The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 115

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

115

events in China. To do so intelligently, I must
give you a little history.

China, as you know, was a nation which for-
merly refused to trade and have any intercourse
with other nations. By foree of might China was
gradually compelled to open her doors to foreign
trade and also to missionaries. The treaties which
were made to permit foreigners to enter China did
not give them the right of residence on Chinese
soil. To take the place of this, they were given
a parcel of ground in five ports in China, called
concessions. Now, these concessions, although in
Chinese territory, were governed by the
nation to which they were parceled out.
For instance, the French Concession in
which we lived in Hankow was altogether
under French law and police. We, as for-
eigners, enjoyed what is called extraterri-
toriality. That means, to use a gross
example, I could go to China and murder
a Chinese or do anything I wished with
impunity. The Chinese law had no juris-
diction over me whatsoever. A Chinese,
however, who committed a crime in this
concession was subject to the French law.
A Chinese dare not walk on a certain
part of this concession unless accompa-
nied by a foreigner or at least his dog.
Naturally, the Chinese who during the
last number of years have been receiving
foreign education, which included ideals
in democracy, self-government, and self-
preservation, resented this. The leader
in this resentment was Sun-Yat-Sen,
and that is what all the trouble in China
is about to-day. Although much of the
trouble is laid at the door of Bol-
shevism and although much Bolshevist
money is used to arouse antagonism against
the so-called imperialistic nations, the Chinese as
a whole are not communistically inclined, for the
simple reason that there never existed, and does
not exist to-day, a feudal system.

How does the unrest in China affect our mis-_

sions to-day? ‘The following are excerpts from
letters received from our Chinese Christians, which
were written during these troublous times of anti-
foreign and antichristian uprisings.

Mr. E., the author of the following letter, about
twenty-three years of age, was one of our first
schoolchildren. He attended our primary school
and our high school for about ten years. Through
him we have gained his three brothers and sisters

and his mother. THis father still remains a bigoted
Confucian. Mr. E. writes the following : —

“A Chinese proverb says, “Pure gold does not
fear the fire,’ and another says, ‘Steel is the result
of a long fire.’ We Christians may take courage
from these words. We may be compared to steel
and gold. The present persecutions serve as fires
which try us and strengthen our faith to put up
a bold fight during these troublous times and show
forth the power of the Gospel. The persecutions
of the last two years have brought out the true
and the false, the hypocrite and the believer.

a5
ae

Class in a Christian Mission-School in China.

“Before 1800 our whole nation was sitting in
darkness; we were children of wrath. But thanks
be unto God, who has since that time sent mes-
sengers of peace to my people to bring them the
message of grace!

“Our schools and chapels have been pillaged and
plundered; our Christians have been persecuted
and maligned. Some were taken and led through
the streets in shackles, with dunce-caps on their
heads. Sad to say, some have not been found
faithful. A Chinese proverb says, “Living in favor-
able times is easy; in trials it is difficult”

‘Let us all pray the Lord to keep our faith
strong and to let these trials and temptations be
to us a crucible in which the alloy is Spaniied