Forty Years in South China by Rev. John Gerardus Fagg

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WORSHIP OF THE EMPEROR.

"The system of idolatry is as closely connected with the civil government
of China, I suppose, as ever it was with ancient Rome. The emperor may be
called the great High-priest of the nation. He and he only is permitted to
offer sacrifice and direct worship to the Supreme Being. The description
which Paul has given of the 'man of sin,' with but little variation may be
applied to him.

"'He exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so
that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
God.' He has arrogated to himself the title which expresses the highest
thought of divinity known to the conceptions of the Chinese mind. He is
superior to all gods, except the great Supreme. All others he appoints,
designates their business and dethrones them at his pleasure. In the city
of Amoy is a temple dedicated to the worship of the emperor and containing
a tablet as representative of his person. On certain days of the year the
officers of government are required to repair to this temple, and offer
that religious homage which is due to God alone. Now to remove these
prejudices and superstitions and to carry to the final triumph this
warfare, which we must wage with those in 'high places,' will not be the
work of a few years. We might well despair of ever possessing the land,
where such 'sons of Anak' dwell, were it not that the ark of God is with us
and His command has been given, 'Go up and possess it.' But we look to
you, my brethren, for assistance and reinforcement in this the cause of our
common Lord, not only to fill the places of those who fall at their post or
are disabled in the conflict, but also that we may extend our lines and
conduct the siege with more effect. If you desire a field where you may
find scope and employment for every variety of talent, and where you may
prove yourselves faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ, I know of no place
whence can come to you a more urgent call than from this vast empire."

IV. LIGHT AND SHADE.

THE CHIANG-CHIU VALLEY.

Among the jottings in Mr. Talmage's diary for 1847-1848 we find mention of
a tour to Chiang-chiu on September 23, 1847, in company with Messrs.
Pohlman, Doty and Lloyd.

Chiang-chiu is a large city of 200,000 inhabitants, situated on a wide
river, 30 miles west of Amoy. He writes: "Wherever we went we were
accompanied by an immense throng of people. The most of them I suppose had
never seen a white face. But few Europeans have visited the city. The
city has an extensive wall, wider and I think more cleanly streets, and is
larger than Amoy. In the rear of the city there are three watch towers.
They are situated on very elevated ground. From these we had a very
delightful view of the city and surrounding country. The scenery, it
seemed to me, was the most beautiful I had ever witnessed. Within the
circle of our vision lay that immense city with its extensive walls, its
temples and pagoda, its river, bridges and boats, its gardens, its trees
and shrubbery, and its densely crowded streets. Surrounding the city was
spread out an extensive valley of some ten or fifteen miles in width and
some twenty or twenty-five in length, covered with luxuriant vegetation.
Through the midst of the valley might be marked the meandering track of the
Chiang-chiu river, the whole region beautifully variegated with fruit
trees, shade trees, and villages. Still further on, in every direction,
our view was bounded by lofty hills whose cloud capped tops seemed as
pillars on which the heavens rested. Nature had done her best to make this
region a terrestrial paradise."

On a subsequent trip to Chiang-chiu, Mr. Talmage writes: "The valley of the
Chiang-chiu river is one of the most beautiful regions I ever saw. It is
densely populated. In every direction are villages, I might almost say
without number, rendered most beautiful by their plentiful supply of large
banyans and various other trees of luxuriant foliage. The intermediate
spaces between the villages are fields covered with vegetation most dense
and beautiful. Through the centre of this scene may be traced the course
of the river with its numberless canals, like the Nile of Egypt, giving
fertility wherever nature or the art of man conducts its waters."

BREAKING AND BURNING OF IDOLS.

"Feb. 27, 1848. Today an old lady and her two sons declared themselves to
be worshipers of Jesus by presenting their idols to Bro. Pohlman. On the
evening of the last day of their last year they had burnt their ancestral
tablets. It was an interesting sight, said Bro. Pohlman, to see the old
lady, supported by one of her sons, breaking her idols and making a
voluntary and public surrender of them at the chapel.

