Chapter 1

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A TOUR OF THE MISSIONS

Observations and Conclusions

by

AUGUSTUS HOPKINS STRONG, D.D., LL.D., Litt.D.

President Emeritus of the Rochester Theological Seminary

Author of "Systematic Theology," "Philosophy and Religion," "Christ in Creation," "Miscellanies," "Chapel-Talks," "Lectures on the Books of the New Testament," "The Great Poets and Their Theology," "American Poets and Their Theology"

Philadelphia The Griffith and Rowland Press Boston Chicago St. Louis New York Los Angeles Toronto Winnipeg MCMXVIII

Copyright, 1918, by Guy C. Lamson, Secretary Published March, 1918

A PERSONAL FOREWORD

The forty years of my presidency and teaching in the Rochester Theological Seminary have been rewarded by the knowledge that more than a hundred of my pupils have become missionaries in heathen lands. For many years these former students have been urging me to visit them. Until recently seminary sessions and literary work have prevented acceptance of their invitations. When I laid down my official duties, two alternatives presented themselves: I could sit down and read through the new Encyclopædia Britannica, or I could go round the world. A friend suggested that I might combine these schemes. The publishers provide a felt-lined trunk to hold the encyclopædia: I could read it, and circumnavigate the globe at the same time. This proposition, however, had an air of cumbrousness. I concluded to take my wife as my encyclopædia instead of the books, and this seemed the more rational since she had, seven or eight years before, made the same tour of the missions which I had in mind. To her therefore a large part of the information in the following pages is due, for in all my journey she was my guide, philosopher, and friend.

Our tour would not have covered so much ground nor have been so crowded with incidents of interest, if it had not been for the foresight and assistance of the Reverend Louis Agassiz Gould. He was a student in our seminary forty years ago, and after his graduation he became a missionary to China. Though his work abroad lasted only a decade, his interest in missions has never ceased, and he is an authority with regard to their history and their methods. I was fortunate in securing him as my courier, secretary, and typewriter, and his companionship enlivened our table intercourse and our social life. But he was bound that we should see all that there was to be seen. Without my knowledge he wrote ahead to all the missions which we were to visit, and the result was almost as if a delegation with brass band met us at every station. We were sight-seeing all day, and traveling in sleeping-cars all night. Though I had notified the public that I could preach no more sermons and make no more addresses, I was summoned before nearly every church, school, and college that we visited, and fifty or sixty extemporized talks were extorted from me, most of them interpreted to the audience by a pastor or teacher. My letters to home friends were often written on the platforms of railway stations while we were waiting for our trains, and after six months of these exhausting labors I still survived.

These preliminary remarks are intended to prepare the reader for a final statement, namely, that the papers which follow were written with no thought of publication. They were simply a record of travel, set down each week, for the information of relatives and friends. I have been urged to give them a wider circulation by putting them into print. In doing this I have added some reflections which, for substance, were also written at intervals on my journey, and these, with sundry emendations and omissions, I have called my "Conclusions." I submit both "Observations" and "Conclusions" to the judgment of my readers, in hope that my "Tour of the Missions" may lead other and more competent observers to appreciate the wonderful attractions and the immeasurable needs of Oriental lands.

I cannot close this personal foreword without expressing to my former students and the many friends who so hospitably entertained us on our journey, my undying sense of their great kindness, and my hope that between the lines of my descriptions of what I saw they will discover my earnest desire to serve the cause of Christ and his truth, even though my impressions may at times result from my own short-sightedness and ignorance. Only what I have can I give.

Augustus H. Strong.

Rochester, August 3, 1917.

CONTENTS

I. A WEEK IN JAPAN 1-11

An ocean truly pacific brings us to a rainy Japan 3

The novel and the picturesque mingle in our first views of Yokohama 3

Visit to the palace of a Japanese millionaire 4

A museum of Japanese art and a unique entertainment 4

Our host, an orthodox Shinto and Buddhist 5

Conference of missionaries and their native helpers 5

The pastor of the Tokyo church invites us to his home 5

Reception at the Women's College of Japan, and an address there 5

A distinguished company of educators at dinner 6

We give a dinner to Rochester men and their wives 7

A good specimen of missionary hilarity and fellowship 7

The temple of Kamakura and its great bronze Buddha 7

The temple of Hachiman, the god of war 8

Supplemented by the temple of Kwannon, the goddess of mercy 8

Japan enriched by manufacture of munitions 8

A native Christian church and pastor at Kanagawa 9

Immorality, the curse of Japan, shows its need of Christianity 10

Wonders of its Inland Sea, and great gifts of its people 10

II. A WEEK-END IN CHINA 13-22

Hongkong, wonderful for situation and for trade 15

Swatow, and our arrival there 15

Chinese customs, and English collection of them 16

The mission compound of Swatow, one of our noblest 16

Dr. William Ashmore, and his organizing work 17

William Ashmore, his son, and his Bible translations 17

A great Sunday service in a native New Testament church 18

The far-reaching influence of this mission, manned by many Rochester graduates 18

