FOREWORD

On the occasion of the visit of His Excellency Li Hung Chang to England in 1896, I was told that, when he stepped ashore at Dover, his first words were: "I should like to see Hiram Maxim." While His Excellency was in London I used to meet him nearly every day. I had many long conversations with him, and he paid me the great compliment of saying that I understood Chinese philosophy and religion much better than anyone he had ever met who was not himself a Chinaman.

The correspondence that I had had with Chinese officials, and my close friendship with some of their representatives in England, enabled me to understand exactly the position of affairs in China; and this stimulated me to investigate still further, and thus add to the knowledge that I already possessed.

As I found that His Excellency did not understand the true nature of the missionary propaganda in England, I determined to submit sufficient data to enable him to understand what had puzzled, not only himself, but a great many other Chinamen, regarding Europeans and their system of civilisation. I found that it was very difficult for a Chinaman to understand why there was such an immense difference between the intellectual calibre of our scientific men

and our engineers and that of the missionaries whom we send to China. The Chinese were greatly puzzled as to how it was possible for people who were able to build locomotives and steamships to have a religion based on a belief in devils, ghosts, impossible miracles, and all the other absurdities and impossibilities peculiar to the religion taught by the missionaries.

I found that a large number of intelligent Chinese based their opinions of the English and Americans on the specimens they had met in their own country, teaching, as it seemed to them, a most preposterous and immoral superstition; and it was my aim, in compiling for His Excellency a scrap-book with explanatory notes, to put the Chinaman right in this respect. I wished to show that we were not all fools.

I was well aware of the enormous amount of harm that had been caused in China by the missionaries, whose mischievous propaganda had resulted in the loss of millions of lives. I was also familiar with the opinions of Chinese officials, and of their anxiety lest the missionaries would cause some attack upon them by the Christian nations of the West. In China nearly all men of the official class are followers of Confucius, and set the highest value upon the teachings of that great philosopher. Among other very sensible things which he taught was: "Never have anything "to do with those who pretend to have dealings with "the supernatural. If you allow supernaturalism to "get a foothold in your country, the result will be a "dreadful calamity." I felt it necessary to prove to

His Excellency that the form of supernaturalism which the missionaries were attempting to impose upon his country was even more mischievous than the simpler Asiatic forms, and I therefore compiled for him a selection of passages, relating to Christianity, from writers of knowledge and authority. In subsequent years I have more than once placed similar accounts before my Chinese correspondents. The English reader will probably find some interest in the perusal of this collection of weighty verdicts on the nature and historical records of Christianity in Europe; and, for the purpose of instruction and contrast, I add a similar series of authoritative statements as to the real character of the Chinese and the work of the missionaries in China.

My interest in China and the missionaries began some decades ago. In the early seventies, having invented a new form of locomotive head-light, it was necessary for me occasionally to visit Rochester, New York, where a firm of lamp-makers was introducing my new invention. I always stopped at a small hotel near the station, and on the occasion of which I am writing, the whole town being full of parsons and all the hotels crowded, I was obliged to put up with a bed on the drawing-room floor in company with twenty-five or thirty parsons. The idea rather pleased me than otherwise. Having been in the train the whole of the previous night, I naturally felt tired. I therefore went to bed early, and soon fell asleep. At about ten o'clock I was awakened by the arrival of the parsons. I do not know what particular

brand of Christians they were, but I imagined that they belonged to some hard-shelled Protestant variety. They all seemed to be discussing foreign missions, heathen lands, etc. The most noticeable figure was a very good-looking man, well over six feet in height, and about sixty-five years of age. He was an excellent speaker, and I was very much interested in listening to his conversation regarding foreign lands. Finally, the conversation turned on China. This gave the distinguished gentleman his opportunity, and he talked steadily for fully half-an-hour about that remarkable country and its people. He said that there was a great deal of misapprehension in America regarding the Chinese, and that many Americans were led to believe that the Chinese were little more than degraded and uncivilised barbarians. However, after being in the country for many years and learning to speak and write their language, he felt himself in a position not only to dispute the many statements that had been made to the discredit of this great people, but also to defend them. The Chinese were certainly no worse than other people. He then went on to tell us much concerning the history of China and the character of her people. He said: "China is the oldest and most populous "country in the world. Her form of civilisation is "the only one that has stood the test of time. Babylon, Egypt, and the Roman Empire have all passed away. Of the old Empires, China alone "remains. The United States, according to our way "of thinking, is a vast and populous country; but

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"China is still larger, and has a population about ten "times as large as that of our great American

Republic. In China about 35,000 babies are born, "and about the same number of people die, every day; "the birth rate and the death rate being about equal. "The Chinese are a very peaceful, law-abiding "people. There is less crime in China than in any "other country in the world, in proportion to the "population. The people are very honest in their "dealings, and their word is as good as their bond"they are, in fact, an excellent people. No people in "the world are able to get so much out of the soil "as the Chinese, their skill in this direction being

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simply incomparable. They are very tolerant in "their ideas, and there has never been any religious

persecution in China; they do not interfere with "any one's religion, provided that the religion does "not interfere with their institutions."

These statements seemed to astonish the majority of the listeners. One parson, with a heavy black beard and of pugilistic aspect, did not agree with the speaker; but, as he had never been to China and knew nothing of the subject, it was hinted that he should keep quiet.

The question then arose as to the prospects of converting this great nation to Christianity-how to bring them to Christ. The speaker said that it was a curious fact, and one very difficult to understand, that the only obstacle he had ever met with was apathy. The

1 This was in 1872.