"March 1st. When the old lady returned from the chapel on Sunday evening
she was full of zeal, and began preaching to her neighbors on the folly of
idolatry. She was so successful that another old lady living in the same
house with her has made a bonfire and burned all her idols except one.
This, being made of clay, was not combustible. This she presented to
Pohlman today. He asked her whether she gave it up willingly. She said
she rejoiced to do it. She said she had not yet destroyed her ancestral
tablets. Pohlman told her he did not wish her to do it rashly. She must
reflect on the subject, and when she became convinced that the worship of
them was a sin against God she must give them up immediately.

"March 29th. This afternoon Bro. Hickok and wife and Bro. Maclay arrived
at Amoy on their way to Foochow. They had a long passage from Hongkong,
having been out twenty-nine days." The distance from Hongkong to Amoy is
less than three hundred miles, and is made in twenty-four hours by an
ordinary coast steamer.

THE CHINESE BOAT RACE AND ITS ORIGIN.

"June 5th. Monday. To-day being the fifth day of the fifth month (Chinese),
was the festival of dragon boat-racing. Several dragon boats filled with
rowers, rather paddlers, were contesting this afternoon in the harbor. The
water was thronged with boats filled with Chinese to see the sport. Many
of these boats, and almost all the junks in the neighborhood, were decked
with green branches, also with streamers flying. The origin of this
festival is said to be as follows: In very ancient times one of the first
officers, perhaps Prime Minister of government, gave offense to the
emperor. The emperor banished him. He was so downcast on account of the
emperor's displeasure that he went and drowned himself. The emperor
afterwards repented of his act, and on inquiry after the man learned that
he had drowned himself. He sent out boats in every direction to search for
his body, and also to make offerings to his spirit. His body was not
found. But from that time to this his body is thus searched for every year
and his spirit thus appeased. This celebration is universal throughout the
empire and wherever there are colonies of Chinese, throughout the islands
of the (East Indian) Archipelago.

"The same good feeling continues to exist at Amoy as formerly. We are on
the best of terms, so far as we can judge, with all classes, the officials
and people. The mandarins receive our calls and return their cards. All
of them but one have visited us at our houses. Some of them call on us
quite frequently. This places us on a high vantage ground. The people
will not fear to listen to us, attend our meetings, and visit us at our
houses, as they would if the mandarins kept aloof from us. The same good
feeling towards foreigners seems to extend far into the interior. At least
we go from, village to village wherever we please without hindrance, and
are always treated with kindness."

THE CHINESE BEGGAR SYSTEM.

"I have to-day been making some inquiries of my teacher concerning the
system by which the beggars of Amoy are governed. The truth seems as
follows: There are very many beggars in the city. In each ward there is a
head-man or chief called 'Chief of the Beggars.' He derives his office
from the 'Hai-hong,' or the superior local magistrate. Sometimes the
office is conferred as an act of benevolence on an individual, who from
sickness or other causes has met with reverses of fortune. Sometimes it is
purchased. There being eighteen wards in the city of Amoy, of course there
are eighteen such head-men. Their office is not honorable, but there is
considerable profit connected with it. The head-men hold their office for
life, or until removed for bad behavior. They get certificates of office
from the 'Hai-hong,' and on the change of that functionary it is necessary
to get the stamp of his successor attached to their certificates. Their
income is derived from various sources. Monthly they call on the merchants
and shopkeepers, who by paying down a sufficient amount are freed from the
annoyance of beggars during the month. If a beggar enters one of these
establishments he is pointed to a card which is posted up in some
conspicuous place, and is a certificate from the 'chief of the beggars' of
that ward that a sufficient amount of beggar money has been paid down for
the month. The 'chiefs of the beggars' also receive money from a man or
his family when he is about to marry, also from the family of the bride.
They also receive money after the death and burial of the parents or any
old member of a family; also from men who are advanced to literary honors,
or who receive official promotion In any of the above cases, if any
individual fail to agree with the 'chief of the beggars' of his ward and
pay what is considered a sufficient amount of money (the amount varies with
the importance of the occasion and the wealth of the parties), he may
expect a visit from a posse of beggars, who will give him much annoyance by
their continual demands. The 'chiefs of the beggars' give a part of the
money which they receive to the beggars under them. My teacher thinks
there are about two thousand beggars in the city of Amoy. There is a small
district belonging to the city of Amoy called 'The Beggars' Camp.' The
most of the inhabitants of this place are beggars. These beggars go about
the city seeking a living, clothed in rags and covered with filth and
sores, the most disgusting and pitiable objects I ever saw."

