Missionary Magazine AND CHRONICLE. FRONT ELEVATION AND GROUND PLAN OF THE NEW MISSION CHAPEL AT SHANGHAE. VOL. XXIX. 2 M CHINA. OPENING OF THE NEW CHAPEL AT SHANGHAE. FROM an early period of their labours in this important city, our Missionary brethren have suffered serious disadvantage from the want of an edifice for the service of God, which, by its favourable site, adequate dimensions, and neatness of exterior, might command the attention of the native population. In our Number for February, 1850, an appeal was made to the friends of the Chinese Mission on behalf of this special object; and we are now happy to announce, that, from the proceeds of that appeal, together with the amount of local and other contributions, a sanctuary has been reared which, should it please the Most High to vouchsafe the gracious token of his presence, may prove a blessing not only to the present generation, but to multitudes yet unborn. Of this temple to the only true God, erected in a city heretofore wholly given to idolatry, may it be recorded, "This and that man was born in her and the Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there"! In a letter dated 18th Feb. ult., the Missionaries make the following gratifying statement :— "While the new chapel has been in progress, we have at different times communicated particulars respecting it, which we thought might be interesting to you. And we doubt not that the announcement of the building having been completed and opened for preaching, will be received by you, as it is now made by us, with feelings of unmingled satisfaction. "We herewith inclose a pencil sketch (see Frontispiece, page 177) and brief description* of the building, with which Mr. Wylie has furnished us; to whose skill and superintendence * In the form of the ground plan we have had little choice, the building covering near the whole of our lot of ground. The length inside is 63 feet, width 34 feet, height, from floor to ceiling, 20 feet, being the greatest span of roof in Shanghae, unsupported in the centre. Four hundred and fifty persons may be conveniently seated. The foundation of solid brick-work, three feet thick and the same in height, rests on thick slabs of granite all round, above three feet wide, the ground having been first rendered firm by driving from seven to eight hundred six-feet piles. The wall of the superstructure, also of solid brickwork, is two feet thick at the base, gradually diminishing to one foot six inches at the top. There are five arched windows on each side, and two smaller ones in front; a large front door, and two smaller ones, besides two small doors behind, one leading into a side building, and the other into a lane. Between every two of the side windows there is a pilaster, but rather for strength than ornament. The roof is constructed on the English principle of building, being supported by six common queen post trussframes, while it was necessary to conform to the Chinese rule in the application of the tiling. chiefly, we take this opportunity of attributing the success with which this arduous work has been crowned; so that, although it is devoid of those ornaments and attractions that may belong to some of the chapels recently built in this place, it is second to none for neatness of style, solidity of structure, and adaptation to the end proposed. Very fortunately, the building was completed, so that it could be opened on the first Sunday in the Chinese new year. Arrangements were accordingly made for holding public worship in it on the afternoon of February 2nd, and we are happy to inform you that our first services were conducted in the new building under the most auspicious circumstances. "No season, indeed, could have been more appropriate for opening the place than thisthe only period of the year in which all grades and classes of the people rest from their toil. "The concourse was, in consequence, large; and, for an assembly of heathens, who are wont to muster together in their temples in great crowds, and, amid noise and uproar, to go through their religious exercises with levity and heedlessness, the order, decorum, and quiet they maintained throughout was remarkable; evincing that many in the congregation were not entire strangers to the manner of conducting service in our other chapels. Without any reference to stragglers, who went in and out during the service, we think that the number of people who throughout kept their seats, must have been about 450, consisting principally of the working classes. "Of course, the ceremony of opening a chapel for preaching to the heathen cannot be conducted in the same order as that with which a chapel is opened in England. Indeed, in the present instance, there was no deviation whatever from the simple order usually adopted in our Sabbath-day services. "Dr. Medhurst commenced by reading the first chapter of Mark, from the new version, copies of which had been previously distributed among the audience; upon which, prayer was offered up, the congregation all standing. Dr. M. next addressed them on the meaning of Mark i. 1, "The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," for the preaching of which alone this new house had been built. At the conclusion of the address, prayer was again offered. As this part of the service had been conducted in the Mandarin language, it was thought desirable that an address should follow in the Shanghae dialect. It was thereupon announced, that if any of the