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December 12, 1904.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
439
the founder of Taoism, whom he characterized | could this be ascertained with any accuracy | chief; (he admires the Hunghutze); had trouble 28. an ignorant good man." The name Laoutsse might be translated as old child
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when they did not know how many real Christians there were in Great Britain ? The Roman Catholic Church clammed 500,000, and Protestantism (the various seots combined) between 150,000 aud 300,000 (Applause).
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a great philosopher and his teachings might be addressed to each one of them to-day.
with Japanese disguised as Hunghutze, who wanted to play amateur censors; was with Etzel when that poor fellow was Roshdesvenskied by Chinese soldiers; chartered the Chefoo for £1,000. and was at Chinnampo when the Japk- nese warships shifted their base there from Chemulpho. He has worked from Chefoo to plac s north of Hsinmintang, and seen at least two minor engagements. He was in New chwang when the Russians walked out and the Japanese galloped in. He thinks there is nothing to choose between s]Russian censor and a Japanese censor; both are anathema marama- He had to give up the Chefoo be cause the Japanese overhauled him and wanted to ship a consor оп board. Ho has had several "scoops," and all of them cons- cientiously worked for. He likes the game. It has, so far as health and physique are concern- ed, made a man of him; and he expects to return in the spring, in time for the fall of Port Arthur, which may or may not take place. The stories of the soldiers, either Russian or Japanese, illtreating the Chinese, are, he says, all false. He is of opinion that Chinese are worse treated in Shanghai than they are in the war area. He has scraped acquaintance with the Hongkong coolie, and thinks a little illtreatment would do him good. He does not
old boy. The philosopher was bora with white hair, and no wonder, for his birth is said not to have taken place until his mother | carried him in her womb seventy-two, or Sir H. S. BERKELEY made a few remarks. some said eighty years. Taoism meant the He said that the philosophy of Buddhism was way of living, the method of best developing to a great extent, in common with that of the human nature. The book called "Tao Teh great philosophers the world had produced King which Laoutsze left behind him con- from time to time. Taoism, however, tained only 5,000 words. Along with much rub- was impractical in the extreme, and of bish there was in it not a little that was no advantage to study-"Do nothing good about the virtues of humility, and unselfish-in order that everything might come seemed ness culminating in the precept which even A contradiction
tha. of terms. Confucius was Confucius could not receive, to return good for evil To the not good," he said, "I would be good in order to make them good.", The Taoists thought that people became spirits, and are happy in a future world. Оп one occasion they fought well for an Emperor. Instead of giving to them the earthly rewards for which they contended he told them that they were spirits and would be rewarded in the spiritual world. Those, however, who were. content with their portion in this life had only to take a dose of the elixir of life, which the Taoists professed to have discovered Laouteze was as great a believer in non- interference by the State as was Herbert Spencer, and when they thought of the fussy must-do-something people who annoyed their neighbours in the Western World, and of the mischievous philanthropists who demanded that everything should be regulated | by Government-when they thought of these faddists Laoutsze's doctrine of masterly inactivity was very attractive. He enun- ciated it by saying "Do nothing and all will be done. I do nothing, and the people become good of their own accord." ́Laoutsze held with Solomon that "The day of death was better than the day of birth," and with Shakespere that we are ** such stuff as dreams are made of.”
was averse
to
Though he did not value life or fear death he war, considering that the least glorious peace is preferable to the most brilliant successes of war,
and that the most brilliant victory was but the light from 8 conflagration. The gods
was
The Hon. A. W. BEEWIN remarked that he should say the religions in force in China were Ancestor Worship, Belief in Spirits and Fung Shui. Ancestor Worship, which the Chinese Government sought to strengthen, was the have of practically all things in China. Fung Shai
a science by which the people ascertained the things of the Earth. An old Chinese gentleman had a few days previously remarked to him on the excellent Fung Shui sites in the Public Gardens and express-d the opinion that the success of Hongkong was largely due the Fung Shui site chosen for Sir Arthur Kennedy's, statue. An ther excellent Fung Shui site was the monkey houses. · I don't know ' added Mr. Brewin "to what use the Governor may eventually put this site." Mr. Brewin said. he had lived in three "haunted". houses in China and, u a mater of fact, the Attorney General's and Crown Solicitor's quarters at the Supreme Court were recently haunted (Laughter). He would like to hear a lecture on the religions he had mentioned.