TWO NOBLE MEN SUMMONED HENCE.

On the 6th of December Rev. John Lloyd, of the American Presbyterian
mission, died of typhus fever after an illness of two weeks. Mr. Talmage
makes this record of him:

"Dec. 8, 1848. Rev. John Lloyd was born in the State of Pennsylvania on the
first of Oct., 1813, which made him thirty-five years, two months, and five
days at the time of his death. He was a man of fine abilities. His mind
was well stored with useful knowledge and was well disciplined. He was
most laborious in study, very careful to improve his time. He was
mastering the language with rapidity. His vocabulary was not so large as
that of some of the other brethren, but he had a very large number of words
and phrases at his command, and was pronounced by the Chinese to speak the
language more accurately than any other foreigner in the place. They even
said of him that it could not be inferred simply from his voice, unless his
face was seen, that he was a foreigner. He was a man of warm heart, very
strong in his friendship, very kind in his disposition, and a universal
favorite among the Chinese. I never knew a man that improved more by close
intimacy. His modesty, which may be called his great fault, was such that
it was necessary to become well acquainted with him before he could be
properly appreciated. But it has pleased the Master of the harvest to call
him from the field just as he became fully qualified to be an efficient
laborer. What a lesson this, that we must not overestimate our importance
in the work to which God has called us. He can do without us. It seems
necessary that He should give the Church lesson upon lesson that she may
not forget her dependence upon Him."

Early in 1849 the brethren were called to mourn the loss of one of the most
devoted pioneers of the Amoy mission, the Rev. William J. Pohlman.

Mr. Talmage writes: "Feb. 8th. On Monday night at twelve o'clock I was
called up to receive the sad intelligence that our worst fears in reference
to Pohlman were confirmed. He perished on the morning of the 5th or 6th
ult. He embarked on the 2d ult. from Hongkong in the schooner Omega. On the
morning of probably the 5th, at about two o'clock, she struck near Breaker
Point, one hundred and twenty miles from Hongkong. A strong wind was
blowing at the time, so that every effort to get the ship off was
unavailing. She was driven farther on the sand and fell over on her side.
Her long boat and one quarter boat were carried away, and her cabin filled
with water. The men on board clung to the vessel until morning. The
remaining boat was then lowered. Those of the crew who were able to swim
were directed to swim to the shore. The captain, first and second
officers, and Pohlman entered the boat end those of the crew who could not
swim also received permission to enter. But a general rush was made for
the boat, by which it was overturned, and those who could not swim, Pohlman
among the number, perished. The captain attempted to reach the shore by
swimming, and would have succeeded, but was met by the natives. They were
eager for plunder, and seized the captain to plunder him of his clothes.
While they were stripping him of his clothes they dragged him through the
water with his head under, by which he was drowned. About twenty-five of
the crew succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. After being stripped
of their clothes, they were permitted to escape. Afterwards, on arriving
at a village they were furnished with some rags. After suffering much from
fatigue and hunger they arrived at Canton, overland, on the 17th ult. This
event has cast gloom again over our small circle. But one month previous
to his death, Pohlman with myself had closed the eyes of dear Lloyd. Oh,
how deeply we do feel, and shall for a long time feel this loss."

"Feb. 11th. On Sunday afternoon our new church was consecrated to the
worship of the only true God, the first building built for this purpose in
Amoy. Mr. Young preached the sermon. It was also a funeral sermon for Mr.
Pohlman. The house was crowded with people. Very many could not get into
the building. There was some noise and confusion. I think the majority,
however, were desirous to hear."

