Various Names for God 155 



there being over fifty in Szechuan alone ; and I cannot but 

 agree with Pbre Amand David, who doubts if China will 

 ever be Christianized, especially now that innumerable 

 different sects of Protestantism from Europe and America 

 have entered the field, and rendered confusion worse con- 

 founded to the naturally sceptical Chinese mind. The 

 Catholic and Protestant sects are looked upon by the 

 Chinese as different religions, and the contempt entertained 

 for missions is aggravated by the unfortunate disagreement 

 as to the translation of the word " God." The Chinese of 

 all descriptions employ exclusively the word " T'ien " when- 

 ever allusion is made to the Supreme Being. This word 

 T'ien, which is also the common word for the material sky, 

 is the equivalent of our word " Heaven ; " all saints and all 

 beings to whom prayer is offered, or of whom images are 

 constructed in the different temples, are under " Heaven." 

 To my mind, after many years' conversational intimacy with 

 all classes of the Chinese, the common phrase of " Pai 

 T'ien " is an exact equivalent of our " Worship God." And 

 if the early missionaries had been content to stop there, 

 introducing the teachings of Jesus as that of a Prophet under 

 Heaven, they might have made as much progress with 

 Christianity as has been made with Buddhism — a religion 

 that has had a wonderful effect in softening the character of 

 the ancient Chinese. But wishing to personify iheir God, 

 the Jesuit fathers invented a new name — " T'ien Chu,'' or 

 " Lord of Heaven." Then came the English, who in order 

 not to be identified with the Roman Catholics, took another 

 name for their God, namely, " Shang-ti," meaning " Supreme 

 Ruler " or Emperor. Later missionaries (American Baptist) 

 have adopted another title — " Chen Shen,'' i.e. " The True 

 Spirit," thus by implication stamping all other spirits as 

 false. The natural result is that the Chinese say, " Foreign 



