Ah Ching

■ ■ * ^^S^* ^9 In *'' ^F^~ i IS 1 1 1 i 1 a. M Ml i I Le/t to rigfo: ffug/t J. Cannon, Ah Ching, David 0. McKay, Arthur Ching Tulaele, Apia, Samoa, June, 1921 Ah Ching By Elder David 0. McKay, of the Council of the Twelve "For great and low there's but one test, "Tis that each one shall do his best. Who works with all the strength he can Shall never die in debt to man." Confucius once said, "All nay knowledge is strung on one thread;" and on that "one connecting thread," we learn from his disciple, Tsang Tsu, were hung the principles, Self control and Charity to one's neighbor. These are certainly two fundamental elements in character building, without which no man can justly claim true nobility. I thought I saw the fruits of these two principles exempli- fied in the life of Ah Ching as I listened to him one day, when he and his wife, his son Arthur and Telese (Mrs. Arthur Ah Ching), acted as host and hostesses to a number of missionaries. That Saturday afternoon and evening, June 4, are numbered among the most pleasant of the many delightful days and nights spent in "dear old" Samoa. Every hour seemed rich in frui- tion of profitable intercourse and valued friendships, or inspira- tional experiences, not the least interesting of which was Ah Ching's narration of his early life in these islands. I wish my pen could reproduce his accent, and his nervous, animated fa- cial expression as he spoke, in his "pidg'n" English mixed with Samoan words, of the trials and reverses and service of those

AH CHING 993 struggling years. But that were wishing the impossible: so I must be content to write in that old prosaic style which, I fear is dry, stale and unprofitable." Ah Ching is small of stature, about five feet, five, I should say, and rather lightly built at that. His muscular movement like his thoughts, indicate a highly nervous temperament I fancy his temper in his early youth was of the gunpowder type- when touched off, it would go with a flash; and, yet, today, I believe he can endure imposition and ignominy if necessary 'as patiently as any of his brethren. ' If you were to meet him on the street, or could see him move unobstrusively into a rear or side seat of church, you would think him, if you gave him even a passing thought, one of the most humble of Chinamen — I'm not sure that your opin- ion would change, either, if you chanced to see him in his mod- est three-roomed house in the rear of his little store in Apia; and yet, if you were to offer him a cashier's check of $50,000 for his property interests, he would undoubtedly smile at you, shake his head, and turn to his busy, unassuming life with a view of adding a few more pounds sterling to his comfortable fortune. This prosperous little business man "no can lead," he "no can lite;" but he can "speakee China, and speakee Samoa." He keeps no books, and has never kept an account in his business transactions; but he has never purchased an article in his life without paying spot cash for it. He has never "owed a man a penny." He quickly remarked, "If any man no payee me, please himself, me no care." Now, undoubtedly, in this old work-a-day, business world, which, in many of its aspects seems a long way from that anticipated time when every man will esteem his neighbor as himself, and there shall be no rogues to defraud and to steal, an X-ray examination into Ah Ching's business might reveal the fact that not a few men have "pleased themselves" not to "payee" all they owe him. At any rate there was one who de- liberately planned to defraud him, and whose dastardly treach- ery was the means of testing Ah Ching in life's crucible. Had his character not possessed more pure gold than dross, he would perhaps even now be deprived of life, or be still wearing the stripes of a condemned felon. Ah Ching was a young man in his teens when he left Pu Chow, Fukin province, China, and enlisted as one of the crew of a small vessel sailing for the South Seas. True to his thrifty nature, acquired by heredity, and necessity, he saved nearly ev- ery penny of his fair wage. Thus after ten years constant ser- with the ship's company, he had accumulated a thousand vice

994 IMPROVEMENT ERA pounds sterling or more. A business friend whom he had met during his not infrequent visits to Apia, induced him to invest his hard earned savings in a hotel and store, he to furnish the money, his friend to furnish the brains and business acumen required, and the two to divide the profits upon a proportionate basis acceptable to both. Ah Ching invested his money, only to discover in a year or two that he had been robbed of every penny of his hard-earned savings. In certain transfers of the property, it seems his friend had appropriated everything to himself. Trusting Ah Ching, couldn't "leadee," couldn't "litee," so he became an unsuspecting victim to the treachery of one to whom he had entrusted practically his life; for "you take one's life, when you take away the means whereby one lives," and up to that time Ah Ching had had but one object and that was to make money; though he had always made it honestly. When he realized that he had been robbed of all the sav- ings of his young life, when he sensed the villainy of the dis- honest scoundrel whom he had called friend, all the fire in his Chinese nature flashed forth and showed him but one more thing for which to live, and that one thing, revenge. He truly wished that his enemy "had forty thousand lives — one was too poor, too weak, to satisfy his revenge." "He cheatee me all my money: I killee him;" he hissed in his rage, "I sharpee a knife like a lacee," he narrated, indicating the length of the knife by touching with his right hand the el- bow of his left arm, which he stretched full length. His knife sharpened, he cried in his agonized rage: "Me killee him!" "Something inside-e me say, 'No killee him;' I stop; and it say again 'no killee him.' " "Then I know God, he helpee me, so I no killee him. I cly, that is all — just cly." (Cry.) Who can deny that God did "helpee" him in this great crisis of his life? Whether that help sprang from an unsullied con- science, or gave strength in a moment of weakness to a will that once more assumed the mastery of a passion, or whether his spirit responded to the promptings of the Infinite — the fact re- mains that his frenzy was overpowered, his spirit subdued and he just "died." "Yes, thou art ever present, Power Supreme; Not circumscribed by time, nor fix'd to space, Confined to altars, nor to temples bound, In wealth, in want, in freedom, or in chains, In dungeons or on thrones the faithful find thee." Unfortunately, too, many fail to heed the gentle "something inside", and follow the lead of blinded passion whether mental