Our expedition to Chao-yang, to see the heart of China 18

Triumphal entry into that city of three hundred thousand inhabitants 19

Impressed by the vastness of its heathen population 20

Mr. Groesbeck, the only minister to its needs 21

An address to the students of his school 21

A great procession conducts us to our steamer at Swatow 21

Shall we be saved if we do not give the gospel to the heathen? 22

III. MANILA, SINGAPORE, AND PENANG 23-32

A Yellow Sea, and white garments 25

American enterprise has transformed Manila 25

Filipinos not yet ready for complete self-government 26

Visit to Admiral Dewey's landing-place, and also to Fort McKinley 26

The interdenominational theological seminary and its influence 26

Printed and spoken English is superseding native dialects 27

Singapore, one of the world's greatest ports of entry 27

British propose to hold it, in spite of native unrest 27

Heterogeneous population makes English the only language for its schools 28

Germans stir up a conspiracy, but it is nipped in the bud 28

British steamer to Penang, an old but safe method of conveyance 28

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Malay Confederated States 29

Penang furnishes us with a great Chinese funeral 29

Its immense preparation and cost show worship of ancestors 29

Mourners in white, with bands of hired wailers 31

Glorification of man, but no confession of sin or recognition of Christ 32

IV. THREE WEEKS IN BURMA 33-46

Burma, the land of pagodas 35

The Shwe Dagon of Rangoon is the greatest of these 35

Its immense extent and splendor 35

The religion of Burma is Buddhism, a religion of "merit," so called 36

Pagoda-building in Burma, coeval with cathedral-building in Europe 36

The desolation in which many pagodas stand shows God's judgment on Buddhism 36

Burma is consecrated by the work of Adoniram Judson, and his sufferings 37

Our visit to Aungbinle, and prayer on the site of Judson's prison 37

Met and entertained by missionaries, our former pupils 37

Fruitful Burma and its Buddhism attracts famine-stricken India with its Hinduism 38

Baptist missions in Burma antedate and excel both Romanist and Anglican 40

Far outstripping these in the number and influence of converts 40

The work of our collegiate and other schools is most encouraging 41

The Baptist College at Rangoon and the theological seminaries at Insein 42

The lieutenant governor invites us to meet Lord Chelmsford, viceroy of India, at afternoon-tea 44

A royal reception, with great conglomerate of races 44

A demonstration of loyalty to the British Crown 45

The dinner of our Rochester men at the house of Rev. Mr. Singiser, including representatives of the Mission Press and the Baptist College 45

Our final reception at Dr. D. W. A. Smith's, on Mrs. Smith's birthday 46

V. MANDALAY AND GAUHATI 47-56

Mandalay, in Burma, the type of Buddhism; Gauhati, in Assam, the type of Hinduism 49

Visits to Maulmain and Bassein, in Burma, preceded both these 49

King Thebaw's palace, at Mandalay, a fortress built wholly of wood 50

The Hill of Mandalay and its pagoda, four pagodas in one 50

We ascend eight hundred steps by taking extemporized sedan-chairs 51

Four successive platforms and four images of Buddha 51

Waxwork figures at the top depict the vanity of life 52

The Kuthodaw in the plain below seen from this height 52

Four hundred and fifty pagodas in one, each with its Buddha and his law engraved on stone 52

The descent from Mandalay Hill more hazardous than the ascent 53

Buddhism compared with the religion of Christ 53

Gauhati, the capital of Assam, has also its temple on a hill 54

This temple illustrates Hinduism as Mandalay illustrates Buddhism 54

Its immoral cult claims to have an immoral origin in the wife of the god Siva 54

Its priestesses a source of corruption to the British college and the whole country 55

Vain attempts to interpret Hindu myth and worship symbolically 55

The need of Christian teaching as to sin and atonement 56

VI. CALCUTTA, DARJEELING, AND BENARES 57-64

Calcutta, the largest city of India, so named from Kali, goddess-wife of Siva, the Destroyer 59

The temple of Kali, its priestesses and its worship, an infamous illustration of Hinduism 59

The temple of the Jains represents Hinduism somewhat reformed 60

The real glory of Calcutta is its relation to modern missions 60

The work of William Carey, and his college and tomb at Serampore 60

Our ride northward to Darjeeling, and our view of the Himalayas 61

A temple of Tibetan Buddhists on our mount of observation 61

Benares, the Mecca and Jerusalem of the Hindus 62

A hotbed of superstition and devotion 62

Its Golden Temple, its bathing ghats and burning ghats on the sacred Ganges 62

Our voyage of inspection in the early morning 63

Thousands bathing and drinking in the same muddy stream 63

Smallpox and plague in western lands traced back to this putrid river 64

Some of the temples have toppled over, being built on sand instead of rock 64

VII. LUCKNOW, AGRA, AND DELHI 65-76

On Mohammedan ground, and the scene of the great mutiny 67

Elements of truth in the Moslem faith make missions more difficult 67

The defense of Lucknow, one of, the most heroic and thrilling in history 67

The only flag in the British Empire that never comes down at night 68

English missions and education are guaranties of permanent British rule in India 69

