from his royal palace. Subsequently he took part in another ceremony and headed another procession that followed the same road out of the Tartar City. This time Yuan Shih Kai went not to sacrifice to Heaven, but to be laid in his last resting place, while his spirit sped away to the realm of the gods, for to-day in the minds of millions of conservative Chinese the modern president, Son of Heaven, has become a god like the emperors of old.

CHINA'S GREAT AWAKENING

Out of the background of all this interesting past is emerging to-day the new China, religiously as well as socially and politically. The relatively superior conception of God, the fine ethical ideals, the instinct of respect for an orderly universe-all these and many other good characteristics of the old faith combine to give a peculiarly favorable reception to Christian teaching. And herein lies the hope of China, for, in spite of those elements in her faith that ought to have spelled light and progress, she has signally failed religiously, and therefore along other lines of development as well. Says that unbiased scholar, Dr. J. J. M. de Groot: "The conclusion to be drawn from the history of the development of the Taoist religion is that in spite of the sublime Universistic principle, it has not been able to rise above idolatry, polytheism, polydemonism, and anthropotheism, but has, on the

contrary, systematically developed all these branches of the great tree of Asiatic paganism. The same judgment must be pronounced with respect to the branch of Universism which we call Confucianism."

But the modern awakening in China to the meaning and value of Christianity and its essential superiority to other faiths is real and significant. The reception of this Western religion is not like the easy tolerance manifested toward Buddhism and Mohammedanism, nor merely a polite acceptance of gospel teachings because of the regard of the Chinese for the American and British nations. There is a growing respect for Christianity and a spreading conviction that it brings the true solution of the religious, and, by implication, of many other problems, faced by the Chinese nation, as indicated in the following cablegram sent by Mr. E. T. Williams, chargé d'affaires of the American Legation in Peking in 1913.

Peking, April 19, 1913. SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington.

The following message adopted by the Cabinet was sent yesterday by the Chinese government to the provincial authorities and leaders of the Christian Churches in China: "Prayer is requested for the National Assembly now in session; for the new government; for the President who is to be elected; for the constitution of the Republic; that the government may be recognized by the Powers; that peace may reign within our country; that strong and virtuous men may be elected

Religion in China, p. 189.

to office; and that the government may be established upon a strong foundation. Upon receipt of this telegram you are requested to notify all the churches in your Province that April twenty-seventh has been set aside as a day of prayer for the Nation. Let all take part."

WILLIAMS.

That this awakening is vital is likewise revealed in the significant words of Mr. Teng, representing the Chinese minister of education at the commencement exercises of one of the leading Christian universities of China, in June, 1915. On this occasion, after the diplomas had been presented to the twenty-two graduates, we heard him say, "Now we must rise quickly to the standard of Western civilization." Elaborating the statement, he went on to assert that the keynote of the success of Westerners lies in their Christian morality. China's morality, he declared, is peculiarly her own, while Christianity presents a standard of morality of universal application. Young men in China to-day are eager for Christian education, not only on account of the training in English and modern sciences afforded by missionary schools and colleges, but also because they desire to understand and realize the Christian program of life. That Christianity does thus vitally attract the youth of China is again illustrated by the fact that since the foundation of Peking University (a missionary institution), over twenty-five years ago, not a single person has been graduated who has not