《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。

第二十章 仁愛之心

“仁”向來被中國人列為“五常”之首。“仁”字在漢字中由“人”和“二”兩部分組成，可能是想表明，仁產生于兩個人的相互交往。對文字本身的意義，我們沒必要深究，因為它并不能代表生活——聰明的觀察家應該了解的是現實生活。不過，盡管有一些本該了解真相的人常常作出淺薄的論斷，認為中國人不具備仁慈的品質，這絕不是事實。孟子曰：“惻隱之心，人皆有之。”儒教教人溫良，佛教勸人慈悲，這不能不對中國人產生顯著的影響。更何況，中國人有強烈注重實際的天性。他們一旦要“行善”時，肯定會找到大量行善的機會，并做出各種“善事”來。

中國人引以為榮的慈善行為有設立保育堂，建立麻瘋病院、老人收容院和免費學校等。因為中國缺乏實用的戶口統計，現在可能還不知道這類機構究竟有多少。戴維·希爾牧師曾調查過中國中部的一些地方，發現杭州城有三十家慈善機構，每年的開支大約為八千英鎊。但是，冒昧地說，這些慈善機構仍然相對不足，因為中國人口眾多，尤其是大鬧市區人口密集，他們需要大量慈善機構。

中國發大水或鬧饑荒時，各地普遍設立施粥棚，也為窮人捐贈衣物。這些事也不全由政府來做，民眾自己也互相幫助，共度難關。這類耗資巨大的事例并不罕見。災荒年頭，逃荒的災民潮水般地涌進城市，相當必要時，他們被允許在車棚里、空房子里住下來。因為假如這些成群結隊的災民遭到拒絕，他們就會采取行動，實行報復。這時，讓步是最明智的做法。

另外，各省在外地設立的同鄉會也屬于慈善機構。它主要照顧離鄉在外，窮困潦倒的人，或者客死他鄉、遺體無法運回家鄉的人。這是一種保險性質的日常性事務機構，中國人大概也這樣認為。

在一些勸人行“善”的書中。有的人對自己做過的惡事直言不諱，引以為恥，也宣揚自己做過的善事，并引以為榮，善惡的結果會在判官的生死簿上顯示出來，并決定著他們的來世。這種簡單的報應觀念清楚地反映了中國人注重實際的天性，就像我們已經討論過的，他們總是執著地為來世考慮。在他們眼里，來世不過是現世的伸展與延續。大部分中國人樂于行善的目的是期望獲得回報。有時，公開善行背后利己的動機，會帶來不可思議的后果。1889年4月，杭州的官吏為幫助因黃河泛濫而受災的難民，試圖通過對城中茶館賣出的每杯茶水抽稅來籌集資金。但古都的民眾對這一做法的態度就像1773年波士頓市民對茶稅的態度一樣。官吏貼出告示：“行此無上善舉，必得善報。”他們想以此來贏得民眾的支持。可是，民眾與茶館聯合起來，進行抵制，終于使這一計劃徹底破產。滿城居民如此團結一致，共同抵制強制人獲得的“善報”，對我們來說，確實罕見。

為窮人提供棺材；把暴露野外的人骨頭收集起來并重新埋葬；燒掉撿到的字紙，以免它們遭褻瀆；買活魚、活鳥，把它們放回大自然；還有些地方，為需要者贈送神秘的膏藥，免費種痘，低價出售或贈送勸世良言，這些都成了中國人行善的主要內容。因此，也正如我們所看到的一樣，真正對人懷有善良意愿的行為就退居其次了。而這些陳舊的做法又幾乎如出一轍，千篇一律，做的人也極少動感情，動頭腦。站在岸邊，看漁人撒網、撿魚，撤網、撿魚，當然比幫助站在家門口的乞丐容易多了。

況且，對注重實際的中國人來說，有一點是十分重要的，那就是魚一人水，鳥一出籠，它們就自謀生路去吧，他們應做的已經做完了。鳥兒或魚兒們不能指望放回它們的人會為它們提供更好的生活條件。對人來說，他們只是在積德，在做自己的事，至于魚或鳥以后的命運，他們可管不了。

