Tae sixteenth annual report of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge among the Chinese is as full of interest as its predecessors, It is nob merely history of the progress of the Society during the past year; the operations of the Society extend over the whole empire, and ib becomes therefore a history of the progress of China, "Great changes going on in China" is the heading to the first chapter. The death of Yung Lu who had a large share in the Boxer troubles was offset by the death of Liu Kunyi, who with Chang Chih-tung thwarted Yung Lu's designs in the Yangtze Valley. The opening of railways, the conclusion of more liberal treaties, the demand for Western literature and knowledge, the friendly advances made by the Empress Dowager; "all this displays collective political, railway, mining, commercial, educational, and religious activity which would have amuzed even Europe and America 40 years ago." Mongol and-Manchu Princes, end the sons and grandsons of high mandarins who till lately regarded the world outside China as a collection of turbulent but petty tributary States, are now going abroad to see and study, and they come back not with the good old conservative notion that "East, West, home's best," but fully convinced that China his a great deal to learn and that she had better learn quickly.
It is almost amazing to read the specimens given in this report of the questions that were set at the simultaneous examinations throughout the empire this last autumn. The range of subjects is world-wide, and while the most modern topics are included, there are questions on the educational systems of Sparta and Athens, the bronze and iron ages, and the origin of Egyptian, Babylonian, and Chinese writings. They are not random questions, however, for they all have some bearing on the advancement of China. "It is encouraging to the missionary," says the Report, "to find that in one province, Anhui, they ask how foreign nations get faithful men, and it is encouraging to the Diffusion Society to find that some of these questions are'taken from our publications, proving that the seed is not sown in vain. Nor is this all. It is a matter of no small encouragement to' the supporters of our Society to find that out of the ten conditions of progress recommended to China in one of our: Examination pamphlets, "Hope for the People," exactly ten years ago, nine of them are now being carried out."
Considerable space is devoted to the immense growth of Japanese influence in the educational field in China, a subject that was also treated by Mr. Addis at the meeting on Tuesday. We read that "formerly the professors in the few colleges for the teaching of Western subjects were all Europeans or Americans. Now that the civil and military colleges, agricultural and normal schools, are established in all the provinces,.. we find that with the few exceptions of colleges opened by Yuan Shih-kai, Viceroy of Chihli, Chou Fu, the Governor of Shantung, and one or two others, by far the great majority of professors in these institutions, as well as military and police inspectors, are Japanese. And even in religions matters we find that Japanese are endeavouring to assert an influence by banding together a large number of votaries who are professedly Budd-histie as regards religion and pro-Japanese as regards politics, It is difficult to imagine that 30 widespread a pro-Japanese propaganda as exists in China depends solely on the personal enthusiasm of individual agents, and one must assume from its extent and progress that it is' an organisation commanding very powerful sympathy on the Japanese side, while the recognition it has secured in'China would seem to indicate that it has commended itself to many influential Chinese in high places." It is not necessary to imagine that there is any sinister object in this rapprochement; the thoughtful men of both empires must feel that their best defence against the encroachjes in union. That Russia feels this too is shown by her frantic efforts to persuade the world through the medium of the Continental Press that Japan is anxious to make terms with her on the basis of sacrificing Manchuria in return for a free hand in Corea, Ashort paragraph is given to the marvellous change in Hunan, not long ago the most anti-foreign province in China, but where there are "now over fifty missionaries, Protestant and Roman Catholic, living in perfect peace, and foreign schools and colleges are being opened by the Governor in the capitat'and by missionaries in various prefect tures." It was reported not long since that H. E, Nieh, now Governor of Chekiang, in his farewell address to the people of his former Governorship, Anhui, recommended them to study the Christian teachings; now we read that "at the end of his three years' service over the whole province of Shensi, the Literary Chancellor urged the students (1) to give up opium, (2) to study the Christian sacred books as well a3 their own, and the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge so as to get some knowledge of universal civilisation, (3) to distinguish clearly between the Catholic and Protestant religions, as their bearing on civilisation was very different."
The section of the Report headed Missionary Advance" begins with what must be a startling statement to most lay residents in China, that "of the 16,000 Protestant missionaries in the world, 2,700, or one-sixth, are in China." But it must be remembered that China is supposed to contain at least one-fourth of the population of the world, so.|that China is by no. means over~ supplied with evangelists, Another great and most welcome factor in the reform of China is the Imperial Chinese postal system. A remarkable sign of the times, which is also a factor in reform, is the anti-foot-binding movement.. The Report devotes a paragraph to the parties that have formed themselves in China since the movement in favour of reform has begun again in Peking. These are four in number: (1) the Reactio naries, who are against all reform; '(2) the' Radicals, who want the old system abolished altogether, and no official appointed who has not studied the new learning'; (3) the Moderates, who would not allow Western learning to find its way below those who have taken the second or third degree; and (4) the Rebels, who have agents among the Chinese students in Japan, in Hongkong, and the Foreign Settlements in Shanghai, to encourage rebellion and to reprint and circulate violent attacks on the Manchu Government throughout the empire through the medium of the Presa Under the heading, "The License of the Press," the Report notices briefly the "Supao" case, approving the stand made by our Consular and municipal authorities... In the section on the "Remarkable Development of the Press," the Ré- port mentions the proselytizing
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.