《中國人的性格》第十二章　鄙夷外人

《中國人的性格》是美國傳教士阿瑟·史密斯（明恩溥）基于1872年赴華傳教期間的社會觀察撰寫的著作，首版英文名《Chinese Characteristics》于19世紀末問世，。作者在華生活逾五十年，書中融合人類學視角與傳教士立場，記錄了晚清民眾的性格特征與文化形態。

全書以27個主題章節剖析中國人行為模式，包含“保全面子”“省吃儉用”等生活哲學，以及“漠視精確”“因循守舊”等社會現象。通過對比西方工業文明，著重探討東方特有的生存韌性，如環境適應力與疼痛耐受性。書中案例多源自山東鄉村生活經歷，涉及衣食住行、孝悌觀念等主題，部分結論因宗教立場存在視角爭議。該著作開創西方研究中國國民性先河，被譯成多國文字，成為近代中西文化互鑒的重要文本。

第十二章　鄙夷外人

一位第一次到廣州旅行的歐洲商人會很難認同這一事實，即中國的這一商業中心與歐洲已有三百六十年的頻繁交往。在這一段的時間里，各個民族的西方國家與中國人打交道，幾乎沒有得到什么令我們有理由感到驕傲的成就。外國人無論抱著何種目的來到中國，中國人通常對待他們的態度就像古希臘人對待其他非希臘人一樣，把他們看做是“夷蠻人”來對待。即使在中國的官方文件中，也一直習慣于用“夷蠻人”而不用“外國人”來指稱外國人。只是到了1860年，才在某個條約 中列出了一個特別的條款規定，才開始不允許使用“夷蠻人”這個詞來指稱外國人。

說到與中國人對待西方外來民族的這種態度，我們必須時刻清晰地認識到，多年以來，中國人的鄰國一直是一些非常弱小的民族和國家，因而他們一直被危險地奉承著。盡管這些奉承無非是花言巧語、不懷好意，但卻是最為有效的。他們發現，他們對所接觸到的外國人交替使用哄騙和威脅，就可以按照中國人的意愿行事。他們確信自己具有無法形容的優勢地位，并且一直是按照這種理論去處事。他們的這種姿態，一直到北京被占領，才被迫發生了改變。從那以后，盡管只是剛剛過去了一代人，中國已經發生了很大的變化。

可以說，中國人如今終于充分地意識到了外國文明和外國人的全部價值。然而，不必對中國人作更廣泛、更密切的了解，任何一個無偏見的觀察者都會得出這樣的印象來。目前中國人對外國人的態度，心里想的，行為表現出來的，官方的和非官方的，都還并非是一種尊敬。即使一個中國人實際上并不輕視我們，但他們好像總是帶著某種恩賜的態度對待我們，且往往是不經意之間的。這就是我們目前所要面對的現狀。

中國人在打量外國人時，首先感到奇怪的是他們的服裝。盡管我們并不認為自己的服裝有什么值得驕傲的。的確，東方人的所有服裝，在我們看來都是那么的臃腫，擺來擺去，限制了“個人自由”。但這是因為我們要求動作靈便，而與任何東方人的服飾觀完全不同。當我們考察到東方人的服裝式樣是否適合于東方人時，我們不得不承認，這種服裝完全適合于東方人。但是，東方人，特別是中國人，在看我們的服裝時，卻不會露出絲毫的贊賞，他們發出的更多的是批評，以及不用說的嘲笑。

東方人的服裝要求寬松，穿在身上，可以掩蓋住身體的線條。一位體面的中國紳士是不敢穿著短上衣到公共場所去露面的。而在中國任何一個外國租界里，經常可以看到許多外國人穿著緊身的短上衣隨處招搖過市。外國人所穿的那種短上衣，雙排紐扣的禮服大衣（上面所有的扣子都沒有什么實際用處），尤其是既難看又沒樣子像畸形兒一樣的燕尾服。這些對中國人來說，都是莫名其妙；特別是有些上衣外套穿起來無法全部遮住胸脯，還露出一些內衣，更是不可理解，他們還看到外國人大衣后面的尾部肯定釘著兩粒紐扣，可那個地方沒有什么可扣的，扣子放在那里既不美觀，也不能起到裝飾作用。

