“China is a great land, and has a great future before it. I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to do what I could to make it what it ought to be. The Church of God is bound to have a great triumph here, with great trials in the process.”—LETTER TO JAMES MOONEY, November 27, 1906.
When Dr. Mateer wrote that letter, the new China had not come. Nor has it yet appeared. The utmost that can be said confidently is that there are signs of a spring thaw in the vast sheet of ice that for so many centuries has held that country in fetters. Some great rifts can be seen in the surface and sounds that are indicative of movement can be heard. People who stand on the shore, and some of those who are on the ice, are shouting, “Off at last!” It seems scarcely possible that the apparent thaw shall not continue until the streams are cleared and the land is warmed into new life by the ascending sun. But how long it will be before this is accomplished it is almost useless for the best-informed men to attempt to forecast. When the ice does really go, will it be with a sudden rush that will carry with it great injury to much that is well worth preserving? Or will the change come so quietly and gradually that the ice will sink without a tremor, and the frost will gently melt away into waters that only freshen the soil? Probably the new China is not far away; as sure as progress is the law of civilization and enlightenment in the world, it cannot be postponed much longer. Dr. Mateer lived long enough to recognize the signs of its approach, and while he was glad because of this, he also was deeply anxious.
His direct acquaintance with the old China extended over the long period of forty years,—from his arrival at Tengchow in 1863 to his return from his last furlough, in 1903. During the five years immediately preceding his death he was face to face with the signs indicative of the China that is to be. He was therefore exceptionally qualified to speak intelligently concerning the present situation in that country; for it is not the man who now for the first time finds himself there, amid the demand for railroads, and telegraphs, and up-to-date navy and army, and schools, who is most competent to interpret the movements of the hour. We are more likely to learn the whole truth if we turn to veterans like Sir Robert Hart and Dr. W. A. P. Martin and Dr. Mateer, who by almost lifelong experience know the real mind and heart of China; which surely, notwithstanding the occurrences of to-day, have not been completely changed. On the one hand, there can be no doubt of the love which Dr. Mateer had for the people of China. To promote their welfare in this world as well as in the next he gave himself to the uttermost all his long time of residence among them, and when death confronted him at last, his only reluctance to obey that call of his Master was because he would be unable to complete what he regarded as perhaps his greatest service for them. As we have already seen, in his explanation of the causes of the Boxer outbreak, notwithstanding his heartbreak and indignation for the horrors and outrages perpetrated, he lays bare the secret of it, as consisting in part of the wrongs done by foreign nations and persons to China and the Chinese. There were hundreds and perhaps thousands in Shantung who revered him as a father, and confided in him as they did in almost no other human being.
I mention this side of his attitude because there is another that must be brought out here so clearly that no failure to see it is possible. He never allowed himself to be blinded as to radical faults of the most serious nature in the Chinese. It was about the same time as his entrance on his missionary work that Americans were set agog by the “Burlingame Mission,” and indulged in very extravagant notions of the civilization of old China and very rosy anticipations of the future. Even missionaries caught the fever of the hour, and for home publication wrote articles that seconded this view. This was so completely foreign to the reality, as Dr. Mateer saw it, that he responded with an elaborate article in which he calmly punctured these current notions. It was the fashion then to regard the Chinese as leading the world in past ages, but in his opinion in none of their boasted achievements do they deserve such credit. Largely they have been imitators; and in the realm of their own inventions and discoveries and organizations they have seldom shown themselves capable of making the applications that ought to have been so patent to them that they could not miss them. Perhaps—writing as he did in reply to overdrawn appreciations on the other side—he may have fallen into the opposite mistake, to some degree. Perhaps also in later years he would not have gone quite so far in the direction he then took; but he never wavered in his opinion that in the lapse of ages during which the Chinese had lived so exclusively within themselves, characteristics that are racial have been developed, some of which must be overcome, and others of which must be immensely transformed, before China can take her place among the advanced nations of the world. Also, ignorance, prejudice and superstition stand in the way, and cannot suddenly be dispelled. He continued to believe that, notwithstanding the present rush to introduce western appliances, the hatred of the foreigner, except among a minority, remains in the heart of officials and people. He believed too that, because of their faithlessness to obligations which they had assumed toward other governments, the apparent aggressions of foreign nations were not always and altogether without a measure of justification. Chinese law he considered to be still so much a mere whim of officials, often corrupt, that the time has not yet come for an American citizen, whether missionary or merchant or mechanic, to be left safely to the uncertainties of a native court.
