Vol. VII CHRISTIAN AMERICA ASSOCIATION Office: 347 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. MAY, 1921. EDITORIAL BOARD Che Kwei Chen, Editor No. 7 REPRESENTATIVE EDITORS Miss Nyok Zoe Dong... Kai Fook Mok... Feng Shan Kao.. Henry P. Tsang. Women's Department ...Eastern Department .Mid-Western Department Western Department All manuscripts should be sent to C. K. Chen, Apartment 8, 609 West 115th Street, New York, N. Y. For business matters, address letters to Daniel C. Fu, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. Christian China is published monthly except July, August, September and October. Annual subscriptions is one dollar, per copy fifteen cents. Postage to foreign countries, 25 cents extra. Entered as second-class matter at New York Post Office March 19, 1919, under the Act of March 3, 1879. MAY, 1921. No. 7 Vol. VII A LIBERAL RELIGION FOR NEW CHINA In the reconstruction of Old China for the New-the transitional period during which the civilization forty centuries old is attempting to adapt itself to modern conditions of life, with all the blessings and evils that have resulted from modern arts. and sciences,-what is urgently needed is a religion capable of preserving the morale of the people, of maintaining the fundamental virtues of living, and of satisfying the deep spiritual yearnings of the millions. It must be a religion that will break down the sway of fear and superstitions, upon which several of the religions existent in China today have long been playing, and on account of which the people, particularly the ignorant masses, have been restricted in a thousand and one ways in their daily life and their endeavor for improvement and progress. It must be a religion that will stand the acid test of intelligent examination, reasonable doubts, and rational inquiries. In other words, it must be free from superstitious beliefs and practices, so that it may satisfy the spiritual needs of the most intelligent folks as well as the most ignorant. It must be a religion that will disregard minor points concerning creeds and beliefs; and will, on the contrary, emphasize most strongly the fundamentals of life. This has direct reference to the necessity of avoiding in every possible way religious conflicts on account of denominational differences, that have produced so much disturbance, turmoil, and bloodshed in Western Europe. Above all, it must be a religion that will afford no opportunity for placing unduly emphasis upon blind faith, involuntary respect, and formal obedience, all of which may degenerate into meaningless formalities or hypocritical practices. On the contrary, it should cultivate the true spirit of voluntary service, sacrifice, and love. It must be a living force that leads its followers into vital spiritual experiences. To meet these urgent needs of the millions in the New China, a liberal Christianity seems competent, provided that it is directly based upon the simple and fundamental principles of Jesus, as revealed by his teachings and lived by him and his true followers. For it is a religion that has for its very foundation the rich and vivid experience of a remarkable character, who has demonstrated the real meaning of service, love, and sacrifice through both his teachings and his deeds. He has shown how his perfect personality can inspire men and women all the world over and lead them to live lives of usefulness. The most familiar and striking illustration of his powerful inspiration and influence is, of course, the wonderful life of Paul, whose experience in preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Greeks and Romans in face of unspeakable hardship and stormy opposition during the stirring years subsequent to the crucifixion, have simply glorified the early history of the Christian religion. With the fundamentals in view, it should not be very difficult to work out the details regarding the Chinese Christian church. It may not need many of the Christian rituals that have developed in the Western World and have probably served their purpose, be they Roman or Greek Catholic, or any one of the Protestant denominations. Simplicity in ceremony is the best rule to follow. It may not conform to many of the creeds that have been formulated by Occidental churches and other religious institutions. It may not have any concern with many of the Christian theologies that have been written by Western scholars on behalf of the Christian religion, although they undoubtedly shed a great deal of light on the experiences of great religious thinkers and are therefore at least of historical interest and value. Just what the real needs of the Chinese Christian church are must be discovered through the actual experiences of the Chinese Christians. All that is absolutely essential is to provide abundant opportunities for the people from the lowest stratum to the highest to hear the teachings of Christ, to know him-his personality and his power; and to accept his principles and apply them in their daily living. Above all, if Christianity is to become the religion of China, it must command the allegience of the Chinese, not through fear nor superstitions, but through their free will. THE "NEW THOUGHT MOVEMENT" IN CHINA There is going on in China a movement that may prove to be of immense importance in the development of mass education. It is often designated as the Renaissance or New Thought Movement. The Peking Government University is the center of the origin and activity of the New Thought Movement. sents an attempt to substitute the style of the common people for the archaic style of literary writing. The difference between the two is somewhat analogous to the difference between the Anglo-Saxon tongue and the Norman French during the early days in England, when the former was the speech of the common people and the latter that of the learned. The main purpose of the New Thought Movement in China is to create a usable and effective medium for the expression and transmission of thoughts and ideas among the common people. It is working for a great increase in the Chinese reading public. China has had a literary style of writing from time immemorial. It has always been the common written language of the scholars all over the country, in spite of the fact that there are many dialects in the country some of which are quite unintelligible to one another. The learned have always used the common literary language for expressing their thoughts, although they may pronounce the words differently. Local phrases and expressions very seldom appear in this literary style. Hence there is hardly any occasion for misunderstanding in the matter of expressions. But the literary style seems to be exceedingly difficult for the masses to learn. Consequently the leaders of the New Thought Movement have been making an attempt to introduce. the use of the Manderin dialect as the written medium of expression. But this dialect is intelligible to about three-fifths of the people in China. If the movement of simplifying the written language is to succeed, the first step must be the extension of the Mandarin to the other two-fifths of the people, among whom there are many divergent dialects-the Fukienise, Cantonese, and several others. Until the Mandarin dialect has become fairly intelligible to the common people in the central and southern provinces, as well as to those in the north and west, the so-called style of the common people which is based on the Manderin dialect, cannot serve as the language of all the Chinese, as the literary style has served as the language of all the learned Chinese. OPPORTUNITIES OF OUR WOMAN MEMBERS We are pleased to print in this number of Christian China several contributions from the women members of the C. S. C. A. Their interest in and support for the activities of the Association is of vital importance, inasmuch as our women students, studying in the various colleges and universities all over the United States, have unusually rare opportunities to observe the status of the American women, regarding their chances for education, their responsibilities in home life, their part in economic and social welfare, and lately their share in the political affairs as the result of the adoption of the constitutional amendment providing for woman suffrage. Just what our women students should learn from them and take back to China is a question that should call for careful consideration. What the Association is especially interested in is the religious education and experience of our woman members, who have been offered the best training any woman anywhere can obtain at the present time. For they are expected to exert powerful influences in building up Chinese Christian character, Christian homes, and Christian communities. They will have opportunities to break down superstitious practices of various kinds, to lead the movement against idolatry and idol-worship and to promote many greatly needed educational and social reforms. Their strong Christian leadership is particularly needed. during the transitional period when our women, a large proportion of whom are still living in ignorance, emerge from the ol tradition of seclusion to become active members of their community. |