The missionary question—Ethics of Christianity—Cant and
commerce—The necessity for restraint
The history of missionary enterprise in Korea abounds in illustrations
of the remarkable manner in which French missionaries may be relied upon
to offer up their lives for their country. It may be cynical to say so,
yet there is much reason to believe that the Roman Catholic priests in
the Far East of to-day are the _agents provocateurs_ of their Government.
They promote anarchy and outrage, even encompassing their own deaths,
whenever the interests of their country demand it. From the beginnings of
Christianity in China they have wooed the glory of martyrdom, and they
have repeated the process in Korea.
[Illustration: A BRIDGE SCENE IN SEOUL]
Christianity made its way into Korea about 1777, by the chance arrival
of a packet of translations in Chinese of the works of the Jesuits in
Pekin. From this small beginning the ideas spread, until the King’s
Preceptor was compelled to fulminate a public document against this
new belief. Finding this insufficient, examples were made of prominent
enthusiasts. Many were tortured; and others condemned to perpetual exile.
Persecution continued until 1787; but the work of proselytism proceeded,
despite the injurious attentions which converts received from the public
executioners.
The first attempt of a foreign missionary to enter Korea was made in
1791. It was not until three years later, however, that any Western
evangelist succeeded in evading the vigilance of the border sentinels.
Where one came others naturally followed, undeterred by the violent
deaths which so many of these intrepid Christians had suffered. While
the French missionaries were prosecuting their perilous labours, in
the face of the undisguised hostility of the great proportion of the
people, and losing their lives as the price of this work, the walls of
isolation which Korea had built around herself were gradually sapped.
Ships from France, Russia and Great Britain touched her shores during
their explorations and trading ventures in the Yellow Sea. Under the
association of ideas which sprang from the appearance of these strange
ships, the Koreans grew accustomed to the notion that their world was
not limited by the resources of their own country and the more distant
territories of China. However, judging the sailors who fell into their
hands by the standards of the French priests, who had set every law in
the land at defiance, they at once killed them. This practice continued
until 1866, when word reached the Admiral of a French squadron at
Tientsin of the slaughter of his compatriots in Korea. Upon receipt of
the news, an expedition was prepared, of itself an early manifestation of
that policy by which the French Government is inspired in its dealings
with missionaries and missionary questions in countries, the development
of whose geographical or industrial peculiarities may be turned to
advantage.
For many centuries the land was without any accepted religious doctrine.
Buddhism, which existed for one thousand years before the present dynasty
came to the throne, had fallen into disfavour; the tenets of Confucius
did not completely satisfy the minds of the upper classes, and Shamanism
was the worship of the more primitive masses. The moment was ripe for the
introduction of a more practical philosophy, and in time, as the gospel
of Christianity spread, opposition to the great creed of humanitarianism
lessened. Toleration of the many phases of Western belief is now general,
the Korean finding in the profession of Christianity an easy means of
evading the exactions of the officials. Nevertheless, the diffusion of
Christianity is not unattended with bloodshed and disaster. Apart from
this drawback to the propagation of Christian beliefs in Korea, it may
be doubted whether the methods of the various missionary bodies bear
the impress of that spirit of charity which should illustrate their
teaching. Without impugning the individual attainments of any of the
many missionary groups who administer to the needs of the Koreans, I
find it difficult to affirm that the principles of self-abnegation so
manifest in the lives of the Roman Catholic priests and the workers of
the Church of England Mission, are equally in evidence in the comfortable
existence which is led by the well-paid _attachés_ of the American
Mission Boards. The French priests live in abject poverty; striving
to identify themselves with the conditions of their flock, they accept
neither holiday nor reward as compensation for their services. In this
bare comparison of the principles of ministration, I do not wish, at the
moment, to venture into the domain of controversy, but merely to convey
some impression of the competing systems of procedure.
The Church of England Mission, which has become known as the English
Mission, under the direction of Bishop Corfe has adopted a system of
communism. The expenses of board, lodging, clothing, laundry and fuel are
met from a common fund, quarterly remitted from the Mission Treasurer to
the responsible head of each Mission House. In proportion to the number
of residents, the expenditure is returnable upon a _pro rata_ calculation
of about £70 per head per annum. This estimate includes the cost of the
male staff. The proportionate rate of expenditure in respect of the lady
workers of the English Mission is one-third of this annual disbursement
less. The _depôts_ of the Mission are situated at Seoul, Chemulpo,
Mok-po, and Kang-wha; in addition to the stations in Korea, a chaplaincy
is maintained in New-chwang. The chief centre of activity of this Mission
is upon the island of Kang-wha. The task of improving the condition of
the very poor, by means of education, kindness and patience, proceeds
quietly at Chemulpo and Seoul too, where particular attention is given
to the welfare of the sick. At one time, there were important dispensary
and hospital institutes in these places, the medical establishment at
Chemulpo, however, is now abandoned.
