The City of Fuh-Chow

Say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty... Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee, ... and they shal draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom. - Esk. xxvii. 3, xxviii. 7.

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Eph. vi. 17.

I cling to yon crowded city,
Though I shrink from its woe and sin.
> Bonar.

If we sail up the south-eastern coast of China, from Hong-Kong, we come about four hundred miles further to the mouth of a large river named the Min, which with its tributaries, waters nearly the whole of the great province of Fuh-Kien, comprising a territory nearly as large as England without Wales, with a population of probably twenty millions. Let us in imagination ascend this noble stream.

As we approach the mouth, steering cautiously through a somewhat intricate channel between picturesque little islands, lofty granite mountains rise before us, and between their almost perpendicular precipices we enter the narrow channel of the Min. Further on, where the gorge widens a little, Chinese villages nestle at the foot of the cliffs, or crown the lower spurs of the mountains, each with its watch-tower rising conspicuous above the low houses; and here and there a hill-torrent leaps from the precipice into the valley below. Signs of Chinese industry meet the eye on all sides, every terrace or ledge of rock being assiduously cultivated. After threading another narrow passage, with columns of rocks on either side piled up to a height of a thousand feet, we emerge into a fertile valley eight or ten miles broad, in the midst of which, ten miles further up the river, stands Fuh-Chow, the capital of the province. As we approach the city, the loftiest peak in the surrounding mountain chain rises on our right. It is called Kushan, or the Drum mountain, and its summit, which is 3,900 feet high, is occasionally, in the depth of winter, white with snow for a few hours. In a hollow at the foot of the peak, and about 2,000 feet above the plain, is a famous Buddhist monastery, a favourite retreat for the foreign residents in Fuh-Chow in the hot season; and within its hospitable walls our missionaries have frequently been thankful to take refuge from the almost intolerable atmosphere of the city.

The thickening forest of masts, both of Chinese and of smaller foreign vessels, and the numerous boat-building yards lining the river bank, warn us that we are nearing the capital; and presently a rough but massive bridge, built of enormous blocks of granite, and no less than a third of a mile in length, stretches across the stream. This the Wan-show-Keaou, or bridge of ten thousand ages. On our left, as we approach it, is the populous suburb of Nantai, where, on a rising ground, stand the houses of the European merchants. The city lies away to the right, approached from the bridge by a narrow winding street nearly three miles long. Let us land at the bridge and traverse this pattern of a Chinese street, with our eyes wide open while our guide explains to us the many curious sights that are to be seen.

What a busy and confused scene! How quickly the thronging crowds move to and fro! Yet there are few accidents, and little or no wrangling. We have been told that the people of Fuh-Kien are more turbulent and independent than most Chinamen; and we were prepared, on the other hand, for a certain amount of order from a people so tenacious of forms and ceremonies; but here we find apparent disorder and yet no disturbance - a crowd of avaricious tradesmen pushing their business with the utmost consideration for those around them. The road is very badly paved, and we are thankful that we have to step into the deep holes and over the dirty heaps in the dry season. In wet weather we should prefer to occupy the sedan chairs in which wealthy citizens are borne on the shoulders of their servants.

Let us enter one of the houses. At first sight they seem to be built with their backs to the front, but we find that we are really looking at the front, and that the door is the only opening to the low one-story shed in which these wonderful people crowd, more like hens in a fowl-house than like human beings. The doors, which are sometimes oval of leaf-shaped, are placed so as not to be opposite to each other, in order to inconvenience the evil spirits which this clever people dread so much. The shop front is open with a double counter, so that the proprietor may serve in the street as well as in his shop. The foundations are of stone, the frame-work of wood, and the walls of lath and plaster, though sometimes of mud; the roof alone shows by its shape the tented origin of the building. Each tradesman erects a tablet to one of the gods that preside over mercantile transactions, before which he burns incense sticks twice a day. As we return to the street we inquire the name of the tradesman who has so politely shown us his premises, and our guide points to a sign of some seven feet in height, containing his name, and a motto, “Mutual Advantage.” Next door we see an enterprising firm trading under the title, “Rising Goodness,” and so on all up the street.

As we approach the city gates, it seems as if some calamity within the walls had compelled the whole population to migrate into the suburbs, and to do their business in the open air, for here we see not only travelling fruiterers, pastrymen, cooks, and vendors of gimcracks, but blacksmiths, tinkers, and shoe-makers too. We are not surprised to see a bookseller’s stall, but we are not prepared for a migratory banker or chemist and druggist, who, one would suppose, must necessarily settle in a fixed place, that we may know where to find them. We are considerably amused by the sight of a placid Chinaman having his head shaved in a quite nook of this fancy fair. We are not surprised to learn that a wise and paternal government compels them to submit to this trying operation, and that those who rebel against the Tartars, who have ruled for more than two centuries, let their hair grow, and cut off their queues. It is very easily seen that nothing but duty would cause them to put up with such a continual affliction. As we proceed, we miss the rows of gas lamps to which we have been accustomed, but if only we could be here at the time of the “Feast of Lanterns,” we should find much more to admire in the effect produced by the lighting up of a vast number of paper lanterns, of all sizes and shapes and covered with all sorts of devices.

And now we meet with several tradesmen whose business we cannot comprehend - chiromancers, fortune-tellers, and choosers of lucky days. The dentist hangs round his neck a ghastly string of grinders and fangs as evidences of his skill; but what testimonials shall we require before we do business with the gentleman “who chooses lucky days”? And yet he does a good business, for no Chinaman can be married, or buried, or take any important step, except on a lucky day. The Chinaman, with all his shrewdness and ability, is as much a slave to his superstitions as the most degraded negro.

But what is this procession of gaily dressed folk coming down the street with gongs beating and fireworks cracking? The white dresses notwithstanding, there is a sad look about the people forming the procession. It is a funeral party. This is their lucky day for carrying the dead parent to his last home. All the rites have been performed, and the widow and children are sadly wending their way to a small knoll in the country, there to lay their loved one down in the hope that if they continue to pay the required subscription, the departed one will wander about in the world of spirits, clothed and fed and supplied with ready money. That is all.

The Buddhist or Taouist priest tells them nothing of a Day of Judgment, nothing of a Heaven; without hope himself, he gives them none. These busy thronging multitudes literally have no religion that will influence their lives in the present, or give them hope for the future. They have no God; they are given up to selfishness; they carry on their trade without any day of rest; they are told that their profits will be larger if they burn incense before certain idols, and that their luck will be better if once a year they observe certain ceremonies which bear a semblance to idolatrous worship, and so they do as they are advised. Their God is Self, and the only objects of worship they at all care about are their ancestors.

They may call themselves Buddhists, and summon the Buddhist priest to conduct every domestic religious ceremony; or they may profess Taouism, and pay some homage to its multitude of divinities; or if they belong to the literary classes, they will hold both Buddhists and Taouists in contempt, and hold proudly to the moral maxims of Confucius; but whichever of the three national religions may claim them as adherents, their real faith, such as it is, is in the ancestral worship which prevailed in China long before Confucius taught the five cardinal virtues, or Taouist austerities and magical ceremonies were thought of, or Buddhism covered the land with temples and pagodas, convents and monasteries, priests and nuns. Go into any house we may choose, everywhere we shall find the ancestral tablets - pieces of board twelve inches long and three broad, each with the name, rank, and date of birth and death of the person it commemorates. Is it a rich man’s house? There is a hall set apart for the tables. Is it the hovel of the poor? They adorn a special shelf in the single room. Before these ancestral tablets are prayers and incense offered, especially on the 1st and 15th of the month. It is the worship of the dead.

