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Mesny shared with other Europeans the assumptions of Christian moral superiority. He did, however, have a genuine respect for Chinese culture that was absent in so many foreigners in China. He also approved of Christian missionaries and their work and anticipated that China would be converted to Christianity within the next century, i.e., by the year 2000, and noted at one point during a discourse on meeting Chinese during his travels that he occasionally took the opportunity afforded him by his contact with groups of them to discuss the importance of Christianity.
Several times Mesny raged against the iniquity of the Western nations in their support of the Chinese Imperial Government in its struggle against the rebellion of the Taipings. The latter was led by Hung Hsiu-ch’üan, a failed examination scholar and a professed Christian. Hung, a Hakka, was influenced by Protestant faith and adopted a number of its elements into his cult. After a series of visions, he declared himself to be the son of God and a younger brother of Jesus. The Taipings, a major threat to the last Imperial dynasty of China, were puritanical, having outlawed gambling, opium, tobacco, and alcohol. Their rebellion thrived on the tensions stemming from the economic and political issues of the day, though by the end, it had destroyed very many millions of lives and lasted some thirteen years with much of southern China under their control, and with its centre and capital at Nanking on the Yangtze. Defeated by the Imperialists aided by Western mercenaries, Hung committed suicide in 1864, and the Taipings were eliminated. Mesny, who had been well treated by the Taipings during his captivity in Nanking, explained that Hung had eventually been viewed as blasphemous by Western missionaries for believing the Lord's Prayer, calling God their Heavenly Father, and Jesus [the author, he noted, of that very prayer] their Heavenly Senior Brother. It was logical to Hung, said Mesny, to take it that step further, if God is the Father and Jesus is the Son, and God is also our Father, then Jesus must be our Brother too. Hung simply saw himself as a modern-day Saint leading his followers in the way of Jesus. The Chinese slant included concubinage for the leaders together with a number of misinterpretations of Christian beliefs and rituals which, when identified, became anathema to the missionaries both Protestant and Roman Catholic.
His Other Publications and Letters to the Press
Apart from the major work, his Chinese Miscellanies, Mesny appears to have written one book, Tungking, printed by Noronha in Hong Kong.
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Mesny shared with other Europeans the assumptions of Christian moral superiority. He did however, have a genuine respect for Chinese culture that was absent in so many foreigners in China. He also approved of Christian missionaries and their work and anticipated that China would be converted to Christianity within the next century, i.e. by the year 2000 and noted at one point during a discourse on meeting Chinese during his travels that he occasionally took the opportunity afforded him by his contact with groups of them to discuss the importance of Christianity.
Several times Mesny raged against the iniquity of the Western nations in their support of the Chinese Imperial Government in its struggle against the rebellion of the Taipings. The latter was led by Hung Hsiu- ch’üan, a failed examination scholar and a professed Christian. Hung, a Hakka, was influenced by Protestant faith and adopted a number of its elements into his cult. After a series of visions he declared himself to be the son of God and a younger brother of Jesus. The Taipings, a major threat to the last Imperial dynasty of China, were puritanical, having outlawed gambling, opium, tobacco and alcohol. Their rebellion thrived on the tensions stemming from the economic and political issues of the day, though by the end it had destroyed very many millions of lives and lasted some thirteen years with much of southern China under their control, and with its centre and capital at Nanking on the Yangtze. Defeated by the Imperialists aided by Western mercenaries, Hung committed suicide in 1864 and the Taipings were eliminated. Mesny, who had been well treated by the Taipings during his captivity in Nanking, explained that Hung had eventually been viewed as blasphemous by Western missionaries for believing the Lord's Prayer, calling God their Heavenly Father, and Jesus [the author, he noted, of that very prayer] their Heavenly Senior Brother. It was logical to Hung, said Mesny, to take it that step further, if God is the Father and Jesus is the Son, and God is also our Father then Jesus must be our Brother too. Hung simply saw himself as a modern day Saint leading his followers in the way of Jesus. The Chinese slant included concubinage for the leaders together with a number of misinterpretations of Christian beliefs and rituals which, when identified, became anathema to the missionaries both Protestant and Roman Catholic.
His Other Publications and Letters to the Press
Apart from the major work, his Chinese Miscellanies, Mesny appears to have written one book, Tungking, printed by Noronha in Hong Kong
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