如果說，外國人的男裝，在普通的中國人看來是不倫不類、荒唐可笑的。那么女裝就更是這樣。不管怎么說，外國女士的服飾在許多方面都有悖于中國人的道德觀念，更談不上體面了。考慮到西方文明是伴隨著男女之間兩性的自由交往而產生的。只要我們看一下中國人對男女之間自由交往的限制，就會自然地感覺到，只依據傳統的道德標準和禮儀，中國人自然完全有可能誤解和曲解他們所看到的一切。

外國人聽不懂中文，也是中國人產生優越感的主要原因之一。比如，一個外國人即使他能夠流利地說現代歐洲各國的語言，但只要他聽不懂一個不識字的中國苦力所說的話，那么這個苦力就會瞧不起他。的確，苦力若是這樣，只能進一步表明他自己的無知，但他那毫無道理的優越感卻是實實在在的。

如果這位外國人與這種環境抗爭，想在其中待下去，并努力地去掌握中國人的語言，那么，他一定會不斷地遭受到蔑視，就連自己的仆人也會在一旁說悄悄話：“哦，他聽不懂的！”其實聽不懂的唯一障礙在于中國人自己說得不清楚。但中國人并不會承認這個事實，即使承認了，也不會降低他的天生的優越感。這種情況，所有學習中文的外國人都經常而且永遠會碰到。因為，無論他的中文水平有多么高，都總還有他未曾知道的新大陸。這個看起來是一種普遍性的體驗，盡管有時的感覺并不一致。

外國人在中國積累了一定的經歷后，就不會因為他偶爾才知道某事而感到不好意思，更不會因為他對某事全然不知而感到不光彩。中國人在對外國人所表現出來的有關中國語言文學方面的知識進行評價時，往往可以借用約翰遜博士對女人嘮嘮叨叨的布道所說的一句話來形容。約翰遜博士在談到婦女布道時說過女人的布道，就像一條狗直起身體用兩條后腿走路——那是無法做好的，但人們后來又驚奇地發現，居然做好了。

一個外國人對中國人的風俗一無所知，也是中國人產生優越感的另一個原因。任何人都有可能對他人熟悉的東西有所不知，但中國人幾乎不相信居然會有人不知道他們早已知道的事。

一個外國人常常不知道自己在遭受著中國人的故意冷落。這就導致中國人愈加故意地輕視我們這些被蒙在鼓里做犧牲的外國人。“土著人”認為我們帶有輕蔑地在冷落他們，結果我們會因為這種種的誤會受到相應的懲罰。

許多中國人會有意無意地采取一種逗趣的方式對待外國人，這種好奇心還伴隨著一些貶意，這就像利特默先生對待大衛·科波菲爾時似乎心里總不停地在嘀咕：“這么小，先生，這么小！”當然，并非說每一個外國人在中國都會遭受這種情況。那些在中國的機敏的外國人們隨著經驗的不斷積累，遲早會成為明察秋毫的觀察者。而那時，情況就會有所不同。然而，一個人無論經驗多么豐富，總還有他沒聽說過的或者第一次聽到的事。因此，總有許多細節是他所不知道的。

任何一個普通的中國人都會很容易做到的事，外國人卻不會做，這就導致中國人看不起我們。我們吃不下他們所吃的東西，我們經不起太陽的曝曬，我們無法在嘈雜的人群中入睡，也不能沒有新鮮的空氣。我們不會用他們的櫓劃船，也不會喊“吁！吁”讓騾子聽從我們的使喚——有這樣一個廣為人知的事情，1860年，英軍的炮兵部隊在去北京的路上，雇來的當地車夫在河西附近開了小差，使得英軍無人駕駛的馬車隊搞得束手無策，因為，英國軍隊中沒有一個人能夠叫中國的牲口往前再挪動一步！