congregation were disposed to retain their seats, they might immediately hear an address in their native patois; and it was also suggested, that those who could not remain, might quietly retire. On this, a portion of the audience withdrew, while proably one-half remained, and formed the nucleus of a second congregation, quite as large as that which had been addressed in Mandarin. Mr. Muirhead conducted this second part of the service in the Shanghae dialect, after which the audience broke up. From that day to the present, daily services have been held there, attended by good and attentive congregations. "It is perhaps needless to remind you, that at present you have in this city two buildings devoted entirely to the stated preaching of the gospel, in the general language of the empire, and the dialect of this district; besides a house in the suburbs, rented for the purpose of preaching in the Fuh-kien tongue to the residents and visitors from the Fuh-kien province. You see, then, that we have our chapels, we have our congregations, we have our preachers; the seed is daily sown, much seed is already in the ground, and all we want is the descent of the influence of God's Spirit to give the increase." SHANGHAE. FUH-KIEN CONVERTS. AMONG the Missionary brethren who for some time past have been engaged at this Station in the important work of Scripture revision, is the Rev. John Stronach, of Amoy. Mr. S., desirous to render his temporary sojourn at Shanghae available for the spiritual benefit of the numerous strangers speaking the Fuh-kien dialect, who are in the habit of repairing hither for the purposes of trade, opened, at his private expense, a room for preaching, and has also sought by other appropriate means to arrest the attention of that migratory portion of the population. Through the Divine blessing upon these efforts, no fewer than eight Chinamen have successively, and within a comparatively short period, been led to abandon idolatry, and to make a public profession of their faith in Christ. The particulars of these gratifying events are conveyed in the following letter from Mr. Stronach, dated Feb. 18th, ult. :— "I wrote you under date 20th December last, communicating the information that, on November 17th preceding, I had baptized three Fuh-kien Chinese, whose application for baptism had been mentioned in the Report of the Mission, dated October last. In the above letter, I also stated that on the Lord's-day succeeding that on which the baptism had been administered to these converts, others, their friends and acquaintances, had applied for admission, and that I had commenced, in regard to them, the necessary course of instruction. They attended regularly, for the purpose of receiving that instruction, for nearly three months, and gave continued evidence of sincerity in seeking the salvation of their souls, and of the strength of their conviction, that by Jesus Christ alone I could that salvation be secured to them. They, one and all, with earnest abhorrence, expressed their determination to forswear not only idolatry in all its various forms-of attendance at temples, incense burning, burning of gilt paper, and worshipping their dead parents or ancestors-but also every outward and inward sin denounced in the law of God, and the gospel of Christ. At the same time, they expressed their sense of helpless ness without Divine aid, and their resolution to persevere in the course they had commenced, of supplication to the God of all grace, for the sanctifying influences of his Holy Spirit, so indispensable to success in their career as Christians. They make a point of abstaining from all business on the Sabbath-day, and attend regularly the services held in my meeting-room and in the chapels in the city. I cannot discover, by the utmost closeness of questioning and investigation, any sinister motive that could induce them to wish to join us: certainly, no considerations connected with either money, or good name among their countrymen, could lead to any line of conduct but one exactly the reverse of that they are pursuing; for a profession of Christianity in a heathen city cannot either increase the wealth or respectability of those who make it; and not one of them is dependent in the slightest degree on foreigners, or has any prospect of being so. The eight men who have thus come forward are all well known to each other, exhibit evident marks of mutual confidence and regard, and often talk with one another about the truths they unitedly believe; and they are aware that it is their duty to invite others to the same belief, and are not slack in discharging it. The head partner of the firm in which one of them (Lim Cho Giup) is engaged not only has no objection to that individual (his principal book-keeper) keeping the Sabbath, and attending our services; but when told how he occupied his time during the Lord's-day, expressed his approval of it, told him to persevere in his resolution to join us, and added that possibly he him self might at some future period follow his example. This person, who can read our books with intelligence, has also written to his brother in Fuh-kien, earnestly dissuading him from idolatry. The younger brother of the man first baptized (in April last) has been with me twice, as well as the relative of one of the other men, and I think I am warranted in entertaining the hope that the movement among these men will be a diffusive one, and that they will be in earnest