Before we reach the gate of the city we are to witness another procession peculiar to China. A number of porters carrying various articles of dress and household furniture are parading the street, ostentatiously displaying a bride’s contribution to the furniture of her future home. We do not see the bride herself in her gay marriage chair on her way from her old home to her new one, but we know that she is entirely giving up her own family and joining that of her husband. She will live with their parents, for it is a common thing to find three generations living together in tolerable peace and harmony.

As we enter the southern gate we notice a curious sight - a basket carrier collecting something which he evidently values very highly, and which we are surprised to learn are only scraps of waste paper with the Chinese character written on them. They have been taught by Confucius to venerate the written character, and therefore they collect the paper in this way to be afterwards carefully burned.

We partake a slight refreshment at one of the curious bamboo stalls, which does duty as a cookshop, and provides warm and tasty rice puddings and hot tea at all hours of the day, and then, passing on through the city, we catch sight of a European face in a room used as a temporary chapel by the side of this teeming highway. And now for the first time do we thoroughly appreciate the difficulties of a missionary to the Chinese. There stands the missionary, in a conspicuous garb, speaking with difficulty, in a language he has been learning for several years, to a people who are worldly above all others, thoroughly conceited, believing in their own wisdom, and filled with contempt for the poor “foreign devil,” as he is frequently called; taught from their earliest childhood to venerate all that he condemns, and to despise all that he teaches to be good and right, while the slightest disposition to heed the things that be of God is the signal for persecution from every relative and friend he has. How can we expect him to hear and embrace the saving truths of the Gospel? Yet in spite of all this, we see here, supporting the words of the foreigner, a Native catechist and a Native pastor, whose sincerity none can doubt, to whose honesty the suspicious and distrustful Chinese are themselves ready to bear witness. The sight lends vigour to our steps, and we continue our journey to the Mission premises with a lighter heart and with renewed hope.

Presently we arrive at the highest bit of ground in the city, called the Wu-shih-shan, or Black-Stone Hill, and on this, amid pleasure-grounds and temples, we should have found, until lately, the Church Missionary Society’s Mission buildings. Why we shall not see them there now will appear further on.

From the summit we survey the whole town; and the surrounding plain, to the foot of the mountains, and extending north and south twenty miles, is spread before us like a map. It is a fine sight. The city indeed, though it is frequently spoken of by the Chinese as the “Banyan City,” owing to the many trees of that name to be found growing in the town, is not very picturesque. It appears “like a solid mass of murky roofs,” the streets being too narrow for us to distinguish them from the elevation on which we stand. Here and there lofty ornamented poles or walls of a bright red colour rise above the houses, and mark the temples and the Mandarin dwellings. But beyond the walls, which are seven miles in circumference, and broad plain, encircled by the mountains, intersected by canals, studded with rural villages, temples, and fish-ponds, and richly cultivated, affords a beautiful prospect. Facing the north-west, where the Min emerges from the mountain range, we are looking in the direction whence come the two great staples of Fuh-Chow commerce, timber and tea. The famous black tea district of Bohea (so called from a mountainous chain of that name) lies beyond those hills; and wood of many and varied kinds - comphor-wood especially - abounds up the course of the river. Mr. Wolfe thus refers to this view, and the thoughts suggested by it, in a letter written in 1863, soon after his arrival at Fuh-Chow: -

Hill rising behind hill, in beautiful order, form the extensive plain into a natural and most magnificent amphitheatre. Looking down upon the city, with its 600,000 inhabitants inside the walls, fills the mind of the spectator with thoughts and feelings which can be realised only by himself. The whole city is seen from our door,* so that we can never go out or come in without being reminded of the vastness of our work, and our own want of strength to accomplish it. The entire beautiful valley of the Min lies spread before our eyes; the river itself, flowing noiselessly along, having its surface enlivened with crowds of boats - the various plots of ground formed by canals which pass through the vale - the crops of rice and wheat waving in the sun - the clumps of trees and hamlets scattered irregularly over the plain, with a grave or a mausoleum occasionally attracting the attention, and reminding one the death is the same everywhere.
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* In the engraving, the hill in the left foreground is Wu-shih-shan, or Black-Stone Hill. About the left centre of the picture, on this hill, will be observed a white wall; behind it a house with a slightly gabled roof looking as pagoda. This wall surrounds what used to be the C.M.S. Mission compound; and the house was the original mission-house, afterwards burnt down, but replaced by a new one built by the late Rev. J. E. Mahood. To the right, but lower down, and almost exactly in the centre of the picture, is another English-looking house, which was used as a girls’ school, and as the residence of the Native Pastor, the Rev. Wong Kiu-taik. Between the two houses, and a little behind, is a large Taouist temple. Another hill, crowded with buildings, will be seen in the background, with a famous pagoda half-way up it. Just beneath this pagoda, between the two hills, a building stands up from the mass of houses: this is the city gate, the lower ground to the right being the suburbs.

If the sight of a single city overwhelms the missionary with the vastness of his work, as well it may, what must be his feelings as he thinks of the great province of which it is the capital, with its twenty millions of souls - not to speak of all China, with its four hundred million - spread out beyond! Fuh-Chow means “the happy city”, and Fuh-Kien “happily established”; and certainly, with their diversified scenery, their rich produce, and their industrious people, the city and the province only need the Gospel - the Fuh-yin or “happy message” - with its blessed provision of grace and pardon, life and peace, to make them indeed abodes of true happiness. How the Fuh-yin was carried to Fuh-Chow, and from city to city over the mountains and valleys of Fuh-Kien, will be told in subsequent chapters.

Were ye not fain to doubt how Faith could dwell

Amid that dreary glare, in this world’s citadel?

But ...

... be ye sure that Love can bless

E’en in this crowded loneliness,

Where ever-moving myriads seem to say,

Go - thou art nought to us, nor we to thee - way!

> Keble.

Come, O Thou all-victorious Lord,

Thy power to us make know;

Strike with the hammer of Thy word,

And break these hearts of stone.

> C. Wesley.

(First chapter of The Story of Fuh-Kien Mission of the Church Missionary Society, by Eugene Stock; Third edition published in 1890.)

Mission to China

Perhaps no heathen country in the world has elicited more attention, for a few years past, than the empire of China. The sympathies of the whole Christian world have been aroused for the salvation of its millions.

When we take into consideration the extent of its population, and the facilities for publishing the Gospel to its sin-ruined millions, there is no field possessing greater interest, or one more eminently calculated to enlist the largest efforts of the Church for its evangelization.

If a line should be drawn from Corea, across to the interior of Asia, touching the southern borders of Russia, and then extended down, through Thibet, to Malacca, and back again, embracing Chin-India, to the place of beginning, we have, in that small triangle, almost half the population of the globe, and certainly more than half the population of the entire heathen world.

And when we consider that the Bible is translated into languages accessible to all this vast population, and that the word of God and the missionary have free course all through these countries, we are compelled to regard it with thrilling emotions, as an immense field “white unto harvest.”

The subject of establishing a Methodist mission in China was frequently brought before the Church, in her periodicals, and through the annual reports of the Corresponding Secretary, and elicited, from time to time, free and full discussion.

In 1846 propositions were made by several individuals, pledging liberal subscriptions, annually, toward the support of a mission to China.

The succeeding year, so general had become the impression, that it was the duty of the Church to engage in that enterprise, the General Missionary Committee, acting conjointly with the Board, determined on the establishment of a mission in China, so soon as suitable missionaries could be obtained.

As it always has been in the history of the Church, so it was in this instance. No sooner was the post selected, than the men were found to fill it, and the means to sustain it.

The bishop appointed two young ministers, of liberal education, ardent piety, and sound constitutions - Rev. Moses. C. White and Rev. J. D. Collins.

These young men embarked in the ship Heber, on the 15th of April, 1847, and arrived at Hongkong on the 14th of August. They were received by the missionaries of the different denominations with every demonstration of respect, and were greatly comforted, in that distant land, by their kindness and hospitality.