Dr. Mateer was one of the leading “makers of the new China.” It is because of his “Mandarin Lessons” that it is now, in comparison with the olden times, so easy to acquire the language; thus not only the missionary but also the agents of modern civilization are helped to gain speedy access to the people. He was the first to plant a college in the great province of Shantung, the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius, and still the center to which the race turns as that from which has emanated their most dominant cult. He took the lead, even of all the missionary colleges, in the place which he assigned to physical science. With his own money he built a museum which he described as “a kind of polytechnic, for exhibiting foreign sciences and machinery to Chinese students and visitors.” There they could see the appliances of steam and of electricity at work, including a model railroad, and the telephone and telegraph. When the governor of the province organized his university at the capital, it was the man whom Dr. Mateer had made his successor in the college at Tengchow who was at first placed at its head, and five of the graduates were chosen to fill chairs in the new institution. He prepared text-books in mathematics, for which there is an enormous demand in the schools which are supplanting those of the olden time. To him more than to any other individual is due the translation of the New Testament into a form of the language which is just as intelligible to the man who can read but little, as to the educated; and which cannot be widely circulated without starting upward tendencies more mighty than those of railroads and western machinery. It would be preposterous to claim for any one person that he has been the maker of the new China; but there are not very many who, as to the mighty transformation apparently not far distant, rank so high up as Dr. Mateer.
Thus far in holding him up as one of these leaders I have not mentioned his influence as an effective missionary in the sphere usually occupied by the representatives of the gospel; and for the reason that, as to this, he is a sharer with a multitude of others. At present there must be about four thousand men and women—ordained ministers, and lay men and women—in that line of Christian service in China, and there are about two hundred thousand Chinese Christians. These, though scattered far and wide among the hundreds of millions of the population, are sufficient to be powerfully felt on the side of genuine progress. Though in rapidly lessening numbers, their presence stretches back to the coming of Robert Morrison, a hundred years ago. Dr. Mateer’s own judgment as to the relation of the missionary work to the present situation is well worth attention. In an article written by request, about nine months before his death, he said:
The nation is in a state of transition which, when compared with her past and her traditions, is nothing short of marvelous. Who would have predicted thirty-five years ago that such a state of things as the present would so soon prevail? God has used a variety of powerful forces to awaken China from her long sleep, not the least of which have been the presence and influence of the missionary. Aside from his main business, which is the conversion of individuals and the upbuilding of churches, he has had a powerful influence in a number of important matters. First, his residence in all parts of inland China has done far more than is generally known to remove prejudice and to familiarize the people with foreign ideas and things. Second, he has been a main factor in starting the anti-foot-binding movement that is now sweeping over the land. Third, he has been the chief mover in the remarkable anti-opium reformation that is now enlisting the utmost effort of the Chinese government. Lastly, in the intellectual awakening, and in starting the wonderful educational propaganda now being pushed forward by the government, he has been a potent factor. Missionaries have made the text-books, and the graduates of their schools have set the pace for this remarkable movement; and this has been done notwithstanding the intense prejudice that exists against Christianity and its professors.
