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“...which all Churches
now join. It may well be that this obedi-
ence to the command of the Risen Christ,
to make Christians of all nations, will yet
prove the one force which will save the
world from the barbarism of war. Chris-
tianity is essentially international : Jesus
Christ breaks down all barriers of race
and creates a universal brotherhood. Per-
haps India and China may some day join
in sending representatives of a higher
phase of Christianity to- England to win
us to a fuller interpretation, of, and
greater loyalty to, the mind of Jesus
Christ. We do not yet see all the possi-
bilities and consequences of this mission-
ary enterprise ; but we know that we are
following the command of our Lord ; that
it has already achieved great results and
shall achieve yet greater ; and that it is
the most Christ-like, chivalrous and
farthest-reaching movement of the Chris-
tian Churches.
Our Prayer for the New Year.
(A ROUNDEL.)
(In Remembrance of December 1st.)
Be this New Year a year of peace...”
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“...of our mission in that
town. Mr. Dymond returns- to a. former
sphere where he is known and esteemed.
The Chinese Ambassador.
Yen Hui Ch’xng (anglice Mr. W. W.
Yen) is the newly-appointed Chinese
Minister to Great Britain. He was born
in 1877, and received his education at St.
John’s College, Shanghai, and at Yale.
When Yuan Shih Kai formed the first
Republican Government he was appointed
Secretary for Foreign Affairs. “It was
at this time,” writes a correspondent,
“that I first met him. Yuan decided to
put religious toleration in the constitu-
tion, and a few of us were called to his
office, where he made known his intention.
A few days later a mass meeting was held
in Peking, where Mr. Yen represented the
President in repeating the declaration.”
He is the son of the Rev. Y. K. Yen, of
the American Episcopal Church. He has
been Minister to Germany and Denmark,
and in 1921 he acted as Premier for a
short time. It is significant that so able
a statesman is sent to represent China at
the Court...”
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“...The Late SamuebArnold
love and lengthened his gaze to the
regions beyond.
Besides the moral and spiritual enrich-
ment of his personality there was the
favourable environment. Packington
Street, in the days of Britannia Fields
(literally) wasi the scene of the labours of
the Rev. J. Maughan, a pioneer mission-
ary to Australia. My predecessor, the
Rev. William Eddon, received his com-
mission for China whilst ministering
there. Missions thus became the life-
breath of this little church tucked away
among tenement houses and standing as
a postern gate to declining Islington. It
sought to save those at its doors, and then
taught them’ enlarged service. In recent
years the success of this branch of the
work is largely owing to the leadership,
enterprise and organization of our friend.
He gave nobly of time and money him-
self ; he inspired others to follow him till
the advocacy and support of missions be-
came a constant, steady, prayerful out-
flow instead of an intermittent stream
stirred...”
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“...An Encounter
with Brigands.
LTHOUGH we in West China are
not privileged to experience some
of the thrills which break the
monotony at home—Hobbs’s «th cen-
tury, shingled hair, and Oxford trousers,
lose some of their glamour by the time
we hear of them-—yet life in these parts
is not entirely without incident. In the
early months of 1925 we had such a
famine as has not been known here be-
fore ; followed by the usual epidemic of
fever, until over ten thousand are reck-
oned to have died in and around Chao
T’ong. Then, twice during the last six
weeks, this city has been attacked by
large bands of brigands, a thing hardly
dreamed of hitherto, and now, it has
fallen to my lot to meet with an experi-
ence which is certainly unique in this
mission, and, I believe, as far as our
work in other provinces is concerned.
Last week-end, I went to Stone Gate-
way for the harvest festival, and on Tues-
day morning, left there with two Miao
to return to the city. As you know, the
stations are about t...”
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“...The Observatory
sionary secretary for a specimen copy.
The price is 2d., and the illustrative
hymns are chosen from The Methodist
School Hymnal, and reference is given.
Chinese Contrasts.
In an otherwise-excellent article, in a
recent “Blackwood,” with this title, by
“A.M.,” we read:
“ Ira over twenty years of keeping house
in China, I only met with one instance of
dishonesty on the part of a servant.
“ I hesitate to quote it lest I should
appear prejudiced against a class of men
for whom, on the contrary—and es-
pecially for whose motives and self-sacri-
fice—I have the deepest respect.
“ But it was rather a striking coinci-
dence that the only time I ever employed
a Christian boy should have also been the
only time I was robbed. He was a tem-
porary boy, engaged for a few weeks
only, and after he had left I discovered
that a valuable gold watch and a Panama
hat had left with him. Except for these,
I did not mourn his departure. He was
conceited, inefficient—and in particular
puffed-up...”