在各種儀式中，我們無法適應中國人的觀念和禮儀，以及其他更重要的規矩。這也是中國人毫不掩飾地輕視我們的理由，他們認為我們是一個在他們看來沒有“禮貌”或不懂“禮貌”的民族。其實，不是外國人不會鞠躬，而是他們大多數人總覺得用中國人的方式鞠一個中國式的躬很難，不僅難在生理上的，心理上也很難接受。外國人不把禮儀規范當一回事，常常舉止隨意，表現出漫不經心的樣子，也常常缺乏耐心。即使他是一個很有耐心的人，但面對一場繁瑣的禮儀的大戰，其結局事先已經確定，并為雙方所知曉，就算只有二十分鐘，他也會不耐煩的。外國人不愿意花上“老半天”的時間去閑聊。對他們來說，時間就是金錢。但對中國人來說，事實與之截然相反。因為在中國，每個人都有很多時間，但卻不是每個人都有錢。中國人不知道，他所浪費的時間是他自己的時間，而不屬于任何其他人的時間。

外國人由于傾向于避免大量令人厭煩的繁文縟節，而把時間用于其他方向。這樣一來，與過分講究禮節的中國人相比，外國人顯得非常單薄，甚至連外國人自己也這么看。與中國官員富麗堂皇的長袍和溫文爾雅的舉止形成對照的是外國來訪者只會笨拙地行一個屈膝禮。面對這種鮮明的對比，即使最有禮貌的中國人也難免會笑出聲來。在這種情況下，與之相關的必須要指出，對付中國人輕視外國人的最有效方法是，對東方人所看重的官員身份不屑一顧。如果中國人見到的是“大美利堅皇帝”，比如說格蘭特將軍，并曾見過他穿著市民的服裝，叼著雪茄，在大街上散步，那么中國人的心里又會怎么想呢？一個外國領事，其級別相當于一個中國的道臺。假如這位外國領事為調解一樁國家間的糾紛，前往某省會與其巡撫會晤。那么，肯定會有成千上萬的中國人涌上街頭，想親眼目睹這位外國大官的浩蕩車隊。結果，他們看到的只是兩輛馬車，幾匹馬，一名翻譯，一位中國的跟班，還有廚師等幾人。東方人看到這種場面，自然會從詫異變為冷淡，再變成輕視，這并不奇怪。

我們認為自己在某些方面肯定比中國人優越，但這些優越之處，并不能如我們所想象和所期望的那樣給他們留下印象。他們承認，我們在機械設計發明方面占優勢。即使許多發明領先于他們，但是這些技術卻被輕易地看做是莫名其妙且沒有實際用途的戲法，是某種超自然力的結果。值得注意的是，孔夫子是閉而不談奇跡的。很多到過中國的承包商人發現，中國人對蒸汽機和電力應用的奇跡是那么的不放在眼里，因而感到失望。除了很少的幾個例外，中國人是反對一切都模仿外國人的（盡管有時也不得不采用）。他們不關心環境衛生和居室通風設備，也不關心生理學。他們喜歡接受一些西方進步的成果，但不采納西方人的方法，若要他們采納西方人的方法，他們寧可把進步的成果也拋棄掉。中國渴望成為，也能夠立刻成為一個“強國”，但目前只有這樣一種可能性，其他的一切只能有待于將來。

任何改良，如果缺乏一種“時代精神”，中國人真實的優越就會相差很遠，它在各方面的改進都有可能被拋在一邊。某些中國學者和政治家顯然意識到中國的劣勢，但他們又認為，西方各個民族所采用的知識，只不過是利用了古代中國人的知識。古代的中國人在高度發展數學和自然科學中積累到了相當高的水平，而當代的中國子孫卻不幸讓這些關于自然的秘密被西方人盜走了。

