Among the most remarkable results of the Boxer uprising in China during 1900, has been the changed attitude that now prevails on the part of all classes toward missionary work in many parts of the country. The sullen contempt and hostility of former years have been largely replaced by willingness and even desire to hear and understand what the foreign teachers have to say. Reports are received from not a few districts of earnest invitations on the part of the gentry of neighboring cities for someone to come and instruct them in the Western faith, premises for the carrying on of worship being freely offered for use.
Without attempting an analysis of the various causes to which this change is due, it is sufficient to say here, that the Chinese undoubtedly realize as never before that Western nations possess a power and civilization in some respects superior to their own; and that if further national disaster is to be averted, their old conservative attitude must be abandoned. Hence a condition of open-mindedness, hitherto unprecedented, prevails throughout the country, which, whatever its underlying motives, furnishes a unique opportunity for the preaching of the Gospel. Experience shows that while many, on discovering the true nature of Christianity, draw back, unprepared to follow its teachings, not a few become really interested, and are open to further spiritual impressions. The prospect, therefore, of a wide and rapid spread of Christian faith in many parts of China seems not unlikely of realization. The extent to which this movement will be marked by spiritual purity and depth, must largely depend upon the character of the Chinese Christians who lead it, as workers in various ways among their fellow countrymen. Given men of real piety, and strong personal consecration to Christ, a glorious harvest of souls will be the result.
And herein lies the chief interest of the following narrative: for Mr. Hsi, by virtue of his talents and education, as well as of his Christian character, was a striking type of the class just referred to. As time goes on, China will certainly produce men whose zeal and gifts will fit them to take a leading part in the evangelization of their own countrymen, and the building up of the native church. A story therefore such as this will repay the thoughtful study of all interested in the development of the Kingdom of God in that country. Should it not also awaken in those who read it a solemn searching of heart before God as to how far their own aims and practice in life can compare with the unremitting toil and unreserved devotion recorded in these pages, in the case of one whose advantages were far less than their own?
The subject of this biography possessed in more than ordinary measure the qualities that fit men for leadership; combining that comprehensiveness of mind and foresight which enable men to frame measures on a large scale, with the strength of will, practical resourcefulness, and capacity for the management of others, essential in carrying such projects to completion. At the same time there were points in his character which rendered his co-operation with foreign missionaries a matter of difficulty. By nature and by training, his temper was autocratic and independent. It was difficult, therefore, for him to give due weight and appreciation to the counsel and cooperation of other workers. His confidence was not easily won; indeed, a tendency to over mistrust and suspicion concerning those whom he did not know well, was a distinct weakness in his character. It seems worthwhile to draw attention to these features in a personality so full of interest, as undoubtedly, they are among the typical faults of his race, and are likely to be found in greater or less degree in all Chinamen of the requisite character and capacity for exercising leadership in Christian work.
It is well to bear in mind in this connection that the system of government set forth by the sages of China, and cherished as an ideal by all her scholars, is that of a benevolent but almost unqualified despotism. Hence, just as the Western Church in her primitive days grew along the lines of existing institutions, it may be expected that the above system will leave its mark on the development of the Church in China. The transition period, in which leadership and initiative are transferred from foreign missionaries to native workers, demands therefore the careful and prayerful forethought of all concerned. Nor should it be forgotten that some of those very qualities in the Chinese leader, which at times render difficult his co-operation with foreign missionaries, are also characteristic to some extent of the races from which the latter are drawn.
The manner in which this transition will be effected is of course uncertain. But past experience in other lands, as well as a good deal already gained in China, indicates that it will be brought about largely through the instrumentality of Chinamen raised up by God to initiate and carry on a work of their own, apart from direct missionary supervision. The system under which the native agent draws his temporal support through the missionary, and looks to the latter to initiate, guide, and control the work, has not so far produced many Chinamen with the qualities necessary for independent leadership; nor, in the nature of things, is it likely to do so in the future. Men can only be fitted for responsibility by bearing it. And the hope that under the system referred to there will by degrees be evolved a class of men capable of acting alone, has little ground for encouragement as to its realization on a wide scale.