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“...offered £28.
We told David that Solomon Gabriel
had outbid him, but David decided that
he couldn’t rise any higher.
Meanwhile Moses Joseph arrived and
bid £29.
Solomon Gabriel was informed and
promptly rose to £30.
Unless Moses Joseph or some other
patriarch or apostle goes one better,
Solomon Gabriel will get it for £30.
How do you like their names? They
are all quite real ones, though not pro-
nounced in quite the English way.
“The Wayfarer.”
“ Talks on China To-Day.”*
These talks present to youthful minds
a picture of China as it is. The items are
six : At School, Scouting, A Chinese
Doctor, Troublous Day, A Great Deci-
sion, Winning Through.
Taking the first as an example, we
are shown the home, the school, the visi-
tors. The school boy is called what means
in English “Little dog,” and his progress
in learning is described. The treatment
of each division is intelligible, suitable
and most useful.
Edinburgh House Press; Is.
H...”
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“...Delegation. large balance due as
Boxer Indemnity to pur-
poses which may most effectively advance
the best interests of the Chinese people is,
after unfortunate delay, being put into
operation. It has been announced that
three members of the Government Com-
mittee dealing with this question will go
as a delegation to China in order to confer
with an equal number of representatives
of the Chinese Government in devising the
wisest schemes for using the money. We
are pleased to know that Rev. W. E.
Soothill, M.A., is a member of this delega-
tion. The delegation left for China on
January 15 th.
Mr. Soothill will thereby add to the dis-
tinguished service he has rendered to
China. It falls to few men to have the
honour of serving two great nations. We
believe the work of this delegation will
greatly improve the relationship between
the British and the Chinese people, and
provide for the Chinese a source of last-
ing good out of the evil of the Boxer
wickedness.
The British members of the Delegation...”
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“...A Pilgrimage to the
Holy Land of China.
Miss LILY ARMITT.
I.
AST summer the wish of many years
was fulfilled. With a party of
missionaries I ascended T’ai Shan,
one of the five sacred mountains of China.
It is 5,068 feet above sea level, situated
60 miles south of Chi-Nan, capital of
Shantung.
Mr. Dwight Condo Baker, M.A., of the
American Methodist Mission, has just
written a book entitled “Tai Shan,” and
to the loan of the author’s copy I am in-
debted for much of the information re-
corded here.
My holiday home was half way, up the
mountain at the Foreign Settlement, most
of the cottages being built by the mis-
sionaries of Tai An, a city in the plain
below, from which the Pilgrim Road
commences, with its 6,000 steps, which
finally lead up through the Dragon’s
Gorge to the South Heavenly Gate. The
ascent can be made in a mountain-chair,
the back of which is a half circle of
wooden supports, and the seat a network
of string ; poles are strapped to the sides,
and two men, one at each end...”
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“...wherever we look in the wide white
fields, The Other One is within reach.
As the late R. C. Trench said :
“ I say to thee do thou repeat
To the first man thou mayest meet
In lane, highway, or open street,
That he and we and all men move
Under a canopy of love
As broad as the blue sky above.”
The Legion of
Venturers.
To the Rev. G. H. Kennedy and his
Comrades.*
My Dear Friends,
I THINK it is time to thank you again
for your interest in our West African
Mission. Your African brother
Christopher Venture is doing well, and
is very happy in the Mission at Yamandu.
Through your kindness, when I came out
this time, your President, Rev. G. H.
Kennedy, supplied me with a number of
toys which I distributed to the children.
They gave much pleasure. Christopher
was specially favoured. He had a me-
chanical model of a steamer, and if you
could have seen his face, when after
showing how it was worked, I handed it
to him, you would have been amply re-
paid for the sacrifice you make in sub-
scribing for his...”
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“...Mrs. J. B. BROOKS, B.Litt.
“Oyinka’s offering.”
What shall I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man I would do my part.
But what shall I give Him? Give my heart.
—Christina Rossetti.
To-day we are perhaps specially con-
scious of the need for patience and hope
in Christian work everywhere. At home
much of our energy seems to be spent
in holding-on. The present condition of
China seriously limits missionary activity
there. We realize how very difficult it is
for the primitive people of Africa—en-
slaved for centuries by superstitious fear
—to grasp the wonderful truth of the
gospel of love, and still more difficult for
them to rule their lives by its teaching.
Yet, “sometimes a light surprises,” re-
vealing results beyond our expectations
and in unpromising places, and we are
inspired to greater faith and more earnest
endeavour. Such a thrill came to me the
other day as I read the incident of
Oyinka’s offering in the quarterly record
of women’s...”