中國人顯然對單個的外國人在應用領域方面的實干能力不很感興趣。撒克遜人欣賞“能人”，正像卡萊爾指出的，這樣的人喜歡別人都稱他為“王”。大家也崇拜這樣的人，并將他推上王位。對中國人來說，外國人的某些技藝既令人感興趣，又令人吃驚，而且以后若用得著，他們不會忘記和拒絕使用。但是，如果進一步把這位外國人作為模仿對象，成千上萬的中國人中也許不會有一個人有這樣想法。對于他們來說，一個理想學者就是書呆子，文字化石。這種人什么都學，什么都不會忘記，擁有多個學銜，學習刻苦，廢寢忘食。他努力讀書以免挨餓，手指上的指甲有幾寸長，其他什么事情都干不了（除了教書）。正是這樣，才保持了內心與肉體的統一，成了不食人間煙火的超人，因為“君子不器”。

總的來說，西方國家并沒有使中國人意識到自己事實上落后于西方各國。前任中國駐大不列顛大使郭大人的所言，很能說明這一點。當時有人問他，里格博士認為英國人的道德狀況比中國的要好，他對此有何看法。這位大人并沒有立刻對此作出評價，而是富有感情色彩地說“我感到非常震驚”。這種膚淺的比較是得不出任何結論來的，尤其是從外交的觀點看，是不成功的。要做出正確的比較，要涉及到對這兩個國家內部生活的深入了解和對現狀的各種原因進行分析。我們在此無意于進行任何諸如此類的比較，也不是我們的目的。

如今可以清晰感覺得到，對于很多外國人來說，必須承認的是，中國的文人學士是最主要對手。那些外國人懷揣著各種各樣的機械技術，但仍被中國的文人學士認為沒有足夠的能力欣賞中國倫理道德之偉大。在那些“頭長在宋代，腳站在現代”的典型中國學者，能充分體會這種輕視所包含的敵意。就是這個階層的人，在近年以來，不斷撰寫并散發了大量極力排外的文章，這些文章形成的浪潮鋪天蓋地，把整個中國都淹沒了。

曾經人們會認為，中國可能會被西方的各種發明所占據。刀叉、長筒襪、鋼琴會從英國漂洋過海運到中國。這會使得人們產生這樣印象，在這種作用下，中國將會被“歐洲化”。如果說有一天中國會被這種方式所占據，那么這只能是很久以前的某一天，而目前，決不可能有過這樣的一天。中國不是一個可以被人攻占的國家，中國人也不是一個可以被人奴役的民族，無論以何種方式去攻打它。

要想讓中國人對作為一個整體的西方人保持穩固而持久的尊敬，唯一的途徑是通過可信的客觀事實向他們表明，基督教文明無論在總體上還是在細節上都取得了巨大的成就。這一成就，是中國已有的文明所不能與之相比的。如果沒有這些可信的事實，中國人仍會在與外國人的接觸中表現出無端的輕視和俯就的態度。這也并非沒有理由的。

英文原版：

IT is difficult for the European traveller who visits the cityof Canton for the first time, to realise the fact that thisChinese emporium has enjoyed regular intercourse with Europeans for a period of more than three hundred and sixtyyears. During much the greater part of that time there wasvery little in the conduct of any Western nation in its dealingswith the Chinese of which we have any reason to be proud.The normal attitude of the Chinese towards the people ofother lands who chose to come to China for any purposewhatever, has been the attitude of the ancient Greeks to everynation not Grecian, considering and treating them as "barbarians." It is only since i860, by a special clause in thetreaties, that a character which signifies "barbarian," andwhich the Chinese had been in the habit of employing in official documents as synonymous with the word " foreign," wasdisallowed.

