Full text of "Our West China Mission; being a somewhat extensive summary by the missionaries on the field of the work during the first twenty-five years of the Canadian Methodist Mission in the Province of Szechwan, Western China"

See other formats

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE REV. VIRGIL C. HART, D.D.
Founder of the Canadian Methodist Mission, West China.

OUR WEST CHINA
MISSION

BEING A SOMEWHAT EXTENSIVE SUMMARY BY
THE MISSIONARIES ON THE FIELD OF THE WORK
DURING THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF
THE CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION IN THE
PROVINCE OF SZECHWAN, WESTERN CHINA

TORONTO :

THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST CHURCH

THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S FORWARD MOVEMENT
F. C. STEPHENSON, Secretary

-a P

AB*A*X

' O ^ f<~\-y\

U x ^v ^ o i973 j
v ^ /

THE YOUNG PEOPLE

OF CANADIAN METHODISM

TO WHOM OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

IS A TRUST AND A CHALLENGE

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us,
And cause his face to shine upon us;
That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy saving health among all nations.

"Let the people praise thee, O God,
Let all the people praise thee.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For thou shalt judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations upon earth.

"Let the people praise thee, O God;
Let all the people praise thee.
Then shall the earth yield her increase:
And God, even our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

THE REV. S. D. CHOWN, D.D., LL.D.,

General Superintendent of the Methodist Church, Canada.
President of the Missionary Society.

(SCxMS)

fe .<J B

C fc S3 g

a-0^ c

wS3u «

>2a-

^s| fr

O <J P «

^52! ffi O

^S0

^Or. S

S, « *

THE REV. OMAR L. KILT5ORN,

M.A., M.D., C.M., D.D.

China, 1891-1920.

Died at Toronto, May 18, 1920.

MRS. JAMES NEAVE, M.D.

China, 1897-1920.
Died at Chengtu, March 25, 1920.

MR. A. T. CRUTCHER.

China, 1908-1920.
Died at Chungking, Jan. 2, 1920.

THE REV. R. E. S. TAYLOR.

China, 1909-1919.
Died near Luchow, Dec. 24, 1919.

CALLED TO HIGHER SERVICE

"And his servants shall serve him and shall see his face." — Rev. 22:3-4.

"I beard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who
will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." — Isaiah 6: 8.

INTRODUCTION

Canadian Methodism has been making history and writ
ing on the venerable face of China for twenty-eight years.
Urief as is this period in the life of that potentially great
Empire, it is a much larger fraction in the days of our
Church, but in both it has a spiritual and eternal signifi
cance beyond words.

What a monument it is of vision, consecration, sacrifice,
heroism, inventiveness, spiritual diplomacy and practical
sagacity, in those who planted the banner of our Church
and bore it 'mid thick fighting until it has been the
beneficence of protection, and a symbol of healing for body
and soul; a great light shining in and dispelling the deep
darkness of an awakening nation!

The passing of Omar L. Kilborn so recently in itself
demands a history of the first great period of our endeavors
there, but by the glimpses of his greatness we are permitted
to catch in this book, we are assured that time must pass
before he and his fellow laborers are seen in their true per
spective. This book, the precursor of many that must be
written to reveal the activities and the successes of our
Church through its devoted missionaries, is made luminous
and appealing with appended illustrations, and is indis
pensable to the student who would visualize Chinese work
and conditions at first hand to-day.

It should be in the hands of every intelligent Canadian
Methodist, and be read as a means of entering into that
world-citizenship, to which every Christian is called and
should aspire.

S. D. CHOWN,

General Superintendent.
Toronto,

May, 1920.

THE REV. T. E. E. SHORE, D.D.,
General Secretary of Foreign Missions (1910-1913).

FOREWORD

" Our West China Mission," by our Missionaries is a
good, plain title for this book. It might equally well be
called Co-operation, Patience and Perseverance. WThether
one thinks of the Mission or the book, both titles apply.

The patient, persevering co-operation which has enabled
our missionaries, with God's help and blessing, to build up,
during the past quarter of a century, a great Mission with
many departments, has enabled them to tell the story in all
its beauty and variety. It is a wonder that men, so busy
making history, could take time to write so valuable a record.
The co-operation, patience and perseverance of so many
workers is the secret of how it was done and how it has been
made so complete and interesting. No one man could have
written so fully and so satisfactorily, even had he been avail
able, but no man was available. The book is a work of
loving sacrifice.

Every effort was made to have it ready for the celebra
tion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of our
Wrest China Mission. This was impossible. Even if the
manuscript could have been prepared for the press, our
people, during the closing years of the war, were too agitated
and excited to read and study.

During the great National Campaign for an Interchurch
Forward Movement, short statements and brief reports
regarding our mission work were in demand. Now we
have come to a time when we can look back and study the
past with the purpose of planning for a greater future.

The book is timely for our young people. It will assist
them in celebrating the inauguration of the Young People's
Forward Movement. The first circular letter, calling upon
the young people to unite in a great forward movement of
prayer, study and giving, was sent out on March 26th, 1895.
The continued success and expansion of our West China
Mission and the growth of the Young People's Forward

U FOREWORD

Movement have been concurrent. It was the appeal of a
small band of workers in West China, facing a great need
and opportunity, that impelled the students to become
Volunteer Campaigners visiting our Epworth Leagues and
Sunday Schools, forming bands for prayer, study and
giving. Many of the first contributions to the departments
of work in West China were made up of small gifts from
great numbers of our young people. The Toronto West
District gave the first $500 for the new Press Building.
The Stratford District made a special gift of |2,000 when
a call came for the Chengtu College, which has since
developed into the West China Union University. The funds
for the Chengtu Hospital came largely from our Sunday
Schools, collected by the younger children. The support of
the missionaries has been guaranteed and paid by the young
people as fast as the General Board has ventured to send
them out. There are at the present time seventy-five
missionaries in China supported by our young people, nearly
all of whom are from the ranks of our Epworth Leagues
and Sunday Schools.

The missionaries who have written the book were stimu
lated to do so by a vision of the multitudes in the twelve
Conferences, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, who
were waiting for the wonderful story.

The textbooks, "The Heart of Szechwan " and "Our
Share in China," and a continual stream of letters published
in the Missionary Bulletin have all contributed to sustain
and increase the interest in our West China Mission and
assure for this book a welcome throughout Methodism.

F. C. STEPHENSON,

Methodist Mission Rooms,
May, 1920.

CONTENTS

PAGE

A Quarter of a Century and After, by the Rev. 0. L. Kilborn 17

Historical Sketch, by the Rev. O. L. Kilborn 27

The Field, by the Rev. R. O. Jolliffe 63

Unoccupied Fields, by the Rev. James Neave 117

Station Surveys 161

Penghsien, by the Rev. G. E. Hartwell 163

Chengtu, by the Rev. N. E. Bowles 168

Jenshow, by the Rev. R. B. McAmmond 177

Kiating, by the Rev. A. P. Quentin ] 91

Junghsien, by the Rev. W. E. Smith 195

Tzeliutsing, by the Rev. R. 0. Jolliffe 205

Luchow, iby the Rev. C. J. P. Jolliffe, Dr. R. Wolfendale, and the

Rev. J. M. Would 217

Chungking, by the Rev. J. Parker 223

Fowchow, by the Rev. R. S. Longley 231

Chungchow, by the Rev. W. J. Mortimore 240

Work for Women, by Miss C. E. Brooks 246

Departmental iSurveys 265

Evangelistic, by the Rev. G. E. Hartwell 267

The Young 'Men's Guilds, by the Rev. Geo. W. Sparling 281

Educational, by the Rev. J. L. Stewart 305

West China Union University, by the Rev. C. R. Carscallen . . 358

The Canadian School, by Miss Lela A. Ker 371

Medical Work, by the Rev. C. W. Service 378

Dental Department, by A. W. Lindsay 401

The Mission Press, by S. P. Westaway 412

Architect 423

Building 424

Accountant 4J2I8

The Business Agency, Chungking, by Capt. G. R. Jones, B.Sc. . . 433

A Look Into the Future, by the Rev. O. L. Kilborn 437

Appendices:

Analytical Index 45'5

Names and Post Office Addresses of Missionaries 463

Missionaries of our West China Mission, 1891-1920 . 471

THE REV. JAMES ENDICOTT, D.D.

General Secretary of Foreign Missions.

1913 —

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY
AND AFTER

U = Total Protestant Christian Constituency 654,658
(Communicants 312,970).

• = One Million Persons

The Methodist Church, Canada, is responsible for the evangelizat'on of
10,000,000 represented by 10 squares.

China's estimated population is 400,000,000, her future will be deter
mined by the action of the Christian Church to-day.

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AND AFTER

O. L. KlLBORN.

Nearly three years have elapsed since the time the
manuscript for this book was intended to be ready for the
press. The years 1917 and 1918 were years of storm and
stress, not unlike some of the years immediately preceding.
For the fighting between the opposing armies of Szechwan
and Yunnan or Kweichow proceeded more or less continu
ously in Szechwan.

In April, and again in July, of 1917, fierce fighting took
place within the city of Chengtu itself. There were many
hundreds or even thousands of casualties among soldiers and
civilians, and large sections of the city fell a prey to the
torch of the incendiary, resulting in great loss of property
as well as loss of life. Other sections of the province, includ
ing several of our stations, were also the scenes of fighting,
with its inevitable accompaniment of looting and other
forms of lawlessness. The fall and winter of 1918-1919
brought a measure of relief, especially from the widespread
rule of the brigands, who had been holding certain main
roads and waterways for many months.

Right in the midst of all this turmoil, the Mission was
favored by a visit from the General Secretary of Foreign
Missions, the Rev. Dr. Endicott. He arrived in West China
early in December, 1917, visited each of our ten stations,
inspected the work carefully in all its departments, attended
all three Divisional Meetings and the Council, and left
Chungking for down river immediately at the close of
Council there in February, 1918. He spent all told some
thing over two months in West China ; he travelled through
the lines of opposing armies, and through territory given
over to outlaws, and on steamer on his way down river was

20 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

fired upon. But through it all he was mercifully protected
from all harm or loss. His visit was stimulating and helpful,
and the Mission hopes that his quadrennial visit may become
regular practice.

During these three years all our missionaries have been
wonderfully preserved from wounds or death by violence,
We have lost a number of our workers by ill-health, resigna- .
tion or death ; we have not had so many reinforcements as
we wished; yet the figures for the Mission as a whole have
advanced. Instead of 177 workers as reported three years
ago, we now number 155 men and women of the General
Society and 32 women of the Woman's Missionary Societv
a total of 187.

The Mission contributed a share of its force to active
participation in the Great War in France. Two of our num
ber crossed from Canada to France, and five others travelled
directly from China to France in charge of Chinese labor
corps. Some time in 1920 tne last of these returning will
be back on the field in West China.

As the result of the temporary loss of one doctor to
France, the invaliding to Canada of another, and the lack
of new missionary doctors as reinforcements, one hospital
after another has had to be closed; so that this year, 1920,
three of our ten stations are without medical work. ' These
stations are Penghsien, Jenshow and Chungchow. In
October, 1919, Dr. Kelly and family returned to the field,
and Dr. Williams went as a new worker. Dr. Cox and family
sailed in the beginning of 1920. On the other hand two
doctors now on the field are due for furlough in the spring
of 1920, so that these returning to the field will not do much
more than keep present work going.

Our central stations and outstations remain exactly the
same as three years ago, namely ten and eighty-one. But
church members have shown a gratifying increase, from
approximately 1,700 in 1916, to 2,082 on December 31st, 1918.
We have now 244 baptized children, 1,584 catechumens pre
paring for baptism, 3,890 enquirers, and 2,534 others under

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AND AFTER

TEACHERS AND OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH SCHOOL (SUNDAY SCHOOL),

JENSHOW.

Christian instruction. The total Christian constituency is
therefore the sum of the above figures, — no less than 10,334.
Instead of 80 Sunday Schools we have now 101 Schools with
8,956 scholars. These are in part in addition to the 10,334
given above.' In 1916 we had no ordained Chinese ministers;
now we have eight, six of whom were ordained in 1918 and
two in 1919. Our unordained Chinese preachers have
advanced from 61 to 105, and we now have 16 Biblewomen.
In 1916 we had a " Provisional Conference " ; and now
its name has been changed to a " Preparatory Conference,"
and its organization has been made to conform more closely
with the Conference of Discipline. Upon this body a measure
of real power has been conferred, and very considerable
responsibility has been devolved. The effect upon the grow
ing Church is excellent. Among laymen and ministers alike,
the sense of responsibility is growing, and the determination
to look well to the extension of the Kingdom of God in West
China is taking firm hold of the people.

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

A Home Missionary Society of the Chinese Church was
organized several years ago; but at the Conference of 1918
the Church felt itself strong enough to launch out in active
work. A tried and trusted preacher who had been in the
work for quite a number of years was engaged to be the first
missionary to the aboriginal Tribes occupying the almost
inaccessible territory away to the north-west of Chengtu.
This missionary, Mr. Mao, was present at the Conference of
1919, to report his first year's work, and made a splendid
impression. The infant Society is looking to the appoint
ment in the near future of a second missionary to accompany
Mr. Mao.

Day and boarding schools have advanced from 127 to 140,
118 of which are registered in the West China Christian
Educational Union. Of the 15,000 students registered in the
330 schools of all West China Missions in the Educational
Union, we have more than 5,500 in our 118 schools.

During these three years the Union University has
acquired more land, bringing the total to 120 English acres.
Three large permanent buildings are practically completed,
and are partly or wholly in use. These are the Administra
tion Building, the Baptist College and the Canadian Meth
odist College, — Hart Memorial. A course in religion has
been organized, and is now offered by the University. A fifth
Mission, the Church Missionary Society, has entered the
Union. The total student body on the campus is now about;
400. It has been finally decided that the medical building is
to be contributed to the University by the Canadian Meth
odist Church, or at any rate by Canada, and steps are l>eing
taken to interest the whole body of doctors, dentists and
nurses in Canada, from ocean to ocean, in the proposal. To
this project Dr. C. W. Service, now home from China on
furlough, is devoting much time, thought and work.

Annual expenditure for the West China Mission of the
General Society has advanced so that for the year ending
March 31st, 1919, the total spent on the field amounted to
1225,000. A very large proportion of this advance is due to

24 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

unfavorable exchange from Canadian dollars to Chinese
dollars. When the effects of the war have passed, it is
expected that exchange will again become favorable, so that
one dollar gold (Canadian) will purchase nearly or quite
two silver dollars (Chinese), or thereabouts.

In the summer of 1918 the main or central portion of the
new School for Missionaries' Children, located in its three-
acre compound at the University, Chengtu, was completed
and occupied. Early in September of that year the School
was moved from the dwelling inside the city which had done
duty as school building for some years, to the new building
outside the city. During the winter of 1918-1919 the pupils
numbered 29, of whom 19 were in residence. Late reports
from China indicate that the new building in less than one
year from its opening is going to be crowded to its utmost
capacity, and at the present rate, will be altogether insuffi
cient to accommodate the numbers seeking admission from
our own and other Missions. Provision for an addition has
already been made.

Building operations have not by any means ceased,
although made difficult by the very unfavorable rate of
exchange and by the disturbed state of the country. In
addition to the two large buildings already referred to as
having been brought to completion on the University campus,
Chengtu, namely, the Hart Memorial and the School for
Missionaries' Children or " Canadian School," two new
dwellings and a fine new brick school building have been
erected and brought to completion in the city of Kiating.
One dwelling is inside the city, and the other outside the
West Gate, close to" the new school. All are most advan
tageously located in regard to light and air, and are there
fore in sharp contrast to the dwellings formerly in use in
that city. The Harris Memorial School is the gift of Mrs.
William Harris (Mrs. Quentin's mother) and family, in
memory of Mr. William Harris and daughter, Mrs. Annie
Harris MacDonald. It is well built and well adapted for
the purposes for which it is designed.

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AND AFTER 25

THE HARRIS MEMORIAL SCHOOL, KIATING.

At Jenshow a new brick school building after the same
drawings has been built; as also a dwelling for the mission
ary educationist; both have been needed for years past.

At Luchow the doctor's house has been completed, amid
labors abundant. Dr. and Mrs. Wolfendale have carried a
great burden of work, attending to a very large number of
wounded soldiers, while overseeing the finishing of their
house. The Fowchow missionaries are only this year, 1919,
seeing the completion of their first permanent dwelling ; they
have yet to add two or three more dwellings, and church and
schools, etc. The Chungchow missionaries have completed
their second dwelling, and also their dispensary, which like
similar buildings at Fowchow and Luchow will likely serve
all the purposes of a hospital for some years to come.

We are exceedingly grateful to be able to record even
such a measure of progress as we have had in our West China
Mission during these three years, in spite of many difficulties.
One of the most encouraging conditions at the present time
is the favorable attitude of the people of West China towards
missionaries and towards the message we bring. This is
evidenced by late occurrences in which we have all taKen

26 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

part. Again and again on the approach of disturbances, or
on the outbreak of actual fighting between opposing armies
in or near our stations, the people have come to us seeking
refuge. Men, women and children have come, asking to be
allowed to stay within our compounds, and we have not
refused them. They have lived in our churches, schools,
hospitals and unfinished buildings; they have camped on our
verandahs; they have tented in our compounds. They were
with us in these ways for periods varying from two days to
two or three weeks, and in some places they came four or five
or six times. They knew that it is now the policy and prac
tice of all parties in China (with a few exceptions), to
respect the persons and property of the missionaries; and
they took advantage of it.

On our part we were glad to have such opportunities for
service thrust upon us. Bible classes and preaching services
were held with the refugees, and constant friendly relations
maintained.

During these three years missionaries have done much
Red Cross work, and several of our hospitals have received
and treated very large numbers of wounded soldiers, whether
as inpatients or as outpatients.

Both of these forms of work, neither of which was of our
own choosing, have reacted in a wonderful manner for the
progress of the Kingdom. There has come about such an
understanding of the missionaries and of our message as has
never been known before. We have come into close contact
with Chinese of all classes, but more especially with those of
the higher classes, and the result is all for good.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

CHENGTU, THE CAPITAL OF SZECHWAN, AND HEADQUARTERS OF THE
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION.

1. Woman's Missionary Society; 2. Property of the General Society; 3. Woman'!
Hospital; 4. Union Women's Normal School; 5. Sutherland Memorial Church
6. Y.M.C.A. ; 7. Street Chapel, East Gate; 8. West China Union University.

HISTORICAL SKETCH
KEV. O. L. KILBORN, M.A., M.D.

The West China Mission of the Methodist Church,
Canada, has completed the first twenty-five years of its his
tory. It is hard to realize it; changes have been so many,
progress in growth and development has been so striking,
and, what is doubtless of most importance, future prospects
are so bright, that the time seems very short. The years
have flown so rapidly, that the end of the first quarter
century has glided in upon us almost unnoticed.

The Mission is not old. The Mission does not even feel
old. Our thoughts and plans are all in the future. We
have neither time nor inclination to worry over the mistakes
of the past. We have very little time to rejoice over the
brilliant future that awaits us; we are all so busy praying
and planning and working for the realization of that future.

NUMBER OF MISSIONARIES.

In 1891 a party of eight missionaries left their homes in
Ontario to open a new Mission of our Church in China.
These were Dr. and Mrs. V. C. Hart, Mr. and Mrs. G. E.
Hartwell, Dr. and Mrs. D. W. Stevenson, my wife and
myself. Dr. and Mrs. Hart's daughter brought the number
up to nine. Mrs. Stevenson was at that time Miss Brown,
the first missionary of the Woman's Missionary Society to be
sent to China. She and Dr. Stevenson were married in
Shanghai, before we left the coast for the interior. Compare
this with our members at the Annual Council of the West
China Mission held in January, 1917. Then there were one
hundred and seventy-seven missionaries of the West China
Mission, men and women, married and single, sent to China
from our Church in Canada. This includes the workers of

30 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the W.M.S., twenty-seven in number. Of the whole force of
one hundred and seventy-seven, twenty-two only wrere at that
time on furlough, 121/2%. There are eight Missions at work
in this province, having a total of four hundred a ighty-
three missionaries. Our Mission numbers 36% of the \v !e.

DEATHS : — We have not been Avithout loss, for many more
than these 177 people have been appointed and sent to the
field. The first to leave us was my wife, Mrs. Jennie
Kilborn, wrho died of cholera on July 10th, 1892, after less
than one year in the country. Dr. and Mrs. Hart left China
in 1900, and Dr. Hart passed away in 1904 and Mrs. Hart
in 1915. Typhus fever has claimed two, Mr. Carson in 1910
and Mr. Hockin in 1912. In 1913 there were no less than
three lost from our Mission, Mrs. Hibbard from small-pox,
and Dr. L. P. Jones from pyemia, and Mrs. Bateman after
child-birth. Mrs. Stewart died in Chungking in 1909, just
after arrival, and Mrs. Bayne in Chengtu, a month later.
Mrs. Bicker died in 1916 in the United States, after a long
illness.

LOSSES : — A still larger number have through ill-health
or other causes been unable to return to our work in China.
After the riots of 1895, Dr. and Mrs. Stevenson retired from
the field, largely because of the breakdown in health of Mrs.
Stevenson following the nervous strain accompanying the
experiences during the riots. The others who have left the
field are Dr. Stevens in 1900; Dr. and Mrs. Hare in 1901;
Dr. and Mrs. Adams in 1906; Dr. and Mrs. Ewan in 1912;
Mr. and Mrs. Henderson in 1912; Mr. and Mrs. Perley in
1913; and Mr. and Mrs. Brillinger in 1916. Dr. and Mrs.
Endicott are now also home, Dr. Endicott, as is well known,
being Secretary of the Foreign Department of the Mission
ary Society. As a general rule, however, it will be seen our
West China Missionaries have been able to return promptly
to their field and work after first, and, in a number of cases,
second furloughs. Of the 1891 party, three are still on the
field, Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell and myself. Of the first party
of reinforcements, who arrived in 1893, my wife, Dr. Retta G.
Kilborn, is the only one now remaining on the field. Dr. and

HISTORICAL SKETCH

FIRST CANADIAN METHODIST MISSIONARIES TO WEST CHINA, SAILED, 1891.

Standing: Rev. G. E. Hartwell, Mrs. Hartwell, Rev. O. L. Kilborn, Mrs Kilborn
Seated: Rev. V. C. Hart, Mrs. Hart, Dr. D. W. Stevenson.

Mrs. W. E. Smith are next in order of time, having arrived in
China in 1896.

GROWTH: — In the first decade of the Mission's history,
reinforcements were few and far between. In 1891 we were
eight adults; in 1901, only twelve, or nineteen, including the
Woman's Missionary Society. In the middle of the second
decade, 1906, we were only twenty-four, not counting the
W.M.S. Therefore the major portion of our workers have
come to the field within the last decade, 1906-16, and natur
ally the large expansion of our work has been within these
years.

The 177 missionaries are classified as follows : — Men, 75 ;
married women, 67; single women, 35; therefore, 177, includ
ing all workers of both Societies. Of these, twenty-one are
medical doctors, fifteen men and six women.

STATIONS.

We began with one station, Chengtu, where our first
party arrived in the early spring of 1892. In 1894 we felt

CANADIAN

METHODIST MISSION,
CENTRAL SZECHWAN

First Field.

P«nhti«n Uittrtct Population 800 000

Pll».*n £>,.t«ct 700000

000 000
500000
300000
•00000

800.000
• 429000

A FIELD OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND NEED.

The first party of missionaries in charge of Dr. V. C. Hart reached Chengtu,
which is now the headquarters of our Mission, on May 21st, 1892.

The central stations and districts in this part of our field, beginning with the
most northerly, are: Penghsien, Chengtu, Jenshow, Kiating, Junghsien, Tzeliutsing,
Luchow. The dots indicate market towns.

HISTORICAL SKETCH 33

able to extend by opening another station, Kiating, 100 miles
to the south. But it was not until 1905 that we were strong
enough to open another city. In that year we opened both
Junghsien and Jenshow ; that is to say, we appointed foreign
missionaries to live in each of these two cities. In 1907 two
more were added, Penghsien and Tzeliutsing, and in 1908
one more, Luchow. In 1910, after having completed negotia
tions with the London Mission by which we took over their
work in this province, we were established in Chungking.
In 1911 we opened Chungchow, and in 1913, Fowchow. We
thus occupy ten cities, as named above, and are solely
responsible for the evangelization of twelve millions of
people. Three of our stations, Chengtu, Kiating and Chung
king, are occupied in common with other Missions. The
other seven cities or stations are occupied by us alone. The
eight Missions in the province occupy a total of fifty-one
stations.

OUTSTATIONS: — In addition to our ten central stations,
we work through and in eighty-one other centres, which we
call outstations. These are cities, towns, and villages with
out resident missionaries, but mostly with resident Chinese
workers, and, like the seven cities mentioned above, are the
exclusive responsibility of our Mission. Our Canadian
Methodist Mission territory begins forty miles north of the
provincial capital, Chengtu, and extends in an irregular
strip through the centre of the province in a southerly direc
tion until it reaches the Yangtse at Luchow. Thence the
strip runs almost directly east past Chungking and Fowchow
to Chungchow, our most easterly station. The last-named
four cities are on the Yangtse. A large section of the
province south of the Yangtse, in a south-easterly direction
from Chungking, is included in our sphere. We speak of it
as " our territory," because it is so acknowledged and recog
nized by the other Missions through the West China Missions
Advisory Board. The population of our territory is esti
mated at from ten to fourteen millions, and for their
evangelization our Mission is exclusively responsible.
3

34 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS.

Our first convert was baptized in 1896, after a little less
than five years' work. The number has grown, now slowly
and again more rapidly, until now at the end of the quarter
century we have seventeen hundred (1,700) church mem
bers, forty-three (43) baptized children, seven hundred and
forty-two (742) catechumens preparing for baptism, and
fifteen hundred to two thousand enquirers. That is to say,
we have a Christian constituency of three to four thousand.
We have eighty (80) Sunday Schools with five thousand
(5,000) scholars. We have sixty-one (61) preachers, un-
ordained, but by January, 1918, it is expected that we shall
have a formally organized Conference of our Church, and
that at least seven men will be ordained. Others will follow
from year to year, in twos and threes or half-dozens; for
among our preachers are good men and true, men who are
pastors, men who are teac-hers, men who are eloquent
preachers, — from whom is being raised up a body of leader
ship not to be despised in the future development of the
Christian Church in West China.

SCHOOLS.

Immediately on arrival we began by opening a small
school or two. But these were after the old-time Chinese
methods. We hired a Chinese teacher who taught the
children to read and write, and to learn pages and volumes
of Confucian classics off by heart. The missionary led the
children in daily morning worship, taught a portion of
Scripture and a hymn or two, and the whole school was
required to attend the Sunday services. The influences were
good so far as they went. But for many years these, our
only schools, were carried on as a " side line " by the busy
pastor-missionary, whose work was essentially that of the
church and street chapel and out-station. He was, there
fore, often away from home itinerating through the country
for a week or a fortnight at a time, and so could not give
his school or schools continuous or proper attention. From

HISTORICAL SKETCH

THE MISSION COMPOUND BEFORE THE RIOTS OF 1895.

time to time a few boarders were also received into the
Mission compound, and these had better training. But
again, for the reasons just mentioned, this work did not
thrive, and the permanent results were meagre.

SPECIAL EMPHASIS: — It was not until 1904 that we rose
to the conception of the appointment of a man solely to
educational work, and Mr. J. L. Stewart was " set apart " to
give his time wholly to schools. In 1907 we laid it down as
our stated policy that we should have an educational mis
sionary in each central station; to which policy we have
been working since. Most of our ten central stations have
such a missionary, but not all.

EDUCATIONAL UNION : — Perhaps the biggest step in the
educational development of our Mission work was the organ
ization in 1906 of the West China Christian Educational

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

REV. E. W. WALLACE, B.A., B.D.,
General Secretary of the West China Christian Educational Union.

Union, with the definite appointment some years later of one
of our own missionaries, Mr. E. W. Wallace, as Educational
Secretary. The object and work of this organization are the
" development in West China, under the direction of the
Mission and Ecclesiastical Bodies, of a complete and
properly co-ordinated system of Christian education, parallel
to the system of the Chinese Government, but with such
deviations from it as from time to time seem necessary." It
includes the " preparation and general oversight of a uniform
course of study for primary and secondary schools, the con
duct of uniform examinations, the registration, certification
and inspection of schools." These things have been actually
realized during the last few years, and are being developed
and perfected from year to year.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

UNION UNIVERSITY : — At the same time a union university
was projected, so that in 1910 there was launched, at
Chengtu, the West China Union University, formed by the
union in effort of four Missions, the Baptist of the U.S.A.;
Methodist Episcopal, U.S.A.; Friends, England; and our
own Canadian Methodist. The University now owns over
one hundred acres of land, just outside the walls of the city
of Chengtu; gives courses in arts, science, medicine, and
religion, and has connected with it a Union Bible Training
School, a Union Normal School, and a Union Missionaries'
Training School. A Union Middle School is also under the
management of the University Senate. Thus, including all
grades, there are now upwards of three hundred students
on the University campus.

TOTALS: — Our Mission alone has now 127 schools, of
which 64 Lower Primary, 12 Higher Primary, and 2 Union
Middle Schools, are registered in the West China Educa
tional Union. In addition we have, under our Woman's
Missionary Society, sixteen Lower Primary and five Higher
Primary Schools, and one Middle School, for girls, a total of
twentv-two, or a grand total of exactly one hundred schools

OUR FIRST HOSPITAL IX WEST CHINA.

38 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

carried on by the missionaries of our two Boards, which are
registered in our Educational Union. Other twenty-seven are
unregistered, and usually ungraded, — making up the one
hundred and twenty-seven schools.

MEDICAL WORK.

DOCTORS AND HOSPITALS: — Our pioneer party of 1891
included four men, two of whom were doctors and two
ministers. Thus emphasis was laid on medical mission
work from the beginning. This proportion of medical
men has not been maintained, but we have thus far been
able to live up to our ideal of at least one medical
doctor in each station. His duties include the care of
the health of his fellow-missionaries. We have now twenty-
one doctors, men and women, working in eleven hospitals
in our ten central stations. Over 40,000 individual patients
are attended to annually, including out-patients and in-
patients and patients visited in their homes. This means
a total of 110,000 to 120,000 attendances per annum. These
figures give some indication of the steady, silent Avorking of
this arm of our service. The direct spiritual results of our
medical work are impossible of tabulation. Every hospital
is the scene of daily preaching of the Word, in both out
patient department and the wards. Among the in-patients
especially is the seed sown faithfully by foreign missionary
and Chinese evangelist, who read Scripture and talk and
pray with the patients. Scripture portions and tracts are
given to every patient as he leaves, and not a few confess
Christ while still receiving treatment.

MEDICAL COLLEGE: — A great advance was made by the
organization in 1914 of the Medical Faculty of the Union
University, and the reception in September of that year of
the first class of medical students. Many candidates were
found to be insufficiently qualified. Others who were
accepted soon became discouraged and dropped out. But
we are well pleased that we have now twenty promising
young men in attendance, covering the three school years

HISTORICAL SKETCH

from the beginning. By means of this institution, we
medical missionaries look forward to the " multiplication of
ourselves," just as do the ministerial missionaries through
their Bible Training Schools and Theological College. So
our medical mission work in future will not depend wholly
and solely upon the presence of the foreign missionary. We
do not close our doors to the non-Christian student, though
we favor the Christians. Fifteen of the twenty now in
attendance are Christians, some of whom are among the
most active, earnest workers in the University.

ANNUAL EXPENDITURE.

The following table, showing the expenditure for the
West China Mission of the General Society, is a valuable
indication of our rate of growth : —

Members of t

he Mission.

General Society.

Year.

Gen. Society.

W. M. S.

Total Expenditure one year.

1892.. . .. .

$10,364 57

1895..

6,372 01

1900

9,989 40

1905

16,311 60

1910

102

77,817 70

1915

149

144,306 97

1917..

151

or including that of the W.M.S.
for that year,— about $175.000
149,525 29

As our reinforcements have increased, so have our losses
from time to time, through death or retirement from ill-
health or other causes. In the not distant future we shall
begin to lose more through death or retirement because of
old age. Therefore our reinforcements should be annual,
and should show a steady increase in number, rather than
decrease. There is no manner of question in my mind as to
the ability of our Church to double the present number of
missionaries in our West China Mission within the next
quarter century, thereby doubling the annual expenditure

40 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

or more, and much more than doubling the results of our
work in the growth and development of our share of the
Christian Church in West China.

LANGUAGE STUDY.

When our Mission was founded twenty-five years ago, we
had no course of study in the language, nor was there such a
profusion of books, — primers, readers, dictionaries, etc., — as
are to be had now, to aid one in the mastery of Chinese.
Neither had we any definite notions as to the months or years
which should be kept sacred to the study of the Chinese
language, unhindered and unhampered by any other responsi
bility. On November 3rd, 1892, the anniversary of the day we
first landed in China, Dr. Stevenson and I opened our first
dispensary in Chengtu. In less than two months we Avere
driven to the conclusion that we would be obliged to close it,
in order to continue our study of the language. Medical work
had already deprived us of all time for study. In less than
three months we had closed our doors and begun to apply
ourselves once more to Chinese. We never regretted this
action.

Two YEARS NEEDED : — At first we had the idea that the
new missionary could safely begin at least partial work
after one year in West China. In a few years' time this had
been extended to a year and a half; but it was not until 1907
that we rose to the height of " two years clear for the lan
guage "! In 1908, Council adopted a prescribed course of
study in the Chinese language, which was intended to cover
at least four years, the first twro of which should be wrholly
given to this work. The 1909 Council provided for the
organization of a Language School, which should guide and
assist new missionaries in this all-important work for the
first twelve months of their life in West China. In 1914 the
Union University adopted our Language School, and thereby
made it a union institution, whose services have been and are
henceforth for all new missionaries of whatever Mission in
West China. Its name has been changed, in harmony with the

HISTORICAL SKETCH 41

advice of the China Continuation Committee, to the " Mis
sionaries' Training School," in recognition of the fact that
its work is not by any means confined to the teaching of the
language. The Senate of the University is responsible for
the appointment of the staff of the School. The course is for
one year only, although there is a union course of study,
which may be followed by the missionaries of any Mission
who so desire.

Other things being equal, the missionary who has best
command of the language does work of the best quality, no
matter whether he is minister, doctor, or teacher, or whether
he is engaged in one of the specialties, as accountant, archi
tect, builder, etc. It is our ardent hope that the standard of
acquirement in the Chinese language will steadily advance
as the years go by.

POST OFFICE FACILITIES.

For the first ten years of our Mission's experience, there
was no Chinese Post. There was a " Local Post " in
Shanghai, and another in Hankow ; and later, other Yangtse
ports established Local Posts. Letters for the first few years
were mailed in any port without stamps, and were carried
without charge from one port to another, by the accommo
dating steamship companies. For the whole of this decade,
our Mission paid a small charge of a few dollars per annum
to a local postmaster in Hankow, who once or twice a week
wrapped all mail, letters and papers, in brown paper, and
handed them, addressed in Chinese, to a Chinese forwarding
firm who despatched couriers to Chungking and Chengtu.
We paid for the brown paper parcel at so much per pound.
All mail matter required from two and a half to four months
from Canada to West China. . In 1901 the recently estab
lished Chinese Post Office sent a young Chinese who spoke
English, to Chengtu, to rent a building in which to open the
first post office. Now we have 10,000 post offices in China,
of which 870 are in Szechwan. Letters come to us from
Canada in six to eight weeks, and papers in from two to three
4

42 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

months. The service in China is wonderfully good. Rail
ways and steamers are used where these exist' but a very
large proportion of all kinds of mail matter is of necessity
carried by relays of messengers running night and day over
the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the plains of this
great land. The two big cities of Chengtu and Chungking
in this province are separated by about 300 English miles,
but letters pass from one place to the other in three days and
a half. Each of these cities has no less than six deliveries
of mail daily.

TELEGRAPH FACILITIES: — About thirty years ago the
wooden posts were erected that carried the mysterious tele
graph wire all the way up the Yangtse to Chungking and
then across country to the provincial capital, Chengtu.
There were probably only three telegraph stations in the
whole province when we arrived, and the cost of telegraphing
was prohibitive, except for the well-to-do. Now we have
forty telegraph offices in the province of Szechwan, including
seven of our ten stations; and the price per word for tele
grams is less than half what it used to be. Not a few cable
grams are exchanged between Chengtu and the Mission
Rooms, Toronto, every year. There is a fine new volume, the
" Missions Code," which greatly facilitates and cheapens this
method of communication.

RIOT, REBELLION, REVOLUTION.

Three times in the twenty-five years have the members of
our Mission been compelled, by outbreaks more or less
serious, to leave West China for the coast.

THE '95 RIOTS : — The first was in 1895, when riots broke
out in Chengtu, lasting for about a day and a half, in which
all our Mission property was entirely destroyed, and all
missionaries of all Missions, Protestant and Roman
Catholic alike, were thankful to escape with their lives. The
causes of riots are always complicated. In this case there
were ignorance and suspicion on the part of the common
people, as to the character and motives of the mysterious

HISTORICAL SKETCH

RUINS AFTER

RIOTS OF

1895.

IN LESS TITAN A

YEAR RE-BUILDING

WAS BEGUN.

foreigners, coupled with carelessness, or, more likely, real
connivance on the part of the officials. They ignored our
requests for action to allay the unfounded suspicions of the
people, and probably thought the occasion a good one to have
the despised foreigner driven from their midst. And so we
were driven out, taking with us the clothes in which we
stood, — nothing else. But, to the chagrin of the officials,
and the amazement of the common people, the former were
obliged to pay in good money for our lost property, and the
latter saw us return in less than a year, to replace and
rebuild on a larger and better scale than before. The riots
were a splendid lesson to all the Chinese, on the " way not to
do it," if they really wished to hinder the progress of the
Gospel..

THE BOXER UPHEAVAL. — The second exodus was in 1900,
when the Consuls ordered us all out and away to the coast,
as the result of the Boxer upheaval in the northern prov
inces. Providentially, these disturbances did not extend to

44 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Szechwan, at least not till two years later, although there
was great danger of it in 1900. The decree from the old
Empress Dowager in Peking, to massacre all foreigners in
the province, reached the Viceroy in Chengtu three weeks
before we left. We little knew at the time of the awful
danger that hung just over our heads. There were only
whispers, which were fortunately not allowed to reach the
people. One day a young man called, to ask me to bring my
wife and children to his father's yamen for refuge, in case of
any disturbance. His father was a high provincial official.
Better counsels prevailed among the high officials who
advised the Viceroy, and he chose to take no action. Then
the Consul's order arrived, and on July 26th, 1900, we all
left the city, as did most missionaries their stations all over
the province, and proceeded to the coast, Next year, 1901,
all were back in their stations. There was again no loss of
foreign life, nor, this time, was there the slightest loss of
property. Official guard had been placed over all Mission
property, and on our return all was found intact.

MASS MOVEMENT: — Needless to say, the prestige of the
foreigner in general, and the standing of the foreign mis
sionary in particular, were immensely raised as a result of
the Boxer upheaval and its after effects. Foreigners were
no longer despised; on the contrary we were respected and
even feared. And from 1901 to 1903 and 1904, we had to
deal with the so-called mass-movement towards Christianity.
That movement was dealt with as wisely and as well as we
knew; but afterwards it was made abundantly clear that a
large number of the men who had crowded our chapels and
churches, and even of those who had become members of our
churches, were attracted not by the Gospel, but by their
desire to secure such measure of protection as was possible
thereby. They wished to share the increased prestige of the
foreigner, rather than the blessings of the Christian experi
ence. Therefore, it was not surprising that many fell away ;
and yet from among these we secured not a few who are now
staunch, faithful, earnest Christian men. Their motives

HISTORICAL SKETCH

REVOLUTIONARY DAYS OF 1911.

when they came were not right, but though they came to
scoff, they remained to pray.

THE REVOLUTION: — The third and last general exodus
was in 1911, because of the Revolutionary disturbances. The
very first of these disturbances really began in Chengtu,
quickly followed, however, by the armed outbreak in
Wuchang, which led to the overthrow of the Empire and the
establishment of the Republic of China. In September of
1911, all Chengtu missionaries were asked by the British
Consul to gather in the compounds of our Mission on the
Si Shen Ts'i Street, inside the city. There we were crowded
together for nearly three months, and our work much hin
dered or stopped, but we ourselves were quite unharmed.
Early in December the city was looted by the troops and
anarchy reigned for some days. As soon as the foreigners
could leave, we did so, according to Consular order, almost
all proceeding to the coast, — a very few remaining within the
province. These were able to return to their stations in two

40 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

or three months, and late in 1912 almost all missionaries had
returned, except those who had gone on furlough.

PROTECTION: — Again, notwithstanding all the travelling
of missionaries at a time when troops belonging to both Gov
ernment and rebels were on the move, and when brigands
were in evidence on every road and river route, no mission
ary received bodily harm, nor were there more than insig
nificant losses of property. I am speaking of West China
only. The new Government wherever established took
extreme pains to protect foreign missionaries and their
property, and to let it be widely known that this was their
avowed policy. God was working through them in a mar
vellous way, for the upbuilding of His Kingdom.

MINOR DISTURBANCES : — During the quarter century these
have been the three times of greatest disorder, but there have
been minor risings or rebellions, often causing the loss of
many Chinese lives, and great hindrance to the prosecution
of our work. For instance there was the Yfi Man Dz'i rising
of 1898, when a French priest was captured and held for
ransom for several months; the Boxer movement in our
province in 1902, during which there was one irruption of
these fanatics into the city of Chengtu, all of whom were
killed or captured in a few hours; following the Revolution,
there was the local rebellion of 1913, headed by Hsiung Keli
Wu, with headquarters at Chungking; and finally the
" second Revolution " of 1916, begun by Tsai Ngo in Yunnan,
the province to the south of us. The last speedily spread into
Szechwan, and the rebel leader soon became Governor of our
province, after Yuan Shi Kai had died and the Republic had
been reaffirmed. In the summer of 1916, Mr. Wallace while
travelling from Chungking to Chengtu, was captured by
brigands, and held at first for ransom, but soon released
without ransom when Chinese official pressure was brought
to bear.

RED CROSS : — During the years 1913-16 missionaries of
our own and other Missions were able to give no small ser
vice in Red Cross work in this province; because the Chinese

HISTORICAL SKETCH

o £

g 1

48 CUE WEST CHINA MISSION

provision for the wounded, though far superior to what it
was ten or fifteen years ago, is yet altogether inadequate and
inefficient. Medical doctors and non-medical missionaries
went to the firing line, or as close to it as they were allowed
by the military officers, collected the wounded, and sent
them to dressing stations, and ultimately to the nearest
Mission hospital. Here they were treated and cared for, for
weeks and months; pain was eased and lives saved, and the
sincere gratitude and affection of scores and hundreds of
men, — yes, probably thousands, — were won for all time. Not
a few Christian soldiers were met with in this way, among
the troops from the northern provinces. There were even a
few Christian military officials, and the remarkable thing
was that they seemed glad to own their relationship to the
Christian Church, and to publish it abroad.