In the meantime a committee was appointed by the Board, whose duty it was to take every thing in connection with the China mission under advisement, and devise such plans as, in their judgment, would be most promotive of its interests. After having taken the subject under the most mature deliberation, they presented the following, which was unanimously adopted:

“REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHINA

“Your committee, appointed to collect information with respect to our projected mission to China, respectfully report, that they have diligently sought information from all reliable sources within their reach. They have consulted the published reports of the several societies - English and American - which already have missions in that field. They have consulted the secretaries of two of the American missionary societies which have missions there; and have had interviews with two returned missionaries, who have labored in China, but who are now in this country.

“It affords your committee much satisfaction to state, that they have experienced the greatest courtesy at the hands of the several gentlemen whom they have had occasion to consult. These gentlemen, without exception, have manifested great pleasure at the prospect of our becoming fellow-laborers with them in that extensive field, and have communicated, without reserve, for the benefit of this Board, the results of their observation and experience.

“The leading topics which have claimed the attention of your committee, and respecting which they deem it proper to report, are the following:

    “1. The proper location of our mission.
    “2. Printing and books in China.
    “3. The practice of medicine.
    “4. The establishment of schools.
    “5. The number of missionaries needed.

“1. What is the proper location for our mission in China!
“In considering this subject, our attention is of necessity confined to the five free ports; namely, Shanghai, Ningpo, Fuhchau, Amoy, and Canton, together with the Island of Hongkong, now possessed by the English.

“Of these several places, Canton is much the best known to Americans, having long been the seat of a flourishing trade between our countrymen and the Chinese. In view of convenience in receiving and transmitting intelligence, drafts for funds, etc., this port possesses the greatest advantages, besides being the largest of the five.

“But all accounts agree in representing this as the most unpropitious field for direct missionary operations among the people. Long intercourse with foreigners has had the effect to establish, and settle among the natives, deep prejudices against them, as a class, and to render it at the present time almost impossible to obtain residences, except in the foreign hongs, where the expenses are very great, and opportunities to do good comparatively small. Other missionary societies are withdrawing from this station.

“Hongkong, although next in accessibility to Canton, is not considered an inviting place for residence as a mission station; and, being an island, its connection with the country is not so direct as is desirable. Nevertheless, it has been chosen as a station by several different societies.

“We might thus proceed to survey the several ports on the northern coast. But it will, perhaps, be sufficient to say, that the only one unoccupied by Protestant missionaries, at the present time, is the city Fuhchau-foo, the capital of the Fuhkien province, situated on the river Min. The circumstance of this being, at so late a period, unoccupied by the Protestant missionaries, appears to be rather the result of accident than of purpose. We are, at any rate, distinctly informed, that one of the societies most active in Chinese missions regrets not having made an establishment there rather than at one of the other ports. We also understand that other societies regard the location so favorable as to propose establishing missions there at a future day.

“We have supposed that in selecting the place for our labors, we should do well to regard our Disciplinary maxim - ‘Go not only to those that want you, but to those that want you most.’ Hence we have turned our attention with special interest to Fuhchau, inquiring whether it would afford us opportunities of Christian usefulness. Fortunately, we have an account of the place from a very competent source - the Rev. G. Smith, who was sent out by the Church Missionary Society of England to visit the open ports of China, introductory to the establishment of missions in that empire.

“Another circumstance which inclines us to think favorably of locating our mission at Fuhchau, consists in an opportunity offering for our missionaries to sail in company with the Rev. Mr. Doty, of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, whose destination is Amoy, a city located in the southern part of the same province of Fuhkien. Although the dialects spoken at Amoy and Fuhchau are not identical, yet they are analogous to each other. Indeed the dialect of Amoy more closely resembles that of Fuhchau than that of any other of the free ports. Hence, the instruction our missionaries might derive from Rev. Mr. Doty, who has already been some years in the field, and also from a native of Amoy, who goes out in his company, will be of direct practical use to them on their arrival.

“Finally, should any circumstances occur to render impracticable the immediate entrance of your missionaries upon their work at Fuhchau, or should they, after a faithful trial, find it necessary to withdraw from that field - which we trust, however, will not be the case - they could with comparative ease return to Amoy, which is considered, in every respect, an eligible station.

“2. With respect to books and printing, there is some difference of opinion among our advisers - one party having recommended that we send out a printing-press, another saying that it is unnecessary. The facts appear to be these: The circulation of Christian books and tracts, as well as the holy Scriptures, is of the first importance. It will be the only direct service our missionaries can accomplish for months, if not for a full year after their arrival. But they will, necessarily, be incompetent to prepare these documents for themselves. Hence they will, for a length of time, be dependent, for the purchase of reading matter for use and distribution, upon other missions already established. The American Board has a printing-press at Canton, and the Presbyterian Board has one, together with a type and stereotype foundery, at Ningpo. These Boards have recently united to purchase a new font of matrices for the principal Chinese characters. Said matrices are now being cut n Prussia, and will be sent out as fast as practicable, in order that type may be cast from them to be used in printing.

“The probability is, that from these missions, together with those of English brethren already in the field, a supply, for a long time to come, may be purchased at far less cost than we could provide for printing ourselves.

“3. With respect to the practice of medicine and surgery, we learn that they are desirable for two important objects. (1.) The preservation of health in the mission family. (2.) As a means of gaining attention and doing good among the people. Some of the medical missionaries have been considered second in usefulness to none others now in China. It is not now deemed important to open hospitals proper for the treatment of the sick. A simple office of dispensary is sufficient.

“Although neither of our missionaries are physicians, yet we are pleased to learn that both of them have paid some attention to the theory of medical science; and that one of them has attended two full courses of medical lectures. We trust, therefore, that they will be able, by degrees, and as occasion may require, to fall into such medical practice as may be most essential to their circumstances.

“4. Schools. What we might suppose, from the nature of the case, is confirmed by the experience of those with whom we have converted. Schools, at the earliest practicable moment, are essential to our objects. Little can be done toward a permanent establishment of Christianity anywhere, without training up the young in the fear of God; especially, in a heathen country, where the abominations of idol worship address themselves to the youngest minds, and pullute the imaginations of childhood itself.

“Boarding schools for each sex are now established in the most successful missions in China. Some of these schools have collected from thirty to forty pupils each. The expense of boarding and instructing these pupils is about thirty dollars for each individual, per annum. Native teachers are employed to instruct them in all the rudiments of their own literature.

“One of the missionaries, with whom we have conversed, has suggested a plan for establishing a system of schools in connection with a mission station, which, if practicable, we should be disposed highly to recommend, from its analogy to our economy, generally, as a Church. The plan is, for the missionaries, as soon as they are sufficiently acquainted with the language and people of any place, to employ a number of teachers to establish as many schools in different neighborhoods as practicable, in which a suitable course of instruction should be pursued, subject to the frequent visits and examinations of the missionaries. Congregations would be engaged, collaterally, at least, in diffusing light and truth, and preparing the way for the kingdom of God.

“Labor being cheaper in China, and literary men abundant, this, it is thought, will be an excellent way of multiplying influences in the behalf of Christianity.

“5. The number of missionaries that may, with the greatest advantage, be employed at our mission.

“Our advisers agree in saying there should be three at least, with their wives, if married; but the more of the right stamp the better. These most thoroughly acquainted with Chinese missions assure us that fifty missionaries will be desirable at Fuhchau.

“Finally, your committee have obtained various items of information which they deem it unnecessary to embody in this report, but to which allusion might fitly be made in a letter of instructions to the missionaries.

