormity of his crimes and by this means make them a lasting warning to the people.
As to most of the poor, ignorant people who perpetrated the crimes, they are more sinned against than sinning. They are ignorant. They have been deceived by the lies of men who knew they were lying, and who thus sent them into the work of the mob and into battle with the Westerners, to be—thousands of them—slaughtered and tortured, while the real criminals stayed in the rear. To the relatives and friends of those missionaries and other foreigners, together with the many Christians who were massacred, we extend our heartfelt sympathy, and we cannot but rejoice to say that all these martyrs are happy with their Lord in Heaven to-day. We also rejoice to know that the blood of the martyrs will become the seed of the Church.
The Christian Chinese in San Francisco, and many in other cities of the United States, have held meetings every Tuesday evening, from 9:30 to 10:30 o'clock, to pray for China. Moreover, they have given many liberal contributions to relieve the suffering Christians in North China.
The cause of the trouble: The Chinese claimed that they had many good reasons for this uprising. It has often been charged by many non-Christian people in California that the missionaries were to blame for the present outbreak. I think this is unjust. I believe they are truly good men and have the good of China at heart. They have wrought a wonderful work. In fact, whatever China has accomplished is due to the preaching and teaching of these faithful missionaries. It is true that Romish missions have sometimes become political machines. Men have joined the Romish Church, and even whole villages have turned their ancestral halls into Romish chapels in order to further their causes in the courts through the influence of French consuls.
I can give you many incidents of this character, but one is sufficient. Several of the Congregational and Presbyterian Christians in the village of Lung How Lee, of the Hoy Ping District, not far from Canton, had a piece of land there and were building a free schoolhouse, which was almost completed, when the enemies of the Mission rose and destroyed the building; worse than this, several of the rioters met and outraged a girl relative of one of the Christians. This girl, because of her disgrace, committed suicide by hanging. The Christians had the perpetrators before the District Magistrate, who was about to punish them; when suddenly all their relatives, together with the accomplices, about seventy in number, went to Canton and joined the Catholic Church. They then got their priests and the French Consul to plead for their imprisoned relatives before the Chinese Governor. The result was that every one of the culprits was released and the cases dismissed. These infamous criminals, as soon as they were set at liberty, committed further outrages; they attacked the Christians, drove them from their homes and village, and plundered all they had. All these crimes were committed before the eyes of the Catholic priests. How could they tolerate such detestable acts. It makes our blood boil to see such outrages. We are at a loss to understand why the Catholic priests admitted such people to their churches, and why the French Consul so blindly used his influence to liberate such criminals. These things have not only occurred repeatedly in the Kwong Tung Province of South China, but also throughout the whole Empire. The Catholic people have not only wronged the Christians, but also the non-Christians, and thus a strong sentiment is created against them.
Whenever there is a chance to pay back, these people will inflict a heavy blow. In fact, these Catholics have already suffered the consequences of their wrong-doing; this is why there were so many more Catholics massacred than Protestants in the recent uprising.
But why should the people have killed the Christians at all? Well, in a time of anti-foreign uprising the people are easily misled. The rioter, and those anxious to plunder would surely say: "The Christians are just the same as the Catholics," so they killed them to effect robbery.
It is also true that the missionaries, especially those of Catholic faith, have often been, by ignorant people, charged with decoying children into their missionary compound and then killing them in order to gouge their eyes out and secure their hearts from which to make medicines. And again, we have heard silly rumors like these: The foreigners send their missionaries to China to first win the hearts of the people, and then come with armies to take China for their own. All these different rumors have had their origin in Buddhist and Taoist priests, who have shown most bitter jealousy toward Christianity and missionaries.
While these absurd rumors have done a great deal of mischief by inciting the people in the recent outbreak, they are very insignificant when compared with the bitter feeling aroused by the greedy grabbing of Chinese territory by the different Powers. All praise to the United States, for she is the only nation that does not covet Chinese territory. The other Powers are all eager and are doing their utmost to have China partitioned, so that they may each seize upon the territory they covet. In fact Russia had already taken Port Arthur, Newchang and other important places, and had practically taken in possession the whole of Shen King Province and Manchuria, and still they want the Pechili Province.
Germany had taken Kiachau and a large strip of valuable land from the Shan Tung Province, and now she wants more; she wants that whole Province, and God alone knows what else she is after.
Great Britain took Hong Kong and then Wei-hai-wei, and lately grabbed Kowloon and for some time past her covetous eye has been firmly fixed on the Yangtse valley.
France made seizure of Anam and Tong King several years ago and since then she is scheming to extend her northern boundary line far into the Quang Se and Yun Nan Provinces; she is planning soon to grab the beautiful island of Hainan.
Japan has also become insatiable. She has already grabbed the Island of Formosa and now she is waiting impatiently to take forcible possession of the Foo Kien Province. And even Italy has become avaricious. She tried to grab San Mon Bay several years ago, but being single-handed, she failed in her attempt. And perhaps she is now using the power of the Allies to accomplish her greedy design. When the news of this grabbing reached from one end of the Empire to the other, does any one wonder that the Chinese felt harsh toward the foreigners? If anyone has any doubt in this regard, let him just put himself in a Chinaman's place and he will know it at once. So, I say, the greedy grabbing for territory by the different Powers is the principal cause for the recent uprising.