Of the fact that he was face to face with a state of things that promised tremendous changes he was fully conscious. No man could have been more alive to his environment during these last years of his life. May 2, 1905, he wrote to a generous friend in the United States: “The state of things in China to-day presents a great contrast with what it was when I arrived here forty-one and a half years ago. Then everything was dead and stagnant; now all is life and motion. It is just fairly beginning, it is true, but there is the promise of great things in the near future.” September 1, 1907, in another letter to a friend, he says: “This great and massive people, so long below the horizon of the western world,—a misty, unknown land,—is looming large in the east, and the eyes of the west are on it. China is awakening from the sleep of ages. Her senses are still dull, benumbed by the traditional customs and conservative follies of the past, but her eyes are opening more and more, day by day. It is true she still wants to sleep on, but she cannot. The clamor of the world’s progress dins in her ears. Giant hands are shaking her. Specters fill her imagination and groundless fears make her troubled. She essays to rise, but has no strength. She is growing frantic at the realization of her own weakness and incompetence.”
CELEBRATING DR. MATEER’S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY
Facing the new China he, while gladdened on the whole by the outlook, yet saw grave dangers in the way. Some of these are due, in his estimation, to characteristics that have rooted themselves very deeply in the spirit of the people at large. In his article on “Education in China” he said:
It is a peculiarity of the Chinese character that they are very hard to convince of the utility of a new thing, and must always be doubly sure before they decide to act; but as soon as the decision is made, they at once grow recklessly impatient for the consummation. The old educational methods and ideals are now abolished and the government is rushing headlong into new and hitherto untried measures. They issue commands to their subordinates without providing the means of carrying them out. The result is a chaos of more or less futile effort, attended by burdensome taxes and illegal exactions that produce disaffection and rebellion. The lack of competent teachers handicaps the whole movement. To the eye of a western educator most of their primary and secondary schools are little short of a farce. Mission schools have trained a large number of competent teachers, but in most cases the prejudice against Christianity is so strong that heathen schools will not use them. This prejudice is much stronger in the secondary schools than it is in the provincial colleges and universities. The high officials generally take more liberal views, and they are free from the social ostracism that prevents a small official or a private gentleman from employing a Christian teacher.
On account of the characteristics just described, while he rejoiced in the immense progress which Christianity was making both in the conversion of increasing thousands and also in its indirect influence over multitudes more, he had anxieties as to the near future of the church in that land. Writing to one of the secretaries of the American Bible Society, in January, 1906, he said: “If I understand the signs of the time in China, it will not be many years—I put it at ten to fifteen—until the Chinese church will declare her independence of the missionaries, pay her own expenses, and make her own creed.... What this creed will be, will depend very much on the kind and number of preachers we train in the meantime.” The speeches made at the Chinese Students’ Alliance, held at Hartford, August 24, 1910, both by the Chinese and by Americans, indicate a very strong tendency in this direction.
In view of the entire situation, national and religious, he iterated and reiterated that the most imperative duty of missionaries in China at present is the training of native preachers and teachers on a scale and in a manner that will fit them to meet the emergency, and to take advantage of the opportunity for the evangelization of the land and the starting of the church that soon must be, on a voyage that will not, through lack of chart and compass and proper guidance, wreck itself on the way. Here are some of his deliberate utterances within the last three years of his life:
Allow me to say that at the present time in China I regard schools and the training of teachers and preachers as the chief thing,—much more important than the founding of new stations, with expensive buildings, in order to cover new territory. This is not a passing thought, but is said advisedly. The time for training these teachers and preachers is limited; before many years the native church will declare her independence, when all will depend on the intelligence and soundness of her leaders.
