“Praying for Rain in China”

BIPOC Voices in the Victorian Periodical Press

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PRAYING FOR RAIN IN CHINA.

[...]

A few days ago, I consulted with my Chinese teacher, Mr. Dziao, and asked him to compose some Chinese verses about the drought, telling the people who sends it, why it is sent, to whom they should pray, and in whose name alone they can pray. Mr. Dziao made a little poem, a translation of which I subjoin:—

PLAIN DIRECTIONS AS TO PRAYER FOR RAIN.

Grain is the staff of life, we know;
Plenty makes joy and peace to flow;
Now drought and famine grim draw near,
Come! turn aside Heaven's threatened blow.
The dragon king can give no aid;
False demons never rain-drops made;
Who is the Lord of wealth or woe?
On God let all our hopes be stayed.
Think of King T'ȯng in days of old,
Who doffed his robes and crown of gold,
And prayed to Heaven for rain; the skies
By the same God are still controlled.
Listen, O all ye people round,
Repent! let long dumb conscience sound:
Come to the throne of God above,
And pray for the rain on thirsty ground.
Now through the great atoning death
Of Jesus, all who pray in faith
May ask and have, may seek and find;
Without Him prayer is empty breath.

I have made the lines rhyme as they do in the Chinese copy, and the sense is the same. This poem has been printed on yellow paper as a handbill, and has been pasted up all over Ningpo and in the country. Some copies have been torn down, but many, I hope, have been read.

[...]

Digital Publication Details

Title: “Praying for Rain in China”

Subtitle(s): “Plain Directions as to Prayer for Rain”

Creator(s): A.E. Moule; Dziao

Translator(s): Moule, A.E. [of poem by Dziao]

Publication date: (1874) 2022

Digital publishers: One More Voice, COVE

Critical encoding: Kenneth C. Crowell, Cassie Fletcher, Jocelyn Spoor, Adrian S. Wisnicki

One More Voice identifier: liv_026029

Cite (Chicago Author-Date): A.E. Moule, and Dziao. (1874) 2022. “Praying for Rain in China.” Translated by A.E. Moule. Edited by Kenneth C. Crowell, Cassie Fletcher, and Jocelyn Spoor. In “BIPOC Voices,” One More Voice, solidarity edition; Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education (COVE). https://onemorevoice.org/html/bipoc-voices/digital-editions-amd/liv_026029_HTML.html.

Rights: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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