在中國，“善門難開”，關上更難。沒有誰能預料到愿望良好的行為在將來會有什么樣的結果，也沒人知道因此而招來承擔更多責任的危險。明智的做法就是對自己的行為時刻謹慎。一個住在中國內地的傳教士，曾應當地一些紳士的請求，幫助一個雙目失明的乞丐，為他治眼，其實，不過是小小的白內障而已。后來，乞丐的眼痊愈了，他重獲光明。然而，那些紳士知道之后，卻說傳教士砸了乞丐的飯碗，因為，他現在不能再討飯了。因此，傳教士應該養活他，雇他看門。有時，一個很少與其他人交往的慈善的老太太，款待其他的老太婆——她們看起來似乎應該得到周濟，但是她卻會成為這些人殘酷榨取的犧牲品。我們曾聽說過這類事情，雖然只有一例，但估計并不罕見。我們不能不承認，中國人很少有發自內心的仁慈，哪怕是那么一丁點兒也沒有。

瘟疫、饑荒爆發或黃河大決口時，地方政府或中央政府遲早總會派人到災區，試圖幫助災民。不過，他們從不采取長久性的、大規模的防范措施，僅僅是采取一些權宜之計，似乎這種事只會發生一次。對災民的幫助也經常在關鍵時刻偏偏中止了。比如說，人們經過長期痛苦的煎熬，好不容易挺到了早春，這是個最容易發病的季節，可是政府只給一點兒救濟就把他們打發了，要他們趕快回家，老實干活。理由不用說，誰都知道：政府的錢用完了，田里還正需要人干活。麥收前，只要他們有吃的，就足夠了。政府也很清楚，如果不給一點救濟，天氣轉暖，瘟疫就可能爆發，人們大批地死去要比小災難更令人注意，更易引起麻煩。

“臘八舍粥”也一樣，是典型中國式的慈善活動，它也只注重活動的表面形式。臘月初八這天，平時沒機會行善的人，早已準備好要慷慨施舍。按照風俗，他們一整天會向所有來討粥的人施舍，不過，這些粥都是最便宜、最難讓人下咽的。這就是所謂的“行善”，人們以此來積德。如果某一年碰巧豐收，可能就沒有人來討粥了，因為即使窮光蛋在家里也可以吃到同樣或更好的飯食。即便如此，仍不足以使施粥者停止舍粥，或換上更好的食物。一天過去了，沒有一個人來討粥，它們最終被倒進了豬槽。而行善的富人們也帶著悠悠的滿足感回屋睡覺去了。今年的義務他己盡了，良心也得到了滿足，他是個仁慈的人。但假如遇到了壞年頭，米價暴漲，他們就沒心思行善積德了，因為他們“行不起善”。

前面，我們說過對乞丐的施舍，在中國，成群的乞丐隨處可見。他們所得的施舍有點保險的性質。眾所周知，城里的乞丐常常組成強大的幫派，他們遠比與自己爭斗的任何幫派都更強大，因為他們一無所失，也無所畏懼，這可是無與倫比的優勢。如果一個小店主拒絕了一個乞丐的乞討——他會像日內瓦仲裁那樣鐫而不舍，就會有成群的乞丐前來騷擾。就連一個精神麻木的中國人也會感到這是個沉重的負擔，乞丐們要等到自己不斷升級加碼的要求完全滿足之后，才讓店主繼續做生意。店主和乞丐對拒絕的結果都很清楚，因而使得這類善行就像涓涓細流，綿延不絕。

對經常可以看到的，川流不息的難民，人們也同樣對待。通過這些，你將認識，這不僅僅是使難民受惠，更重要的是行善者以為自己因此可以獲得福報，中國人施惠的每一個對象，都可被看成“小情人”，行善者的一切行為目的只是使自己在現在或未來生活得更好些。