Then, again, there is the spirit of commercialism which has caused great enmity between China and the Western nations. For instance, in the year 1840, Great Britain, for greedy gain declared war against China. The cause of the war was the destruction of over 20,000 chests of opium by the mandarins in their efforts to prevent its introduction into the Empire. This opium had previously been brought into China by British merchants. The mandarins repeatedly objected to its introduction and made frequent complaints to the British. The Governor at Canton issued a proclamation prohibiting the people using opium and saying that all violators would be beheaded. He afterwards found one of his sons a victim to its use, so taking him out to a public place, he caused him to be beheaded before thousands of spectators. The mandarins continued to use every means in their power to keep opium out of China, but all to no avail. At length, in 1840, when they destroyed the 20,000 chests of opium, England claimed a just cause for war, and from this time on, at the cannon's mouth, opium has been forced upon China. Just think! opium, one of the worst poisons known to mankind. Opium has been and is the source of great revenue to England, but it is the greatest curse to China. It has ruined her to the very core, and is one of the great causes of the decay of the Empire. Many thousands of handsome, vigorous, and hopeful young men are brought every day by its use to untimely deaths. Oh! how the good people of China hate opium. How the poor fathers and mothers weep for their opium cursed sons. How many wives shed bitter tears day and night! How many little children go hungry because their fathers have become opium fiends! Yea, how many of these little ones were even sold by their opium-crazed fathers! What sorrow opium has brought to the homes.
And England has thrived at the expense of the Chinese. While England has been accumulating her ill-gotten gains, opium has devastated the population of China. It seems to me that no one but a Chinese can understand the misery. No wonder a Chinese official of high rank made the following ever-memorable request to a retiring British Minister: "I am sorry you are going away, but as you have to, I do wish so much that you would take your opium with you back to England!" And, I daresay, that was the greatest slap Great Britain has ever received. Christian England! I beseech you to visit the homes which your opium has ruined and desolated. Christian England! I beseech you to rise and call a halt in your infamous traffic. Christian England! Be quick and make amends, for unless you do so, God will never forgive you.
There are many ways in which England can redeem the wrong she has done to China. First of all, she should stop the traffic in opium. Then she can also redeem herself to-day by joining the United States and Japan to bring about a speedy and peaceful settlement of the trouble in China. If these three powers should declare that they would never permit her dismemberment, China would certainly be preserved. If this good work is accomplished, the United States, England and Japan will be China's greatest friends. They will be rewarded with commerce and other special privileges. In other words they will receive a thousand-fold in return.
But to grab China by the throat and say to her, "Give us the best you have," is barbarous and non-Christian; for it is contrary to the teaching of Christ. To take advantage of China's weakness is inhuman. China, to-day, is like a man who married in the late years of his life, and was blessed with a large family of children who were too young to be of any service to him. For the last few years he was sickly and weak. The house in which he himself and family lived was a fine one, and was the only inheritance from his father; but his many neighbors, who were rich and powerful, and able to assist and establish him if they wished, were, unfortunately, a little selfish, and looked toward his inheritance with longing eyes. Five of the neighbors, with an insatiable desire for gain, and with the forced consent of the owner, took those rooms which each deemed best for his own interest and gain. These neighbors are now devising schemes and pretences by which they may grab the best remaining portions. To some minds it seems best that this heritage should be thus partitioned, and they claim that it is the only way to develop and improve this possession, thus utterly ignoring the claims and interests of the lawful possessors.
And now, friends, China is the inheritance, and the covetous and greedy neighbors are those whom I have mentioned above. How much better it would be for all the great civilized and Christian nations to make a unanimous effort to help preserve, build up and Christianize China, rather than to tear her to pieces.
Of course, I must admit that the Chinese Government, viz., the Empress Dowager, is also responsible for the present state of affairs in China. She was deceived by Prince Tuan, the great anti-foreign leader, who represented to her that the Boxers possessed a most remarkable power, by the exercise of which they were able to close the mouths of the foreign cannon and also to render themselves bulletproof. They also told her that they were the best fighters, the best protectors of her dynasty, and the best men to drive out the foreigners. But lately we learn that she greatly regrets the step she has taken, and has issued two edicts urging the Boxers to disperse to their homes and be law-abiding subjects, that they were to be destroyed if they should oppose the government troops in any way whatever. If this is true there is great hope for China. We sincerely hope that she will at once abdicate and allow the Emperor, Kwang Hsu, to resume control, for he is just the man that China needs to-day. Oh! I do wish that the Powers would demand his return to the throne! I am certain that the Powers can render no better service to China than to make this demand and see to it that it is complied with. If the Emperor were again in power there would be an easy settlement of the present trouble. The outcome of this general shakeup will undoubtedly be the upbuilding of the Empire. I am sure that God will overrule this outbreak for the good of China.
I sincerely believe that God has a great future for China. He has preserved her for nearly 5,000 years, and He will still preserve her to His glory. The Land of Sinim is to be won for Christ. The Chinese Empire will then have the same footing as other nations, for her subjects have the making of a great people. The Chinese who became Christians in America will also be a great factor in building up China. God's plan is beyond the comprehension of man. He saw that America did not send forth missionaries fast enough, so He brought out the secluded Chinese to this country to be Christianized by the disciples of Christ, so that they may go back as volunteer missionaries and thus hasten the conversion of China.
We are sincerely thankful to America for taking the initiative in negotiations toward preserving the integrity of China. Now, as a friend and neighbor, let her continue her good work, and may the European Powers speedily agree to a peaceful settlement of the entire trouble. Then let America and other Christian nations flood China with ten thousand Protestant missionaries, for I am sure that this is one of the best solutions of the Chinese Question, and the only way to conquer China for Christ.
Surely every patriotic and Christian American will weigh with thoughtful attention this earnest plea of our honored friend, Rev. Jee Gam.—Editor.