Again taking a view that includes the church, but that is so broad as to sweep over the entire national situation, he said:
“China is fascinated by the power, skill, and knowledge of the west. She covets these things, and clamors impatiently for them, but they do not come at her call. She has caught up the idea that education will solve the problem and speedily lift her into the family of nations. She issues edicts to annul the old and inaugurate the new. She commands the opening of schools in every county, not realizing that without teachers, or methods, or money efficient schools are impossible. True to her character, she is deceiving herself with a sham; a mere pretense of knowledge. The old is passing faster than the new is coming, and there are ominous signs of danger ahead. There are already a good many competent Christian teachers in China, and very few others; but Chinese conservatism hates and fears Christianity, and will not employ Christian teachers if it can possibly be avoided. China has still one great and fundamental lesson to learn, namely: that Christianity is not her enemy, but her friend; that faithful and honest men are not made by simply teaching them geometry and chemistry. She will presently learn, however, that Christianity holds the only patent there is for the construction of high moral character. She resents the idea now, but sooner or later she will be compelled to admit it. In the meantime she needs men to teach her, and to show her the way. Never perhaps in the world’s history was the saying of Christ more conspicuously exemplified: “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.”
Ever since he set foot on the soil of that country he had kept on pleading for reinforcements in his work,—now a physician, then a teacher, again a man capable of overseeing mechanical operations, and always more ordained missionaries. He entertained very common-sense notions as to the sort of reinforcements that are desirable. He says in an old letter directed to theological students in the seminary where he was trained: “I might add more especially that missionaries should not be men of one idea, unless perchance that idea be a zeal for saving souls. The men needed are those who have well-balanced, practical minds.... The man of vivacious temperament, pleasing address, ready wit, and ready utterance, other things being equal, will make the best missionary.” The language he did not regard as at all beyond the acquisition of any person with fair ability and faithful application, though he recognized more than a moderate measure of these as essential to the writing of books. As the new China loomed up before him, his cry for help became, if possible, more earnest; it came from the very depths of his soul, and with an intensity which words could not adequately express.
Before proceeding to relate the story of his death, can I do better than to give the last of these appeals of which we have the records? The letter from which I quote is dated Wei Hsien, September 1, 1907, just a year before his Master called him home. He said:
Tell the young men of America for me, that China now presents to the church the greatest opportunity of the ages. God has opened the door,—opened it wide. Three hundred and fifty millions of people are ready to hear the gospel message. This door has not been opened without great strife and effort. In the face of steady and persistent opposition, and through much suffering and bloodshed, a large and lasting impression has been already made. The dark and discouraging days are over and the future is bright with promise. As I look back over the first twenty-five years of my missionary life, it seems like a troubled dream. The last fifteen years have wrought wonders in China. Old customs and prejudices are giving way. The bright dawn of better things is upon us. The most conservative and immovable people in the world, persistently wedded to the old ways, are getting used to new things, and are ready to accept whatever promises profit and prosperity. All ears are open, and the preaching of the gospel is nowhere opposed or resisted. I often wish I were young again, just ready to start in on the bright opening campaign. In a large sense the future of the church and of the world lies wrapped up in this great people. Why in the providence of God the gospel of salvation has not long ere this reached this oldest and greatest nation is an unexplained mystery. These unconverted millions of the Mongolian race will presently come into their inheritance of truth and grace, and then who shall say what they will become, and do? Their fecundity, their physical stamina, their patient persistence and intellectual vigor, are factors that will count in the world’s future history.... As I look at the situation in the light of the past, and forecasting the probabilities of the future, a more inviting field for the exercise of consecrated talent has rarely, if ever, presented itself in the history of civilization. Very few people in the church in the west understand and appreciate the present condition of things in China. The political forces and problems are better understood than the moral and religious. It is still true that “the children of the world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” The faith of the long, old centuries is passing rapidly away, but what shall the new faith be? This is the great Christian question of the hour. The young men of China are mad to learn English, because there is money in it. With English come books and newspapers, sowing the seeds of agnosticism, and skepticism, and rationalism, and so forth. The cry is, Who will champion the truth? Who will administer the antidote? Who will uphold the cross? Who will testify for Christ? The call is urgent. Satan is in the field. The opportunity is passing. The time is strategic. The changes of many years are now crowded into one. Young men, it is time to be up and doing! The march of events will not wait on your tardiness. Who will hear the Master’s trumpet call?