*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 54055 *** Transcriber's Note: This e-book is based on an extant copy at Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. The transcriber is grateful to the librarians there for providing assistance in accessing this rare fragile book. A few typos in the original text were corrected. LETTERS TO CHILDREN. BY REV. E.C. BRIDGMAN, MISSIONARY IN CHINA. Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and Revised by the Committee of Publication. SECOND EDITION. BOSTON: MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY. Depository, No. 13, Cornhill. 1838. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1834, BY CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. ______ INDEX. LETTER I. Introduction; Chinese are Idolaters; Confucian, Taon, and Buddha Sects, LETTER II. Temples, Priest, Priestesses and Idols, LETTER III. Pagodas, Idol Worship, LETTER IV. Soldiers; Merchants, LETTER V. Mechanics, LETTER VI. Husbandmen, LETTER VII. Scholars, LETTER VIII. Sailors, LETTER IX. Character and Condition of Females, LETTER X. Marriage Ceremony, LETTER XI. Beggars; Food and Clothing, LETTER XII. Crimes: Lying, Gambling, Quarrelling, Theft, Robbery, and Bribery, LETTER XIII. Ideas of Death, style of Mourning, Funerals, &c. LETTER XIV. Dr. Morrison translates the Bible into the Chinese Language, LETTER XV. Dr. Milne; Missionary Stations, LETTER XVI. Leang Afa, LETTER XVII. Canton City; Population, &c. LETTER XVIII. To Parents and Teachers, ______ TO THE READER ______ This little Book contains eighteen Letters, written by Rev. E.C. BRIDGMAN, Missionary in China, addressed to the Children of the Sabbath School in Middleton, Mass. and published in the Sabbath School Treasury and Visitor. Though the letters were addressed to children in a particular Sabbath School, they are none the less adapted to other children, and they cannot fail to interest any one, who would see China converted to Christ. ______ LETTERS FROM CHINA. ______ Letter I. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Oct._ 17, 1831 MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS:‑‑The general agent of the Massachusetts Sabbath School Union has requested me to write something which I have "seen, heard, or thought of" for the _Treasury_. He proposed that I should write in the form of letters, and address them to you. This I shall be very happy to do, so far as I have any leisure to write. Some of you, perhaps, will remember what I used to tell you of the children, and men, and women, who had no Bibles, and who were ignorant of the true God, and of Jesus Christ the Savior of sinners. I can remember very well what some of the little children used to say, and how they used to look, when I talked to them about being a missionary, and of going far away from home, perhaps never to return. I did not then think of going so far off; indeed, I did not know where I should go; had some thoughts of going to Greece, or to Armenia. We do not always know what is best, but God does, for He knows all things, and will direct all things for his own glory; and if we love and obey him. He will make all things work together for our good. I am very glad I came to China, and I wish a great many more missionaries would come here. Before I came among the heathen, I had no idea how much they are to be pitied, and how much they need the Bible. Now that I live among them, and see their poor dumb idols every day, I desire to tell you a great many things which, I hope, will make you more careful to improve your own privileges, and more anxious also that the same blessed privileges may be enjoyed by all other children every where. Now, children, if you will look on your maps, you will see that China is situated in that part of the earth, which is directly opposite to the United States: so that when it is noon in one place, it is midnight in the other. The two countries, you will see, occupy nearly the same extent of the earth's surface. They are, also, bounded on the north and south, by nearly the same degrees of latitude. (China is situated a little farther south than the United States.) This makes the seasons,‑‑summer and winters, spring and autumn,‑‑and also the climate of the two countries, quite alike. But in regard to population, religion, and almost every thing else, they are very different from each other. China is a very ancient nation; and has, at the present time, a vast population,‑‑probably twenty or thirty times as many people as there are in all the United States of America. If there are, then, _three millions_ in the United States to be gathered into the Sabbath schools, and there Sabbath after Sabbath, instructed in the Holy Scriptures; there are here in China more than _sixty millions_, of the same age, who know not even that there are any Sabbath, or any Sabbath day, or any Holy Bible. You can now, dear children, from these few facts, estimate how many there are in China who need the Bible; and how much there is to be done, how many missionaries and Christian teachers will be wanted, before all these millions of immortal beings shall have the word of God, and be as blessed and as happy in their privileges, as you now are. You, truly, enjoy great privileges, because you have the Holy Bible, and can, every day, read of Jesus Christ: and if you believe in him, you will have great joy and comfort, and when you die, go to heaven and be forever with the Lord. But O, what do you think will become of all these poor heathen children, who have no Bibles, and who have never heard of the name of Jesus? In the fourth chapter of Acts, you read, that, "_there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved_." The Chinese are idolaters. Their fathers, and their grandfather, for hundreds and thousands of generations, have been idolaters, and worshipped idols of wood and stone which their own hands have made. These idols are very numerous; as numerous, the Chinese themselves say, as the sands on the banks of a great river. The Chinese are divided into three religious sects. The Confucian sect; the Taon sect; and the Buddha sect. I will now tell you something about each of these three. The _Confucian_ sect is composed of the _learned_ men of China, who are in their disposition and character like the proud and self‑righteous pharisees, mentioned in the New Testament. They call them the _disciples_ of Confucius. They adore and worship him; they have a great many temples dedicated to him; and they offer various sacrifices to him, as the children of Israel did to Jehovah, the true God, in the time of Moses. Confucius was born 538 years before Christ. His disciples relate many strange stories about their master. But he taught them nothing about the true God and Jesus Christ, and nothing about the soul after death. _Life and immortality were not revealed to him_. His disciples are as ignorant as their master was. They neither know nor acknowledge the eternal power and Godhead, so "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools, and like the Romans, "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four‑footed beasts," &c. &c. I wish you to read the last half of the first chapter of Romans, and you will have a good account of the disciples of Confucius. Taontsze, which being interpreted, means _old boy_, was the founder of the _Taon_ sect. His followers to this day call him the supreme venerable prince; and relate many curious stories about him; and say that he was an _ignorant good man_. The religion of _Buddha_ was brought from India, and became a common religion of China, probably, about the time, or soon after the crucifixion of our Savior. Both this religion and that of the Taon sect are dreadfully wicked, and full of abominations; and their priests are the most ignorant and miserable people in China. I will tell you more of these hereafter. Besides these three sects, there are some Roman Catholics, some Mohammedans, and a few Jews, scattered in different parts of China. Since I have now commenced, I wish to write you several short letters; and this I will try to do, if God our heavenly Father gives me time and strength. Earnestly desiring that he will give you all good things, I remain, Your true friends, E.C. BRIDGMAN. ______ LETTER II. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Oct._ 19, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑In the first letter, I told you something about the situation and the vast population of China, and the three religious sects into which the people are divided. In this letter I propose to give you a short account of their temples, priests, priestesses, and idols. _Idol temples_ are very different from meeting‑houses. I have visited a good many of these temples, in and about Canton and Macao. There is very little, if any, difference between the temples of the Buddha and the Taon sects. Those which I have seen are brick, and usually firm and well built. A common village temple occupies about half an acre of ground, enclosed by a wall twelve or fifteen feet high, and consists of several houses for the priests, a number of small rooms and niches for the idols, and an open court and alleys. Some of the temples are large, including within their outer wall three or four acres, having beautiful trees and gardens, and sometimes a furnace, in which the dead bodies of priests are burnt, and also a kind of tomb, filled with urns, in which their ashes are afterwards deposited. These are more than thirteen hundred idol temples in the province of Canton; and, at the same rate of reckoning, there will be, in the eighteen provinces into which China is divided, more than _twenty‑three thousand idol temples_. I have never visited any of the temples dedicated to Confucius. They are, it is said, distinguished from those of Buddha and Taon, by their dignified simplicity, the exclusion of images from all the principal halls, and by substituting, in their stead, commemorative tablets, bearing the names of Confucius and his most distinguished disciples. _Priests_ are numerous. One temple in Peking has, it is said, eight hundred priests. One which I have visited, _near_ Canton, has more than one hundred and fifty. Those of Buddha shave their heads perfectly bald. They usually appear dressed in a large grey gown, with sleeves often a full yard wide. They live principally on vegetables; they eat no meat, are not allowed to marry, are idle, and, except by persons of their own sect, utterly disrespected. The priests of the Taon sect shave their heads, except a spot about the size of a man's hand, of which the crown of the head is the centre. This, indeed, every Chinese does. Every man and every boy must have his head shaved, as a mark of submission to the Emperor. This has been the custom for almost two hundred years. But, while the common people braid their hair into a "long tail," which hangs down to their heels, the priests of Taon fold theirs up in a knot on the top of the head. When they appear in public, they usually wear a yellow robe. They eat flesh, and are permitted to marry. No priest of either sect ever teaches in public and but seldom in private. They spend much of their time in devotions, which are nothing but "vain repetitions," saying over and over again the same words, as fast as they can, hundreds and thousands of times. They are sometimes called to pray for the dead, and sometimes to go in funeral processions. Persons may become priests at any age they please; they are usually, however, dedicated to the service when quite young, even in infancy. A few days ago, in the streets, I saw a lad only eight or ten years old, all dressed up in his priestly robes. There are no priests belonging to the Confucian sect. _Priestesses_ are more wicked, but not so numerous as priests. There are three sorts of these poor miserable creatures. Those that belong to the sects of Buddha and Taon wear a peculiar kind of dress. Those of the Buddha sect shave their heads, and the people of Canton call them "women padres." Those of third sort form a kind of sisterhood, live wholly on vegetables, and dress like other women. These are all very wicked, ugly people. They pretend to sing songs to the gods, and drive away demons. There are other old women, still worse, if possible, than these; such as witches, conjurers, and necromancers. They pretend to hold intercourse with the dead, and give responses to their living kindred, telling them that their dead friends are in great distress for want of food and clothing. Many of the deluded people believe them, and, by these lies and tricks, they contrive to get food and clothing for themselves. _Idols_, in China, are numerous beyond all calculation. These idols are to be seen every where; in ships, in boats, houses, in temples, shops, streets, fields, on the hills, and in the vallies, and along the banks of all the rivers and canals. Some of these idols are very large, huge monsters, several feet high. Some of them are made of wood, some are stone, some are earthen, others are brass, iron, &c. &c. They are most commonly made somewhat in the likeness of men; but sometimes they are like beasts, and birds, and creeping things. There are places where these _gods_ are manufactured and sold just as people make and sell chairs, tables, &c. I am going to send a parcel of them to the Society of Inquiry respecting Missions, at the Theological Seminary, Andover, where if you wish, you can go and see them. Adieu, dear children. May the Lord, in great mercy, keep you from all sin, and make you happy in this life and in that which is to come. Remembering you often in my prayers, I remain, your true friend, E.C. BRIDGMAN. ______ LETTER III. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Oct_. 20, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑In my letter, yesterday, I forgot to tell you of some very high buildings, called _pagodas_. These are found in almost every part of China. They were introduced soon after the religion of Buddha, in which they seem to have had their origin, in this country. These lofty buildings present every where nearly the same appearance; but differ in height from three to thirteen stories. They are usually hollow, with stairs ascending up through the centre; and are usually built on the top of some high hill. They are believed, by those who build them, to be a defence against evil spirits, pestilence, misfortunes, &c. One of the finest pagodas in China, is in Nanking, and was built about 400 years ago. It is called the porcelain pagoda. It is 200 feet high, divided into nine stories; and is, at the base, 122 feet in circumference. It was nineteen years in building, and cost more than three millions of dollars; more than three times as much as the American Board have yet expended for foreign missions. I will close this letter with some account of _idol worship_, as it is performed here, all around us, every day. The Chinese never assemble for religious worship as Christians do, who go to the house of God, there to worship him, who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth. Their worship is very unholy, and offensive to God, and injurious to man. They have no preaching; their priests never set as public, religious teachers. Their worship consists of prayers and offerings, made to their false gods, and to their departed friends, to the sages and heroes of antiquity, and to their emperors‑‑both living and the dead. All their acts of worship are accompanied with a great many, and very tedious ceremonies. Some of the priests make very long prayers. In a temple near Canton, I have seen more than 50 priests altogether, at one time, engaged in their devotions. At the appointed hour, they assembled in a large hall where were a number of idols, and altars for offering incense, and also a drum and a bell to _wake_ up the sleepy gods, and make them listen to their prayers. As soon as they were assembled, they took their places in ranks, and commenced their worship. One of the oldest priests acted as chief, and took the lead; and the others, with loud voices, all joined with him and chanted their evening prayers. Sometimes, they all stood erect, with their hands all joined with him, and chanted their evening prayers. Sometimes they all stood erect, with their hands clasped before them. Sometimes, in files, they went round and round their altars. At one time, they all kneeled; and again, they all bowed down their heads, and placed them in the very dust. All the time they were doing these things, which occupied about an hour, candles and lamps were kept burning, and incense was offered on the altars. The Chinese never pray in their families and closets as Christians are taught to do. Individuals sometimes go to the temples to pray, and pay their vows, and to make offerings to the idol gods. I have repeatedly seen women, sometimes with their young children, bowing before the altars in the temples. The Chinese observe many times and seasons, in which they make religious offerings, some of which are very expensive. There are appointed seasons when the Emperor of China worships his ancestors, and the heavens, and the earth, and also some of the great mountains and rivers of the empire. Early in the morning on the first day of the year, all the people worship their gods, praying for riches. In the spring of every year, there is an appointed time, when every body goes to the hills‑‑some travel hundreds of miles‑‑to worship at the tombs of their fathers, and mothers, and uncles, &c. While at the tombs, they offer costly sacrifices of fish, fowls, sheep, goats, swine and the like, with oblations of wine and oil, to the names of their departed relatives. On the first and fifteenth of every moon, they have some special religious rites to perform, such as firing off thousands and thousands of gunpowder crackers, beating their gongs, or drums, &c. This they do to keep off evil spirits. Every day, especially at evening, offerings of paper‑‑a kind of gold paper‑‑and oil, and fragrant wood, are made to the household Gods, to the gods of the streets, shops, boats. Indeed, there seems to be no end to their superstitions. And thus, alas! all this numerous people are given to idolatry, and offer sacrifices to devils. They worship they know not what. And now, my dear young friends, do you think all this vain and wicked worship constitute _a cheap and easy religion?_ Think of the priests and priestesses devoted to idleness, and to abominable rites and services. Think of the hundreds of temples and idleness, and to abominable rites and services. Think of the hundreds of temples and pagodas, and thousands of idols which cover and fill the land. Think, too, of all the times and seasons; all the costly offerings and sacrifices employed in this idol worship; and again I ask, and I wish you to give an answer,‑‑_Do you think this a cheap and easy religion?_ I think it a most costly religion, and most grievous to be borne. Oh, how unlike the religion of Jesus Christ! His yoke is easy, and his burden light. But the service of Satan is hard service. The expense of this idol worship must amount to many millions of dollars annually. More, I am constrained to believe, is expended every day, and every year, by the Chinese alone, in idol worship, than is devoted by all the true Christians in the whole world, to the worship of the true God. _These things ought not so to be_. And if all good people could see how miserable these heathens are, and could feel for them, as Christ Jesus commands them to feel, the things would not be so much longer. There would be a great change immediately. The Bible would be distributed; the Gospel would be preached; and then would the heathen cast away their dumb idols, and serve the true God. And now, dear children, farewell. Think of these things and remember and pray for the poor heathen always. I hope to write to you again; perhaps, several short letters, but I may be disappointed. Endeavoring to cast all my cares on _Him_, who careth for us all, and to serve him with singleness of heart, I still remain your true friend, E.C. BRIDGMAN. ______ LETTER IV. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Oct_. 25, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑There is no _caste_ in China, as there is in India. Men may rise from the most humble stations in life, to the highest rank of office; the throne only being excepted. The Chinese, in their books, often speak of the _soldiers_ and the _people:_ and when speaking of the people, divide them into _merchants_, _mechanics_, _husbandmen_, _and scholars_. The occupations of these _five_ classes, the Chinese call "the essential employments." And they say "that when the high heavens produced men, they appointed to every one an employment, as the means of personal support. Therefore, though men naturally differ as to knowledge and ignorance, strength and weakness, yet none should be without an employment. Having employments, all men have a proper duty to which they should attend, both that they may be profitable to themselves, and useful to the world." I think now, children, you will be better able to understand the character of the Chinese, if I tell you something of these five classes separately. I will remark first, however, that these divisions are not exclusive. A man may be a scholar, and at the same time engage in husbandry. So he may be a merchant, and at the same time a scholar. Soldiers, sometimes also, I believe, are farmers, or merchants, or mechanics. But usually _one_ man attends to only _one_ of the _essential_ employments. China is now governed by the Tartars, a very war‑like nation, who conquered and subdued the country, and ascended the throne 187 years ago. It was at that time, A.D. 1644, that the _long tail_ mentioned in the second letter, was introduced. Many of the old people, it is said, were unwilling to shave their heads, and braid their hair. But the Tartars being their masters, and having the power, compelled them to do so, on the pain of death. Many actually preferred death to such a mark of disgrace. At the present time, in order to keep the people in subjection, a great number of soldiers, many of them Tartars, are stationed all over the Empire. There are several thousands in Canton. These soldiers have a few guns: but generally they are armed with swords and shields, or bows and arrows, or spears and pikes, or some other such like instruments. The soldiers have very little to do; and so they become very lazy, and gamble, and steal, rob and oppress the poor, and often make a great deal of disturbance. And after all they can do to keep the peace, the people often rise in rebellion; and then they quarrel and fight, and hundreds of the people and soldiers are killed. Two of three such rebellions have happened since I have been in China. To prevent mistake, I wish you to keep in mind the difference between China, and the Chinese Empire. By _China_, or China Proper, is understood the 18 provinces, which for a long time, constituted the whole of the Chinese possessions. The _Chinese Empire_, as it has existed since 1644, extends on the north, and west, far beyond the boundaries of ancient China, and is, probably, the largest Empire in the world. The whole number of persons in the Empire, who are enrolled as soldiers and make the art and practice of _war_ their _essential employment_, is very great; amounting, probably, to two or three millions. _Chinese Merchants_ have by no means that high character, and that influence, which the same class of men possess in Europe and America. They are ranked the _last_ of the four divisions of the people, and are regarded by their own countrymen as the least respectable part of the community. They are, usually, very greedy of gain, and often cheat and deceive; and they regard it as a very small offence to cheat and deceive foreigners, whom they usually call _barbarians:_ and who, they say, come an immense distance across the seas, from the northwest corner of the world, to buy teas, and silks of the celestial Empire. The foreign trade to China is pretty extensive, and is continually increasing. There are now at Whampoa, where the foreign ships unload and load their cargoes, 52 ships, and 4,000 seamen. These ships bring tin, lead, quick‑silver, copper, iron, furs, cotton yarn, cotton and woollen cloth, and many other such like, useful articles. They bring also, and of late years, a very great quantity of _opium_. More than twenty millions of dollars' worth of opium were sold here last year. This is very bad, and does a great deal of hurt. Those who bring and sell the opium, and those who buy it also, know very well that it is doing a great deal of injury. Only a part of the foreign merchants trade in opium; the others will not, because they know it is wrong, and contrary to the laws of God and man. Returning from China, the ships are usually very richly laden with nankeens, silks, teas, &c. Chinese merchants do not often go very far abroad; seldom if ever, so far as to India. They carry on, however, considerable trade with Cochin China, Siam, Singapore, Malacca, Java; to which, and to some other places, they have quite a number of vessels, perhaps fifty, which make a voyage every year. It is by these vessels that Mr. Medhurst, and Mr. Tomlin, and other missionaries, have sent many Bibles and tracts into China. It is in one of these vessels also, that Mr. Gutzlaff has gone to Peking, where he means to spend the winter and preach the gospel of the Son of God. Again, dear children, adieu. Be good children‑‑obey and love your parents‑‑read your Bibles‑‑believe in Jesus with your whole hearts, and pray to God always, then you will be happy. I will by the assistance and permission of God, endeavor to continue the account of the Chinese people, in another letter. Your very true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER V. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Nov._2, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑Having given you, in my last letter, some account of the soldiers and merchants, I intend in this, to tell you about the merchants, the husbandmen, and the scholars. I do not pretend to give you a very complete account of these several classes of persons. My desire is, however, that you shall have such an acquaintance with the every day conduct, and peculiar manners and customs of the Chinese, that you may be able to form for yourselves, correct ideas of their character. I should be glad to have you _know fully their whole manner of life_. I wish you to know all about them: how they live, how they think, and how they act. And I wish you to know how they regard and treat each other, as follow citizens, as husbands and wives, as parents and children, and as brothers and sisters, &c. &c. Because, when you can see them in all their daily conduct, and in all their various relations, and have correct views of their character; then you will know how much you ought to pity them, and will be very anxious, I think, to send them the gospel of God, which is able to make them wise unto everlasting life. I remember you have already done something for the heathen, but you know that there is a great deal more to be done; and we must not stop till the whole world is converted. Now I will tell you about the _Mechanics_. They are usually, as in the United States, a very industrious class of people, and many of them excellent workmen. It is written in one of their books, "Let mechanics examine the four seasons; prepare the six materials; daily and monthly investigate the progress of their pursuits; abide together in their own departments; and thus complete their business." These words which I have now quoted, are found in a book called the Sacred Edict of the emperor Kanghe. He lived about a hundred years ago. It is very common among the Chinese for persons of the same occupation to live "together" in the same neighborhood. Especially is this the case with the mechanics. The four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, are to be _examined_ for two purposes. The one is, for the purpose of observing various superstitious rites and ceremonies, which they vainly suppose necessary to secure success in business. The other is, for selecting and storing up, on _lucky days_, the "six materials." The six materials are, earth, metal, stone, wood, animals, and fibrous plants. Of earth they make bricks, tiles, porcelain, and a great variety of wares. Of metals they make implements of husbandry, and war, &c. Stone is used for building bridges, houses, temples, and especially for making idols. These, and all other materials, are selected with great care, and many ceremonies, which make the ordinary labors of this people, in many respects, exceedingly hard. To‑day is the birth‑day of the god of fire, and the mechanics of Canton are expending thousands of dollars in order to secure his protection. There are some kinds of workmanship which exhibit very little skill or taste. There are other kinds which are excellent. The Chinese, it is said, make good clocks, but do not succeed in making watches. Very much of their work is, indeed, good in its kind; and, usually, remarkably simple. The Chinese mechanics almost always work by a pattern; and every thing so far as it is for their own use, must be made according to _old custom_. This people are very far from thinking that every generation grows wiser and wiser. On the contrary, they think that the _ancients_ were, in many respects, the perfect models of perfection. Hence to imitate, and to be like them, is the utmost of their wishes. This is the case with the mechanics. Hence ships, boats, houses, shops, temples, furniture, and implements of every kind, are made just like those made years and years ago. I will give you one single example. Instead of knives and forks, which they never use, they have two small round sticks, about the size of the old fashion pipe‑stems, and about a foot long. These _nimble lads_, for so they call the two round sticks, they hold in their right hand, and with a bowl of food in their left, raised quite up to the chin, they jerk the food into their mouth with astonishing rapidity. These sticks, by foreigners usually called chop‑sticks, have been in common use, according to the Chinese account of them, more than three thousand years. But as children are early trained to the use of these sticks, perhaps there is no loss or disadvantage in continuing their use. Yet, even when there would be a great improvement, as in the helms of their ships, they must (because their government compels them) adhere strictly to _old custom_. According to law, the different kinds of mechanics are all, I believe, to be enrolled in the government offices. The following is a specimen of those in this city. Shoe‑makers, twenty‑five thousand. Carpenters and cabinet‑makers, sixteen thousand. Lapidaries or those who work in stone, seven thousand. Barbers also, seven thousand. I must defer what I have to tell you about the husbandmen and scholars, for another letter. Till then, farewell. Like good children, be diligent and careful in all that you have to do; especially be diligent and careful in your studies, and committing to memory the holy Scriptures. Remember that good and wise children will make glad their parents. So may you do. And may God our heavenly Father keep you from all sin. So writes Your true friends, E.C.B. ______ LETTER VI. _Canton_, (_China_) _Nov_. 4, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑The Chinese rulers of the present day, say to their people,‑‑"give the chief place to husbandry and the cultivation of the mulberry‑tree, in order to procure adequate supplies of food and raiment." To impress this precept on the minds of the people, they add,‑‑"if a man plough not, he will very likely suffer hunger; if a woman weave not, she may probably feel the cold. Of old time, the emperors themselves ploughed, and their empresses cultivated the mulberry; they disdained not to labor, in order that, by their example, they might excite the millions of the people to lay due stress on the radical principles of economy." And yet again they add,‑‑"We wish our people to exert their whole strength in agriculture. Do not love idleness and hate labor; do not be diligent at first, and slothful afterwards; do not, because of a deficient season, reject your fields and plantations; do not covet the multiplied profits of commerce, and change the good old employment. Agriculture alone is the fundamental employment." I have made these quotations, in order to show you in what estimation agriculture is held by the emperors of China. In regard to "farming business," they act very wisely, and set before their people a good example. For a long time the Chinese have been regarded, as among the best, and the most ancient _tillers of the ground_. Very many of the people are farmers. A pretty large proportion, I should think six‑eights, of the whole population engage in agricultural pursuits. Some notices of their implements and modes of husbandry, and the productions of their soil, will serve to illustrate the _character_ and _condition_ of those who make _agriculture their essential employment_. Their farming tools are few in number, and simple in the structure. Not a wheel carriage of any description have I yet seen in China, excepting only fire engines, which, both foreign and native built, are usually drawn on four wheels. In the north of China, wheel carriages for various purposes are in common use; but here, all kinds of produce and merchandize, and men and women themselves, are carried, either in boats, or by human strength. The sedan, in which people ride, is made quite like a chaise top, with poles, like thills, extending an equal distance before and behind. Only one person is seated in the sedan, and two strong men stooping down take the poles on their shoulders, and then rising up, lift the sedan about a foot from the ground. In this style, away they go, for miles, like horses. These bearers the Chinese nick‑name mo‑me‑ma, i.e. _no‑tail‑horses_. Similar men are employed to carry heavy burdens. When the weight is only enough for one man, it is suspended from the ends of a light, but very strong bamboo pole, about six feet long, which the bearer balances on his right shoulder. When the weight requires two or more men, it is suspended from the middle of the pole, which is a large round heavy bamboo, about ten feet long. In this way thousands of our fellow‑men are used as beasts of burden. The Chinese use the plough and harrow, which are made similar to those used in America. These are drawn by a single ox, or buffalo,‑‑a very stout animal, of a dun color, well fitted for the work. Their spade, hoe, and rake, and their implements for cutting, threshing, and winnowing grain are, also, like those used in the United States, and in Europe, though much more rude and simple. They commonly use a large pestle and mortar to make flour. They have also mills for grinding, but the stones used are always small, and never turned by water. These mills are, probably, like those referred to the words‑‑"two women shall be grinding at the mill." What I have now told you of their implements, will lead you to form some ideas of the modes of husbandry, which are most common among the Chinese. The very great variety, plenty and perfection of vegetable productions found among this people, give us favorable opinions of their _manner_ of cultivating the earth. Their lands are laid out in extensive fields, and ditches dug, or stones set up, usually serve for land marks. I believe they have no fences, except, sometimes, around their richest gardens,‑‑and these not so much for a defence against the encroachment of beasts, as they are for a protection from thieves and robbers. Very little of their land is left uncultivated. Indeed some of the most rich and beautiful grounds are made so by human industry. Sometimes by embankments built up like mildams, the water is kept back, and acres and acres are made dry land, and rich harvests are gathered, where before it was all covered with water, and men used to drag their nets to catch fish. At other times, hard, sterile hill‑tops, terraced and covered with a rich soil, are made charmingly beautiful, and very productive. Very much is effected by manuring and irrigation. The methods of doing the latter are very curious. But of these and many other things I have not time to speak. Besides I am afraid you will be tired with my long accounts; which, indeed, are becoming much larger than I intended. I could by no means persuade, or allow myself thus to employ a few,‑‑not leisure, hours, did I not hope, and confidently believe, that you will do something for this people. China has long, _long_ been neglected. Scores and scores of laborers are needed, to break up this fallow ground, to sow the good seed, to seek the Lord, the Lord of the harvest, till he come and rain righteousness upon this people, and make them his own husbandry. You know, my dear young friends, that God, our heavenly Father, is very good, that He doeth good to the evil and unthankful, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. _God has been very good to the Chinese_. Of fruit trees, _He_ has given them the rich banana, the apple, peach, walnut, chestnut, orange lemon, and many others. _He_ has given them figs, grapes, and many kinds of berries. Of vegetables, _He_ has given them almost every kind, that can be named. _He_ has caused the mulberry to grow and yield an abundance of material for silk to clothe them. _He_ has given them the _tea plant_ also, and so plenteously, that they can supply the whole world with it, and make themselves rich in the traffic. _He_ has given them abundance of grain for bread, and for meat. _He_ has given them the fishes of the sea, the fowls of heaven, and cattle on a thousand hills. But, alas! _they_ do not love to retain Him in their knowledge. _They_ deny his existence. _They_ worship dumb idols. And, what think you, will become of _them_ when they die? Oh, happy, thrice happy is that nation‑‑thrice happy are those children, whose God is the Lord. Farewell, dear children. The Lord bless you evermore, and your true friend. E.C.B. ______ LETTER VII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Nov_. 22, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑I have already told you about the soldiers, the merchants, the mechanics, and the husbandmen of China; in this letter I will give you some account of the _scholars_. Among all the pagan nations, that have ever been, or now exist, none perhaps, have been more learned than the Chinese. But no people in the world, without the Bible, can be so learned as those nations who have it. Those people, who read, and study, and understand the Holy Scriptures the best, will always be the best scholars; they will have the best taste, the best judgment, the best understanding; and, if they obey what they read, they will have the best hearts. Believe me, my dear children, if you read and _obey_ the Holy Bible, we shall be _truly wise_. God himself will be our teacher: and _His_ holy law will be our school‑master to bring us to Christ. If all people would only read and obey the word of God, then there would be no wars and fightings; there would be no more thieves, no more robbers, no more murderers, no more profane persons, and drunkards, and such like wicked persons. But the Chinese have not the Holy Bible. They have not the wisdom, that is from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools,‑‑_blasphemers of God_,‑‑boasting of things without their measure, and their mouth speaketh great swelling words. They call their emperor _the Son of Heaven_, and bow down before him, and worship him as a divine being. They call their empire _the celestial empire_. They call it also _the middle kingdom_. All the people around them, even all the nations of the earth,‑‑the English and Americans, and all other people, they call ignorant cruel barbarians. I do not dislike the Chinese. I love them; but I dislike their vices and their wickedness. There is a difference in their character and conduct. Some are far more honest, more kind, more upright, and better disposed than others. Usually, not always, the most ignorant are the most wicked. The Chinese pay considerable attention to learning. They have a great many books, some of which contain excellent precepts, and much good instruction. But the good, which their books contain, is almost always mixed up with more or less that is bad, and contrary to the laws of God. Scholars in China are the most respectable part of the community. Some of their scholars of ancient times, they say, were perfect men; and so now the people worship them, and sacrifice to them. They say, also, that "of, old families had their schools; villages their academies; districts their colleges; and the nation her university. Of consequence, no one was left uninstructed." They say, also, that the schools were not intended for one class only but for all the people;‑‑that "if the husbandman can exert his strength in the field; and duly attend to his duty, then he is a scholar,"‑‑and that, "when the soldiers all know how to venerate their superiors, and love their relatives, then they also are scholars." These and more like these, are the sayings of the Chinese, of modern times. But most truly may it be said of this people, that _they say and do not_. Whether all were, or were not, instructed in times "of old," I will not undertake to determine; but at the present time, it is far enough from being the case. If I am able to continue these letters, as I wish, you will see, by and by, when I come to speak of the condition of females, that one half‑‑the _fairest_ half of the community, are excluded from these schools, and left _uninstructed_. Besides, there are not a few men and boys who are left uninstructed. A majority, probably a very large majority, of the male population, above the age of ten years, are taught to read and write. They have numerous district schools, and some colleges; and multitudes make learning their _essential employment_. But their whole system of education is "wretchedly bad." The Chinese language is very curious indeed; there is no language like it in all the world. It is not at all like the English language. They have no alphabet,‑‑no A, B, C, and so forth. They do not write with a pen, but use a pencil made like a small paint‑brush. Their books begin where ours end; that is when they take a book into their hands to read, they open it at the right hand side, instead of the left; and, beginning at the top of the right hand side of the page, read down in columns, passing on from the right to the left, and not from the left to the right, as in the old English spelling‑books. Usually, boys do not begin to learn to read until they eight or ten years old. They are then sent to school, and the master first teaches them how to pronounce the words, and afterwards explains their meaning. Their first school books are very short, and the boys are required to learn them by heart, so that they can repeat them from beginning to end. Their words are very strange looking characters. A very long time ago, they say, that a certain man, by observing the print of the horse's foot in the sand, and the marks on the shell of the tortoise, first found out how to write words, These words were so formed as to be a kind of picture of the things which they signified. Though they have been much changed since they were first found out, yet still they have some resemblance to the object. Boys always study out loud in school, which makes a great deal of noise. When they have learned a few lessons, they then begin to write. The paper is so thin, that they place the copy underneath it, and then try to form the words just like the copy. Most of the boys continue at school only two or three years. But those, who are intended for _scholars_, continue many years, and are from time to time examined for degrees, similar to Master and Bachelor of Arts. Some men in China can get into office by paying money; but all others, who obtain offices of government, are appointed from among the scholars, who have received degrees: so the great object of being scholars is, that they may get into office, and become rulers of the people. The learning of the Chinese is very limited and superficial. They have scarcely any knowledge of astronomy, geography, and history. And so of anatomy, and medicine, and chemistry, and many other kinds of learning they are amazingly deficient. The course of study for all children in China is nearly the same every where. The first book the boy begins with is in poetry. This is the meaning of the first two lines, _man's beginning‑‑nature original good_, that is the nature of man is originally good; or, more fully as they explain them,‑‑_All men are born virtuous and good_. These are the first words, and this the first sentiment the boy learns in school. The words are good enough, and certainly very curious. But what shall we say of the sentiment,‑‑the meaning of the words? Why does God require all men, and all little children to have _new hearts?_ It is because all men have hard hearts, hearts of _stone_, and cannot love _Him_. Why does _He_ require us all to be renewed in the temper of our minds? It is because that as we are born and grow up, _our minds are enmity against God_. Why does Jesus Christ say, _Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God!_ Because that which is born of the flesh is flesh,‑‑_is not virtuous and good_. Farewell, dear children. And may He, who is the former of your bodies, and the father of your spirits, have mercy on you, and send his Holy Spirit that you may be born again,‑‑born of the Spirit, be renewed in your minds, and have new hearts, and love and enjoy God forever. I remain your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER VIII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Nov_. 28, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑The _sailors_, or those who live constantly on the water, ought to be mentioned as a distinct class. They are, indeed, a very numerous people; and, so far as I know, they are no way inferior, or worse than those belonging to the _five_ classes, of which I have already given you some account. Like the seamen of Europe and America, they have been very wrongly neglected. The rivers of China are very numerous, and several of them are very broad, beautiful and majestic. The canals, also, are numerous. And, besides a number of lakes, the country, for an immense distance on the east, and south‑east, is washed by the waves of the Pacific Ocean,‑‑forming along the coast a great number of bays and harbors. On all these waters, vast multitudes of human beings are born, and live, and die;‑‑having, many of them while they live, no home but a boat, or a ship, and when they die, no winding sheet and grave but the waters. On the north bank of one of these rivers, stand the city and suburbs of Canton. The river varies in its breath. At this place, I should think it about forty or fifty rods wide. In another letter, I may tell you something about Canton. I will only state here, that the buildings extend quite down to the river: and in many places, even the ground has been built out beyond the former bank, and in some places much farther than in others, which makes many nooks and corners. These, and indeed, a considerable part of the river, for three or four miles, seem to be almost covered with boats; which are of various descriptions, and in all, probably amount to not less than forty or fifty thousand. The _tanka_ boats are the smallest and most numerous. Tanks means an _egg‑house_, and the boats are so called because they resemble an egg floating on the water. The smallest of these boats are not more than twelve or fifteen feet long, about six broad, and so high, that a person can stand up in them. Their covering is very light, and can be easily adjusted to the state of the weather. Whole families live in these boats; and often besides a good number of children, raise broods of ducks and chickens, which they lash on the outside of the boats in coops. _Ferry‑boats_ differ from the tanks, only by being a little longer and narrower, and not quite so high. There is a ferry right opposite to the place where I live. Four hundred dollars are paid for it annually; and the ferry‑men, or rather _women_, who row and scull the boats, usually carry eight persons at a time, and each person's fare is _eight cash_, of which about eight hundred make a dollar. The scull is a kind of long oar, balanced on a pivot close to one side of the stern of the boat. This "they make use of as the fish does of his tail, thrusting it out, and pulling it to them again, without ever lifting it above water. By this oar, worked in this manner, not only the ferry‑boats, but other, and much larger boats, are urged forward to the greatest possible advantage. It would require a large book to give you a full account of all the different kinds of boats, and ships, and the people that live in them. Hundreds of _passage‑boats_ to Canton, come and go daily. These are something like the ferry‑boats, only they are much larger:‑‑some of them are thirty, forty, or even fifty or more feet in length. They are furnished with one very large mat sail; also with oars, sculls, poles and ropes. When there is no wind, and the water is shallow, the boats are pushed along with the poles; or, if they are close along the bank of a river or canal, ropes are tied to the top of the mast, and the men going on the shore drag the boats along like horses. The number of sailors, or _water‑hands_, the Chinese call them, vary according to the size of the boats‑‑say from ten to twenty, and upwards; and the number of passengers, from ten to one hundred, and upwards. The _canal‑boats_ are large, fine, noble boats, and often carry immense burdens. Numbers of these may always be seen on the river at Canton. They are usually propelled by the same means, and in the same way, that the passage‑boats are. There are also many _smuggling‑boats_, and government _cruisers_. The smuggling boats carry prohibited goods, and such articles as opium. This is an unlawful and wicked business. The cruisers, or _soldier‑boats_, as the Chinese call them, are pretty well manned; but not much feared, even by the smugglers, whom they are commanded to seize, and destroy. Indeed, the men of the cruisers will often take bribes, and so let the smugglers pass; and not only so, but they will themselves, also, engage in the same wicked business. Dragon‑boats, so named from their appearance, are seen annually, on the 17th of June. They are brought out to celebrate a kind of festival; the story about the origin, and object of which, I have not time to tell you. These boats are, sometimes, one hundred feet long, made to resemble a great snake on the water. Well supplied with drums, and gongs, and flags, and men with paddles, they make a curious figure. The _duck‑boats_, which are about the size of the large ferry‑boats, having balanced on each side a large square pen, or coop, containing several hundreds of ducks, are very curious objects. By letting down a kind of trap‑door, the ducks are let out, every day, to get their food, and play in the water, and, sometimes, along the shore; and at night, they all come back and are driven into the boats. Thousands of ducks are raised in this way for the market. The Chinese have, also, many large vessels, some of which are _soldier‑ship_, and others are _merchant‑ships_. Most of these are very rude indeed, and usually furnished with wooden anchors, and a helm or rudder of most monstrous size, awkwardly constructed. The number of men in these vessels varies from forty or fifty to three hundred and upwards. These merchant‑ships are those alluded to in a former letter, which go to Singapore, Batavia, &c., and are usually called _junks_. The _fishing‑boats_ are the last I can mention. They are very numerous, and of almost every size and description. When beholding the occupants of these boats, I have often been reminded of the _fishermen_ of Galilee, whom our blessed Saviour taught, and chose to be his apostles. But, alas, for all these poor sailors, and fishermen! no man cares for their souls. Like brutes they live, like brutes they die. Again, dear children, I bid you adieu! and remain your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER IX. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 3, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑I will now, as I have desired, proceed to tell you about the _character and condition of females_ in China. All that I can write, will give you only an imperfect idea of their degradation. Women, who have been born and nurtured in Christian lands, and have never seen with their own eyes the desolations of the human race in heathen countries, can never know how much they ought to value the blessings of the gospel. In Christian lands, certainly in America, females constitute the most amiable, the most virtuous, and the happiest part of the community. Exactly the opposite is true here. They are the most ugly, the most vicious, and the most miserable. I do not mean that they are born so, or are so by nature. By nature all are alike; for God, that made the world, and all things therein, "hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Thus saith God in the Holy Scriptures. But see now what the Chinese say:‑‑ "When a man is born, he sleeps on a bed; He is clothed in robes, and plays with germs;‑‑ But when a _daughter_ is born, she sleeps on the ground; She is clothed with a wrapper and plays with a tile; She is incapable either of evil or of good:‑‑ If she does ill, she is not a woman; If she does well, she is not a woman; Virtue and vice cannot belong to woman." These, dear children, are the words of one of the ancient _wise_ men of China. And the present condition of females, is in exact accordance with the _sentiment_ which they contain. Females are treated as if they were _incapable either of evil, or of good_. There are no schools for girls. Very few indeed receive any education. Only here and there one, a solitary individual, is able either to read or to write. Such ignorance, and such degradation, do not destroy _female influence_, but leave it to corrupt, and to be corrupted. Thus, in the very nursery, and in the mother's arms, where the story of Christ crucified ought often to be repeated, and where all the first principles of our holy religion should constantly be taught, the little child is left, not only uninstructed in all that is good‑‑but left, to follow vain imaginations, and a mind which is enmity against God. You, dear children, have received, and continue to receive much good instruction from your parents‑‑especially from your mothers. You have line upon line, and precept upon precept. It is not so with little children in China. By precept, and by example, they are taught things contrary to the law of God‑‑taught to dishonor God. They are trained up in the way they should _not_ go, and when they are old, they _do not_ depart from it. Females in China are not like ancient mothers in Israel. They are not like multitudes of excellent women now in Christian lands. Females are regarded as a _very inferior part_ of the community. They are often doomed to the lowest and severest labor. I have often seen the mother, with an infant tied on her back, laboring hard in rowing her husband's boat, while he sat at his ease, smoking his pipe. Females of the poorer class, are every where to be seen meanly attired, and usually barefooted. Those of the higher classes, seldom, if ever appear abroad. Whey they do go out, it is always in sedans;‑‑partly, I suppose, that they may not be seen, and partly, because of their _little feet_. The small foot is an odd thing. A Chinese historian says, "It is not known when the bow foot (that is, the small foot) of females was introduced. About nine hundred years ago, a certain prince," says the same historian, "ordered his concubine to bind her foot with silk, and cause it to appear small, and in the shape of the new moon. From this sprung the imitation of every other female." This is quite like that _fashion_ in America, of lacing so tight as to bring on the consumption. It is astonishing to what a small size their feet are sometimes compressed. The toes, with the exception of the great toe, are doubled under the foot, in the tenderest infancy, and fastened by tight bandages, till they unite with and are buried in, the sole of the foot. This utterly unfits them for walking, and gives them, when they attempt it, an awkward, hobbling gait, like a person trying to walk on his heels. Some of their feet, I have been told, are no more than three inches long. These are what they call the _golden lilies_, are regarded as the very perfection of beauty. I have sent one of these, or rather a model of one of these along with the box of idols, to the Seminary at Andover. Female children are often sold. And there are strong reasons for believing, that there are cases where parents drown their infant female children, in order to free themselves from the care and expense of nursing and supporting them. Mention is made of this fact, in their books. Since I have been in China, I have not seen or heard of a single case. I do not think it true, certainly not in this part of China, that the inhabitants "throw out by thousands their new born infants into the streets, so that they are gathered up by the scavengers every morning." But that great numbers of female children, that have been nursed and reared to the age of six, eight, ten, or twelve years, are _sold_, I have no doubt. Little girls are very often sold. Sometimes they are sold by their parents. Sometimes they are sold by robbers, who have stolen them away from their parents. This practice is very common in Canton, and in other places in the south of China. Sometimes, when they are sold by the parents, it is on condition, that at a certain age, the buyer shall procure for them a husband, and set them at liberty. At other times, and usually, they are sold _unconditionally_. Not long ago, I knew a case, where a little girl, eleven years of age, was sold for _fifty dollars_. A great many of the most beautiful female children among the poor are sold, and carried away to be the inmates of those abominable abodes, of which it is almost a shame even to speak. In the Bible, they are called "the way to hell; going down to the chambers of death." There are many hundreds of these wicked houses in and about Canton. They are just like those bad boats, those floating sepulchres, mentioned in the last letters. A great many of the poor, abandoned creatures that inhabit them, become weary with life, and kill themselves; sometimes three or four more in a company, and at one time. The Judge of Canton recently stated, that eight or nine tenths of the untimely deaths brought to the notice of government, were suicides; and that six or seven tenths were women. With this sad story, I must close this letter. I could relate many facts of the same sort. But I think I have told you enough;‑‑enough to show you how miserably the _fairest_ half of the human family will _always_ be degraded, and abused, until they have the Bible, and enjoy the blessings of the Christian religion. Farewell. Your true friends, E.C.B. ______ LETTER X. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 5, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑In my last letter, I told you about the character and condition of females in China. In this, I will give you an account of the _marriage ceremony_. It will, still farther illustrate the character of this people, and help to cherish, and establish in your young and tender minds, a strong desire for the salvation of this people. To‑day is the first Monday in the month. And it is now, _here_, just about noon. With you it is midnight, and the Sabbath has just departed, leaving all the inhabitants of my dear native land in quiet slumbers. Happy, happy land. Happy, thrice happy children. How different here. Alas, how different! The natural darkness which at this hour gathers around your habitations, and the cold, northern blasts of winter that sweep over the hills of New England, are fit emblems of the thick moral darkness, and death‑like desolations that gather around us here. Without, all is dark as midnight‑‑a howling waste‑‑a desert of immortal souls. My heart aches, as I stand and gaze at gloomy prospects. But within, we have a little light: a little fire has been kindled up. A few names‑‑two or three‑‑hope to join _the concert_ this evening. It is cheering to think, what multitudes, as the earth rolls round will bow the knee in prayer before the throne of God, and continue the voice of fervent supplication, till you, dear children, and thousands and thousands of others, shall be found pleading with God. And oh, remember China. Pray for the missionaries. Pray for the heathen Pray for the rulers. Pray for the people. Pray for the poor children‑‑and for the uninstructed, neglected, and degraded females. Pray that they may all receive the word of God; read it; obey it; be sanctified through it; and thereby made fit for heaven. In China a man often has two or more wives; and sometimes, eight or ten. I have heard of one man, now living in Canton, who has _twenty‑four:_ and says, he means to have a new one every year. Of my three boys, of whom I hope to tell you more by and by‑‑the oldest one's father has two wives, the second one's, four, and third one's father, only one. In China, as in ancient Judea, children are often espoused, when quite young. But they are not usually married, until girls arrive at the age of 14 or 16; and boys to the age of 18 or 20 years. When parents wish to have a daughter married, they write on a sheet of red paper, the year, month, day, and hour of her birth, and give the paper to a go‑between‑match‑maker, who carries it to the house of the intended husband, and brings back, from his parents, a similar statement. After this the girl's father is introduced to the young man, and his mother on the other side, is introduced to the girl. Many presents of fancy articles, dresses, meats, cakes, fruits, and the like are then interchanged, and the marriage contract is considered as _settled_. Two, three, four or more years, or perhaps only a few months elapse, which time is usually regulated by the age of the parties, and then other, and more valuable gifts are reciprocated; and another interval of months, or years passes away, and then comes the wedding day. On that day the young man sends a sedan to bring home the bride. This sedan is always elegant, and often superb, costing several hundred dollars. It is made quite like those described in a former letter, but always so constructed as entirely to conceal the person carried in it. In this sedan, the young woman is seated by her parents, and tears are shed both by the daughter and parents, as she is separated from them, and borne off in the marriage procession. This is often a very long procession, sometimes consisting of several hundred persons, some in the procession carrying embroidered canopies; others carrying large, elegant lanterns; others bearing pots of incense; and others laden with the girl's toilet wardrobe, bedding, furniture, provisions, cakes, sweet‑meats, &c. Among others are bands of musicians. I have seen in a single procession eight bands, and six or eight persons in each band. Some of the bands, and some of the bearers of the incense pots and the other things, consist of boys 8, or 10, or 12 years old, fancifully dressed in uniform. In one instance, I have seen a band of girls in the procession. They were six in number, neatly dressed, two about nine years of age, two of twelve, and two of fifteen. They were all on foot, immediately preceding the sedan; and close behind it, carried on men's shoulders, in the same manner as the sedan, was a sty containing a monstrous hog. When the procession arrives at the gate of the bridegroom's house, he meets the sedan, and conducts it to an inner apartment, when, for the _first time_, he is permitted to _see_ the face of his bride. Two or three days are then spent in festivity, and a long, tedious round of ceremonies, worshipping their household gods, the gods of their ancestors, &c. Many of their friends call to see, and congratulate them. And thus the marriage ceremony is consummated. It appears, that in all this business, the children have nothing to say. According to the laws and usage of the land, it is the children's duty to receive the object of their parent's choice, Nothing in China can be more absolute than a parent's' authority. In certain cases, it may, and does with impunity, take the life of the child. Such authority is liable to abuse; and often in connexion with such a strange system of wedlock, it becomes a must fruitful source of dislike, deception, strife, hatred, and almost every other evil passion. The Chinese have many laws on the subject of marriages, specifying all the steps necessary in order to make them legal; and showing, also, how and when they may be set aside, or be broken. It has been stated on good authority, that "Through the Chinese empire, there are only about one hundred family names." One law is, "that persons of the same family name‑‑surname‑‑may not intermarry." It would be curious to know the reason of this. Another law is, that taking a second wife, after the decease of the first, or in purchasing concubines, the man is at liberty to see the females, and choose for himself. A widow, also, who is desirous of wedding a second time, does not hesitate to show herself to the intended husband. Their laws mention seven cases, in which a man may be justified in putting away his wife; (1.) barrenness; (2.) lasciviousness; (3.) disregard of her husband's parents; (4.) talkativeness; (5.) thievish propensities; (6.) envious and suspicious temper; (7.) inveterate infirmity. There are several other topics on which I wish to write before I close these letters. In the next, I will tell you about the beggars. Farewell. Ever and always remembering you in my prayers, I remain, your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XI. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 7, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑"For ye have the poor with you always," said our Savior, "and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good." In connexion with what I have to tell you about the _beggars_, I wish to give you some account of the _food_ and _clothing_, common and peculiar among the Chinese. The proportion of poor people and beggars, and the difference between the rich and the poor, is I think, much greater here than in the United States. The Chinese are rather fond of dress. The rich, and all who can afford it, and many who cannot, usually dress very well. Sometimes their dresses are rich and costly: and children here, as every where else, are fond enough of fine, gay clothing. And prettier lads certainly, I have rarely seen, than some of the Chinese boys, when neatly dressed. Sometimes, however, the little fellows, with their great boots, and one garment piled on another to the number of six or eight, or even more, and the long tail hanging down to their heels, and the head crowned with a long tasseled cap, make a very ridiculous appearance. The _whole_ dress of the Chinese is different from ours. To begin with the shoes and boots; these are made with black, brown, or red cloth, for the upper part, while the soles are of leather or wood, an inch or more in thickness, with snow white edges. They usually wear long white silk, or linen stockings, made of cloth; sometimes knit. These are drawn up to the knee, and fastened with garters. Sometimes the stockings are drawn over the trowsers; at other times, they are made, or worn at least, like the old fashioned short breeches. These three articles are usually the same through the year, and vary only in quality, according to the circumstances of the persons, being made every where in the same _old fashion_. Beggars are often seen in the streets, in the most loathsome condition, with no other clothing than a tattered pair of trowsers; indeed many of the laborers in the fields and shops, during the warm weather, wear nothing else‑‑but in the latter case, the articles are of good material, and well made. Their trowsers are never supported by braces over the shoulders, but always, among the rich and poor alike, by a girdle about the loins. To this girdle in front, a small bag or wallet is attached; this is "an indispensable," and in it, they carry cash, a small knife, &c. &c. In America, the man who has not a shirt to his back, must be poor indeed. In China, the poor seldom have such an article; and not a few, even among the gentle‑folks, often go without it, especially in summer. In which case, the only dress, in addition to shoes, stockings, and trowsers, is a long frock, made quite like that worn by farmers in New England, at haymaking. All the upper garments, whether for warm weather or cold, are made in the same fashion, with long, large sleeves, and without any collars for the neck. These garments are sometimes short, only coming down to the waist‑‑but sometimes to the knees, or ancles. They are fastened with small round buttons and loops, either down in front, or under one arm. When the weather grows cold, they increase the number of these garments, putting on five, or six, or eight, or even more at a time. Some of these garments, when made of silk, or broadcloth, and fastened close about the waist with a sash, make a very fine dress. Their shortest frocks are frequently made of fur. The common covering for the head is a kind of skull‑cap; but in warm weather all the people go bare‑headed, with nothing but a fan (which they always carry) to keep off the sun. They have a cloth or wool hat, of a conical form, like the unfinished hats, sometimes seen in hatters' shops. They have also a hat made of fine bamboo, in the same form, and yet another kind with a brim so broad, that it serves as an umbrella, either to keep off the sun or the rain. Such is a description of the ordinary clothing of the common and poorer classes of people; that of the rich is usually quite in the same style, but the quality of the articles always superior. The rich also wear ornamental articles, as beads, bracelets, &c. &c. The dress of the females is not very unlike that of men;‑‑they usually wear trowsers, and a folded petticoat, depending several inches below their frocks. Their head‑dress is very pretty; the hair is tastefully folded on the back on the head, and fastened by a neat brace and pin. They are remarkably fond of flowers on their heads‑‑not artificial, but natural ones. The _mourning_ dress is not black‑‑but white, or what approaches almost to white‑‑but more of this in another letter. Rice, among the Chinese, in this part of the empire, is the staff of life. Multitudes obtain no other food. To breakfast, is "_to eat morning rice:_"‑‑this is at ten o'clock. To dine or sup, is "_to eat evening rice:_"‑‑this meal they have about five o'clock, P.M. When they can obtain a little salt or dried fish, a few vegetables to eat with their rice, and also tea, which they always drink without milk or sugar, then they have "good living," and these few simple articles constitute the ordinary food and drink, among the common and poorer classes. A single kettle to boil their rice‑‑a pan to fry their fish and vegetables‑‑a large bowl for the boiled rice‑‑and a small bowl and a pair of chop‑sticks, make up the whole of their table furniture, if indeed they are so happy as to have a table. But whether they have or not, the large bowl of rice forms the centre, and around this squat on their heels, or seated on wooden stools, they arrange themselves, and receive their humble fare, with no doubtful marks of a good relish. From these poor people, the common and richer classes differ, only in the amount and quality of their furniture, and provisions; the style as in the case of dress, being nearly the same through all the grades of society. The tables of the rich are often very sumptuous. There is nothing, scarcely, whether vegetable or animal, which the Chinese do not eat. Besides all kinds of fish, birds, horned cattle, sheep and hogs, they eat horses, dogs, cats, rats, &c. Tea is used in great abundance, and is almost their only beverage. They seldom drink water alone, because they think it unhealthy. The Chinese are not greatly addicted to the use of strong drink; less, probably, than the Christian people of Europe and America. This, I think, is in no small degree, owing to their constant use of tea. I have not time to extend these remarks; you see there is no lack of inquiry about what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed. These are the very things after which the _Gentiles_ seek; and they seek them with their whole soul, and mind, and strength. Yet great numbers live‑‑perhaps are compelled to live‑‑solely by begging. In Canton, beggars are very numerous. They have, it is said, laws for begging, and a head man, who among the foreigners is called "the king of the beggars." Men and women of all ages, may be seen begging; great numbers of them are _blind_. When they go through the streets, they carry in one hand a cane to feel their way, and in the other a dish or bag to receive money or food, or any thing people please to give them. Sometimes they are seen in companies, of 3, 4, 6, or 10, or even more; they hollow or sing, or rather "cry out" as they go. One of their laws is, that when they enter a house or shop, they will not go till something is given them. With bamboo sticks, or gongs, they set up a most vexatious clatter, and in this way trouble and annoy people, till they give them something; and, if it be no more than a single _cash_, then they must "be off." Your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 9, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑Having no fear of God before their eyes, the Chinese often become very wicked and guilty of numerous crimes, not only against _Him_, whose eternal power and godhead they deny, but against their fellow‑men. This wickedness and these crimes, expose them to many and very severe punishments. Lying, gambling, quarrelling, theft, robbery, and bribery, are among their most common vices. There are _five_ punishments; (1.) to beat with a small bamboo; (2.) to beat with a large bamboo; (3.) banishment to another district or province; (4.) perpetual banishment to the borders of the empire; and (5.) death. These five, are sometimes reduced to three, the bamboo, banishment, and death. It may be remarked, also, that these punishments are sometimes exchanged for others. _Lying_, among a great majority of the population, seems to be regarded as a very small offence,‑‑provided the lie be not detected. There are men, I believe, who will not lie; but while this great wickedness is disallowed of by a few, multitudes will ever and always practise it; if they only suppose they shall be the gainers thereby. Officers of Government will tell lies to one another. The people will lie to the magistrates; children to their parents; and servants to their masters. Instead of supposing every man to be honest, until he is proved to be a rogue, they seem to regard every one as a rogue, until he _proves himself to be honest_. _Gambling_ is a chief "crying sin" among the Chinese. They are notorious gamblers. Old and young, rulers and subjects, rich and poor, will gamble; nor have they much regard to the time, or place, when they gamble. I have often seen them gambling in their temples. Thousands are ruined by this sin. _Quarrels_ spring up from lying, and gambling, and other wicked practices, just as surely as briers, thorns, and thistles spring up in a rich but uncultivated soil. Their strange mode of marriage too, is a fruitful source of quarrels. As to their quarrels, it has been well said,‑‑"A Chinese would stand and reason with a man, when an Englishman would knock him down, or an Italian stab him. It is needless to say which is the more rational mode of proceeding." I am not aware that the Chinese ever fight duels‑‑though in their quarrels, persons are often killed. They are great scolds, and use the most obscene and abusive language. _Theft_ and _robbery_ are the most common among the poor, though it is _not_ confined to them. Among such multitudes of beggars, it often happens, that they cannot obtain sufficient food and clothing to make themselves comfortable. By gambling also, multitudes are reduced to beggary and want; hence come bands of thieves and robbers, trained and prepared for any and every thing that is evil. Theft and robbery constitute one of the greatest scourges in this land; and no part of the country, from one extremity of the empire to the other, is free and secure from this evil. Since I commenced this letter, one of my boys has told me of a case of this kind, which has just occurred in the neighborhood. It is as follows;‑‑two men, dressed like poor females, entered a rich man's house late in the evening, and wished to be lodged there during the night. This privilege was granted them. When all were asleep, they silently put off their false dress, packed up a large number of rich articles belonging to the house, and were about to escape, when they were discovered, seized, carried away to the magistrates and sentenced to be beheaded.