對于中國人這種扭曲的慈善行為，應該再加上重要的一點，即無論何種事情，好事也罷，惡事也罷，都不能逃脫日益萎縮衰退的中國政體的壓榨，而且這種壓榨和政府的其他計劃一樣組織嚴密。想知道一個中國人把賑濟款據為己有的全部細節，簡直比登天還難。不過，在一些緊急關頭，如大饑荒中，可以充分肯定，即使民眾的深重苦難也不能阻止元恥的官吏侵吞手中的賑濟款。此時，人們的注意力都集中在民眾的苦難及賑濟款上，如果外界既不知道款子的籌集情況，也不知道其使用情況，結果就可想而知了。

當中國人開始更多地了解西方文明的時候，他們所了解的只是西方人強迫他們接受的西方文明中最壞的成分。在他們看來，基督教世界遍布非基督教世界無法比擬的慈善機構，這肯定是件了不起的事。這也可能會促使他們去探求隱藏在這一意味深長的事實背后的東西。我們還應該提醒中國人去注意一個令人深思的細節：表示“仁”的漢字與其他和感情有關的漢字不同，它沒有以心字作偏旁，這說明，它代表的美德通常是缺少誠意的，其結果，我們已經知道了。慈善活動應是一種本能，無論有無明確的必要，都要找機會表現出來。中國人完全缺乏這種精神，這的確不是人類的進步。如果中國人想創造出真正的慈善，就必須經歷西方人過去的經歷，把仁慈變成人生的重要成分。

英文原版：

XX.BENEVOLENCE

HE Chinese have placed the term" "at the head of their list of the Five Constant Virtues.The char- acter which denotes it,is composed of the symbols for"man" and“two,”by which is supposed to be shadowed forth the view that is something which ought to be devel- oped by the contact of any two human beings with each other. It is unnecessary to remark that the theory which the form of the character seems to favour,is not at all substantiated by the facts of life among the Chinese,as those facts are to be read by the intelligent and attentive observer.Nevertheless, it is far from being true,as a superficial examination would seem to indicate,that there is among the Chinese no benevo- lence,though this has been often predicated by those who ought to have known the truth."The feeling of pity,"as Mencius reminds us,"is common to all men,"widely as they differ in its expression.The mild and in some respects really benevolent teachings of the Buddhist religion have not been without a visible effect upon the Chinese people.There is, moreover,among the Chinese a strong practical instinct in every direction,and when the attention has once been directed towards the"practice of virtue,"there is a great variety of forms in which there is certain to be abundant scope for the exercise of benevolence.

Among the kinds of which have commended themselves to the Chinese may be named the establishment of foundling hospitals,refuges for lepers and for the aged,and free schools.As China is a land which for most practical pur- poses is quite free from a census,it is impossible to ascertain to what extent these forms of benevolent action are to be found.Rev.David Hill,who has investigated the charities of central China,reports thirty benevolent institutions in the city of Hankow,expending annually some eight thousand pounds sterling.But it is hazarding little to say that such establish- ments must be relatively rare;that is to say,as regards the enormous population,and the enormous aggregation of that population in huge hives,where the needs are greatest.

The vast soup-kitchens which are set up anywhere and every- where when some great flood or famine calls for them are fam- iliar phenomena,as well as the donation of winter clothing to those who are destitute.It is not the government only which engages in these enterprises,but the people also co-operate in a highly creditable manner,and instances are not uncommon in which large sums have been thus judiciously expended. The ordinary streams of refugees which swarm over the coun- try in a bad year are also allowed to camp down in cart-sheds, empty rooms,etc.,but this is to a considerable extent a neces- sity.When such refugees come in extensive bands,and meet in all quarters with repulses,they are certain to be provoked into some form of reprisal.Common prudence dictates some concessions to those in such circumstances.

We do not reckon among the benevolences of the Chinese such associations as the provincial clubs for the care of those who may be destitute at a distance from home,and who with- out this help could not return,or who,having died,could not otherwise be taken home and buried.This is an ordinary business transaction of the nature of insurance,and is probably so regarded by the Chinese themselves.