PEACE MAKERS : — Another splendid service which mission
aries in this part of China have been able to render during
these last few troublous years has been that of mediator
between opposing factions, between the attackers and the
attacked, between besiegers and the besieged. In a large
number of instances, a troop of disbanded soldiers, rightly
denominated brigands, has attacked a walled city, their
object being nothing more nor less than loot. Usually after
they have fired a hail of bullets into the city, wounding some
and killing others, leading citizens approach the missionary
with the request that he act as go-between. They fear to
attempt the hazardous task, and with good reason: they
know of what their own people are capable ! The missionary,
with one or two leading citizens keeping close to his side,
approaches the attacking party; succeeds in securing a
cessation of fire while negotiations proceed, and in not a few
instances has won the sincere gratitude of thousands or tens
of thousands, for his unselfish and effective service in pro
moting peace, and in assisting to prevent disorder and save
life. The missionary's qualification for these duties is that
he is a foreigner, an outsider, whom all parties and all classes
unite in respecting and protecting. He is a Christian man

HISTORICAL SKETCH 49

and a gentleman, whom large numbers have learned to
respect and trust because of their first-hand knowledge of his
life and character. Further, he is known usually as one who
is fearless in the face of danger, compassionate to the suffer
ing, and utterly impervious to any attempt to bribe with
money or favor, — should any indeed have the hardihood to
propose such a course.

CHANGES IN THE CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE.

When we came in 1891 we were told that the fash
ions in China never changed! The sleeves of Chinese
gowns were made large and long, so that they com
pletely covered the hands, serving the purpose of mitts
or muff in winter. Men wore their hair in a long plait
or queue hanging down the back; but a fairly wide ring
or circle was always kept shaved over the forehead, over
the ears and at the back, leaving the hair growing long from
the crown only. Only Buddhist priests shaved their heads
completely. Unmarried girls did not shave their heads at
all, but always wore their hair plaited and hanging down
their backs. Married women did their hair in a knot at the
back of the head, drawn tight, flat and smooth from the fore
head backwards. All girls and women in West China had
bound feet, the only exceptions being the slave girls, who
were exempted so they could do hard work.

QUEUES GONE : — Now at the end of twenty-five years, the
changes are many and startling. Some of these have come with
an astounding suddenness, others have been gradual. Prob
ably the most striking change is in the treatment of the hair
by the men ; for with the proclamation of the Republic in China
came the mandate that all queues should be cut off. With
the exception of only a comparatively few small sections of
this populous land, all the two hundred millions of men
have suddenly changed from long hair to short. Some of the
poor persist in shaving the circle around the crown, and
cutting the hair growing from the crown only once in several
months. Many others again have adopted the cleanly

50 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

practice of shaving the head completely, once or twice a
month. The students and upper classes generally now cut
their hair after the most approved western fashion, parting
and combing in the latest style.

Formerly no men under forty years presumed to grow
beard or moustache; that was reserved as the mark of age
and dignity. Now, many young men of twenty-five or thirty
proudly nurse a jet-black moustache.

HEAD COVERINGS: — Until the Revolution the little black
satin cap, with red knot on top, was the universal style. It
had no peak or rim, and was of little use as a head covering,
except perhaps to protect a bald head from a draft. Now,
however, soft cloth caps with peaks are everywhere; while
felt hats with projecting rims are worn by all classes, as the
height of style. Elaborate sun helmets are imported, but
many more are made and sold on the streets of Chengtu, and
are worn freely in summer. On special occasions Chinese
officials appear in frock coats and silk hats, as to the manner
born. One can scarcely take a walk on the streets of this far
interior city without meeting young men dressed in western
fashion, everything being faultless from top to toe. While
these are the exception, those who dress their ends — head
and feet — in foreign style may be numbered by the thousands.

FINGER NAILS: — Formerly the "literary man" — which
included pretty much all who could read and write — was
fond of allowing his finger nails to grow long. It was the
best possible indication that he did no work with his hands.
Now, however, the long nails bid fair to go where the long
hair has gone ; this change is due in part at least to increas
ing knowledge of the requirements of personal hygiene.

Among women, the very wide sleeves of twenty or twenty-
five years ago have gradually given place to very narrow
sleeves. Their garments are not made so full and flowing
generally, as formerly. The rule that the hair must not be
done up on the head until after marriage is not so cast-iron
now, so many girls in the girls' school are seen with their
hair done up.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

FASHIONS FOR NEW CHINA AUTHORIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE

REPUBLIC.

FOOT BINDING :— Best of all, is the beginning of the aboli
tion of the horrid custom of foot-binding. For some years
before the Revolution, the girls' schools in this city, whether
Mission or Government, enforced the rule that no girl with
bound feet should be allowed to enter, and large numbers of
the best families ceased to bind the feet of their small
daughters. Ladies, young and middle-aged, vied with one
another in their efforts to restore their poor little crippled
feet to something approaching natural size and shape. I am
not sure that the Revolution has helped this movement ma
terially. But it goes without saying that all Mission and
Christian influences have always been strongly against the
evil practice. The Christian community everywhere is proud
of the absence from its midst of all such cripples. Thus the
sentiment is growing, although at the present rate, it must
take many years to thoroughly root out the custom. The

52 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

poor and the ignorant cling to it, largely in proportion to
their ignorance.

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE : — There is as yet not much approach
to social intercourse between the sexes, after the fashion of
western lands. And there cannot be, with safety, until the
standard of moral character has risen. Under present con
ditions in Chinese society, there might be a much worse ar
rangement than that of the go-between to arrange matches
between the young man and the young woman, always pro
vided of course that the parents of the two young people are
the ones who are ultimately responsible.

GREETINGS : — Under the old regime when men met on the
street, or in the guest room, they placed their fists together,
and bowed while they raised and lowered their hands. Since
the Kevolution that old-fashioned bow has been abandoned,
and now men touch or raise their hats to one another. The
better cultured shake hands freely, and doubtless it is only
a matter of time till western forms of greeting are trans
ferred generally to China.

SPECTACLES: — One very interesting and welcome change
introduced only since the Revolution is that in connection
with the treatment of one's spectacles. Rigid custom re
quired that in greeting a guest or any one of higher rank or
position, one should remove his spectacles from his face.
This custom was as rigid as is the western custom of remov
ing one's hat on greeting a lady ; and it was often very incon
venient for those who were more than ordinarily short
sighted. For instance, it followed naturally that when the
congregation stood up to pray, or knelt down, off came the
spectacles, and perhaps the hat, very carefully, in order to
prevent accidents. Now, however, western custom prevails,,
and we bespectacled people are happy.

OFFICIAL CALLS : — Under the old regime it was essential
that one should ride in a sedan chair when calling upon an
official, or upon any one of high position. The Revolution
changed all that, and now foreigners or Chinese walk or ride
a horse, or even a bicycle, when calling upon any one, even
the highest provincial officer.

HISTOKICAL SKETCH

EDWARD GUNG, A REPRESENTATIVE OF NEW CHINA.

WISE RESTRAINT: — It is evident that the Revolution is
responsible for many innovations. Many restrictions were
cleared away, and a large degree of freedom assured. These
restrictions were not so much those of the passing dynasty
as of long-established custom. The established custom or
practice of society in China is exceedingly difficult to break

54 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

through; yet with all the inconveniences, there are many
good results flowing from this fact. Convention is for the
most part an excellent safeguard, and cannot be lightly dis
regarded without inviting disaster. Especially is this the
case in a society such a large proportion of the members of
which are illiterate, and have such a low standard of
morality.

TURMOIL : — It is five years since the Revolution, and still
we are in the midst of turmoil. There is jealousy between
the North and the South; there is strife for position and
power; there are inter-provincial suspicions and enmities,
followed all too often by armed outbreaks, with the loss of
many lives. Every such miniature war is the signal for the
rising of the numerous bands of brigands with which the
country swarms. These outlaws, who are often disbanded
soldiers, and who have carried off with them their rifles and
quantities of ammunition, sometimes get together in suffi
cient numbers to not only terrorize the countryside, but to
actually accomplish the capture and looting of cities. One
realizes that much of the glamour of the new form of govern
ment has already given place in the minds of the masses to a
great longing for even the degree of law and order enjoyed
under the rule of the despised Manchus.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE.

No other change is quite so marked as that which we have
witnessed in the attitude of the Chinese people towards
foreigners and towards Christianity during the past twenty-
five years. When we first came we were despised, even by
the lowest classes. To the literati and the gentry, we were
beneath contempt, fit only to be mobbed and driven out as
opportunity offered. It was commonly supposed by many
that we must have committed some crime in our own country,
and that we were trying to escape the consequences by fleeing
to this far interior province of their country. Our personal
teachers were usually literary men, sometimes men of degree.
They taught their language to us because they were in need

HISTORICAL SKETCH 55

of the few dollars we paid them per month; but no one of
them cared to be seen in the company of a foreigner on the
street. I remember well how, when I persuaded my teacher
to go with me through the streets on one occasion, he was
careful to walk well in advance, so that he might not seem to
be in my company ; or if thought to be with me, then it would
be evident that he was my teacher, and therefore the
superior of his pupil who walked meekly behind. Fun was
freely poked at us by the bystanders whenever we appeared
on the streets. To help along our respectability, we not
infrequently hired a sedan chair, which we had follow
along behind. This gave us a little standing before the
lookers-on which we would not have had, if afoot and un
attended. An excellent bit of humor was that of a man on
the street one day, who remarked as I passed : " Dwan dy lai
liao," " The shortened man has come." It referred to my
short hair, in the first place, which was in such marked con
trast with the Chinese queue, and in the second place, to my
short coat, which was in such contrast with the long gown
of the Chinese. Everybody laughed freely, and I passed
along discomfited and annoyed, but having insufficient lan
guage to attempt a reply of any sort.

MAKING FRIENDS: — Our medical work made friends for
us, a few; and through our preaching services we gradually
became known to a wider circle. But in 1896, on our return
from the coast after the riots, we were shown such marked
attentions by the magistrates and other officials, who were
now anxious to give us their protection, that our position
was markedly altered. The most gratifying result was the
large increase in the crowds who now flocked to our preach
ing services, and in the number who manifested their willing
ness to study the Scriptures, and to learn of Jesus.

" FOREIGN BABY " : — We have never been subjected to the
vile epithets which are so commonly used even yet by Chinese
crowds in Central China, in venting their ill-will towards
foreigners there. About the worst we have ever heard is
" Foreign Dog," " Foreign Baby," etc. The well-known

56 CUE WEST CHINA MISSION

term, "Foreign Devil," so often heard at Hankow, for
instance, is all but unknown in West China. Latterly all
disrespectful terms of whatever description have dis
appeared from the vocabulary of all classes in our part of
China. One may walk the big city of Chengtu from end to
end and never hear a word of the least disrespect.

PURCHASING PROPERTY: — Previous to 1896 we found ex
treme difficulty in buying property. The officials put many
obstacles in our way, or prevented such a transaction
altogether. From 1896 onwards all was made easy. And
yet the great Boxer upheaval in the north much more
profoundly affected the attitude of the whole Chinese people
towards foreigners of all classes, whether missionaries, mer
chants, or consuls. Undoubtedly this was due primarily to
the discovery of the power of foreign nations, and at the same
time the weakness of their own country. Peking had been
occupied by the armies of the Powers, the Empress Dowager
driven out and the Court scattered. Nor was China allowed
to escape a heavy indemnity, in return for her unprovoked
attack on the ministers of all the nations.

SEEKING THE MISSIONARY :— From 1901 onwards, then, we
were inundated with requests to send a missionary or a
Chinese preacher here or there, to "open a chapel," or to
" start a school." " Large numbers of men/' we were told,
" were meeting together in a certain city or town, but found
it extremely difficult to understand the Gospel without a
teacher. Would we not send one?" To some of these
requests we were able to respond, though not by any means
to all. Our membership increased in a very gratifying way ;
and although, during the decade following, many proved
unstable, yet a goodly number remained steadfast, and grew
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

THE REVOLUTION, 1911 :— The next epoch-making, as well
as epoch-marking, event was the Revolution of 1911. From
that year onwards, we have the most complete reversal of
the earlier anti-foreign attitude that has been known, I sup
pose, in the world's history. During all the fighting, some

HISTORICAL SKETCH 57

of it very fierce and sanguinary, in 1911-12, both Imperialists
and Republicans were at great pains to give every possible
protection to foreigners of every nationality, and to all
foreign property. And they succeeded.

HAVENS OF REFUGE: — Now what a change from twenty-
five years ago! A single illustration will suffice: in 1916
when disorder broke out in several parts of our province,
Chinese of all classes, including the official and literary
classes, fled to our Mission compounds for protection. They
seemed to have confidence in the trustworthiness of the mis
sionary, and also in his power to protect. In station after
station was this the case. To mention only one or two, — our
Luchow church was occupied by a host of women and girls,
who took refuge there from possible maltreatment by the
lawless soldiery. There were so many that the usual
services could not be held on Sunday; and many men
were allowed to camp down in the dwelling compound. In
Tzeliutsing, large numbers found refuge with our mission
aries, including gentry and officials. In Chengtu, hundreds
of refugees, women and girls, filled our W.M.S. hospital and
other compounds; and many men were entertained in our
men's hospital. In Chungking our new Guild building
proved a haven of refuge at the same time.

UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES: — Under all circum
stances, our churches, schools, and hospitals are filled with
listeners, students, and patients. All opposition to the
propagation of the Gospel has disappeared ; men in all walks
of life seem open to conviction. There is a very perceptible
spirit of enquiry, which welcomes conversation on the nature
of the claims of Christianity. Special meetings among
students result in the pledging of scores, of hundreds, and
even of thousands, to begin systematic study of the Bible,
and to practise daily prayer. Assuredly the attitude of the
Chinese people has changed, towards the foreign missionary,
and towards the Gospel he preaches. This does not mean
that everybody is rushing to enter the Church or to become
a Christian. But it does mean that the present opportunity

58 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

confronting the Christian Church in China is absolutely
unprecedented. The situation demands the entire consecra
tion of the missionaries and Chinese Christians ; it demands
the sanctified wisdom and devoted earnestness of every
Mission and Church organization at work in this great
country, so that full advantage may be taken of our oppor
tunities and our privileges, for the hastening of the coming
of the Kingdom of our Lord.

THE MISSION OF THE WOMAN'S MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

In 1891 Miss Brown sailed with the first party for China,
as the first missionary of our Woman's Missionary Society.
Her marriage with Dr. D. W. Stevenson at Shanghai before
proceeding into the interior was regarded, however, as sever
ing her relations with her Society. The next missionaries
sent by the Woman's Missionary Society to China were Miss
S. C. Brackbill and Dr. Ketta Gifford. They reached
Shanghai in February, 1893, but because of the "exigencies
of travel did not reach their destination in West China till
a year later, the beginning of 1894. In a few months' time,
Dr. Retta Gifford became Dr. Retta Gifford Kilborn, and
this process of attrition has (happily or unhappily, — depend
ing upon the point of view!) continued until this day. Not
a few of the strong workers among our married women came
to China under our Woman's Missionary Society. So
whether in the one Society or the other, their faithful,
effective work for the Kingdom goes on.

LOSSES: — Other W.M.S. workers have been lost to our
Mission by marriage with members of sister Missions. On
the other hand we have captured from others nearly as many
as we have lost. Several workers have been lost by death
or retirement through ill-health. Hence the small number
of missionaries under our Woman's Missionary Society at
the present time, in comparison with the total number sent
out.

PRESENT STAFF:— The twenty-six workers are stationed
in seven of our ten central stations, and are doing evangel-

HISTOKICAL SKETCH

MISSIONARIES OF THE WOMAN'S MISSIONARY SOCIETY, WEST CHINA.

istic, medical, and educational work, — always for women
and girls only. Their one hospital is located in Chengtu, one
block from our General Society's hospital. It is a fine new
building just completed in 1916, with a capacity of about
sixty beds. Drs. Henry and Speers are in charge, with
Misses Wellwood and Asson in charge of the nursing. There
is a fine class of Chinese girls as student nurses. A large,
three-story brick building is nearing completion as a home
for these nurses.

SCHOOLS: — There is a splendid, large brick building, at
least three stories high, used as a boarding school for girls
in each of the three centres, Chengtu, Jenshow, and Tzeliut-
sing. In each one are housed several scores of bright girl
students, the majority of whom are Christians, and more
being added all the time. These all go to the establishment
of the strongest bulwark of Christianity anywhere, — the
Christian home.

EVANGELISTS: — The Woman's Missionary Society evan
gelistic workers gather Chinese women in classes for teach
ing, giving them simple Bible truths at the beginning, or, as
often happens, having to first teach them to read their own
language. Some itinerate through the villages, teaching and

60 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

preaching to the women and girls. This work is necessarily
closely related to that of the church, and this worker's
activities are more especially co-ordinated with those of the
pastor-missionary.

THE ORPHANAGE: — In addition to the forms of work
already mentioned, there is an orphanage in Chengtu, which
was founded in 1897 in memory of Miss Ford, a missionary
of our Woman's Missionary Society who died that year.
Within its walls many little girls who have been cast away
or forsaken by their parents have been reared, trained,
loved and cared for, until they too have gone out to help
swell the number of Christian homes in the community.

Within recent years our W.M.S. workers have established
several Women's Schools, which have done, and are now
doing a most useful and helpful work.

NEEDED REINFORCEMENTS : — Like the work of the mission
aries of the General Society, that of the Woman's Missionary
Society is capable of indefinite expansion, limited only by
the number of workers and by the funds at their disposal.
The Mission Council of the General Society continues to
urge year by year that the Woman's Missionary Society send
workers at the earliest possible moment to each of the three
central stations where they have not yet opened work,
Chungking, Fowchow, and Chungchow. The W.M.S. Coun
cil agrees to do so, just as soon as their home authorities
provide them with the necessary women. At the same time,
it is matter of common knowledge that their work in every
one of the seven stations now occupied is seriously under
manned; so that a steady, large reinforcement is needed
year by year, in order to adequately cope with the situation.

PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE.

" The future is as bright as are the promises of God."
And these look particularly bright to us in China at the
present time. The work of seed-sowing goes on and in
creases; but this part of the work tends to pass more and
more from the missionary to the Chinese workers and mem-

HISTORICAL SKETCH 61

bers. The missionary is drawn to give himself more largely
to intensive work, the cultivation of our Christian com
munity, the training of leaders, whether ministers, teachers,
doctors, or other men and women who will by force of char
acter and of brain power fill prominent places in society. This
training is done by both precept and example; we shall not
soon get away from the immense value, the indispensable
character, of the life and work of the missionary, as some
thing tangible for the Chinese to follow.

WANTED : WORKERS : — How we need more workers ! Both
men and wromen are needed, of the highest possible quali
fications; the very best and highest are not too good. We
want men and women of character, first of all good, then
adaptable, ready to give themselves, eager to serve, even as
was Jesus Christ; and yet they must be men and women of
good sound common sense, apt to learn, willing to be guided
by the judgment of their brethren.

PLANTS: — We need land, as sites for churches, schools,
and hospitals; and then we need these buildings. We are
still a long way from being properly equipped for the most
efficient work. And we need funds for the carrying on of
these institutions; for the support of our Chinese preachers
and teachers, — at least partial support. Self-support is
being inculcated, and will be reached in time; but it must
be gradual.

INVESTMENT OF FUNDS : — Here is opportunity for invest
ment of funds that will never cease to bear the highest rate
of interest, — in Christian manhood and womanhood, in
Christian homes, in the transformation of society, and in the
reorganization of the state, — in a word, in the hastening of
the growth of the Kingdom of God.

INVESTMENT OF LIFE : — Here is opportunity for the invest
ment of lives, utterly unsurpassed on this round earth.
Young men and young women who will put their lives into
this great work of bringing Christ to the Chinese and of
bringing the Chinese to Christ will read a glorious reward,
both in this life and in that to come.

02 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

AND PRAYER : — Here is opportunity for the investment of
prayer, which after all is the first and most important need
of our West China Mission. We missionaries pray, and our
Chinese Christians pray, and we are very conscious that
many, many prayers ascend in Canada for us and our work.
But all of us who pray are a very small number as compared
with the whole. There is a mighty host in the Homeland
whose prayers we claim, who have not yet begun to pray as
they might, for this work. The future of the West China
Mission is with those who pray.

THE GOLDEN JUBILEE:— The first quarter century has
gone; what has the second quarter century in store for us?
We should have three hundred and fifty missionaries, men
and women, married and single. We should have fifteen
central stations and one hundred and twenty outstations.
We should have a force of fifty ordained ministers among
the Chinese. We should have at least fifty University grad
uates as teachers, and a similar number of doctors, besides
many others who will reckon as leaders, Christian leaders,
among their people. We should have a membership in our
West China Church of ten thousand, besides many thou
sands of adherents, many of whom will be real Christians in
heart and life. Who is sufficient for these things? Thanks
be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.

THE FIELD

CENTRAL MISSION STATIONS

PENGHSIEN.

CHENGTU.

JENSHOW.

KIATING.

JUNGHSIEN.

TZELIUTSING.

LUCHOW.

CHUNGKING.

FOWOHOW.

CHUNGCHOW.

THE FIELD
THE REV. R. O. JOLLIFFE, B.A.

If a sheet of cloth were laid out on the table and then
pinched up in the centre, it would represent fairly accurately
the physiographical formation of Central Asia. The higher
part would represent the curving mountain ranges that in
succession parallel one another from Northern India through
Tibet to the North of China. The creases and crinkles would
be the endless valleys and river basins, while the level edges
would represent the irregular plains on the confines of the
continent bounded by seas and oceans. From everlasting
storehouses mid ice-bound hills on this the roof of the world
are released the waters that, flowing north, south, east, west,
form in their courses several of the greatest rivers of Asia.

THE YANGTSE: — Toward the east flows the longest and
most important of all — the Yangtse ; a river linked with the
destinies of more of mankind than are the combined waters
of all North America. It waters the fields, it fills the cis
terns, it turns ten thousand water wheels, it carries a count
less fleet, it brings fish to its shores and gold in its sands,
and after winding its tortuous path through six provinces
and gathering the trade of all central China, it opens
majestically into the sea. Here at last, three thousand miles
from its source, grown itself to sea-like dimensions, and
carrying the commerce of the nations upon its broad bosom,
it flings back the intrusion of the salty tide, and for three
hundred miles from land continues in uneven contest to
battle for its yellow identity. Just midway in its long
course, but quite near its navigable source, this mighty river
enters the territory,— ecclesiastically speaking,— of the
Canadian Methodist Mission. So much does this part of
China depend upon the Yangtse that the story of the river

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

YUN-NAN

NCf or SZ-CHUAN

Scaff 186 miles to / ,n,-h

CHINA'S GREAT WEST.

THE FIELD

THE HIGHWAY TO SZECHWAN IS THE YANGTSE, WITH ITS
MAGNIFICENT SCENERY.

is the history of the land, and a glance at its windings
through our Mission district may not be out of place in a
description of this West China field.

HUNDREDS OF MILES OF RIVER STATIONS: — Of the innum-
merable sources of this venerable river, those which come
to light in the hills far to the north of Penghsien are perhaps
of most interest to us. Two branches scatter themselves
over the plain in countless irrigation streams, then pull in
their tentacles like an octopus to join the main stream again.
The largest, passing Chengtu, joins the main river, the Min,
at Kiang-keo, ready to labor clown the rough path through
the hills to Kiating. Here the river is joined by the streams
locally called Tung and Ya, their waters still foaming from a
break-neck plunge through the mountains of Omei and
beyond. At Kiating it leaves our Mission territory and
runs south to Suifu, where -it merges its clear, pure Avaters
in the muddy Yangtse, to be cleansed again only in the

08 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

infinite ocean. The Yangtse first .touches a Canadian Meth-
Odist Mission station at Luchow, and its out-stations flank
the banks oip to the borders of the Chungking prefecture, a
distance of about thirty miles. One hundred and fifty miles
farther down, the Yangtse sweeps past Chungking's lofty
buildings perched high above its banks, and commences a
journey of two hundred miles through the district taken over
by our Mission from the L.M.S. in 1910. This is, indeed, the
largest part of our field.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITIONS: — The position of our Mission
geographically is between 103 degrees, 40 minutes, and
108 degrees, 20 minutes, east longitude. The 104th degree
passes near Penghsien and Kiating, the two stations
farthest west in our mission field. This line, if pro
jected through the north pole, would pass over into
Saskatchewan, somewhere near Regina, while the eastern
limit would cross to the west, and pass somewhere in
the vicinity of Maple Creek, Sask. The distance repre
sented by these points is of course much greater in
Szechwan than in Canada, because so much nearer the
equator. The most northern point — apart from the Tribes
district — is about 31 degrees north of the equator, while the
most southern boundary is a little north of 28. Luchow, our
most southern station, is less than 29 degrees from the
equator. If our field were transferred to its antipodal posi
tion, it would lie in the northern corner of Mexico, along the
gulf of California. Its total is 20,000 square miles, or almost
the area of the province of Nova Scotia. In each of these
districts are certain cities centrally located for all of West
China, and as these must be used by all missions alike, they
are made common territory for all missions. Such cities are
Chengtu, Kiating, Tzeliutsing, Luchow, and Chungking.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY: OVER TEN MILLIONS: — Szechwan,
(literally, "four streams") is the largest and wealthiest
province in China. It has an area of about 167,000 square
miles, but the western half, forming part of the mountain
land of Central Asia — much of it over ten thousand feet

THE FIELD

high, and in some places sixteen to nineteen thousand feet in
height — is very sparsely settled. The east-central portion of
the province, that in which our Mission is located, consists

of a vast red sandstone table-land of about sixteen hundred
feet elevation. This is generally known as the " Eed Basin."
Owing to the friability of this sandstone, the humidity of the
atmosphere, and the economic system of agriculture, the land

70 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

is exceedingly fertile and can support a dense population.
The estimates of the population of Szechwan vary from
thirty to over sixty-eight millions, but it must be confessed
that all estimates are lacking those data which would make
them very dependable. Perhaps sixty millions would be the
general estimate. Considering the sparsity — comparatively
speaking — of the western and northern portions of the prov
ince, and the density of population of those portions of the
province where our Mission field lies, it is certainly not an
over-estimate to conclude that our Mission is responsible for
the evangelization of at least ten million souls in Szechwan.

ANNIHILATION OF THE INHABITANTS: — It is really dis
appointing that there is no history of Szechwan, in the sense
of data explaining the characteristics of the people of the
present time. On account of the massacres of Chang Hsien
Chong, about 1640 A.D., the ancient history of the land
throws little more light on the development of the modern
Szechwanese than the history of the Indians would throw
on the life and character of Canadians. With the exception
of three counties, and some isolated families, the whole prov
ince of ancient Chinese was exterminated ; the land became
a wilderness, and so unfrequented the great highways that
silver would lie scattered along the road for days because
there was no traveller to pick it up. This was as recently as
the time of the fall of the Ming and the rise of the Manchu
Dynasty in the 17th century.

POPULATION : — As soon as order was restored a Great
Trek for Szechwan began. Canada is said to have the best
immigration system in the world, but it is probably not
nearly so effective as that of the early kings of this, so-called,
" Great Pure " Dynasty. In the more thickly populated dis
tricts of Eastern China, the people were simply taken from
their homes, and with their hands tied behind their backs
were driven to the vacant lands of Szechwan. They came from
a number of the provinces, but principally from Fu-Kwang,
as they call it, meaning Hu-Peh and Hu-Nan (north-of-the-
lake, and south-of-the-lake province), Kwang-Tung (Canton,

THE FIELD 71

or Eastern Kwang) and Kwang-Hsi (Western Kwang).
Almost every city, town, and village has its " five-spirit-
temple " in which are idols sacred to the above four provinces
and Szechwan.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SOURCES : — While some light on the char
acter of this race, and some trace of the hidden forces which
direct their present life, may be found in the history of the
various provinces, by far the strongest influence exerted on
a people bodily transported, like Israel of old, to absolutely
new surroundings, comes, not from the past, but from the
new circumstances which meet them, and the new environ
ment which conditions them. Particularly is this so in a
mixture of people drawn from many sources. Hence, in a
peculiar sense the physical characteristics of this province
bear an intimate relation to the personal characteristics of
the people, and a special significance applies to the
description of our mission field as such. As a matter
of fact, also, the people of this old land (as old as
Canada) are really young (as young as Canadians)
for when they were trudging west to their home in
far-off Szechwan, the bold French and English were
haling toward the setting sun in new America. Less than
three hundred years has absolutely unified this people-
rejuvenated so arbitrarily by migration — and the resultant
is a race, virile, enterprising and hopeful. In disposition
they are pleasant, but still retaining some of those un
pleasant " sharper " qualities, so common among primitive
races. It is perhaps accounted for by their recent experi
ence with primitive conditions, and also by the fact that
there has been constant assimilation, through the years, of
the Tribes people on the borders.

INDEPENDENT TEMPERAMENT: — Whether because of cli
mate and physical conditions, or because of some psycho
logical disturbance following a forced migration, in any case
the Szechwanese are anything but the most submissive
people in China. An ancient book says, " When there is
trouble in the Empire, it is in Szechwan that order is first

72 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

disturbed and last restored, where peaceful days are few
and days of confusion many." The last fifty years have been
no exception. From the Taiping Rebellion to the present
year, except in 1900 (when Szechwan honored herself for
ever by remaining in comparative quietude while most of the
Empire was seething in fanatical upheaval), Szechwan had
been to the fore in nearly every uprising. It was Szechwan
that raised the disturbance which ended in the Revolution;
it was Szechwan that strongly opposed Yuan Shih Kai when
he became autocratic in 1913 ; and it was Szechwan that was
the deciding factor against the monarchy in 1916. It is said
in this connection that Yuan Shih Kai was absolutely sure
of the loyal support of his trusted friend Ch'eng Er Ngan—
the governor of the province — and that the latter's decision
to abandon the monarchical party came as a bolt from the
blue to poor Yuan, and was the blow which killed him. To
bring history up to within the last few days, it is only neces
sary to note that Szechwan is still looking for trouble.

NATURAL RESOURCES.

The climate within the area covered by our Mission,
speaking generally, is very even, whether one judges it in
relation to seasons or in relation to space. The one marked
feature is its humidity; this marvellously assists growth,
but it makes 40 degrees above zero seem piercingly cold, and
95 degrees unbearably hot. Sunshine is supposed to be so
rare (particularly in winter) that, tradition says, the dogs
bark at the sun when they do see it. During the cold weather
the temperature often falls below freezing, and sometimes
there is a fall of snow. Ninety-five degrees is said to be an
average maximum heat in summer. There are supposed to
be light rains in the winter and in spring, interspaced with
blinks of sunshine, leaving the heavy rains for the hot
weather. Fogs in winter and mists in summer are of very
frequent occurrence. As a matter of fact, however, these
" mysterious " and " sundry " regulations for the guidance
of the climate are systematically disregarded by the weather.

THE FIELD 73

OUR FIELD KICH IN MINERALS: — A number of places
within the confines of our Mission are more or less rich in
minerals.

Lan-Chwan in the south is exceptionally so. Iron, salt
and sulphur are found in abundant quantities. In fact, a
large part of the province's supply of sulphur comes from
Lan-Chwan ; which mineral, by the way, is a kind of govern
ment monopoly.

Penghsien — or rather 90 li from the city of Penghsien--
has a copper mine, the metal being taken to Chengtu for use
in the arsenal and mint there.

Junghsien, Weiyuan, and Tzeliutsing: — A range of hills
crosses from Suifu toward Tzechow, passing through the
counties of Junghsien and Weiyuan. The lower hills of this
range are extremely rich in minerals, and particularly so in
Weiyuan county. Tzeliutsing is mineralogically included in
this area. Exceedingly interesting is a journey through
Hsin-Chang to Lien-Chiai-Chang (two of our outstations in
Weiyuan county). After descending from the hills to the
river one travels six or seven miles along the bank of a
strange stream. It is everywhere bubbling with gas, just as
if it were boiling. There are places by the roadside where
the gas can be lighted with a match as it issues from the
ground, while up on the hills above the farmers use it in
their kitchens. The bed of the river is covered in some places
with a white precipitate, in other places it is as green as
copperas, while the whole valley is filled with the aroma of
sulphuretted hydrogen. Farther down the bank of the
stream, as well as in the hills above, numerous punctures
are seen in the banks. These are the entrances to coal mines,
and as you go along the mountain path you may be startled
to see a naked boy suddenly crawl out of a hole in the bank
followed by a sled loaded with coal. These coal mines are
very frequently drowned out. Salt is found here also. Near
Lien-Chiai-Chang one may see shallow excavations where
iron has been mined. This is first burned in the old-fashioned
lime-kiln style, and later smelted in a furnace. Charcoal is

74 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

COAL MINING.
Wanted, mining machinery instead of boy power.

used exclusively, as they claim that the coal at hand could
not be used successfully. That there is petroleum in this
section of the country would seem to be proved by the fact
that small quantities are being brought up along with the
brine in several of the Tzeliutsing salt wells. Coals however,
as well as salt and saltpetre, can be secured within reason
able distance of almost any place in our mission field.
Tsingyuanhsien produces considerable salt.

FOOD SUPPLY: — A question of vast importance in the
daily thought of the people of the district in which we work
is, " What shall we eat and what shall we drink?" particu
larly the former, though, thanks to a favorable climate, a
fertile soil, and an enterprising turn of mind, the people
living in our Mission field are not constantly on the ragged
edge of famine as they are in some parts of China. What do
they eat? Most valued of all is meat. The rich eat it when
they like, the ordinary working class two or three times a
month (perhaps), and the poor when they can get it. Pork
at 5 or 6c., mutton at 3 or 4c., and beef at 2 or 3c. a pound
represent not only the prices of the various kinds of meats,
but the difference in wages between the different classes of
workmen — skilled or unskilled, etc. In the case of beef, even
in Mohammedan districts, only a small proportion of the

THE FIELD

cattle used for food die a violent death. In some cases the
killing of healthy cattle is restricted by law. The staple
food is, of course, rice, and of this there are more than ten
very common varieties. At present its value is about one
cent per Ib. This is much dearer than it was two years ago.
The people of this district have with their rice a choice dur
ing the year of over fifty -five kinds of vegetables, besides a
lot of browsing and nibbling at plants we would never think
of using in Canada. Of fruits there are more than forty
varieties, and fresh fruit is procurable almost the whole year
round. Flour is used in many ways, but particularly in the
preparations for food, in the way of " snacks " out of hours.
A peculiar thing is that a number of things common to both
Occident and Orient are used as food by the one people and

MARKET DAY IS PREACHING DAY FOR THE MISSIONARIES,

76 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

not by the other. Pumpkins are quite common, but in this
place are considered inedible by the Chinese arid some even
claim that they are poisonous; on the other hand sunflower
seeds and the petals of certain flowers are considered quite a
delicacy. Dog meat is by no means tabooed and horse meat
is scarce only because horses are comparatively few. The
deficiencies in the meat diet of the Chinese of this part of
China are not so serious as one might imagine. To begin
with, the climate is so warm that meat is not needed as a
heat producer. Then there are a number of oil-producing
plants that help to make up for the lack of meat, — oil of the
sesamum, oil of two varieties of peanuts, and vegetable oil
made from a plant that looks like rape. There are. too, all
kinds of savors, both natural and manufactured: any flavor
ing you wish from Cayenne pepper to pea leaves.

IMPORTED FOODS : — In addition to the local products many
foods are imported from other provinces — pork and pears
from Yunnan, dried figs from Shensi, and many other com
modities too numerous to mention. • Farther away still, the
fancy seaweed and fish fins come from the far-off ocean to
grace the feasts of the rich, while bottles of candies and tins
of biscuits whose labels are familiar in every confectionery
in Canada can be secured in almost any city.

OPIUM^ ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO : — Nature has by no means
denied the Chinese of this district opportunity to indulge
the appetites. Opium, since its growth in Szechwan has been
prohibited, has been imported from Yunnan province. This
drug still has a tremendous hold on the people,* although its
use has been very much curtailed, and particularly among
the young. As the source itself seems to be gradually drying
up, it cannot be long before the evil will automatically stop.
Alcohol made from rice, and spirits made from a mixture of
barley, millet and Indian corn, are sold very cheaply, but
strange to say we do not see the drunkenness that one would
in a " wet " district in Western lands.

Tobacco is grown all through the district, and is almost
universally used. The most important centre in the province

THE FIELD 77

for the production of the weed is Pihsien, where the best
quality is grown.

TEA AND SUGAR : — Szechwan produces a great deal of tea
in the hills to the west and north. Some tea is grown in the
hilly districts within the territory worked by our mission,
but so far as I have tasted the local product it is abominable
stuff. Good tea and cheap, however, can be bought on the
street of almost any city. Parts of our district are noted for
their sugar production, particularly Weiyuan. The best
class of the local article is very little cheaper than the better
refined sugar from eastern China.

CLOTHING: — "Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" is a
question that here has to be answered in no uncertain sound,
notwithstanding the mild reading of the thermometer. The
damp atmosphere makes the wearing of thick garments in
winter an absolute necessity, and some foreigners wear more
winter clothing in China than they found necessary in Sas
katchewan. Wool,, cotton, leather and furs form the barrier
against the winter's chill. Gauntlets are dispensed with by
carrying in the hands a little basket of live charcoal. Cotton,
the chief protection against cold, as well as the great all-
round clothing material, is planted in spring and gathered in
the early autumn. The cotton gin of foreign pattern is an
innovation of recent years : a cheaper machine in the form of
womankind spins and weaves the cotton. In a good weaving
district every few houses will have one or more rough wooden
looms, costing a dollar or two to build, and capable of weav
ing eight or ten yards (about half a yard in width) a day,—
not very fast, but it aggregates sufficient to clothe the
millions of this land. The winter clothing is padded with
cotton batting, making a light, warm, dry covering, much
more suitable, apparently, for the damp climate of the land
than woollen garments would be, although more recently
knitted woollen garments are becoming fashionable. Furs,
in the case of the farmer or workman, consist of goat or
sheep-skin made into clothes, with the fur inside, and the
other side outside, and usually covered with cloth. The rich

78 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

wear furs imported from outside provinces and Tibet. Both
wool and leather are used for foot wear, the former being-
made into felt pads to make soles for the cloth shoes. Bamboo
hats, straw sandals, palm-leaf mackintoshes, and innumer
able other articles display the ingenuity of the people in
compelling Mother Nature to clothe them.

Silk, of course, is a thing of beauty and a joy forever;
and, indeed, one does not need to be excessively wealthy in
this home of the silkworm before one can support sufficient
silk to " put on style."

GREAT INDUSTRIES.

It is impossible to study the field in which our Mission
work is carried on without being struck by the fact that-
certain industries, which, strictly speaking, would not be
considered, perhaps, under the heading of " the field," are
essentially linked up with both field and people, so that
it is almost impossible to overlook them. The people, more
over, constitute the real " field " of work, and anything
that has reference to the. people may well be discussed.
While it is impossible to refer to all the various activities
of the Chinese among whom we labor, we can say a few
words about the four most important, or rather the four
which will best show forth the characteristics of our Chinese,
as they deal with their physical problems. These activities
are seen in connection with the silk industry, the salt indus
try, the irrigation system, and the river traffic.

I. SILK INDUSTRY. The inauguration of the silk indus
try, the commencement of agriculture, the beginning of
architecture, and the invention of writing are some of the
things that the Chinese relegate to the time of the three
kings, in the early dawn of their political history. The silk
industry had been in China three thousand years before it
was brought from there to Europe (in 550 A.D.). Silk was
one of the first commodities shipped from China to Europe
when trade was opened up about the time of Edward III.
The originator of the silk industry was Hsi-Ling, the wife

THE FIELD 79

of Hwang-Ti, the third of the three kings. It was quite
appropriate that a woman should be the first to lay her hand
to this work, for a most generous share of all the worry and
endless care, as well as difficult labor, falls to the lot of the
women. It is as a rule the women who, for a week or so,
wear on their persons, the tiny eggs of the silkworm, until
they hatch them out ; it is the women who gather and cut up
the leaves of the mulberry or other tree for the infant
worms, who change their feeding place, who keep them clean,
who watch them and sort them and place them in the twigs
when once they start to spin their webs, who look after the
cocoons, and who, after the process of spinning and weaving
the silk is reached, take a great part of the work; until, in
fact, the finished product is ready to be worn. Then the male
members of the family at last come bravely forward, and with
masculine liberality take decidedly the lion's share of the
performance. The grace with which silks can be worn on
men will probably aid materially in preserving their present
style of dress. After the worms have spun their thread, and
before the moths have left the cocoons, the latter are thrown
into hot water and the thread drawn off in skeins, the shell
that is left being made into an excellent wadding for light
garments.

INGENUITY INVOLVED: — There is a great deal of real in
genuity in the crude machines manufactured from rough
sticks and bamboo poles which they use in putting the silk
through the process of winding and weaving. In fact, they
are not unlike the old-fashioned machinery in Western lands.
But the perfection of the product is, as in so many other
lines of industry, beyond all comparison with the crudity
of the tools used. The delicacy of the design, the softness of
the texture, and the harmony of the shading, make a piece
of good Chinese silk seem more fit to be a picture than a
material to be worn. Twenty-seven per cent, of the raw silk
of the world comes from China, and Szechwan certainly does
her part in export, though a very large proportion of her
silk must be used locally.

80 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

INCREASED POPULATION: — This industry has probably
added some millions of people to this already over-crowded
district and has also to some extent raised the scale of living.
In turn, this dense population means that in millions of
homes the silkworm is bred and the cocoon spun, receiving
that personal care and attention which seems to be neces
sary to the successful culture of the fastidious little cater
pillar. Hence it also makes possible the carrying on of this
industry on a tremendous scale and in a way that would be
absolutely impossible for economic reasons in any Western
land.

Kiating and Jenshow are perhaps the chief silk produc
ing centres in our mission field, though almost every place
does something towards the production of this fabric.

