China: Her History and Development 213 



lyincoln. It was because he understood 

 man's nature that he was able to make 

 such a lasting impression. The masses 

 of China study his precepts today as 

 they did twenty centuries ago and will 

 twenty centuries hence. 



Confucianism has its failings and weak 

 points when regarded as a religion and 

 must in the evolution of time give way 

 as a religion to Christianity ; but as 

 the teachings of a great philosopher his 

 works will never be forgotten. In fact 

 they will have in some respects a wider 

 hearing and following when the Euro- 

 pean and American world studies more 

 the interesting and instructive history 

 of Cathay. 



Confucianism became a religion not 

 through any intent or purpose of its 

 founder. He never endeavored to start 

 a religion, to be considered as a god, or 

 as a prophet of a god. The doctrines, 

 precepts, and philosophy of Confucius 

 became a religion because they were 

 purer and higher than the conceptions 

 of any other religion that in those days 

 was offered to the people ; they were be- 

 yond and above the teachings of Taotze 

 or Buddha in the mind of the average 

 Chinese ruler or vassal. By natural 

 evolution in the imagination of the peo- 

 ple he became in a measure a god, but 

 it is well to be remembered that he did 

 not believe in any existing God, and 

 there is no hint in his philosophy of a 

 future life. When asked what was his 

 opinion of death he replied : ' ' How can 

 one know death when one does not 

 know life ' ' ? 



To those who have firm belief in a 

 living God and in the immortality of 

 the soul, it would not seem that Confu- 

 cianism could stand as a religion against 

 the expanding influence of Christianit3^ 

 No matter how much we admire the 

 character and teachings of Confucius, 

 there are lacking in his philosophj^ the 

 two great essentials of faith and hope 

 which are so dear to the Christian world. 

 Charity there is in Confucius' teachings, 



and that is a principal element in mak- 

 ing them strong. 



Love, respect, and worship of ances- 

 tors, which have played so important a 

 part in China's political, material, and 

 moral development, are fostered by the 

 precepts of Confucius. His portrayal 

 of the lives of the mighty Yao and Shun 

 of the mythical days, and later of Wan 

 Wang, Wu Wang, and Chau King, of 

 the Chow dynasty, tended to develop a 

 deep sense of ancestral homage. In the 

 growth of China this influence has, on' 

 the one hand, protected the family and 

 the state, and, on the other hand, re- 

 tarded material progress. Worship of 

 ancestors, with its virtues and faults, 

 has been a synonym for conser\'atism in 

 China. What was suflScient and satis- 

 factory to their ancestors should be suf- • 

 ficient and satisfactory for the present 

 generation ! The fear, for instance, of 

 disturbing the rest and peace of ances- 

 tors and of doing unpardonable slight 

 to their memory has in a measure pre- 

 vented the opening of the earth for its 

 mineral and metals, has retarded inven- 

 tion, and in these later days checked 

 such far-reaching enterprises as railway 

 construction and further modern devel- 

 opment of China's material resources. 



■ If Confucianism is a religion, it is the 

 religion of China; but Buddhism is also 

 in a sense the religion of China, with 

 Taoism, founded by Laotze, in a pro- 

 nounced secondary position. Every 

 Buddhist and ever}^ Taoist, however, is 

 a disciple of Confucius to a certain de- 

 gree, while a great number of the fol- 

 lowers of Confucius are not Buddhists 

 or Taoists. Every Chinese child is a 

 student of Confucius. All of my Chi- 

 nese servants could recite his principal 

 precepts. They seemed to understand 

 them also; but oftentimes they were in 

 doubt about their real respect for 

 Buddha and Laotze. 



It is not within the scope or purpose 

 of this paper to compare the teachings 

 of Christ and Confucius ; but in dis- 