In some of the books which have for their express object exhortations to"virtue,"an account is opened,in which the individual charges himself with every bad act which he can remember,and credits himself with every good act.The balance between the two exhibits his standing at any particu- lar time in the account books of the Chinese Rhadamanthus. This system of retributive bookkeeping exhibits clearly the practical character of the Chinese,already remarked,as well as their constant and irrepressible tendency to consider the next life,if there be one,as only an extension and an amplifi- cation of the present state of existence.The apparent motive for a large percentage of Chinese is therefore the reflex benefit which such acts are expected to insure to the man who indulges his benevolent impulses.The open avowal of a selfish motive in all acts of merit sometimes leads to curious results.In the month of April,188g,the prefect of Hangchow attempted to raise funds for the sufferers from the Yellow River floods,by levying a tax on each cup of tea sold in the tea-houses of that great city.To the people of that ancient capital this assessment presented itself in a light simi- lar to that in which the Bostonians of I773 regarded the tea tax of their day.The prefect endeavoured to win the people over by a proclamation,in which they were informed that "happiness was sure to be their reward,if they cheerfully con- tributed to so excellent a cause."The people,however,boy- cotted the tea-shops,and were in the end entirely victorious. It is not every day that we are treated to the spectacle of a cityful of people banded together to resist compulsory"hap- piness"!

Among the acts by which merit is to be accumulated may be named the providing of coffins for those too poor to buy them;the gathering of human bones which have become ex- posed,and their reburial in a suitable manner;the collection of written or printed paper that it may be burned to save it from desecration;and the purchase of live birds and fish, that they may be restored to their native element.In some places plasters of a mysterious nature are also given to all applicants,free vaccination is(theoretically)furnished,and “virtue books”are provided for sale at a price below cost, or are even given away.While such works of merit occupy a very prominent place in Chinese benevolence,so far as our observation goes,acts of kindly good-will to men and women occupy a very subordinate place.When such acts occur they are almost sure to be on some stereotyped pattern,involving a minimum of trouble and thought on the part of the doer. It is much easier to stand on the brink of a river,watch a fisherman lower his net,pay for his entire catch,and throw it back again into the water,than to look into the cases of the needy at one's doors,and give help in a judicious manner.

Moreover,to the mind of the practical Chinese there is a very important difference.As soon as the fish touches the water or the bird skims the air they are on a wholly self-sup- porting basis,and that is the end of the work.They will not expect the man who has released them to provide them and their numerous families with means of subsistence. For the man it only remains to register his virtuous act and go about his business,sure of no disagreeable consequences. But in China"virtue's door is hard to open,"and it is still harder to shut.No one can possibly foresee all the remote conse- quences of some well-meant act of kindness,and knowing the danger of incurring responsibility,the prudent will be wary what they undertake.A missionary living in an interior province was asked by some native gentlemen to do a kind act for a poor beggar who was totally blind,and restore to him his sight.It proved to be a case of cataract,and excel- lent vision was secured.When the result became certain,the missionary was waited upon by the same gentlemen,and told that as he had destroyed the only means by which the blind man could get a living,that is,by begging,it was the duty of the missionary to make it up to him by taking him into em- ploy as a gatekeeper! Sometimes a benevolent old lady who is limited in the sphere of her activity makes a practice of entertaining other old ladies who seem to be deserving,but who are victims of cruel fate. We have heard of one case of this sort—and of one only—and they may not be so rare as is supposed.But after all abatements,it must be admitted that“real kindness kindly expressed”is not often to be met in Chinese life.

When a vast calamity occurs,like the great famine,or the outburst of the Yellow River,the government,local or gen- eral,often comes to the front with a greater or less degree of promptness,and attempts to help the victims. But instead of doing this on any uniform and extensive scale,such as the perpetual recurrence of the necessity might seem to suggest, it is done in a makeshift way,as if the occasion had never before arisen and might never arise again. The care of the refugees is moreover usually abandoned at the very time when they most need help,namely,in the early spring,when,having been weakened by their long suffering and by atrocious over- crowding,they are most liable to disease.It is then that they are sent away with a little ready.money,to make the best of their way home,and to get back into their normal state of life as best they can.The excuses for this are apparent:the funds are usually exhausted;there is work to be done on the farms,if the workers can but get food till wheat harvest. The government knows that they will die of pestilence if they remain till warm weather where they are,and destruction in detail seems to the officials to be a less,because a less con- spicuous,evil than death in masses.

