THE FLOWERY KINGDOM.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 46, 15 November 1900, Page 3

THE FLOWERY KINGDOM.

BITS OF CHINA, OLD AND NEW.

THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. Every word in the Chinese lanpna^e has a logical reason for its existence and peculiar formation, and each word consists of either one individual character or a number of them combined in order to make a complete word. Take the word field, a fequare divded into sections or lot*. When the word man U written by the word field the combination makes the word farmer, mdi. atin? the avocation of a man who is associated with fields and agriculture Still more suKtrestive is the Chinese word for truth, sincerity, faithfulness honesty. It is formed by the combination of a man and word thu« expressing that one form of honesty conmVts in a man standing by his word The word for box is indicated by a square having four sides of equal lenpth, while a prisom-r i- literally * man in a box a fact wbi.-h w often >rru. some'y illustrated in China when a criminal ih sentenced to death, and is carried, to the pl<ioe of execution in a square box, THE DOMINICANS IN CHINA. Apropos of present interest in China (n marks the Dnmin cana) we remind our readers that the Dominican Order is g.-u, rously represented in that land of peril and martyrdom. From the Order

no fewer than seven have been taken by the Holy See, and elevated to the epiwjopal dignity : Monsignor Colomer, vicar-apostolic of Northern Tonquin : Monßignor Velasco. his coadjutor ; Monaignor Terres, vicar-apostolio of Eastern Tonquin ; Monsignor Fernandez, vicar-apostolic of Central Tonquin ; Monsignor Gezon, titular bishop of Bibles ; Moneignor Mazot, viear-ap >tstolic of Northern Fo-Kien ; Monsignor Clemente, vioar-apo^tolic of Amoy. All of these missionary prelates are aide'l by bands of devoted Dominican Fathers and by numerous native Tertiaries, men and women. PEKIN. There are only two English-speaking- priests in Pekin (says the ji-ve Maria) ; however, Lliexe ure a uuinbci ul Sinltuo uf Cliarity from Ireland, one band of whom devote tuemselves to the care of lepera and the friemllttsH poor. Fekiu w»a furuieily o*klleJ Sts-yun-tien-fu. It received its present appellation when the Chinese emperors removed the government from Nankin to the northern part of the empire, iv order to oppose the incursions of the Tartars. Pekin signifies north royal residence. It lies in a plain which stretches to the south for 10 days' journey, aud is bounded on the north by numerous mountains. The heat in Bummer is deadly, though the rainfall in July and August is abundant. BOME VICTIMS. The editor of Illustrated Catholic Mmionx, writing to the Manehetter Guardian recently, says :—: — With reference to some remarks in your leading article this morning and to certain paragraphs in various newspapers, will you allow me to say that we have a considerable amount of accurate information as to our Catholic missionaries who have perished in China during the present reign of terror? Up to date of my latest information, these victims are as follow, the details being supplied by the foreiirn missionary societies to which they belong : At Mukden, Manchuria, Bishop Guillon, Father Bmonet, Father John Li (native), Sisters Ste. Croix and Alb^rtine, together with 300 native Christians, buried alive in the Cathedral, July 3rd ; in North Manchuria, Fathers Georjon and Leray ; in Pechili, Fathers Isor6, Andlauer, Derm, and Mangin (Jesuits), with 3000 Christians ; in South Hunan, Bishop Fantoaati and Father Joseph Gambare (Franciscans), tortured to death at Heng-chow-fu ; atSiwang-tai-tse (Manchuria), Father Alexander Hia (native), Fathers Viaud, Agnius, and Bayart, shot ; in the mountains neir L^en-Shan, Fathers Bourgeois and Le Gne'rel ; at Heng-chow-fu (Hunan), Fathers Geaidus and Stepher (Franciscans), on July 6th. On the other hand, the announcement of the murder of six Other Jesuits in South-east Pechili is now denied. But in North Pechili Fathers D'Addosio, Garri*ues, Dore", and Chavtines (Lazarists), with two native priests, Father Bartholomew Ly and Peter Nie\ also Sister Jauries, Superioress of the Sisters of Charity, and two Marist Brothers, have been slain. It ia impossible as yet to aaoertain the number of native Christians massacred. In addition to those quoted above, we know of 40 killed at Tang-kia-fang-shen and 64 at Siao-hei-shan, both in Manchuria ; in East