II. THE SALT INDUSTRY. A year or two ago the income
from the salt revenue nearly equalled that received from the
Chinese Customs, a fact of no ordinary importance to the
Chinese Government, and an indication of the extent of the
salt industry. The securing of the salt varies somewhat in
its methods in different places, but a description of a typical
process at one of the salt centres may suffice to make clear
the general line which the Chinese follow in attacking this
problem of nature. The process of sinking a well begins
with building a tower for the drill, not above, but below the
earth. This is done by quarrying a hole a few feet wide
down into the earth, a distance of two hundred feet or so.
Pine logs split in half and grooved out in the centre are then
placed together and built into position, one above the other,
thus making a pine log tube, 200 ft. deep, with ^a bore a few
inches wide. The space between the logs and the circum
ference of the well is built in with solid masonry. To drill
the well, a lever like a pump-handle is placed protruding
over the edge of a wooden frame, and a drill hung on the
short end. Relays of five or seven men work the heavy
handle up and down by stepping simultaneously first on and
then off the long end of it. By means of this frightful exer
cise the drill on the short end is raised and let drop. The

THE FIELD

THE SALT MARKET, TZE'LIUTSING.

simple plan of repeating this action for five, ten, or more
years means that a very deep hole is at length punched into
the ground, the deepest sometimes going four-fifths of a
mile. By that time, if things are favorable, brine, gas, or
both may be struck.

PROCESS OF PRODUCTION : — The brine is raised with a long,
thin, bamboo tube containing a simple leather valve in the
lower end, which opens with pressure on reaching the water,
and closes again when raised. A derrick, thirty to a hundred
feet in height, according to the length of the tube (which in
turn is as a rule just as long as the salt water is deep) is
erected above the mouth of the well. A bamboo rope passing
over this to a large windlass, driven by buffalo, completes
the act by bringing the tube to the surface of the ground.
Transportation of the brine to the evaporating centres is

$2 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

done in many ingenious ways : by bamboo piping, by carrier,
and by boat. In boiling the brine down, both coal and gas
are used, the latter of course in those places where natural
gas has been struck. The salt is boiled down into either
granulated or hard salt. The latter is like rock-salt and is
made that way whenever it is necessary to transport it over
mountain by pack. Salt produced in Western China is sold
in the provinces of Kwreichow and Yunnan, and as far east
as Hankow. Of the salt produced in West China a large
share comes from the territory in which our Mission works,
particularly in Lanchwan, Jenshow, Junghsien, Tsingyuan-
hsien and Tzeliutsing. In addition to supplying scores of
millions of people within and without Szechwan with this
necessity of life, the industry has the economic effect of
raising wages and promoting industry of all kinds.

III. IRRIGATION SYSTEM. The marvellous ingenuity of
the Chinese of this part of Szechwan in compelling an
already over-worked soil to produce as much again as it
would under ordinary conditions, and in compelling it to
keep the process up for centuries, is one of the continuous
wonders of the world. An excellent soil to begin with, a
splendid system of fertilization, and more than sufficient
well-trained labor, is to some extent responsible for the
fertility of the ground, but these would scarcely begin to
support the dense population, and famines would be as fre
quent here as in the provinces of Anhui and Kiangsu, were
it not for the supreme methods of irrigation, whereby the
waters are stored up in rice paddies and in cisterns against a
day of drought.

THE CHENGTU PLAIN: — The crowning achievement in
irrigation is on the Chengtu plain, where by intelligent de
fiance of the original plans of nature, a population of about
five million people is supported on a strip of land of less
than five thousand square miles. In fact the population is
in some parts 1,700 people to the square mile. There are
walled cities every fifteen miles and villages from three to
«ix miles apart. The plain slopes gently from north-west to

THE FIELD

RICE CULTURE, SZECHWAN.

south-east, thus ideally adapted by nature for a splendid
irrigation system.

Two SYSTEMS: — There are really two systems of irriga
tion. The larger commences just outside of Kwanhsien, a
city 40 miles to the north-west of Chengtu. A gateway has
been knocked through the solid rock at the precise spot to
make possible the diverting, under the best conditions, of a
large section of the stream. This artificial channel, led out
over the plain, is divided, subdivided, and re-subdivided into
innumerable streams, creeks, ditches, and water-courses,
until the whole plain drinks of its bounty. When the land
has drunk to the full of the vivifying beverage it returns the
waters into the main irrigation stream again, at the lower
end of the plain. The main river, the Min, is joined again
only at Kiang-keo, a distance, by river, of one hundred miles
from the point where the waters parted company. Another
system commencing more to the north is connected, by some

84 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

of its branches at least, with the Toh river, a river flowing to
the east of our Mission field and joining the Yangtse at
Luchow. It is this system which largely waters the district
around Penghsien. It is a smaller system, but the principle
is the same as that embodied in the larger one.

SPLENDID SKILL :— Thus stated, if it should appear a very
simple exploit to lead rivers of waters, subject to the rising
and falling of mountain streams, over every foot of several
thousand square miles, arranging it so that there shall be
sufficient, but not too much, supply of water (for, as a
matter of fact, some of the worst famines in China are
because of, not too little, but too much water), — then a false
impression has been given. Not only was the most sagacious
discernment necessary (some claim a knowledge of the prin
ciples of civil engineering is evidenced) in the preparation
and carrying out of the scheme in the first place, but ever
since that time, for fifteen hundred years, eternal vigilance
has been the price of victory. Every year there must be
dredging and repairing. The ancients wisely left a great bar
of iron in the bottom of the irrigation canal at one of the
critical places and the work of each year has ever since been
to dredge out the deposits of flood time until that bar was
reached. In addition to all this is, of course, the infinite care
necessary to properly control and regulate the streams as
they come to the different levels and as they reach each
individual field. " This irrigation scheme was initiated and
partly carried out by Li-Ping, a Prefect of Chengtu, during
the Tsin Dynasty. He was a Shensi man, who, apart from
his engineering skill, was an astronomer and versed in the
science of the earth. He also built bridges on the plain, one
of which was called the Seven Stars Bridge, another the
Pleiades Bridge/'

IV. BOAT TRAFFIC. The whole of West China depends
on its "master-servant," the Yangtse and its tributaries.
This river, and many of its tributaries, are for most of their
courses such a continuation of tearing rapids, treacherous
back waters, seething whirlpools, cross-currents, under-

THE FIELD 85

currents, over-currents and other kinds of wild waters as to
make transportation on a large scale look almost an impossi
bility. Yet it is not an impossibility for these Chinese.
They have not blown the rocks to bits with dynamite ; they
have not defied the strength of the torrents with the power
of steam engines; they have not mastered the dragon of the
boiling waters; nor have they even tamed him; but they
have learned his moods. This has meant a battle, fierce and
never-ending, with the forces of nature, and every year, in
spite of stoic bravery and boatman's cunning, of the army of
tens of thousands who ply their craft upon the rivers, thou
sands fall a prey to the relentless waters. These are the
men who fight the battles of this mountain-girded land,
giving it wealth and supplying the sources of its very life.
Day after day and year after year, up and down they work
their way, hand in hand with danger and with death, yet
with infinite faith in the fate that rules their lives. Were it
not for them and their daring, the great industries of West
China would languish, its population decrease, and the
province, cut off from the rest of the Empire and bereft of
its enterprise and daring, would become another hermit,
little better than Tibet. Indeed, notwithstanding the intro
duction of high speed steamers in the last few years, West
China still depends upon its boatmen.

BOATS AND BOATMEN : — The success of the river men con
sists in their knowledge of two things : first, in a knowledge
of their boats, and, second, in a knowledge of the river. It
seems strange to see thousands of boats, all of the same
pattern, and in each class (each class has its own peculiar
design) all of the same size, even different classes having the
same general lines. This is not because some other pattern
would not do, nor because it is necessarily the best pattern,
but simply because the sailor knows this style and has
learned to make it face the torrents and the whirlpools. Ten
thousand wrecks and ten thousand wrecks narrowly averted
have taught the builder where buffer logs must be extended,
how the keel should be protected, the proper length to give

86 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

mast and sail, where to brace and how to bind and caulk
his flatbottomed craft. He knows his boat, until under his
charge the rude structure and the heaving waters seem har
moniously working together to obey the will of the intrepid
master; for he knows the river as he knows the boat. Each
jagged edge and treacherous rock that lies slyly hidden
beneath the ever-inconstant water is clearly marked in his
mental chart. Just where to swerve and where to face the
current; where to hug the shore and where to make for the
open stream; when to plunge into the whirlpool and when
to take advantage of a crossing wave; when to dodge the
treacherous under-current and when to save the desperate
situation by boldly charging head-on straight to apparent
destruction into the boiling cauldron and the rocky shore;
when to cease rowing and give up the fight; also where to
anchor so as to avail himself of the cheapest opium and the
fewest creditors: — this is knowledge that has become the
boatman's second nature.

A CONQUERING PEOPLE :— The four activities above noted
have tended in each case to increase the population and to
raise the standard of living, but to us their chief significance
is that they indicate the character of the people among whom
we work. Each of these represents the human conquest of
the physical forces of Nature on such a huge scale that it
makes the energy and enterprise of the people themselves
largely responsible for the economic conditions, so that when
you read of West China's dense population and wonderful
prosperity, please remember that it is because the people
themselves have been capable of ruling the economic situa
tion. In each of these lines they were not compelled by
force of circumstances; the land naturally was exceedingly
rich, but these and similar works were works of supereroga
tion, as it were, and hence more clearly display those traits
of endurance and indomitable enterprise so strong in this
people. Do we not judge the quality of a people largely by
the ability they have shown in the conquest of Nature?
Considering, then, that without the advantages which we

THE FIELD 87

have in the applied sciences, but with sheer effort and per
sistency they have grasped the power of the physical forces
of this land and turned it to use for their own benefit, what
will be beyond them when the Gospel has cleared their
spiritual vision, and knowledge has given new powers of
conquest?

KEYS TO THE COMING KINGDOM : — All the natural features
of the land, as well as the personal characteristics of the
people, are real and determining factors in the economic,
the social, and the political life of the race, and the question
arises: Have heat, cold, rivers, mountains, minerals, enter
prise, perseverance, energy, any place, by help or by hind
rance, in the bringing in of the Kingdom of God? Can these
things be interpreted by any intelligible terms in so intan
gible a work as missionary effort? Yes! We believe that these
things are anything but dead formations of earth's crust or
human mind. They are vital determining forces for salva
tion if rightly used and interpreted. If, then, we look still
more carefully at some of the important features of the
different places in our Mission field, it will be with the hope
that it may supply some explanation of the history of the
past in our work, and still more supply us with large promise
for the future development.

PENGHSIEN.

Penghsien is the most northerly and, according to the
local missionaries, the most delightful residential city in the
Mission. The county of the same name lies somewhat north
of the centre of the Chengtu plain, and has an area of about
one thousand square miles, with a population of between
one and two millions, or about half that of Ontario. The
city is twenty-five English miles, — a short day's journey,—
north-west of Chengtu. From Penghsien our Mission also
works two other large counties and their county towns and
villages. These are Tsong-Lin to the west and Hsinfan to
the south.

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

OUR SOCIAL CLUB, PENGHSIEN.

BUSY AND BEAUTIFUL :— The streets of Penghsien are
clean and well paved, while within and without the walls
are beautiful groves of ancient trees. These latter also line
the roads, edge the watercourses, and crown the hillocks.
The aspect of the trees combined in summer with the verdure
of the growing rice stretching in even rows and uneven fields
as far as eye can see furnishes a scene of remarkable
beauty, with a fascination not unlike that left in looking
over miles of waving grain in the Canadian West,. Within
the walls of the compact city are busy shops and crowded
marts. Here the tribesman, the Tibetan, and the Chinese
meet together to drink, to smoke, and to barter.

A GATEWAY TO THE TRIBES COUNTRY : — Our mission plant
has had the good fortune to secure a property well adapted
for the residence of the missionaries and well located for the
erection of the plant to serve the Chinese. Penghsien was
chosen as a mission station because its position in this
populous district is almost ideal for economic mission work.
With the minimum expense of time and money, the maximum
number of towns and villages may be reached. Lying, more
over, adjacent to the Tribes district, it forms the natural

THE FIELD 89

gateway to the Tribes work, whether such effort be carried
on by the foreign missionaries, or by natural expansion of
the Chinese Church itself in the future.

CHENGTU.

It is impossible within the bounds of this paper to give
any adequate description of Chengtu. The capital of this
province is one of the finest cities in China. It has a popu
lation of probably half a million within its walls, not to
speak of the dense suburban population. The walls of the
city measure twelve miles in circumference and are about
thirty-six feet wide and forty feet in height.

HISTORICAL: — Chengtu has a regal history. As recently
as the 3rd century A.D. it was the capital of the Kingdom of
Shuh. Here, at a time when two usurpers held sway over
the rest of China, the real royalty in the person of Heo Chu
ruled at least a part of West China. This king, however, by
his absolute worthlessness and dissolute life proved his right
to provide the usual ending to a dynasty of illustrious
emperors. His captor, the king of Wei, displayed his con
tempt for the man by giving the last king of the Han Dynasty
the title of " Duke of Pleasure."

STRATEGIC: — Chengtu is the heart of the great fertile
plain previously mentioned, and throws out pulsating
arteries of commerce in every direction. To describe the
commerce of Chengtu, the wide streets busy from morning
till night, the numerous enterprises which engage this enter
prising people, and the evidences of progress alone, would
fill books. Chengtu is the centre of Szechwan, not only
politically, but educationally and socially, and holds a
strong influence over the bordering provinces. Chengtu's
paramount relationship with Tibet, both politically and
commercially, has long been established.

OCCUPIED : — It is natural that this city should be an
attractive centre for Missions, and particularly to those who
look to extend their work through influential centres. There
are in Chengtu the following missionary organizations : — The

90 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Methodist Episcopal, the China Inland (Western Branch),
the Society of Friends, the American Baptists, the Canadian
Methodists, the Y.M.C.A., the British and Foreign Bible
Society, the American Bible Society, and a Hostel carried on
by the Church Missionary Society.

OPPORTUNITY :— It would perhaps be difficult to find in
all the world a more ideal mission centre than that presented
in the city of Chengtu. A people, at any time cosmopolitan
in outlook, open-minded and ready to accept the Gospel on
its merits naturally make an enticing field in which to labor
for the establishment of the Christian Church, even if its
influence were always to be local. But Chengtu throngs
with students, with prospective officials, with merchant
princes, and with leading gentry, who come from all parts
of the province, and will carry back to their native places,
and scatter with the strength of their influence, the impres
sions they have received at the capital. Naturally, then,
many forms of special missionary work should be undertaken
at Chengtu. The most comprehensive of the special efforts
is the West China Union University, just outside the south
gate of the city. The Press of our own Mission is another
of these broader schemes which minister to the province at
large. The Y.M.C.A. and similar Young Men's Guilds,
together with numerous smaller groups in connection with
mission work in street chapels, in dispensaries, and even in
private houses, testify to the fact that no one can be long in
Chengtu without becoming conscious of the strategic oppor
tunities offered them through this throbbing centre. Even
in ordinary church work and small schools the arrange
ments are tinged with the consciousness of their relationship
to the province at large. The Chinese Church throughout
the province is not less sensitive to the church work at
Chengtu than are the people throughout the province in
matters of commerce or of politics. In regard to our own
works, probably no other feature of our mission field has so
strongly influenced the policy of our Mission as has what is
considered to be the strategic importance of the Capital City.

THE FIELD

THE EAST GATE, CHENGTU, WITHOUT THE WALL.
Note the narrow street with poles for awning.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY : — Our distinct field in and around
Chengtu, for which we are as a Mission responsible, is as
follows :—

1. Within the city, work in the eastern and north
eastern section of the city, and without the city a large
share of the great East gate suburb.

2. A share in the property and work outside the south
gate. This work is all institutional, and with few exceptions
all union.

3. The outstation field. This stretches eight miles ( Eng. )

92 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

north of the city, and includes the large town of Tsung-
Nyi-Chiao. On the north-west our field includes the two out-
stations of Tu-Chiao and Si-Pu, respectively five and eight
miles distant from Chengtu. Pihsien, a walled city sixteen
miles from the west gate of Chengtu, is also in our field,
while directly west, Wenkiang, a walled city, sixteen miles
from the city, is opened as an outstation, as is also Wu-
Chia-Chang, twenty-three miles from Chengtu in the same
direction. To the south our out-stations link up with our
work in Jenshow.

JENSHOW.

The county town of Jenshow is not necessarily the largest
city in the county, but it is geographically the official centre.
Very few families but periodically visit the county town, for
there it is that they get into law scrapes and get out again,
meet their friends and their enemies, pay their debts and
defraud their creditors, transact business and scatter
scandal. It is at the county town that justice (or injustice)
is dispensed, protection is given, and customs are set, so
that whatever is done at the county town has a decided and
lasting effect throughout the whole district,

OUR PLANT : — Our mission plant in this important city is
not all placed in one district. The W.M.S. buildings, to
gether with our three dwellings and the dispensary are on
the southern outskirts of the city. All the buildings except
the dispensary stand on a lofty and beautiful situation on
the side of a mountain looking out over the valley and
almost straight up from the level of the street, a distance of
two hundred tiresome stone steps. The School and the
Educational plant in general are more modestly placed at
the eastern suburb of the city, where they form one of the
choicest properties in our Mission with which to carry on the
work.

THE DISTRICT :— While some of the roads adjacent to
Jenshow city are unspeakably bad in wet weather, good
stone roads run from market to market throughout the great

THE FIELD 93

Jenshow
District

One of twenty districts in our Mission Field

Population, 1,000.000

It has 75 market towns

4 over 10.000 'n population each

26 over 5.000

45 over 1.000

Hundreds of small villages besides

MAP OF JENSHOW DISTRICT.

part of the county. Taking the city as the centre, the
extreme limits of the county are found twenty-eight miles
north and twenty-eight miles south of the county town, while
the western boundary would be about fifteen and the eastern
boundary thirty miles from this centre. This large county
runs to points at the extremities, so that its area totals a

94 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

little over two thousand square miles. Ecclesiastically,
however, our field runs to the river on the west, and is thus
slightly larger than the county itself.

A range of high hills crosses Jenshow county just west
of the city and another range crosses the south-eastern
section, where the county is bordered by Weiyuan and
Junghsien.

DIFFICULTIES : — Jenshow as a mission station presents its
difficulties in generous quantities. There are seventy-two
market towns, and the roads are long, hilly, and tortuous,
while long roads, distant marts, and scattered villages find
their spiritual counterpart in spiritual mountains of un
belief and treacherous valleys of superstition. A people
keen, resourceful, and of boundless enthusiasm, they are
perhaps more than ordinarily difficult to lead, and present
their owrn special problem for our workers and the church
at Jenshow.

KIATING.

Kiating lies in the same parallel of latitude as Chung
king, viz., 29° 34". Beautiful and conservative are the two
terms that best describe the city of Kiating. Situated at the
junction of three rivers — the Min, the Ya, and the Tung, it
has the advantage of standing in one of the most picturesque
spots in China or out of China. I wish that I were able to
picture the view which meets the eye as one stands upon the
city wall behind our mission compound on a bright spring
morning and watches the crystal ribbon of water wind
swiftly past the city and disappear among the trees and
green fields far in the distance; or, as one looks upon the
hills across the river to the left, standing ranged there like
an inverted saw, each tooth capped with lofty evergreens,
and ending below the city in an abrupt precipice of blood-
red sandstone — the latter redder still in contrast with the
wealth of verdure that caps the hilltop and hangs from its
frowning brow over the boiling waters below; or, as one
lifts his eyes unto the hills on the right hand, where Mount

THE FIELD 95

Omei, covered with recent snow and glistening in the sun
shine, towers from the earth like the battlements of the
unseen world suddenly projected into this mundane sphere.
But the beauty is indeed indescribable, so we shall pass on
to the next item, the conservatism of Kiating.

CONSERVATISM : — The background of Kiating's conserv
atism is the background of its physical beauty, the sacred
mountain of Omei. This mountain, twenty-five miles to the
west of the city, is the Buddhist stronghold of West China,,
with an influence that is felt throughout the whole nation.
To trace the development of idolatry in this district would
be an interesting inquiry, but a far more important question
is, " What is the situation in this regard at the present
time?" Like the river with its backward as well as forward
currents, so is the tide of superstition. Notwithstanding the
fact that during the Revolution many idols from Kiating
temples were hurled into the river, idolatry was very far
from being destroyed. On an island in the Min river is a
temple with five hundred and fifty-five idols, representing
disciples of Buddha, each image costing ten to thirty taels
(about |7 to $25 Canadian money). The building of this
temple was commenced before the Revolution, but the com
pletion of the structure has been since that time. One of
the largest images of Buddha to be found in China is carved
in the rocky precipice across the river from the city; it is
said to be three hundred and seventy feet in height. The
priest in charge of the temple to the rear of the idol belongs
to a very wealthy family in the province of Chekiang. Almost
every summer he visits his native province and returns with
thousands of dollars for his temple. This priest, previous to
his coming to Szechwan, had spent eight years travelling in
foreign lands. He spent a year in England, and was greatly
impressed with the city of London. His wide experience and
superior knowledge have placed him, in appearance, in man
ners, and in ability, far above the ordinary Buddhist priest,
but it means also that superior talents and influence are
devoted to a cause which breeds conservatism, and fosters
ignorance.

96 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

FENG-SHUI : — For many years a white pagoda stood on
the hill in the rear of our mission premises. In this pagoda
was a carrying pole stuck there by Chang San Fung, the
famous immortal of former years, so it was claimed; and
also that such was the influence of the pagoda that no son
had ever been born under its shadow. Recently this struc
ture was taken down. It indicates something of the present
state of mind of the people when some claimed that it was
because the city was ceasing to believe in " feng-shui," others
that it came down because it was unlucky. As is so often
the case a little money was at the root of the matter, the
owner of the land, a violent Revolutionist, wanting to get it
out of the way. There was very strong opposition to its
removal, and only when the landlord claimed the thing was
leaning, and would probably fall down on the foreigners and
cost the city an indemnity, was permission given to pull it
down. Mr. Quentin, by the way, secured 1,000 of the brick,
and is willing to sell them for the small consideration of ten
thousand dollars — ten dollars a brick; the proceeds to be
used in the self help department of the boys' school. To
break through this stone wall of superstition and conserv
atism in Kiating, three missions, the China Inland, the
American Baptist, and the Canadian Methodist, have worked
for a quarter of a century. It is a satisfaction to know that
the years of Gospel bombardment in street chapel, book
stall, and school ; the witness of three Chinese churches ; the
evangelistic campaigns, and the establishment of the Young
Men's Guild, — have all played their part in breaking down
open hostility and creating a spirit of friendliness on all
hands toward the missionary and his message.

CAVES AND COMMERCE: — Some evidence that Kiating is
breaking from the old, in material things at least, is seen in
the new commercial schemes. Kiating is now the head of
steam navigation and has a large modern silk factory
equipped with steam engines and electric light. Two inter
esting features of Kiating not mentioned above, are its rela
tion to the inland districts including the Tribes country on

THE FIELD

OUR FIRST MISSION PROPERTY IN KIATING.
The pagoda has been taken down.

the West, and its famous caves. The former helps its com
merce in making Kiating the gateway for vast quantities of
timber, white wax, furs, musks, medicines, etc., and may also
have some significance in the future development of our
mission work. The remarkable caves about Kiating are
claimed by some to be aboriginal caves, by others to be
ancient sepulchres, and hiding places in warfare. Many of
these caves are occupied now by wild animals, making it
unwise to enter them without firearms and lanterns, and
many caves, which have been sealed for centuries are still
unopened.

JUNGHSIEN.

The county of Junghsien has an area of over two thou
sand square miles, and has forty-eight places large enough
to be opened as market towns. The county as a whole is
hilly, but extremely fertile. A beautiful stream from the
hills winds through the length of the county, and supplies
vast areas of the land with irrigation waters. The less
elevated districts of Junghsien county are characterized by

98 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

kopjes. Each one is separate from the other, and is cork
screwed with rice and vegetable fields to the very peak,
where it is capped with a banyan tree. Some of the hillocks
have by some error lost the banyan tree on top, and as a
consequence look out of place. The more elevated districts,
both to the south-west and north are well wooded, and very
productive of good coal and bad robbers. The county town
of Junghsien has a population of about twenty-five thou
sand, and is situated somewhat toward the eastern part of
the county. It is a clean (Chinese cleanliness, of course),
enterprising, and compact city.

INDUSTRIES: — The most important industries of Jung
hsien, apart from farming, are the production of silk and salt.
The former is carried on largely in the city, the latter in
the district bordering on Fushuen county to the south-east,
and particularly at Lai-Chia-Tan and Kungtsing, two places
attached to the Tzeliutsing work.

THE PEOPLE :— Like the rest of the province, this county
was swept clean by the massacres at the time of the troubles
with Chang-Hsien-Chung in the 17th century, and immi
grants were forcibly brought in from other provinces to fill
up the vacant land. A large proportion of those who came
to Junghsien were from the province of Canton, and are
one of the most progressive and energetic classes of people
in Szechwan, though to this day they retain an atrocious
dialect, probably as a souvenir of their ancient home. The
women particularly are noted for their independence and
resourcefulness, frequently taking the foremost place both
in home and in business. The people of this county are
noted for their scholarship, and the city of Junghsien is an
educational centre.

OUR PLANT: — Our mission plant, both of the General
Board and W.M.S., is placed on the highest piece of ground
in the city, near the north gate, and commands a splendid
view. The General Board plant at Junghsien is practically
completed, — the only one so far in our Mission. Junghsien
was opened as a station in 1905, and in the last ten vears the

THE FIELD

A BIBLE SCHOOL AT JUNGHSIEN.

rather strong force of missionaries has been enabled to make
a profound impression both on city and country.

TZELIUTSING.

The name Tzeliutsing literally means, " self-flowing
wells." In its looser use, it refers to the whole salt-well
district, stretching east and west a distance of twenty-five
miles, and about six miles in width. This area embraces
the towns previously mentioned, Lai-Chia-Tan and Kung-
tsirig in the county of Junghsien, in addition to Chang-Lu,
Siaochi, Da-Fen-Bao, Liang-Kao-Shan, and other large
places in the border county of Fushuen. Tzeliutsing city
itself is in Fushuen county. The population, including that
of this group of towns, is estimated by the Chinese at four
hundred thousand people. The term Tzeliutsing, in its local
use, refers to the most central of these groups of places, and

100 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

while called " city " above, has really not that rank, though
much larger than the average city. It is at Tzelintsing that
the deputy magistrate and all the important business con
cerns have their offices. Kungtsing has the same rank as
Tzelintsing, being what is called a " branch-magistracy."
But it is at Tzelintsing where traffic by the already over
worked river comes to an end, and where all the products
from the miles of salt-wells in all directions find their
natural outlet, that the salt district comes to a head as it
were, and makes it a more central and important town than
the other places in the salt district.

INDUSTRIES: — As is of course natural, the one big indus
try of this place is salt. The people talk salt and think salt,
they live for salt, and often they die for salt. Generation
after generation takes up the same topic and the same
activity, until a vein of thought has been evolved and a tech
nical vocabulary has been created that are quite as saline in
character as the strata of sodium-chloride three-quarters of
a mile below the surface of the earth. The importance of the
industry may be gauged from the fact that upwards of a
million Szechwan dollars revenue per month is, or should
be, collected from this district alone. The income from the
salt trade makes other lines of commerce brisk and the salt
boats returning bring back all sorts of goods from down
river. These goods are here distributed through the local
district.

OUR PLANT : — Our mission plant is placed in this central
town of Tzeliutsing. The buildings are placed along the top
of a long, narrow hill — the ridge we are told is really the back
of the dragon, though one would scarcely know it to look
at the hill. It makes, however, a splendid location for the
mission plant, whether having a view to the work in the
immediate locality, or having a view to the work in the whole
district. Tzeliutsing, with its narrow, dirty streets, its
hustle and clamor, its vile smells of natural gas and
unnatural sanitation, is from one standpoint, an unin
viting place in which to live, but with a people (at the

THE FIELD

101

RECEIVING SALT BRINE, TZELIUTSING.

present time, at least) agreeable and open-minded, it is an
almost ideal station in which to do one's work.

Tzeliutsing is responsible for fourteen outstations which
include the county of Weiyuan, south-eastern Junghsien,
and the northern part of Fushuen.

LUCHOW.

Luchow is situated on the Yangtse river at the point where
it is joined by a smaller river variously called the Lu, the
Toll, or the Chung. It is four days' journey overland from
Luchow to Chungking. The nearest Canadian Methodist
Mission station to Luchow is Tzeliutsing, three short stages
to the north-west. Luchow lies equi-distant from Penghsien
and Chungchow, therefore in the very centre of our [Mission.

IMPORTANCE: — Politically the province of Szechwan is

102 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE DISPENSARY, LUCHOW.

divided into five circuits (that is, when the province is suffi
ciently at peace to be considered politically), and the head
official in each is called an Intendant. Luchow is the centre
of one of these circuits, which extends from the borders of
Kweichow and Yunnan almost to Chengtu, and embraces
twenty-five counties. The people may always appeal, if they
are rich enough, from the decision of a county magistrate to
the Intendant. Luchow is also the centre for the circuit's
Normal School. This, together with the regular middle
school, makes Luchow a rather important educational
centre. Commercially Luchow might be considered as the
gateway to the great salt- well district. Almost all the salt
produced at Tzeliutsing and the surrounding country is
brought down the small river to Luchow, where it is dis
tributed to other parts of the country. Similarly, the city
deals with the products of the great sugar district. In
January or February, just after the sugar has been manu
factured, it is an interesting sight to watch the fleets of little
boats loaded with sugar coining down the small river. One
of Luchow's interesting industries is the making of um
brellas, not the kind you have in Canada, but a kind which
keeps the rain off just as well, and is a good deal cheaper.
Thev are made of bamboo and oiled paper. A large pottery,

THE FIELD 103

match factories, foundries, and boat-building make Luchow
a busy place.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY : — In the surrounding country our
Mission is responsible for seven-tenths of Luchow county,
roughly speaking, that part north of the river Yangtse. The
total area of these seven districts is 1,600 square miles, with
a population of 400,000. The land is all under cultivation,
and it is a very fertile district. The China Inland Mission
have held the fort in Luchow for many years. The two
missions now work side by side within the city, and have
divided the outstation work to prevent overlapping.

CHUNGKING.

Chungking is situated on the neck of land lying between
the Yangtse and the Kialing rivers. The population is
usually estimated at seven hundred thousand. Unfortu
nately the area covered by the city is comparatively small,
and the city, already very crowded, is becoming still more so
every year. This is perhaps one reason why the Chinese of
this place have so readily adopted foreign architecture and
style in building. A few years ago the Chinese would not
build over one story high; now they commonly build two and
three story buildings, and many four and five stories high.
Some of these structures would grace any Western city. The
expansion which is absolutely necessary is chiefly across the
big river to the south, and that section will probably become
in the future the foreign settlement. Already there are
several large foreign storehouses and residences, while prop
erty is being bought and reserved for future building.

A GREAT COMMERCIAL GATEWAY: — Chungking is the
great commercial gateway to West China. All goods arriv
ing from eastern China, as well as all foreign articles, as
a rule, must pass through Chungking, and be re-shipped at
this divisional point. In this regard, Chungking, being an
open port, is decidedly the most important city in Wrest
China. A steamboat service has recently been established
between Ichang and Chungking. There are now six steamers,
and trade is so brisk that there will soon be more. Another

104 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

link with the great outside world is the presence of repre
sentatives of commercial concerns from the great nations
of the world. The nations are represented also in Chung
king by Consuls and gunboats. The latter, in the case of
the belligerents, are, of course, dismantled, but in any case
their office is only that of the neighborly policeman, calling
around to see. As a matter of fact, the mass of the Chinese
rather welcome these gunboats, as they tend to prevent dis
turbance. Connected in this way with the great beyond,
Chungking is fast becoming a brisk Western-like city, some
what like Shanghai, right in the midst of the most Chinese
province of China. The people of Chungking have bitterly
realized how close their connection was with the outside
world, and how dependent they were, since the war has
diminished foreign trade, and provincial disturbances
has destroyed local commerce as well.

MANUFACTURES: — In addition to the large business con
cerns which are managed by both Chinese and foreigners,
manufacturing establishments are being erected. A glass
factory, a silk factory, and a match factory are but the pre
cursors of larger enterprises to come, for Chungking is by
nature and by fortune destined to be a manufacturing centre.
MISSIONARY EFFORT: — The eastern section of the city, the
suburb of Dan-Dze-Si', and a share in the Union School out
side the city, is our urban field of work. There are three
other missions, — the Methodist Episcopal, the Friends, and
the China Inland, — at work in Chungking in addition to the
representatives of the Scotch and American Bible Societies.
Chungking naturally has fallen heir to some of the wider
forms of missionary effort, though not to so great an extent
as Chengtu. Chungking has the Secretary and Executive
of the West China Religious Tract Society, as well as sev
eral institutes for reaching the better classes. One of these
is conducted by our Mission.

THE LANCHWAN DISTRICT: — The main centre of our
Chungking outstation field is Lanchwan, about three days
distant, and bordering on the province of Kweichow. This

THE FIELD

105

THE CITY OF CHUNGKING FROM ACROSS THE RIVER.

place is the chief city in the southern portion of the province.
The surrounding country is peopled almost entirely by farm
ers whose large water-wheels used in the irrigation of the
fields give the country a most picturesque appearance. The
people are perhaps not quite so prosperous as in other parts
of the province, but they are just as susceptible to mission
ary work. Apart from the rice, the main productions are
vegetable oil, rhubarb, and sulphur. Immense quantities
of the two latter commodities are shipped away. The city
itself is about the size of Chungchow, and the surrounding
country is dotted with numerous villages which are quite
crowded on market days. This city was one of the first
outstations opened by the L. M. S.

Owing to its close proximity to the Kweichow border
Lanchwan is frequently disturbed by robber bands coming
over from the mountainous regions of that province. Near

10(> OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Lanchwan is the mountain of Gin-Fu, nine thousand feet
above sea level, and rivalling Omei in the beauties of its
landscape.

Two main roads lead from Lanchwan to the Yangtse
river. One goes to the small river, bringing the traveller
by boat to Fowchow, the other goes straight to Mutung on the
Yangtse. Mutung is the real port of Lanchwan, and a dis
tributing point for all the surrounding district. Mutung
and U-Tsui T'o (fish mouth bay), twenty miles farther up
the river, are both out-stations of Chungking.

FOWCHOW.

Midway between Chungking and Chungchow is Fow-
chow, opened by the London Missionary Society as an out-
station nearly a quarter of a century ago, and opened as a
central station by our Mission in 1913. Fowchow is situ
ated at the junction of the Yangtse and a tributary flowing
north through Kweichow and southern Szechwan. This
river is navigable for about three hundred miles up from
Fowchow, and is the great commercial highway for all of
that section. Down the river come rafts of timber and
bamboo poles, — the latter for use in the salt wells in the salt-
well areas of Szechwan, — in addition to large quantities of
food stuffs. Strange to note, the boats on this small river
have a most peculiar twist in their back bone. The deform
ity seems to be hereditary. The reason given is that at cer
tain difficult passages in the river this style of boat can more
easily avoid the rocks.

A DISTRIBUTING CENTRE : — Fowchow is of course a large
distributing centre for the district to the south, one of the
greatest commodities being salt. Communication on the
Yangtse is splendid, it being a port of call for the steamboats.
Between this place and Chungking there are only two very
bad rapids, so that Chinese boat traffic has few difficulties
up river, and links Fowchow to Chungking.

OPIUM AND CHARACTER: — Fowchow was formerlv the

THE FIELD 107

great centre for opium, when it came from inland districts
in tremendous quantities. Large numbers of wealthy opium
merchants built godowns and fine dwellings, and the city
and surrounding district Avere humming with apparent pros
perity, until prohibition came in force and business fell with
a crash. One of the most insubordinate places in connection
with stamping out opium was Fowchow, and soldiers had
to be sent down to enforce laAv. In fact, the opium fields
were hoed up and the dealers' heads cut off in some cases
before it was done, and even yet large quantities of the drug
leak through. The distress and poverty which followed on
the stoppage of the trade is one evidence that the prohibition
was comparatively effective. Unfortunately, the distress
was increased by a disastrous fire a few years ago, and more
recently by the disturbed state of the country, but Fowchow
is now commencing to recover herself. It is perhaps not
strange that opium should have soineAvhat the same effect
upon the general characteristics of the people of the place as
idolatry. Until within the last two years Fowchow lias been
anti-foreign in spirit. Now we are glad to know that the
missionaries of our Mission are gaining a strong hold on the
leading people of the place, and a new spirit of friendliness
to the Gospel is growing up.

Fowchow city is extremely crowded. Only one- third of
the population is contained within the Avails; the rest are in
the t\vo suburbs. The city lies parallel with the river along
the bank. At the top of the hill to the rear is our fine
mission property, outside the Avails, but Avell placed to be
adjacent to all the city for work in school, or hospital, or
church. The Canadian Methodist is the only Protestant
missionary society Avorking in the city of FOAVC!IOAV. South
and east of FoAvchow the Roman Catholics are established.
Some idea of their Avork can be gained from the fact that at
the outbreak of the Avar, twenty-eight Roman Catholic
(French) fathers boarded the steamboat at Fowchow for
down river to join their colors. Our four or fiATe workers
look rather feAV when compared with their numbers.

108 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

CHUNGCHOW.

Roughly speaking, the Chungchow District comprises the
three counties of Chungchow, Fengtu and Shihchu. A cor
ner of the Tienchiang county belongs to our Mission, and
also a large section of country forming the south-eastern
portion of Szechwan province. The latter territory includes
four walled cities, Yuyang, Pengshui, Chienchiang, and
Hsiushan. These four counties are very mountainous and are
sparsely inhabited, and owing to the pressing needs of denser
populations closer at hand, have been left practically un
touched up to the present.

SHIHCHU COUNTY is the smallest of the three counties
that more properly constitute our Chungchow District. It
lies to the south of the Yangtse, extending 40-50 miles into
the interior. It is mountainous, with many wooded hills,
and produces a good quality of rice and of wheat flour. The
city of Shihchu itself has about 10,000 people, lies about 25
miles from the Yangtse, is surrounded by high mountains,
and a small river runs past three sides of the city.

FEXGTU COUNTY lies mostly to the north of the Yangtse,
and has over 100 market towns. The city is on the north
bank of the Yangtse approximately midway between the
cities of Chungchow and Fowchow. The population is only
about 10,000, but Fengtu has the distinction, not only in
Szechwan, but throughout all China, of being the CAPITAL OF
HADES!!! In the high temple situated on the top of the hilt
called the " Min Mountain," immense representations have
been set up of the Invisible Emperor and his consort, and
yearly crowds of pilgrims coine from far and near to wor
ship here. In this temple may be bought the passports which
disembodied souls require to enable them to pass [ill barriers
on their way to the spirit world. The narrow mouth of a
very deep pit or cave is shown as the actual entrance to
Hades.

CHUNGCHOW COUNTY lies also on the north side of the
great river. Chungchow city is built on a side of the moun
tain sloping towards the river, and can therefore be seen

THE FIELD

109

almost in its entirety from the decks of passing steamers.
The Mission compounds are located near the upper end of
the city, a position that at once ensures pure air and plenty

CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION

SOUTH-EAST

SZECHWAN

Second Mission Field

175000

Oti'ici 300000 475000

Ch.n,.h., Dl.tr,et 600000

rUCho~ Outlet. . 1200000

r..,lu o.,tn« . 500000

Chungchew D>s1"Ct. • - 800000

L»»««u«n O'ttricl. • • 700 000

4 375 000

CHUNGKING DISTRICT— OUR SECOND MISSION FIELD, TAKEN

OVER FROM THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN 1910.

Dots represent market towns, smaller dots villages.

of exercise from climbing long flights of steps! The city
holds a population of ten to fifteen thousand, and there are
but seventy market towns in the county. The people of the
city fall mainly into three groups: the landed gentry, the
scholar class, and common laborers. The merchant class is

110 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

limited, for trade does not thrive. An exceptionally large
number of the student class have succeeded in entering
official life. This may have been due to the numerous
degrees gained in this county, and this again, if hearsay
counts, is due to the extraordinarily auspicious site, accord
ing to the " feng-shui," which the old examination hall
occupied. It is at the very pulse of the dragon !

PRODUCTS: — The three counties of Chungchow District
produce rice, wheat, corn, rape, wood-oil, hemp, sugar-cane,
and croton, from which the drug croton oil is obtained.
Large quantities of good timber are brought from the well
wooded hills back from the Yangtse. One town is noted for
its pottery and fine matting.

DISASTERS: — The cities of Shilichu and Fengtu have
especially suffered during the last few years from the com
bined effects of fire and flood, revolution and brigandage.
The small river which encircles Shihchu" overflowed its
banks in the summer of 1912, as the result of heavy rains,
and tore its way through the heart of the city, causing an
appalling loss of life and property. Fengtu is built on a low
flat immediately on the bank of the Yangtse, and so near to
the high water mark that it is menaced almost annually by
the rising waters. During the Revolution year, 1911, and
not infrequently since, each of these cities has been partially
destroyed by fire, and the people have been terrorized by
soldiers or brigands or both, while their goods have been
boldly carried away into the mountains.

OPPORTUNITIES: — The three counties of the (Miungchow
District, and other counties as yet untouched, are wholly
within the responsibility of the Canadian Methodist Mission ;
there is no overlapping, and no wasted effort. Ohungchow
city is an educational centre, with a great Government
Middle School, whose students come freely about us, and
are frankly open to all the influences which we can bring
and are bringing to bear upon them. All classes of the
people are friendly, giving a cordial welcome to our hospital,
our schools, and our chapels.

THE FIELD

111

THE BOYS' SCHOOL, CHUNGCHOW.

OPPORTUNITY, EXPANSION, RESPONSIBILITY.

THE PREPARATION OF THE PAST: — The history and de
velopment of the Szechwanese have, we think, peculiarly
fitted them to adopt new ideas. We believe in the order of
God's working, throughout the ages, and the above glance
at their psychological preparation, as well as the review of
their physical condition, may perhaps strengthen that faith,
and encourage us in the hope that God has a great purpose
to fulfil in and through the people of this land. It may, too,
bring home more forcibly to us all our high calling in being
permitted to minister in spiritual things to this section of
the province of Szeclnvan.

ENLARGEMENT OF OUR BORDERS : — The enlargement of the
borders of our field has of course followed an increase of
reinforcements. A history of its extension may be found in
the minutes of our Council and of the West China Missions
Advisory Board. At the Annual Council in the spring of
1907 a committee was appointed to approach the Advisory
Board requesting additional territory in view of the large

112 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

accession of workers expected in our mission and suggesting
Luchow as a natural direction. It was also intimated that
we intended to open Tsung-Ching-Chow, to the west of
Chengtu. The Rev. W. J. Mortimore and Dr. C. W. Service
were appointed to visit the " Nosu " or " Lolo " tribes west of
Kiating, and the Revs. J. L. Stewart, J. Neave, and Dr. R, B.
Ewan a committee to visit the Tibetan tribes west and north
of Chengtu, these committees to report to next Council. At
the same Council a resolution was passed suggesting to our
church the opening of a work in Manchuria as our third
field in the East.

WORK WITH " LOLOS," OR " Nosu " ENDORSED : — The Ad
visory Board met in Chungking shortly after the time of our
Council meeting and passed the following resolution.