In a letter to Drs. Anderson (Dr. Anderson was one of the early Secretaries
of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.) and De Witt,
speaking of Pohlman's death, he says:

"Our hearts bleed. God has seen fit to send upon us stroke after stroke.
Oh, when will He stay His hand? But we will not murmur. It is God who
hath done this. His ways are inscrutable. We gaze upon them in mute
astonishment. We may quote as peculiarly applicable to our present
circumstances the remarks which this brother made at the grave of him who
was called away a month previous. 'Death,' said he, 'is always a sad
event, and is often peculiarly distressing. It is so in the instance before
us. There is a sad breach in our little circle at this station. Situated
as we are here, every member of our small society tells upon the happiness
of the whole. Our number is limited and less than a score. We have few
bosom friends, few to cheer and encourage us, few to whom to tell our
sorrows and our joys. Here we are far away from those we love, away from
dear friends and kindred and those tender associations which make society
so delightful at home. Hence we feel deeply any breach made in our little
circle. In proportion as our number is diminished in the same proportion is
there a decrease in the endearments of friendship and love. More
especially is this the case when the departed was possessed of social
virtues and qualified to make all around him agreeable and happy. We mourn
also for these poor deluded heathen. They have sustained an incalculable
loss. I feel it impossible to give an adequate description of his
character. He felt that in laboring for the heathen he was engaged in a
work of the highest moment. Thereto he bent every energy of mind and body.
That which, by receiving the word of God, we are made theoretically to
acknowledge, by the dispensations of His Providence-we are made practically
to feel, that man is nothing-that God is All in All.'

"God's dealings with this mission would seem to be enough to arouse our
Church. Heretofore He has given success to His servants. He has given us
favor with the authorities and with the people. The Church has seemed to
be satisfied with this. She has thanked God for His smiles, but has made
little effort to increase the number of her laborers as fast as the demand
for them increased. Now God is trying another plan. Her laborers are
dying off and the question comes to her, not merely whether she will
advance or not, but, whether she will retain that which she has already
gained. She has volunteered in a glorious warfare. Will she hold the
positions she has won, and make further conquests, or will she permit her
soldiers to die at their posts without being replaced, and thus retire from
the field? Important interests are at stake. The honor of our Church is
at stake. The salvation of souls is at stake. It is a crisis with our
mission. We cannot endure the thought that the labors of those faithful
servants who have been called home shall be in a great measure lost by
neglect. We have received lately impressive lessons of the uncertainty of
human life. The thought steals over us that we, too, are liable at any
moment to be cut down in the midst of our labors. This liability is
increased by the amount of labor which necessarily devolves upon us. Now
we are only two in number. As for myself I am only beginning to stammer in
this difficult language. This, too, in a field where there is labor enough
to be done to employ all the men you can send us. You will not think it
strange then that we plead earnestly.

"Our new church edifice was completed soon after Brother Pohlman left for
Hongkong. As he had done so much of the work in gathering the congregation
and had originated the idea of the building and had watched its erection
with so much interest, we were desirous that he should be present at its
consecration. We therefore delayed opening the building for worship until
we received the definite news of his death."

In an address on "Reminiscences of Missionaries and Mission Work,"
delivered by Dr. Talmage during his later years, he refers to the early
missionaries at Amoy in these words:

"The men God gave the Church were just the men needed to awaken her
missionary spirit and shape her mission work. So for laying the foundation
and shaping the plan of the structure He would have us erect at Amoy He
gave us three men, just the men needed for the work,-David Abeel, William
J. Pohlman and Elihu Doty. The more I meditate on what they said and wrote
and did and suffered in the early days of that work, and see whereunto it
is growing, the more am I impressed with the fact that they were wonderful
men, just the men for the time, place, and circumstances, and therefore
evidently God's gift.

"Dr. Abeel was the pioneer of the Amoy Mission. During the greater part of
the years of his manhood, he struggled with disease, and his whole life on
earth was comparatively short, yet the Lord enabled him to accomplish more
work than most men accomplish during a much longer life. His last field of
labor was Amoy, entering it in January, 1842, when the port had just been
thrown open and while the British army was still there, and leaving it in
January, 1845. In that short time, notwithstanding interruptions from
sickness and of voyages in search of health, or rather to stave off death
till others were ready to take his place, he laid a good foundation, doing
a work that told and was lasting. I met him only once. It was at his
father's house in New Brunswick, after his work at Amoy-after all his
public work was done and he was only waiting to be summoned home. When I
afterwards went to Amoy, I found his name very fragrant, not only among
Europeans and Americans, but also among the Chinese. He had baptized none,
but a goodly number of those afterwards baptized had received their first
impressions concerning Christianity and their first instructions therein
from him."