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“...My fruit shall not be my fruit until it drops from my
arms—into the arms of the others, over the top of the wall.
—Sherwood Anderson.
A Pilgrimage to the
Miss E. LILY ARMITT.
2.
Holy Land of China.
The Shrine of the Ancients—
In T’ai An City.
PILGRIMAGE to the sacred
Eastern Peak is not complete,
without a visit to the lower temple
of the god T’ai Shan, which stands
within the north gate of T’ai An city.
Such an opportunity came to me ; when
we decided to descend the mountain, and
spend a night in the American
Methodist Mission Compound,
iq order to hear a Russian
singer, Vasily Petrovick Ar-
noldi, who on journeying
northward alighted at T’ai An
to sing to the 1,000, or more,
Russian soldiers (Whites) who
are stationed there.
The famous T’ai Temple is
full of historical interest. The
ancient cypress trees of the
Han and Tang dynasties (25-
007 a.d.) the antique monu-
ments of Sung and Chin
(1127-1280) seen in the various
courtyards, make one feel the
reverence, the dignity and
wonder attached...”
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“...Within the
ruined temple sits the image of T’ai Shan
and his principal wife. The god was once
a splendid bronze statue, but is now turn-
ing green with oxidation from the rains
pouring upon it. The queen is in a worse
state, an ordinary wooden image ; two
secondary wives, the Eastern Duchess
and the Western Duchess are in better
condition. The workmen were in the
act of repairing the roofs, and they re-
Still ascending. [From Mrs. Butler's book, by fier-
A rest by the way. mission of author and publisher.
Holy Land of China
marked to me, “ When virtuous people
subscribed more money they would repair
the walls.”
An interesting visit was to The Hall of
the Library of Scripture, where is the
precious gift of the Emperor Ch’ien
Lung, presented in 1771. The priest led
us to an inner room, and opened a coffin-
like box, wherein lay an exquisite piece
of light green jade, more than three feet
in length and ten inches wide, carved in
the shape of a sceptre. The priest would
have us stroke it, in order...”
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“...Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of China.
cense, or were guilty of poisoning
or murdering- others, etc. ; while those
who were filial to parents , or did
certain works of merit, were rewarded
accordingly. It was a gruesome, tiring,
depressing spectacle, and the priest, par-
rot-fashion, rolled off inarticulate explana-
tions. The numerous figures had not
been renovated for years, so that the les-
sons which were meant to be impressed
on the visitors were somewhat lost. The
huge figure of King Yen-lo, in the central
temple, was certainly calculated to
frighten the timid worshipper.
The Temple of the
Three Religions.
This temple is situated not far from
the Methodist compound. During my
visit a nun over sixty years of age led
me up steep steps to a loft, where, seated
on raised stone tables were three images,
representing Buddha, Confucius, and
Lao-tsze, the founder of Taoism. A
young man followed us up, and informed
me that there was now a Five Religions
Society in China, the additions being
Mohammedanism...”
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“...leaders
among the Chinese received their educa-
tion in America. America, however,
stands in the same Treaty relationship
with China as Great Britain. Now that
China is claiming a revision of the
Treaties, America is ready to give a
sympathetic ear to all her demands. The
Chinese Minister Plenipotentiary to the
United States, Minister Sao-Ke Alfred
Sze, addressed the conference on Treaty
Revision, and, with reference to the sur-
render of rights granted to foreigners in
China under the treaties, said : “The
Chinese have every intention to provide
full security for the lives and property of
foreigners in China—a security no less
than that enjoyed by Chinese citizens
living within the territories of the Treaty
Powers.” This assurance may offer
some consolation to those who fear the
effect the revision of treaties may have
upon the position of missionaries and
mission property.
Opening' New Our readers have been
Chiefdonis in informed that three Mendi
Mendilaixl. chiefdoms in Sierra Leone
were...”
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“...collection for expenses—surplus for
Missions—was made at one session and
realized £3,227.
During the convention a moving leaflet
was distributed urgently requesting a fel-
lowship of prayer every day for the ful-
filment of missionary aims ; and indicating
some of the conditions of effective prayer.
The leaflet had been prepared by about
sixty Churchmen assembled in Westmin-
i-
A Visit to Wenchow.
(We have become familiar with the fact
that Mr. Alderman Rothwell and party, of
Salford, visited China last year, May to
November. They were able to visit our
stations of Tientsin, Wenchow and Ningpo.
eN Saturday, October 3rd, we took
steamer for Wenchow, 28 hours
down the coast, arriving there on
Monday morning at 9.0.