(From minutes of Annual Meeting of March, 1907, at Chungking) : —

No. 30 : The following resolution was proposed by R. J. Davidson :
That, in view of the large accession of missionaries which the Cana
dian Mission has received this winter, and their requests for additional
territory, in which they ask permission to commence work in the city
of Luchow, and in which they express their intention to occupy
Tsung-Ching-Chow, and to send men to visit the Lolo territory west
of Kiating; we heartily rejoice with our Canadian Methodist brethren
in this reinforcement to their Mission, and the prospect of further
occupation of the field. This Board accedes to their request, and
recommends that they enter into negotiation with the Missions already
on the field, so that a mutual understanding may be arrived at for the
harmonious working of these districts. This Board is of the opinion
that cities in which there is no resident foreign missionary have, as a
general rule, prior claim upon the various Missions in looking to the
extension of the work. While we rejoice in this advance, we desire to
record that the need for still larger reinforcements to the different
Missions in Szechwan for the better occupation of this great field is still
urgent, and we propose that this need be brought before the various
Missionary Boards. The resolution was adopted.

CONSULTATION WITH A HOME BOARD COMMISSION : — Im
mediately following the meeting of the Advisory Board Dr.
Kilborn and Dr. Endicott, representing the Mission, met
Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Carman, representing the Home
Board, at Shanghai, at the time of the Centenary Mission
ary Conference there. After the c meeting, the thought
seemed to be that any extension should be confined to West
China.

THE FIELD 113

THE TIBETAN TRIBES INCLUDED IN OUR TERRITORY : — At a
" Special " Council meeting in the fall of 1907 the com
mittee that visited the Tibetan Tribes country to the west of
Chengtu in the summer of the year reported. Plans were
laid looking forward to the undertaking of work in those
regions, and from that time on our Mission has considered

itself specially interested in that district. Herewith the
minutes of the Advisory Board anent such proposals :—

(From Minutes of Annual Meeting of February, 1908, at Chengtu) :—

No. 21: Committees representing the C.I.M. and C.M.M. presenting
proposed interests were heard regarding the Border Tribes District
north and west of Kwanhsien.

'No. 22 : Kesolved that this Board greatly rejoices at the desire on the
part of several Missions to carry the Gospel to the Border Tribes, and
earnestly trusts that men and means will be forthcoming for this work.

No. 23: Moved by Bishop Cassels, that, on the suggestion of the
C.I.M., the C.M.M. be at liberty to open work at Wen-Chuan, and
further questions of division of the field be left over.

No. 24: Moved by Dr. Kilborn that Li-Fan be regarded as common
territory.

KWEICHOW AND YUNNAN PROVINCES PRESENT STRONG

APPEAL: — The possibility of opening up work in the prov
inces of Kweichow and Yunnan had been under discussion
at the two Councils of 1907, and in 1908 it was decided to
ask Dr. Kilborn to visit Kweichow and Dr. Endicott to visit
Yunnan. At the Council of 1909 reports were had from
these two committees, and also from the committee appointed
in 1907 to visit the tribes to the west of Kiatlng. It was
decided not to undertake the Nosu work, but to take imme
diate steps to enter Kweichow and Yunnan; in the case of
Yunnan to commence with work at the capital of that prov
ince; in the case of Kweichow to begin with opening work
in Chungking and Fuchow. However, as the negotiations
with the L.M.S. for the taking over of their territory were
already under way, it was stated that the acceptance of this
latter field would be our first duty.

THE TAKING OVER OF THE GREAT L. M. S. DISTRICT:—
The extent of the territory taken over from the London
Missionary Society has already been described. It may be of

114 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

interest to add the following minute from an early meeting
of the Advisory Board.

(From minutes of February, 1904, held at Chungking) : —
No. 23: Kesolved that, having heard from Mr. Claxton the plea of
the L.M.S. in favor of their occupation of Wanhsien with the C.I.M.,
under the proviso that the L.M.S. would confine their operations to the
city, the riverside, and the district south of the river, the Board
approves the occupation of Wanhsien by the L.M.S.

OUR MISSION POLICY: — If the foregoing description of
our ten stations indicates to some extent how the field
affects our work and policy, it will also show that the extent
of our field was largely determined by outside factors, viz.,
by the strength and development of the missionary spirit in
the home church ; by the fact that we came late into the field
of foreign missionary activities in China, Avhen nearly every
province had been to some extent occupied; and by the fact
that our development took place at a time when newer con
ceptions of the missionary question seemed to call for more
thorough occupation of fields. Hence we have not, like many
other churches of our own strength, chosen fields in four or
five different lands. We have not, like some of the larger
churches, instituted lines of strategic stations to belt the
globe, to stir one with the conception of the world-
imperialism of the Kingdom of God. We have not, like one
great Mission in China, entered nearly every province of the
nation. We have rather accepted what we consider to be a
reasonable share of responsibility for the evangelization of
Szechwan; and, if there is any advantage from being able to
concentrate on one district, if there is any advantage from
working in a field of splendid physical conditions and among
a people of high personal qualities, then we have one of the
greatest of opportunities in one of the choicest mission fields
of the world.

SURE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE SERVICE: — Nor by thus
limiting ourselves territorially have we cut ourselves off
from our place in the missionary body of the world. The
very fact of a more intensive policy gives to us an interest
that might not exist were our one hundred workers scattered

THE FIELD 115

throughout five fields instead of one, and will allow us, it is
to be hoped, to make at least some contribution as a Mission
toward the solution of the problems now facing the mission
ary bodies throughout the earth. In our policy we believe
in concentration, but let us not forget that, practically, we
are still a long, long way from doing justice to our field in
point of the number of our workers. In Korea the responsi
bility of the workers of all denominations combined is only
slightly greater, — if the population of the two fields be com
pared, — than that of the Canadian Methodist Mission in
West China. The first Mission in Korea was opened nine
years before ours in China, but in 1909 they had a combined
foreign force of about three times the number we had at that
time. Had we the same number of workers, might we not
expect in time the same marvellous results? Behind all
great missionary development is an invisible background.
In Korea it was influenced by the political situation, which,
while most unfortunate, has undoubtedly been a powerful
factor in the turning of the masses of Koreans to seek (fod.
We devoutly hope that such political conditions may never
exist in Szechwan, but we do hope that strong school work,
constant preaching, beneficent healing, and the sowing of
literature, may, under the blessing of God, create the con
stituency and background necessary to make an enthusiastic
feeding ground for countless numbers, .the first fruits of
whom even now are gathering into the Church of Christ on
our West China field. " Lift up your eyes and look on the
fields; for they are white already to the harvest."

(In addition to the help received from our missionaries,
I have received assistance in the preparation of this paper
from books by Sir Alexander Hosie, Mr. Broomhall, and
others.— B. O. J.)

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

TIBET.

THE PROVINCE OF KWEICIIOW.
THE PROVINCE OF YUNNAN.
ABORIGINAL TRIBES.

The Miao Tribes of Kweichow and Yunnan.

The Chungkia Tribes of Kweichow and Yunnan.

The Nosu of Szechwan.

The Nosu of the Three Provinces.

The "Eighteen Tribes" of North-west Szechwan.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS
THE KEY. JAMES NEAVE.

" It is a startling and solemnizing fact that even as late
as the twentieth century the Great Command of Jesus
Christ to carry the Gospel to all mankind is still so largely
unfulfilled." Thus runs the opening sentence of the World
Missionary Conference Report, 1910. It goes on to say: "It
is a ground for great hopefulness that, notwithstanding the
serious situation occasioned by such neglect, . . . the study
of the reports of hundreds of discerning missionaries has
convinced the members of the Commission that the Christian
Church has at the present time a wonderful opportunity to
carry the Gospel simultaneously to all the non-Christian
world, and they are also profoundly impressed with the
urgency of the present situation. ... It is possible
to-day to a degree far greater than at any time in the past to
give the Gospel to all the non-Christian world. . . . The
whole world is remarkably accessible. Improved means of
communication have within the past two decades been spread
like a great network over nearly all of the great spaces of the
unevangelized world, or are to-day being projected over
those regions. . . . The minds of the people in most
countries are more open and favorable to the wise and
friendly approach of the Christian missionaries than at any
time in the past. ... In nearly every part of China there
are signs that the stolid indifference and the proud aloofness
of the past are giving way. Notwithstanding the opposition
manifested by some of the officials and other influential men,
there is among the people in general a large measure of open-
minded ness to what the teachers from the West may have to
offer. The native mind seems to be clearer as to the aims
and motives of the missionary. This does not necessarily

119

120 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

imply that there is a higher valuation put upon Christianity,
but it does mean that there is certainly less hostility towards
its representatives. This is due chiefly to the removal of
ignorance, prejudice, and superstition by the dissemination
of knowledge, and to the influence of the lives and teaching
of the missionaries. A missionary writing from a province
which until recently was one of the most exclusive of China,
says that he could not ask for greater friendliness than that
with which he now meets from all classes of the people. He
expresses the opinion that in no land is there greater liberty
for the preaching of the Gospel. . . . When in the history
of our religion has the Christian Church been confronted
with such a wide opportunity as the one now before her in
the non-Christian world as a whole? As always, opportunity
spells responsibility, and this unparalleled openness comes
to us as a great test and trial of the reality and the living
strength of our faith, and of our capacity for comprehensive
Christian statesmanship and generalship."

THE DAY OF OPPORTUNITY HAS FULLY COME: — I trust I
may be pardoned for making such a lengthy quotation, but
it seems so apropos and so weighty that I cannot refrain
from inserting it. We may surely gather from it that the
day of missionary opportunity is fully come : the time is ripe :
the doors are not merely ajar, but open wide. Notwith
standing this, there are parts of God's vineyard here in
West China which have been largely neglected, and the soil
of which has even now been barely scratched.

LANDS AND TERRITORIES UNOCCUPIED YET CONTIGUOUS:—
In respect of such lands in contiguity to our own West
China mission field, there are two or three large sections of
territory, and at least one country, towards which the atten
tion, the thoughts, and the prayers of our missionaries have
on more than one occasion turned, and for the evangelization
of which we have made certain preliminary plans and carried
out a certain amount of investigation, involving not a little
expense.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

121

KING SOH, CHIEF OF THE TIBETAN HILL TRIBES, WITH HIS SON.

TIBET.

Although the laud of Tibet has not entered very largely
into the purview of our Mission as a likely field for work,
yet, in an article such as this is, a brief reference to it and to
its people may not be out of place, since its dark isolation
presents an insistent challenge to the messenger of the

122 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Cross. Moreover, our Mission Press prints not a little of the
literature which finds its way into the interior of that mys
terious land, so, although not exactly contiguous to our
present field, it is clearly not so far distant as to be elim
inated in the conception of possible fields for future mission
enterprise on the part of our Church.

THE LHASSA ROAD: — Directly west of us lies the great
highway connecting Chengtu, the capital of Szechwan, with
Lhassa, " the place of the gods/' the capital of that remote,
bleak, dark, mysterious and inscrutable, yet magnificently
grand, land of the lamas. Passing through, among others,
the cities of Tachienlu, 8,349 feet above sea level, Litang
(13,234), and Batang (8,184), the distance by road from
Chengtu to the frontier is reckoned, according to a Consular
report, at 2,400 li, and to Lhassa 6,105 U, or about 600 and
1,500 miles respectively.

A BRITISH CONSUL'S REPORT: — " By this road travel the
Chinese Imperial residents for Tibet, occupying several
months on the journey; along it devout pilgrims, eager to
look upon the face of the Dalai Lama, advance, some by
continuous genuflections and prostrations, taking years to
reach their goal ; and over it dash Imperial couriers, who by
changing horses at the post stations and travelling night and
day, are able to carry messages from Lhassa to the nearest
telegraph office at Tachienlu — some 5,185 7f, or 1,300 miles —
in less than twenty days. By this road, too, a considerable
part of the trade between Western China and Eastern and
Southern Tibet is slowly and laboriously conveyed on the
backs of pack animals. It is a road barred by numerous
mountain ranges, whose lofty passes inspire terror in the
breasts of the superstitious wayfarers, who at each successive
crossing give vent to their pent-up feelings in muttering the
well-known prayer, ' Om mani padme hum/ and with joy
ous shouts of ' Hla so, hla so,' lay each a stone as a thank-
offering to the gods of the Obo, or cairns, which dot the
summits and represent the offerings of many weary travel
lers. This road, as far west as Batang, has been traversed

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 123

by not a few Europeans ; but, comparatively well- worn as it
is, it still possesses a charm, leading, as it does, to much that
is very imperfectly known."

THE PEOPLE :— Writing of this people, one traveller says :
"Physically the Tibetans are a much finer race than the
Chinese. It is rare to meet an undersized male. They are
tall, lithe, and wiry, and, except among the lamas, who lead
a more sedentary life, there is an absence of obesity. Their
magnificent climate, outdoor life, and abundance of exercise
make men of them. They carry gun and sword in defence
of caravan, or when called upon to form an escort, and they
shoot with wonderful precision, considering the weapon with
which they are armed."

TIBETAN FASHIONS: — Speaking of Tibetan fashions, and
contrasting these with the Chinese, he says : " Mingling with
the usual blue cotton and silk-clad Chinese inhabitants are
the dull-red and grey woollen-gowned Tibetan men and
women, moving with that free and easy gait unknown to
their Chinese neighbors. In place of the thick-soled shoes
and deformed feet, there is the long Tibetan boot reaching
to the knee, with sole of soft hide, and uppers and tops of
grey and colored woollen cloth respectively. . . . The
gowns, which hang to the ankle, are sometimes replaced by
goat or sheepskin of a similar pattern. They are loose and
capacious, so that the upper part of the gown above the
girdle which encircles the waist is, in the absence of pockets,
used for stowing away the inevitable wooden teacup or bowl,
and other odds and ends of daily requirement. The usual
head-dress of the Tibetan male is a queue wound round the
head and ornamented in front with white rings of stone or
glass in addition to large silver rings set with coral. He
often wears a large silver ear-ring with long silver and coral
pendant in his left ear. His queue is usually stuffed with
hair other than his own."

TIBETAN WOMEN:— The Tibetan woman is thus de
scribed: "Many of the Tibetan and half-breed ladies wore
long silk and satin gowns held in by silk sashes, usually of

124 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

a yellow color, and long red-topped boots. In many cases
gold had taken the place of the usual silver ear-rings, chains,
brooches, rings, and bracelets, and added to the charm of
the many beautiful women there assembled, for Tibetan
ladies, when clean and well-dressed, as they were on this
occasion, will take rank with their European sisters. Level,
dark-brown eyes, finely-cut features, an excellent carriage
and sprightliness of manner distinguish them from the timid
and insipid Chinese. The Tibetan woman is not afraid or
ashamed to give vent to her feelings in peals of merry
laughter. The half-breed, too, has inherited much of the
good looks of the Tibetan, and follows her mother as regards
dress and manner. In a land where each family devotes one
or even two of its sons to the priesthood, female infanticide is
unheard of, and woman is a very valuable asset. She is the
life, the mainspring, of the Tibetan household. She milks
the cattle before they are sent out to graze in the early
morning and on their return in the evening. This done, she
slings the empty wooden water butt, some 2l/2 feet long by
18 inches or more in diameter, on her back and runs off to
the nearest stream for the day's water supply. Filling the
butt by means of a birch-bark baler, she balances it on her
back, the bottom resting on an adjustable pad of cloth or
fibre, and the upper part kept in position by a rope or raw
hide thong encircling butt and chest. This visit to the stream
she repeats several times during the morning, storing the sup
ply in a large round wooden vat. She makes the butter (an
important article of food in a country whose altitude defies
the growth of oil plants, and where the difficulties of trans
port are prohibitive) in the wooden churn of our forefathers,
without, however, that care and cleanliness which they
bestowed upon it. She prepares the food, she weaves the
cloth, and she attends to the many other duties of the house
hold, besides engaging, when necessary, in the usual outdoor
work of the farm."

A TIBETAN HOUSE:— A Tibetan house is thus described :—
' The building is square or oblong, with walls about thirty

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

125

feet high, and from eighteen inches to two feet thick, built
entirely of brown stone or mud. There is more solidity than
beauty about the structure. . . . The basement, which is
windowless, is invariably the byre and stable combined,
and in the lower part of each pillar supporting the upper
story a hole is drilled, giving passage to a rope for tying up

W% >c'^4&^\,,^ '

PRAYER DISK PROM TIBETAN PRAYER WHEEL.

the cattle overnight. . . . Running along one side of the
roof, in country houses at any rate, there is another flat-
roofed building open in front, with wooden pillars. This is
the granary, where sheaves and grain are protected from the
inclemency of the weather. . . . Here the juniper or
other green branches are burned as incense in the early
morning, and here too are usually planted one or more
poles with fluttering prayer-flags. . . . With the excep
tion of one or two tables about a foot high, there is no furni
ture in a Tibetan house. The inmates sit and sleep on the
floor, which, in the living rooms, is usually boarded. As a
rule there is only one large bedroom, where the inmates

120 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

sleep huddled together under a mass of fur clothing. In
warm weather they sleep on the roof, and I have frequently
seen children emerging half-naked from what I took to be
clothing being aired. . . . Not a nail is used in the con
struction of the house."

TIBETAN RELIGION : — John Claude White, C.I.E., Political
Resident for the State of Sikhim (farther India), in his
book, " Sikhim and Bhutan," writing of the religion of these
people, says : " Their religion is an offshoot of Buddhism.
Most of the tenets of Buddha have been set aside, and those
retained are lost in a mass of ritual, so nothing remains of
the original religion but the name. The form of worship has
a curious resemblance in many particulars to that of the
Roman Catholic Church. On any of their high holy days
the intoning of the Chief Lama conducting the service, the
responses chanted by the choir, sometimes voices alone,
sometimes to the accompaniment of instruments, where the
deep note of the large trumpet strangely resembles the roll
of an organ, the ringing of bells, burning of incense, the
prostrations before the altar, the telling of beads and burn
ing of candles, the processions of priests in gorgeous vest
ments, and even the magnificent altars surmounted by
images and decorated with gold and silver vessels, with
lamps burning before them, even the side chapels with the
smaller shrines where lights burn day and night, add to the
feeling that one is present at some high festival in a Roman
Catholic place of worship. I have been present at the ser
vices on feast days in the temples of Sikhim, Bhutan, and in
Lhassa, and no great stretch of imagination was required to
imagine myself in a Catholic cathedral in France or Spain,
especially the latter."

TIBETAN CIVILIZATION : — Edmund Candler, war corres
pondent, in the course of an account of his experiences with
the recent British Expeditionary Force to Lhassa, says :
" The Tibetans are not the savages they are depicted. They
are civilized, if medieval. The country is governed on the
feudal system. The monks are the overlords, the peasantry

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 127

their serfs. The poor are not oppressed. They and the
small tenant farmers work ungrudgingly for their spiritual
masters, to whom they owe a blind devotion. They are not
discontented, though they give more than a tithe of their
small income to the Church. It must be remembered that
every family contributes at least one member to the priest
hood so that, when we are inclined to abuse the monks for
consuming the greater part of the country's produce, we
should remember that the laymen are not the victims of class
prejudice, the plebeians groaning under the burden of the
patricians, so much as the servants of a community chosen
from among themselves, and Avith whom they are connected
by family ties. No doubt the lamas employ spiritual terror
ism to maintain their influence and preserve the temporal
government in their hands; and when they speak of their
religion being injured by our intrusion, they are thinking, no
doubt, of another unveiling of mysteries, the dreaded age of
materialism and reason, when little by little their ignorant
serfs will be brought into contact with the facts of life, and
begin to question the justness of the relations that have
existed between themselves and their rulers for centuries.
But at present the people are medieval, not only in their
system of government and their religion, but in their inquisi
tion, their witchcraft, their incantations, their ordeals by
fire and boiling oil, and in every aspect of their daily life."

MISSIONS AT WORK IN SZECHWANESE TIBET: — TJiere are
but two Missions (if we except the French Catholic Mis
sions), namely, the China Inland Mission and the Foreign
Christian Mission, at work in the section of country above
described. The China Inland Mission's Tibetan head
quarters is Tachienlu, and that of the Foreign Christian
Mission is Batang. The population is so scattered and
sparse (Tachienlu has only some 9,000, Litang some 5,000,
and Batang some 2,000 inhabitants) that one or two strong
bases are probably all that are necessary. Another base has
been formed at Dawo, but there is no missionary there at
present. I say " strong bases," advisedly. They should have

128 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

two evangelistic workers, two medical workers (two doctors,
I mean, of course, for a doctor and a nurse would not fill the
bill), and an educational worker. One of the evangelistic-
workers and one of the medical men (or women) should
itinerate at those periods of the year when the weather is
least severe, visiting all the outlying villages and hamlets
within range. Regular dates should be arranged on which
these visits are to take place, and Avhile patients wait
for the doctor, the preacher would have a splendid oppor
tunity presented to him. A numerous clientele and a grate
ful one would thus very soon be established. I would lay
emphasis on the word " grateful/' for my own experience
goes to show that these people are very grateful indeed, and
endeavor to show it in every way possible, returning presents
of real value for very small benefits received.

MEDICAL MEN, THE KEY: — I should lay especial emphasis
on the medical work. I am of opinion that nothing will
prove such a valuable handmaid to the Gospel as the work
of a " beloved physician/' While the lamas have quite a little
skill, and pretend to a great deal more, yet one has found
the very simplest of diseases utterly and shamefully
neglected. What a field for the Christian physician this
offers, and what an " open sesame " he possesses in the
shape of his scientific knowledge of the cause and cure of
disease !

EDUCATION ALSO STRATEGIC : — Then there is the oppor
tunity for the educational worker. The only schools amongst
these people are the monasteries. There the young tribes
man gets all the schooling he ever receives, and even so it is
only the boys who look forward to becoming lamas and enter
as neophytes that are given this schooling, and of course it is
strictly limited to such knowledge as shall be useful in their
profession. What an opportunity this for the schoolman!
He would be breaking virgin ground, and although he would
have stout rivals in the shape of the lamas, yet none could
rival him in respect of the knowledge that he could put at
the disposal of the children.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS
THE PROVINCE OF KWEICHOW.

129

One of the points or doors to which our Mission has at
one time or another directed attention is the province of

A MOTHER OF THE TRIBES COUNTRY.

Kweichow. In the year 1908 we appointed a deputation con
sisting of the present Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Kilborn, to
visit and report upon the need and opportunities for work in
that province. I quote the following from his report : — " Of
the seventy-three walled cities in the province of Kweichow

130 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

( twelve of which are of prefectural rank ) , it may be noticed
that the larger number are in the middle or northern part.
Moreover, the only cities occupied in this north-eastern por
tion of the province are Tsunyi and Chenyuen-fu. The first
of these is ten days by chair from Chungking, the
second is in direct water communication with Hankow
and Yochow, through the Tungtlng Lake. Moreover, this
latter route is highly recommended as being quite safe,
and as giving access to this part of the Yangtse. There
is still another route, however, into this .north-eastern
portion of the province, namely, that by the city of
Fowchow, a large city situated on the Yangtse, three
days east of Chungking, at the junction of a branch
flowing from the south. This branch is navigable from Fow
chow all the way to Szlanfu, and, for at least a part of the
year, as far as Shihchien-fu. The first of these is a China
Inland Mission outstation, one of the two which they have
opened in this region. From this prefectural city of Szlan
then, as a base, there would be easily accessible all the ten
or twelve walled cities of this part of Kweichow, with their
villages, and this seems to me to be therefore the very best
route to be taken by our Mission in entering Kweichow. This
would necessitate, I should say, the opening of a station in
Chungking."

Since the above was written, of course, our Mission has
acquired plant both in Chungking (which the Secretary then
thought would be necessary in order satisfactorily to under
take work in the province of Kweichow) and Fowchow.
From this latter city, in his opinion, ten or twelve walled
cities are not distant more than six or ten days. He men
tions that they may be reached by river from Fowchow, that
is, presumably, by means of the Chien Kiang, called at other
points the Kung Tan, and the Wu Kiang.

THE NEED : — So much for the accessibility of this sphere
of wrork. Now as to its need. I again quote from the report
of the deputation :—

" The only Mission at work in the province is the China
Inland Mission. They have six stations, four of which I

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 131

visited, and twenty to thirty outstations. They have between
two and three thousand baptized members, all bnt two or
three hundred of whom are aborigines. This Mission does
evangelistic work almost solely. They have no medical work
whatever, and only one or two small elementary schools.
There is not a medical man or woman in the province, and
only twenty-one missionaries, distributed through six sta
tions. These include both men and women, married and
single. At the time I was in Kueiyang, there were only
Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, and Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Smith there.
. . . Both they and Mr. Portway, of Tsunyi, extended a
most hearty invitation to our Mission to enter Kweichow,
and to open work in both these cities alongside of them.
They will be particularly pleased to welcome medical
workers. But they urged me repeatedly to press upon our
Mission the great need of their field, and the advisability of
our coming to their help as soon as possible."

No INCREASE FOR YEARS IN THE MISSIONARY FORCE : — It
is rather interesting, as well as pathetic, to note that the
number of missionaries mentioned above as composing the
China Inland Mission staff in the province at that time
corresponds exactly with the number as given in the 1916
list of West China missionaries issued by the Advisory Board
of Missions. It goes to show that there has not been any
augmentation of the staff during the best part of a decade.
Indeed, since then several of their oldest and most experi
enced workers have gone to their reward, notably Messrs.
Windsor and Adams. Moreover, since the above report was
written, at least three workers of the United Methodist
Mission (formerly the Bible Christian Mission) have taken
up work within the borders of the province, although their
work lies almost altogether amongst the Miao or tribesmen.

THE POPULATION : — The total area of the province is
given in the Statesman's Year Book as 64,554 square miles,
and its population as 7,669,181, or 118 to the square mile.
According to the Times Gazetteer, the figures are a little
larger, and the late Rev. S. Pollard, of the United Methodist
Mission, in a paper prepared for the West China Conference,

132 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

1908, states that of the total population of Kweichow, which
he gives as roughly eight millions, about five millions are non-
Chinese. We shall take the opportunity later on of dealing
with the non-Chinese element of the population, and in the
meantime merely remark that there would appear to be little
doubt as to the need and the opportunities for work in this
province, nor would our welcome from the Missions already
at work there appear to be by any means in doubt.

THE PROVINCE OF YUNNAN.

In the year 1908 we also appointed a deputation, con
sisting of the present General Secretary, Dr. Endicott, to
visit the province of Yunnan, to " investigate the conditions
of mission work there; and to see whether, in view of the
large accessions of workers, actual and prospective, to our
staff of missionaries, the time had come for us to recommend
to the Home Board an advance into that most needy field. "

The report says, in part:—

UNOCCUPIED AREAS : — " In this province, with a popula
tion of about ten millions, we have a total missionary force
of only twenty men — the majority of whom are married—
and less than ten single women. This number includes those
who are on furlough, as well as those who are actually on the
field. There are only seven cities in the whole province in
which foreign missionaries reside. Taking a line running
directly east and west through Yunnanfu, the capital of the
province, then all the mission stations will be either ou this
line or north of it. Not a single station will be found south
of that line. Travelling by way of Suifu, and proceeding to
Burmah through the province, we pass through five of these
stations, viz., Chaotong, Tongchuan, Yunnan-fu, Tali-fu, and
Bhamo. The average distance between these stations is
about ten travelling days. The other two stations are on the
main road leading from Yunnan-fu to the province of Kwei
chow, viz., Kutsing and Pingi. Again, taking a line running
from Tongking through Yunnan-fu, Ningyuan-fu, and Ya-
chow, then all the territory to the west of this line will be

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 133

found to include within it only the one station of Tali-fu.
That is, there is at least a quarter of a million square miles
of territory without a missionary of the Gospel. As a matter
of fact, many thousands of square miles of this territory have
never been trodden by the foot of a white man. It is full of
the habitations of cruelty and superstition.

No INCREASE IN STAFF IN SIGHT : — " Medical work is car
ried on at only two stations in the province, viz., at Chao-
tong and at Tali-fu, and in each instance the work carried on
is small, for want of more adequate equipment. The two hos
pitals are about a month's journey apart. Educational work
is carried on at only one station, viz., Chaotong, the city
nearest to the Szechwan boundary. One of the most sadden
ing aspects of the situation is that the missionary staff is
almost stationary in regard to numbers. The number of
workers amongst the Chinese has not increased appreciably
in the last ten years. Although there have been such
remarkably encouraging results among the Hwa Miao, yet
there are still but two stations in which work is carried on
amongst the tribesmen. There is very little likelihood of any
serious increase in the staff of the China Inland Mission
workers in the province. This Mission has about reached
the limits of its power of expansion, and is consolidating
the work it has already taken up. In regard to the United
Methodist Mission, there is good reason to hope that the
Mission will be reinforced to some extent in the next few
years, yet the members of this Mission are very pronounced
in their convictions that at least another strong Mission is
urgently needed in the province.

A CHALLENGE TO CANADIAN METHODISM : — " Again, there
is no prospect of any other Mission now at work in West
China taking up work in Yunnan. The only Mission that
would even seriously consider the question is the American
Baptist Mission, but this is the Mission that has the im
mense Chien-chang valley, lying immediately north of
Yunnan, in its charge. This district ought to have many
times the present staff of workers in order to be effectively

134 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

worked. Moreover, this Mission has work in several differ
ent parts of China, and although it came into Szechwan at
the same time as we did, its strength in workers is no
greater than it was ten years ago. ... In the providence
of God our Mission has been established in West China, and
equally providential does it seem that we have not likewise
gone to other parts, but have concentrated in that part of
the Empire which older Missions so naturally neglected.
Thus we have given to us one of the supreme opportunities
of the Christian centuries to affect in a great and vital way
such a large section of the human family. Here, as perhaps
nowhere else in the world, is given us a field of immense
magnitude, and one that apparently will not be worked
unless we do it. We believe that no greater opportunity
will ever be given our Church than is now presented in West
China. By the grace of God, it will be impossible to say
fifty years hence that there are scores of millions of people
in any section of China, or of the world, still unevangelized.
But this is true to-day in West China, and that it is true is
surely sufficient cause to move our whole Church to make
an endeavor worthy of God.

RECOMMEND WORK BE OPENED IN YrxxAX-Fu: — "We
therefore recommend that our Board be urged to take steps
at an early date to open up work in the province of Yunnan,
and that we begin work at the capital of the province, and
gradually work out from this city as a centre in whatever
directions may seem to be most urgent and advisable. In
view of the strategic and growing importance of the capital,
we recommend that work be taken up here on evangelistic,
medical and educational lines.

EXPERIENCED WORKERS BE SENT : — " Wre recommend that
at least five experienced workers from our present staff of
missionaries in Szechwan be sent to open the work there, in
order that the work may be begun on a strong basis. The
language spoken in Szechwan is readily understood in Yun
nan, so that there would be no difficulties on that score,
while it is of the greatest consequence that men of

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 135

experience be there to guide the work in its early stages, so
that the best possible impression be made upon the people
from the very beginning, and in order that no great delay be
experienced in getting the work started."

THE MISSIONARY FORCE DIMINISHING: — The report gives
the total missionary force as twenty men and less than ten
single women. According to the Advisory Board of Mis
sions' list of West China missionaries for 1916, there are
but twenty-two all told; or, if we include the British and
Foreign Bible Society's agent at Yunnan-fu, twenty-three,
not including wives. This would go to show that the mis
sionary force has not simply remained stationary, but very
seriously diminished in numbers, and this latter number
includes all the missionaries of both Missions working
amongst the tribesmen. This appears to constitute a very
serious state of things, and the outlook for the future of
mission work in this province would seem to be very black
indeed.

POPULATION: — The above report gives the total popula
tion of the province as ten millions. The Statesman's Year
Book gives it as 11,721,576, the total area, according to the
same authority, being 107,969 square miles, thus giving a
population of one hundred and eight to the square mile.
The late Rev. S. Pollard, in the paper above referred to,
gives the population as approximately twelve millions, but
he claims that seven millions of these are non-Chinese.

THE MIAO TRIBES.

The two reports above dealt with refer to the non-Chinese
population of these two provinces, and we propose now to
devote some attention to a description of these peoples, who,
according to one of the above-mentioned authorities, con
stitute seven millions of the population.

SEVENTY DIFFERENT TRIBES : — In a paper read before the
1899 West China Missionary Conference, the Rev. S. Clarke,
of the China Inland Mission, said that, according to a Chi
nese authority, " there are seventy different tribes of Miao

136 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

in Kweichow." Mr. Clarke divides the Miao into at least
three different tribes, viz., the Heh (Black) Miao; the Hwa
(Flowery) Miao; and the Ya-chioh (Magpie) Miao. He
also mentions two other tribes, called the Hung-tsang Miao
and the Ch'ui Miao. He says: —

DIFFERENT DIALECTS: — "The dialects spoken by the vari
ous tribes are manifestly differentiations from a common
stock, but some of the dialects vary so much that a man of
one tribe is, in some cases, quite unintelligible to a man of
another tribe. Thus the Heh Miao and Hwa Miao are as
much unlike as English and German. The Ya-chioh Miao
is something between the Heh Miao and the Hwa Miao, hav
ing some words resembling Heh Miao, some resembling Hwa
Miao, and some quite different to either. They have no
written language. So far as I have observed, the variations
in dialect correspond with the distance of the tribes from
one another. . . . The Heh Miao are found four days
east of Kuei-yang-fu, and from that point east and south
to the borders of the province. In this region hundreds of
thousands of them are to be found. On some of the smaller
rivers which flow thence to Hunan all the boatmen seem to
be Heh Miao."

CONDITIONS OF LIFE: — He goes on to describe the condi
tions of life among the Miao, dealing mainly with the Heh
Miao, and says :—

" The Heh Miao houses I have seen are built exactly like
the houses of the agricultural Chinese. They live in ham
lets and villages of from several to several hundred families,
and most of the families forming a hamlet or village are of
the same surname. As among the Chinese, persons of the
same surname do not marry. They say there are no paupers
or beggars among them; most of them are comfortably off,
and some of them are comparatively rich and well-to-do.
Though far the greater proportion of them live by farming,
some of them are artisans, and some engage in trade, open
ing stalls and going from market to market."

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

137

TRIBAL ORIGINS : — He tells us that " the Heh Miao always
assert that they came from Kiangsi five or six hundred years
ago. The Hwa Miao claim to be natives of the soil, or to

have come from the west. The Ya-chioh claim to have been
in the land before the Chung-chia and Chinese. They say
their ancestors originally came from Tung-clmi (Annam),

138 OUR WP^ST CHINA MISSION

first to Szechwan, thence to Yunnan, and from Yunnan to
Kweichow."

OPPORTUNITY : — He continues : — " There is beyond all
question an open door and a wide field of opportunity among
the Heh Miao. . . .If there were men and women to
take up the work, with Pang-hai as a starting point, ....
all the Heh Miao of south-eastern Kweichow might grad
ually be reached and Missions established among them.
Their language has been reduced to writing, dictionaries and
primers have been made, a catechism and hymns have been
translated for them." In the discussion which took place
at the close of Mr. Clarke's paper it came out that there are
six tones in the Miao language.

It will be seen from the above that Mr. Clarke deals with
the Miao in the province of Kweichow, and particularly with
the Heh Miao branch of these people.

THE FLOWERY MIAO : — I take the following from the late
Rev. S. Pollard's paper prepared for the West China Mis
sionary Conference, 1908, on the Hwa Miao, the other great
branch of the Miao people. He says : —

" The next tribe I wish to write about is one of the many
Miao tribes living in Kweichow and North Yunnan. The
part of this people which I have come in contact with live
in the sub-prefecture of Weining and in the north-east of
Yunnan. These people are almost the reverse of the Nosu.
They own no land, and are the lowest race of people I have
met with in China. As tenants of Nosu or Chinese land
lords, they have occupied a very menial position for genera
tions. In addition to rent, they are liable to render service
to their landlords whenever called on to do so. Their life
has been hard, and their houses are mostly but wretched
huts, wrhere an Englishman would not keep a pig. In spite,
however, of poverty and oppression, the people are increas
ing in numbers, and emigrating to other parts. They have
no written language. Formerly they had . . . But
while there is no written language, there is a rich store of
tradition, w^hich some day will be a welcome addition to the

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 139

world's folklore. The Hwa Miao have no idols and no
temples. They are terribly afraid of demons; and wizards
and witches, with all their baneful influence, have existed
in large numbers. Ancestral worship also exists in a crude
form. Oxen are sacrificed to the spirits of the dead, and at
such times there is great feasting, accompanied by much
drunkenness and immorality.

BURIAL CUSTOMS : — " The Hwa Miao also worship groves
of trees, which are frequently of oak, and in this worship
sacrifice dogs to the spirit of the trees. The dead are buried
without a great deal of ceremony, boards lining the bottom
of the grave taking the place of coffins. No headstones or
other marks are used to distinguish the graves, and no
periodical visits are paid to them. It is very difficult to
distinguish a Miao graveyard from an ordinary wooded hill.

RESIST DEBASING CUSTOMS : — " Footbinding is unknown.
Offspring are never destroyed, and only on very rare occa
sions are children sold to Nosu or Chinese by poor parents.
The Hwa Miao have also the enviable distinction of having
resisted the opium curse as no other tribe has. Among
several thousand Miao I have met only two or three opium
smokers.

VIRTUES AND VICES: — "In a census of two hundred vil
lages, we found 2,241 families with 5,927 males and 5,693
females, so that the males exceeded the females in number.
The women take as prominent a place as the men. In the
language it is always female and male, mother and father,
bride and bridegroom, the woman being mentioned first.
There is full liberty given to the woman, who takes her full
share in all occupations of farming or home life. The rela
tions between the sexes are quite free and unrestrained.
The two principal vices are drinking and immorality — un
holy twins. In most villages, a communal house of ill-fame
existed, where many of the women and young girls spent
much of their time. In nearly all cases these buildings were
put up by the girls, and served the purpose of a kind of
village club. The result of this immorality is that disease

140 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

of the most contagious kind exists, which is doing untold
harm.

THE EFFECT OF CHRISTIANITY : — " Before Christianity
found out these tribes, many of the old people and the suf
ferers deplored these tribal customs, but discovered no way
of changing them. What they failed to do, Christ with His
healing touch is doing, and doing rapidly. Two-thirds of
these village clubs have been destroyed in the districts where
mission work has been carried on, and drinking has declined
very much.

FRIENDS AT LAST: — "The story of how the Hwa Miao
first found the missionaries at Anshuen has been told else
where. In 1904 a great movement sprang up among those
in the neighborhood of Chaotong. In some way or other
word was carried from village to village that the Miao had
friends at last, and rumour even stated that a Miao king
was coming. This evidently was a perversion of the second
coming of Christ. With strange notions, wild ideas, eager
longings, and persistent demands, the Hwa Miao swooped
down on the mission house at Chaotong, and begged to be
taught to read Christian books. We have had as many as
six hundred at a time sleeping in the mission house at Chao
tong. As there was no Miao literature, Chinese perforce
had to be taught, and teaching Christianity through Chinese
to many of these Miao is like making English the medium for
teaching the wildest of the North American Indians. All
day and almost all night these learners struggled with their
Chinese books. I have known them at it till two in the
morning, and then at 5 a.m. they would start again. No
eight-hours' day work. As soon as possible this state of
affairs was remedied. Mission premises were obtained in
the country, away from Chinese influence; books in Miao
were prepared, some of the Gospels translated, and so grad
ually to the people the truths of Christianity are being
unfolded. The missionary spirit is strong among the people.
Workers have gone out to open up fresh districts, and great
success has attended their efforts.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

141

NOSU VILLAGE WHERE OUR FIRST NATIVE MISSIONARY IS STATIONED.

THE CHANGE : — " The change which Christianity has
wrought has given joy to all. Scores, perhaps, hundreds, of
witches and wizards have come out to confess their sins, and
to ask God to cast out their familiar demons. Immoral
clubs have been destroyed by the girls who built them.
Chinese complain that they cannot now sell their alcohol
to the Miao, who at one time were their best customers.
Men, who formerly have been so drunk that the dogs licked
their faces as they lay on the ground, now preach Jesus.
Homes are being cleaned up. Children are being washed.
Schoolboys are learning to swim. Clothes on Saturdays are
beaten and stamped in the streams that their owners may
come clean on Sundays.'7

I take the following from the report of the deputation to
Yunnan, giving a very interesting description of a visit paid
to the Hwa Miao :—

A VISIT TO WUTING :— " Leaving Yunnan-fu and travel
ling by the same road which we took later in returning to
Szechwan, we reached Wutingchow on the afternoon of the

142 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

third day. I travelled in company with Mr. and Mrs. Allen,
who were also going by Shapushan to a distant station.
The balance of the journey to the top of the mountain was
made in a heavy downpour of rain. The mountain was
shrouded in mist, and our experience in climbing up the
now slippery paths was weird in the extreme.

TRAVELLING TO A THANKSGIVING MEETING : — " From far
and near the tribesmen were gathering for the annual
thanksgiving services, carrying on their backs their offer
ings of money or grain for the sanctuary of God, as well as
the food they required for themselves while they remained
on the mountain. Some of them had been travelling for
days in order to be present. They ate their meals by the
roadside, and lay down at night on the bare hills wherever
darkness overtook them. It was dark when we got to the
top of the mountain, but we were accorded a warm welcome
by Mr. Nicholls and Mr. and Mrs. Porteous, who are in
charge of the work here. This station was opened only two
years ago by Mr. Nicholls. Up to that time the Miao in
that region had been in complete heathen darkness. Having
heard of the wonderful work of God among their people in
the east of the province at Chaotong, they sent word asking
that missionaries be sent to tell them also the glad tidings.

THE SERVICES : — " The services were carried on in a large
barn-like structure, which had been erected by the labours or
gifts of the Miao themselves. The services began on the
night that we arrived, with a special service of prayer and
praise, in which men, women, and children took part with
great heartiness and reverence. The next day, being the
Sabbath, was a great day. Although rain continued to fall
throughout the day, the big building was almost filled from
morning to night. The first service began at seven o'clock
and lasted nearly two hours. After breakfast — which for
the Miao was merely a small bowl of raw oatmeal mixed
with cold water — we had a service of nearly three hours,
and the interest did not flag. We had much singing, some
exhaustive catechising of the whole congregation, prayers
from many of the people, and several addresses.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 143

THE SINGING.—" The singing of these people is some
thing never to be forgotten. It seemed as though there was
a conscious response to the challenge of the Psalmist. < Let
everything that hath breath praise the Lord.' The voices
of the whole congregation rang out in sweet unison, and in
volume i as the sound of many waters.' After a short inter
val for lunch, another service of a similar kind was held;
and after supper, still another one, which lasted until nine
o'clock. I have seen nothing, nor heard of anything, like
this in China, save that among the same tribesmen at Chao-
tong. A great and wholly unexpected work is in progress
here.