Mongolia the Christians are said to have been slaughtered ' by hundreds,' but the missionaries (Schent society) escaped. I may add that the description of the tortures (which lasted three hour*) of the Franciscan Bishop Fantosati and his companions are almost too dreadful to narrate ia detail. All the European missionaries not otherwise distinguished in the list were members of the great Paris Society of Foreign Missions. Thus the totals of the killed whose names are known at present are : Paris Society, nine ; Jesuits, four ; Lazarists, four ; Franciscans, four ; Chinese priests, four ; European nans, three ; brothers, two. REPORTS FROM VARIOUS DISTRICTS. A cablegram from the Procurator of the Lazarist* of Shanghai, dated August 3, informs the London Tablet of the massacre of four of their European missionaries — Fathers D'Addosio, Garrigues, Dore, and Chavannes — two native Chinese priests, Fathers Bartholomew Ly and Peter Nic ; Sister Jaurie?, Superioreßs of the Sisters of Charity in Pekin, and two Marist Brothers, all of tae Vicariate of North Pe-chi-li or Pekin. A despatch received by the Schent Missionary Society (Brussels) briefly states : — ' In East Mongolia Christians massacred by hundreds ; missionaries saved — August 2. Father Choulet writes from Ing-toe (New-chwang) a graphic account of the massacre of Mukdan. When Bishop Guillon, he tells us, saw the regular Chinese troops — to a number of 2000, it ia ■aid, with the eul-ta-jen, or first mandarin, at their head— join the Boxers and train their cannon upon the Cathedral, he gave up all thought of further opposition, vested himself in his pontifical robes, aud, with his companions, calmly waited death in the church. The latter was. set on fire and its inmates burned to death. Not content with thiß, the Chinese dug up from their graves the bodies of Father Moulin and Sister Helen, who had died some time before, and cast their remains into the names. At Mukden not a stone remains upon a stone of the mission property. In 12 districts, including Newchwany, everything has been destroyed or burned down. At Tung-kia-fanp-shen some 40 Christians perished whilst defending the church. At 64 more were put to death. Fortunately a considerable number of missionaries and Christians have escaped. The Russians in Manchuria have given refuge to many — Bishop Lalonyer. of North Manchuria, and four of his missionaries at Vladivostock ; two priests, two Sisters, and HOO Christians at Tie-ling ; six other priests in other parts of the region occupied by them. The Britinh territory of Burma has furnished a place of refuge to four priests from Yunnan. COST OF CONVERTS IN CHINA. 4 During the time I was in China I met large numbers of missionaries of all classes in many cities, from Pekin to Canton, and they unanimously expressed satisfaction at the progress they are making in China. Expressed succinctly, their harvest may be described as amounting to a fraction more than two Chinamen per missionary per annum. If, however, the paid, ordained, and un-

ordained native helpers be added to the number of missionaries, you find that the aggregate body converts nine-tenths of a Chinaman per worker per annum ; but the missionaries deprecate their work being judged by statistics. There are 101 l Protestant missionaries laboring in the Empire, and. estimating their results from the statistics of previous years as published in the Chinese Recorder, we find that they gathered last year (1893) into the fold 3127 Chinese— not all of whom, it is feared, are genuine Christians — at a cost of £3.">0,000. a sum equal to the combined inoom^s of the 10 chief London hospitals. . . . The mission in Tonerchuan was opened in 1891, and the results are not discouraging, seeing that the Chinaman is as difficult to Jead into the true path as any Jew. No native has been baptised up to date. The convert employed by the mission as a native helper ia one of the three converts of (Jhaotone. He is a bright- faced lad of 17, a* ardent an evangelist as heart of missionary could desire, but as native preacher can never be ho successful as the foreign missionary. The Chinese listen to him with complacency, '• You eat Jesus's rice and of course you speak His words," they say. The attitude of the Chinese in Tongchuan towards Christian missions is one of perfect friendliness towards the missionary, combined with perfect apathy towards his religion.' — An Australian, in China, by G. E. Morrison.