Mr. DYER BALL spoke at length on Ancestor Worship. commencing his address by saying that it required a lifetime of study to grasp such a subject as "The Religions of China. Though the lecturer had not been long enough in China to have gone into the matter thorough- ly he had taken his lecture from good authori- ties.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR in con- which Taoists worshipped most were local elu ing tho discussion drew $ few very ones-men who had been famous as discoverers. interesting parallels between the religions of statesmen, philanthropists or women celebrated China and those of the West and thanked for domestic virtue, Taoism had degenerated the lecturer for his very interesting lecture. into little better than a system of fortune- The Rer. E. J. HARDY aid with reference telling and An emporium of incantations to Mr. Dyer Ball's remarks that if he had gone against evil spirits. In 250 B.C. eighteen into the subject as thoroughly as he might there Buddhist missionaries came to China, would have been no time left for others to and they are now commemo ated by having | speak. their images placed in MOSI large Mr. H. E. POLLOCK, K.C. Secretary of the temples. Enquiries into the missionary pro Odd Volumes Society, proposed a hearty blem at that time would have called Buddhist vote of thanks to the Chairman which Was propaganda in China a decided failure, for it passed with acclamation. made scarcely any way for 300 years. Then it was presented at Court and adopted by the Imperial Government. By means f this State aid it grew and spread. Buddhism was Beautiful religion when it came to China, but it was soon debased by being mixed with Taoism and with an idolatry imported from The men who handled it were poor representatives of its founder. Buddhism accounted for the inequalities of earth by its doctrines of heaven, purgatory, transmigration | and Nirvana. Instead of a fixed haven and
India.
WAR CORRESPONDENTS AT THE HONGKONG HOTEL.
Mr. Ernest Brindle. of the Daily Muil, aud Captain Harden, of the Daily Chronicle, are at the Hongkong Hotel for a few days. On the 6th inst. a detachment of reporters made a sortie against tem, anxious to know what they thought of the
Russians. of the Japanese, of the chow at the Hongkong Hotel, of the chances of the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill. of the situation at Port Arthur, of the scenery at Hongkong, and of the probable date when the war will be over. They were not certain on some of these points.
hell for which no one was good enough or bad enough it proclaimed a heaven and hell of many mansions-each person went to his own place, which he had prepared himself. He who was without desire. dead to himself, Mr. Brindle, who came out to China as sub- alone lived. Of the five commandments editor of our Shanghai contemporary, the N.-C. of Buddha-thou shalt not kill any living Daily News, has just finished the first stage of thing; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt his first campaign. By making an early start and not commit any unchaste act; thou shalt having some" savvy" acquired in North China, not drink any intoxicating liquor-the he has succeeded in getting ahead of many of ordinary Chinese Buddhist obeyed whichever the experienced campainers, and has done so suited him. At present Buddhism 788 well that the Daily Mail has cabled out con- simultaneously derided and advocated. and neglected and espoused by the Chinese. Certain Europe ns who found it easier to worship from afar than to attend Church were coquetting with Buddhism as with a fashionable beanty. There were also something like 20,000,000 Mahcmedans in China, and these with the native Christians were the only Chinese who believed in and worshipped God in the European sense of the word. As to the number of native Christians in China, how
gratulations-a very unusual thing in newspaper- dom, where the kicks are more numerous than compliments. He went north and organized a system before war broke out, hiring native run- ners, etc., and was thus ready for history when it began to be made. Joining neither army, but keeping on the fringe of the trouble, he was able to send Home all he got, and to move about with practically no restrictions. He was half frozen to death in Saratov's restaurant in Port Arthur; was a guest of a Hunghutze
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know when the war will end.
Captain Harden is an officer of his Majesty's army, on the reserve. He has campaigned in Somaliland and South Africa, was on his way to Tibet, but came on here instead. He also is on leave, and his sole ambition at present is to see a polo match before he leaves Hongkong on Saturday.
Captain Harden characterises as absurd the Chefoo story (elsewhere appearing) that the crew of the Ratstorupny was composed entirely of officers, who wer to find substitutes at Shanghai and go to meet the Baltic Feet as pilots. He was one of the first to board her when she arrived at Chefoo, and is certain that she carried her usual crew.
MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE EUROPEAN IN THE FAR EAST.
INTERESTING LECTURE BY MR. DYER BALL.
Mr. Dyer Ball gave a very interesting lecture Moral at the Y.M CA. on 4th inst. on the influence of the European in the Far East." He said it was one of the laws of their existence
that, whether they liked it or not, they exerted influence on their fellow men. It was no use saying
Am I my brother's keeper "because their brother to a great extent took his one from them. They knew how a younger looked up to his elder brother and copied him. A case in point, showing how Europeans influenced others was that of Japan. This, of course, applied to 8 nation as a whole, but it Pers ually, he also applied to individuals. always tried to look on the bright side of things, as those who knew him or his writings would agree. He re ognised the good work of missionaries, and their example. Also, there were many cases where commercial men had exercised beneficial influence on Chinese with whom they had come in contact. His intention, however, was to point out the mistakes they made in their intercourse with Chinese. There was the opium trade, a curse to China; their action in connection with this was. not commendable. Another dark question was the opinion Chinese had formed from seeing the moral character of some Europeans in the treaty ports. The Chinese stigmatised the whole people as low in consequence. They believed that all foreigners-it did not matter whether they were Christians or not, because the Chinese were not capable of judging- were immoral; such, indeed, was very sad. In Canton, not so long back, the natives: were beginning to know when it was Sunday because the river steamers did not arrive on that day, but that had been destroyed---some: river steamers do ran now. They had their ten commandments, and these were broken right Sometimes Europesus before the heathen. knocked down or hit Chinese for practically no reason whatever, and the Chinese generally refrained from retaliating because they were a peace-loving people. This, however, was not always