One thing is certain from the character of the people: that with the growth of Christianity in China, men and women will increasingly be raised up to initiate independent enterprises. What is to be our attitude toward them? The life and work recorded in this volume surely answer that it should be one of cordial recognition of the gifts and position of the native leader, coupled with the patient, earnest endeavor, by winning his love and confidence, to enrich and elevate his views; and so, through him, the work he is carrying on. The relationship between the missionary and such a Chinaman will not be of the official nature that characterizes his connection with paid helpers under his own supervision, but will depend for its power and usefulness on the measure of influence that by tact, humility, and sympathy he may be able to win over his native brother.
In developing such a friendship the foreign worker may learn many useful lessons, not only in respect to the practical conduct of affairs among the Chinese, but lessons also of a directly spiritual character. Among the latter he will become impressed with the fact, that while in many respects his own acquaintance with the Scriptures and his standards of Christian life are higher and fuller than those possessed by his Chinese fellow worker, the latter may nevertheless, in other important particulars, be his spiritual superior, and far more effective, under God, as an active instrument for good, both among the heathen and the native converts.
Reference should be made here to a feature of this story which is likely to excite the wonder and even skepticism of many readers. I refer to the frequent allusions to demoniacal possession, and the casting out of evil spirits in answer to prayer, which occur throughout the book. As is well known, these and kindred phenomena have during recent years been made the subject of close investigation in western countries, and various theories have been advanced: some assigning their cause to the direct agency of spirits; some to magnetic or telepathic influences; while others pronounce the whole to be the result of trickery and fraud. In the presence of this divergence of opinion, it seems wiser to abstain from either a sweeping rejection or an unqualified endorsement of the view entertained by our fellow Christians in China, as recorded in the following pages. The author has therefore adhered in the main to language employed by the actors themselves, in describing the occurrences related.
In connection with this admittedly obscure subject, it is worth considering whether in the reaction from the grotesque and elaborate superstitions of a former age, the Christian Church has not fallen into an opposite extreme of error, and allowed the inspired teachings of Holy Scripture in regard to it to be largely lost sight of. There can be little question that the speculations of an infidel philosophy, aiming at the exclusion of spiritual agency from the economy of nature, have exercised a pernicious influence on the thought and faith of many Christians. High sounding theories are propounded, not without parade of superior learning and enlightenment, to persuade us that the Creator is superfluous in His own universe; that matter controls itself; and that the revealed truths of the Bible as to the active agency of spiritual beings, both good and evil, in the phenomena of nature and the affairs of men, are to be rejected. From this gross materialism may all who call themselves Christians turn away. Such teaching has not even the cheap merit of novelty, as those acquainted with the tenets of some heathen systems well know.
“The whole world lieth in the wicked one”; and the extent to which his terrible dominion may be manifested in the lives and persons of the unregenerate, is clearly taught in the New Testament. Careful observation and study of the subject have led many to conclude that although, in lands where Christianity has long held sway, the special manifestations we are now considering are comparatively unknown; the conditions among the heathen being more akin to those prevailing when and where the Gospel was first propagated, it is not surprising that a corresponding energy of the powers of evil should be met with in missionary work today.
In conclusion, a few words as to the general impression made by Pastor Hsi, upon one who was intimately associated with him for nearly ten years, may not be out of place. His remarkable energy and force of character, coupled with an entire devotion to his Lord, and to the work to which he was divinely called, were the features about him that most impressed a close and constant observer. His Christian experience was deep, and was of the strenuous rather than restful type. His life was an unceasing warfare with the powers of evil. He was habitually burdened in heart about the sins and sorrows of those under his care, and his tears and fastings on their behalf were almost constant. He was a born leader; nothing escaped his keen eye, and he was ever ready to rebuke, instruct, or succor as occasion required. And with these sterner characteristics he possessed also a deeply affectionate heart, and true humility of spirit that could only be fully recognized and appreciated by those who knew him well. As years went by, his masterful character grew more and more mellowed and softened; until, when he passed away, it is no exaggeration to say that hundreds wept for him as for a father or elder brother.
May the Christian reader of this book be stirred not by the interest, merely, that its style and matter will naturally excite; but to an abiding resolve, by prayer and practical consecration, to hasten the day when China shall be evangelized and her Church cared for by her own sons.
D. E. HOSTE, General Director of the China Inland Mission.