All religious devotees, be they Buddhists, Christians or Mohammedans, worship the same Deity. The Christians call Him God, the Mohammedans address Him as Allah and the Buddhists represent Him to be the Jade Emperor. Ostensibly, therefore, there is a decided difference in name and in the manner the Deity is portrayed, but in fact there is a marked similarity in other respects, such as, for instance, in matters of deification and incarnation, in the dedication of attributes of divinity, in the mode of ascribing praises to the Deity, on occasions of consecration etc., all of which are substantially the same in all religions. In short, the Christian God, the Mohammedan Allah and the Buddhist Jade Emperor are one and the same Supreme Being; for they all refer to the same Deity; and whatever difference there is, consists only in the diverse ways adopted by the different religions of designating a name for Him.

    Despite the fact that each religion has its own tenets and rites, nevertheless, the ultimate aim of all religions is to lead people to do good and to shun vice. The Confucians talk of loyalty and altruism, the Buddhists believe in mercifulness and world salvation, the Taoists' idea of the purity of the soul, the Christians' teaching of repentance and salvation of the soul, and the Mohammedans' conception of purity and genuineness - all of these conspire to constrain people to do good and to eschew evil which is the ultimate aim of all religions.

    In as much as all the religions of the world possess factors that are common to all and an aim that is shared by all alike, as discoursed in the above paragraphs, the natural tendency will be that the ultimate development of the various religions will be proceeding toward such uniformity and unanimity as not to exclude the possibility of an amalgamation. This tendency was foreseen fifty years ago by Hsiao Chang Ming, a Taoist leader of note and founder of the Theosophical and Philosophical Society of China who, in order to accelerate the process of bringing into existence the trend toward which all the religions of the world are traveling, established the "Association for the Promotion of Religious Cosmopolitanism". By collecting and assembling the best elements and tenets from the various religions of the world, the founder of the Association crystallized the materials so collected and embodied them in a code, a rule of conduct, with a view to expediting the pace toward religious cosmopolitanism toward which all the religions of the world are traversing.

    Because of his tenacity of purpose, the founder succeeded, after profound studies and researches, in forming a code of conduct which was derived primarily from the Confucian doctrine of loyalty and altruism, the Buddhist idea of cause and effect, the Taoist concept of induction, the Christian teaching of universal love and the Mohammedan dogma of the Five Principles. With these the founder elaborated and molded into a set of rules which he called "Doctrine of the Twenty Characters" which are as follows:

    ZHONG (Loyalty), SHU (Altruism), LIAN (Integrity), MING (Straightforwardness), DER (Magnanimity), ZHENG (Uprightness), YI (Righteousness), XIN (Trustworthiness), YEN (Forbearance), GONG (Impartiality), BO (Universal Brotherhood), XIAO (Filial Piety), REN (Benevolence), CI (Mercifulness), JUE (Comprehension), JIE (Temperance), JIAN (Frugality), ZHEN (Genuineness), LI (Propriety), HER (Harmony).

    The motive that prompted the author of the Twenty Characters (or words) to spare no effort to formulate a new doctrine could be attributed to his determination to ameliorate social conditions and reform social morality both of which have fallen into the extreme of decadence, to imbue the minds of youth with sound principles, to administer consolation and relief to those of the afflicted who need them, and generally to make the world worth living in. In order to accomplish such aims, the initial step to be taken is to start with the individual. By using the Twenty Characters as a fundamental creed, the author hoped that people would be guided into the right path of acquiring the knowledge of how to be a man and how to behave in a becoming manner, the manner that constitutes the indispensable elements of a gentleman. By thus improving the individual physically, mentally and morally, the harmony of a loving family would be assured; the country, being ruled by men superior in both virtue and ability, would be well governed; and universal peace and order would ensue therefrom.

    What has been said above suffices to lead one to the conclusion that if the Twenty Characters are put into practice, then, as between man and man, there will be no more quarreling and fighting; and as between nation and nation, war will pass into history and will soon be buried in oblivion. Under such auspicious circumstances, everybody will be able to live in peace and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Civil order, also, will be preserved permanently in society, and cosmopolitanism and universal peace will reign throughout the world. Then, the whole of mankind will be blessed with real felicity and happiness, a paradise on earth.