It must always be remembered in connection with the behaviour of the Chinese towards outside nations of the West,that the Chinese had for ages been surrounded only by themost conspicuous inferiority, and had thus been flattered inthe most dangerous because the most plausible and thereforethe most effective, way. Finding, as they did, that the foreigners with whom they came into contact could be alternatelycajoled and bullied into conforming to the wishes of the Chinese, the latter were but confirmed in their conviction of their own unspeakable superiority, and invariably acted upon thistheory, until compelled by the capture of Peking to do otherwise. Since that time, although only a generation has passedaway, great changes have come over China, and it might besupposed that now at length foreign civilisation and foreignerswould be appreciated by the Chinese at their full value. Novery extended or intimate acquaintance with the Chinese people is needed, however, to convince any candid observer thatthe present normal attitude of the Chinese mind, official andunofficial, towards foreigners, is not one of respect. If theChinese do not feel for us an actual contempt, they do feelcondescension, and often unintentionally manifest it. It isthis phenomenon with which we have now to deal.

The first peculiarity which the Chinese notice in regard toforeigners is their dress, and in this we think no one will claimthat we have much of which we can be proud. It is true thatall varieties of the Oriental costume seem to us to be clumsy,pendulous, and restrictive of "personal liberty," but that isbecause our requirements in the line of active motion areutterly different from those of any Oriental people. Whenwe consider the Oriental modes of dress as adapted to Orientals, we cannot help recognising the undoubted fact that forOrientals this dress is exactly suited. But when Orientals,and especially Chinese, examine our costume, they find nothing whatever to admire, and much to excite criticism, not tosay ridicule. It is a postulate in Oriental dress that it shallbe loose, and shall be draped in such a way as to conceal thecontour of the body. A Chinese gentleman clad in a shortfrock would not venture to show himself in pubhc, but numbers of foreigners are continually seen in every foreign settlement in China, clad in what are appropriately styled " monkeyjackets." The foreign sack-coat, the double-breasted frockcoat (not a single button of which may be in use), and especially the hideous and amorphous abortion called a " dresscoat," are all equally incomprehensible to the Chinese, particularly as some of these garments do not pretend to cover thechest, which is the most exposed part of the body, made stillmore exposed by the unaccountable deficiencies of a vest cutaway so as to display a strip of linen. Every foreigner inChina is seen to have two buttons securely fastened to the tailof his coat, where there is never anything to button, and wherethey are as little ornamental as useful.

If the dress of the male foreigner appears to the averageChinese to be essentially irrational and ridiculous, that of theforeign ladies is far more so. It violates Chinese ideas ofpropriety, not to say of decency, in a great variety of waysTaken in connection with that freedom of intercourse betweenthe sexes which is the accompaniment of Occidental civihsation, it is not strange that the Chinese, who judge only fromtraditional standards of fitness, should thoroughly misunderstand and grossly misconstrue what they see.

Foreign ignorance of the Chinese language is a fertile occasion for a feeling of superiority on the part of the Chinese.It makes no difference that a foreigner may be able to converse fluently in every language of modern Europe, if he cannot understand what is said to him by an ignorant Chinesecoolie, the coolie will despise him in consequence. It is truethat in so doing the coolie will only still further illustrate hisown ignorance, but his feeling of superiority is not the lessreal on account of its inadequate basis. If the foreigner isstruggling with his environment, and endeavouring to masterthe language of the people, he will be constantly stung by theair of disdain with which even his own servants will remarkin an audible " aside," " Oh, he does not understand/ " whenthe sole obstacle to understanding lies in the turbid statementof the Chinese himself. But the Chinese does not recognisethis fact, nor if he should do so would it diminish his sense ofinnate superiority. This general state of things continues indefinitely for all students of Chinese, for no matter how muchone knows, there is always a continental area which he doesnot know. It seems to be a general experience, though notnecessarily a universal one, that the foreigner in China, afterthe preliminary stages of his experience are passed, gets littlecredit for anything which he happens to know, but rather discredit for the things which he does not know. The Chineseestimate of the value of the knowledge which foreigners display of the Chinese language and Chinese literature is frequently susceptible of illustration by a remark of Dr. John-,son's in regard to woman's preaching, which he declared to!be like a dog's walking on its hind legs—it is not well done,but then it is a surprise to find it done at all!