BUT A BEGINNING : — " Moreover, it is but a beginning.
Individuals were present at these services from other and
more important tribes; and in some instances, invitations
have been sent to the missionaries, from some of the tribes
not yet touched, to come and open up work among them also.
They have offered to erect buildings at once in which the
work may be carried on. The Hwa Miao are very poor and
much despised by the Chinese. They are considered the
lowest in the social scale of all the tribesmen of West China.
They were not so much addicted to opium, but they loved
alcohol, and sexual immorality was open, uncondemned and
even encouraged. All is now changed, however, on the part
of the Christians, and but a small percentage of the people
are hostile to the new life introduced.

OUR PRESS PRINTS A NEW LANGUAGE : — " They were for
merly without any written language, but Mr. Pollard has
invented a system of writing based on the Cree syllabic.
The people are rapidly and generally learning to read, and
already the gospels of Mark and John are printed in their
tongue. The hymn books used in this remote spot were
printed in our Press and forwarded to them."

THE CHUNGKIA TRIBES.

Before finally leaving the field of opportunity as repre
sented by the Miao peoples in these two provinces of Kwei-
ohow and Yunnan, I would draw attention to the tribe or

144 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

" numerous communities " of Chungkia. The Miao and the
Chungkia are quite different races. Speaking of the latter,
the Kev. S. Clarke says : —

LOCALITIES : — "Large communities of them are to be found
in Yunnan, K\vangsi, and Kweichow. Probably some of
them will be found in Kwangtung. Much valuable informa
tion about these people, as they are found in Yunnan or
Kwangsi, is contained in a report by Mr. F. S. A. Bourne,
of a journey in south-west China, published as a blue book
in 1888. The Chinese generally call them ' T'u ren ' ; about
Kuei-yang and T'u-shan they also call them i Chung-kia.'
The Chinese in calling them ' T'u ren/ evidently regard
them as the original inhabitants of the land, but why they
call them Chung-Ida is not clear. ... In Kweichow
province the Chung-Ida are found in the south, and south
west, and a few of them in the south-east. I imagine that
in the country districts around Kuei-yang there are more
Chung-kia than Chinese. Speaking of the whole province,
there are probably as many Chung-kia in it as there are
Miao of every sort. They are to be found almost everywhere
in southern and south-western Kweichow.

COMMUNITY LIFE : — " They live in hamlets and villages
by themselves, away from the high roads. There are dis
tricts which seem almost wholly occupied by them ; scores of
large and small villages being inhabited by Chung-kia. In
a village the people are nearly all of the same surname.
Although most of them live in the country, some of them are
to be found in the cities, when they engage in trade, and are
not to be distinguished from the Chinese.

WOMEN AND PROGRESS : — " The women have a peculiar
skirt of their own, but for the most part dress much like
Chinese women. As among the Miao, Chung-kia women do
not bind their feet, I have heard it said that most of the
people in T'u-shan-cheo city are Chung-kia, and this is prob
ably true. They pass as Chinese, but, if questioned, are not
ashamed to admit that they are Chung-kia, or < Suei-chia/
as they are also called about T'u-shan. They get along very

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

145

CHUNG-KIA WOMEN.

well with the Chinese, who do not despise them as they do
the Miao. They seem quite equal to the agricultural Chinese
in intelligence and worldly comfort, as do also the Heh
Miao, but all the other Miao tribes I have seen are quite
inferior. There is very good reason to believe that the
Chung-kia are, or were originally, the same as the Shans of
Burmah.

RELIGIOUS RITES — " The Chung-kia have no written lan
guage, and, so far, I have not been able to discover among
them any legends handed down from their ancestors. In
religious matters they seem to do as the Chinese do. They
practise, however, one religious rite which they have not
learned from the Chinese, or at least not from the Chinese

140 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

among whom they are now living. Shortly after the death
of a parent it is their custom to invite all their relations
and friends to a feast, and on that occasion with all due
solemnity to sacrifice a bull. I have asked them repeatedly
why they do this, but all they can say is that it is their cus
tom to do so, and that if they should not do it the 'deceased
would be unhappy."

THE Nosu OK LOLOS.

It will be remembered by some amongst us, perhaps, that
our Mission also authorized a visit to the Nosu (Lolo) coun
try. This also took place in the year 1908. I quote nearly
verbatim from this report; and my own observation and
information as a result of a very interesting journey in the
year 1900 to the city of Yueh-hsi-ting, four stages north of
Ning-yuen-fu (mentioned in the report), confirm the cor
rectness of the report: —

" On account of the impossibility of making direct jour
neys from one section to another, we were unable to visit-
more than a limited part of the country; but, even thus, we
were fortunate in being able to secure not a little infor
mation.

THE Nosu ARE ONLY FOUR DAYS FROM KIATING : — " The
nearest point of the Nosu border is four days from Kiating.
The first day and a half is over a splendid plain, after which .
the road, a good one for the most part, winds in and out
among villages and up and down hills and mountains, with
the lofty ( Golden Summit ? of West China's sacred Mount
Omei often in sight. The highest point reached was an
elevation of about six thousand feet. . . . Our destina
tion was O-pien-ting, a small garrison city on the northern
border of the Nosu country. It has a population of not
more than two thousand, many of whom are soldiers, and
their families. It is not more than one mile in circumfer
ence, and has but one main street. Yet it is a walled city,
and important as a military centre. Here are resident a
high military official and a civil official. The Nosu come

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 147

here regularly to market, as they have no markets of their

own.

SIZE AND SITUATION :— " The northern limit of the coun
try is south of the Tong river, and somewhat south-west of
Kiating. Its greatest length is about two hundred miles,
and runs from north to south. Its greatest width cannot be
more than one hundred miles. The country is said to be
uniformly mountainous.

HARDY MOUNTAINEERS:— "The people are commonly
called ' Independent Lolos.' The Chinese fear and despise
them. They have been gradually driven < from pillar to
post ' until 'they are now confined to a comparatively small
area of country, and their numbers greatly depleted. Yet
these hardy, independent-spirited mountaineers cause the
Chinese no* little anxiety and the constant exercise of vigil
ance. This is evidenced in several ways. Immediately after
crossing the Tong on the morning of the last day's journey,
one realizes he is approaching the country of the aborigines.
In every direction are seen ' tiao fang/ These are big, two-
story structures, the lower half of which is built of stone
for ten or more feet above the ground, while on the top of
this stone wall is a second story, built of woven bamboo, and
plastered, through which are made several look-out aper
tures about a foot and a half square. These are really crude
castles, the purpose of which is defence against the raids of
the Nosu.

THE BORDERLAND :— " Then, again, scattered here and
there along the borders, are located guard-houses, in which
are stationed from a dozen to several hundred soldiers.
There are also several garrison cities located at strategic
points around the border of the country. These all contain
military officials and large contingents of soldiers. Under
each city are a number of Nosu tribes. Each tribe has to
supply a hostage or two, so that in each city there are a
dozen or more hostages kept constantly under surveillance.
The names of the more important of these cities are O-pien-
ting, Ma-pien-ting, Lui-po, Mng-yuen-fu, and Yueh-hsi.

148 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

Twice yearly presents of money and cloth are given to each
tribe by the Chinese officials in the border cities, the object
being to placate the people and to control them with greater
ease.

" BLACK BONES " AND " WHITE BONES " : — " Let us now
come to the people themselves. Unlike the trade-loving
Chinese, they do not collect in market-towns, nor live in
cities; but their houses are thinly scattered over the slopes
of the mountains. For this reason we are inclined to agree
with the conjecture of one official that the entire population
would be probably less than 100,000. These Nosu consist
of two classes : the Black Bones and the White Bones. The
former are the aborigines of the soil; while the latter are
but half-breeds, the offspring of mixed marriages with kid
napped Chinese. The terms ' black ' and ' Avhite ' are used
because the members of the original stock are of a somewhat
darker hue than the others, who are of mixed blood. The
White Bones are slaves, or serfs, belonging to the Black
Bones, and bought and sold at their pleasure. If one could
judge from one tribe, with the chief of which we became
fairly well acquainted, the slave class, or wa-tze (children)
as they are called, greatly outnumber their masters.

PHYSIQUE : — " In physique these people are both taller
and stouter than the average Chinese, and possess a coun
tenance more frank and open. Many of their women are
queenly of carriage. The men are very fond of fighting, so
that inter-tribal warfare is common and greatly reduces the
male population.

OCCUPATIONS : — " As for their mode of living, it is truly
barbaric. Their rude houses are low and squatty. Within,
no furniture is to be found. They sit upon the cold, bare
ground, though they use a rough, bamboo matting to sleep
upon. The little children are often carried about stark
naked on the backs of their parents, even when the weather
is quite cool. The people are fond of making an intoxicating
beverage out of corn, and drink it about as freely as we would
water. Their occupations somewhat resemble those of the

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 149

noinad. As the hills afford plenty of grass, cattle and goats
are easily reared. Their methods of agriculture are ex
tremely crude, and do not go beyond raising meagre crops
of corn and buckwheat. They sometimes have a house high
up among the mountains for summer use, and another for
the winter at a warmer level.

GOVERNMENT : — " There would appear to be no more gov
ernment than is exercised by the heads of the different tribes
over their respective followers. The White Bones, of course,
are in absolute servitude to the Black Bones, who hold the
power of life and death over them.

DISEASE AND WITCHCRAFT : — " They have a written lan
guage, but it is almost entirely monopolized by the sorcerers
in their books of incantations. There are no schools, nor
any system of education. To cure disease they do not use
medicine, but resort to witchcraft. Pulling some stalks of
a certain wild grass, they twist them into various shapes,
and with these (treated as fetishes) they tap the sick per
son's body, while the sorcerer chants his ritual. According
to the gravity of the disease, a pig, a goat, or cow is led in
a circle around the sufferer, and its snout is finally brought
close to his face, whereupon, by an expulsion of breath, he
is supposed to transfer the disease to the animal. The latter
is then killed and eaten.

MARRIAGE AND BURIAL CUSTOMS : — " Their marriage cus
toms are strange. Wives are purchased. Should a man die
without issue, his brother or father may act the part of hus
band with the hope of getting offspring. Not until the birth
of a child does the wife come to live permanently at her hus
band's home. Their burial customs are simple. The corpse
is put on a pile of wood and cremated. The ashes are then
gathered up and put in some kind of a vessel and buried
under a heap of stones, not far from the home. After a
year or two the stones become scattered and the ground is
cultivated as of yore.

" No one will dispute the need of this people. As yet
but little has been done for them by any missionary society."

150 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

ABORIGINES OP WEST CHINA: — Thus the report of our
deputation. The late Rev. S. Pollard, of the United Meth
odist Mission, also gives a very interesting account of this
people in the paper entitled, " Aborigines of West China,"
already referred to above. After stating that the non-
Chinese population of Szechwan proper exceeds five millions,
he says :—

THE Nosu IN THE THREE PROVINCES : — " Excluding the
Mahometans, the rest of these people seem readily to fall
into four groups, Tibetans, Shan, Nosu, and Miao. Possibly
further research may reduce these four groups to three, by
proving that Tibetans and Nosu are two branches of one
great tribe. I have also a strong suspicion that Shan and
Nosu are closely related. In that case, the race question
would be greatly simplified.

INTERRELATION OF BRANCHES : — " The Nosu prevail
chiefly in the eastern half of Yunnan, the north of Kweichow,
and in a great district of Szechwan, from the Yangtse in
the north to the Ta-tu river in the south. There are several
millions of these people. Those in Kweichow and Yunnan
are all subject to the Chinese Government, and are treated
in nearly all respects as if they were Chinese. Most of those
in Szechwan retain their independence, paying yearly a
nominal tribute to the Peking Government. Those in the
south of this independent Nosuland were largely fugitives
from Yunnan when the north-east of that province was
brought under the sway of the .Manehu Dynasty. Preferring
honour and independence to submission, these Yunnan Nosu,
defeated in battle, fled to Szechwan in the seventeenth cen
tury, and found an asylum among their kindred. These
fugitives have ever since kept up their connection with Yun
nan, and the Nosu of the two provinces frequently inter
marry."

Nosu LITERATURE: — In regard to their literature, Mr.
Pollard says in effect :—

" The matter of greatest interest about the Nosu is that
they possess a written language and literature. Here is

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 151

a fascinating field, almost unknown to Westerners. Their
books are almost wholly in the hands of the priestly or
wizard class, and it has been no easy matter to make a col
lection of Nosu books. Many are medical books, not con
taining prescriptions for drugs, however, but rather, strong
curses and vivid incantations, before the recital of which the
demons flee. Other volumes contain a story of the Flood,
with references to the origin of the Nosu. The Nosu char
acters read from top to bottom of the page, beginning at the
left. The books are written, and are handed down from
father to son in the wizard families. Preliminary transla
tions of two or three of the Gospels into Nosu have been
made."

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM : — " The feudal system is in full
swing among the Nosu. The head chiefs are the great land
lords, and around them are gathered their retainers, who
farm the land and render service, military or otherwise, to
their overlords. The headmen of the retainers are often
other Black Bloods, who are placated and kept friendly by
large grants of land at a nominal rent. In Independent
Nosuland each house of retainers has Aveapons, all primed,
hung on the walls, and also skin bags of oatmeal, with copper
or wooden basins in them. When from the castle or great
house the horn sounds, every retainer rushes for his weapons
and provisions, and in an incredibly short time a large force
of fully-equipped fighting men is mobilized.

THE WHITE BLOODS : — " The White Bloods, T'u-su, are
the slaves of the Black Bloods, and over these the chief has
absolute power of life and death, arranging marriages as
he pleases, and carrying out his will in every direction. . . .
POLYGAMY AND POSTERITY : — " Polygamy exists largely
among these chiefs, and often gross immorality, which is
rapidly destroying them. In a count of ten chiefs with
many wives, not ten sons were found. When a chief dies
without male issue, his land is held to be intestate, and is
appropriated by the nearest male relative. In this way
huge estates are being built up. This custom leads to

152 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

family fights, in which much life is lost. Some of these chiefs
have estates of hundreds of square miles. . . .

OPIUM :—" Among these Nosu who have submitted to
Chinese power and civilization, opium has made vast strides.
It is not yet such a curse among the brave, independent
mountaineers of Szechwan.

RELIGION : — " Except in cases where the Nosu have
adopted Chinese customs, there are no temples, or idols, and
no attempt to picture gods. The fear of demons is universal,
and also ancestral worship.

CREMATION :— " The Independent Nosu cremate their
dead, and one almost immediately notices the absence of the
huge graveyards which in China make the cities of the dead
rival in extent those of the living. Those who have sub
mitted to Chinese rule are compelled to forego cremation,
to the satisfaction of Chinese prejudice. . . . It is a very
marked fact that, where the Nosu have accepted Chinese
civilization, they have descended in the scale, and are not
equal to their kinsmen who keep up the old free life and
customs in independent Nosuland."

MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY : — Further, speaking of the
work carried on by the China Inland Mission and the United
Methodist Mission, among these people, he says : —

" In the north of Kweichow the China Inland Mission has
been doing some work among the Nosu in connection with
their Miao work. In the sub-prefecture of Wei-ning (Kwei
chow), and in the prefectures of Chaotong and Wongchuan
(Yunnan), the United, Methodist Mission has been for years
attempting to reach these people. A few have been baptized ;
many have destroyed their idols, which they had taken to in
imitation of the Chinese. A few have been to the training
school at Chaotong, and many others reckon themselves as
Christian adherents. Even a few of the independents of
Szechwan have been across to the mission house on several
occasions, and strongly desire that mission work be opened
in their midst. If Chinese opposition can be overcome, there

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 153

is a great Mission field now awaiting some Society in Sze-
chwan Nosuland. The people gave me a warm, courteous
reception when I spent some time amongst them and a
similar greeting awaits any missionaries who will go in the
right spirit to these tribesmen. Missionaries who like an
easy life and European food had, however, better keep away
from Nosuland."

THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL: — Of the fruits already
gathered as the result of missionary effort among these
tribesmen, he says: —

" The Gospel is being carried to other tribes, and through
the Miao, Chinese and Nosu are learning of Jesus. From the
hearts of 30,000 Miao praises are daily ascending to the
King of kings. Men and women dig their fields and reap
their corn while they sing their favorite hymn, * There is a
fountain filled with blood.' I think Jesus loves these
people, and many of them love Him. For years some of us
prayed, { Lord, send a great revival, and when it comes let
it come in such a way that no praise can be given to any
man.' God has answered that prayer. In His own way, in
His own time, for His own glory, He has gathered a great
crowd of poor, lowly, ignorant, but wonderfully loving serfs
into His Kingdom. He works His own way. Before Him we
bend the knee in silent worship and adoration. He doeth all
things well."

AN UNSPEAKABLE PRIVILEGE: — A close study of such
reports as the above has convinced the writer that the oppor
tunities for work amongst the tribesmen of this west country
are indeed many and precious. The results fill one with a
feeling approaching to envy, since it is not, as a rule, the lot
of the China missionary to see his work crowned with such a
glorious fruitage as that which seems to have been harvested
by workers amongst the Miao and Nosu. Shall it be the
unspeakable privilege of our Mission to take a share in this
work, and " come home rejoicing bringing our sheaves with
us "? Such, at least, is the present writer's prayer and hope.

154 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE " EIGHTEEN TRIBES."

Our Mission authorized one more visit to the " unoccupied
fields/' or rather, the sparsely occupied ones. This visit also
took place in the year 1908. It was made with the purpose
of securing information with regard to the country of the
Eighteen Tribes, to the west and north-west of the city of
Chengtu. The report of the deputation, of whom the writer
was one, is, in the main, as follows:—

NATURE OF THE COUNTRY: — "As to the nature of the
country, it is more or less mountainous, and in some parts
exceedingly so. The road, as a rule, however, skirts the river
pretty closely, and there would seem to be rivers, or rather,
torrents in most of the main valleys. Occasionally the road
crosses a high pass, one of which we named ' Corkscrew
Mountain/ on account of the ascent being so tortuous. The
road we followed is called the ' big road,' and, although not
very much deserving of that name, yet, as far as we went, it
was quite passable for chairs; although we were given to
understand that for the country beyond where we were,
horses are more suitable. These roads are found in pretty
good repair all the way, and only once had we to make a
detour on account of a wooden trestle bridge having been
carried away by the torrent.

ITS EXTENT:— "As to the extent of the country: it
requires about forty days to make the round trip, that is to
say, it is twenty stages from Chengtu to the farthest point,
Hsuting, on this road, keeping to the highroad throughout.
But this might without difficulty be shortened to eighteen
days. In other words, at the average of about twenty-five
miles a day, it is roughly about one thousand miles in cir
cumference, or five hundred miles to the most extreme point.

GOVERNMENT: — " The people are generally regarded as
consisting of eighteen tribes, each under a T'u-si or Chief.
These Chiefs, as far as your deputation could learn, would
seem to have at one time been directly responsible to Lhassa ;
and, although they are still more or less independent, yet

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

155

WATCH TOWERS IN THE TRIBES COUNTRY. NORTH-WEST OF CHENGTU.

there seems to be no doubt that China is gradually tightening
her hold upon them.

MILITARY SETTLEMENTS : — " Besides these eighteen tribes,
there are a number of what are known as ' tuen ping,' or

150 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

military settlements, in which many of the people are half-
castes, and most speak Chinese. We know of at least seven
settlements, the population of which aggregates somewhere
about 350,000. These i tuen/ or military posts, are each
under the jurisdiction of a Sheo-pi or captain, who is directty
responsible to the nearest Chinese district magistrate.

OTHER INHABITANTS : — " There are also what are called
the Chiang Ming, held by some to be the original inhabitants
of the country, but our information is not quite clear on that
point. Dr. H. A. Giles calls these an ancient tribe in Tangut,
shepherd nomads of the Ouigour race, living from early times
west of Szechwan and Kansu. They seem to be all on the
east side of the Sungpan river, and are under direct Chinese
rule.

POPULATION : — " As the result of our many inquiries in
this direction, we concluded that there are, roughly, about
one and a half million of these various tribes people in the
region of which we have spoken.

SETTLEMENTS : — " We do not find these people on the
main roads (indeed, they seem rather to avoid them), so
much as up the side valleys, and on the higher crests and
shoulders of the hills. They live in villages, which look like
our square blocks of houses in the home land. Besides these
villages, or ( giaidzes,' as they are called by the Chinese,
there are numbers of hamlets or farm houses, dotting most of
the hill and mountain sides.

OCCUPATIONS : — " Unlike their kinsmen of the prairie, or
' grass country/ these people are mostly farmers, and great
tracts of the country through which we passed were richly
cultivated. Maize, or Indian corn, formed seemingly the
staple crop, although various kinds of beans are also grown.
Besides the farmers, numbers of the people are engaged in
trade, and many mule trains are met carrying cow and yak
hides, to be exchanged for tea, etc., at such centres as
Tsakulao and Weichow, where the Chinese merchants have
their agents. The love of these people for hunting is indulged
by many of them when the crops do not demand their

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS

157

attention. In this way, deer, bear, and iigailu, or precipice
donkey, fall a prey to the skilled marksman.

THEIR LANGUAGE : — " As to the language, one found that

a considerable number of them could speak Chinese, and, no
doubt, many could be reached by anyone speaking that
language only. As to the native language or languages, we
learned that the greater part of these tribes speak the same

158 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

language as the Wa-sze, which is, your deputation strongly
incline to believe, from samples we had given in our hearing,
very much akin to, if not actually a dialect of, Tibetan. We
found that many of these people understood and spoke
Lhassa Tibetan, more particularly perhaps those who had
travelled a bit. Some two or three of the more remote tribes,
we were informed, speak a language or dialect which is said

MR. MAO, THE FIRST MISSIONARY SENT OUT AND SUPPORTED BY THE
CHINESE OF OUR WEST CHINA MISSION.

Mr. Mao's work is among the tribes north-west of Chengtu.

to be quite different to that of the others, and unintelligible
to the latter.

RELIGION : — " The religion of these people is mainly that
form of Buddhism known as Lamaism, of which there are at
least three sects : the Established, or ' YelloAvs,' the Noncon
formists, or * Reds,' and another called the ' Black Lamas/
who agree apparently with neither of the former. Each

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS 159

family is expected to set apart one son, by preference the
eldest, as a priest, who, in due course, goes to Lhassa to one
or other of the great temples there, for one or three or more
years' training in the rules and ceremonies of his order.

" Besides Lamaism, there is another form of worship
which is presumably of phallic origin. In these temples
certainly considerable prominence is given to representations
of the male and female generative powers; and, as was the
case in ancient Greece and Rome, however natural may have
been the analogies which led to the use of these symbols, and
however ideal the conceptions intended to be conveyed by
them, there is at least room for the belief that these may be
associated with degrading and licentious rites.

CHIEF CENTRES : — " The main centres throughout this
district of the tribes country are: Wenchuan-hsien, Wei-
chow, Lifan-ting, Tsakulao, Drukugi, Dampa, Hsuching,
Tsunghua, Romi-dranku, and Mongkong."

RECOMMENDATIONS: — The deputation recommended the
starting of work in either Wenchuan or Weichow (prefer
ably the former), as neither of these towns is more than
four days' journey from Chengtu, that is to say, no farther
off than Kiating or Junghsien ; and with their villages they
embrace a population of some 100,000 people. Lifan-ting or
Tsakulao were also mentioned as suitable centres for work.
The Committee adds : —

WORKERS REQUIRED: — "As to the sort of workers
required, we felt that, since there are no schools of any kind
whatever outside the lamaseries, and since the only teachers
and doctors are the lamas, and because their influence is
very great on that account, although their knowledge rela
tive to these matters is not as a rule of very great value,
therefore, besides evangelistic work, school and medical work
should be given considerable prominence; and a preacher, a
doctor, and a teacher should be placed in each station
opened."

Since the above was written our Chinese Church has
decided to open up work among the eighteen tribes and has
sent its first missionary, Mr. Mao, as its pioneer.

160 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

CONCLUSION.

As will be abundantly evident to all, the writer has, for
by far the greater part, allowed the various travellers in
those sparsely occupied fields, situated to the south and west
of our present territory, to speak for themselves. In other
words, we have been holding " an experience meeting " anent
the need of these various peoples that the saving grace of the
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ should be ministered unto
them.

THE APPEAL: — It seems to the writer that the appeal of
these several fields, as voiced by these various " witnesses,"
is very strong; that, indeed, no missionary of the Cross can
read the above without being deeply moved and " strangely
stirred." The need is undoubted; the call is clamant; the
response to what little has already been attempted would
appear to be very great, yea, in some respects marvellous;
and the reward we know is " abundant " and sure.

I trust that our Mission will " step forth and stand under
this burden," as was said of a Chinese Barnabas I know here,
for this truly is the " white man's burden." In these days of
grievous and tremendous warfare, let us adopt the policy of
" peaceful penetration " into the country and hearts of these
people, gradually winning them to the love and service of
our Master, Jesus Christ. May we be moved with compassion
for this great multitude, and see them, as indeed they are,
sheep having no shepherd. Then surely we shall hasten to
bring these " other sheep " —of whom the Good Shepherd
himself said, " them also I must bring " —into the fold, that
the great consummation may be the sooner reached, and
" there shall be one fold and one Shepherd/'

STATION SURVEYS

WORK FOE MEN

PENGHSIEN— BY G. E. HARTWELL, B.A., B D
CHENGTU— N. E. BOWLES, B.A.
JENSHOW— BY E. B. MCAMMOND.
KIATING— BY A. P. QUENTIN.
JUNGHSIEN— BY W. E. SMITH M.D.
TZELIUTSING— BY E. O. JOLUFFE, B.A.
LUCHOW— BY C. J. P. JOLLIFFE, B.A., AND E. WOLFEN-

DALE, M.D., AND J. N. WOULD BA

CHUNGKING— BY J. PARKER.
FOWCHOW— BY E. S. LONGLEY, B.A., B.D
CHUNGCHOW— By W. J. MOBTIMORE B.A

WORK FOR WOMEN

Miss C. E. BROOKS.

CHENGTU:

General and Schools

Medical Work

Women's School

Orphanage

West China Normal School for Young Women

KIATING

JENSHOW

JUNGHSIEN.

TZELIUTSING

LUCHOW

PENGHSIEN

STATION SURVEYS

PENGHSIEN.
G. E. HARTWELL, B.A., B.D.

Penghsien is the most northerly station of the Canadian
Methodist Mission, situated about thirty miles, or one
day's journey, north of Chengtu. It possesses many splendid
features for missionary work: First, the country is well
watered and therefore productive. Second, its proximity to
the western mountains gives the city a healthful atmosphere.
Third, it is within a day's journey of the capital of the
province, offering good market facilities, and also oppor
tunities for imbibing the spirit that hovers about a great
official and literary centre. Penghsien was early noted for
its aggressive spirit, its well-kept streets and the number of
literary men it produced.

How THE WORK WAS OPENED : — The work of our Mission
in Chengtu was growing. All kinds of missionary activities
were being planned. Several walled cities, with scores of
busy market towns, were situated on the rich plains sur
rounding Chengtu. This very inviting field was open to the
Mission that had men to send forth as itinerators. Our
Mission needed these busy centres as feeders to the big
hospitals, schools and college already being planned. The
members of the Chengtu church became zealous to open one
of the cities. After a period of earnest prayer for guidance,
Penghsien was chosen. A Chinese teacher volunteered to
visit the city, and if possible, to rent a building. On his
arrival he met a friend of his father, who introduced him to
one of the leading city officials, who had rooms to let. The
same evening, the place was selected and the deposit money
paid. The teacher returned to Chengtu and related how
wonderfully the way had opened. The members all rejoiced.
This was in August, 1897.

163

164 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

A GREAT COMMOTION : — However, Satan was not idle. A
great commotion arose when the people found that a place
had been rented to the foreigners. The landlord became
alarmed and refused to hand over the building. The mis
sionary who had oversight of the work visited Penghsien.
He met the gentry of the city and was able to awaken a
friendly interest. After the usual ponderings and delays
the landlord consented to yield and the mission chapel was
opened on one of the principal streets. The missionary itin
erated frequently through a circuit which came ultimately to
consist of five cities, with a number of market towns. The
cities were Sinfan, Penghsien, Tsunglin, Pihsien and Wen-
chiang. The most remote city or market town was only
about forty miles from Chengtu, and the journey through
the five cities extended over about seventy-five miles. This
circuit was finally set apart for our Mission to evangelize.

From 1897 to 1905 the work in these cities formed only
a part of the duties of the missionary, who made itinerating
trips several times during the year. As there were no
chapels, temples, empty lots and market places were pre
empted. The missionary, standing on benches, temple steps
or any other convenient elevation, told the gospel story to
the multitudes and followed up his discourse by selling
Scripture portions, tracts and Christian calendars.

EARLY EXPERIENCES : — Often my basket of Scripture por
tions was opened at the foot of a big idol. After preaching
for a time from a gospel text, that gospel was offered for
sale. There seemed to be little or no reverence for the temple
or the idols; references made to the idols having ears and
hearing not, eyes and seeing not, would only provoke smiles.
Many a day, from nine o'clock until four, old and young
crowded about the preacher and bookseller. Time was
scarcely afforded in which to take one's meals. Again and
again, weary from the excitement and labor of preaching and
book selling amidst thronging crowds, yet happy because of
the good work done, I have spent the long evening entertain
ing guests in a dirty little room in the inn. The journey from

STATION SURVEYS

165

PASTOR LIU (2ND FROM RIGHT, BACK ROW), AND CHRISTIAN HELPERS,

PENGHSIEN.
Delegates to the Blackstone Evangelistic meetings held in Chengtu.

city to city or between towns and villages was made by horse,
barrow or sedan chair ; or when the roads had become almost
impassable through heavy rains, I put on my rubber boots
and walked.

In the earlier years the missionary was not by any means
respected by the people. Indeed they were often inclined to
be hostile. On one occasion, on entering the city of Sinfan,
a crowd ran after us shouting, " The baby eaters have come !"
This was a relic of the old story that foreigners ate human
flesh. Half-way through the city was a large temple court.
We entered and stood on the head of a big stone dragon.
The crowd soon filled up and we explained that the people of
foreign countries do not use human flesh, that their laws are
very strict, and if a man abuse his dog or horse, not to speak
of his wife and children, he can be punished. The crowd
became quiet. We thought our eloquence was effective, and
did not know until years afterwards that a silk merchant,

166 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

fearing a disturbance, informed the official, who sent his
runners to the spot. That merchant, some years later, gave
over his home to the Mission, and he and all his family were
baptized. One of his daughters graduates this year (1916)
from the Union Normal School for Girls.

At the town of Chin-shih-pu, six miles from Penghsien, I
had a narrow escape on one occasion from rough handling
by the mob. To-day the best mission school in the Penghsien
District is in that town. Now-a-days the whole of the
populous plain to the north and west of Chengtu is quite
accustomed to the itinerating missionary. The gospel story
is becoming more and more familiar. There is a shaking
among the dry bones.

THE CHURCH AND OUTSTATIONS: — For many years the
services in Penghsien had been held in a building on a small
street, quite inadequate for a growing church. Property
had been bought as early as 1908 on one of the busy streets,
but it was not until November 13th, 1915, that the present
beautiful building was dedicated. Penghsien now rejoices
in having the neatest church in the mission, if not in the
whole of Szechwan. The building presents a fine appearance
from the street. On the opening day the magistrate and the
city officials came in a body, the former opening the door
with a silver key. The Rev. James Neave was appointed in
1913, and in 1915 I was again appointed to the Penghsien
circuit.

Christian communities have been formed in the cities and
in a few^ of the market towns. Bible study schools have been
instituted and the newly baptized men and women given
special instruction. While the Rev. W. E. Sibley was in
charge, a revival broke out during a convention, and one
young man who was so nearly blind that he had to be led
about by his friends, was greatly convicted of sin. After a
period of weeping and confession of sin, he rose, and to his
surprise found that his sight had returned. The Christians
were greatly encouraged and the work grew.

STATION SURVEYS 167

EDUCATIONAL WORK: — In the earlier years the pastor
missionary had entire responsibility for both church and
school work. A number of schools were organized in the
outstations as well as in Penghsien station itself. But in
1914 the Rev. H. H. Irish was appointed to give his whole
time to the schools of Penghsien city and some of those in
the outstations. This meant more careful supervision and
better results. The Educational Union curriculum is being
carefully adhered to and boys are being prepared for the
union examinations annually.

A Social Club was also organized, which was well
attended by the officials and gentry.

MEDICAL WORK : — Dr. W. Crawford was the first medical
man to be appointed to Penghsien, arriving in April, 1908.
In 1910 Dr. A. J. Barter took the work, and in 1915 Dr. E. K.
Simpson. Penghsien medical work has always been handi
capped because we have yet no proper hospital. Chinese
buildings have been repaired, altered and adapted for wards
and dispensary. Nevertheless, patients have always come
steadily, and an increasingly good impression has been made
by the medical work upon the people of Penghsien city and
surrounding country. A good hospital with equipment is
much needed. For this we already have ample area for site.

MARVELLOUS CHANGES: — What a marvellous change has
come about in twenty-five years! Then the missionary was
despised, abused and dishonored by all classes. Undaunted,
he travelled through cities and market towns and along
country roads selling Bibles, Scripture portions, tracts and
calendars. Slowly the truth is permeating the hearts and
minds of the populace. Though still in the bonds of their
many-centuries-old customs and false religions, it is every
where apparent that a new conscience is being awakened.

In the ten outstations on the Penghsien District there have
been, including children, 283 baptisms. Many of these men
are now scattered through the Mission as evangelists, helpers
and teachers. Possibly the most cheering result of the work

168 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

of earlier years is now manifesting itself. What can be more
encouraging than to see children developing into young men
and women and growing into the life of the church without
having been tainted with the worship of idols? The splendid
schools that are being organized in the outstations and con
nected up with the central schools in Penghsien help to con
solidate the Christian community. A week of revival and
Bible study, assisted by the Kev. A. J. Brace, was a most
fitting close to the quarter-century jubilee of the work in
Penghsien. Should the forty men present come forth as
leaders filled with the Holy Spirit, what a revival may be
expected to begin the second jubilee period!

CHENGTU.

N. E. BOWLES, B.A.

Chengtu is the capital of the province of Szechwan, and
is situated in the centre of the rich, fertile plain that bears
its name. In size, it does not equal the modern large cities
of western countries, but yet it has no inconsiderable popu
lation. An exact estimate of this it is impossible to secure;
but, including the immediate suburbs, we are generally told
there are about five hundred thousand people. In commer
cial importance it has a strong rival in the city of Chung
king, but in other respects it is easily the first city of the
province. In the first place, it is the official head, and that
is more significant here than in more democratic countries.
From here emanates all provincial law; from here are
appointed all county magistrates; through here pass all the
mandates from the central government. The place throngs
with officials, ex-officials, and officials in embryo. It is also
the educational centre of the province, and abounds in
schools of all kinds. The conservative, who wants his child
to learn only the lore of the ancients, may still find the old
schoolmaster with his little flock ready to see that the boy

STATION SURVEYS

169

STREET CHAPEL IN GATEWAY, CHENGTU.

memorizes all the books that his forefathers knew. But
these schools are now overshadowed by the numbers that
teach " Western subjects.'1 All the way from the A. B. C. of
the Chinese language, up to what has been called the Pro
vincial University, has been prepared. Lower primary,
higher primary, middle school, normal school, law school,
etc., all are here. We fear, indeed, the work done is^not
always first-class, and perhaps sometimes very poor, but it is
the best the province affords, .and as such is looked up to by
the youth of the province. Thousands of young men, the
most powerful instruments for good for which we could
wish, pass yearly through these schools, and go forth to be
the officials, the teachers, the newspaper editors, and, in
general, the leading classes of the country.

OUR EDUCATIONAL CENTRE : — Considering these things, it
was natural that this city should be chosen for the head
quarters (in so far as wre have any) of our Mission. Here
are established such institutions as the Printing Press, the
Dental Hospital, the Union Bible School, the Union Univer
sity (which includes medical, arts, science, and educational
departments, as well as a Language School for new

170 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

missionaries) . Here also is a Union Normal School for men,
another for women, and the Canadian School for Mission
aries' children. With the exception that some middle and
normal school work is being done elsewhere, these institu
tions are peculiar to Chengtu. It is not necessary in this
article to describe the work of these; suffice it that we tell
something about the more regular forms of mission work.

THE FIRST CHURCH: — We are carrying on evangelistic
work in the city from two centres. The oldest of these is the
Si-Shen-Tsi Church, more recently named "The First Church."
This work was begun over twenty years ago. At that time
the situation was not considered particularly good. The
district was comparatively poor, and had not the best repu
tation. But to-day this has changed much. This change is
due in part to the general growth of the city, in part to the
opening of a new city gate in the near vicinity; but we
believe in no small measure to the general influence of the
church itself. It reported last year the largest membership
of any church in our Mission, and we believe has the largest
average congregation. Here come most of the students from
the educational institutions mentioned at the beginning of
this article, and the employees from the Press. Besides, there
are the students from the Primary Boarding School for Boys
and from the W.M.S. Boarding School for Girls; also, many
patients from the two large hospitals. These, along with
those who are in no way attached to any Mission institution,
make a large congregation. There are but few Sundays that
the church is not crowded, and, while all classes are repre
sented, there is a majority of bright young lives to be minis
tered unto. This the Kev. J. Neave is doing with great
efficiency.

AN EFFICIENT SUNDAY SCHOOL : — The Sunday school has
always been a strong feature in this church. The writer
remembers when Dr. Kilborn, Mr. Neave and Mr. A. T.
Crutcher all gave much time to this work. It is now under
the superintendency of the Rev. H. G. Brown, a specialist in
this line. Under him the Sunday school has been organized

STATION SURVEYS

171

THE REV. ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND, D.D.

Born September 13, 1833. Died June 30, 1910. Appointed General Secretary
of the Missionary Society, 1874.

as far as possible after the most approved methods. The
accommodation is such that the ideal is not yet attainable,
but from the overflowing kindergarten to the staid adult
department, all has been improved.

OTHER SERVICES: — A junior church, with Dr. A. W.
Lindsay at its head, is another new and successful feature.
The newest of the new, however, is a separate church for a
certain number of the women. This was made necessary by
the crowded condition of the church. Near by is the com
pound where live the wives of our Chinese evangelists who
are at college. Here is carried on a daily school for these

172 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

wives, and they form the nucleus of this new church. The
services are held in their schoolroom. These women are
urged to secure the attendance of others, who, it is hoped,
upon graduation from this service, may be sent on to the
larger congregation in the regular church. A larger church
building is fast becoming a necessity for our First Church.

FIRST CHURCH CLUB : — Just here it might be appropriate
to say that Mr. Neave is also conducting a successful club on
a near by street. It especially aims to reach the student and
upper classes. While it is difficult to link the work up
closely with the church, yet much good is being done in pre
paring a way for an advance along that line.

THE SUTHERLAND MEMORIAL: — Our other centre for
evangelization work is in the heart of the city, and when the
church is built it is to be a memorial to our late General
Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Sutherland, and is to bear his name.
It is ideally situated for work among the richer merchants,
and is also close to many schools, as well as to the residences
of many of the official class. The coming of the great war put
a stop to our building plans, and thus the lack of proper
accommodation has greatly hindered the work. The church
services are held in an old Chinese building, small, un
attractive and ill-adapted for the purpose. However, a small
regular congregation has been gathered, and some Sundays
there is not nearly room for the crowds that press in. The
Sunday school is gradually organizing itself. Miss M. T.
Smith superintends a kindergarten department, and her
schoolroom is generally crowded to the doors. Mr. A. E.
Johns has helped much by shepherding the junior church.
Mr. A. J. Brace, the superintendent, is pushing this work
with great enthusiasm. Both a boys' and a girls' day school
have been started, and have a good attendance. A club has
also been formed. Its purpose is largely to reach those who,
while not yet willing to unite with the church, are yet willing
to help in certain forms of social service. Here again we are
greatly handicapped by lack of buildings. We have now two
rooms. One, a fair size, is on the street, and does for a

STATION SURVEYS 173

reading room and a preaching hall. The other is smaller, and
is our recreation room. Both of these have been built almost;
entirely without help from the Mission. As temporary
buildings they do very well, but a good club building will
soon be a necessity. There are now about two hundred paid-
up members, and the interest seems to be growing. All in all,
we believe this is an excellent centre for Christian work, and
that faithful service will some day meet with great reward.

OUR CITY SCHOOLS : — Our first mission school was opened
by Dr. Hart. You may have seen a picture of it in a recent
Missionary Outlook. Times were different then, and it was
not possible to do much more than add a little teaching of
the Scriptures to the memorization of the Classics. The
school has grown much since then. The many changes, the
failures and the successes of all these years we will not even
attempt to narrate. Many hundred pupils have come under
its influence, and gone forth with at least some knowledge
of higher things. Some of these are now in the employ of the
Mission, and others are in our higher institutions of learn
ing. The great majority, we regret to say, have gone out
from us altogether; but even with these we cannot believe
the work has been altogether vain. Unfortunately, until two
years ago it was always found necessary to assign this prim
ary school work to one whose hands were already well filled
with other duties. The inevitable result was that the work
suffered. Two years ago, Mr. Brown was given these schools
as his chief task. The good results of this are already visible
in better organization and management. We have now in
the city five lower primary schools and one higher primary,
quite apart from the W.M.S. schools. The average enrol
ment falls not far short of two hundred. This daily work
among the boys and girls is of immense importance, but only
by careful supervision and much patience can really good
results be secured.

CHENGTU MEDICAL WORK: — The writer does not feel
capable of describing the medical work of this city. From
small beginnings in a Chinese building, in a time when

174

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE REV. R. B. EWAN, M.D.

Dr. Ewan's efforts while on furlough to secure a modern hospital for West China
resulted in our well-equipped hospital in Chengtu. He superintended person
ally the plans, building and equipment. On account of ill-health he has retired
from the work.

foreign doctors were more feared than revered, to our
present magnificent hospital, with its excellent though small
staff, and its crowded wards of patients, is a long way to go.
Yet step by step it has come, year by year has it grown. To
the faith and hard work of Dr. E. B. Ewan is due in large
part the securing of such a splendid building. There is now
an average of about seventy in-patients, and every week hun
dreds are seen in the dispensary. We believe that last year's
record is already equalled in some lines by eight months'
work this year. Drs. C. W. Service and C. B. Kelly are two
of our hardest worked men, while Miss A. Morgan, lady
superintendent of the hospital, has no idle moments. Just
last evening the writer was in conversation with Dr. Service
for a few minutes. Dr. Kelly had been called a journey of a
day and a half out of the city to help in a case of serious
illness in a missionary's family. Dr. Service had performed
six operations that morning. During these operations no
less than four letters had come in, all marked urgent. He

STATION SURVEYS 175

had four dysentery cases to attend, one adult and three
children, — all foreigners; another foreigner was sick in the
hospital ; this, besides the regular in-patients, the dispensary,
and the one hundred and one things that only a doctor can
look after around a hospital. These two men, who are also
assisting in lecturing in the medical college, are carrying a
burden that no two men can long bear. Would that more
than one who reads these lines would answer the call for
more doctors in West China. In spite of the increasing help
that it is hoped we will soon secure from the Chinese at
present in our medical college, we will need all the Western
doctors we can get for many years to come. We are proud
of our Chengtu hospital. We are thankful for the men who
by their faithful work or their generous gifts have made it
possible, and for the ability and faithfulness of those who
are bearing its burden to-day. The far-reaching influence of
this work is ever on the increase, and it is truly representing
the spirit of Him who sent us forth to the task.