“With respect to the letter referred to this committee, offering to sell to this Board a telescope for the use of our missionaries, your committee would remark, that their best information goes to point out the preaching of Jesus Christ, and him crucified, as the great, and, indeed, the only means, upon which reliance can be place for success in promoting the conversion of the heathen. They would recommend nothing to Christian missionaries which should divert their attention from this – a leading, principal engagement. Nevertheless, they would by no means be indifferent to any auxiliary aid that science might render to this great work. They, therefore, appreciate the kind intentions of those who have made this offer to the Board, and would recommend that all those friends who feel an interest in the matter be encouraged to cooperate in the effort, already commenced, to secure the telescope of brother Bartlett for the use of the mission. However desirable this object may appear, it is not clear to the minds of your committee, that it would be a safe precedent to make a direct appropriation of the funds of this Board, to purchase the instrument in question.

“Your committee would conclude their report, by respectfully submitting the following resolutions for the consideration of the Board:

“1. Resolved, That the city of Fuhchau be fixed on as the location of our mission to China.

“2. Resolved, That our missionaries, now about to sail, be instructed to remain as long at Amoy as their judgment, aided by the best advice they can secure on the spot, may dictate to them as desirable, in view of their ultimate destination.

“3. Resolved, That in case their way should be permanently hedged up at Fuhchau, they be instructed to return, and remain at Amoy, until they shall have communicated with the Board.

“4. Resolved, That said missionaries be instructed to purchase Scriptures and tracts at Canton, for their future use, and to make arrangements, if practicable, for regular supplies of printed matter, so long as they may find it best to procure them in that manner.

“5. Resolved, That they be directed to purchase, at Canton, two complete sets of the Chinese Repository – one to be forwarded for the use of this Board, and the other to be retained for the use of the mission – and also, to subscribe for two copies of future numbers, to be sent as above.

“6. Resolved, That brother White be instructed to give such portion of his time to the distribution of medicines, and healing the sick, as may seem calculated to promote the best interests of the mission.

“7. Resolved, That our missionaries be instructed, as early as practicable, to open a school for each sex, upon the most approved plan of missionary teaching now known among the Protestant missionaries in China.

“8. Resolved, That the Treasurer be requested to confer with the Rev. Mr. Lowrie, of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, and others, if he see proper, respecting the best method of remitting funds to China for the support of our mission.

“9. Resolved, That our missionaries about to sail be requested to leave with the Corresponding Secretary, for the use of others hereafter, a complete memorandum of the outfit which they find it necessary to prepare before sailing.

“10. Resolved, That this Board recommend the General Missionary Committee to take into consideration, at its meeting in May next, the subject of providing for the appointment of two additional missionaries for China, as early as practicable.

Committee: D. P. Kidder, C. Pitman, Geo. Peck

After remaining at Hongkong for a few days, they embarked for Amoy, where they remained until September, when they proceeded to Fuhchau, the place of their destination. On their arrival at the post selected by the Board as the field of their operations, they procured a place of residence, a description of which will be found in the following letter, together with some other interesting items of information:

“The lot is 112 feet long, 42 feet wide, between the walls at the entrance, and about 52 feet wide at the water’s edge. Next to the water the pier is built up, of granite, from ten to twelve feet high. The premises are about 5 feet above ordinary low-water mark, and about on a level with the ordinary spring floods. The whole country, for many miles around, is flooded occasionally, and many portions of the city are entirely uninhabitable at high water. At such times the sufferings of the poor are exceedingly great. Though the whole island on which we reside is sometimes flooded, the house we have procured is so situated that no special inconvenience is to be expected from floods. The advantages which our location affords, it being within 60 feet of the great thoroughfare, in the most favorable situation for access to the people, and for communication abroad, are supposed greatly counterbalance all its disadvantages. Our location on the river affords great security against fires, which have recently made great havoc on both sides of the river, and but a little distance from it.

“We hire this place at 12,000 copper cash per month, which equals about $9.09 per month; six months’ rent to be paid in advance when we enter the premises, and afterward, monthly, in advance. We have the right of perpetual rent, and of transmitting to our successors under the same conditions. We have made a contract for building the second story, with a flat roof, covered with fine red brick about fourteen inches square, and one inch and a half thick. These are to be laid in cement, on a flooring of plank three and a half inches thick. The house, when completed, will be a very comfortable residence. We have agreed to pay for the improvements $350, besides furnishing glass for the windows. In addition to the improvements contracted for, others will be needed, which will probably bring up the whole amount to $500, besides the monthly rent.

“There is a great amount of stone-work about the premises, which must originally have cost a large sum; but the wood-work we find in a very dilapidated condition. Contrary to the custom in America, a Chinaman never makes repairs on a house to rent, but leaves the occupant to make such alterations and repairs as he chooses. Finding that any house we could procure would need an outlay of one or two hundred dollars for repairs, we thought it best to procure a house in the most healthy location, and then make such improvements as were required. It might have been better, in the course of years, to have rented a vacant lot mentioned in the map of this place which I sent home last month; but it would have required a greater outlay than our present resources would warrant. For this, and other reasons, we did not like to engage in building anew, and have, therefore, adopted the course above-mentioned. The house we hire is owned by a very wealthy man, who has nearly fifty houses. We have contracted with his agent, from whom we hire the house, to make the necessary repairs for a specific sum, so that we may be able to devote our time, with as little interruption as possible, to our appropriate work.

“The population, on the south side of the river, numbers many thousands, who are within a few minutes’ walk of our residence. On the north side of the river, outside the city, in such a vast amount of people, that we supposed, for some time after our arrival, their numbers were much greater than within the walls. Foreigners are allowed to make excursions into the country as far as they can go and return in the same day. Within this range there appears – looking from the top of an adjacent mountain – to be five hundred villages, containing an average population of at least one thousand souls. The city of Fuhchau, as included within the wall, lies two miles or more from the river, and contains a vast population. Without doubt this may be reckoned as a city of the first class. Brother Collins has made efforts to procure a house inside the city proper, but, as yet, without success.

“The medicine chest furnished us by the Board suffered some damage by transportation, and I was obliged to purchase the articles mentioned in my report. The Chinese seem to be very ignorant of the principles of physic and surgery, and there is a great want of some one to devote his chief attention to this department of benevolence. The small supply of medicine we brought with us, and the difficulty of communicating with the people, have prevented my doing much in this line. Indeed, I did not understand my instructions as directing me to devote any great amount of time to this department. I have endeavored, however, as occasion offered, to relieve the afflicted, as far as circumstances would allow. One man was cured of dysentery by a single prescription. The wife of my China teacher, after twelve days’ illness, which the native physicians failed to relieve, was committed to my care by her husband and father, who watched by her bedside. I spent about twenty-four hours at the house, whither I was carried in a close sedan – to prevent exciting a tumult, as I suppose. Since that time I have sent her some medicines, and she is now convalescent, and will probably soon be able to attend to her household duties. Several other persons have called upon me to dress wounds, and relieve other affections. We learned, at Hongkong, that there is some probability of a physician coming to this place, under the direction of the London Medical Society. Should this not be so, we are well satisfied that great benefit would result in sustaining medical and surgical practice in connection with, and as a part of, our missionary operations in this city. All our operations, however, must be limited until we can converse with the people. If any thing more than very limited medical and surgical operations should be contemplated by the Board, a building would be required for that special purpose.

“We obtained a Chinese teacher the next week after we arrived, and have been devoting ourselves to the study of the language as we have had opportunity. But as we have just arrived, and as the weather has been warm, and other duties have demanded our attention, we have not applied ourselves as closely as we hope to do hereafter. Neither servants nor teachers can speak English; therefore, we are obliged to speak Chinese, or resort to signs. These we consider favorable circumstances. We are all enjoying good health. Mrs. W. is learning Chinese as fast as either of us. She has received visits from a number of Chinese ladies, who seem very friendly. We distribute tracts to the numerous visitors who call upon us, and also to others when we go into different parts of the city. The people everywhere receive them with great eagerness. When we look at the vast field which is here spread out before us, we are ready to say, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ But when we look at the precious promises of God, we rejoice in spirit that he has permitted us to come to this land of strangers to publish the Gospel. May the Lord put it into the hearts of his people to send more laborers to this important and inviting field.”

