1964 Awake! - Theocratic Collector.com

junks in order for them to see where they
are going. When laying down the chopsticks
after the completion of a meal they
are never placed across the rice boWl, for
it is believed that this will cause the vessel
to run aground. Rainbows are treated with
utmost respect, and are never pointed at by
junk people. The finger may be broken as
a penalty for doing so. So it is that these
false religious superstitions at times result
in actual physical harm to the people.
The Junk Today
While many in the Western world may
look upon the junk as a picturesque novelty
of a primitive civilization, sailors who have
had firsthand experience with the junk
recognize its ingenious design and seaworthiness.
One Western sailor wrote recently:
"Nobody could have designed the
Chinese sail, if only for fear of being
laughed at. A device so elaborate and clumsy
in conception, yet so simple and handy
in operation, could have evolved only
through trial and error." But rather than
holding the junk in contempt because of its
unUSualness, he acknowledged the superiority
of its design.
This seaman, Brian Platt, spoke from
experience. He had sailed from Singapore
in June of 1958 on a small cruising yacht
named Ghempaka, but, after a rough trip
through the South China Sea, decided to
have a junk built in Hong Kong for the
rest of his trip across the Pacific to California.
After successfully crossing the
ocean, Platt made this observation: "Com-
paring my experience sailing Chempaka
with that aboard High Tea [the Chinese
junk1 I do not doubt that High Tea was
the better rig. During squally weather in
the South China Sea the handling of ChempakaJs
sails became a real burden and
progress was nil. With the junk rig I
would have gone on much faster with less
labor."
Another sailor, G. R. G. Worcester, after
spending thirty-three years in the Chinese
Maritime Customs, had similar admiration
for the Chinese junk. He explained: "We
sailors of the West owe a debt of gratitude
to the seamen of China. To their countrymen
goes the credit of inventing the watertight
compartment, the lugsail, the balance
rudder and many other nautical
devices in common use today." Few people
realize the contributions made by the
Chinese.
The average Western Visitor to Hong
Kong, however, is not so much interested
in the Chinese contributions to nautical
science as he is in seeing the many picturesque
junks set against the background of
a fading Eastern sunset. While this is still
a sight to be seen, the sails are fast disappearing
from Hong Kong harbor. More
than 4,000 of the colony's 17,000 registered
junks now churn along under diesel power,
enabling them to reach fishing locations
faster and in practically all types of
weather. So changes are taking place, but
the Chinese junk remains an unusual and
picturesque vessel, a maritime wonder of
the Orient.
COLLEGE EDUCATION AND MORALS
V ,"Vhat effect does a college education have on one's morals? Does it strengthen
one's appreciation of Christian principles, or does it undermine morality? The
New York Times of March 14, 1964, reported: "A survey of the senior class at
Columbia College shows that sa percent believe in premarital sexual interCOUrse.
Thirteen percent said they did not and four percent were undecided .... In replying
to a question on whether the coUege years had affected his moral or religiOUS views,
one student said he had 'become more strongly against Christian morality and
Victorian ethics.' "
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