We were told that we should have to
wait before landing for the Port Doctor,
and were sat on deck reading, when a
gentleman came and said, “Are you Mr.
Rothwell? my name is Stedeford, and I
am very glad to meet you.” I said in my
Garden-party at Wenchow. [Miss Rothwell.
Mr. Rothwell...”
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“...Friends’ Foreign Mission
Association,
It is the 58th Report. We note that in
September last the F.F.M.A. moved to
new quarters in Euston Road. We are
introduced to their work in South Africa,
Madagascar, Pemba, India, China, and
Syria. A feature of the year is that M.
Catharine Albrig’ht and Harry T. Silcock
(Secretary) have visited the first three dis-
tricts. These, rather than a deputation,
were friendly calls for consultation with
the missionaries. Then follow “A bird’s-
eye view of the work, “ Interesting ex-
cerpts from personal reports, the Per-
sonnel, and Income and expenditure.
The expenditure for the year has been
£38,325. A debit of about £5,000 was
cleared by the General Reserve Fund.
The Presbyterian Church of
England.
Like ourselves, this is a missionary
Church, and its work in this department
is entrusted to a Committee.
The report is enriched by sketch maps
of each district worked, and they appear
every year, as guidance to thought. There
are strong centres in China, Formosa,...”
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“...good for Protestants to note
that, in addition to this primitive move-
ment, Rome has been sending mission-
aries to China since 1200 a.d. But it is
significant that early successes did not
lead to permanent results ; the light was
put out. Protestantism, it is fair to note,
has lit a candle, which, in China, will not
be put out.
The outstanding name in the history
of Western intercourse with China is that
of Marco Polo. His endurance—success-
fully carrying out a journey of three and
a half years, which now takes two or
three weeks, and then becoming to all
intents and purposes a Chinaman—is re-
markable. But Venice still pulled, and
after twenty years he returned, and the
book of his travels set the bold spirits of
53...”
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“...ce with the
Chinese, 'will prove him a tower of
strength to the delegation.
The past tells the story of many sad
blunders, but we pray with confidence
that the work of this delegation may be
so good, so just, so generous, that—in
spite of the present difficult mood of the
Chinese—it may set in motion subtle
forces from which shall come an era of
happier intercourse between “China and
the West.”
T. M. G.
Bookland.
“ Native Churches in Foreign
Fields.”
By Harold Hosie Rowland.
“ The Methodist Book Concern,
New York.
THE author of this book spent ten
years in North China as a mission-
ary, and writes therefore with prac-
tical experience of missionary problems.
He was not satisfied with the methods in
operation for planting “ native churches
in foreign fields,” and this book is the
result of a careful investigation under-
taken in order to discover the fundamental
principles upon which native churches
should be built. His thinking led him to
conclusions in accord with the views of
other recent...”
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“...thank him and congratulate him on
the gallantry with which he has held ill-
health at bay, and even surmounted it by
doing invaluable service to the cause he
loves, with an eloquent and graphic pen.
We like to remember also that Mrs.
Vivian, (“without whose encouragement
this book could never have been written ”)
was our first Council Secretary, and that
our Constitution owes very much to her
wise, clear judgment and insight.
A. Truscott Wood.
Some School News from China.
IMPROVEMENTS to the school build-
ings at Chu Chia, North China, were
in progress when the frost fell early
in December. Already the heating of the
dormitories has been improved, the
dining'-room turned into three bedrooms,
and the south wall of the Girls’ School
compound removed and rebuilt so1 as to
enlarge the compound considerably. Other
adjustments must await spring weather,
for everything will now be frozen hard
until the middle of March.
Miss Turner writes of her tribe of girls
at Chu Chia :
We feared all the troubles...”
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“...our
Chu Cilia. mission in the Shantung
province, is usually one
of the quietest and pleasantest villages in
China. It lies off the main line of traffic
and attracts few visitors excepting those
who are drawn to the Mission. At the
close of last year, however, it was the
scene of great commotion and alarm on
account of the invasion of the soldiers
who had been driven back from Tientsin.
At the best of times Chinese soldiers are
most unwelcome visitors, and when dis-
organized and reckless through defeat
they become a horde of armed freebooters
ready to use any violence in support of
their demands.
On Monday, December 28th, Mr.
Richards received a message from the
Mandarin of the Laoling Hsien to say
that retreating soldiers were approach-
ing, but that he could offer no help and
must leave the missionaries to confer with
the village elders as to what should be
done. It was decided that the soldiers
should be met and fed in the hope that
they would pass on quietly. The mission
compound was...”
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