The following communication was received by the Board from Rev. Mr. Collins; it is deeply interesting, and affords additional information relative to the mission:

“We had no alternative but to charter a boat at Hongkong to make the passage to this place. This we did at an expense of $300, exclusive of board, which we were obliged to furnish. We find the people here generally industrious and kindly disposed. The tracts which we have for distribution are everywhere received with eagerness. The Board is aware that this city is situated on the river Min, and that it is the seat of government for the Fuhkien Province. The city proper is surrounded by a strong wall, and does not approach the river nearer than two or three miles. Upon the little island of Tong Chew, formed by a division of the river, and about three miles from the principal gate of the city, it is thought foreigners may find residences healthy, as little liable to interruption, and as easy of access from abroad, as at any other location. It is probably preferable in all the respects I have named. Moreover, on the island, and on both sides of the river, with which it is connected by bridges, there is a population of several hundred thousand - all within half an hour’s walk. Here we have selected a place of permanent location. A house has been bargained for at a permanent rent of about $9 per month, as long as we may choose to occupy it. But, like almost all houses purely Chinese, it would not, in its present condition, be a comfortable residence, nor would it be consistent with a due regard to health for foreigners to occupy it as such. Could we have found a house in anywhere suitable even for a temporary residence, it would have been satisfactory for us to have consulted with the Board before making a permanent location. But this was impracticable. It has, therefore, been thought best to improve the one we have selected. To do this will probably require an expenditure of about $500. Brother White will give you an account of the premises, and of the improvements contemplated. As there are no missionaries within the city proper, it seemed to us that an entrance should be made there. I accordingly made an effort, through my teacher, to obtain a house, and in October struck a bargain for one not quite finished, which, when completed, was to be rented to me for $4 per month. I was highly gratified at the facility with which this arrangement had been effected. In a few days, however, I learned that the neighbors were unwilling that the house should be rented to a foreigner. As we were quite unable to hold such intercourse with them as might be calculated to remove their prejudices, it was deemed best to release the owner from his contract. Some time after this I sent to inquire whether a room might not be obtained in a temple within the city, as such rooms had been rented to the foreigners connected with the English Consulate, though never occupied. A room was found, from which the priests in charge agreed to remove the idols. We paid a month’s rent in advance, and employed a carpenter to make some small repairs; and, as is the universal custom here, advanced part payment. Here again we were thwarted. The officers threatened to punish the priests if they rented; and for the part my had taken he was obliged to pay about $3. We did not think it right for him to suffer on our account, and therefore paid him back. On inquiring of the officers, we were informed that they had no objection to our residing within the walls, but that those who had subscribed toward building the temple were unwilling that any part of it should be rented. The priest was compelled to refund the rent; but, as I had reason to believe that in good faith he had been at considerable expense on our account, I paid him $3.

“There are half a million of people living inside the walls. By the treaty the whole place is open to foreign residents; and, though we have unexpectedly failed in our first endeavor, we entertain hopes, by prudent perseverance, of making a home among them. We deem this the more important, as there are already two missionaries besides ourselves on the island, and none within the city proper. My health is good, and I am permitted to enjoy rich spiritual blessings at the hand of my heavenly Father. I am endeavoring to acquire the language, and trust I am making some progress.

“It seems to be the opinion of those with whom I have conversed on the subject, that it is hardly advisable to establish English schools; and that even such as employ the scholars part of the time in English, are, by many, supposed to be of questionable utility. At all the schools where English is taught, it is usual to board the lads, and furnish them with books, as well as to give them instruction. Board, such as is used by the Chinese, is very cheap, probably not exceeding $2 a month for a boy. In addition, a Chinese teacher must be employed to instruct them half of each day in their own language. Another method recommended by some, is to employ a Chinese teacher, and hire a room for the accommodation of such day scholars as may choose to attend, and learn Chinese half the day, and study such Christian books as the missionary may direct the other half. The expense of such a school would be, perhaps, $12 or $15 dollars per month. Which would be best here, or at what time it would be proper to establish either, is yet uncertain. It is probable that within a year we shall be able to enter upon some plan for the instruction of the children. In the meantime, we shall endeavor to make a further acquaintance with the language and habits of the people. There is plainly much of idolatry here; but it does not seem to produce those exhibitions of cruelty which it does elsewhere. It sits, however, as a blight upon the soul. It deadens the conscience. It shuts out God, the only wise, and leaves no room for the Savior. What a field is this for missionary labor! We seem as a drop in the ocean amid the mighty tide of life moving around us. O that the Lord would send more laborers, and abundantly bless their labors in this land of moral death!”

We subjoin an extract from a joint communication of brother White and Collins on the subject of printing tracts and books in the Chinese language. All such information is very important to the Board, and cannot fail to be interesting to the friends of this new mission. The dispatches of our brethren, thus far, have been a most gratifying character, containing much valuable information, and many useful suggestions, which cannot fail to exert a happy influence upon the deliberations and decisions of those to whose direction and care the interests of this mission may be intrusted. Every item of information, bearing directly or indirectly upon the interests and success of the mission, is peculiarly important as the present time. The following is the extract:

“In compliance with our instructions to purchase tracts for gratuitous distribution - no amount having been specified - we purchased of Dr. Ball about ten thousand tracts of various kinds, and received from him gratuitously, of the American Bible Society’s publications, as follows: Matthew’s Gospel, five hundred; of Mark, five hundred; Luke, one hundred and sixty; John, four hundred; the Acts of the Apostles, five hundred; all translated by Dr. Medhurst. These, we believe, were printed by Chinese, under the supervision of Dr. Ball, without a press. It is quite probably that Chinese printing can be done cheaper in this than in any other manner, and, in consideration of the comparative expense of material and labor, cheaper at this place than at either of the other open ports. In view of this, as also of the great danger, delay, and expense of transportation, from other ports, it is thought by the brethren of the American Board, as well as ourselves, to be decidedly better to have blocks cut, and printing done here, than to depend for supplies from abroad. Blocks for any considerable work can be obtained here, of the very best kind, at the rate of 80 cash per hundred characters - seventeen hundred and fifty characters for a Spanish dollar of 1400 cash, or sixteen hundred and fifty for a Mexican dollar of 1320 cash - as these are about the average rates of exchange. Blocks for the entire New Testament would cost about one hundred and thirty dollars. The translation of the Bible is now undergoing revision by several learned men at Shanghai, and, when completed, will probably be the most suitable version for circulation.

“So far as we are able to judge, it would be desirable that each missionary should be furnished with a good dictionary. Morrison’s is everywhere spoken of as by far the best extant; though Medhurst’s Dictionary of the Mandarin and Vocabulary together would answer a very good purpose. Williams’ Vocabulary, and Pormases’ ‘Notitia Linguæ Sinicæ,’ are also valuable aids. Bridgeman’ Christomathy of the Canton Dialect, Medhurst’s Dictionary of the Fuhkien, Williams’ Easy Lessons - in a word, all books of provincial dialects - are of comparatively little use here.”

The mission to China was reinforced by the appointment of two additional missionaries - Rev. Henry Hickok and Rev. Robert S. Maclay, who embarked for their field of labor in October, 1847.

(This is the tenth chapter from History of the Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, edited by Rev. B. F. Tefft and published in 1850.)

