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	The Chinese Ancestral Rites.
		By Charles D. Tenney,
			Formerly Counselor of the U. S. Legation, Peking, China.

In the year 1700 the Chinese Emperor, Kang Hsi, issued his famous edict
explaining the use of Heaven by the Chinese as meaning God and pronouncing
the rites performed in honor of Confucius and the ancestors to be civil
rites and not worship. The Jesuit missionaries became the advocates of this
view and proposed to allow the Christian converts to continue to perform the
ceremonies. The Catholic missionaries of other orders however, notably the
Dominicans, dissented from the conclusion of the Jesuits, and referred the whole
 matter to the Pope for his decision. The Pope decided against the Jesuits.
This angered the Emperor and led to the first persecution of the Catholic
priests. All missionaries remained proscribed by Chinese law until the
Treaties of 1858 gave them freedom to propagate the Ch[[add inline r]]istian religion.
When the Protestant missionaries arrived in China , they accepted the ruling
of the Pope in regard to the use of Heaven for God and also in regard to the
Confucian and ancestral rites. As they wished to distinguish themselves
before the Chinese from the Catholics[[add inline ,]] the Protestant Church became known
as the [[add inline "]]sect of Jesus[[add inline "]], the Catholic Church being known as the [[add inline "]]sect of the
Lord of Heaven[[add inline "]]. The[[add inline se]] are rather misnomers, of course, because the Protestants
often use the term [[add inline "]]Lord of Heaven[[add inline "]], while the Catholics by no means leave
out [[add inline "]]Jesus[[add inline "]] from their services.

	I have never felt satiafied with the decision of the early Protestant
missionaries to accept the decision of the Pope regarding the Confucian
and ancestral rites. Owing to the fact that these rites have been in use
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among the Chinese for many generations, it has become a matter of duty
to continue the ceremonies. So the first act required of a Christian convert
is to do something condemned by his conscience.	I remember well a
conversation which I once had with an intelligent and serious-minded
young Chinese. This young man said to me in my native place a rumor
is current that the first act required of a Christian convert is to split
up the ancestral tablets. I wish you to understand that I do not believe  
this rumor , but I [[add inline would like to]] refer to you as my authority for contradicting it."
I was put in a very embarrassing position by this appeal. I could only say
that Christian converts did not continue to practice the ancestral rites,
though I had never heard of their being required to split up the tablets.
I could see that the young Chinese was convinced by my reply that the rumor
to which he had referred substantially correct. It would have been
very easy to avoid the suspicion of unfilial conduct on the part of the
Christian convert by drawing up a Christian ceremony to take the place of
the old one and so allowed the continuity of the old rite to remain unbroken.
They were wiser in the early days of Christianity about interfering with the
habits of the pagans. The early church fathers simply put a new meaning
into the old ceremonies and allowed them to continue. Thus the spring
ceremony in honor of the goddess Eastre was continued and even made more
elaborate, though a new meaning was put into it. This made the change of
religion easier for the first generation of converts, and after the lapse
of a few generations the old meaning was lost and forgotten. So the
Saturnalia of the Romans and the winter festival of the Britons were
quietly changed to a celebration of the birth of Christ. Even the formerly
sacred mistletoe and holly were not forbidden to be used as decoration.
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When an old rite is taken over with a new application or meaning, it soon 
loses its old objectionabl features in favor of the new meaning.

	I once had an experience which almost duplicated the early troubles of
the Catholic missionaries with the Emperor Kang Hsi. I was serving at the time
as president of the government University at Tientsin. The monthly rites
in honor of Confucius were observed at the University as in all the Government
schools of China, but because some of the students came from Christian
families and I knew had been taught that the rites were sinful[[add inline ,]]I made the rule
that there should be no roll call or marking of attendance, so that all who
had conscientious scruples regarding the ceremony might absent themselves.
When Yüan Shih-kai was governor of Shantung in 1901 he had begun to organize
a provincial college and had invited one of the American missionaries to act
as president. After the death of Li Hung-chang, Yüan had been promoted to [[add inline be]]
Viceroy of the metropolitan province and Chou Fu, a distinguished Confucian
scholar had been appointed to succeed him in Shantung. He came to me before
leaving for his new post and explained that he was troubled because the
missionary at the head of the new college had refused to allow the usual
ceremony in Honor of Confucius to be performed in the college, His Excellency
asked how I got over the difficulty , and I explained my arrangement by
which Christian students were allowed to absent themselves from attendance.
The new governor said that this arrangement would be quite satisfactory to
him, provided that the usual rite prescribed for all government schools,
should be continued for the benefit of the Confucianist students. He asked
that I should correspond with with the missionary, suggesting to him my
method of procedure. I did so, but was somewhat surprised to receive the
reply that my method would be unsatisfactory to him because he considered it
to be "dishonest. I communicated the reply to His Excellecy Chou Fu,who
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then said that he regretted losing the services of the foreigner in the
important fork of organizing the new college, but that he regarded it as essen-
tial that the usual rites should be observed. He proposed another method of
meeting the scruples of the missionary. He promised that on his arrival at
his new post, he would issue a proclamation explaining the ceremony as an
act of honor to Confucius as the founder of Chinese literature but in no
sense an act of worship. That is, he would repeat the response that the
Emperor K'ang Hsi had made two hundred years before to the petition of the
Jesuits. I felt that this would be useless, but consented to send the message
to the missionary concerned. In due course his reply came to the effect that
he could not allow the continuance of the ceremony because he regarded its
"tendancy to be idolatrous, however it might be explained. The result was
that the well equipped foreigner was obliged to resign and turn over his
important work to less competent Chinese hands. I was much struck by a
remark of Governor Chou Fu in the couse of our conferences on this subject.
He said"It is absurd to say that we worship Confucius. We Confucianists do not
believe in the immortality of the soul. [[delete N]] [[add inline C]]onfucius no longer exists. How can
you worship what does not exist? I considered it very unfortunate that the
control of the new university should be lost to the competent hands of the
foreign missionary through what seemed to me the unreasonable position of
the Proestant Missionary body. the ancestral rites are so connected in
China with the principle of honor to parents and ancestors that the discontin-
uance of the ceremony brands the new faith as unfilial. To the Chinese the
new religion suffers the same handicap that any new faith would suffer among
us if the first act required of a convert were to go the cemetery and spit
upon the graves of his parents. The fine feeling of respect for parents is
one of the best features of the old Chinese civilization and in the process
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of the modernizing of China that is now going on[[add inline ,]] that honor to parents ,
the value of which we recognize in the Fifth Commandment ,is fast disappearing.
Instead of requiring Christian converts to pay no more attention to the
ancestral tablets, I should much prefer that the church draw up a new ritual
for Christian converts in which the thanks of the descendant should be
expressed to God for the gift of life through the medium of the ancestors.
The new ritual should include thanksgiving to God for the example and discip-
line of the parents, and the old form of worship should be allowed to continue
with these modifications. Thus the rite might be made even more elaborate
for those within the church than for those outside. Protestans generally
object to the laying out of food as an accom[[add inline pan]]iment of worship or as a sign of
respect,fo[[add inline r]]getting the ritual of worship that is ordered in the Old Testament
according to which food is offered in the worship of Jehovah. We decorate the
graves of the departed with flowers. The Chinese would arrange small dishes
of food about the graves to express the same feeling.