THE DISTRICT ABOUT CHENGTU : — What we have written
so far concerns our work in the city proper. What of the
immediate outlying district? We doubt if the world con
tains a more fertile or a more thickly populated district. It
literally swarms with people. Every few miles reveal large
market towns or walled cities. According to agreement, all
territory within a radius of thirty li from the city (about nine
English miles) is open for any Mission to work. Beyond
that the territory is divided. Within the nine-mile radius
there are but four chapels opened, three of which belong to
our mission. Beyond this we have all or the greater portion
of four counties assigned to us for evangelization. Here we
have opened three more outstations, two of them in walled
cities. It fell to the writer for one year to have the super-
intendency of all these six outstations, and he tried to gather
an estimate of the population represented in this territory.
Exactness is, of course, an impossibility in this land, but I
tried to gather what was the general impression on the
matter. It would mean that there are about one million

176 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

people in these parts that we should be ministering unto. In
the earlier days the work in these stations appeared to be
flourishing, but, with severer testing and more careful in
vestigation, it was found not to be so stable as it appeared.
The result is that most of the early members, for one reason
and another, left the church, and the task has had, as it
were, to be begun over again. Slowly we are gaining ground,
trying to lay a sure and lasting foundation. The main weak
ness in past years was the lack of strong, reliable Chinese
preachers, but as this is gradually being changed, we are
looking for a new era in this work. But just think — about
one-eighth, or, say, one-ninth of the population of Canada
just near by this city, and dependent upon us alone to tell
them of Christ and God !

THE TREMENDOUS TASK: — Sometimes, in meditative mo
ments, I pause in awe before the tremendous task of the
evangelization of this people. Even though I look not be
yond the horizon of the little space of territory to which this
article has been confined, yet the task looms up mountains
high. This city, with all its class distinctions, its riches and
its poverty, its sin and its shame, its problems and its diffi
culties ; and this surrounding country, still in large measure
untouched by the new, and clinging tenaciously to the old,
still wrapped in darkness and ignorance — what a task it
represents! There are times, too, when efforts and strivings
and prayers seem of but little avail. Who is sufficient for
these things? He who has already opened the doors, He who
has already broken down innumerable prejudices, He who
has already unloosed a thousand tongues to praise Him, is
not He sufficient for these things, " O, ye of little faith "?

STATION SUKVEYS

177

JENSHOW, SHOWING MISSION BUILDINGS IN THE BACKGROUND.

JENSHOW.

K. B. MCAMMOND.

Most of Jenshow district is a mass of small hills, which
makes it a most picturesque and beautiful section of country,
the terraced hillsides giving a peculiar charm to the scenery.
Jenshow city, however, is a small, poor, mean-looking place,
with much more than its share of moral blight even for a city
in China. But as it is the administrative centre of such a
large district, with seventy-five market towns and about one
million of a population, if our Mission accepted the task of

178 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

evangelizing the many cities and towns of the district, it was
natural and necessary that Jenshow be the headquarters of
our work. The city is located at a point sixty miles south of
Chengtu and twenty miles east of the Min River. It is also
about sixty miles north of Kiating.

OPENING OF THE STATION :— This district rarely saw a
Protestant missionary before the close of the last "century.
However, during the first months of 1900, Dr. W. E. Smith
visited Jenshow city and many of the important towns. He
was everywhere received with the greatest respect, but came
away with the impression that there was something behind
their apparent zeal for Christian teaching. The Boxer move
ments of 1900-01 interfered with further work for Jenshow
for a time. In 1902 another deputation of fine-looking, well-
dressed gentlemen arrived in Chengtu to request our Mis
sion's travelling evangelist, the Rev. G. E. Hartwell, to come
to Jenshow to preach the gospel. They declared that there
were hundreds waiting to be taught. Mr. HartwelPs visit in
June of that year was a series of ovations as he passed from
town to town, and his reception in Jenshow had almost the
character of a triumphal entry. He remained several days,
teaching the catechism and preaching the gospel.

A few months later Mr. Hartwell, on a subsequent visit,
met with a surprising experience. The leading gentry of the
city and district had purchased a fine large compound full of
buildings, located in a good situation in the city, of which
they made an absolute gift to the Canadian Methodist Mis
sion. Mr. Hartwell naturally was overjoyed and on behalf
of the Mission accepted the property for chapel purposes,
thanking them for their generosity.

MISCONCEPTIONS :— One would naturally interpret the
action mentioned above as the result of religious enthusiasm.
Outwardly it was so, but in reality the movement was selfish
and political ; it was above all a protest against the tyranny
of the Roman Catholics, who in that city and district had
many proselytes but few Christians. The Roman Catholic
church was vigorous and domineering. They sought to run

STATION SURVEYS 179

things with a high hand, even, it may be, to influence the law
courts of the land in behalf of their members. Undoubtedly
the welcome given to us was due in large measure to a desire
to secure a strong opposition organization, such as our
Mission was believed to be.

From this remarkable occasion the work in Jenshow fol
lowed the lines along which it had been opened ; namely, the
missionary's vision of a developing, spiritual church on the
one hand, and, on the other, the vision of a powerful political
organization on the part of the leading gentry, upon whom
not the faintest idea of spirituality had as yet dawned. Many
appeals to open chapels came in from other places where
funds had been subscribed; but the missionary, true to his
vision of a spiritual church, refused to yield to the pleadings
of ,the leaders, allowing only four chapels to be opened in
three years.

A RESIDENT MISSIONARY : — Jenshow was finally opened as
a central station in 1905 by the appointment in that year of
the Rev. A. C. and Mrs. Hoffman to the church and out-
stations and Dr. J. R, Cox to medical work. It was impos
sible for them to know that the leaders in the church at
Jenshow, who received them so graciously, had already en
trenched themselves in power in the district. They were
willing of course to listen and to let the foreign pastor have
first say in preaching and ruling, but quite prepared, on the
other hand, to see that business affairs were done on good old
Chinese lines.

BUYING AND BUILDING : — In February, 1906, Mr. Hoffman
purchased a large property on a hillside overlooking the city.
Part of it was for our Woman's Missionary Society, who
proceeded to erect a large boarding school and dwelling upon
it ; the other part was for the General Society. In that year
Mr. Hoffman completed the first dwelling. Later, other two
dwellings were erected, together with several hundred feet
of compound wall, gateways, and long flights of stone steps.
In 1913, in response to an invitation from our evangelists
and teachers, we left our foreign house and came down to the

180 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

chapel compound to live. This enabled Mrs. McAmmond to
teach the women conveniently while I taught the men.

JENSHOW CHURCH:— No church building has yet been
erected in Jenshow. We found, through consultation with
Mr. Abrey, Mission architect, that we could make sucli
changes in the interior of our old church building as to do
away with the necessity of erecting a new one. With a few
hundred dollars our present church, which is just the largest
hall in the old Chinese compound, will be made quite satis
factory for years to come.

The history of the church in this city and district is long
and checkered. Mr. Hoffman did heroic service under ad
verse conditions. On the surface all was favorable and the
church was thriving; but underneath, everywhere thwarting
or hindering, was the influence of the self-constituted leaders,
THE FAMOUS JENSHOW REVIVAL :— Council of January,
1909, chose Jenshow as the place for holding the Mission
Bible School and Summer Convention. Thus for days mis
sionaries and evangelists wended their way over the hot,
dusty roads for the Convention, June 27-30. In addition
there were about sixteen missionaries, men and women, on
hand to take part. Day by day the morning prayer meetings
brought to everyone a keen sense of Divine presence. The
later talks and discussions revealed a growing sense of the
sinf ulness of sin. On Sunday morning there was noticeable a
deep hunger for things divine, so strong that at every oppor
tunity men prayed for the mercy and favor of God. When
Mr. Bowles asked that a few would pray for the Spirit to
inspire him, so that he could speak the message burning in
his heart, a wave of supplication rolled over the audience,,
but every man prayed for himself, not a soul thought of the
speaker, so intense was the thirst for the Living God. It
was clear we were rising above the realm of ordinary things,
so we gathered immediately after dinner to seek for the
Spirit's guidance. As the hour for worship drew near every
one quietly entered the church and knelt upon the stone slab
floor; silks and satins — the Chinaman's pride — no longer

STATION SURVEYS

181

182 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

counted, for a Presence was there which made each soul feel
its utter unworthiness. We arose and sang, « Pass me not,
oh, gentle Saviour," and again knelt in prayer. Suddenly
the Holy Spirit filled the place. It was so 'quiet, and our
feelings so overpowered us we could not imagine what had
happened. From the oldest to the youngest there seemed to
come one great heart-sob, then all burst into tears and wept
over their sins as if their hearts were breaking. One appeal
rang out above all the rest, in a deep anguish of soul,
"Saviour, Saviour, hear my humble cry"; it was Yang Chuen-
]in, an evangelist; but soon he was on his feet shouting for
joy, while tears of thankfulness rolled down his happy face.
THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD:— Ah, those were hours of
confession! They shocked and horrified us missionaries, as
we listened to confessions of the depths of iniquity into which
the devil had led them in this, his stronghold. But the shouts
of victory are increasing, and, just as after the darkness
comes the dawn, so after this blackness of darkness, these
bitter, heart-rending confessions, came the light and a sweet
sense of the mercy, forgiveness and love of the great and
wonderful God. It was good to be there, though in a sense
it seemed like bedlam. Some cried, " Now I know what the
missionaries have been talking about, concerning the witness
of the Spirit in the heart, my heart is hot;" while others
wailed, " Oh, how my conscience pains !" Others wept and
some, unable to endure it any longer, rushed to the front and,
gripping the altar railing in their extremity, begged some
near by pastors to pray for them. Miss Hambley took her
boarding-school girls off to another part of the building;
they were under such deep conviction of sin and wept so
bitterly she could do nothing with them in the open service.
There was no order to the meeting, and yet there was no
disorder, for every soul felt subdued under "The mighty
hand of God."

ABIDING RESULTS: — WTe missionaries had never seen any
thing like it before. W7e were overjoyed at what God had
done for us, and in our inexperience we closed the conven-

STATION SURVEYS 183

tion, before many had found themselves or others had found
the light. Thus we did not gather the fruitage we should
have gathered from so great an opportunity. At the same
time, many of the permanent foundations of our church were
laid on that day. The spiritual assurance of salvation has
never been questioned by the Chinese Church since. Per
sonal responsibility to God was made such a reality to some
of our evangelists that ever since they have been true to their
trust, and these men are the backbone of our church to-day.

A SPIRIT-FILLED TEMPLE : — Mr. Hoffman followed up the
convention with services in several places. In these services
some of the present members received their spiritual birth,
for in them too the Spirit's presence was very noticeable at
times. One hot afternoon in Fu-chia-chang they left the
chapel and went to a temple near by where it was cooler.
There in that idol temple the Spirit of God swept over the
little company, to the utter amazement of the Chinese. As
one man said to me last year, " Since that day I have not
gambled, nor have I touched alcohol or tobacco; that was
enough for me."

In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman proceeded on regular fur
lough and were succeeded by the Rev. J. R. and Mrs. Earle,
and Mrs. McAmmond and myself. We were given for our
responsibility the following: city church and street chapel;
the building of the new church and Sunday school rooms;
and the care and oversight of ten outstations. The round trip
of these outstations involved a journey of about two hundred
and thirty English miles. This gives an idea of the burden
some men carried in those days, and which was loaded upon
me after only three years in the country. I know that much
of my effort must have been thin and valueless, spread over
such an immense problem. Every month I made a rush trip
over one of my two circuits, and the other three weeks tried
to handle the station work. I had from forty to fifty stone
cutters and masons building the walls and buying lumber,
while I measured every board myself. In my slack moments
I tried to find kilns in which to burn my church bricks. All

184 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

this time the one lone " leader " of the church assisted (?) me
by blocking my efforts at every turn because I would not
hand over finances to him. At the fall meeting of the
Quarterly Official Board this man was proved to be an em
bezzler of funds and an enemy of the church, after which the
usual notice board appeared in front of the church announc
ing his expulsion and why, and this brought us relief.

SMASHING THE MACHINE :— With the aid of Mr. Tan, my
evangelist, who had himself been " cleaned up " and richly
blessed in the Jenshow Convention the year before, I was
enabled to find out the inner workings of my chapels. He
proved a real companion and co-worker, with a keen desire
to honor his Master and Saviour. In one place the straight
truth aroused a latent conscience, and he could not but tell
the chapel difficulties. In another, after a heart-rousing
service, an invitation to the members to wait and have
foreign tea, and cake, and pie, was sufficient to enable us to
draw out the full story of the chapel. In others, after be
coming wise through experience, it was sufficient to request
that the " Three Chapel Account Books " be brought forth.
Of course, there was denial, and protest, but a few words
from Mr. Tan and out came the books. Thus the exposure
of the political machine became complete.

GETTING RID OF BAD GUIDES: — You may ask, after all,
what became of the Organization Leaders? Well, some of
them Mr. Hoffman put in their proper place, and others the
writer invited to join their numbers, while one, who saw that
exposure was at hand, conveniently died. Another was shot
dead in broad daylight on the street of his native village,
and the more noble souls turned to the truth; and the rest?
Wrell, the Lord took pity on us and graciously removed the
stumbling-blocks.

A STRUGGLE WITH THE SELF-GOVERNING PARTY : — In 1913
the " Self-Governing Society," which had popped into exist
ence in all missions during the Revolution, was at the zenith
and its power in this district was not easy to control. Our
own evangelists proved to be really leaders in this movement.

STATION SURVEYS

185

The movement itself was the result of criticism of mission
aries by a certain clever Chinese at a convention in Chengtu.

I!
S!

An intensely critical spirit was let loose upon us. Day by
day we met in our parlor for six hours a day for Bible study.
The very first evening one poor fellow broke down and con-

186 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

fessed that the trouble was all in himself. The following-
day another got a new vision from the Word and he owned
up too. The days extended to weeks, and as the battle was
waged through the hot July weather, whether the service
lasted three hours or five, no service closed without victory
being on the Lord's side. The men were under mighty con
viction, just as we had seen them at times in services in the
homeland ; for the heart of man is about the same the world
over. Many a time at the close of a three or four hours' con
flict, we walked out to the dining-room and found Dr. and
Mrs. Allan and Mrs. Me Ammond on their knees, still plead
ing for victory. Of course it came — about the close of the
fourth week : " Now, pastor, we see our mistake. You teach
us the truth.''

A SECOND GREAT CONVENTION: — About the end of Octo
ber. 1915, the Chengtu District Convention for the training
of workers was held at Jenshow. For weeks previous, school
boys and girls, the hospital staff, the chapel women and my
men and boys were toiling in prayer for the outpouring of
the Spirit. On the fourth day of the convention the Spirit of
God swept over the people in light and life, and heart-
searching and heart-cleansing power. A great cry for mercy
was heard. Then shouts of victory and songs of praise
ascended " unto Him who loved them and washed them from
their sins in His own blood." It was Sunday and truly it
was a high day in Zion, that closing day. But the feast was
not over. After the delegates had nearly all left, we con
tinued with one accord in prayer. Some of the meetings
were indescribable. At the close of a morning address the
Spirit again swept the place and every man, woman and
child in the building made for the altar, kneeling as near as
possible to it on the stone flooring. What a sight! Evangel
ists, teachers, students, doctors, business men, nurses, cooks,
coolies and gatemen, and women of the same classes, all
knelt promiscuously before the altar of Him who is no
respecter of persons or of races, for in Him all are one.
Every one of my eight school teachers in this district was

STATION SURVEYS 187

saved that day. Think of it and all that it means to the
boys!

SPREADING THE SPIRIT'S POWER: — After the two weeks
each evangelist and his wife invited a man and his wife from
the city to go with them to help them to hold services in their
chapel. Out they went, and it must be said that in three
places these two Chinese couples, trusting only to the Spirit's
guidance and power, saw results in their meetings equal in
quality if not in quantity to what had taken place in the city
itself, thus revealing the latent power which awaits develop
ment in our Chinese Church.

AND THERE ARE MANY ADVERSARIES : — To-day we have
many living evangelists, teachers, school boys and girls and
other members who stand for a Christian Church. On the
other hand, we have had serious losses because of all the cruel,
crafty schemes which a subtle, vitiated, heathen priesthood
can concoct and turn loose against individual Christians in
a purely heathen home. Again and again has the lone soul
been at last silenced under these circumstances, because the
relatives believe that the household gods will take vengeance
on them if they do not heal the breach in the family; hence
our present efforts to dig deep, and to lay the foundations of
our church on the bed rock of "the family for Christ.-"
Rather let the man or the woman remain away from the
communion table until the whole family comes together.

EDUCATIONAL WORK : — One of the most effective agencies
in securing the whole family is the school. In March, 1914,
the Rev. and Mrs. S. H. Soper arrived in Jenshow as second
year language students. Council of 1915 appointed Mr.
Soper and me conjointly to the pastoral and educational
work of the district. At this time we opened our higher
primary boarding school on self-help lines. When you think
that from time immemorial it has been beneath the dignity
of the students of China to touch anything which has the
semblance of labor about it, you will see something of the
delicacy of the problem involved, and of Mr. Soper's need
of the support of the Quarterly Board. Practical agriculture
was one of the subjects on the curriculum, with no one out-

188 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

side of the students for the work. Of course there were many
difficulties. Our boys were sneered at by the young men of
the government middle school. However, with such an en
thusiastic worker as Mr. Soper for leader, and our two
capable Chinese teachers, the success of the school was
assured. Our boys bravely stood their ground, regardless of
all the taunts. The records to date are ample proof that the
development of brain and muscle go well together. Our
boys are being taught to respect hand toil, to form high
ideals for the future, but above all, ever and always, whether
at church, in school or at play, to reverence Jesus Christ as
their Saviour, Exemplar and Friend. These seven or eight
years of mental and moral training and discipline will, we
believe, give the boys of our church a start in life of which
their parents never dreamt. More, — it will give to the Jen-
show District a church in the future, of intelligent, strong-
minded, saved-to-serve men, not of saved wrecks from heathen
degradation, superstition and idolatry.

THE SCHOOLS OUR MOST STRATEGIC SPOT : — We are trying
to win the family by lectures on home hygiene, by concerts
given by the boys and girls before their fathers and mothers,
by inviting the fathers and mothers of our school children to
Christmas feasts, by gramophone concerts, by visiting the
homes of the children, by church services, regular and
special ; by any and all such means we have tried to gain the
good will of both men and women, whether high or low in
society. Every Sunday we carry on a kindergarten church
for the street children and the more ignorant mothers, about
sixty in all, also a students' church for the lower primary
boys and girls ; this in addition to the regular public service
for men and women, at which the boys and girls of the board
ing schools are in attendance. These services are linking
the children very closely to the church as well as affording a
splendid opportunity for teaching them the truth in a
manner in which they can understand it.

On the other hand, in order to lay the foundation of a
permanent church, we have been putting the greatest possible

STATION SURVEYS 189

emphasis on the schools. We secure Christian teachers of
ability who command respect and who are alive to the possi
bilities of young life. We are bringing every influence we
have, along physical, mental and spiritual lines, to bear upon
the children so as to win the child's whole life for Christ, for
time as well as for eternity. We consider this to be our first
and greatest duty and the surest way of securing a Christian
Church. The high efficiency to which our schools have
attained in this city makes a strong appeal to the Chinese
because of their natural reverence for and love of scholarship.
MEDICAL WORK : — Dr. Cox was our first medical worker.
His term in Jenshow, 1905-09, was much interrupted by two
journeys down river; the first was to escort an invalid mis
sionary down river and the second to act as escort to a large
party of reinforcements coming up river. In the spring of 1909,
after two years of faithful, effective service, he proceeded on
furlough, first handing over to Dr. Allan, his successor, a
flourishing medical work. It is interesting and refreshing to
know that after seven years, no matter where the pastor
travels in the district, there are those who enquire for Dr.
Cox and have a grateful word to say as to his kindness and
medical skill. Dr. Allan's principal duty after coming to
Jenshow was to erect a new house. In spite of these extra
ordinary duties for which he had received no preparation in
his medical course, he and Mrs. Allan together did a highly
successful medical work. The Revolution beginning at the
end of 1911 was responsible for an interregnum of more than
a year. However, on Dr. Allan's return early in 1913, work
was reopened. Dwelling number two was turned into a
hospital, and active preparations were being made for the
erection of the new Jenshow dispensary, when the outbreak of
the war in 1914 again interrupted all building operations.
Dispensary work continued to be carried on in the old street
chapel, while the patients were cared for in the dwelling-
hospital above referred to. A nurses' training school was
begun. In response to the continued demand for accommo
dation for women inpatients, Dr. and Mrs. Allan took their

190 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

own kitchen and servants' quarters and turned them into a
ward for women, with the happiest results.

THE PLACE OF THE MEDICAL WORK IN THE HEARTS OF THE
PEOPLE: — Thus, though heavily handicapped by the lack of
such necessary things as proper buildings and equipment,
the direct cause of which was the Revolution here and the
war in Europe, nevertheless we can say at the close of 1916
that the medical work of Jenshow has won a decided place
for itself in the love and respect of the people of the district,
and has a real future among the evangelizing agencies mak
ing for the redemption of this part of our Mission's
responsibility.

A SUGGESTIVE INCIDENT: — A boy went home from a ser
vice at which he had been taught to say grace before meals.
When dinner was ready, he said to his mother, " Wait a
moment, I have something to say," and he said grace. The
mother Avas a pure heathen, but the action of her ten-year-old
boy touched her. A few days later he said to her : " Mother,
Fin not very well to-day," and, as if coming to himself, he
added, " I know what's wrong; I didn't pray this morning,"
and off he ran to pray. The mother was so interested in the
change in her boy that she came herself to see and hear, and
about three months later brought her own idol to the women's
service one Sunday afternoon, saying, she " wished to burn
the thing."

FIRM FOUNDATIONS : — With the Bible taught each day to
each class in our day schools, and the Sunday school using
the graded lessons for the boys and girls, and with preaching
services to suit the ever-developing mind, we believe we can
confidently look in faith to the future for a Church, rock-
founded, self-sustaining, self-propagating, before which the
powers of heathenism will flee away.

STATION SURVEYS

191

KIATING, LOOKING TOWARD OUR MISSION PROPERTY ON THE HILL.

KIATING.
A. P. QUENTIN.

Kiating — " the Perfect Capital '• — is the most beautifully
located city in West China. It lies at the junction of the Fu
and Ya rivers, the red sandstone banks of which are topped
with varied hues of green.

SUCCESSIVE STAFF : — Dr. Kilborn first rented property for
the Canadian Methodist Mission in Kiating in 1894. He was
followed by a host of stalwarts in press, hospital, school and
church work. Their names are familiar to all our readers,
namely : Dr. and Mrs. V. C. Hart, Dr. and Mrs. H. M. Hare,
Mr. and Mrs. J. Endicott, 1895; Dr. and Mrs. W. E. Smith,
1901 ; Dr. and Mrs. C. W. Service, 1903 ; Dr. and Mrs. W. F.
Adams, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Mortimore, Mr. and Mrs. W. E.
Sibley, N. E. Bowles, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Morgan, Mr. and

192 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Mrs. A. P. Quentin, Dr. and Mrs. Wallace Crawford, Mr. and
Mrs. Arthur Hockin, Murray Davis, Miss Muriel Wrood, Dr.
and Mrs. D. Fuller McKinley, Mr. and Mrs. T. AV. Batenian,
Dr. Lawrence Jones, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Elson, Mr. and Mrs.
J. K. Earle, and Dr. and Mrs. A. J. Barter.

THE STATION VACATED : — During these twenty-five years
there were three years when the station had to be vacated : in
1895, by reason of the wide-spread riots of that year ; in 1900
because of the Boxer troubles ; and once more, in 1911-12, at
the time of the Revolution.

VARYING SUCCESS: — These early years were busy ones,
laying foundations in brick and mortar as well as in lan
guage preparation. But Kiating was a conservative city and
the impressions were not so deep or lasting as they ought to
have been, considering the calibre of the men and women who
worked here. A good school was begun by the Rev. W. J.
Mortimore, fostered by Messrs. Bowles and HockLn, only to
be scattered during our long absence in 1911-12. But the
best is yet to be. The hope of Kiating lies in the work begun
now in the heart of the city, in the Central Church and
Institute.

DEEPLY CONSERVATIVE: — Kiating for several reasons has
long been considered a difficult station to work. The first
reason, we believe, is because of this deep-rooted conserv
atism that we mentioned above. The people seem contented
with what they have and are not anxiously seeking the truth.
The second reason is because our mission plant, until 1913,
was at the west end of the city where, except for a small
street chapel situated in the centre of the city, we failed to
connect up with the multitudes down town.

A NEW ERA :— But since the work of the Central Church
and Institute has been opened up in the heart of the city we
feel that a new era has been entered upon for Kiating. At
last we seem to be getting a grip upon the people in at least
a social way, and we believe that the quiet working of the
Holy Spirit on the hearts of the people, though not so evi
dent, is yet preparing a rich harvest for the future church
of Kiating.

STATION SURVEYS 193

THE CENTRAL INSTITUTE: — Each season the Central In
stitute has endeavored to work some new social service for
the benefit of the people. This service has taken the form of
cleaning away garbage heaps, arranging covers for the pails
that carry the night soil through the streets, providing in
certain places better toilet accommodation on the streets,
cleaning up rats and flies, and selling wind cupboards made
of wire screening for keeping their food safe from filth and
rats. Lectures on the mosquito and the fly have been given
and each Thursday evening a lecture is given on some popu
lar subject, such as Social Service, China's Great Needs,
Social Purity, The Evils of Tobacco and Opium, etc. Often
at this gathering a welcome is given to some new official who
has arrived in town, and indeed, no official now feels pro
perly received unless he is given a welcome at the Central
Institute.

BOYS' SCHOOLS: — Our Boys' School at the Institute has
won for itself special recognition in the city and many
families of the well-to-do classes and official families now
send their boys to us. There are at present one hundred and
twenty boys in the school, with five teachers and a school
principal. This school which brings so many bright boys
under the influence of the gospel is a great hope for the
church. A night school of over fifty is now running success
fully.

CHURCH WORK : — The church work with its Sunday ser
vices, prayer meetings, Bible classes each Tuesday evening
and special services at various seasons, as well as the daily
prayers, is keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the
people. The Central Church has yet but a small member
ship, but we are praying for a great ingathering of the people.
Many who come to the Institute do not attend the Sunday
services, but we hope and pray that these will be won
gradually.

THE KINDERGARTEN : — A small kindergarten also has been
running for two years and we have had the pleasure of seeing
these happy children playing merrily at their games,

194 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

working industriously at their handwork, or singing of Jesus
and his love for little children.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS: — This work in the heart of the
city is proving a stimulus to all our work in Kiating. A
large industrial school is now being erected just outside of
the city on a splendid site. We look in the near future for a
new hospital, and we are planning for a new model school in
the centre of the city. Thus you will see our hopes for the
future of Kiating are bright, and with the prayers of our
home church to bring down greater showers of blessing on
our work, we hope that the banner of the Cross of Christ shall
yet be raised high over the battlements of sin and darkness
in Kiating.

WEST GATE WORK : — When the Higher Primary Boarding
School has been removed to the new building, the Harris
Memorial, outside of the west gate, then our west gate chapel
work will be full of interest. It will be the church of the
institutions gathered round our plant at this end of the city;
its congregations will consist of the fifty girls of the Woman's
Missionary Society Lower and Higher Primary Schools, the
Woman's Missionary Society Bible Woman's School, the
West Gate Lower Primary Boys' School of some thirty-odd
boys, the Harris Memorial Industrial students numbering,
we hope, seventy or eighty boys, and the hospital patients.
The possibilities for Sunday school work are particularly
good.

COUNTRY WORK: — The work outside the city of Kiating
is confined to three places — Ma-ta-ching, Han-yang-pa and
Tsing-yuan. The latter place is a city of about 16,000 people.
Here we have a good property, a hopeful school and a few
church members. The feeling of the officials and gentry is
very favorable now, in fact they want us to open a guild
there. This station needs but careful work to be most pro
ductive.

Han-yang-pa has a good school of some seventy boys,
located in a loaned plant. We ought to build here certainly.
The church cause is nil, but ready to develop under the effort
of faithful men.

STATION SURVEYS 195

Ma-ta-ehing has a school of fifty girls, on rented pro
perty. Here the gentry are anxious to form a guild. Already
about forty have joined the Central Institute at Kiating.

OUR NEED: — Our crying need is for faithful, able evan
gelists to man these outstations. For want of them our work
is at a standstill. There are five towns within a six-mile
radius, in all of which we should have schools and chapels.

JUNGHSIEN.
W. E. SMITH, M.D.

The walled city of Junghsien has a population of thirty
thousand, and is situated in the county of the same name.
The latter has forty-eight market towns, besides many ham
lets. Six of these towns have each a population of over ten
thousand souls. The county is very rich in natural resources.
The greater part consists of undulating plain, which yearly
produces a large crop of rice capable of supporting a dense
population. The eastern end comprises quite an area of the
great salt belt, while the north and west are mountainous
ridges rich in coal and iron ores. Several streams traverse
the county, minimizing the expense of irrigation.

EARLY WORKERS: — Previous to 1900, missionaries of the
China Inland Mission, and the Rev. Dr. J. Endicott, now
General Secretary, had itinerated this field, preaching and
selling the Word. Mr. Dsen Ko-chin, of Junghsien, while in
the employ of Dr. Hare at the Kiating hospital, was baptized
and received into the church by Dr. V. C. Hart. In 1901 and
1902 Dr. W. E. Smith made several itinerating trips, and
opened a street chapel in the centre of the city, shortly after
which the Advisory Board of Missions assigned this district
exclusively to the Canadian Methodist Mission, and in 1904
the Rev. G. E. Hartwell, B.A., B.D., itinerated the county
and baptized a few persons.

THE FIRST RESIDENT MISSIONARIES : — The council meeting
of 1905 decided to open Junghsien as a central station, and

196 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

forthwith appointed the Rev. W. E. Smith, M.D., C.M., and
family to that work. Associated with them were the Rev.
R. O. Jolliffe, B.A., and wife, first-year students of the lan
guage. The British Consul-General, Chengtu, when inter
viewed for renewal of passport, was opposed to foreigners
taking up residence in Junghsien, as it is three carrying
stages inland, east from the river at Kiating. He advised
opening stations on the big river only, which facilitates exit
in case of riot. " However," he quietly remarked, " your
passport permits you to live anywhere in Szechwan province,
and you Canadians are willing to take risks." Junghsien
county was at that time unsettled, as a protest from the
masses against the taxes recently levied to finance the new
public school system under inauguration in both city and
county. The classes here have always prided themselves on
being educational leaders, and so, naturally, were the first
to introduce the new learning, and they had just appointed
as school inspector one of their own citizens, lately returned
from a Japanese university.

THE STRUGGLE TO SECURE PROPERTY : — April, 1905, found
the missionary on the ground, but it proved very difficult to
secure houses for the two families because of the determined
opposition of the Roman Catholics (who had been here sev
eral decades, and were zealous for the political power they
wielded), also of several of the wealthy gentry, as well as the
magistrate himself. The latter, having suffered loss of
power through the interference of the Roman Catholics,
naturally feared the advent of other foreigners. Over
against these opposing forces was the friendship of several
influential families, who had received treatment in the
Kiating hospital; also of the believers, who welcomed the
Protestants the more warmly in hope that their coming
would bring some alleviation from the obnoxious, overbear
ing Roman Catholic propaganda. One, Mr. Wang, a
Christian who had broken off opium in the Kiating hospital,
is worthy of special mention, for he belonged to one of the
oldest and most influential clans of the city. He introduced

STATION SURVEYS

197

the missionary (who bore the same name, Wang), as a
" brother clansman from overseas/' thus giving prestige.
Many places were offered for rent, but always, before a bar
gain could be closed, the opposers blocked it. This sort of
thing kept recurring day after day, until, finally, at the end
of a month, Mr. Wang persuaded a widow, a friend of his,

PLAN OF PROPERTY OF CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION, JUNGHSIEN.

1. No. 1 House — Evangelistic. 2. No. 2 House — Evangelistic. 3. No.
3 House — Medical. 4. No. 4 House — School. 5. School Classrooms —
Chinese Style Building. 6. School Dormitories — Chinese Style Building.
7. Church. 8. Sunday School Rooms. 9. Day School. 10. Hospital.
11. Dispensary- 12. Hospital Laundry and Helpers' Quarters. 13. Main
Gate to Nos. 1 and 2 Houses. 14. W.M.S. House — Chinese Style Build
ing. 15. W.M.S. School — Chinese Style Building. 16. Kindergarten.

to rent her little, low-lying, badly-drained compound, in the
centre of the city. About midnight the agreement was signed,
and the silver paid over to the amount of a full year's rent.
The following day she returned, bitterly weeping, and fran
tically begging that the bargain be cancelled, because of per
secution, even the magistrate having threatened to punish

198 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

her. It then became necessary to visit the magistrate, pass
port in hand, and definitely point out the treaty rights
accorded British missionaries. He recognized the fact, and
at once instructed his secretary to post proclamations stating
that the missionary was here to heal the sick and preach the
gospel, according to these rights. Thereupon the threatened
riot immediately subsided, for before republican days
Chinese magistrates were autocrats.

MAKING FRIENDS : — It was October, 1905, before the first
family got settled in the little rented house. Social, medical,
and pastoral work were then immediately commenced. Many
an amusing incident occurred in those early days, when the
ignorance and superstitious dread of the people vied with
their curiosity to see the foreigners and their home; but as
callers were always made heartily welcome and invited to
return, soon the mission became a centre of attraction, and a
working constituency was formed through which God gradu
ally opened all doors and gained a welcome for His messen
gers into all classes of society. Amongst the first fruits He
gathered were several teachers, an alderman, a prominent
merchant and a barber (the outcast of China), and as they
met at the regular services of praise and prayer, also in the
weekly social gathering in the mission house, the spirit of
Christian brotherhood gradually lowered the ultra-high social
class wall and broadened the ultra-narrow social customs.

PERMANENT PREMISES SECURED : — The securing of rented
premises for a year did not remove the undercurrent of
opposition to the purchasing of the property necessary for
our mission plant, of church, hospital, schools and four resi
dences, besides W.M.S. property. The opposition went so far
as to appeal to Peking. Nevertheless, by the end of the
year, in the good providence of God, the Mission was
able to vacate the rented property and remove to a very
desirable site, just inside the north gate of the city. And by
persistent effort, at the end of five years, not only the present
plant at the north gate (see chart of C. M. M. north gate

STATION SURVEYS

199

JUNGHSIEN GENERAL HOSPITAL.
Wards for men and women in opposite wings.

property, Junghsien), but also property just inside the east
gate of the city, with buildings sufficient for boys' and girls'
day schools and church, had been purchased, which build
ings, after repairs, are still being so used. The purchase in
one block of sufficient property for mission plant was a
decided victory for Christianity, because much of it con
tained sepulchres of ancient worthies, and was controlled by
Taoist, Buddhist, or Confucian Guilds. Part was entailed,
necessitating the signatures of absent members of the clan
to make the sale legal. In the instance of one very small
holding, twenty-five persons must witness the agreement.
Another cause for rejoicing is that, notwithstanding these
handicaps, the prices paid were very favorable to the Mission.
BUILDING DIFFICULTIES: — Pioneering mission work con
sists largely in the serving of tables, and Junghsien was no

200 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

exception to this rule. The mud houses on the new property
were accommodated, — by the addition of floors, ceilings,
doors, and a few glass windows, — for use as temporary resi
dences, but there was no building in the least suitable for
church purposes. A statement of the urgent need was sent
to the late Dr. A. Sutherland, and by cable came permission
to build, made possible by the gift of one thousand dollars
from an anonymous friend in Montreal. On Christmas Day,
1906, when this joyful news was made known to the few
Chinese Christians, they gathered on the proposed church
site and returned thanks to Almighty God. Then the prob
lem of plans and material had to be faced. Nails and all
hardware must be purchased in Shanghai, about two thou
sand miles distant. The brick on the market being unsuitable
for foreign style of building, a new mould was made by the
missionary. Suitable timber could only be secured in the
green trees on the mountain ridges several miles away, while
not one of the workmen employed had ever seen a foreign
building. The church, accommodating about four hundred,
was completed and dedicated September 22nd, 1907. The
North Gate Mission property was all enclosed by a thirteen-
foot brick wall; also gateways, servants' quarters, Sunday
school rooms, and numbers one, two and three brick resi
dences were built during the first five years. The following
year the boys' boarding school was erected, and the number
four dwelling commenced under the supervision of the Rev.
E. S. Longley, B.A., B.D., and completed in 1913, after the
Revolution, by the Rev. Gordon R. Jones, B.Sc. In 1910
the dispensary was built and hospital commenced by Dr.
J. R. Cox, and completed by Mr. Jones in 1914.

MEDICAL EXPANSION : — Outpatients, who were seen after
the daily eight o'clock Bible study, were, for lack of accommo
dation and time, limited to thirty ; but, the following year, in
the new premises, the number was increased to fifty. Visits
to abnormal obstetrical cases and midnight calls to opium
suicides opened many doors ; indeed the medical work proved

STATION SURVEYS 201

to be a very successful advertising agency. For example,
one morning, while on an itinerary, the missionary stopped
at a small hamlet that his chairbearers might breakfast. At
first they were curtly refused food because they were carry
ing a foreigner. This caused a commotion, whereupon the
foreigner, emerging from his chair, was recognized by a for
mer patient (the inn-keeper's wife), and immediately greeted
as an old friend, and soon the carriers were plentifully
supplied. Then, too, chapels were opened in some of the
surrounding towns through the influence of patients from
the city dispensary. In April, 1910, Dr. J. B. Cox and his
wife took over the medical work, giving their full time to
that department. Since then its influence and usefulness
have developed rapidly. The outpatients, now unrestricted,
often number over two hundred, showing the growing con
fidence in foreign medicine. In 1914, the completed hospital
plant, including dispensary, administration building, with
ward accommodation for twenty-five women in one wing and
twenty-five men in the other, and opium ward in the rear,
was opened, with suitable ceremony, in which the officials,
leading gentry, merchants and teachers of the city partici
pated. In 1916 Miss E. E. Dale, nurse, was appointed
lady superintendent over a good staff of Chinese helpers.
The wards are well patronized and the prospects for this
department are very promising.

EDUCATIONAL GROWTH : — The first mission day school in
Junghsien was opened, for boys and girls, January, 1906, in
the rented chapel in the centre of the city. One of the pupils
was Wu Shu-chen, who entered the first class of the Union
University, Chengtu, and completed the course for B.A. in
1915, thereupon being appointed, by Council, inspector of
mission schools in this, his native county. His sister, a young
woman who became a Christian and also began to study at
that time, later entered the W. M. S. hospital in Chengtu,
and has just been graduated from their training school for
nurses. The following year, 1907, the school was moved to
buildings on the north gate property, and the request of

202 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

many little girls impelled the workers to open a separate
school for them, with Mrs. Wang as teacher. In a few months
the attendance reached forty, several of the pupils continued
their studies in the W. M. S. boarding school when the latter
was opened by Miss Speers in 1911, and have just been gradu
ated from the higher primary. They give splendid promise
of developing into earnest, capable Christian teachers. In
September, 1908, the Rev. E. W. Wallace, B.A., B.D., took
over this educational work and opened a boarding school for
boys, with very bright prospects. Mr. Wallace also opened
a day school in each of two outstations, and did much to
stimulate the new learning in both city and county. In
January, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Longley, who had lived for the
past two years in Junghsien as language students, were
appointed to this work, as well as to the pastorate of the
newly opened East Gate Church. The work thus thoroughly
manned was all too soon interrupted by the revolution be
ginning September, 1911, when it became necessary, because
of Consular orders, that all foreigners leave the station.
After this upheaval, Junghsien was left without a resident
missionary until 1913, but during 1912 the Rev. A. C. Hoff
man, S.T.L., made some flying itineraries over the district,
endeavoring to conserve and reorganize the work. The Coun
cil of 1913 sent Mr. C. W. Batdorf, M.S., and Mrs. Batdorf to
Junghsien to take charge of the educational work in the city,
which responsibility they have discharged faithfully and
efficiently up to the present. There is also conducted annu
ally a summer normal school for training rural lower
primary teachers.

PROGRESS OF PASTORAL WORK: — The pastoral work was
emphasized from the beginning by the organizing of special
classes for enquirers. At the end of six months those found
worthy were advanced to catechumen classes, and those who
continued to attend and study faithfully for another six
months, abandoning their idols and showing signs of regen
eration, were then baptized, and three months later received
into full membership. The women were taught to read, fol-

STATION SUKVEYS 203

lowing a regular course of study specially prepared for them.
There was such a response to the Gospel message that the
missionaries felt God had indeed prepared the way and was
demonstrating His power. In September, 1907, at the dedi
cation of the North Gate Church, the annual study classes
and evangelistic meetings were held for ten days with good
results. A thank-offering of forty dollars (Sze.) was con
tributed towards church furnishings, and the idea conceived
of an annual thanksgiving service as a Christian substitute
for the heathen eighth-moon festival. The following year the
thank-offering was set apart for home mission work, with the
special object of purchasing a church property in the town
of Shwang-gu-fen, twenty miles north of the city. The
foreign missionary was made treasurer of the fund, which
has now grown to one hundred and thirty-eight dollars
(Sze.). Easter week has also been observed annually for
prayer and Bible study, and the heathen feast day, fifth of
the fifth moon, as a day of intercession. Special emphasis
has always been placed on the suitable commemoration of
our Lord's holy birth. Besides a Christmas tree or concert
for the development of the Sunday school children, a suffi
cient sum of money has been annually contributed to allow
the distribution of about a peck of rice to each of six hundred
worthy poor, who first gather in the church to hear a gospel
message. Miss E. E. Hall, who opened work for the Women's
Missionary Society in 1910, has heartily co-operated in all
this, being a most indefatigable evangelistic worker.