‑‑Though decapitation is not the severest punishment, yet more than two hundred instances of it have occurred in Canton in a single year. _Bribery_ is very common in China; perverting just judgment, and screening the guilty. This wickedness is most common among the rich. Almost all the rulers of the land, will take bribes. Many defrauders and injurious persons, many thieves, and robbers, and murderers, escape through bribes. _Money is_ seen to be, here, _the root of all evil_. "A little silver physic," it is said, "has often brought a dead man to life." The immense quantity of _opium_ that is smoked here, is a most fruitful source of crime. Many of the practised villains, when they wish to contrive new plans of wickedness, have recourse to this _black commodity:_ which produces a most astonishing effect, in enabling the _smokers_ to frame new schemes of darkness. It has been said, and by a man of sound judgment and correct observation, (I am sorry to say that he is an American, and an extensive dealer in opium,) that the "_drug_" is doing more to break down the superstitions of China, and to open the country to foreigners, than all the efforts of missionaries. There is a degree of _apparent_ truth in this man's very honest remark, and I think just as much _real_ truth, as if he had said, "to set fire to their houses, and butcher the inhabitants, will do more to break down the superstitions of China, and open the country to foreigners, than all the efforts of Bibles, and tracts, and missionaries." Whether it be a crime or not, to bring and sell opium to this people;‑‑and whether it be a crime or not, for this people to use it, when brought and sold by the hands of Christians, I will not undertake to say,‑‑but I believe, stubborn facts compel me to believe, that _of all the causes of crime,_ among the inhabitants of the Chinese empire, OPIUM, brought and sold at the rate of a million of dollars per month, _is the greatest_. It is nothing better, than to scatter fire‑brands, arrows, and death. Simply being put in prison, seems hardly to be regarded as a punishment among this people; though multitudes are imprisoned and suffered greatly thereby. The common instruments of punishment are, (1.) the _bamboo_, about the size of large cane; (2.) the _yoke_, a heavy plank three feet square, and thirty‑three pounds weight; (3.) the _chain_ to fasten the criminals to the block; (4.) _hand‑cuff_, large and long, made of wood; and (5.) _iron fetters_. Such are some of the most common crimes, and such are the instruments of punishment in China. To determine the degree of criminality, and fix the punishment accordingly, is among most nations very difficult, but the Chinese make it very easy, at least they make it appear so in their law books, The degrees of punishment are twenty,‑‑the first ten, are with bamboo; the next eight, banishment; the last two, death. For a very small offence, amounting to the first degree of criminality, the offender may receive ten blows; increasing his guilt _five_ times, the fifty blows, &c. These blows may be changed for the yoke, the chain, the hand‑cuffs, &c. For some of the larger crimes, as bribery and the like, persons are bambooed, and then sent into banishment. Sometimes, only from one province to another, as from the north to the south, and from the south to the north; at other times, criminals are sent a long distance, to the frontiers of the empire, for many years, and even for life. The highest degrees of crime are punishable with death. The most common mode of inflicting death, is by cutting off the head, and this is done by a kind of short sword. For very heinous crimes, the offender is sentenced to be _cut into ten thousand pieces_. I intended to have said something to you, on the subject of _slavery_ in China but must pass it by without a single remark. Again adieu. Your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XIII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 10, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑"Then shall the dust return to the dust as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." In an empire so ancient and populous as China, the number of human beings that have _returned to the earth_, must be great indeed; greater than any man can number. For more than thirty hundred years, one generation after another, in awfully rapid succession, have gone to the dead. Almost all the hills and uplands about Canton and Macao, which are not covered with the habitations of the living, are filled with the abodes of dead. In Macao, almost every rod of ground, which is safe from water, even to hard, rocky hill tops, has some emblem,‑‑a turfed hillock, a stone, or a little enclosure, to remind the visiter of the sleepers below. When I have walked over these grounds,‑‑these abodes of the dead, thoughts have arisen in the mind, which you may conceive, but which I cannot express. O, what multitudes will rise _here_, at the sound of the last trumpet! What vast congregations will come up from these burying places, and stand with us before the judgment seat of Christ! Every day is adding to the number of this vast congregation. Death does not wait for his victims‑‑death does not wait till the heathen have the gospel preached unto them. And unless these multitudes of the living, _speedily_ obtain mercy of him, of whom they are now ignorant, how shall they come forth to the resurrection of life? Will the heathen be saved, who never heard the gospel? I ask you, dear children, do _you_ think the heathen can be saved, unless the gospel be preached unto them, and they _believe_ in the name of Jesus? It is very painful to all think, that all the millions of our fellow creatures, who are now ignorant of the Savior, must, when they die, sink down to hell. But how can it be otherwise? "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." But "how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent!" And now, dear children, I desire to ask again, what do _you_ think of these words, which I have quoted from the tenth chapter of Romans? What do you think St. Paul meant? He means to say,‑‑if I understand him, he means to affirm,‑‑in the most positive manner, by the questions which he asks, that the heathen, who do not hear and believe the gospel, _cannot be saved_. I fear that many very good people have wrong ideas on this subject; and do not consider and realize the awful condition of the heathen; for I am persuaded, that if they did see and realize, they would do very differently from what they ever have done yet; they would feel and act as Jesus Christ did; they would be willing to become poor, to labor and toil, and even die for the salvation of the heathen. With a desire that you may have correct ideas of the real condition of the Chinese, I have been urged on to write these letters. I have stated many facts; but you will desire, I presume, to know something more about their _ideas of death, style of mourning, funerals_, &c. Having very little if any knowledge of the true God, the Chinese are entirely ignorant of _another world:_‑‑of heaven and hell,‑‑of the joys of the one, and the terrors of the other, as revealed in the Bible. All their notions about the soul of man, are very dark and confused. Many think that the _soul dies_, and ceases to exist with the body. Others think that when the body dies, the soul goes away and enters into other bodies‑‑birds, beasts, or men. All this ignorance makes the Chinese very careless about death, and all that which is to come upon them. They die like the brutes. Such are their ideas of death. When a parent dies, a messenger is sent to announce it to all the relatives. A board, or a long slip of brownish white paper, is hung up at the door, on which is written the person's name, age, and virtues, &c. The children and grand‑children of the deceased, sit on the ground, and weep and mourn. Relations come in and dress the corpse; and many long and tedious ceremonies are performed. Usually, after three times seven days, the funeral takes place. A large concourse of friends and mourners assemble; and a procession is formed with priests, bands of music, flags, &c. &c.‑‑all quite like one of the marriage processions, which I have already described. Meats, fruits, cakes of various kinds, are carried as offerings to the dead, and the procession moves on to the burying place. This is always selected with great care, and is usually a hill. Only two things, it has been said, are feared by the Chinese after death, "a watery grave, and a white ant sepulchre." It is not every day, that they may bury the dead; they must wait for a luck‑day. Many of these processions may be seen in a single day. Some of the funerals are very expensive. Two occurred in this neighborhood last summer; one of a father, the other of a wife, on each of which more than ten thousand dollars were expended. The _mourning_ costume is like a brownish white, with a perfectly white napkin around the head, and sometimes around the loins; and their shoes are exchanged for sandals. By the death of a father, a son is disqualified for, and is obliged to retire from office, for three years. Great care must be taken to have a good burying place; and for want of such, and means to bury the dead, bodies sometimes lie months and years in coffins, unburied. There were _ten thousand_ such in Canton last year. I know of one family where there are thirteen in this state. But from the accounts of the dead, I think you will be willing, if not glad, to have me desist. I will do so; and, if the Lord will, I desire to proceed and give you some account of what has been done for China. In the next letter, I propose to speak of the labors of the Rev. Dr. Morrison, Tell then, farewell. Your true friends, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XIV. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 12, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich. You know how, while on earth, he went about doing good; how he loved poor sinners, and wept because they repented not; and how he loved little children, and used to take them in his arms and bless them. You remember how, at a certain time, he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And you remember, how, just before he went back to heaven, he commanded his disciples _to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost_. I will now tell you what has been done to make known the gospel of God among the Chinese. Some have supposed that St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, came into China, and preached the gospel; and one man, a Portuguese, has supposed that he even passed to America. There is no proof of all this, and nobody now believes it. But it is very probable, though not quite certain, that some missionaries from Syria, came into China, about seven hundred years after the death of Christ. Roman Catholic missionaries came into China more than five hundred years ago, and have continued here ever since. At one time, they had a great many converts, but now they have very few, for they have been persecuted, and most of the missionaries driven out of the country. The Catholics, all the time they have been in this country, have never given the Chinese the Bible. The very first thing Protestant Christians ever thought of doing for the Chinese, was to _give them the Holy Bible:_ This was a most excellent plan. It was first suggested by that good man, Joseph Hardcastle, Esq. of England. He was then the treasurer of the London Missionary Society.‑‑But as yet the Bible had never been translated into the Chinese language, and there was nobody able to translate it. So the Society resolved to send out a mission, and the Rev., now Dr. Robert Morrison, was the first person who engaged to go. He had, for some time, been thinking on the subject of missions. This was just at the time when Samuel J. Mills, and others with him, in Williams College, were thinking on the same subject; and like them, "he would have gone," I quote Dr. Morrison's own words, "to any quarter of the globe, where the people were yet without a divine revelation." He once thought of going to Africa, and would doubtless have gone, had the way been opened. But the Lord had other work for him to accomplish. On the 31st of Jan. 1807, Dr. Morrison left England, crossed over to the United States, where he tarried about twenty days, and became acquainted with some good people in Philadelphia, from whence he arrived in China on the 4th of September, the same year. His situation in China was trying enough. He was alone, without companions, a stranger in a strange land. At first he lived in a _godown_, a room occupied for a store house, or a lodging‑place for servants, where he studied, ate, and slept. His lamp was made of earthen ware, and a large Bible served for a screen to keep the wind from blowing it out. He lived like the Chinese; put on their dress, the long frock, the thick‑soled shoes; let his hair grow long, and ate with chop‑sticks. Afterwards, he found that this was not the best way, so he changed his dress, and mode of living. Before leaving England, Dr. Morrison obtained an imperfect and incomplete manuscript copy of the New Testament in the Chinese language. After he arrived in China, he was very diligent, night and day, studying the language, continually reading, writing, and speaking it; and, in about three years, began to print the New Testament in Chinese. Soon after, he published a little tract, called, "_The Divine Doctrine, concerning the Redemption of the World_." He also published a catechism. And in 1813, six years after his arrival, he completed the whole New Testament. It was just at this time, when he had been in the field alone six years, that another missionary arrived to assist him. I hope to tell you more of Dr. Milne, in another letter. Before this time, Dr. Morrison had prepared two books about the Chinese language, written in English, in order to assist other missionaries in learning the language. He had also instructed, for about two years, four orphan boys. I have not time, in a single letter, to tell you all I could wish, about what he has done. He has published many books, and accomplished much in other ways. In the Chinese language, he has prepared and published the New Testament, and two tracts above mentioned; the largest half of the Old Testament, the other half was done by Dr. Milne; an outline of the Old Testament history; daily Morning and Evening Prayers, being a translation of the Common Prayer Book; also, a Hymn Book; and, recently, a book in three or four volumes, called the _Family Instructor:_ making in all, about 20 vols. Besides, he has written other books, but had not money to publish them. The translation of the _whole Bible_ was completed in the autumn of 1819, and published soon after. In English, he has written and published two volumes of sermons and lectures; a little book about China, for Sabbath school children; he has also written a great many papers about China, which have been printed in the Canton newspapers, "The Canton Register," published by an English gentleman, and in the "Anglo Chinese Gleaner," published at Malacca; and others, printed in other places. In Chinese and English, that is, a part of each page Chinese, and a part English, he has written and published six quarto volumes, about the size of Scott's Bible, constituting a most excellent Dictionary; also six octavo vols. in the same style. These twelve volumes have been prepared for the purpose of assisting those who wish to learn the Chinese language. About a year after Dr. Morrison came to China, the English East India Company wished him to be their translator. He complied, and has ever since acted in that capacity. He thought it his duty to do so, that he might, by the labor of his own hands, relieve others from the burden of supporting himself and family. This, in a considerable degree, he has done. For upwards of twenty years he has received _no_ salary from any charitable institution. The London Missionary Society assist him every year in defraying a part of his house‑rent, which, in China, is very high‑‑ten or twelve hundred dollars annually. Being translator for the company, they were willing to defray the expenses of publishing his Dictionary, which was more than £12,000.