New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable AwakeningBrown, Arthur Judson
History
New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable Awakening
Brown, Arthur Judson
China -- Commerce; China -- Foreign relations; China -- Politics and government; Missions -- China
After dinner, we strolled down to Dr. Nevius' famous orchard.
It is a beautiful spot. Here the great missionary
found his recreation after his arduous labours. Yet even in his
hours of rest, he was eminently practical. Seeing that the
Chinese had very little good fruit and believing that he might
show them how to secure it, he brought from America seeds
and cuttings, carefully cultivated them and, when they were
grown, freely distributed the new seeds and cuttings to the
Chinese, explaining to them the methods of cultivation. Today,
as the result of his forethought and generosity, several
foreign fruits have become common throughout North China.
But the orchard is deteriorating as the Chinese will not prune
the trees. They are so greedy for returns that they do not like
to diminish the number of apples or plums in the interest of
quality.
At sunset, I made a pilgrimage with Mrs. Nevius to the
cemetery, where, after forty years of herculean toil, the mighty
missionary sleeps. We sat for a long time beside the grave, and
the aged widow, speaking of her own end, which she appeared
to feel could not be far distant, said that she wished to be buried
beside her husband and that for this reason she did not want
to go to the United States, preferring to remain in Chefoo until
her summons came.
The scene was very beautiful as the sun set and the moon
rose above the quiet sea. Standing beside the grave of the
honoured dead and under the solemn pines, the traveller gains
a new sense of the beneficence and dignity of the missionary
force that is operating through such consecrated lives of the
living and the dead.
XIX
MISSIONARIES AND NATIVE LAWSUITS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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