CHINA AND CHRISTIANITY.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—May I add a remark on the subject of your recent interesting article (Spectator, February 15th) ? Surely it is a- pity that the Conference at Shanghai could not go further in the matter of ancestor-worship than to be content with the suggestion to erect schools and churches as memorials to the departed. This could only apply to a few. The reverence paid to the dead—by us misnamed worship—is the most precious relic of spiritual belief in China. Confucius killed all else. What is a more moving thought than that of three hundred millions of people going every spring to the graves of their dear ones with offerings which they believe will some- how benefit or give pleasure to them P And what is it in the Christian religion that satisfies this instinct Is it not our belief in the Communion of Saints, fellowship with the departed as well as the living, and all that naturally proceeds from that belief? During a long residence on the coast of China I was once urging a young educated Chinese friend to be baptised, and make an open profession of truths he already believed. His reply was : "But when I visit my father, and he bids me go with him to the ancestral temple and bow with him before the shrine-tablets—a foolish custom, I know—if I were to refuse to do so, he would be offended, and I should incur anger and abuse. And how could I, who owe respect and obedience to my father, bear this ? " I was in Elislas dilemma when be saw Naaman's similar position, and when he answered, a little oracularly, "Go in peace." But I did point out that in my opinion- there was nothing offensive to the spirit of our religion in practical methods of remembering the departed ; indeed, that these found their best expression there. The suggestion made at the Conference was surely altogether too timid. It is the full truth only that will commend itself to the Chinese mind, while it would apply to all alike, and not
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