‑‑And besides this, and what he has done for the support of his own family, it has enabled him to give between 8 and 10,000 dollars for the promotion of Christianity among the Chinese; a considerable part of this sum was expended in founding the Anglo Chinese College at Malacca; of this, I will tell you more when I come to write about Dr. Milne. The same day he became translator to the company, he was married to Miss Morton, an excellent and pious lady, who had a long time resided in India. Their first born son died the same day in which he breathed the breath of life. The infant was interred on the top of a little hill, at the north extremity of Macao; and in a beautiful enclosure, not far from where he now sleeps, are the earthly remains of his mother. Mrs. Morrison died June 10, 1821. In 1824, Dr. Morrison visited England, and returned in 1826. While in his native country, he married Miss Armstrong, a pious and accomplished lady. He has now living in China, six children; four sons and two daughters. His family reside at Macao, for the Chinese will not allow foreign ladies to come to Canton. His eldest son, John Robert Morrison, is already quite a master of Chinese, and acts as translator to the British merchants in China. Dr. Morrison is now fifty years old, and it is more than 24 years since he came to China. The Lord has been very good to him, and has blessed him, and given good success to the labor of his hands. He has lived to see many and most glorious results from the very small beginnings he was permitted and enabled to make; but the judgment of the great day, only, can display all the effects of his long and arduous labors. Every Christian prays in secret; but he has often preached in secret, with his doors locked around him, and only one or two to listen to the sound of the gospel. No church has yet been gathered and organized in China. Several individuals have believed, and have been baptized; and the Lord's supper has, occasionally, been administered. The first baptism was in 1814. This man came to Dr. Morrison's house, and heard him talk of Jesus, the first year he was in China. "At a spring of water," says Dr. Morrison, "issuing from a lofty hill by the sea‑side, away from human observation, I baptized, into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, _Tsae‑a‑ko_. O that the Lord may cleanse him from all sin in the blood of Jesus, and purify his heart by the influences of the Holy Spirit. May he be the first fruits of a great harvest; one of millions who shall believe, and be saved from the wrath to come." During much of his time in China, Dr. Morrison has preached to the English and American residents. He is now with his family at Macao; and, during the past season, has usually had four religious services on each Lord's day; a morning and evening service in English, and a morning and evening service in Chinese. From 4 to 20 persons have usually attended on the English, and about 15 on the Chinese services. Thus, my young friends, I have given you a brief account of one whom God has employed in this part of the great field; and though he has accomplished so much, he looks upon it all as nothing. He is truly a most excellent man, and I love him much. And I desire that you will always pray for him; that the Lord will preserve him, and bless him more and more, and all those who are engaged with him in the gospel. I remain your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XV. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 13, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑I told you in the last letter about Dr. Morrison, and the commencement of the mission to China. I will now give you some account of Dr. Milne, and the missions among the Chinese, established out of China. The missionary stations established among the Chinese, residing or settled abroad without the Chinese empire, may be reckoned five in number. They are at the following places namely: Malacca, Penang, Java, Singapore, and Siam. I wish you to look out all these places on the maps, and learn from your geographies all you can about them. This will assist you very much to understand and remember what you read about the missions. The Rev. William, afterwards Dr. Milne, with his wife, arrived at Macao in China, the 4th of July, 1813, just at the time as before stated, when Dr. Morrison had finished the translation of the New Testament. A day or two after his arrival, he was ordered by the (then) Portuguese Governor of Macao, to leave the place immediately. He did so, and came up to Canton. Here he resided for several months, enjoying that hospitality among the heathen, which had been denied in a Christian colony. Macao is a small town. You will see it on your maps, situated 70 or 80 miles south of Canton. It is the only European or foreign settlement in China. The Portuguese have lived there two or three hundred years. Dr. Milne remained about six months; in the mean time, with the assistance of his friend, Dr. Morrison, he got 2,000 copies of the New Testament, and 15,000 Christian tracts, printed in Chinese. These he put on board a ship, in which he embarked with 450 Chinese emigrants, all bound to Java. Dr. Milne was a very active man on board ship; and at Java, wherever he went, he was delighted to give away tracts and Bibles. He loved to do good to all men, as he had opportunity. From Java, he went to Malacca, which place afterwards became his home, and the seat of the Anglo Chinese college, of which he was the first principal. From Malacca, he returned to China, conferred with Dr. Morrison about the mission, and then, with Mrs. Milne, returned to Malacca, which place was not only their home, but also their _grave_. The one died in 1819, Mrs. M., the other, in 1822. They left behind them four or five children, to mourn their loss. Dr. Milne, his wife, and their little daughter Amelia, and two infant twin boys born on their passage down the Chinese sea, arrived at Malacca, May 21, 1815. This was the commencement of the mission at Malacca. Schools were opened‑‑children collected and taught‑‑books printed and circulated. The Bible was read, and the poor had the gospel preached to them‑‑preparations were made for the college, and its foundation laid, November 11, 1818. Malacca, you will see by reference to your maps, is not far from China, Cochin China, Siam, and many islands where great numbers of Chinese reside. It is also a healthy place, and under a great and good government. These and other considerations induced Drs. Morrison and Milne to resolve on the mission, and the establishment of the college. At the outset, Dr. Morrison gave $4,000 for the benefit of the college, and up to the present time, has been its chief support, and the Lord has blessed and prospered the work. The number of Chinese students in the college, has usually been about 30. The regular course of studies occupies six years. The aboriginal inhabitants of Malacca and the adjacent regions are called Malays. For this people also, schools have been established and supported, and they prosper. Many thousands of Bibles and tracts have been printed and sent out from the college, and these have gone far and wide, the silent messengers of the truth of God. The Rev. Samuel Kidd, of the London Missionary Society, is now principal of the college. Penang, or the Prince of Wales Island, you will see by referring again to your maps, is situated off the west coast of the peninsula of Malacca‑‑you will find it about the 6th degree of north latitude. It is a beautiful situation, and has a good government. The number of Chinese is about 8 or 10,000, 14 or 15,000 Malays. There are also Siamese and Burmese. This mission was begun in 1819. It has now two missionaries with their wives; the Rev. S. Dyer for the Chinese, and the Rev. T. Beighton for the Malays. These missionaries are very devoted, and are doing great good. They have a number of schools for children, where they teach them daily out of the Holy Scriptures, of the way of salvation by Jesus Christ; and by the books which the children receive, much good instruction is conveyed to the parents. But I have not time to give you all the particulars of this and the other stations of the straits. The same year, namely 1819, the mission was begun in Java. The seat of this mission is at Batavia. The elevated island of Java, presents some very fine tracts of country. Batavia itself is unhealthy, but a few miles out of the town where foreigners generally reside, the country is delightful, and the climate agreeable. The Rev. W.H. Medhurst is the missionary at the stations. He and Mrs. Medhurst have been very abundant in their labors, and as their labors multiply, their zeal and their success increase. Mr. Medhurst has travelled in various parts of Java and the neighboring islands, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and scattering in every direction the good seed of the word of God. Another mission was commenced this same year, 1819. This was at Singapore, an island situated in the straits, not far distant from the south‑eastern extremity of the peninsular of Malacca. At this station, from the commencement to the present time, there have been laborers both for the Malays and for the Chinese. The Rev. C.H. Thompson for the Malays, and the Rev. J. Tomlin for the Chinese. These missionaries have travelled and scattered abroad the word, especially in Siam, where Mr. Tomlin has made two or three visits‑‑where I suppose he now is with my good friend the Rev. D. Abeel. In the establishments of all these missions, Dr. Milne took a very lively interest. He entered _into_ the business with this whole soul. He expected great things, he attempted great things, and he accomplished great things. At the age of 20, he determined to become a soldier to serve abroad in Immanuel's wars, undertaking to destroy Satan's kingdom. He prepared himself for the conflict, buckled on his armor,‑‑at 27, entered on the field of battle, served with courage and fidelity 10 years, and then, worn out by useful toils and hard service, died on his post. Children, farewell; in the next I will tell you of Leang Afa. Your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XVI. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 19, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,--You know the goodness and mercy of our God, you know how he has given his dear Son to die for us poor rebellious sinners, and has promised to give to Christ the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. It is our heavenly Father, that Being who cannot lie, who has told us that his word shall not return unto him void, but _shall_ prosper, and accomplish all his holy will. If all good people would only do their duty, the heathen I think would very soon become converted. _When the children of God pray and labor as they ought, he always blesses them_. I have told you about one person who came to Dr. Morrison's house, and heard him talk of Jesus and of the way of salvation by the blood of the Lamb, and that man believed and was baptized. I have now to tell you of another, who has become a disciple of Jesus, and is devoting all his time and strength to the service of his divine Master, Christ the Lord. I am going to tell of the evangelist Leang Afa. When Dr. Milne left Canton and went to Malacca, in 1815, Afa went with him as printer‑‑this was his trade. Soon after this, it was observed that the truth had taken a strong hold upon his mind, he was convicted by the holy law of God, saw himself to be a sinner, poor and miserable, blind and naked, and in need of all things. And thus he was brought to declare his determination to take up his cross and follow Christ. What care was taken to instruct him will be seen by the following extract from Dr. Milne's Journal. November 3, 1816. At twelve o'clock this day, I baptized, in the name of the adorable Trinity, Leang Afa. This service was performed privately in a room of the mission‑house. Care had been taken by private conversation, instruction and prayer, to prepare him for this sacred ordinance. This had been continued for a considerable time. Finding him still steadfast in his desire to become a Christian, I baptized him. The change produced in his sentiments and conduct, is, I hope, the effect of Christian truth, and of that alone: _yet who of mortals can know the heart?_ Several searching questions were proposed to him in private, and an exercise suited to a heathen candidate for baptism, composed and given to him to read and to meditate upon. With respect to his former life, he says, I was never much given to idolatry. I seldom went to the temples. I sometimes prayed towards heaven, but lived in careless indifference. Although I rarely went to excess in sin, yet I have been occasionally guilty of drunkenness, and other kindred vices. Before I came hither (to Malacca) I knew not God‑‑now I desire to serve him. The following are the questions proposed, and the answers given at the time of baptism: 1. "Have you truly turned from idols, to serve and worship the living and true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all things?" This is my heart's desire. 2. "Do you know and feel that you are a sinful creature, totally unable to save yourself?" I know it. 3. "Do you really, from your heart, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the salvation of the world; and do you trust alone in him for salvation?" This is my heart's desire. 4. "Do you expect any worldly advantage, profit or gain whatever, by your becoming a Christian?" None. I receive baptism, because it is my duty. 5. "Do you resolve from this day to the day of your death, to live in obedience to the commandments and ordinances of God, and in justice and seriousness of life before men?" This is my determination, but I fear my strength is not equal to it. On my part, says Dr. Milne, the ordinance was dispensed with affection, joy, hope, and fear. May he be made faithful unto death, and as he is the first fruits of this branch of the mission, may an abundant harvest follow to the joy of the church, and to the honor of Christ. Such is Dr. Milne's account of Leang Afa, and O, with what delight must the sainted spirit look down from heaven upon the disciple of Jesus, as he labors, and toils, and faints not! April 7, 1819. After prayers and many tears, the two brothers in Christ parted. Afa returned to China, and not long after, was married. His wife has become a believer in Christ, and has received baptism. He has now living, two children‑‑a little daughter of four, and a son of eleven years. The son's name is Leang Atih. He was baptized in infancy. He now lives with me, and I will tell you more about him in another letter. Atih had a little brother a few months old, but last summer he died. His parents grieved very much for him, because they loved him very much, and he was a tender child. Afa has promised to give me a written account of himself, by and by. I think it will be very interesting, and when I receive it, I can tell you more about him. He has received a great deal of ill treatment from his friends, neighbors, and countrymen. His home is about seventy‑five miles west from Canton. He has an aged father, whom he supports. Though old, and feeble, and grey headed, and oft times tenderly instructed by his son; yet, poor man, he resists the truth, loves his idols, and says there is no God. And so when the son Leang Afa, and his wife and young Atih, kneel down together around the family altar, to worship the living and true God, the father, the grandfather, the old, feeble, dying man, goes away and worships.