OUR BIBLE INSTITUTE IN HUNAN PROVINCE, CHINA
3832G3
UR. FRANK A. KELLER, Superintendent
“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE L IF E ” The w riter, of a most in teresting book on th e customs of China begins his chapter on “The F uneral Customs” by saying: “ It would be well nigh impos sible to deal exhaustively w ith th is sub ject w ithin th e lim its of a single chap ter, so varied are th e methods which obtain in different p arts of th is land.” He then fills forty-nine pages w ith a description of the funeral customs which prevail in p arts of China th a t have come under his observation. F u n eral Customs in Hunan The funeral customs in H unan are fully as elaborate as those described in this book, though differing much in many of the details. To an uninformed observer, noise and display seem to be the main featu res of th e occasion. P riests of a t-least two cults chant, play on flutes or small trum pets and beat on gongs for a length of tim e corre sponding to th e devotion and financial resources o f th e mourners. The w riter of the book correctly states th a t “There is no event which demands so g reat a t tention, such scrupulous observance of immemorial custom, and lavish expendi tu re of labor and capital as the carrying out of a ‘decent fu n eral’.” This is es pecially tru e in the case of a parent, the filial devotion of th e son or sons being measured by the lavishness of th e expenditure, and many a son incurs debts a t this tim e th a t are a heavy burden for many years to come. | E lab o rate decorations of scrolls, white bun t ing and paper flowers, ceremonies per formed by Buddhist and Taoist priests, th e burning of houses, sedan chairs, horses and servants, all made of bam boo and paper,— these are a p art of the observances supposed to be necessary to a proper expression of filial devotion. Is it strang e then th a t a simple Chris tian funeral should cause much wonder and comment, aye, even b itte r criticism , in a Chinese village where such an event was tak ing place for th e first tim e? . The Christian F u n eral About a year ago one of our Biola Evangelistic Bands went to work in the wholly unevangelized and u tterly
heathen village of Tan-tou, and in the surrounding country, God blessed the work and today th e re is a flourishing little church th ere w ith about fifty members and earnest enquirers. Sud denly th e little church found itself con fronted w ith a new problem. An aged member of the church had died, and as she was a prom inent member of the community, how should the fun eral be conducted? Manifestly Buddhist and Taoist priests, gongs and trum pets were out of the question, bu t what rites and ceremonies did Christianity have to re place them ? The relatives and m em bers of th e church were eager to know; the whole community was waiting in intense expectation for th e answer. “W hat will these foreign religion people do?” “W ill they p u t her in th e ground like a dog w ithout any ceremonies?” These and many other questions and statem ents th a t we cannot repeat filled th e air. The R esurrection Message Needed Biola Evangelistic Band No. i was a t work in a neighboring d istrict gnd the little church a t once sent a mes senger to repo rt the circum stances and to rep eat th e old, old cry, “ Come over and help us.” Mr. Cheng a t once se lected th ree of our men and sent them over to Tan-tou to com fort and help the distressed son and members of the church. Over two hundred curious vil lagers were th ere, keen to see what would be done and to h ear w hat would be said. The subject of th e evening service was: “ I am the resurrection and the life.” The service closed a t eleven p. m., and from th a t tim e they worked righ t through the n igh t up to four o’clock th e next morning preparing for th e funeral. At te n a. m., the first funeral service was held, th e subject of th e sermon being “Leave the F alse and Embrace the T rue.” A large crowd was present and seemed deeply moved. A t th ree o’clock in th e afternoon ano th er service was held and th is too was largely a t tended. The subject was a two-fold inquiry: 1. “W hat is it th a t all men fear and yet cannot escape? Death.” 2. “W hat is th e Christian a ttitu d e to d ea th ?”
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