AH CHING 995 or physical— to their inevitable end, unhappiness and un- escaped misery. It was not an easy matter for Ah Ching to cry "down" to his injured and revengeful spirit; but once he became victor, he felt, though he did not then know, that, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord and I will repay." It was a real joy to all who heard him relate his experience to see his face light up as he said : "Me gladee from that day to this." Truly, the fruits of that spirit are love, joy and peace. "Well, how did the man prosper with his stolen money, Brother Ah Ching?" I asked. "That house he burnee down," he answered, "man in the stleet — all bowed down — nobody likee him — die poor." This intimation that God had avenged his enemy, recalled the lines: "I know that each sinful action, as sure as the sun brings shade, Is somewhere, sometime punished ahead of him, though the hour be long delayed." With prospects of success ahead of him, Ah Ching had mar- ried a Chieftain's daughter. Now they were homeless and penniless, except for the money earned day by day at odd jobs. To add to his difficulty, he had voluntarily proffered support to two of his fellow countrymen, one of whom was sickly and un- able to supply the least of his necessities. I do not now recall if I learned at all, what claim the other man had. "Were they your relatives?" I inquired, knowing the strong ties of family relationship in the Chinese mind. "No," was his reply, "no lelation — just Chunamen, that's all — needee help, and I give him — I findee wolk sometimee; my woman she takee in washing. Sometimee me have no lice for all (rice), but me givee Chinamen lice alle samee." Sharing his last kernel of rice with a fellowman in need, and that, too, without any recompense or desire for reward — is not that true service? No doubt the gratitude whispered by the sick and dying man fully repaid Ah Ching for his years ot gratuitous food and shelter; but there will be further recom- pense when one who takes note of all such kindnesses will some day say, "These deeds shall thy memorial be— Fear not thou didst them unto me." It is no wonder that the sound of the gospel struck a re- sponsive chord in this humble man's heart. Conscientiousness, self-mastery, service among its principal themes. His church record like his life is marked not in words but

996 IMPROVEMENT ERA in deeds. You may know his annual income by his tithes and offerings which are freely and thankfully given as expressions of his gratitude for the manifest goodness of God to him. His rise from poverty to opulence began about the time that he joined the Church, the turning point being marked in his mind as undoubtedly it was in reality, by a singular dream that came to him. "I dleamed one night," he narrated, "that the Lord, he say to me, 'Plenty money in the stleet, why you no pick him up?* Next morning I get up, lookee the stleet — no money. I could see no money in the stleet. Then I thought; I sellce things in the stleet, and makee money." With the little savings he and his wife had horded, he pur- chased by paying cash in full, One case of salmon, one sack of sugar, one gross of matches, 5 plugs of Samoan tobacco, one hundred pounds of Samoan Kava, and 900 pounds of flour. When this was sold he purchased more. Thus began his little business, which today includes three separate stores, and a bakery, all free from encumbrances, and carrying on a thriving trade. His faithful wife, who shared his struggles in poverty, lived to share only a part of his prosperity. A year or so after her death he married her sister, who evidently is an excellent help- meet and companion to himr and in whom we thought we could detect the "same admirable qualities of womanhood as those elements of manhood which have contributed to the com- mendable life of her husband. Through her lineage he now holds the title of chief among her people. Of his sons and daughters, we learned but little. His son Arthur, who is now a partner in the business, was educated in China where his father supported him seven years. He and his wife Telese are also members of the Church, and seem to hold the confidence and esteem of the mission authorities and elders who know him. They are certainly as bounteous in their de- sires to please and to serve others as their father Ah Ching; for after eighteen or more feasted that afternoon with all the delicacies Samoa produces, all the Sauniatu band boys, were feted to their appetites' content. As we sat in his flower-bedecked home in Tulaele, with evidences of thrift and opulence on every hand, as we thought of the number of men and women whom it is in his power now to bless; as we heard him express his gratitude for what the gospel has brought him and for what it means to him, there passed quickly in my mind, in striking contrast to this scene of success and sweet contentment, a picture of a possible felon's cell with all its associated misery and ignominy.

AH CHING 997 Conscientiousness, service, thrift, honesty, and obedience to other principles of the gospel, have given Ah Ching this com- fort; and self mastery in a moment when he stood blindly at the parting of life's ways, kept him from the felon's cell. With the results of his industry around him, and the fruit of the Spirit in his soul, it was indeed gratifying to hear him acknowledge God's guidance and inspiration in this simple sentence : "Me knowee God, he helpee me." Suva, Fiji