Letters from Mr. Johnson in 1847

January 9, 1847

Introductory Remarks — Arrival at Fuh Chau.

The mission of the Board in China have been hitherto confined to Canton and Amoy. Still it has been the wish of the Committee, for some time past, to commence operations in some of the more northern ports; but until recently the way has not seemed to be open for such an undertaking. But on the arrival of Messrs. Johnson and Peet at Canton from siam, the attention of these brethren was directed to Fuh Chau, which lies north of Amoy, and south of Ningpo and Shanghai. Having taken the advice of the missionaries at Canton, Mr. Johnson resolved to visit this large city, and ascertain from personal inspection the expediency of attempting the establishment of another mission at that point. Accordingly he left Canton, November 23, for Hongkong; whence he sailed, November 26, for Fun Chau in the schooner Petrel. This vessel is engaged in the opium trade, and Mr. Johnson regretted the necessity of proceeding in her from this circumstance; but he was reduced to the alternative of going in such a vessel or not at all. The Petrel was obliged to return to Hongkong in consequence of an accident; and she did not finally sail in till December 3. After encountering two or three heavy gales she reached Amoy, December 19.

Mr. Johnson was pleased with the prospect of the mission at Amoy. “The people and the authorities,” he says, “are remarkably friendly and respectful to the missionaries. Indeed, they could hardly ask for greater privileges, as the ministers of Christ, than they now possess. In the feelings of the people towards them, there is very gratifying evidence of the happy influence of our beloved brother Abeel; and there is ground to hope that he was instrumental in the conversion of one or two souls.” Mr. Johnson found that the dialect spoken at Amoy was essentially the same as the one which he had studied in Siam.

Mr. Johnson left Amoy for Fun Chau, December 22; and after several detentions, he arrived at the mouth of the Min, thirty miles from Fuh Chau, January 2. The narrative will be continued in his own language.

On the morning of January 2, I proceed up the river to Fun Chau, which I reached about two o’clock in the afternoon. The river Min, on the north side of which the main part of the city lies, runs between two lofty ridges of mountains, which extend from a long distance above the city to its entrance into the ocean, their bases, most of the way, reaching even to the margin of this noble stream. The scenery of the Hudson is confessedly beautiful and sublime; but in point of beauty, grandeur and sublimity, that of the Min is, in my opinion, greatly superior. At many points these mountains are improved nearly to their summits, the cultivated spots being vast gardens, with terraces rising one above another, almost to the region of the clouds.

As we approached Fuh Chau, the mountains, especially on the north bank, recede from the river, enclosing between them an immense plain of great fertility, which forms the site of this large city. This plain, through which peacefully winds the noble Min, in conjunction with the majestic mountains nearly encircling it, constitutes a vast natural amphitheatre, in comparison with which the proudest amphitheatres of human construction dwindle into insignificance. On this plain are several lofty hills, from which the prospect is beautiful, grand and impressive, perhaps beyond any thing I have ever seen elsewhere. What a happy people this might be, if illumined and sanctified by the glorious gospel! But I am the only Protestant missionary in this filed, a stranger as yet to their prevailing language, and the name of Jesus has scarcely been heard by one in ten thousand of its inhabitants, and then only from the lips of the Roman Catholic missionary.

On my arrival I went immediately to the residence of the British Consul, R. B. Jackson, Esquire, to whom i had letters, and by whom I was politely received. From my landing place to his residence, the distance is about three miles, the greater part of it being one continuous, crowded street, from five to six feet in width. The Consul’s residence is just within the city walls, on a lofty eminence, commanding a prospect of the city and surrounding country of surpassing grandeur and beauty.

On the following Monday, Mr. Johnson removed to the house of Captain William Roper, the agent of a mercantile firm in Canton, who resides on an island in the suburbs of the city, and who has treated our missionary brother with great kindness. The reader will be sorry to learn, however, that all the foreign residents at Fuh Chau, out of the Consul’s establishment, are engaged in the opium trade.

Population — Advantages for a Mission.

I feel that this place, owing to its magnitude and its great importance in a missionary point of view, must not be deserted; and I would cling to the spot, if only by that means I might be able to make a more impressive appeal to Christians in America in its behalf, and be the humble instrument of introducing other laborers into this great field, apparently white for the harvest. The city walls of Fuh Chau are supposed to be nearly eight miles in circumference; and the enclosed area is most of it covered with Chinese dwellings, crowded thick together, and filled with immortal souls in ignorance of the only way of salvation. But the population in the suburbs is probably nearly, if not quite, equal to that within the city walls. The entire population of Fuh Chau cannot, it is thought, be less than six hundred thousand souls; and I have been informed that by the Chinese themselves it is even estimated at millions. Whatever may be the real number of persons congregated here, and rapidly hastening to the grave and a miserable eternity, this is certain, that it is vast, and consequently must have a powerful claim upon the sympathies, the prayers, and the efficient aid of the pious in Christian lands, and certainly not the least on those in my native land. God has apparently brought me hither, and placed me in the midst of this great valley of dry bones, a solitary missionary, to utter to the Christian public the Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” Like most other heathen communities, these perishing thousands are too insensible to their danger and their moral necessities, to be disposed to plead for the glorious gospel, God’s appointed means for the salvation of them that believe. Are there no young men in my native land, whose hearts burn with holy zeal for God’s glory in the salvation of precious souls, and who would count it, not only a duty, but a privilege to come hither and unite with me in my humble efforts to communicate to this people the knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified? Are there no Christian parents who would gladly bid farewell to their sons and daughters to come hither and engage in this good and glorious work? Are there no ministers of Jesus Christ, who in the sanctuary and at the monthly concert will appeal to their people in behalf of Fuh Chau, if they cannot come hither themselves? Must these unknown multitudes, like the generations of their fathers, perish in ignorance of the way of salvation, for the want of a deep and holy interest in their behalf on the part of American Christians? Oh, it ought not, it must not be so. I trust in the great Head of the Church, who shed his blood in the behalf of these myriads, that it will not be so. There are many hearts in my native land who feel for the heathen, and who only want the requisite information to awaken a holy activity in their behalf.

Mr. Johnson says that the dialect spoken in Fuh Chau is peculiar, differing so much from that of Amoy as to be in a great measure unintelligible to him. Hence he will be obliged to depend, for the present, on written communications, and on the Mandarin, which is extensively understood by the people. He hopes, however, that a year’s residence will give him a tolerable acquaintance with the common dialect.

I have already rented a small house for the sum of eighty dollars a year. It is now erecting, but is to be finished by the 17th instant when I hope to enter it. It is within a few rods of my present home, directly in the midst of thousands of the people, and within a short distance of many tens of thousands, yet in bondage to sin and Satan. I now know of two or three large dwellings on this island that might be rented for from eight to twelve dollars a month. The people in Fuh Chau, in the general, appear friendly and well disposed towards strangers. Labor and food are very cheap, and missionary operations might be conducted to a large scale, with less expensive than at any other of the five ports open to foreign residents. Unlike Canton, access can be had to every part of the city, both within and without the walls; and probably buildings might be rented, and ground leased for buildings, in different sections of the city. The climate is universally acknowledged to be uncommonly healthy. I already feel its invigorating influence in my own increased physical and intellectual vigor. The thermometer ranges at this season between fifty-two and sixty-seven degrees. Sometimes, I am informed, there is a slight frost.

March 22, 1847

Prospect at Fuh Chau — Use of Opium

The July Herald contained an interesting letter from Mr. Johnson, in which he gave an account of his arrival at Fuh Chau, the appearance of the city, its population, and the advantages it offered for the commencement of a mission. He wrote again, under date of March 22, saying that a more extensive acquaintance with the place had deepened his impressions “in regard to its vast importance, and its promise as a missionary field.” He went thither, not without some apprehension as to the reception the people might give him, in consequence of the bad name which they have acquired abroad; but he has suffered no inconvenience whatever from this source.