The Isabella Thoburn College, under Methodist control 69

We see the "mango trick" under favorable circumstances 70

Agra, and the Taj Mahal, a wonder of the world, seen both at sunrise and at sunset 70

The Pearl Mosque and the Jasmine Tower, surrounded and protected by the Fort 71

A flowering out of art, like that of cathedral-building in England 72

Moslem architects "designed like Titans, and finished like jewelers" 72

Delhi, the capital of India before the reign of Akbar 72

The British respect ancient tradition by transferring their central government from Calcutta to Delhi 73

The progress of India under British rule in the last fifty years 73

Indian unrest due in part to English mistakes in educational policy 74

The Friday prayer service in the great mosque of Delhi 75

VIII. JAIPUR, MT. ABU, AND AHMEDABAD 77-87

The native states of India distinguished from the presidencies and the provinces 79

Their self-government a reward of loyalty in the mutiny 79

The rajas influenced by Western thought 79

Jaipur, the capital of a native state, called "The Pink City" 80

"A rose-red city, half as old as Time" 81

The maharaja's town-palace and astronomical observatory 81

A visit to Amber, the original metropolis, and his summer residence 81

An elephant ride up the hill while hanging over the precipice 82

The road to Mt. Abu, a wonderful piece of engineering 84

We reach Dilwarra, the greatest temple of the Jains 84

Their reformed Buddhism recognizes Buddha as only one of many incarnations 85

The temple is almost a miracle of art, and illustrates the genius of the East 85

Ahmedabad, a uniquely prosperous manufacturing and commercial city 86

Factories needed by India more than farms 86

Missions need employment for converts, to save them from famine 86

IX. BOMBAY, KEDGAON, AND MADRAS 89-99

Bombay, second in population in the Indian Empire 91

Hindus outnumber Moslems and Parsees 91

The Caves of Elephanta, excavated in honor of Siva, god of reproduction as well as of destruction 91

His temple a cathedral, hewn inside of a mountain 92

The lingam, or phallus, gigantic, carved out of stone, in the innermost shrine 93

Its worship a deification of man's baser instincts 93

The Towers of Silence represent Parseeism 93

The dead are exposed in them to be devoured by vultures 93

Construction of the towers and details of the process 93

Compared with Christian burial in hope of resurrection 94

Kedgaon, a happy contrast and relief 94

The center of the work of Pundita Ramabai 94

The story of her life a romantic and thrilling one 94

The pitiable condition of child-widows in India touches her heart 95

In time of famine she furnishes a refuge for two thousand four hundred of them 95

The wonders of her plant, in schools, hospital, printing office, factory, and farm 96

A great scholar of the Brahman caste, she is recognized as the most influential woman in India 96

Madras, the third largest Indian city, gives us our first tropical heat 97

A center of mission work for the Telugus and their tribal conversion 97

New Year's Day reception at Lord Pentland's, the governor of the Madras Presidency 98

Followed by a reception from the Rochester men, my former pupils 99

X. THE TELUGU MISSION 101-113

Madras, next to Calcutta and Bombay in thrift and importance 103

Baptists have done most for the Telugus, as Congregationalists most for the Tamils 103

Statistics of our mission are most encouraging 103

Self-government, self-support, self-propagation, require time 104

Conference at the house of Doctor Ferguson brings together men from four separate fields 104

The theological seminary at Ramapatnam, in charge of Doctor Heinrichs 105

Our reception by teachers and students, and value of their work 105

Ongole and the work of Doctor Baker, the successor of Doctor Clough 107

Laying the corner-stone of gateway to the new hospital 107

Country tour into the heart of Telugu-land, and open-air preaching to the natives 107

Vellumpilly, where 2,222 were baptized, and Sunset Hill, where Doctor Jewett prayed 109

Kavali, and the work of Mr. Bawden for a hereditary criminal class 110

Industrial education side by side with moral and religious 110

Nellore, our first permanent station in South India 111

Its high school, under Rev. L. C. Smith; its hospital, and its nurses' training-school 112

Mr. Rutherford, successor to Dr. David Downie, and Mr. Smith--all of them Rochester men 112

XI. THE DRAVIDIAN TEMPLES 115-124

The Dravidians are the aborigines of India 117

The Aryan conquerors appropriated their gods, and Siva married Kali 117

Massiveness and vastness characterize their temples, but also Oriental imagination and invention 118

The temple at Tanjore, with its court eight hundred by four hundred feet 118

Its multitude of chapels, each with its image in stone of the lingam, or phallus 119

Its central image of a bull, the favorite animal of Siva 119

Its tower, or gopura, is the grandest in India 119

Its sculptures of gods and goddesses wonderfully realistic 119

Its appurtenances tawdry, childish, and immoral 120

Yet Tanjore was the home, and is the tomb, of Schwartz, the first English missionary to India 120

The raja's library of Oriental manuscripts 121