The members of this Mission endure no little privation in the primitive
simplicity of their surroundings. Their services, on the other hand,
display much unnecessary pomp; and the white, full-skirted cassock with
rough hempen girdle, which they wear in public and private, emphasises
their ritualistic tendencies, and is, to my mind, somewhat of an
affectation. Nevertheless, in their daily practice, those associated
with the Church of England Mission in Korea set before themselves that
standard of idealism in missionary enterprise which is represented by the
unnecessary sacrifices, the sublime heroism, and fortitude distinguishing
the priests of the Roman Catholic Church, a standard, I am compelled to
admit, that other missions in the Far East—American, English, Scotch, and
Irish—appear incapable of realising.
The American missionary in the Far East is a curious creature.
He represents a union of devices which have made him a factor of
considerable commercial importance. American missionaries in Korea were
formerly closely associated with the more important export houses in the
leading industrial centres of America. Owing to diplomatic representation
this practical demonstration of Western superiority is no longer openly
indulged. In Seoul, however, an American missionary inconsiderately
receives paying guests, causing a manifest loss of business to the
Station Hotel; in Won-san, another exploits his orchard. As a class they
are necessarily newspaper correspondents and professional photographers;
upon rare occasions—and here I refer especially to a small coterie of
American missionaries in Seoul—they are the scholarly students of the
history, manners, customs and language of the country in which they
happen to be placed.
The American missionary has a salary which frequently exceeds £200
a year, and is invariably pleasantly supplemented by additional
allowances. Houses and servants are provided free, or grants are made for
house rent; there is a provision for the education of the children, and
an annual capitation payment is made for each child. As a class, American
missionaries have large families, who live in comparative idleness and
luxury. In Korea, they own the most attractive and commodious houses
in the foreign settlements, and appear to me to extract from their
surroundings the maximum of profit for the minimum of labour. I do not
know whether it is with the permission of the executive officers of the
American Mission Boards that their representatives combine commerce with
their mission to the heathen. When a missionary devotes no little portion
of his time to literary labours, to the care of an insurance agency,
to the needs of a fruit farm, or to the manifold exigencies of casual
commerce, it seems to me that the interests of those who sit in darkness
must suffer.
American mission agents have made Korea their peculiar field. Converts,
who prattle of Christianity in a marked American accent, are among the
features of the capital in the twentieth century. Mission centres, which
have been created in a number of places, now show signs of prosperity.
They enlist no little practical sympathy and support from the native
population. The self-supporting character of much of the missionary
work in Korea bears out the spirit of toleration which distinguishes
the attitude of the people towards the propaganda. It is not to be
supposed that the work of the missionaries is agreeable to all shades of
native opinion. Riots and bloodshed disfigure the path of proselytism,
the credulity of the natives entailing heavy sacrifices of life. The
disturbances which have thus marked the spread of Christianity in Korea,
notably in the anti-Christian rising in Quelpart, a few months ago, are
due to the jealousy with which the heathen mass of the population regard
the protection from official rapacity, enjoyed by those who accept The
Light.
In the case of Quelpart, this feeling of animosity, and the immunity
from taxation which the French priests gave to their following, created
an intolerable position. Anarchy swept over the island, and some six
hundred believers were put summarily to death. Whatever may be the
compensating advantages of this martyrdom, the reckless and profligate
sacrifice of life, which missionary indiscretion in the Far East has
promoted, is an outrage upon modern civilisation. We have passed through
one terrible anti-Christian upheaval in China, and, if we wish to avoid
another such manifestation, it is necessary to superintend all forms
of missionary enterprise more closely. This, however, can be done only
by legislative supervision, imposing restraint in the direction which
recent events have indicated. It is imperative that certain measures
should be adopted in missionary work which will ensure the safety of
the individual zealot, and be agreeable to the general comfort of the
community. It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that such reforms must be
radical. The violence of missionary enterprise during recent years has
been altogether unbridled. The great activity of the different societies,
resulting from their unrestricted liberty, has recoiled most fatally upon
the more indefatigable, as well as upon the heads of many wholly innocent
of any unwarrantable religious persecution. The time has come, therefore,
when vigorous restrictions should chasten this vigorous, polemical
proselytism. The practice of scattering missionaries broadcast over the
interior of these Far Eastern countries should not continue; the assent
of the local Consul and a representative council of the Foreign Ministers
should be required in every case. Moreover, it would be wiser, if, under
no conceivable circumstances, single women were permitted to proselytise
beyond the carefully prescribed treaty limits of the different
settlements. Again, missionaries with families, as well as single women,
should not be allowed to live beyond the areas of these neutral zones.
[Illustration: THE STREETS ARE MAGNIFICENT]
These restraints upon missionary labours will, of course, be resented.
If the total number of lives which have been lost in Korea, China, and
Japan, by the interference of Western missionaries, were published,
their vast aggregate would reveal to the unthinking masses of the
public how urgent is the need for strong action. Such restraint is
morally justifiable by the appalling massacres with which the world is
now familiar. The blind perseverance of the missionary has frequently
brought about the simultaneous baptism and crucifixion of the convert.
What more does the fanatical enthusiast wish than that some one should
be thus doubly glorified by his means? The increasing death-roll among
masters and pupils supplies the only necessary argument for immediate
rectification of the entire system of missionary enterprise.