in seeking to extend its influence. One of the men baptized in November (Lim Eng Kiu), being about to proceed on his annual tour for the recovery of debts owing to his firm, asked of his own free will for a supply of tracts and Gospels, and he distributed them in every village and town to which he went (in the neighbouring province of Che Keang), even though, in the very first one he came to, one of his debtors, who could not pay, took advantage of the opportunity presented, by his creditor distributing foreign books, to express his contempt for Christianity, as being a religion founded by one who must have been a malefactor, because he was crucified, and, of course, if a malefactor, unable to save others. And he wished to impress all around him with the conviction that one who joined foreigners in such a religion must be a wicked man, as well as intimate with aliens. His injurious language, however, had not the effect he intended. Eng Kiu entirely refrained from any railing reply, and merely stated that Christ came into our world for the very purpose of dying for us, and that if he had not thus died, none could have been saved. When he told me all this in the presence of the other converts, I expressed my satisfaction that he had thus calmly stood his ground against the opposition he had met with, and my hope that he would persevere in his efforts to do his countrymen good, and that all the others would go and do likewise. Such being the state of feeling and conduct manifested by these men, I brought the case of the new applicants (whose names are Ch'wa Chin Sui, aged 47, partner of Lim Keng Hien, formerly baptized; Lim Cho Giup, aged 41; Lim P'i Chiok, aged 33, partner of Lim Eng Seng, formerly baptized; and Lim Ni Sin, aged 30) before Dr. Medhurst and the other brethren. Dr. Medhurst had a long interview with them, about a fortnight ago, in my presence, when he put a great many questions to them, for the purpose of eliciting their real state of mind, and received answers entirely satisfactory. He asked them especially what was the difference between Christianity and Confucianism? and the reply was, that the difference was great, as the former system was from Heaven, and the latter from man:Christ being God manifested in the flesh, and Confucius only a fallible mortal. I brought before him the possibility of persecution, should the Chinese cabinet ever resolve to exhibit in action their latent hostility against foreigners; in which event, doubtless, Chinese converts to their religion would be the first victims, and be at once called on to meet death as traitors: would the possibility of this not frighten them, or be likely to induce apostacy if it really took place? No,' one replied, with energy; 'we should only the sooner be taken up to heaven.' Dr. Medhurst thought so favourably of their state, that he quite agreed with me in the propriety of baptizing them soon; and he proposed to meet with them and the others next Sunday, that he might talk to them in their own dialect; a proposal which I followed up by requesting him, if his other labours allowed it, to do so regularly every alternate Sabbath. He did meet them, expressed himself much pleased with their quiet and Christian-like deportment while listening to his address, and engaging in the other religious services. Shortly after, I gave to the assembled brethren a statement of the character and conduct of these new men, which was received by them with entire satisfaction; and it was resolved that baptism should be administered the succeeding Lord's-day in the new chapel in the city. The day (Feb. 6th) proved a very stormy one, so that only about 200 were present; less than one-half of the number who might have been expected if the day had been favourable. Dr. Medhurst preached in the Mandarin dialect (which is understood not only by the natives of Shanghae, but by the Fuh-kien men, who have resided there for some time), on the peculiar nature of the happiness of the gospel. I then addressed the men in their own dialect, from the latter part of Acts ii.; and having asked them questions, to which, in the presence of all, they gave appropriate answers (the questions being nearly the same as those put to the men formerly baptized), I administered the initiatory ordinance of Christian dispensation. Dr. M. then, as before, interpreted, in Mandarin, the answers of the men, and commended them, in prayer, to the Divine blessing. "Thus, in the course of ten months, I have had the privilege of admitting eight Fuh-kien men into the church of Christ; and I doubt not that you will join with me in the prayer that their faith may be stedfast, and their piety and zeal eminently progressive; and that the example may be the means of stimulating many to do as they have done, and take a decided stand on the Lord's side." INDIA. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AT BHOWANIPORE. CALCUTTA. ADDITIONAL CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY. In our last Number we gave prominence to a report of the interesting solemnity of laying the foundation-stone of the new Institution at Bhowanipore, and of the spirit of religious inquiry which, in happy coincidence with that event, had been excited in the minds of several of the students. As a result of the movement, we announced that two of the converts had openly abandoned caste, and attested their allegiance. to Christ by receiving the rite of baptism. Encouraged by their example, |