Foreign ignorance of the customs of the Chinese is anothercause of a feeling of superiority on the part of the Chinese.That any one should be ignorant of what they have alwaysknown, seems to them to be almost incredible.

The fact that a foreigner frequently does not know wheiKhe has been snubbed by indirect Chinese methods, leads the \Chinese to look upon their unconscious victim with consciouscontempt. Scornful indifference to what " the natives " may /think of us, brings its own appropriate and sufficient punishment

Many Chinese unconsciously adopt towards foreigners anair of amused interest, combined with depreciation, like thatwith which Mr. Littimer regarded David Copperfield, as ifmentally saying perpetually, "So young, sir, so young!"This does not apply equally to all stages of one's experiencein China, for experience accumulates more or less rapidly forshrewd observers, as foreigners in China are not unlikely tobe. Still, whatever the extent of one's experience, there aremultitudes of details, in regard to social matters, of whichone must necessarily be ignorant for the reason that he hasnever heard of them, and there must be a first time for everyacquisition.

Foreign inability to do '.vhat any ordinary Chinese can dowith the greatest ease, leads the Chinese to look down upon us.We cannot eat what they eat, we cannot bear the sun,we cannot sleep in a crowd, in a noise, nor without air tobreathe. We cannot scull one of their boats, nor can we cry" Yi! yi!" to one of their mule-teams in such a way that theanimals will do anything which we desire. It is well knownthat the artillery department of the British army, on the wayto Peking in i860, was rendered perfectly helpless near Hohsi-wu by the desertion of the.native carters, for not a man inthe British forces was able to persuade the Chinese animals totake a single step!

Inability to conform to Chinese ideas and ideals in ceremony, as well as in what we consider more important matters,causes the Chinese to feel a thinly disguised contempt for arace whom they think will not and cannot be made to understand " propriety." It is not that a foreigner cannot make abow, but he generally finds it hard to make a Chinese bow ina Chinese way, and the difficulty is as much moral as physical.The foreigner feels a contempt for the code of ceremonials,often frivolous in their appearance, and he has no patience,if he has the capacity, to spend twenty minutes in a politescuffle, the termination of which is foreseen by both sides withabsolute certainty. The foreigner does not wish to spend histime in talking empty nothings for " an old half-day." To him time is money, but it is very far from being so to a Chinese, for in China every one has an abundance of time, and very few have any money. No Chinese has ever yet learnedthat when he kills time it is well to make certain that it istime which belongs to him, and not that of some one else.

With this predisposition to dispense as much as possiblewith superfluous ceremony because it is distasteful, and because the time which it involves can be used more agreeablyin other ways, it is not strange that the foreigner, even in his own eyes, makes but a poor figure in comparison with a ceremonious Chinese. Compare the dress, bearings, and actionof a Chinese official, his long, flowing robes and his gracefulmotions, with the awkward genuflections of his foreign visitor.It requires all the native politeness of the Chinese to preventthem from laughing outright at the contrast. In this connection it must be noted that nothing contributes so effectively tothe instinctive Chinese contempt for the foreigner as the evident disregard which the latter feels for that official display sodear to the Oriental. What must have been the inner thoughtof the Chinese who were told that they were to behold the" great American Emperor," and who saw General Grant incitizen's costume with a cigar in his mouth, walking along theopen street? Imagine a foreign Consul, who ranks with aChinese Taotai, making a journey to a provincial capital tointerview the Governor, in order to settle an international dispute. Thousands are gathered on the city wall to watch theprocession of the great foreign magnate, a procession which isfound to consist of two carts and riding horses, the attendants of the Consul being an interpreter, a Chinese acting as messenger, and another as cook! Is it any wonder that Orientals, gazing on such a scene, should look with a curiosity which changes first to indifference and then to contempt ?

