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to teach all the Chinese to speak and read the English language, and however difficult it may be for the foreigner to convey in a Chinese dress the science and religion of the West, the same difficulty would be felt by a native who learned English, and endeavoured to impart the knowledge connected with it in his own vernacular. It is the duty of every Missionary to apply himself to the utmost, in order to form an acquaintance with the Chinese literature, its character, its style, and its sentiments, so as to qualify him for high service in this field of labour. It is necessary with a view to his being appreciated by those around him, and however arduous the work may be, he will consider it as nothing, if it will only facilitate the great and glorious object before him. And it is no small encouragement and stimulus to him, that many have succeeded in this to a considerable extent, and have thus raised themselves in their Missionary capacity in the estimation of the people.

It is interesting to know that the Chinese literature, in its influence and diffusion, extends far beyond the boundaries of China proper. The native character has been largely studied, and is generally employed in other countries besides its original birth-place. In Japan, Corea, the Loochoo islands, Manchuria, Mongolia, Thibet, and elsewhere, it is more or less widely read, and books in this form are available in these regions to an immense extent. Thus our sphere of operation is

vastly increased by means of the Chinese written language. Happily there are many facilities now at hand for the acquisition both of the written and the spoken forms. Grammars, Dictionaries, and easy lessons have been prepared for this purpose, and the difficulties that were once felt in the way of learning the language are now to no small extent diminished. The names of Morrison, Medhurst, Williams, Legge, Edkins, and Wade, are foremost in this department, as having rendered good service to future students, and their works deserve the highest praise.

In closing this chapter, we may observe that the practical influence of the Chinese literature on the native mind and manners, is of the most stereotyped and deadening kind. However the study of it may elevate above the ordinary standard of those round about, its whole tendency is to cramp and confine both the intellectual and moral energies of such as are engaged in it. They proceed in a given pre-determined groove, and are not at liberty to advance a step beyond it. All their ideas and activities are limited to a certain range, and they have no conception of anything else. It is theirs simply to revert to the past, and to find precedents and memorials for their observance in the future. This is carried to an extreme degree, and while it makes them thorough conservatives, no liberal influences and tendencies are ever admitted by it, into any department of social life. In mind and

heart, in character and conduct, in their moral and religious nature, the Chinese are weakened, stereotyped and opposed to anything like change or improvement in the general condition of things. The language and literature of China, from the difficulty of their acquisition, and no less from their practical bearing on the native mind, are thus to be regarded as a mighty obstacle in the path of the Christian Missionary, and of the onward evangelization of the country.

CHAPTER III.

NATIONAL CHARACTER AND LIFE.

LOOKING at the Chinese as a whole, they seem to be a quiet, sober, and industrious people. They are naturally disposed in this way, and have no doubt been influenced by the training and civilization under which they have been placed for the purpose. Wherever we go, we observe these elements to be more or less the case. At the same time, the unity and homogeneousness of the Chinese in manners and customs, language and appearance, exist in connection with many local and provincial differences. There is a great variety among them, according to the part of the country to which they belong.

The Cantonese and Fukien people are generally of small size, but bold and enterprising in their habits and bearing. They are the emigrants of China, and are for the most part the class to be found in California, Australia, the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and in the ultra-Gangetic countries. Many of them follow a sea-faring life, and in the course of it are frequently engaged in piratical pursuits. Their ancestors are said to have removed at an early date from the original

settlement in the north of China, and their departure from the pale of civilization is believed to show its effects upon them to the present time. Certainly they were the last of the Chinese who submitted to the reigning government. The natives of Che-kiang are in general milder and more refined in their character and disposition, and form in this respect an improvement on their southern neighbours. The inhabitants of Kiang-su are not marked by any special peculiarities. They lack force and energy to a remarkable degree, and show the natural lethargy and deceitfulness of the Chinese mind probably to a greater extent than any others. Many of them are distinguished scholars. The natives of Shantung, Che-le, Shanse, Shense, and Kansuh, are tall, massive, and strong in their physical structure. They are good traders in an ordinary way, more honest and truthful perhaps, but wanting in the tact and shrewdness of the Cantonese. The Honan race are athlete in their persons, and are regarded as in the first rank for political genius and strategy. The inhabitants of Hoo-nan, Hoo-peh, Sze-chuen, and Kwei-chow are looked upon as rather wild and uncultivated in their manners, but stand well in comparison with others of their countrymen. Ngan-whei and Kiang-se are situated near the former seat of government, and the natives are in many cases well-educated, though chiefly engaged in trading connected with the valuable produce of their soil.

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