Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- ERRATA
- CHAPTER I GEOGRAPHICAL AND INTRODUCTORY
- CHAPTER II “THE MODEL SETTLEMENT”
- CHAPTER III HANGCHOW
- CHAPTER IV THE HANGCHOW MEDICAL MISSION HOSPITALS
- CHAPTER V SHANGHAI TO HANKOW (HANKAU)
- CHAPTER VI THE FOREIGNERS—HANKOW AND BRITISH TRADE
- CHAPTER VII CHINESE HANKOW (HANKAU)
- CHAPTER VIII HANKOW TO ICHANG
- CHAPTER IX ICHANG
- CHAPTER X THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XI RAPIDS OF THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XII RAPIDS AND TRACKERS
- CHAPTER XIII LIFE ON THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XIV THE YANGTZE AND KUEI FU
- CHAPTER XV NEW YEAR'S DAY AT KUEI-CHOW FU
- CHAPTER XVI KUEI FU TO WAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XVII CHINESE CHARITIES
- CHAPTER XVIII FROM WAN HSIEN TO SAN TSAN-PU
- CHAPTER XIX SZE CHUAN TRAVELLING
- CHAPTER XX SAN-TSAN-PU TO LIANG-SHAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXI LIANG-SHAN HSIEN TO HSIA-SHAN-PO
- CHAPTER XXII HSIA-SHAN-PO TO SIAO-KIAO
- CHAPTER XXIII SIAO-KIAO TO HSIEH-TIEN-TZE
- CHAPTER XXIV HSIEH-TIEN-TZE TO PAONING FU
- CHAPTER XXV PAONING FU AND SIN-TIEN-TZE
- CHAPTER XXVI SIN-TIEN-TZE TO TZE-TUNG HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXVII TZE-TUNG HSIEN TO KUAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXVIII KUAN HSIEN AND CHENGTU
- CHAPTER XXIX KUAN HSIEN TO SIN-WEN-PING
- CHAPTER XXX SIN-WEN-PING TO LI-FAN TING
- CHAPTER XXXI LI-FAN TING TO TSA-KU-LAO
- CHAPTER XXXII THE “BEYOND”
- CHAPTER XXXIII THE MAN-TZE, I-REN, OR SHAN-SHANG-REN
- CHAPTER XXXIV FROM SOMO TO CHENGTU FU
- CHAPTER XXXV DOWNWARD BOUND
- CHAPTER XXXVI LUCHOW TO CHUNG-KING FU
- CHAPTER XXXVII THE JOURNEY'S END
- CHAPTER XXXVIII THE OPIUM POPPY AND ITS USE
- CHAPTER XXXIX NOTES ON PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA
- CONCLUDING REMARKS
- ITINERARY
- APPENDICES
- INDEX
- Plate section
CHAPTER XVII - CHINESE CHARITIES
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- ERRATA
- CHAPTER I GEOGRAPHICAL AND INTRODUCTORY
- CHAPTER II “THE MODEL SETTLEMENT”
- CHAPTER III HANGCHOW
- CHAPTER IV THE HANGCHOW MEDICAL MISSION HOSPITALS
- CHAPTER V SHANGHAI TO HANKOW (HANKAU)
- CHAPTER VI THE FOREIGNERS—HANKOW AND BRITISH TRADE
- CHAPTER VII CHINESE HANKOW (HANKAU)
- CHAPTER VIII HANKOW TO ICHANG
- CHAPTER IX ICHANG
- CHAPTER X THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XI RAPIDS OF THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XII RAPIDS AND TRACKERS
- CHAPTER XIII LIFE ON THE UPPER YANGTZE
- CHAPTER XIV THE YANGTZE AND KUEI FU
- CHAPTER XV NEW YEAR'S DAY AT KUEI-CHOW FU
- CHAPTER XVI KUEI FU TO WAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XVII CHINESE CHARITIES
- CHAPTER XVIII FROM WAN HSIEN TO SAN TSAN-PU
- CHAPTER XIX SZE CHUAN TRAVELLING
- CHAPTER XX SAN-TSAN-PU TO LIANG-SHAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXI LIANG-SHAN HSIEN TO HSIA-SHAN-PO
- CHAPTER XXII HSIA-SHAN-PO TO SIAO-KIAO
- CHAPTER XXIII SIAO-KIAO TO HSIEH-TIEN-TZE
- CHAPTER XXIV HSIEH-TIEN-TZE TO PAONING FU
- CHAPTER XXV PAONING FU AND SIN-TIEN-TZE
- CHAPTER XXVI SIN-TIEN-TZE TO TZE-TUNG HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXVII TZE-TUNG HSIEN TO KUAN HSIEN
- CHAPTER XXVIII KUAN HSIEN AND CHENGTU
- CHAPTER XXIX KUAN HSIEN TO SIN-WEN-PING
- CHAPTER XXX SIN-WEN-PING TO LI-FAN TING
- CHAPTER XXXI LI-FAN TING TO TSA-KU-LAO
- CHAPTER XXXII THE “BEYOND”
- CHAPTER XXXIII THE MAN-TZE, I-REN, OR SHAN-SHANG-REN
- CHAPTER XXXIV FROM SOMO TO CHENGTU FU
- CHAPTER XXXV DOWNWARD BOUND
- CHAPTER XXXVI LUCHOW TO CHUNG-KING FU
- CHAPTER XXXVII THE JOURNEY'S END
- CHAPTER XXXVIII THE OPIUM POPPY AND ITS USE
- CHAPTER XXXIX NOTES ON PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA
- CONCLUDING REMARKS
- ITINERARY
- APPENDICES
- INDEX
- Plate section
Summary
As Moslems regard almsgiving as one of the “gates of heaven,” and practise it to a very remarkable extent, so the Chinese have placed benevolence foremost on the list of the “Five Constant Virtues.” The character which denotes it is said by the learned to be composed of the symbols for man and two, by which is somewhat obscurely indicated, on the principle of the spark being the result of the contact of flint with steel, that benevolence should result from the contact of two human beings.
That this is so in China is not the impression which the facts of daily life produce, and the popular view taken of Chinese character in this country is that it is cruel, brutal, heartless, and absolutely selfish and unconcerned about human misery. Among supporters of foreign missions this opinion would be found nearly universal; and, indeed, I have heard the non-existence of benevolence in the vast non-Christian empire of China brought forward as an argument in favour of such missions. So saturated is our atmosphere with the belief that the only charitable institutions in China are those founded by Protestant and Catholic missionaries, that nothing surprised me more than to find that the reverse is the case. Among the many intelligent and frivolous questions which have been put to me since I returned, the one, “Have the Chinese any charities?” has not been among them.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Yangtze Valley and BeyondAn Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and Among the Man-tze of the Somo Territory, pp. 181 - 193Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010