THE EAST GATE CHURCH : — In 1911 it became necessary to
vacate the original street chapel, so a suitable one was pur
chased half a block away, which is now known as the Central
Chapel and Eeading Room. It was remodelled, and the Chinese
furnished a room with tables and chairs for the accommoda
tion of a Bible Study Club, organized in 1913, with a mem
bership of thirty, which still meets for an hour each Friday
night to study the Word. The chapePs close proximity to
the government middle school facilitated the gathering of a
class of students each Sunday afternoon for Bible study in

204 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

English and Chinese. Revolution years caused changes in
personnel, and the work was hindered. But since January,
1915, there have been two pastors for the two churches, and
all lines of work are being energetically pushed. Each
church has a well organized Sunday school of two hundred
pupils, including the primary department, A weekly union
normal class is conducted for the teachers by Mr. Sibley.

DEVELOPMENT OF INFANT CHURCHES: — During the first
six years chapels were opened in twenty-nine towns, six of
which, being in the eastern end of the county, were trans
ferred to the Tzeliutsing District, Each of these chapels was
first opened in a rented building, secured by the local
believers, but later removed to more suitable premises
purchased by the Mission, thus making it possible for the
missionary to prevent their being put to improper uses. The
towns were grouped into circuits, so that, when preachers
were scarce, one helper could hold service in two or even
three chapels each Sunday. The Revolution greatly inter
rupted the development of these infant churches. At present
there are eleven helpers and evangelists in charge, with thir
teen lower primary day schools, in which about four hundred
bright boys and girls are following the West China Union
educational course. The helpers and school teachers co
operate to hold Sunday school and preaching service in each
chapel every Sunday. The prospects are bright for real
constructive work.

SPLENDID STATISTICS : — There are now in full membership
two hundred and ten, being fifty-nine women and one hun
dred and fifty-one men. These, with catechumens and
inquirers, bring the total up to over eight hundred after sub
tracting those removed by transfer, death and lapses. The
Sunday schools register over seven hundred pupils, but num
bers fail to indicate the wide and subtle influence the gospel
exerts in this city and county, and the growing confidence
amongst all classes. From the beginning the Chinese Chris
tians were consulted with regard to church business, and in
1907, a tentative Quarterly Board was organized. Self-

STATION SURVEYS 205

support is being steadily and insistently held up as an ideal,
with the motto, " Pray, study, give."

SUMMER SCHOOLS: — No history of Junghsien station
would be complete without mention of the summer resort
known as Douglas Heights ( Kao-shih-tih ) . This is a group
of shrubby hills ten miles north of the city, which gradually
rise to an elevation of about one thousand five hundred feet
above it. With the consent of the General Board, in 1910, a
few missionaries formed a joint stock company and pur
chased the site, where, to date, twelve bungalows have been
erected, as also a church and primary school, built with their
private funds. The Council of 1916 sanctioned the erection
of a building, to accommodate fifty boarders, in which to
carry on summer normal schools and Bible training schools
for helpers, and voted the sum of seventy dollars to assist
the company in this enterprise.

TZELIUTSING.

E. O. JOLLIFFE, B.A.

Tzeliutsing (The Self-Flowing Well) is the centre of the
great salt well district of Szechwan. It is famous through
out China for the quantity and quality of salt produced and
for the ingenious methods devised by the Chinese for drilling
wells more than half a mile deep, from which they raise the
brine to be evaporated in the production of salt. The city,
including numerous adjacent towns or cities, so close as to be
almost reckoned as one, has a population of at least one
million. Tzeliutsing is three days, or about one hundred
miles, due east of Kiating and about the same distance north
west of Luchow.

Tzeliutsing was opened as a central mission station in
1907. One reason it was not opened much earlier was because
the water supply was reported so bad that Missions hesi
tated to send workers here to live. The fact that a China

20G OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Inland missionary died from fever contracted while staying
in a temple near this place, did not add to its reputation.
As a matter of fact the health of the missionaries living here
now is quite as good as it is in the average station. Another
reason for the delay in opening this place as a central station
was that the people were very much opposed to having
foreigners live here. The French fathers opened work at
Tzeliutsing in 1870, about thirty-seven years before we came.
The American Baptist Mission made an attempt to open
work here previous to 1900, but owing to the persistent oppo
sition of the people they were not able to secure property.
Dr. Hart visited " The Wells/' as this place is popularly
called, shortly after our Mission came to the province.
Whether because of strained political conditions at the time,
or because of the usual attitude of the people towards the
foreigner, Dr. Hart had an unpleasant time, and with diffi
culty secured the protection of the official.

PERMANENT SETTLEMENT: — Previous to 1900 several
Missions had done itinerating in the salt-well district. After
that time things came more easily, and the China Inland
Mission opened several outstations in the district, one of
which, at Siao-Chi, opposite Kung-Gin, was made a kind of
centre, with temporary quarters for the missionaries to live
in on their rounds. The first outstation opened in this dis
trict by our Mission was just after 1900, when our nearest
station was at Kiating, three days away. It could not be pro
perly supervised at that distance, so had to be closed for the
time being. Later, Junghsien being opened as a central
station, Kung-Gin was opened as an outstation by Dr. Smith
in 1906. Kung-Gin is about five English miles from Tzeliu
tsing. In the fall of the same year a small place was rented
on a small alley to commence the work of the Canadian
Methodist Mission in Tzeliutsing. Early in the following
year another property suitable for missionaries' residence
was secured, but when it became known that the foreigner
was coming to live permanently in the place such pressure
was brought to bear upon the owner that he then repudiated

STATION SURVEYS

207

BIBLE TRAINING SCHOOL, TZELIUTSING.

At these schools the Christians from the outstations spend from two weeks to
a month in Bible study and teaching methods.

the whole bargain. After numerous feasts, many words and
much time, the official and gentry offered to compromise by
giving us another place. We of course signified our willing
ness should the place prove satisfactory. Another long delay
was caused by the search for the proper location, our ideas
of a satisfactory building being slightly different from
theirs. At last, after six months of exceedingly wordy
struggle, a splendid place capable of housing three families
was secured, and our Mission fairly placed on its feet in
Tzeliutsing.

FIRST WORKERS: — In November, 1907, the Eev. and Mrs.
R. O. Jolliffe moved down from Junghsien, and in three
months were joined by the Eev. and Mrs. G. W. Sparling and
Dr. and Mrs. W. J. Sheridan, just arrived from Canada. A
few believers, some of whom are still with us, commenced to

208 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

come to Sunday services, and a small day school was started.
Both church and school were conducted in the numerous
rooms at the front of the house occupied by the foreigners.
Unfortunately it was just at that period when those who had
any lawsuits, any grievances, or were fleeing from justice,
fancied that the Church was a special institution, formed to
help them to secure salvation in a cause good or bad, material
or spiritual, so long as they belonged to the foreigner's
Society; and thus great care had to be taken before recog
nizing those who came as belonging to the Church.

LAND AND BUILDINGS: — In the autumn of 1909 our first
property was bought, on which to start the permanent mis
sion plant. This was not secured without a great deal of
difficulty and anxiety; though ultimately the deal was put
through with the backing of a large number of the gentry of
the place. This showed that our two years of friendship
with them had not been in vain. The property for the W.M.S
school was purchased in 1910; and in the spring of 1911
Miss E. P. Sparling came as the representative of the
W.M.S. and proceeded at once to erect a temporary house.
In 1911 the first two buildings of our plant, number one
dwelling and the church, were completed. Then came the
Revolution and all building ceased. In six months, 1912-13,
several large properties were bought. This fact, taken to
gether with the urgent need of a larger plant immediately,
decided Mr. Hoffman to accept an appointment as builder
during 1913-14. In a little over a year there were erected
three dwellings and a dispensary, and the large hospital
building was begun. Early in 1914 Dr. Wilford moved his
dispensary and hospital patients over to the new dispensary
building. About the same time Miss Hambly commenced
the erection of her new boarding school which, now com
pleted, is one of the finest in the province. It was opened in
June, 1915. In the fall of 1915 work was recommenced on
the magnificent new hospital building, the main part of
which is now nearing completion. It is now (1916) just six
years since the very first buildings of our permanent plant
were started. During that time the work of building stood

STATION SUKVEYS 209

still for over two years, a year and a half during the Bevo-
lution and almost a year on account of the war, yet the plant
now consists of four dwellings, a church, girls' school, dis
pensary and hospital practically all completed. We still
lack, to complete our plant, two or more dwellings, a boys'
school and the women's wing of the hospital. Yet we cannot
be other than grateful that in six years from the time our
plant was commenced, it is so far advanced. More and more
we find that the time, thought and energy of our workers are
being devoted to the work of evangelizing, healing, teaching
and preaching, and less applied to the nerve-racking, time-
consuming, though absolutely necessary labor of preparing
for work. The first four years in Tzeliutsing may be regarded
as preparatory for preparation itself. As we near the close
of this stage of our mission work and take stock, we realize
that if we should feel encouraged because of the development
of our plant, we should be even more so because of the pro
gress of the other departments of our work. All of these
things cause us to take heart, looking at them as promises
of multiplied blessings in the years to come.

We are about to secure a building to be used as primary
Sunday school, in which we shall house several hundred
wiggling youngsters. Six hundred dollars gold had been
entrusted by the Sunday school of the First Methodist
Church, London, to Dr. and Mrs. Crawford. They have very
kindly placed this at our disposal for the new building. We
see in this again, as we see almost every minute, the direct
guidance of God in our work in all departments. To say
that our whole station was thankful is putting it mildly. It
was another case of "the men and the money coming to
gether." Only in this case the " men " were one thousand
Sunday school children, a large share of whom are already
on hand.

The women's wing of the hospital is about to be provided
for, in part at least, by the splendid gift of $10,000 silver,
$7,000 of which has already been collected by the gentry of
Tzeliutsing. This is, so far, the crowning manifestation of

210 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the good feeling of the people of this place toward the mis
sionaries and their message. Help in purchasing property,
even by those who formerly opposed us, assistance in times of
difficulty, general friendship and helpful advice: these are
some of the ways in which the people of this place have
recently shown their attitude toward us.

THE REVOLUTION: — Revolutionary disturbances began in
the autumn of 1911. Practically all our mission stations
were obliged to be vacated, and in accordance with the
orders of the British Consul General, almost all missionaries
made their way to the coast. All building ceased, and much
mission work also. Much time and much money and the
health of many missionaries were lost in the Revolution, but
the favor of the people and their willingness to hear the
gospel, commodities more valuable than money or time, were
not lost.

THE CHURCH:— As always, so in Tzeliutsing, direct
preaching of the gospel was the first form of work to be
begun. The largest and best room in the rented Chinese
compound is always taken for the church services. Our
church building, completed in 1911, is bright and thoroughly
ventilated. In June, 1912, when Mr. Hoffman returned after
the Revolution, the new church was opened for services and
the building which it Avas thought would take years to fill,
was found to be none too large to contain the crowds that
came. For two or three years our services never lacked a
large number of schoolboys, sometimes as many as one hun
dred and fifty. They were induced to attend along with,
their teachers by the aid of a small subsidy to the school.
The boys repeated Scripture, studied the Sunday school
lesson and learned gospel both in and out of school, the
teacher in almost every case being a Christian. It was a
good plan for the broadcast sowing of the gospel, but as a
proposition for building up a good school it was not a
success.

We have always placed the strongest emphasis upon the
Sunday school. The attendance runs from three to four

STATION SURVEYS 211

hundred and the school is organized into fifteen to twenty
classes. During the last year the scholars in our Sunday
school have learned to repeat about twelve thousand scrip
ture verses, in addition to hundreds of hymns. We do not
think that this is all the work the Sunday school should do,
but we do think that it means twelve thousand seeds planted
in hundreds of hearts, which will bear fruit in due time.

Preaching to the masses is systematically carried on in
six different places throughout the city. Church services
are well attended ; we frequently have a congregation of five
hundred. There is a membership of eighty in the church
here, not including the outstations. There is a church roll
of two hundred and fifty. We have found in our short experi
ence here that few who come as families and few who con
tinue to full church membership ever go back to heathenism
again.

WORK AMONG WOMEN : — In no other sphere of work is
progress so marked as among the women, because here ad
vancement means so much. At the beginning very few
women came, and those who did come took very charily to
the hard, hard task of learning to read characters in order to
learn the gospel. Few believed it possible, and it took some
living examples of women who had done the impossible
before much progress was made. With the help of earnest-
hearted people, women's .classes were gotten together and
systematic study started. In the last few years about twenty
women, most of them mothers, have learned to read. Like
draws like, and now almost as many more women who
already understand the character have joined the classes to
study the gospel intelligently.

GRADUAL GOSPEL PENETRATION: — One side of the work
cannot be registered in numbers but is seen alone by the eye
of God. It is the gradual penetration of the gospel into the
life of the people. This may sometimes display itself in a
friendly feeling for the gospel and its representatives ; it may
manifest itself in hearty opposition to the gospel ; but it most
surely exhibits its existence and growth when it exercises an

212 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

influence for good on the life of the community at large. If
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then we have it
in one of the temples here, which has started schools and is
beginning medical work, crowning it all with a special ser
vice every Sunday. Whether this is opposition or competi
tion, it is in any case an evidence that the gospel is
powerfully at work.

THE OUTSTATIONS: — Six of our outstations are the six
large market towns in the south-east corner of the county of
Junghsien. The most remote of these is within a half -day's
journey from Tzeliutsing. One outstation is the walled city
of Weiyuan, county town of the county of that name.

As early as 1903, the Kev. G. E. Hartwell itinerated
through this city, staying several days and endeavoring to
organize the enquirers into classes. At one time Council
planned its opening as a central station, that is, with resident
missionaries. Later it was decided that Weiyuan could be
worked as an outstation, from Tzeliutsing. A fine property
has been secured, with the intention to provide for strong
educational work, a certain amount of medical work, and
the occasional residence of the foreign missionary.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OUTSTATION: — The internal
development and the history of outstation chapels in the
various parts of our work shoAvs for the last ten years a
remarkable similarity. One reason, of course, is because
our efforts are conditioned by political and other external
conditions, as well as by methods of missionary endeavor.
Eoughly speaking, the course of events has been somewhat
as follows: —

1. A place with people eager to learn the gospel and
willing to rent a chapel and support it at their own expense.

2. A rush of believers to join the church at the newly
opened chapel, but dimly understanding why they come.

3. A quarrel, some exposures, and all leave except a small
remnant.

4. An attempt to get into touch with the people, by means
of a school generally supervised by an old teacher in the

STATION SURVEYS

213

THE CHURCH AT TZELIUTSING, BUILT ALMOST ENTIRELY BY THE GIFTS

OF THE CHINESE.

old-fashioned style, through the scholars who become little
evangelists scattering the truth about the gospel into many
different homes.

5. Better helpers and evangelists, trained in Bible
schools, in college, and quickened in revival meetings to a
stronger sense of their duty.

6. Through school, through evangelist, and through litera
ture, a new and better idea of the meaning of the gospel
gaining hold on the people.

7. One by one, and very slowly, men coming to the
chapel, — willing in many cases really to study the gospel.

8. Better schools conducted under the West China Chris
tian Educational Union.

9. Girls' schools and women's work conducted by the
W.M.S.

10. Families starting to come in as families, — the
children in the schools.

214 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

11. A higher appreciation by the people of the gospel and
its worth brings a willingness to help support the work with
their means. Such support comes more gradually than it
did in its infant days, but the motive is far different, and
makes the work rich in promise at least.

12. By means of Bible schools, close evangelistic super
vision, missionary itineraries, and regular services, gradu
ally, and with many set-backs and discouragements, one by
one enquirers come to experience more and more of that mys
terious life which we call Salvation.

THE FUTURE OF THE OUTSTATION: — There are in the
fourteen outstations of this district nearly one hundred and
fifty communicants, and a church constituency, including
school children, of almost one thousand people, i.e., people
who are directly under the influence of the church. Nor is
it too much to prophesy that, notwithstanding the fact that
before self-support can be reached, the whole thought of this
people on the matter of finance must be absolutely revolu
tionized by years of training; nevertheless, judging from the
progress of the last few years, we may reasonably expect,
within the next quarter of a century, a group at each out-
station strong enough, and sufficiently established in the
doctrine, to allow of a self-supporting church at almost every
one of these places.

EDUCATIONAL WORK:— From the opening of the station,
school work was carried on ; but in common with every other
form of work, our schools were disbanded at the time of the
Revolution. In the spring of 1913, schools were reopened
under the Rev. R, E. S. Taylor. In 1914 a higher primary
school with a boarding department was begun. We have now
five schools with a registration of over two hundred, forty of
whom are in the higher primary. The girl students have
increased from a small class in 1909 to two hundred and fifty
in 1916, sixty-six of whom are boarders in the higher primary.
There are five lower primary .schools for girls, two of which
are under the W.M.S. and three under the married ladies.
We thus have a total constituency of nearly five hundred

STATION SURVEYS

215

BORING FOR SALT AT TZELIUTSING.
The old method will soon give way to modern machinery.

pupils in Tzeliutsing itself, or including all the outstations,
about one thousand. This year ninety-five boys and girls
tried the entrance to the higher primary and sixteen the
entrance to the middle school. Of the one hundred and eleven
candidates, twenty-five secured over fifty per cent on every
subject and a large majority over fifty per cent, in over half
of the subjects.

MEDICAL WORK : — A Chinese house which stands on our
property at the rear of the church was first used as mission
ary's residence, then as higher primary school for boys.
Immediately after the Revolution it came into use as hospital
and dispensary, the new church building serving as waiting
room. Early in 1914 Dr. Wilford occupied his new dis
pensary building. From the beginning our medical work
has been very popular. Each year it has increased rapidly,

216 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

not only in popularity, but in influence for good on the life
of the people of the district in which we live, and now our
hospital has become the centre of the Eed Cross and other
philanthropic interests. It is a strong social factor and a
very practical medium in leading outside people into the
church. During the last six months nearly five hundred
operations were performed and over ten thousand visits,
including dispensary patients, made, in addition to an aver
age of sixty-one patients in the wards. All this work is
being carried on in the dispensary building, the hospital
proper not being quite ready for occupation.

THE IMPACT OF THE GOSPEL UPON THE TZELIUTSING COM
MUNITY : — The civil magistrate, a number of officials in the
salt inspectorate and the recent president of the Bank of
China have been in a greater or lesser degree related to our
church. Naturally, the coming of the foreign doctor has
had a profound effect in raising the standards of medical
practice in Tzeliutsing, making it impossible for any Chinese
doctor to practise without some attempt at newer and better
methods. We do not underestimate the influence of our
work, but these are but the beginning when we think of our
expectations in the gospel. As yet there are no visible signs
that the church is able to compel any reforms in the local
community ; it is still a society set over against the mass of
humanity outside ; but we believe that it will come. We hope
that when the " Golden Jubilee " year book of our Mission is
written, there may be reported at least two or three self-
supporting churches, with numbers of church schools (and
mission schools, too). We hope, too, that five thousand
people who have been trained in Christian schools and tens
of thousands who have received healing at a Christian hos
pital will form such a solid background that church pro
grammes may be laid and successfully carried out for the
gathering in of souls, for the wider propagation of the gospel
among the unenlightened, and for the abolition of at least
some of the social abuses that defile the land to-day.

STATION SUKVEYS 217

LUCHOW.

THE CHURCH.

C. J. P. JOLLIFFE, B.A.

Luchow is a great, busy business city of probably 200,000
people. It is situated on the Yangtse, at the mouth of a tribu
tary from the north called the To Eiver, about one hundred
and fifty miles west of Chungking. Luchow is three days
south-east of Tzeliutsing, and four days, by land, from
Chungking.

The special Council meeting, held in October, 1907,
resolved — " That this Council reaffirms its conviction that
the entering of Luchow is necessary to the proper expansion
of our work." A few months after this, therefore, at the
Council held in January, 1908, it was definitely decided to
open this station, and a beginning was made by the appoint
ment of my wife and myself to the work of opening Luchow
for our Mission.

In August of that year we arrived in the city, having
previously rented a Chinese house. The rate was cheap
because it was supposed to be demon-haunted and had been
vacant for some years. However, demons do not trouble
missionaries, and the first Sunday that we spent in our new
quarters we held a service for worship.

THE FIRST SUNDAY: — The first Sunday the street doors
of the compound were thrown open and a man stationed at
the entrance to invite the people in. It was market day, so
the street was crowded. For a long time no one responded
to our invitation. The house was known to be haunted, and
even as recently as 1908 the foreigner was not regarded with
any surplus of love. Only a few days before this, Dr. O. L.
Kilborn, of our Mission, was riding through the streets of
Luchow when a man shouted — " Here is a foreigner ! Kill
him!" The Doctor stopped and reported the affair to a
policeman.

218 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

We had almost despaired of securing a congregation that
day, when at last, a man, whose curiosity overcame his fear,
made a break and came walking in. Since nothing happened
to him, others followed, and then others, until our little meet
ing-room was filled to its capacity. Seated on boards sup
ported on saw-horses, this little crowd of people heard the
first attempt of the Canadian Methodists to preach the
gospel in Luchow.

CHURCH OPENING :— In April, 1909, we had our « church
opening.'7 Near the entrance to our little compound was a
large, roofed-over space such as are so common in Chinese
compounds. It is called the " tin (g) ." By a little rearrange
ment it proved well adapted for a meeting-place. Benches,
a platform and a pulpit gave it quite a church-like appear
ance. On this church-opening occasion we were fortunate in
having such distinguished guests as Dr. T. E. Egerton Shore
and the Rev. M. M. Bennett, of Canada, and Dr. C. WT. Ser
vice, of our own Mission, all of whom helped us very much
in making the opening a success.

BUILDINGS : — Our main buildings in Luchow are, with the
exception of the rented compound at the west gate, all situ
ated on one street, and are, therefore, in close proximity to
one another. The buildings, constructed after foreign style,
now comprise a church, a dispensary and two dwellings of
the General Society, and one dwelling of the Woman's Mis
sionary Society. Besides these, the hospital dwelling is now
in course of erection and will be completed early in 1917.
We still lack a hospital building (we have the site), a boys'
school and a dwelling for the educational missionary.
Furthermore, the Woman's Missionary Society lack a girls'
boarding school building; their present school is carried on
in adapted Chinese buildings.

LUCHOW CHURCH:— Our church is built of brick, with
two towers. Around the auditorium are eight class rooms
which can be thrown open, thus increasing the seating space.
In addition, there are four more class rooms in the towers.
The new church was opened in April, 1914, when we were

STATION SURVEYS

219

THREE MEN AND THEIR WIVES, THE FIRST CONVERTS TO BE BAPTIZED

AT LUCHOW.

honored with the help of Dr. Kilborn, of our own Mission,
Mr. H. J. Openshaw, of the Baptist Mission, and the Rev.
Ding Li Mei, who is so often called the Moody of China.

MEMBERSHIP AND INFLUENCE : — Our church now has 47
baptized members, 39 catechumens and 174 enquirers, a total
of 260. We have all classes in the church, so we feel that
the leaven of the gospel is gradually permeating society.
The people are very accessible, and especially so since the
revolution. This year, during the fighting between the North
and the South in this district, the people naturally turned
to us for shelter, and our churches and compounds were
turned into havens of refuge. The missionary has come to
be trusted by the people, and often his advice is sought by
those in high authority. The opportunities for service
among this people are very great.

In the city we have two street chapels, one under Mr.
Would's supervision and one under myself. We have also a

220 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

reading room where our church people and outsiders may
see the best Christian literature.

EDUCATIONAL WORK :— Our educational work in Luchow
is still in its initial stage. This is because we have as yet no
educational plant, nor a missionary who can give his time
fully to this work. The schools are as yet the responsibility
of a pastor missionary. Our school at present is being
carried on in buildings erected temporarily in the hospital
compound. This year we reported 100 boys in attendance.
Some are the children of our church people, but most of
them are children of non-Christians, and through this agency
they are often attracted to the church. Luchow is an educa
tional centre, there being both a government middle school
and a government normal school here. We hope our Mission
will soon have a school plant, and a worker who will be able
to give his attention entirely to this work. Only thus can
we meet our growing opportunities.

OUTSTATIONS.

J. M. WOULD.

The outstation work of the Luchow district is still in its
initial stages. At present there are but three appointments,
but there is a large number of towns waiting and longing for
us to begin work in them. In this country district there are
approximately four hundred thousand people. We as a
Mission are responsible for their evangelization, and at the
present time I am the only foreign missionary working
among them. As in Christian lands, so here in China, most
of our promising boys are from the homes of the country.
The city is the centre of vice and degradation. v

The three centres thus far opened are situated at points
seven, twenty and twenty-four English miles from Luchow.
In each town we have a chapel, with a total, in the three
places, of thirteen members and one hundred and fifty cate
chumens. There is also a school at each place, in each of
which from twenty to fifty pupils are in attendance.
Teachers, evangelists and colporteurs work harmoniously

STATION SUKVEYS 221

HE WAS CARRIED MANY MILES TO THE HOSPITAL.

together in teaching, preaching and distributing the Word.
Through their earnest, consecrated efforts there have been
gathered together a large number of both men and women,
who are diligently studying the gospel. There is a great
future for the Gospel in these country districts. I am per
suaded that the influence of our work is affecting the life of
the towns. The gospel leaven is spreading, and, we believe,
will spread more and more.

MEDICAL WORK.
R. WOLFENDALE.

The medical work in this centre was opened by Dr. W. D.
Ferguson, in the spring of 1911, in a rented house on the
North Street, which served as a temporary dispensary; and
about this time the first piece of land — property for per
manent hospital work — was purchased by him. It is situ
ated on the small river side of the city, on the same street as
the rest of the Mission property, and, along with two adjoin
ing lots purchased by the Mission, forms a most excellent site
for medical work.

In 1912-13 Dr. Ferguson erected a permanent brick dis
pensary and the hospital compound wall. This dispensary

222 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

is exceedingly well adapted for outpatient work. It is a
strong, well-lighted building, with rooms for consulting,
dispensing, minor surgery, store room, etc. A few small
rooms above are being used for inpatients until the proper
hospital building is granted. Our medical work, in common
with that in most other stations, was much interfered with
by revolutionary disturbances. Then, early in March, 1913,
Dr. Ferguson was obliged to leave for Canada on account of
his wife's ill-health. Dr. Simpson succeeded him as a lan
guage student and I was able to re-open the dispensary in
June, 1915. Outpatients are seen every day, Sundays
excepted, and inpatients are numerous. We find that the
Luchow people are very eager to receive foreign medical and
surgical treatment.

SICK SOLDIERS ox ALL SIDES : — The first half-year of 1916
the inpatient total was about 280, and we had them lying in
consulting room, waiting room, etc., etc., on boards and
straw on the floor, packed like herrings, — mostly wounded
soldiers! Our city, during the fighting between Yunnanese
and Northerners, in the spring, was over-ridden with
Northern troops, and our Mission premises, along with other
hospitals at Suifu, Tzeliutsing, Chengtu, Chungking, etc.,
became centres of Red Cross work. Hundreds came to our
daily dispensary, and during these months of fighting the
medical men of the province were very busy indeed. Now
these Northerners have retired, and the Yunnanese are in
possession of the city, — every day some of these receive our
treatment. (See Missionary Bulletin, June- September, 1916.)

THE LUCHOW WORKERS.
C. J. P. J.

During the past eight years we have had many changes.
The Rev. and Mrs. E. R. M. Brecken were here for several
years. Dr. E. K. Simpson spent his two years as a language
student in Luchow station. Miss Ada Morgan spent most of
her language study term here. Of the Woman's Missionary

STATION SURVEYS 223

Society, Miss C. A. Brooks, upon her return from her second
furlough, was appointed to Luchow to open Woman's Mis
sionary Society work. This was in March, 1911. She still
has charge of this work here. Miss M. E. Thompson, Miss
Jennie Ure, Miss J. E. Holt, Miss L. B. Sherritt, and Miss
F. F. Jack, have each spent a longer or shorter period in
Luchow. The last is now here as a language student.

Luchow is a strategic centre. We form the connecting
link between the Junghsien and Chungking divisions of our
Mission. In the city and country we have at least a half-
million people as our exclusive responsibility. Everywhere
we receive marks of the confidence in us of all classes. All
indications point to such an opportunity as has never con
fronted us before. It is important that our staff should be
strengthened and our equipment completed at the earliest
possible date.

CHUNGKING.
J. PARKER.

Chungking, fifteen hundred miles from the sea, the Liver
pool of the West, is pre-eminently the commercial capital
of the province of Szechwan. It is situated on a narrow neck
of land formed by the junction of the Yangtse with a branch,
called the Gia-ling. The waters of these two rivers are the
natural highways for the north, west and south of Szechwan
and the northern part of Yunnan. Chungking thus becomes
the market for the produce of this wide territory and at the
same time the clearing house for all up-river merchandise
coming from Eastern China or distant foreign countries and
destined for the Great West. Until late years, steamer con
nection ceased at Ichang, a port five hundred miles east of
Chungking. But now a limited number of small but high-
powered steamers defy the rapids and the whirlpools of the
upper Yangtse, and reach Chungking for about six months

224 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

of the year. For other six months, however, we are still
compelled to use the old-time Chinese junks.

Chungking is not an attractive city in which to work or
live. In a book of travel it is briefly named as a " city of
steps and swear- words " — not a bad description. The two
rivers have worn out deep beds for themselves, leaving the
city on a high cliff, around the edge of which runs the city
wall. The gates are approached by long flights of steps,
reeking with mud and garbage, amid which filthy beggars
seek their fortunes. Several thousands of men are con
stantly employed carrying up the river-water in buckets for
the city of 700,000 inhabitants — a veritable human water
works. The streets are narrow, stone paved, with many
flights of steps, making vehicle traffic impossible. Sanita
tion is of the crudest. Add to the above, a warm, moist
climate with only occasional breezes, and you will get con
ditions trying to even the most experienced.

FORMERLY L. M. S. :— The Canadian Methodist Mission
began work in Chungking in 1910, by taking over the mission
field and buildings of the London Missionary Society, which
society, in carrying out a policy of concentration, had
resolved to retire from West China. That famous mission
ary of the London Mission, Dr. Griffith John, had visited
Chungking in 1864. In 1884 the London Missionary Society
sent its first resident missionary, the Rev. J. W. Wilson.
Medical work was commenced soon after by Dr. Davenport.
They, in common with all early missionaries, had to be con
tent with rented premises. Chinese buildings were repaired
and adapted for dwellings, chapel and hospital. In the con
ditions found at Chungking it is not surprising that the
health of the missionaries often failed, so that there were
not infrequent changes in the personnel previous to 1910.
At that date Dr. Wolfendale was in charge of the medical
work and the Rev. A. E. Claxton and myself constituted the
London Mission Staff.

TRANSFER TO THE CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION : — In the
midst of success and growth came the news from the home

STATION SURVEYS

225

THE CHUNGKING CHURCH.

land that retrenchment had been decided upon and that the
work in West China should be abandoned. It was a great
sorrow, both to the missionaries and to the Chinese Chris
tians. The Canadian Methodist Mission, in the enthusiasm
of a great forward movement, was looking for a new and
enlarged field. Yunnan and Kweichow had already been
surveyed and discussed. Here, now, was a field of some three
hundred miles in length, along the banks of the great water
way, already opened to work. What could be easier for
working and connecting with their own present field? The
negotiations for the transfer of the mission buildings of the
London Missionary Society and the taking over of the work
were carried on with the most Christian brotherliness. Two
of the London Mission staff, Dr. Wolfendale and myself,
wished to stay with our old work and were accepted by the
Canadian Methodist Mission.

The advent of the new management was not altogether
cordially accepted by the Chinese Christians. They felt that

226 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

they had been handed over from one foreign society to
another without consultation, forgetting that the work was
one and the same. But with the retention of two of the
former missionaries and by the tact and good judgment used
by the men the Canadian Mission first appointed, such as
the Kevs. W. J. Mortimore, E. J. Carson, E. W. Wallace and
D. M. Perley, a better understanding was soon brought about.

The first year's work under the new regime was saddened
by the sudden death, within a few months of his entrance on
the field, of the Kev. E. J. Carson. The Mission denied itself
of one of its strongest and ablest men for the developing of
this newly acquired field. Alas! on his first journey to the
country districts he contracted typhus fever. His death was
a tragedy which greatly impressed the Chinese Christians.

THE CHURCH: — The first London Missionary Society
church seated about a hundred and fifty. This had become
far too small for the congregation. The parent society had
resolved to throw the onus of building churches upon the
Chinese themselves. Much prayer was offered and faith was
severely tried. First, a wonderfully fine site where once an
old temple stood was secured, though not without some
opposition. After some years of patient effort, in 1906 a
beautiful church seating five hundred and fifty people was
brought to completion. The present pulpit stands nearly on
the spot where the large clay and gilded image of Buddha
stood. It was a notable day when the city officials in solemn
array carried the idol down to the river brink and after
various marks of respect, ordered their followers to break it
to pieces and mix the remains with the waters of the great
river.

The entrance to the church compound is from an exceed
ingly busy business street. The church itself stands high
above the surrounding structures, thus securing the very
best of light and air, and commanding a magnificent view in
several directions.

The membership includes a number of prosperous busi
ness men, some of whom have brought their wives and

STATION SURVEYS 227

children into the church with them. Still the men members
are largely in excess of the women. Our work among women
and girls has been one of hard struggle, interrupted effort,
some success, and yet again, some heartbreaking failures.
From the commencement of the Mission, there has not yet
been one woman missionary who could give the whole of her
time to this important work. Girls' schools and evangelistic
work among women were commenced by the wife of the first
foreign pastor, and it has continued so.

Recently a second church has been organized at Go-gai-
lou. Here, beginning with a few, the congregation is steadily
increasing, as also the membership. Sunday school and day
schools fix the attention of the parents and others upon this
as a centre, and it is hoped that a thriving cause may be
established.

For many years the Chinese church or churches have
carried on street chapel preaching at six or seven places
scattered through our section of the city. Each week-night
two or three volunteer helpers preach to all comers in one or
two street chapels. Every Sunday night all six or seven
street chapels are wide open and many hundreds hear the
gospel message.

THE DISTRICT : — There are three outstations connected
with Chungking: two on the river, including the town of
Mutung, thirty miles to the east; and the Availed city of
Lanchwan, sixty miles or two days' journey directly south of
the river from Mutung. These outstations are visited by the
missionary every two or three months, but the work is being
carried on continuously by resident Chinese evangelists. We
are much encouraged by the zeal of the Chinese Christians,
especially at Mutung and Lanchwan.

EDUCATIONAL WORK : — A number of lower primary
schools had been established by the London Mission workers
in Chungking and outstations. But soon after the transfer
to the Canadian Mission, the first higher primary school was
opened. In 1911, the Rev. G. G. Harris was appointed to
educational work at Chungking, and an arrangement was

228 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

come to whereby the Methodist Episcopal Mission and our
selves undertook union middle school work in their school
premises at Tsen-kia-ngai, about one and a half miles outside
the city wall.

In accordance with our Mission policy, several lower
primary schools have been opened inside the city or suburbs,
and Mr. E. H. Newton, B.A., has been put in charge of these
and the higher primary. A thriving lower primary school
is doing good work at each of our outstations. These are
under the direction of the pastor of the church, who visits
them each time he visits the country.

GIRLS^ SCHOOLS : — Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Owen, Mrs. Claxton,
and later, Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Wolfendale, each had charge
of small schools for girls and Bible classes for women. At
the present time, schools for girls and women's work devolve
upon Mrs. Sparling, who tries to carry on what two women
did formerly. Success there has been. Christian girls have
gone forth from the two schools in the city, either as wives
or as teachers, or to take a higher course of training in
schools at other centres. This phase of our work at Chung
king has been very meagrely supplied, and the wonder is that
there has been so much success.

MEDICAL WORK : — Within the first decade of the new
century, the London Mission abandoned practically all
adapted Chinese buildings. Two substantiaL brick houses
were erected as dwellings, a new church already referred to,
and also a fine new hospital. The hospital is built of brick
and has accommodation for about eighty in patients, together
with operating and drug rooms. Later, a small but con
venient dispensary for outpatient purposes was added. Here
many thousands of treatments have been given annually, and
some hundreds of operations performed. Hospital work was
continued uninterruptedly through all the ferments of Revo
lution. Before Dr. Wolfendale's furlough, his staff had been
enlarged by the addition of Miss Switzer as nurse and
matron. Dr. W. J. Sheridan succeeded to the post of doctor.
Union in medical work with the Methodist Episcopal
Mission has been much discussed, but no decision has yet

STATION SURVEYS

229

230 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

been reached. Our medical work is cramped for room. A
new and larger hospital must be obtained and the staff
should be increased to meet the calls made upon it.

THE BUSINESS AGENCY:— The Canadian Methodist Mis
sion, with such a large number of missionaries, with hos
pitals, and a large printing press, all needing supplies of all
kinds, was dependent upon foreign transport firms to bring
up the goods needed from Ichang. This caused much loss
and many delays, besides being costly. To meet this a
Business Department was opened. The office of Business
Manager has been successively held by Mr. M. A. Brillinger
and the Rev. G. E. Jones. Up to the present it had been diffi
cult to find suitable buildings for such work, where the
reception, forwarding and shipping of goods demand large
storage, also residential apartments to house the mission
aries passing through Chungking. In such a city building
sites are expensive. Finally, however, a site has been
secured and adequate buildings are now being erected
(1916).

THE GUILD: — Two years before the Revolution the Mis
sion made an effort to do work for the young men of our
schools and churches. A Guild was commenced along the
lines of the Y.M.C.A. At the time of the Revolution, while
the refugees were living in the mission buildings they got
interested in the work of the Guild. They enthusiastically
supported it, and now, with some considerable financial sup
port from them, a large four-story building, costing about
$4,000 gold, has been erected. It is called the Young Men's
Guild, and consists of rooms for gymnasium, baths, lecture
hall, reception, games, and reading rooms, class rooms, and
bedrooms, and is altogether like a modern Y.M.C.A. The
troublous times following Yuan Shi-Kai's attempt at a
monarchy have delayed completion. This autumn (1916)
Mr. H. Y. Fuh, B.A.? one of the first graduates of our Union
University at Chengtu, takes charge of this work, and we
hope that the dream of the last eight years will soon be
fulfilled.

STATION SURVEYS 231

KEVOLUTIONARY DAYS :— The Canadian Methodist Mission
had been at work in Chungking for only a little more than a
year when the Revolution broke out (1911), and nearly all
the missionaries had to leave the province. Chungking,
being a river port with foreign gunboats stationed here, was
considered safe enough for a few missionaries to stay. Four
men stayed on through the crisis, and, mostly by correspond
ence and short visits to stations, kept in touch with the
Chinese workers in the various parts of the field. The change
of government in the city took place with very little blood
shed. It was at the second revolution, a year or so later,
when for several days there was fighting inside and outside
the city, that many lives were lost and foreigners were in the
greatest danger. Yet the time of storm greatly helped the
missionary cause. During the weeks of terror, we were able
to give refuge to some two hundred families in our houses,
hospitals and schools. Here, under the foreigners' care, they
could sleep peacefully at night. Most of these were families
of merchants. It was a time of drawing nearer to each other
of the Chinese and foreigners which has done much to clear
away prejudice and has opened a door into the higher classes
of Chinese society which hitherto had been closed to the
missionary.

FOWCHOW.

R. S. LONGLEY, B.A.

Fowchow, the largest and busiest city between Wanhsien
and Chungking, is situated on the south bank of the Yangtse
Kiang (River Yangtse), where it is joined by the tributary
known as the Kung-Tan, the Wu or the " small river." It is
about one hundred English miles east of Chungking. Its
population is anywhere between seventy and one hundred
thousand. Fowchow is a very crowded and congested city,
with scarcely a vacant lot within its walls. Probably less
than one third of the city is enclosed within the city wall.

232 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

A large suburb extends to the east and south along the small
river. The Boman Catholics have a residence, church, and
school in this suburb, with a resident French priest. A still
larger suburb extends along the " great " river, as the
Yangtse is commonly called, to the west. In this suburb we
have a girls' school and a street chapel. This city is of
strategic importance on account of its situation. The small
river affords an outlet for trade to that portion of this
province to the south, as well as to the northern portion of
the province of Kweichow. In former years it was a great
opium emporium, and most of the wealthy men have made
their money by handling this drug. So the city suffered
considerably a few years ago by the prohibition of poppy
culture. Its trade, however, is increasing year by year, as
markets are found for other produce.

THE COUNTY:— The county, of which this city is the
county town, has a population of one million, two hundred
thousand. There are one hundred and thirty-four market
towns, besides hundreds of villages. Of these market towns,
only two have chapels and mission schools, while two others
have organized classes under class leaders.

Our Fowchow District includes, besides Fowchow county,
the county of Changshow. The city of Changshow is situ
ated on the north bank of the Yangtse, about forty miles
west of Fowchow, and has a beautiful situation on a high hill
overlooking the river. There are forty-eight market towns
in that county, with an estimated population of eight hun
dred thousand. Only one of these towns has a street chapel
and mission school, and one other has a class which is visited
regularly by the Chinese evangelist, Contiguous to this dis
trict on the south and east, there are four counties bordering
on Kweichow and Hunan provinces, the county towns of
which, really large and important cities, have not been
opened, and which are never visited by foreign missionaries,
and only occasionally by a Chinese colporteur.

OPENING OF THE STATION : — Fowchow was opened by the
London Missionary Society in the last years of the nineteenth

STATION SURVEYS

233

MISSIONARIES AT FOWCHOW.

Standing (reading from left) : Mrs. A. E. Best, the Rev. C. A. Bridgman,

the Rev. R. S. Longley, Mrs. Longley.
Seated: Dr. A. E. Best, Mrs. Morgan, the Rev. E. W. Morgan.

century as an outstation, visited periodically by the mission
ary resident at Chungking. The missionaries on their first
visits were very roughly handled by the people. On several
occasions they sold their books and tracts in the courtyard of
the district magistrate's yamen, and under his protection.

FIRST PREACHERS: — Among the first preachers in this
district are Mr. Liu Hwei-hsuen and Mr. Cheng Chih-pin,
both of whom were members of our first class of proba
tioners, now at college. They are men of sterling qualities,
earnest, steady and faithful. They are likely to be ordained
next year.

BECOMES C. M. M. : — In April, 1910, the work here came
under the supervision of Mr. Carson. After his death in
June of that year, Mr. Mortimore was put in charge. During

234 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

this time Mr. Loh Shang-fan was stationed here. He is
another of the first class of probationers.

In the manner in which premises have been rented for
mission purposes we have a prophecy of the way in which
the gospel has won its way in this city. At first all that
could be rented was a poor building out on the bank of the
river; then we got a building in the western suburb; next
we secured one just inside the city; while now we have
crossed the city and have a large building near its centre.

RESIDENT MISSIONARIES :— The Council of 1913 appointed
Dr. Crawford and myself to Fowchow, he in charge of medi
cal work and I in charge of church, schools and outstations.
On returning from furlough I proceeded about the first of
November to my new station, to be heartily welcomed by
Mr. Loh, the evangelist, and his wife. The house which had
been rented consisted of a three-story building on the street,
the lower story of which was practically useless because of
lack of light. The rooms were large but difficult to alter
satisfactorily. There was a small boys' school of twenty-
two pupils.

