A more important error--A painful sight--Chinese clothes without
the appropriate etiquette--The historical Japanese lady and her
misfortunes--The question of general capacity--Christian work in
the East--The crime of sending unprotected young women in the
interior--Money wasted.
The matter of clothes, however, would be a small one. It is to a
further and more important error that I wish to refer. This is a
criminal error, made, not only by missionaries, but by those good
people at home who employ them and send them out. I mean the criminal
error of despatching to dangerous and lonely places in the interior of
China, without protection or assistance, young, inexperienced girls,
who have a most imperfect knowledge of the country, the language, and
the customs and manners of the natives.
It has so far been the impression among supporters of missions in the
East that, to spread the gospel--and with it civilisation--among the
heathen, anybody is good enough. Thereupon, and presumably infatuated
by the good they imagine they can accomplish, and partly attracted by
the apparently handsome salary offered, a great number of unattractive
young women with suburban ideas and education have found their way to
the remotest corners of China. There, while faithfully preserving their
characteristic Anglo-Saxon stride and stiffness of body, they parade
about in ungracefully-worn Chinese robes, quite as inappropriate and
unbecoming to them as European clothes to Chinese or Japanese women.
One would suppose it obvious that one should never begin serious work
by turning the laugh on oneself, and it is with sorrow, even with pain,
that one sees these poor girls of one’s own nationality driven to make
themselves ridiculous. Not only are they made ridiculous, they are also
looked down upon by the natives, for, with Chinese clothes, Chinese
etiquette needs to be adopted to cover endless misunderstandings and
avoid insult; for as we ourselves wear clothes appropriate to various
seasons and to special occasions, and as we wear our garments in
certain recognised ways only--not the wrong way up or inside out--so do
the Chinese, and the breach of these complicated rules, very difficult
to master in their infinitesimal details, invariably leads to
unpleasantness, offence and contempt--just the three things, one would
suppose, that missionaries ought to avoid in trying to earn the respect
of the natives.
[Sidenote: ETIQUETTE]
[Illustration: MISSIONARIES IN CHINESE ATTIRE--NOTICE CHINAMEN LAUGHING]
Much innocent fun has been made in the East over the historical
Japanese lady who, meaning to be like a European dame, ordered a
complete outfit in Paris, instructing the dressmaker to pack the
various garments in the order in which they were to be worn. The case
arrived in Tokyo just as the lady was to go to some grand function.
The case was hurriedly opened--unluckily, at the wrong end--and the
lady consequently appeared at the function wearing her chemise, like a
mantilla, on the top of everything else, and causing no small commotion
among the European guests.
Well, we laugh at this unfortunate lady, and, in fact, at all Japanese
or other natives who have adopted our clothes, which they seldom know
how to wear properly; but our missionaries do exactly the same thing in
China, and are looked upon with the same scorn by the natives there.
The question of general capacity is even more important. A brain
sufficient for the reading of family prayers and the organisation
of village charity bazaars, an intelligence not extending beyond
the collection of unshapely woollen socks and Tam-o’-Shanter caps,
whenever a calamity, no matter of what kind, afflicts the nation,
may be an invaluable acquisition in local society, where socks and
Tam-o’-Shanters and bazaars and prayers have a recognised place. It is
a different matter when this poor brain is sent out to distant lands to
preach, instruct, improve, and civilise, to carry a great religion to
men frequently of superior social standing, men who understand Nature,
know how to reason, and can read us as we could an open book. It makes
all the difference whether we are swimming in a rapid stream with the
current or against it. Any weak person can travel speedily in the first
instance, whereas in the second it takes a powerful swimmer to make any
progress at all.
[Sidenote: MISSIONARY WOMEN]
The same with Christian work in the East. It is great men and women
with powerful brains--the greatest we have, if any at all--that ought
to be sent out, not those for whom we can find no use at home. One or
two highly refined and intelligent men will do more good than twenty
incompetent ones.
As for women, the wives of missionaries might be allowed to accompany
their husbands, but I maintain that it is criminal to send young women
into the interior, where they can do little good, and are absolutely
helpless in case of danger. There can be no doubt that there has been
danger, and for many years to come there will be, far inland from
the coast. In the neighbourhood of foreign treaty ports the question
is less important; some kind of pastime must presumably be provided
for ladies bent on Christianising, and here protection can always be
afforded them.
Shocking outrages, such as have occurred in the Boxer trouble, would
be prevented or greatly minimised; huge sums of money, now absolutely
wasted, could be spared to do good at home, where it is more needed
than in China, and much unnecessary friction could be prevented, making
the relations of heathens and foreign devils infinitely pleasanter.