The same spirit is evinced in the curious ebullition of chari- tableness,which is known as the“twelve eight gruel.”This performance may be regarded as a typical case of the most superficial form of Chinese benevolence. On the eighth day of the twelfth moon it is the custom for every one who has accumulated a quantity of benevolent impulses,which have had no opportunity for their gratification,to make the most liberal donations to all comers,of the very cheapest and poorest quality of soup,during about twelve hours of solar time.This is called"practising virtue,"and is considered to be a means of laying up merit.If the year happens to be one in which the harvest is bountiful,those who live in the country have perhaps no applicants for their coarse provender, as even the poorest people have as good or better at home. This circumstance does not,however,lead to the pretermis- sion of the offer,much less to the substitution of anything of a better quality.On the contrary,the donors advertise their intentions with the same alacrity as in other years,not to say with greater,and when the day passes,and no one has asked for a single bowl of the rich gruel designed for them,it is merely put into the broken jars out of which the pigs are fed, and the wealthy man of practical retires to rest with the proud satisfaction that however it may be with the poor wretches who would not come to his feast,he at least has done his duty for another year,and can in good conscience pose as a man of and virtue. But if,on the other hand,the year should be a bad one,and grain rises to a fabulous price,then this same man of means and of virtue fails to send out any notices of the“practice of virtue”for this particular year,for the reason that he“cannot afford it”! We have already referred to the gifts to beggars,of whom one almost everywhere sees a swarm.This donation also is of the nature of an insurance.In the cities the beggars are, as is well known,organised into guilds of a very powerful sort,more powerful by far than any with which they can have to contend,for the reason that the beggars have nothing to lose and nothing to fear,in which respects they stand alone. The shopkeeper who should refuse a donation to a stalwart beggar,after the latter has waited for a reasonable length of time,and has besought with what the Geneva arbitrators styled“due diligence,”would be liable to an invasion of a horde of famished wretches,who would render the existence even of a stolid Chinese a burden,and who would utterly pre- vent the transaction of any business until their continually rising demands should be met.Both the shopkeepers and the beggars understand this perfectly well,and it is for this reason that benevolences of this nature flow in a steady,be it a tiny rill.

The same principle,with obvious modifications,applies to the small donations to the incessant stream of refugees to be seen so often in so many places.In all these cases it will be observed that the object in view is by no means the benefit of the person upon whom the“benevolence”terminates,but the extraction from the benefit conferred of a return benefit for the giver.Every such object of Chinese charity is regarded as a "little Jo,"and the main aim of those who have anything to do with him is to make it reasonably certain that he will “move on.”

To the other disabilities of Chinese must be added this capital one,that it is almost impossible for any en- terprise,however good or however urgent,to escape the with- ering effects of the Chinese system of squeezes,which is as well organised as any other part of the scheme of Chinese government.It is not easy to possess one's self of full details of the working of any regular Chinese charity,but enough has been observed during such a special crisis as the great famine, to make it certain that the deepest distress of the people is no barrier whatever to the most shameful peculation on the part of officials entrusted with the disbursement of funds for relief. And if such scandals take place under these circumstances, when public attention is most fixed on the distress and its re- lief,it is not difficult to conjecture what happens when there is no outside knowledge either of the funds contributed or of their use.

When the Chinese come to know more of that Occidental civilisation of which too often only the worst side obtrudes itself upon them,it will certainly seem to them not a little re- markable that all Christendom is dotted with institutions such as have no parallel out of Christendom,and then it will per- haps occur to them to inquire into the rationale of so significant a fact.They may be led to notice the suggestive circumstance that the Chinese character for benevolence,unlike most of those which relate to the emotions,which generally have the heart radical,is written without the heart. The virtue for which it stands is also too often practised without heart,with the general results which we have noticed.That state of mind in which practical philanthropy becomes an instinct,de- manding opportunity to exhibit its workings whenever the need of it is clearly perceived,may be said to be almost wholly wanting among the Chinese.It is not,indeed,a human de- velopment.If it is to be created among the Chinese,it must be by the same process which has made it an integral con- stituent of life in the lands of the West.