Adverting to the consideration which favour the prosecution of the missionary work at Fuh Chau, he says, in the first place, that the expenses of living there are moderate; and he thinks that a mission can be sustained for about the sum which would be required in Siam. “As to personal security,” he adds, “I feel as safe here as I did at Bangkok; and as to procuring residences, I think that there is likely to be far less difficulty here than we encountered there. As regards the healthiness of the place, I believe there is but one opinion among those who have had the best opportunities of testing its salubrity; and this is, that it is among the most salubrious of climates. I have myself experienced its invigorating influence; indeed, my visit here has been to me like a journey to my native land.” Mr. Johnson says further:

Judging from present appearances, I see no reason to anticipate any peculiar opposition to missionary efforts. The probability that missionaries will be allowed by the people and their rulers peaceably and successfully to prosecute their work in Fuh Chau, is far stronger than it was, at the tie of the arrival of Mr. Robinson and myself in Siam, in July, 1834, that we should be able to carry forward our operations in that kingdom; but the Lord has not suffered the enemy there, even to this day, seriously to molest his servants.

As respects the language here spoken, judging from my yet limited knowledge of it, I think that it may be acquired in about the same time as the dialects elsewhere spoken. It is now a fortnight since I commenced the study of it with my Chinese teacher. I am enabled already, to a considerable extent, to make myself understood by the people around me, and conduct family worship in the dialect of this city. This, however, I could not have done, had it not been for my previous attention to other dialects, which, though unintelligible in Fuh Chau, agree with and differ from the language here spoken in accordance with some general laws One cannot be acquainted, to a good degree, with any one of the many dialects spoken in China, without thereby being enabled, with much greater ease and rapidity, to acquire another I hope within a year, if favored with health, to be able to speak the dialect of this city with as much confidence of being understood, as I did the Amoy dialect on leaving Bangkok, and even more. The advantages for speedy acquisition of a correct mode of speaking the Chinese within the empire, are vastly superior to those enjoyed in Siam, or any place out of China.

April 10, 1847

Mr. Johnson subsequently wrote, under date of April 10, confirming his previous statements as to the favourable position of Fuh Chau for missionary operations. The following paragraph from the letter presents a sad picture of the evils arising from the use of opium in that city.

Although Fuh Chau has a distinguished reputation in a literary point of view, having many eminent scholars; and although the mass of the people are uncommonly literary, for China; they are wholly ignorant of the purifying, ennobling and soul-saving truths of the gospel. The destructive and demoralizing influence of the opium trade has in but few places, perhaps, been felt to a greater degree than here. It is supposed by intelligent individuals that not less than one half of the male population of this city are more or less enslaved to the use of opium; an appalling and melancholy fact! Nothing apparently but triumph of the gospel over sin in its various forms, can save this people and the rest of China from temporal and eternal ruin. But how few are the labourers compared with the immensity of the field! The Lord graciously condescend to send forth labourers into his harvest!

My impression is, that there is no point in China where missionaries might labor with more hope of success in their work than in this great city and its neighborhood. Peculiar circumstances have drawn the attention of politicians and the Christian community to other places in the empire, much inferior in population, and perhaps also less important in a missionary point of view; while these hundreds of thousands of precious souls have been doing down to death, forgotten and unknown.

August 14, 1847

A letter has been received from Mr. Johnson, dated August 14, from which it appears that he is much encouraged in his work. “Everywhere,” he says, “he is kindly received.” The government is aware of his being in Fuh Chau, but makes no objection to his labor. Several of the inferior magistrates, indeed, have made friendly calls upon him. The demand for books is such that it is not safe or wise to attempt to distribute them on the principal streets. “I am beginning,” Mr. Johnson adds, “to publish orally the tidings of salvation with the hope of being in some degree understood. In my little family the message is listened to with apparently increasing seriousness at our morning and evening worship. I have commenced a Sabbath service in my house, in the hope of drawing in some of my neighbours and others to hear the Word.” Mr. Johnson still receives many acts of kindness from the English Consul, R. B. Jackson, Esquire.

(First published in the The Missionary Herald, 1847.)

Notices of Foo-chow-foo, with reference especially to Missionary Operations

After leaving Ningpo, Mr. Smith Proceeded to Chusan, which place he left on the 9th of December, [1845,] and arrived at Foo-chow-foo on the 15th. Of this city Mr. Smith has forwarded the interesting account which we now give.

Situation – Population – Commerce

Foo-chow, the second largest of the five ports open to foreign trade, is situated in 26°7′ N. latitude, and in 119°15′ E. longitude. The amount of its population, in the absence of all authentic statistics, can at best be only a subject of uncertain conjecture. Its apparent extent of space, covered with houses, is about twice the size of Ningpo, three times that of Shanghai, and nearly five times that of Amoy. The lowest estimate I have heard reckoned it to contain a population of more than half a million. I should myself be inclined to place it at about 600,000, a number which will not be considered excessive, when we remember its eight and a half miles circuit of walls, and the small proportion of space unoccupied with buildings. Though it is the capital of Fokien Province, it is a city, on the testimony of the high officers of the local Government, of little trade with the interior, and of decreasing commercial importance. Nor is the extent of its commerce with the other ports along the coast of China of any considerable importance, its trade with maritime parts being checked by hordes of pirates, who, more or less, for centuries have been the scourge of an unwarlike people, and the terror of a weak Government. Of the prospects of a foreign trade with Europe I am but little qualified to form an opinion.

Condition and Literary Character of the People

The numerous sedan-chairs, with two, and sometimes with four bearers, which impede the way at every hundred yards, are a fair proof of the existence of considerable wealth in the city; though by far the greater part of the population, as in other Chinese cities, are immersed in the lowest poverty, earning, in compliance with the sternest conditions of human nature, a scanty subsistence by the sweat of their brow.

The neighbouring villages are entirely agricultural, scattered over the plain to the encircling hills; those situated on either bank of the river, toward the sea, being addicted to frequent acts of piracy and lawlessness.

Though the question, how far Foo-chow is a literary place, is one difficult for a  casual visitor to investigate, the following facts, supplied to me by an intelligent Chinese with whom I became acquainted during my stay, will show that it enjoys no mean reputation in this respect. Previous to my arrival, the public examinations of the siutsai, or students of the first degree, and processions of successful scholars, had excited a temporary interest. It appears, that of the siutsai degree, conferred twice in every three years, there are about 8000 in the whole province of Fokien, of which 2000 belong to Foo-chow. Of the küjin degree, conferred once in the same period of time, there are about 1000 throughout the province, of whom 360 belong to the capital. Again, the tsintsz’, of whom only about 360 are made at each quinquennial examination at Peking, from the eighteen provinces of the empire, and beyond which step of literary distinction promotion is so rare that only thirty persons are raised to the highest degree of Hanlin at each triennial examination, from the whole of China, there are estimated to be 200 in the province of Fokien, 60 of whom belong to the city. In Foo-chow there are also 5000 literary students, who have not yet gained a degree, and who earn their livelihood by tuition and similar pursuits; a few, also, being employed in subordinate situations in the public Government offices. The siutsai are said to obtain promotion to political offices, if supported by the influence of the private wealth. The küjin, without such influence, have generally to waite ten or twelve years. The tsintsz’ immediately gain appointments, as the sure reward of their rare distinction. A system of social equality, which thus holds out to the offspring of the meanest Chinese peasant the hope of becoming the instrument of family aggrandizement, and which naturally summons the predilections of all in its favour, may be deemed, without doubt, as divulging the real secret of their national cohesiveness and duration through so vast and unprecedented a period of time, amid the frequent change of their dynasties, and ruin of surrounding empires. Though their classic literature, except as a means of distinction, and as a road to political preferment, exercises no very powerful influence on Religion, strictly so called, nor imposes any form of religious belief, but rather inculcates the wisdom of abandoning such subjects of uncertain speculation; yet it is easy to perceive that such a system of philosophical atheism as here has entwined itself around all their national associations, and has become deeply imbedded in the very soul of the thinking inhabitants, will to the propagation of the Gospel oppose a gigantic obstacle, against which it will be needful to bring all the advantages which a patient study of their own classics, combined with the literature of the West, can confer on those humble and persevering men, to whom belongs the high privilege of extending the Kingdom of Christ among this morally and spiritually unenlightened nation.