"Messrs. Doty and Pohlman with their families came from Borneo to Amoy,
arriving in June, 1844, about six months before Dr. Abeel was compelled to
leave. We have heard of places so healthy, that it is said there was
difficulty to find material wherewith to start cemeteries. Amoy, rather
Kolongsu, where all the Europeans then resided, in those days was not such
a place. It is said that of all the foreign residents only one escaped the
prevailing fever. The mortality was very great. In a year and a half from
the time of their arrival at Amoy, Mr. Doty was on his way to the United
States with two of his own and two of Mr. Pohlman's little ones. The other
members of their families--the mothers and the children, all that was
mortal of them--were Iying in the Mission cemetery on Kolongsu; and to
'hold the fort,' so far as our Mission was concerned, Pohlman was left
alone, and well he held it. He had a new dialect to acquire, yet when
health allowed, he daily visited his little mission chapel, and twice on
the Sabbath, to preach the Gospel of Christ. He was a man of work, of
great activity. When I arrived at Amoy in 1847, he was suffering from
ophthalmia. Much of his reading and writing had to be done for him by
others. I was accustomed to read to him an hour in the morning from six to
seven. Another read to him an hour at noon from twelve to one. He was
still subject to occasional attacks of the old malarial fever. Besides all
this he was now alone in the world, his whole family gone, two of his
little ones in his native land, then very much farther away from China than
now, and the others, mother and children, sleeping their last sleep.

"Yet he was the life of our little mission company. Do you ask why? He
lived very close to God, and therefore was enabled to bow to the Divine
will, to use his own language, 'with sweet submission.' Pohlman's term of
service, too, was short. He was called away in his thirty-seventh year.
His work at Amoy was less than five years. It, too, much of it, was
foundation work, though he was permitted to see the walls just beginning to
rise. Two of the first converts were baptized by him, and many others
received from him their early Christian instruction. The first, and still
by far the best church-building at Amoy, which is also the first church
building erected in China expressly for Chinese Protestant Christian
worship, may be called his monument. It was specially in answer to his
appeal that the money, $3,000, was contributed. It was under his
supervision that the building was erected. To it he gave very much toil
and care. The house was nearly ready when he took his last voyage to
Hongkong, and he was hastening back to dedicate it when God took him. His
real monument, however is more precious and lasting than church-buildings,
as precious and lasting as the souls he was instrumental in saving, and the
spiritual temple whose foundation he helped to lay. There were many who
remembered him with very warm affection long after he was gone. Among them
I remember one, an old junk captain, who in his later years, speaking of
heaven, was wont to say, 'I shall see Teacher Pohlman there; I shall see
Teacher Pohlman there.'"

V. AT THE FOOT OF THE BAMBOOS

The sad and sudden departure of Mr. Pohlman so affected a maiden sister,
Miss Pohlman, then at Amoy, as to unsettle her mind and necessitate an
immediate return to the United States. No lady friend could accompany her.
It was decided that Mr. Talmage take passage on the same ship and act as
guardian and render what assistance he could. The ship arrived at New York
August 23, 1849.

Mr. Talmage made an extensive tour on behalf of Missions in China among the
Reformed churches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

"Jan. 15, 1850. Was married at twelve M. in First Presbyterian Church at
Elizabeth, New Jersey, by Dr. N. Murray, to Miss Abby F. Woodruff. Started
immediately with my wife on a trip to Seneca County, New York."

"March 16, 1850. In the forenoon accompanied by many dear friends we
embarked on board the ship Tartar from New York bound for China."

"July 16th. Arrived safely at Amoy, for which our hearts are full of
gratitude to Him who has watched over us on the deep and conducted us
safely through every danger."

Though the entire Reformed Mission at Amoy then consisted of only three
members, Mr. Doty and Mr. and Mrs. Talmage, still they believed in
colonizing. Mr. Talmage secured a Chinese house and shop a mile or more
away from the original headquarters and this became the missionary's home
and preaching place. It was on the north side of the city in a densely
populated neighborhood known as "Tek-chhiu-Kha," or "At the Foot of the
Bamboos."

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