	In general, my experience in China has caused me to feel that the
Protestant missionaries have been rather illiberal in not allowing the Chinese
to express their feeling[[add inline s]] in their own way. They have generally tried to force
upon them the Puritan forms of worship and the customs of other lands rather
than to follow the lines of least resistance as did the old church fathers
in their dealings with the pagans.
        

== document letter ==
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Date: [[place Lebanon]] [[date 25[[superscript th]] Aug[[superscript t]] 1764]]
Salutation: [[person M[[superscript r.]] Occom]],




Sir.

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    Your time is so that, and your Business so 
crowding, that I can't desire such an Addition to your Bur—
den, as your coming hither again would be: I therefore take this 
Way to hint to you what I would say more fully if you were here.

    And in the first place, I suspect you will miss of 
seeing [[person Mr. Kirtland]] on his Return from [[person Mr. Whitefield]], and also 
of seeing [[person Mr. Whitefield]], who I hear preached some weeks ago 
at [[place Philadelphia]], & consequently you will miss of receiving any supplys 
which he may have got for your journey; and if so, I advise you 
to represent the Case to some able Friends at [[place New York]], and if you 
can get Supply no other Way, hire the Money of Some good Friend 
till you return.

    I herewith Send you a Copy of our Commission 
from [[place Scotland]] in order that you may shew it, if you shall have 
occasion, to [[person Gen[[superscript l]] Gage]], [[person Gen[[superscript l]] Johnson]], or others.

    I would have you obtain 15 or 20 youth, if you
can procure those [[delete that]][[add above which]] are likely, of remote Tribes of Indians.
And if you hear that which is encouraging of good [[person Peter]] at 
[[place Onohoquagee]], and those two Boys there who were offered to 
the Comissioner at [[place Boston]], let them be of the Number.

    There was also an English Lad with the Mohawks 
to learn their Tongue, before this War, who I hear is very likely: 
if you can obtain such an one, do it. I shall leave the Proportion 
of Girls to you, & [[person Gen[[superscript l]] Johnson]], whose advice I would have you 
take in every Thing, when it may be had.

    And be sure, you let all the Children whom you 
bring, know that they don't come here to be without Government, 
nor to live a lazy sordid Life, but to be fitted for Business and 
lifefulness in the World. And I am not afraid that you Should boast 
of my Mohawk Boys Proficiency in very strong Terms.

    And don't fail to write to me as your Progress, 
Success, and any Occurrence that may be entertaining, by every 
    opportunity [[note editorial this word is found at the right margin, continuing the previous line]]
== page 764475-3_002 ==
Opportunity, as you know Friends at Home will be glad to hear.

    Send me an Acco[[superscript t]] of what Labour you have or Shall hire 
upon my Credit [[add above at Mohegan]]; and what you desire me to do for your [[add above Family]] while 
you are gone.

    And may the God of all Grace be with you & [[person David]] in 
all the way whither you go, and inspire you with Wisdom, 
Prudence, Zeal, Courage, and holy Fortitude, and honour you 
to be the Instrument to spread the Saviour of his Name, and 
the Knowledge of the great Salvation, far among the Pagans.

== section closer ==
Salutation: Remember me respectfully to Friends in your Way, espe—
cially at [[place N. York]]. — which with Love &c is the needful 
from

    Yours affectionately

Signature: [[person Eleazar Wheelock]].

[[person Rev[[superscript d]] M[[superscript r]] Occom]]

== section postscript == 
[[date August 27th]]  P.S. [[person Mr. Kirtland]] returned last Evening has got no money. 
[[person Mr. Whitefield]] is at [[place N. York]]. talks of going to [[place Albany]] this Week 
if he can he will serve you, if he cant acquaint [[person M[[superscript r.]] Whitaker]] — 
do the best you can —