RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
China
his family were murdered. The great province of Szechuen became a hotbed of violence, foreigners were temporarily expelled, and 50,000 Christians (largely Roman Catholics) suffered, many being killed. These events were directly connected with China's igtAominious defeat by Japan (1894-95), for which all foreigners were supposed to be in some way responsible. These continual outrages occurred in every part of the empire, and often without warning, in spite of imperial edicts and official proclamations, but in no instance had they any permanent effect in restraining mission work.
For a long time tliu bitter but wholesome lessons of the war with Japan seemed to be forgotten or ignored. But in 1898 the emperor 4. The began a series of reform measures Fourth ^iiich soon brought on a crisis, and Period, aside by his aunt, the
from 1895. , r j n
empress dowager, who reversed all
his measures. The effect of this reaction was instantly felt throughout the empire. The cumulative force of the loss of Chinese territory by foreign aggression, of commercial intrusion, of railways, and the opening of mines, added to the chronic prejudice against foreign religions, led to the fanatical I Ho Ch'iian crusade of 1899-1900, with its spectacular consequences of the flight of the court and the occupation of Peking by foreign armies, which, however, within a few months retired. The native Christians had now established their right to exist, and often afforded striking objectlessons of fidelity. Although practically all mission property (except at protected ports) had been destroyed from the Yellow River to the Amur, within two years almost everything was replaced with a far better plant than would otherwise have been possible. The fidelity of the Chinese Christians,'while not uniform nor universal, won praise from every quarter, many thousands of them losing their lives, as well as 135 Protestant missionaries, and fifty-three children, thirty- five Roman Catholic fathers, and nine sisters.
It will be convenient to combine in a brief and summary view some features of missionary work
_ ^ which have been slowly developing
5. General j ■ j.u ■ 4. i • Features "^^I'^S sixty and more years smce Christian Treaty of Nanking. Bible trans- Litera- lation, one of the great labors of the ture. first missionary, has e\'er since been prosecutetl with untiring zeal, and is still in progress. It is impossible to go into details, but in general it may be said that the word of God has been put into the literary style (adapted for universal circulation among scholars), into mandarin colloquial, supposed to be spoken in some form by 75 per cent of China's four hundred millions, and into the patois of special districts, the last-named both in Chinese characters and in an increasing degree by the use of Roman letters. The three great Bible societies, the British and Foreign, the American, and the Scotch, have been indefatigable in their work of distribution, largely' by sales, which were never on so extensive a scale as at present. NTumerous societies, especially the Chmese and the Central China Tract societies, have put into circulation uncounted millions of
sheets, booklets, and books, so that at times it has been impossible to keep pace with the demand . Great mission presses, notably for nearly sixty years that of the American Presbyterian Mission, and more recently those of the United Methodist Missions in Shanghai and Fuchau, are kept constantly busy. Influential religious journals and magazines are issued in nearly all the principal mission centers, especially at Shanghai, penetrating not only all parts of the empire, but every part of the world where Chinese are to be found. One of the most important agencies for influencing Chinese thought is the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge .^ong the Chinese, founded by Dr. Alexander Williamson, and now under the leadership of Dr. Timothy Richard. Its Review of the Times, conducted by Dr. Y. J. Allen, has long reached a large circle of ofRcials in every province, and previously to the reform plans of 1898 it was especially procured by the emperor himself for his study. Great quantities of Christian and useful hterature are distributed to scholars at the civil-service examinations in the provincial capitals, tending to dissipate prejudice in influential quarters.
The distinction between the Roman Catholic and the Protestant form of Christianity has now
become well understood both by 6. Vari- officials and people. Woman's work ous Forms for woman has been expanded in every of Work, direction, in evangelizing, medical, and
educational lines, the first Woman's Medical College being opened in Canton Dec, 1902, with . an immediate success, foretokening speedy imitation elsewhere. The Educational Association of China is a most important unifying and developing force for every agency connected with teaching, especially in the preparation of text-books. At the St. Louis Exposition of 1904 this association made an important exhibit of education in China in all its aspects. The Young Men's Christian Association has established an energetic work in Shanghai, Tien-Tsin, Peking, and other centers, which promises great results in the future. Christian Endeavor societies (and Epworth leagues) have taken firm root in China, and an experienced missionary has been chosen to act as a traveling secretary in the interests of this effective agency. Student Volunteer conferences have been repeatedly held, at which influential and representative men have been gathered in large numbers. An antifoot-binding reform movement, distinct from that of missionary origin but allied to it and in sympathy with it, has spread widely over China, promoted by some of its highest statesmen, and favored by the empress dowager. Special work for the insane has been begun at Canton, for the deaf at Chefu, and for the blind at Peking. The hostile and bitterly antiforeign province of Hunan has been entered and is now occupied by thirteen societies with a force comprising at present about eighty-seven missionaries. As an incidental result of the cataclysm of 1900 three leading societies, the London Mission, the American Board, and the American Presbyterian, have formed an important union in educational work in the Chili province, looking toward a union
China
Christ, Order of