‑‑O how dreadful, how pitiable, he goes away and bows down and worships, as he himself declares, the DEVIL, and then comes and rails at his son, because he has forsaken the gods of his country! This is a great trial to Afa, but he bears it as he does all his trials, with meekness and fortitude. Afflicted and persecuted as this family have been, they feel almost as if they had no home on this earth. They are poor in the things of this world, but doubtless they have treasures in heaven. They live sometimes in one place, sometimes in another. During the last summer and fall, they have lived in a hired house in this city. Afa has been here to see me to‑day, and Atih has gone with him, this evening, to see the family. In the morning, if the Lord will, he will come back to me, then he will go about twenty miles to the east of Canton, to a retired place, where he, with another Christian, is printing the _Scripture Lessons_; and his grandfather, and his mother and little sister, will leave the city and go to the West, to their own village. But the true God will protect them, says Afa, and keep them all in safety. Afa is now forty‑four years old. More than fifteen years he has borne the Christian name, and toiled and suffered hardships and persecutions in his Master's service, and his faith and his zeal increase as he holds on his way: so may it be to the end. Dear children, remember, I entreat you, Afa and his family in your daily prayers, and remember also, your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XVII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 20, 1831. MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,‑‑When I have given you a short account of Canton city, and told you a few things about my boys, then I must close these letters. Canton is a very large city, situated in 23 degrees 7 minutes north latitude, 113 degrees 14 minutes east longitude, from Greenwich. It is distant from the open sea, about 70 or 80 miles, and stands on the north bank of the Jake, which the Chinese call _Chook‑eany_, that is, the _Pearl River_. The city is built wholly on one side of the river. Opposite to Canton, is the island of Honam, on which stands the celebrated Honam Joshouse. Indeed, all the way from Canton to the open sea, is part land and part water, and forms a great number of islands. A part of Canton is enclosed by a wall built of brick and stone, about 20 or 25 feet high, and 10 or 15 feet thick. The part of the city which is enclosed by the wall, is nearly square. Each of the four sides of the city, I should think, measures about two miles, perhaps less, perhaps more. On each side, there are three or four gates, these are always guarded by day, and shut and barred by night. Foreigners may not enter the gates. On the south, the wall extends within about 20 rods of the river. On the north side, it extends to the brow of a hill, which terminates the range of mountains which rise and stretch along in the rear of Canton. There is a wall which divides the city into two parts, the north and south. The south part, is about one quarter of the whole, and has been built since the other, and is sometimes called the new city; but this distinction is not necessary. The space between the city walls and the river, and a considerable extent of the east and west sides of the city without the walls, constitutes the suburbs of Canton, or, as the Chinese say, the city outside, which, as to its streets, houses, shops, &c. is all the same as the city inside. So the Chinese have repeatedly assured me, and this, I believe, is the opinion of the foreigners here. Usually, the streets are not more than eight feet wide, and often not more than four. Their houses and shops are seldom, if ever, more than two stories high, and often the top one is only a kind of half story. The shops are built close on the streets, and not unfrequently project over them. When the shops are opened in pleasant weather, the whole front is removed; this displays their goods to great advantage. Some of these streets are very beautiful. Dwelling‑houses and shops are seldom built on the same street. Dwelling‑houses, and the gardens and yards around them, are usually surrounded by a wall which is built close on the street, and so high as to prevent any one passing along, from seeing the houses. At each end of the principal streets, there is a gate and a watch‑house built above it. The gates are closed at night, and the watchmen keep a constant look out, and beat with their gongs or bells the watches of the night. The _population_ of Canton is very numerous. I think, not less than a _million of souls_. Many people think this number too great, and perhaps it is. Including those who live on the river, and all those within and without the city, the number is very great. Though the houses are not high, yet the people live together very thick. They marry young, and live to a good old age. In the same house, you will sometimes find great grand‑parents, grand‑parents, parents, children, grand‑children, great, and even great, great, grand‑children, making in all a very great number. From personal observation, I should not think that more than one tenth or one fifteenth part of the whole people of Canton live on the river. But if to the 40,000 boats, we allow only three persons to each boat, we shall have 120,000 on the river, and if this is only one ninth part of the whole population, it will amount to more than one million. But, my young friends, I will not trouble you any more with these hard reckonings; your teachers will explain the whole for you. Foreign merchants have for several years traded to China. Only a few rods from the south‑west corner of the city walls, there are twelve or thirteen large buildings, or rather rows of buildings, and each of the rows contain three or four, and sometimes more houses, built like the houses in the United States, and _here_ we live; in all, I suppose, about 100 persons, English, French, Dutch, _Americans_, &c. These houses are sometimes called factories, and sometimes hongs. The English have a chapel and clergyman, and worship on the Sabbath. While Mr. Abeel was here, and also since he left, the Americans have had worship on the Sabbath in a large room in one of the private houses. We live very comfortably here, though cut off from some of the greatest domestic and social enjoyments. No man can bring his family with him to Canton. All the work about house, cookery and every thing, is done by Chinese men servants. The servant that was with me several months after I came to China, did his work well enough, but did not like to read; besides, he was quite old. So I mentioned one day, that I should like a lad that would learn to read and write. A servant of one of the gentlemen with whom I lived heard this, and immediately wished me to take his little brother, then ten years old. His name is Atsan. In a few days, he made his appearance, a fine, round‑faced, sprightly‑looking boy. He knew something of his own language, but not a single letter of the English. Just at this time, Afa came and wished me to take his little son, Atih; and in a few days, the boy came, poorly clothed, with great head, flat nose, and crooked shoulders. His first appearance was not very promising. He could read and write his own language well, for a boy of his age, but knew not a word of English. I wrote out the alphabet for the two boys, and they began to learn; two or three days after this, they wished to introduce another boy. This was Achang, fifteen years old, and had been to school about three years. He had learnt also a part of the English alphabet. In this way I became acquainted with the boys. This was a year ago. They have done, and still continue to do, exceedingly well. They read, write and recite, both Chinese and English, daily. If they continue to learn as they have done thus far, they will make excellent scholars. They read daily in the Scriptures. They have learnt the name of Christ the Lord, and I hope ere long they will choose him for their Saviour. Atih says he loves the Savior _now_, and prays to him every night and morning, and when I ask Atih if he did not fear men would laugh at him, he answered, men do laugh at me, but I do not fear them that kill the body, I rather fear _Him_ who can destroy both soul and body in hell. And now, dear children, farewell. I beg you will not cease to pray for the dear boys, and all this nation, and more than this, I hope you will continue to send them the Bible and missionaries. And still more, I desire that some of _you_ may come here, may come as good missionaries, for hundreds are now needed to preach the gospel to these heathen. Say, will you come? I once knew a boy, younger than some of you are now, who, having read an account of the heathen, such as you have now read in these letters, desired to be a missionary, and go to the heathen, and the Lord has granted the desire of his heart, and now he is a missionary, laboring to make known the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Farewell. Your true friend, E.C.B. ______ LETTER XVIII. _Canton_, (_China_,) _Dec_. 21, 1831. To Parents and Teachers: MY DEAR FRIENDS,‑‑Weary and oppressed when I had finished my last letter, I determined to desist from writing more, but after reflection and prayer before God, I felt constrained to add yet another. The letters have cost me considerable time and labor, and though short, they contain many interesting facts. I have been obliged to sit up late at night to write, and early in the morning; and more than once, while writing and contemplating the condition of perishing millions around me, tears have started from the eyes, and the breast has been agitated with thoughts too painful to describe. I once thought, as some of you may now think, that the accounts of the heathen are overdrawn, and their condition represented to be worse than it actually is. This is not the case; far from it. There are sometimes inaccurate statements‑‑I have met with such‑‑but I have never seen a description, given by uninspired men, which adequately portrays the misery, and moral degradation, of this elegant, learned, polished, and refined pagan nation. The inimitable descriptions of the heathen world, given in the Old and New Testament, are all exemplified here, in _living characters_. In the letters to the dear youth, who stand to you in the relations of sons, and daughters, and pupils, it has been my object to assist you, in making known to them the present _condition and character_ of the Chinese. I have narrated chiefly, such things as I had either seen or heard here on the spot. Many of the accounts are imperfect, and the descriptions faint; and I am on that very account, more anxious that you should follow up the subject, explaining and illustrating whatever the children do not easily understand. I wish you would often read to them the 44th chapter of Isaiah, and the 1st chapter of Romans. I wish also that you would collect and point out to them interesting accounts, published in the Missionary Herald, and in religious newspapers, and books which have been published on missions. It is of great importance that children be well instructed, correctly and extensively informed, in regard to the condition of those to whom the gospel is yet to be published. Every one, whether old or young, rich or poor, has an interest‑‑a personal interest in this great and glorious work; but children have a peculiar personal interest. From the present generation of children, many hundreds, nay, thousands of missionaries, are to be trained up and sent abroad to the fields already white for the harvest. Our Lord, the Saviour, has made it the privilege, and the duty, of every one who will be his disciple, _to seek first the kingdom of heaven_; and he has assured us that no one can be his disciple who will not forsake all and follow him. It will profit a man nothing, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul: and so in comparison with seeking to extend the religion of Jesus Christ. In comparison with bringing souls from the damnation and power of sin and Satan into the kingdom of God's dear Son, all things also are nothing. There is to be a great change in the opinions, and feelings, and actions, of Christians, in regard to this subject, else the gospel will not be preached to every creature. Now hundreds and thousands of Christians, or rather who call themselves Christians, are saying, "We have nothing to do in this business, and we can't do any thing if we try." But the time is coming, when all good people will say, "We have a great work to do, for it is our business to publish the gospel to every creature; and we can do all things through Christ strengthening us." It will help to hasten this change, if we make this subject‑‑the subject of missions‑‑the preaching of the gospel to every creature‑‑the conversion of the whole world‑‑very familiar to our own minds and to the minds of others,‑‑especially to children. If the Lord Jesus Christ should come down from heaven, and go round to each of your houses, and entering, should address you individually, and say, Go ye and preach the gospel to every creature; you would think this a most solemn command; one which you could not misunderstand. So it would be, and just so it is now. It is no more your duty and your privilege, than it is my duty and privilege. It is a common cause; one in which it is alike the privilege and the bounden duty of every disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ to engage, and with his whole soul, and mind and strength. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. The case which I have presented, is an extreme one‑‑a case of life and death‑‑not the life of a single individual, a brother, a sister, or a child; nor is it the temporal life of 10,000 individuals. Oh! no. It is the eternal life of hundreds of thousands of immortal souls. And now, dear friends, allow me to make in behalf of those among whom I live, this one request;‑‑that you will think often of their condition, and make it a frequent subject of conversation with your children. I desire that you may do this, that you may be led, and may lead your children to desire and earnestly to pray for the conversion of the Chinese. There is no danger of thinking, or saying, or feeling, or doing too much in a work of such amazing magnitude. The danger, and it is very great, is all on the other side. One solitary instance of doing too much, has never yet been known; but on the contrary all have come short. You can easily imagine what would be your feelings, if you should see your fellow creatures, friends and strangers, sinking and drowning in the waves, and if it was in your power, you would, even at the hazard of your own lives, seek to save them. O then, what ought to be the emotions, and what the effort to save, when contemplating a whole nation sinking in the bottomless pit? Sinking! yet they are like us, prisoners of hope. And if they hear the joyful sound, and believe in Jesus, then shall they be saved. Wishing you and your children, everlasting happiness, I remain ever, your affectionate friend and servant, E.C.B. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Letters to Children, by E. C. Bridgman *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 54055 ***