The particulars in which we consider ourselves to be unquestionably superior to the Chinese do not make upon themthe impression which we should expect, and which we could desire.They recognise the fact that we are their superiors in mechanical contrivances, but many of these contrivancesare regarded in the light in which we should look upon featsof sleight-of-hand—curious, inexplicable, and useless. Ourresults appear to them to be due to some kind of supernaturalpower, and it is remembered that Confucius refused to talk ofmagic. How profoundly indifferent the Chinese are to thewonders of steam and electricity practically applied, an army of disappointed contractors who have been in China havediscovered. With few exceptions, the Chinese do not wish though they may be forced to take) foreign models for anything whatever. They care nothing for sanitation, for ventilation, nor for physiology. They would like some, but by nomeans all, of the results of Western progress without submitting to Western methods, but rather than submit to Westernmethods they will cheerfully forego the results. Whateverhas a direct, unmistakable tendency to make China formidableas a "power," that they want and will have, but the rest must wait ;and if there were not a Zeitgeist, or Spirit-of-the-Age,superior to any Chinese, other improvements might wait long.Some Chinese scholars and statesmen, apparently realising theinferiority of China, claim that Western nations have merelyused the data accumulated by ancient Chinese who cultivatedmathematical and natural science to a high degree, but whosemodem descendants have unfortunately allowed the secrets ofnature to be stolen by the men of the West.

The Chinese do not appear to be much impressed by theundoubted ability of individual foreigners in practical lines.Saxons admire the man who "can," and, as Carlyle was sofond of remarking, they make and call him "king." Theskill of the foreigner is to the Chinese amusing and perhapsamazing, and they will by no means forget or omit to makedemands upon it the next time they chance to want anythingdone ;but so far from regarding the foreigner in this respectas a model for imitation, it is probable that the idea does noteven enter the skull of one Chinese in ten thousand. To themthe ideal scholar continues to be the Hterary fossil who haslearned everything, forgotten nothing, taken several degrees,has hard work to keep from starvation, and with claws on hishands several inches in length, cannot do any one thing (except to teach school) by which he can keep soul and bodytogether, for " the Superior Man is not a Utensil."

Western nations, taken as a whole, do not impress educatedChinese with a sense of the superiority of such nations toChina. This feeUng was admirably exemplified in the replyof His Excellency Kuo, former Chinese Minister to GreatBritain, when told, in answer to a question, that in Dr. Legge'sopinion the moral condition of England is higher than that ofChina. After pausing to take in this judgment in all its bearings. His Excellency replied, with deep feeling, " I am very much surprised." Comparisons of this sort cannot be successfully made in a superficial way, and least of all from a diplomatic point of view. They involve a minute acquaintance with the inner life of both nations, and an ability to appreciate the operations of countless causes in the gradual multiplication of effects. Into any such comparison it is far from'tbeing our purpose now to enter. It is now well recognised that the Literati of China are the chief enemies of the foreigner, who, though he may have sundry mechanical mysteriesat his disposal, is held to be wholly incapable of appreciating China's moral greatness. This feeling of jealous contempt isembodied in the typical Chinese scholar, "with his head inthe Sung Dynasty and his feet in the present." It is men ofthis class who prepared and put in circulation the flood ofbitter anti-foreign literature with which in recent years centralChina has been inundated.

It was once thought that with Western inventions China,could be taken by storm. Knives, forks, stockings, and pianos were shipped to China from England, under the impression that this Empire was about to be " Europeanised." If thereever had been a time when the Chinese Empire was to betaken by storm in this way, that time would have been longago, but there never was such a time. China is not a country, and the Chinese are not a people, to be taken by stormwith anything whatsoever. The only way to secure the solidand permanent respect of the Chinese race for Western peoples as a whole is by convincing object lessons, showing thatChristian civilisation in the mass and in detail accomplishesresults which cannot be matched by the civilisation whichChina already possesses. If this conviction cannot be produced, the Chinese will continue, and not without reason, tofeel and to display in all their relation to foreigners both condescension and contempt.