Every poor man's son, who becomes a Buddhist. or Taoist monk, does so for a Helihood, and_overy man of the, populace who aspires to join the ranks of the literal (and "literatus" is the one Chinese word for Confucian ") does so with a view to a livelihood, with some visions of official rank and revenue added. Till recently the cultivation of the literary style of the "ancient literature of China has been the one condition of access to official rank and avenue. History is little studied for the reason that. it has not been a prominent examination subject leading in any direct way to rank and revenue. And a common proverb recently quoted by a prominent scholar with a laugh, declares, "If it were not for a degree (leading to rank and revenue) who would study—Confucius And he went on to show how that every scholar, on becoming a mandarin, has to give up very much of his Confucian morality. "The only followers of Confucius are scholars out of office. And they anti: cipate bidding good-bye to his teaching when they get office." Such was an_unsolicited description of the actual position of Confucius the Chinese world of to-day. Yet as Confucius gets the scholar his rank and revenue, it is only natural that the scholar should stand up for the name in which alone is his title to that rank and revenue. Any departure from the ceremonies of-worship of the Sage would seem to aim a blow at the foundations of his official position.
A Double Turning of the Tables.
It is not unlikely, as the basis of Government examinations becomes less and less exclusively the Confucian. classics, that it will be part of the mission of foreign scholars in China to uphold and teach the reverence due to Confuciu When no longer needed as an introduction rank and' revenue, the position of the Sage will undoubtedly become precarious. And thus all "worship" of Confu-dus may cease in a way which no foreigner would wish it to cease. Some such ' worship" ought to be preserved. For the Chinese word for worship' means still what our English word " worship" used to mean—recognition of worth. In this sense the word is still retained in our marriage service, and employed in connection with mayors of cities and the like. Only that the Chinese recognition of worth is commonly accompanied by an obeisance more or less profound. On the one hand there is no word in the Chinese language for the exclusive worship of the Divine; every one of the terms employed may be used of paying respect to a fellow-man. And on the other hand such paying of respect always suggests some obeisance, whether a Chinese bow, falling on one or both knees, or knocking the head on the und as various grades in their calls at New-Year's day The Cause of the Misunderstanding.
That Confucius ought to be reverenced every Western scholar agrees; that such reverence should be accompanied by certain bodily obeisance, seems bound up with the reverence due to him, in the Oriental Chinese mind. When a Christian says We do not worship Confucius" the words sound like do not reverence Confucius." Shoul.t he try and make his position clearer, saying, "We do no Confucius as' a god," the reply is "Of course not; no one does." And so the difference in the Chinese and Western terms for worship is responsible for much misunderstanding. Almost everything depends upon what attributes and what position are ascribed to Confucius by those who "worship" him. If it be, as the tablet declares, **The most sacred former (or foremost) Teacher," or as a native paper has put it, "The ancestor chief of all religions; the acme of all sacred ones," a Christian feels bound to demur. The latter definition 1s impossible, for Confucius is no more responsible for the excellencies of the Christian religion than for the barbarities of any surviving Were it understood alone was meant in the former any Christian student of Confucius might feel the difficulty to be y nearly cleared up. But_ till terms are clearly defined, the dif culty remain: And time may be needed to settle the difficulty.
It is however an encouraging thought that with the progress of enlightenment the various worthies of the past and present sooner or later find their true relative position in the world of thought. "Most Western worthies did fora c>asiderable time occupy a position much lower, or perhaps much higher, than their character and achievements warranted. But they have found their true relative place at last. And of this China may well be assured; that when her revered Sage has to stand up and be measured along with other mortals, the position finally assigned him will be mo mean one. He will rank high among the worthies of the world. And not only on gilde: l tablets, and not merely with bodily" obeisances, ' will his name be recorded, and his worth-ship acknowledged, in the generations to come. W. Arruur Corsasy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.