Temples

There is a remarkable scarcity of large and handsome temples in the city. There is, however, on of some little attractions to visitors about half-way between the south and west gates, close outside the city wall, and nearly opposite to the Consulate hill. There is also a famous Buddhistic monastery, called the Yung-tsiuen shi, about half-way up the Kushan range, about eight miles, in a south-western direction, from Foochow. There are about 100 priests on the endowment, of whom about 60 are generally resident in the temple. There are several intelligent men among their number.

Character of the Local Authorities

The disposition of the present Local Authorities is said to be, on the whole, liberal, and increasingly favourable, to foreigners. The city gates are closed soon after sunset; and so rigid are the regulations of a garrison city, that not even the Tartar General can be admitted into the city after they are once closed. Of all the officers of the Local Government, the acting Governor of the province far exceeds the rest in the varied extent of his information and liberality of his views. With reference, also, to the full toleration of foreign religions, his ideas are far in advance of the generality of his countrymen. In his intercourse with the British Consul he has alluded to the more prominent events of modern European history, and shown his general acquaintance with the whole cycle of European politics; as, for instance, the difficulty of governing Ireland on account of Popery, the revolt of Belgium from Holland, the separation from Britain and Spain of their Colonies in North and South America, the ambitious career of Napoleon, and the closing victory of Waterloo. He also seems to have heard of the excitement in England consequent on the discussion of the Maynooth grant. For hours together he will converse on geography, and has pasted the Chinese names over an expensive American atlas, presented to him by one of his subordinate officers from Canton; in addition to which, he will soon also possess a globe promised him by the Consul. The Consul’s lady, at his request, drew for him a map of the world, coloured respectively according to the divisions into British, French, and Russian territory. Shortly after the receipt of it, he sent a note, inquiring why Affghanistan had been omitted, and whether is had become amalgamated with Persia, or was no longer an independent kingdom.

Facilities for the Residence of Foreigners

As regards the residence of individual foreigners, there is no reason to believe that any great difficulty will be experienced in renting commodious houses. The partial difficulty which exists at present arises more from a desire of extortion, a want of friendliness, and a general distrust of foreigners, than from fear of the Authorities, or deep-rooted aversion in the minds of the people. Large and expensive houses may be obtained without much difficulty, even at the present time. A Missionary, unmarried in the first instance, or, if married, unaccompanied for the first few months by his family, might easily find a lodging in some of the temples within the city, either on the Wushih shan, or on the no less agreeable and salubrious site of the Kiusin shan, till his increasing acquaintance with the local dialect, and the increasing confidence of the people, should prepare the way for the residence also of Missionary families.

Missionary Aspect and Claims

This leads me to the last and most important point of view in which Foochow is to be regarded – the nature and degree of its eligibility as a Missionary Station.

To most minds the obvious disadvantage of its present inaccessibility will readily present itself. To this must be added the fact, that the people have never yet been impressed with the superior power or civilization of foreigners. There is also a spirit of suspicious distrust naturally prevalent among the inhabitants toward a race of strangers hitherto unknown. And lastly, the local dialect, partaking of all the difficulties of the Fokien dialect in other parts, is here considered to be doubly barbarous and difficult of acquirement. All these difficulties, however, are either temporary, or surmountable by those general habits of energy and perseverance which are indispensably necessary for usefulness in every part of a country so peculiar as China.

On the other hand, we behold in Foochow claims of no ordinary kind. With a population of more than half a million of idolaters, and as the capital of a province opening important channels of intercourse with surrounding places, it occupies a prominence inferior only to Canton among the newly-opened ports of China. It is free from the deteriorating effects of an extensive foreign commerce, and the irritating effects of the late war; the people never having witnessed the advance of invading armies before their peaceful homes.

The disposition of the Authorities, and the apathetic indifference of the people, alike encourage the belief that there exists no such jealousy of proselytism as is likely to throw interruptions or annoyances in the way of Protestant Missionaries. What gives to Foochow its highest and paramount claim is the fact, that, while every system of superstition has here its living representatives, Protestant Christianity is alone unrepresented in this vast city; and while every point along the coast accessible to foreigners has been occupied by Missionary Labourers, the populous capital of Fokien is destitute of a single Evangelist of the pure and unadulterated faith of the Gospel. And lastly, as regards security of residence, I feel assured that if past experience permitted me to indulge the hope of ever attaining in this climate such a measure of physical strength as to become an efficient Missionary Labourer in this part of the Lord’s vineyard, there is no city in China in which I should cherish greater confidence in the absence of persecution, and immunity from interruption, than in the city of Foochow.

Here, then, a new sphere of usefulness lies open, where no institution of caste operates to divide man from man; where no Priesthood wilds a general influence over the fears or respect of the people; where no form of Religion, strictly so called, threatens to oppose our progress; where the principal obstacles with which we shall have to contend are those national traits of apathy, indifference, and sensuality, which everywhere, alas! are deeply rooted in the nature of fallen man, and form the chief barrier to the reception of pure and vital Christianity.

On this part of the subject Mr. Smith thus enlarges, in a Letter dated Jan. 14, 1846 –

It was no common trial to my mind, as I gazed, from the summit of a neighbouring hill, on the populous city of Foochow, teeming with its moving masses of living industry, to reflect that here 600,000 immortal souls, spell-bound by idolatry or atheism, in the capital of one of the largest provinces of the empire – a garrison city, with the full provincial staff of Mandarins; the seat of a Viceroy having two provinces under his jurisdiction, and comprising the two other free ports of Ningpo and Amoy within its limits; with 2500 literary graduates, and 5000 literary students and candidates for degrees resident in the city – should nevertheless be destitute of a single Evangelist of the pure faith of Christ, and that no effort should yet have been made to convey to them the inestimable blessings of the Gospel. And within a few minutes of that time, and in the same vicinity, there were not wanting painful evidences to show that, even in such a spot, error was in advance of truth, and the various forms of superstition had their representatives. Placing a copy of the Gospel in the hands of an aged Bonze, and then, with their usual facility of assent, gave utterance to the Buddhistic notion, that after death “the good will ascend to heaven’s temple, and the wicked descend to earth’s prison.” Only at a few yards’ distance a Taouist Priest received a Christian Tract, and, as if to prove the unimportant nature of such subjects, or the universal skepticism of his mind, made the latitudinarian remark, that the principles of Religion were everywhere the same. At but a short distance, again, a Chinese Roman Catholic, by hereditary profession, after receiving a Christian book, drew forth a medal, suspended from his bosom, and inscribed with the images of Joseph, the Virgin, and John the Baptist, and said that the sight of it recalled to his mind the good things which he read in his holy books. A Roman-Catholic Priest, a Spaniard, has been residing for a year at Foochow, under the terms of the imperial edict of toleration. Even the Mahomedans have their six Priests, and twenty-four Fakeers, or religious beggars; so that, humiliating fact! with an imperial edict of universal toleration beckoning us forward, Protestant Christianity is the only Religion unrepresented in this vast city!

(First published in the Church Missionary Record of August 1846, by Bishop George Smith.)