The following Sunday I discovered that the attendance at
church service was very small, that most of the members had
either left the church or were cold and indifferent, and that
very few outsiders came to hear the gospel.

PURCHASING PROPERTY :— The city is compactly built up,
almost every foot of ground being covered with buildings.
Available sites were few and costly. Eventually, in January,
1914, we had the joy of completing the purchase of an area
ten or twelve acres in extent, outside the city but close by.
It is large enough for sites for four residences, hospital aiid
dispensary, together with school and playground. By May
of that year the first two temporary houses were completed
and the Crawfords and ourselves moved into our new, four-
roomed, one-story, mud-wall buildings. We were all pleased
to get away from the noisy city to a place where the children
could have a little out-door life, as there was not a foot of
ground not covered by buildings in the compound inside
the city.

STATION SURVEYS 235

The third temporary dwelling was erected, and up to the
present these have had to accommodate the staff of mission
aries at our station. Good permanent dwellings are very
much needed.

THE CHURCH : — For the three years since this station was
opened we have made the best of the dark rooms available in
the Chinese building originally rented. Not long after
arrival, our regular church services were full to overflowing,
due perhaps to the curiosity of the people to see the foreigner.
We attempted to relieve the situation by conducting a ser
vice for the school children in another room, but the crowds
were just as great. Every night we opened our doors to
preach to the multitudes, who filled the building. A prayer
meeting soon had a regular attendance of between twenty
and thirty. A Bible class was formed for daily study of the
Bible, and prayer.

A good work was started amongst the women by the
evangelist's wife and Mrs. Longley. Before the end of the
year the crowds were so unwieldy that we had to adapt
another large room for church services. We divided the
people into two classes, those who had some knowledge of
the gospel and those who had none; so that we had two
preaching services going on at the same time in different
parts of the building. This plan relieved the pressure some
what and has proven very satisfactory. Every day the chapel
is open for three or four hours in the middle of the day, and
a Chinese helper with books for sale is stationed there to
sell his books and explain the gospel. A street chapel was
opened in the western suburb, in which books are sold by
day and there is preaching in the evening.

In 1915 the church and outstation work required two
men, Messrs. Earle and Bridgman. The need was the greater
because of the departure of Mr. Loh Shang-fan for Chengtu
to college. Mr. Loh is a good preacher and a great student,
and very careful of the name of the church. Mrs. Loh also
did a fine work, especially with the higher classes of girls in
the school. Her fine Christian character inspired these girls
to lead a true Christian life.

236 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

In spite of many encouragements, our membership has
not increased very much. Many were in the church for the
help which they could get for themselves from the church ;
but as they learned the true meaning of the church and of
Christianity they gradually withdrew. We now have large
classes of catechumens and inquirers, who we believe are
getting a clear conception of what it is to be a Christian.
Our Sunday school has grown from an unorganized service
with a superintendent as preacher into a fully organized
school of thirteen classes, with a regular attendance of about
two hundred.

THE DISTRICT:— In the district, with five walled cities
and several hundred towns and villages, only one walled city
and five towns have been opened as outstations. The city of
Changshow was opened by the London Missionary Society
about fifteen years ago. Four boys and two girls have this
year passed from the mission lower primary schools in this
place to the higher primary schools for boys and girls at
Fowchow. The work is very promising, but difficult to super
intend from so great a distance. The five towns which are
opened as outstations are situated north or south of the
Yangtse, not many miles from the river in each case. Good
schools, in some cases for girls as well as boys, are being
carried on in these outstations. A fair number of boys have
already graduated from these schools and are now in attend
ance at the higher primary in Fowchow. The Christians in
most of the places have contributed generously toward the
purchase or erection of their chapel buildings.

COLPORTEURS :— We have had several colporteurs all the
time travelling through the district selling Bibles and tracts.
They are doing a great work in preparing the field for the
time when we shall be able to send preachers to all the towns
which they visit. In a few places where there are a few
believers, these have been organized into classes and the
colporteur visits them regularly.

THE YOUNG MEN'S GUILD :— A large room in our building
in the city has been fitted up with tables and benches and

STATION SURVEYS

THE FIRST GRADUATES OF THE GIRLS' LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOL,

FOWCHOW.
The missionaries are Mr. and Mrs. Longley.

provided with all kinds of games, such as pingpong, halma,
checkers, chess, etc. A number of Chinese Christian maga
zines and also two or three daily papers are regularly
received. A number of recent books are placed where visitors
may see them. The rooms are well patronized, many students
and teachers being members of the organization. We feel
that the Guild has been the means of bringing many people
into touch with the church.

EDUCATIONAL WORK : — We have now a higher primary
school for boys, with forty in attendance, the most of whom
have their certificates as graduates of our lower primary
schools. During the earlier years most of the students came
from government and private schools, and after they had
studied with us a few months they went elsewhere. Boys
who have come up through our own mission lower primary
schools are much the most satisfactory. They are brighter,
more amenable to discipline and more likely to stay with us
until they graduate.

238 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

We have also this year opened a higher primary school
for girls. This was necessitated by the graduation of three
girls from one of the lower primary schools. All our schools
are indeed overflowing. Not only are our numbers greater,
but the quality too is better year by year. A large percentage
of those members are Christians and they are studying with
a view to becoming preachers, teachers and doctors. They
have the Christian viewpoint in their study. These boys who
come through our schools understand Christianity better
than those who come under Christian influences later in life.

MEDICAL WORK : — From the beginning, our Mission policy
has required the appointment of a doctor and the opening of
a hospital in each central station. Dr. Crawford was ap
pointed to Fowchow as one of the first missionaries on the
opening of the station. He and I arrived together in the
autumn of 1913. After cleaning and some necessary repairs,
the Crawfords and ourselves lived together in the rented
compound inside the city. But it was found quite impossible
to arrange for the conducting of medical work in the same
building, therefore rooms were repaired and adapted in the
building which was rented for this purpose and for a girls'
school over in the western suburb. Here for over a year Dr.
Crawford ministered to sixty and seventy patients a day,
healing all kinds of diseases and creating in the hearts of the
people of the city a sympathy toward and an interest in the
gospel message which we came to preach.

In December, 1914, the Rev. G. R. Jones was appointed to
begin the building of our present dispensary on our own pro
perty. He was moved to Chungking in March, 1915, and Dr.
Crawford completed the building. We call it a dispensary,
but it is really a small hospital. There are waiting room, con
sultation room, operating room, dressing room, etc., and also
a few rooms overhead which have been made to accommodate
more than thirty inpatients at one time.

With the opening of the new building our medical work
has grown by leaps and bounds, and frequent were the calls
for the doctor to attend some of the best people in the city.

STATION SURVEYS 239

This year (1916), Dr. Crawford was moved to Tzeliutsing
and Dr. Best was stationed here for language study. The
dispensary has therefore been closed, except for the Red
Cross work which has been carried on. There is a constant
demand by the people of the place for the services of the
doctor. In the interests of his language study these have had
to be refused, but the future for medical work is very bright.
There is every reason to believe that the building will be
filled as soon as the doctor opens work next year.

A BRIGHT FUTURE : — The future is bright for all kinds of
mission work in this district; it has never been brighter.
We are handicapped for lack of a school building and a
church. The attitude of the people toward the Church has
been revolutionized during the last few years. Formerly the
Church was regarded as a means of securing help in law
suits and protection from one's enemies ; now the people are
beginning to recognize that the church and the gospel that is
preached are the only means of saving the nation. People
are advised to come to study " the doctrine " if they would
know the highest and best, When we came to Fowchow first
we were always followed by a curious crowd of men and
boys who were inclined to make remarks not particularly
complimentary, while now we are greeted with a smile of
recognition as we pass along. We now number the local
official and the leading men in business and educational
work amongst our closest friends. We are constantly meet
ing delegates from towns even as far away as the Kweichow
and Hunan border, who ask us to establish chapels in their
towns and preach the gospel to them. The educated people
of the city are reading our books. An ex-official and his wife
are reading the Bible. Our congregations are more and
more made up of people of the higher classes.

240

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

A MISSIONARY'S HOME AT CHlTNGCHOW— A CHINESE HOUSE "MADE OVER.'

CHUNGCHOW.

W. J. MORTIMORE, B.A.

Chungchow is a small, quiet city, residential rather than
commercial, located on the north bank of the Yangtse, about
two hundred miles east of Chungking. The city is built on
a steep slope, with its incline towards the river. Every
autumn, in common with most cities on the Yangtse, as soon
as the waters of the great river have subsided, there is a
strong movement of the business population down the hill
to the broad, flat sands immediately adjacent to the river.
Our mission premises are located high up, near the north
gate, — indeed, they are almost at the highest point within
the city walls. This ensures the best of air and a splendid
view of the great river and of range after range of magnifi
cent mountains, extending to the distance of more than one
hundred miles.

STATION SURVEYS 241

UNDER LONDON MISSION: — Chungchow was first opened
as an outstation by the London Mission. The Eev. A. E.
Claxton tells a story of a narrow escape which he had on
one occasion at the hands of a crowd at this city. He was
preaching and selling books when sand and stones began to
fly. An old gentleman with a long grey beard interfered
just at the critical moment, and was the means of saving the
situation. The old man was already a reader of Christian
books, and not many months later became the first baptized
Christian at Chungchow.

In 1910, this whole territory passed to the Canadian
Methodist Mission. Chungchow, together with many other
cities and towns, was visited by Dr. Kilborn and the Revs.
E. J. Carson and E. W. Wallace. Chungchow was opened as
a central station in 1911 by the appointment of Dr. and Mrs.
Wallace Crawford and ourselves as resident missionaries.
Revolutionary disturbances interfered greatly with the pro
secution of the work, but at the present time we have one
good dwelling completed, together with outbuildings and a
number of smaller buildings for school and institute.

CHURCH AND OUTSTATIONS: — We have as yet no proper
church building. We have a good street-chapel, which is
being used as a church. Our membership is not large,
although we have a goodly number of Christians. Mr. Carson,
during the few short months in which he was in charge,
previous to his lamented death in June, 1910, took prolonged
itineraries through the district. He made himself acquainted
with many individual Christians, keeping a careful register,
which was passed along to his successors. In 1911 I visited
the eight outstations of the district, went carefully over the
membership roll, and sought to acquaint myself with the
conditions peculiar to each church. On this first trip my
thought was to be an observer rather than an actor, lest,
coming into a new field accustomed to methods of work some
what different from those in vogue in Chengtu, I might, by
premature action, injure the cause that had grown up during
the years under the guidance of my London Missionary

242 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

Society predecessors. I am glad to say that I received the
heartiest welcome everywhere. The evangelists numbered
eight, the members two hundred and thirty-six.

Amid the manifold duties devolving upon the pioneer
who is sent to open a new station and district, time was
found for not infrequent Bible schools and conventions, for
frequent itinerating and closer acquaintance with the mem
bers ; so the discovery was made that among those who were
really trying to live out their Christianity were many who
used the name of the Church to extort money, and they also
condoned and encouraged other nefarious practices. After
a series of Bible schools in 1913, twenty-one members were
obliged to be dropped from the roll or suspended.

EXTREME MEASURES : — After much thought and consulta
tion, it was finally decided, about Christmas, 1915, that the
opening of the new street chapel should mark a complete
reorganization of the church. The extreme measure was
taken of announcing that we should no longer speak of
" members," but use the term " Christians," and virtuous
living, and not word professions, would be the criterion. In
other words, the church as an organization has, for the time
being, been disbanded. The results have warranted this
action, and we expect that by the close of the year (1916) the
few remaining faithful ones will be reorganized into a living
church.

THE OUTSTATIONS : — Chungchow District includes three
counties, those of Fengtu and Shihchu, in addition to Chung-
chow itself. In these three counties are many scores of towns
and villages, but we have thus far three outstations only,
namely, the large town of Pa-shan-sze and the two county
towns, Fengtu and Shihchu.

At Fengtu we have a splendid evangelist, but in that
citadel of superstition the work has been slow. Many mem
bers, whose hopes of advantage through association with the
church were not fulfilled, have dropped away; on the other
hand, the Spirit of God has certainly been working in the
hearts of others. In the midst of fierce persecution these

STATION SURVEYS 243

have remained steadfast and are to-day strong witnesses for
the Gospel. During the spring, when the Northern soldiers
set fire to the city, our commodious chapel, in which the
schools were also located, was burned. We are temporarily
using a private compound till a more suitable place can be
secured.

At Shihchu we always have good audiences. One of our
most faithful Christians there, Mr. Sen, walks many miles
to the church service and holds meetings in his home for his
family and friends. His earnest study of God's Word, care
ful observance of the Sabbath, and his upright living have
won for him an excellent name.

At Pa-shan-sze many whole families have come into the
church.

EDUCATIONAL WORK: — In our own compound at Chung-
chow we have buildings and schools for boys and girls. They
are clean, light and airy. Needlework and singing, taught
by Mrs. Mortimore, and English and drill, by Mrs. Kern,
proved a great attraction. A self-help industrial department
has been formed for such girls as gain at least sixty per cent,
in their studies. Their fine hand-work commands a ready
sale throughout the Mission. A special religious service has
been held each Sunday morning for the girls, in their own
school, and even their mothers and other relatives have been
glad to attend. As Mrs. Kern and Mrs. Mortimore visit each
week in the girls' homes, close friendships have been formed
which have reacted helpfully on the school and prepared the
way for future women's work. Mrs. Burwell has organized
the Sunday service into a regular Sabbath school, with sev
eral of the older girls as teachers. On the boys' side, a
similar Sabbath school has been started by Mr. Burwell.
Lower primary schools for boys are in active operation in
each one of the three outstations, and usually a lower prim
ary school for girls also. Our higher primary grade for both
boys and girls is at Chungchow.

MEDICAL WORK : — Dr. Crawford was the first medical
missionary to be appointed. He with his family arrived in

244

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE DISPENSARY, CHUNGCHOW.

the spring of 1911. Revolutionary disturbances caused the
cessation of medical work as well as every other kind of
work. In December, 1912, Dr. and Mrs. C. B. Kelly arrived
at Chungchow for language study. As has happened so
often, the medical missionary felt impelled to see a few score
of patients each week, in spite of the all-absorbing claims of
the Chinese language. However, from September 1st, 1914,
Dr. Kelly came into full work. A very inferior Chinese
building was cleaned up and adapted for dispensary pur
poses and patients began to increase in number. Gradually
as the months went by the numbers increased , and the
doctor's reputation also. In 1915 Dr. Kelly was moved to
Chengtu and Dr. Birks appointed to Chungchow in his place
—another language student. This year (1916) he has
attended large numbers of patients, including wounded
soldiers and robbers. We are rejoicing in the purchase of
land for a site for hospital, dispensary and doctor's resi
dence. A small sum granted for a temporary dispensary has
been used for the erection of a portion of the permanent dis-

STATION SURVEYS 245

pensary building. This structure will soon be complete and
ready for occupation. It has been abundantly demonstrated
that the only diffi'culty in our medical work at Chungchow
will not be in persuading people to come but in preventing
ourselves from being inundated by great numbers.

BUILDING : — We have had Messrs. Moore, Jones and Kern
appointed as builders to this station. In addition, months
of persevering work in building have been given by the other
members of the missionary community.

We have now completed, in Chungchow station, one con>
fortable house for the missionary family, with a section of
the permanent dispensary. This, however, is only a small
part of the work of building which has gone on here. Several
hundred feet of compound wall have been erected, together
with retaining walls between levels; a substantial front
gateway to the large compound, with its guest-room and
other requirements ; some scores of feet of strong stone wall
at the front of the compound ; small temporary houses in
which missionaries lived or are still living; and, finally, the
school buildings for boys and girls.

THE YOUNG MEN^S INSTITUTE :— The Young Men's Insti
tute is one of the most important features of our work at
Chungchow. Although the numbers enrolled are not num
erous, yet this organization has afforded splendid oppor
tunities for social contact. Since the opening in June, 1914,
we have enjoyed a freedom of access to all classes — scholars,
gentry and merchants. Not infrequently the question of the
Christian religion has been raised by the visitors themselves,
and we have sought to show them its ideals, its power to
regenerate the individual human heart, the home, and the
nation. There are often thirty or forty government school
students at the Sunday afternoon English Bible class. Many,
also, attend our morning church services. Through church
and chapel, institute, school and dispensary, and through
every other possible point of contact, we are endeavouring to
present the gospel message to all classes in Chungchow city
and district.

246 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

WOMEN'S WORK.

Miss C. E. BROOKS.

CHENGTU.

I. SCHOOLS AND GENERAL.

The history of the early years of the Woman's Missionary
Society in West China is synonymous with that of school
work, in that Miss S. C. Brackbill, one of our two first
missionaries, was also responsible for the opening of the
school work. She and Dr. Retta Gifford left Toronto in
January, 1893, arriving in Shanghai February 28th. Here
several months were spent in language study. Chengtu was
reached in March, 1894, and in May, Dr. Retta Gifford was
married to Dr. O. L. Kilborn, but remained as a Woman's
Missionary Society worker until 1897, when Dr. Maud
Killam arrived and took over the responsibility for the
medical work.

RIOTS INTERRUPT PLANS : — Miss Brackbill was preparing
to open school work when the riots of 1895 occurred, and she
and Miss Ford (who had reached China only two weeks
before), were compelled to climb over the back wall of their
compound, taking with them only a small amount of silver
for urgent needs. They, with the missionaries of the General
Society, hid in a tiny Chinese room for a time, and after
wards escaped to the yamen, whence, after ten days, they
were conveyed to house-boats, and eventually arrived safely
in Shanghai.

NEW PLANT AND PLANS :— They spent the few months of
enforced leisure in Japan, but in January, 1896, were again
on their way back to Szechwan, reaching Chengtu in April.
Very soon a fine property in the north-eastern part of the
city was purchased, part of which was renovated for hospital
use, and a new home, small day school, and small temporary
boarding school were erected on the other part. By the

STATION SURVEYS 247

following year, forty-three day school pupils had registered,
and fourteen boarders, the latter having to unbind their feet,
this being from the first a steadfast rule in our mission work.
As a result of this rule, the pupils of the first few years were
largely from the poorer classes, foot-binding being almost
universal in most parts of China at that time. Half the time
in the school was devoted to Christian teaching, which, along
with other foreign subjects, such as arithmetic, geography,
physiology, English, calisthenics, nature study or music,
must largely be taught or superintended by the missionary
herself.

THE BOXER OUTBREAK: — Dr. A. J. Henry and Miss M.
Brimstin arrived in January, 1900, and the following sum
mer the work was again interrupted by the Boxer outbreak,
when all the foreigners from the interior of China were com
pelled to leave for the coast. They were unable to return
before the autumn of the following year, when Miss Brack-
bill re-opened the school work on her arrival in Chengtu, all
other branches of work being resumed at the same time.

A MODERN SCHOOL BUILDING: — It was during this, her
second term, that the brick boarding school was built — a
final jewel in Miss BraekbilPs crown as builder — and the
large, airy class rooms and dormitories made a vast differ
ence in the general health of the pupils, for now the formerly
ever-present malaria largely disappeared, and teaching be
came much easier. In due time, as the pupils progressed in
their studies, the middle (collegiate) department was added.

THE REVOLUTION : — In 1911 the Revolution again inter
rupted the work, almost all missionaries having to go to
Shanghai and remain for eight or ten months, many going
home on furlough. On the return of the workers a flourish
ing day school was carried on under Miss Estabrook's super
vision, with eighty pupils in attendance, all paying a fee. It
was arranged that some of the older boarding school girls
should help, two going each day to assist for an hour or two
in the teaching. In the boarding school itself there was soon
an attendance of fortv.

248 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

TWENTY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE: — In June, 1915,
Miss Brackbill left China after twenty-one years of faithful
service. The school has continued to increase in numbers,
and this year, under Miss Steele's able principalship, has
registered sixty-five, not including fifteen day pupils from
the Orphanage. The capacity of the building has reached
its limit and pupils must now be turned away until an
addition can be built. The pupils all learn to cook, and sew,
and keep their homes neat and clean. They also do their own
washing, and are taught the value of fresh air and clean sur
roundings. While they follow the course of study as outlined
by the Educational Union, they are taught that faith in God
and loving service for others are of more value than know
ledge gained from books.

FOUR GRADES OF SCHOOLS, ALL FLOURISHING : — The school
includes lower and higher primary departments, besides the
middle school; the latter is the only one for girls in our
Canadian Mission, and is now for the first time receiving as
pupils some of the graduates of the primary schools of the
other stations. This one middle school and the one normal
school are, at present, sufficient for the needs of the Mission.

II. MEDICAL WORK.
(1893-1916.)

When the Woman's Missionary Society of the Canadian
Methodist Church decided to enter the great field of West
China it was felt that medical work was a vital and essential
part of their missionary propaganda. So the year 1893 saw
their first woman physician on her way to that needy field.
It needed women full of faith in those days to lay the foun
dations broad and deep. Almost a year was spent in
Shanghai en route, in language study and also in studying
the methods of established medical work in earlier centres.

DELAYED DEVELOPMENT: — On arrival in Chengtu in
March, 1894, further time was spent in study and in looking
for a suitable place for the medical plant. About this time the

STATION SURVEYS

249

THE WOMAN'S HOSPITAL, CHENGTU.

first trained nurse, Miss Ford, arrived. Even at this early
date, however, changes were taking place which affected the
personnel of the work. The marriage of our first woman
physician took place ; the riots of 1895 drove all missionaries
out of the West for a time, and ere the work was once again
established Miss Ford was called to higher service.

A HAUNTED HOUSE FOR A HOSPITAL: — Buying land in
China is always a slow, trying process, taking not only
months but often years to accomplish. In 1896, immediately
on their return after the riots, the missionaries began nego
tiations for property for the Woman's Missionary Society.
Some speed in buying was made because the house on the
desired property was reputed haunted. At one time this had
been the home of a wealthy official. It was a large, one-story,
strongly-built Chinese home, with its various little courts
and wings covering considerable ground. It took a great
deal of time to adapt it finally to the needs of the medical

250 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

work to which it was apportioned. Here, too, the mission
aries lived for a while, until a suitable residence was built.
Rooms for a dispensary had been fitted up and that work
begun in November, 1896.

VICEROYS EARLY ASK AID :— We shall not enumerate all
the many changes in workers, nor the lack, at times, of
proper help, but between these changes and the repeated set
backs because of the disturbed condition of the country, it
was often felt that this department of the work was having
a chequered experience. Here in the West, it has often been
said that three years of uninterrupted work was about all
that could be counted on. Upheavals, consequent on the
birth of a new China, were and are to be expected. But,
though discouragements were many, the "power of the appeal
of the healing of the body " to the women and children of
this ancient Avestern capital was being felt. The poor we
had always with us, and even before workers had sufficient
language to make the most of the many opportunities pre
sented, the highest officials in the land, including the Vice
roy, had solicited help for their women, and it was early
recognized that all classes were being touched.

A SECOND DISPENSARY NEEDED: — In 1902, in addition to
the hospital and dispensary already established, a second
dispensary was opened on one of the densely populated,
streets outside the east gate. For three years this dispensary
ministered to the needs of many, though from the first some
who came declared they came to hear " the gospel that was
good to listen to." So apparently in earnest were many such
women that an evangelistic worker's help was given to teach
and establish them. Furloughs coming to both the workers,
this promising branch had to be closed, and on returning
from furlough the workers were, for a while, reduced to a
minimum of one, so the east gate dispensary was not re
opened.

THE " HAUNTED " HOSPITAL ABANDONED, — TO A BIBLE
SCHOOL: — However, all normal, healthy work must grow,
and in spite of many handicaps, because it was His work and
He was in it, the time came when the big wards made in the

STATION SURVEYS

251

PREPARING FOR MEDICAL MISSIONARY SERVICE.

From left to right: Miss Chang, Miss Uo, Miss Liu, Miss Virgo. Misses Chang and
Liu have entered college at Peking with the intention of taking a medical course.
Miss Uo is planning for post-graduate work in nursing.

old, haunted, Chinese house overflowed, and the work was
hampered by lack of room. Then, too, a Bible training school
for women was needed, and this old Chinese house lent itself
especially to that form of work. So it was decided to take
the old hospital for a Bible school, and to build a new, up-
to-date hospital and training school for nurses.

A SPLENDID MODERN HOSPITAL OPENED: — The autumn of
1915 saw this an accomplished fact. The fine new building
opened with great eclat y the Governor and leading offi
cials showing, by their presence and speeches, their appre
ciation of the work done for their women and children. It
was expected that this new hospital of sixty beds would meet
the needs of the work for some years at least, but ere a year

252 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

had passed the part reserved for the Chinese girl nurses was
needed, and the problem of how best to meet the need was
again before us.

TRAINING CHINESE NURSES,— PHYSICIANS LATER :— In
common with all medical workers in China, we recognize
that, for this work to become self-perpetuating, we must look
forward to and plan for Chinese women physicians and
nurses eventually to carry on this work. Looking ahead and
planning for some of the suitable girls in our schools, we
hope some will be trained as physicians; while already the
need for a nurses' home, now in course of construction,
demonstrates the fact that the young womanhood of China
can be and is being utilized for Christ in this great needy
field of suffering ones in West China.

III. WOMEN'S SCHOOL.

After ten long years of seed-sowing we felt the time had
come to open a School for the Training of Bible Women. As
one went in and out among the people, one realized that
unless help could be obtained from the Chinese women them
selves, the millions of women and children waiting for the
Gospel could never be reached. Two classrooms which had
been used by the boarding school before the erection of the
new school, were vacant and it was here that we made our
humble beginning in 1909.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS : — From the first we insisted on our
pupils paying for their food, and later we made a charge for
books. We felt by doing so we should get a better class of
women than if we offered financial help. The years have
proved we made no mistake. Our rooms were soon too small
for the numbers who came to us.

NEW COURSES AND CLASSROOMS: — In 1913 we decided on
a course of study covering a period of two years. Examina
tions were to be given regularly and certificates awarded to
those who were successful. Seven women have completed
the course and received certificates, of which number four
are Biblewomen. One died last year. Another found it

STATION SURVEYS

253

A MOTHERS' MEETING AT TZELIUTSING.

necessary to return to her home for a time, and the seventh
was not suitable for the work of a Bible woman. Two of our
Bible women are in charge of day schools for women in
Chengtu, and two are engaged in similar work in our country
districts. In March, 1915, we moved into our present large
and comfortable building which for twenty years had done
good service as our woman's hospital. All our needs are well
supplied in this school: sitting and dining rooms, well-
lighted classrooms, bathroom and fifteen bedrooms are
among our blessings.

IV. ORPHANAGE.

On October 4th, 1896, when our Woman's Missionary
Society work in China was in its youth, Miss Brackbill, Dr.
Retta Kilborn and Miss Ford being its only members, a
helper saw a very small infant lying in the ditch. Had she
been left there she must certainly have perished with cold

254 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

and hunger. This was only about eighteen months after the
riots of 1895, and there was still much bad feeling toward
foreigners, who were accused of doing such dreadful things
as eating children or digging out their eyes for medicine ; so
in taking the child in, the ladies were running the risk of
bringing themselves into extra disrepute. However, they
did not hesitate, Miss Ford, who was a nurse, giving the child
every care, even adopting her, calling her Fu Ngan Li — or
Annie Ford.

A SECOND LITTLE WAIF FOUND: — On December 23rd of
the same year, another little girl of a year and ten months
was rescued from the street. They named her Shih Ngai
Teh, — or Ida Stone. On May 17th of the following spring
Miss Ford died of cerebro-spinal meningitis, and Miss Brack-
bill decided to assume the support of both children.

AN APPEAL FOR AN ORPHANAGE : — Before her death, Miss
Ford had suggested the undertaking of orphanage work, and
now its advisability was urged on the home board, a small
sum of money being asked for the erection of a building. As
a result of this, orphanage work proper was begun the fol
lowing year, with Miss Foster in charge, the house to be
called the " Jennie Ford Orphanage " in honor of this
beloved worker, who, after only two short years of service,
was called home.

THE Two LITTLE WAIFS HAVE BECOME SPLENDID WOMEN :
—Both Fu Ngan Li and Shi Ngai Teh left the orphanage to
enter the boarding school in 1901, and are now attending the
normal school; the latter has since been married to Mr.
S. F. Kan, B.A., a graduate of the West China Union Uni
versity, now Chinese pastor of the Sutherland Memorial
Church in Chengtu.

YET MANY DISAPPOINTMENTS : — As one looks through the
records, many are the children who have spent a few days,
or weeks, or months, or even years under its roof, and then
passed away, because most of these thrown-out children have
a predisposition to disease, and their weak bodies easily fall
a prey to it. It has not all been sunshine. A few might be

STATION SURVEYS

255

MR. S. F. KAN, B.A., AND BRIDE.

Mr. Kan is a graduate of the West China University and pastor of the Sutherland
Memorial Church, Chengtu. His wife, Ida Stone, is one of the first two babies
of the Jennie Ford Orphanage. She has been brought up and educated by
our W.M.S.

mentioned. Tien Shu Fang entered in 1898, being about two
years of age at the time, and could neither walk nor talk.
She, too, received a good education and entered the normal
school, but last year her father claimed her. Another case
is that of Yan Fu Jen, who had formerly been adopted by a
fellow-missionary in Kiating, but passed over to us on her
departure for furlough. She proved a very capable and
trustworthy mother-sister in the Orphanage for some years,
and was happily married to an evangelist in 1909. Unfor
tunately she first lost her eyesight, and then died of tuber-

256 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

culosis, leaving one child, a bright little boy. Another was
" Kuth Carlton " —found by the night-watchman on Christ
mas eve, a child of unusually bright disposition, who cheered
the home with her merry laugh. But after a brief twelve
years she too was called away. Another — Lin Ho Uin — after
passing her higher primary and advancing far in middle
school, grew restless and discontented, and finally the ladies
in charge became convinced it would be better to let her
return to her mother. Our prayers follow her that the years
of patient training may not be lost,

V. WEST CHINA NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG WOMEN.

Under the careful supervision of foreign missionaries,
our lower and higher primary schools have been established,
have grown, and developed. Hence arose the necessity of
adequate foreign supervision for the further training of
teachers — a problem in all lands. If the races dwelling in
these lands are to be developed it must be through their
fellow countrymen. The best that Western nations can do
is to fit less developed races to help themselves. This is
especially true in educational work, where everything de
pends upon the teacher. Intellectual attainments are much,
but personality, character, and leadership are of greater
importance.

A NORMAL SCHOOL FOR WOMEN — AN IMPERATIVE NEED : —
In order to face this problem, the workers in West China saw
that the time for the establishment of a normal school for
the training of young women as teachers was fully ripe, and
committees were appointed to promote the interests of this
department. After taking all things into consideration — the
experiences of the union middle school for boys, the proba
bility that one home would be sufficient for all teachers, thus
lessening expense, and the advantage of all missions com
bining in the training of their teachers — it was decided a
union institution Avas best. As a result the Friends' Foreign
Missionary Association, the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, the American

STATION SURVEYS 257

FUTURE TEACHERS— THE FIRST CLASS OF THE WEST CHINA NORMAL
SCHOOL FOR YOUNG WOMEN.

Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, and the Woman's Mis
sionary Society of the Canadian Methodist Mission were
desirous of entering the Union.

FRUIT FROM THE WORLD'S MISSIONARY CONFERENCE:—
Most opportunely, during the time of the World's Missionary
Conference held in Edinburgh, June 6th, 1910, at an informal
gathering of the West China missionaries and members of
the societies which they represented, it was resolved " that
we unanimously record our deep interest in the proposal to
establish a union normal school for girls in West China, and
trust that it will take shape in a form which will prove
helpful to the work of God." Committees applied to home
boards for grants of funds and for workers. The first gift
received was $500, given by the China Emergency Appeal
Committee, 1911. Then the various boards responded, giving
grants to be used in the purchase of a site and the erection
of buildings.

A FIRST CLASS OF FOURTEEN — JANUARY, 1915 : — On ac
count of the revolution of 1911-12, the purchase of property
was delayed, as the missionaries of the West were forced to
leave the province, but in May, 1914, a suitable site was se
cured, located in the east section of the city of Chengtu. The

258 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

native buildings were repaired. Girls from the four missions
met in January, 1915, and formed the first class of the West
China Union Normal School for Young Women, with Miss
Estabrooke, of the Woman's Missionary Society of the Cana
dian Methodist Mission as Principal, and Miss Chambers, of
the American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, as Assist
ant. The first class numbered fourteen, but so urgent was
the need for normal-trained teachers, that a number of these
left the school at the end of the first year to teach in their
respective mission schools. We hope some of these may be
permitted to return to complete their course.

OUTGROWING PRESENT ACCOMMODATION : — In December,
1916, having completed the two-year course prescribed, seven
of the girls who first entered will graduate as teachers,
qualified to teach in the lower grade schools. Owing to the
increase in attendance at the Normal School, the present
buildings are inadequate, and the growing day school for
practice teaching will soon demand larger quarters. We
hope before many years all the buildings for efficiently carry
ing on the work will be erected.

KIATING.

The work here was opened by Miss Foster in 1902. The
following year she was joined by Miss Swann, who opened
school work in 1904. Miss Swann was succeeded by Miss
Steele, and in 1910 Miss Brimstin superintended the building
of the pretty, new home, as well as the altering and repairing
of the native school premises, and the boarding school
became a separate institution from the day school.

A BOARDING SCHOOL OF OVER FIFTY: — After the Revolu
tion, Miss Elderkin took charge of the school, and under
Miss Srigley, day schools for women and children were
started, besides a meeting for women near the centre of the
city. During the following year a small building for
woman's school work was erected, and the " down-town "
school continued to thrive. In 1915, under Miss Armstrong,

STATION SURVEYS 259

the boarding school increased in numbers, and now has an
attendance of over fifty.

EVANGELISTIC WORK HAS HAD A GREAT IMPETUS: — The
evangelistic work under Mrs. Hockin received great impetus
by an interdenominational, evangelistic campaign for women,
and a fortnightly Bible class for better-class women has been
held in the W. M. S. home. The attendance of the day school
has, this year, been better than ever before, and a Christian
Endeavour Society has been organized in connection with it.
Sixty or seventy of the day school pupils attend the regular
church prayer-meeting, and some were baptized this year.

JENSHOW.

A PRIZE SCHOOL: — The property in Jenshow was pur
chased during the winter of 1904-05, and Miss Fox, on her
appointment to the work, accomplished the difficult task of
enclosing the hillside property with a stone wall, levelling
and terracing the grounds, and erecting a small temporary
dwelling and boarding school, which latter could and did
accommodate thirty pupils. She also had the deep stone
foundations for the present home laid, but the actual build
ing was put up under the successive superintendency of Miss
Brimstin and Miss Hambly. To Miss Swann was assigned
the task of erecting the present large brick boarding school,
which has had fifty pupils in attendance, and graduated
thirteen out of fourteen in all subjects in higher primary
this (1916) term. Indeed, this Jenshow Girls' School has
carried off the two red satin banners from the whole prov
ince — missionary girls' and boys' schools — so that " lie who
runs may read " that Chinese girls, when given equal oppor
tunity, are no whit behind boys, along intellectual lines, not
withstanding their centuries of ignorance.

WOMEN'S WORK: — Women's work was carried on for a
time by Miss Smith and Miss McPherson successively, largely
along industrial and evangelistic lines, and a day school was
also started. The latter continues to be very successful,

260 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

having an average attendance of forty, all of whom attend
the church, Sunday school and children's services. The
industrial school has, for lack of workers, been given up, and
is now carried on entirely by the General Society ladies.

JUNGHSIEN.

In 1909 the W. M. S. Council felt that they were at last
in a position to open work in Junghsien, so property was
bought, and the following spring Miss K. M. Hall was put in
charge of it. This " glory city " is very beautifully situated,
and, it is said, is a joy to all who work in it.

EARLY EFFORTS: — The work was begun on a small scale
at first, but on the opening of the church at the east gate a
class for women was started there, and grew rapidly. In the
spring of 1911 a temporary building was erected, and Miss
Speers opened a boarding school — a work also of great
promise, but sadly hampered by shortage of workers. The
same spring, women's work at the north gate was also taken
up, and was much blessed of God.

PREGNANT WITH PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE :— As in every
station, the work was interrupted here for about a year
by the Revolution; but on the return of the workers* the
evangelistic and school work were resumed. In June, 1914,
owing to shortage of workers, the station almost had to be
closed, but, by a struggle, the evangelistic work, day school,
and lower primary department of the boarding school were
continued, all being superintended by one worker. The
higher primary students of the school had to be sent to either
Tzeliutsing or Jenshow to complete their course. Junghsien
is quite an educational centre, pregnant with potentialities
for the future, if only there were sufficient workers.

TZELIUTSING.

The property here was purchased in 1910, and Miss
Sparling began by building a small temporary home, into
which she and Miss Marshall had just moved when the

STATION SURVEYS

261

THE W.M.S. GIRLS' SCHOOL, TZELIUTSING.

revolutionary disturbances compelled them to leave for the
coast. On the return of the missionaries a compound wall
was built and a day school opened.

SEVENTY-FIVE STUDENTS AND A SUPERIOR SCHOOL STRUC
TURE: — On her return from furlough, Miss Hambly was
appointed here, when she immediately began preparations
for the building of a permanent boarding school. The actual
building operations began in the spring of 1914 — a large,
four-story brick edifice — and in June, 1915, the ladies them
selves and twenty-nine boarders moved into one-half of it.
By the end of another year the whole building was finished,
and sixty-five pupils were in residence, all doing exceedingly
good work.

A SPLENDID SCHOOL SYSTEM : — In this district the board
ing school is linked up very closely with the work in the
district, which is exceedingly interesting. Miss Marshall
had charge of nine day schools in as many cities, and the
work has been continued by Miss Ellwood. These places are

262 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

all visited once every three weeks, and a class of the women
and older girls meets in Tzelintsing once a year for a two
weeks' course in Bible study. In this way they get into
touch with the central station work, and each time some of
them apply for admission to the boarding school, so that
now over one-third of the Tzeliutsing boarders are from the
country districts. Besides holding services for the women
in each station, Miss Marshall and Miss Ellwood have taught
in the various day schools, in which there are over two
hundred girls.

SECURING ASSISTANTS: — In the boarding school, the cus
tom of our mission schools is followed of having the pupils
sign an agreement to remain until they graduate in the
higher primary, plus two years as pupil-teachers in the
mission schools. Here, however, there are several older ones
—about twenty years of age — who are in on short term agree
ments, and will graduate early, and thus be ready earlier to
assist in the capacity of pupil-teachers.

PROPERLY QUALIFIED WOMEN TEACHERS THE GREAT NEED :
The weak point in this district day school work is the lack
of properly qualified women teachers. The course prescribed
by the Educational Union is beyond the teaching capabilities
of men educated under the old Chinese regime. Moreover,
under men teachers the girls do not attend well, so that a
wide-awake woman, eager to teach the Bible, is of greater
value for the first year or two of the school course. Then an
endeavor is made to assist these partially educated women
by bringing them into Tzeliutsing once .each year for study
and examination. In time we hope our boarding schools will
provide well-trained teachers for all these positions.

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY IN THE CHILDREN'S CHURCH :
The city of Tzeliutsing has shown an unprecedented growth
in girls' day schools. In 1913 there was only one, in 1915
there were four, and this year (1916) the pupils of seven
schools attend church regularly, forming a children's church
with an average attendance of one hundred and thirty. Only
two of these, however, are under W. M. S. control.

STATION SURVEYS 263

LUCHOW.

The property in Luchow was purchased in January, 1911.
In the following April Miss C. A. Brooks, on her return from
furlough, was appointed here, and began clearing off the old
houses in preparation for laying the foundation of a home.
This foundation was completed in August, immediately after
which the revolution broke out, delaying the work for over
a year, and it was still another year before the house was
ready for occupation.

MORE WORKERS URGENTLY NEEDED: — During the year
Miss Brooks was engaged in building, Miss M. E. Thompson
started school work by opening a day school. It was well
attended except for a few weeks during the summer, when
the fighting incident to General Haiung's rebellion was going
on, and big guns were firing in or near the city. It was
hoped that two workers would always be available for the
station, to carry on both school and evangelistic work. At
the end of that first year, however, illness and general short
age of workers caused Miss Thompson's removal to another
station, and ever since there has been but one worker with a
succession of language students as companions. In the
division of work with the married ladies, the school work
fell to Miss Brooks. This has been largely day school, with
some boarders. The city is so densely populated that it is
most difficult to buy more land for school purposes, and even
now, after five years, it is not accomplished.

THE PRIMARY SCHOOL HAS NEARLY Two HUNDRED GIRLS :
In the meantime, a good-sized, but very old, building near
the home has been utilized for school purposes. The ground
story provides three class rooms, dining-room, kitchen, etc.,
and the primary children have still to be accommodated in
what should be the Chinese guest room. During the spring
term there is an attendance of between one hundred and fifty
and one hundred and eighty pupils, only about twenty-five
of whom are boarders. In all, thirteen have passed in the
lower primary.

264 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

YOUNG MARRIED WOMEN IN ATTENDANCE : — A good many
young married women have always been in attendance, and
the Bible women help in many ways. This is the only Chris
tian girls' school inside this large city, and it is hoped its
light will shine in the near future by providing a good many
Christian wives and mothers, besides some trained teachers,
for the Luchow district.

PENGHSIEN.

Previous to the appointing of a W. M. S. worker to
Penghsien, several itinerating trips to this station had been
made by the W. M. S. ladies in Chengtu. Upon the appoint
ment of Miss Virgo, a day school for girls was opened in a
small room on the General Society property. Work had just
begun when the Revolution broke out, with the result that
plans for work were upset, and several workers went on
furlough, the work remaining at a standstill for two years.
Upon return to the station — 1912-1913 — the school was again
opened, this time upon W. M. S. ground and in larger
quarters. The various class rooms were soon filled, not only
with girls, but with a goodly number of women. Of the
former, a number have already completed their lower prim
ary course, two have entered the Chengtu school, and the
others will continue to study here for a time. Of the women
who have entered the school, three have completed their two-
years' course and received diplomas. This year the little
class room was filled to its capacity. During the summer a
new class room has been built, and we believe that, with the
opening of the school this fall, many will come to us who
have not hitherto listened to the gospel message.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

EVANGELISTIC.
YOUNG MEN'S GUILDS.
EDUCATIONAL.

West China Union University.

The Canadian School.
MEDICAL.

Pharmacy.

Dental.

THE PRESS.
ARCHITECT.
BUILDING.
ACCOUNTANT.
THE BUSINESS AGENCY.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

EVANGELISTIC WORK.

G. E. HARTWELL, B.A., B.D.

" Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel," was
the stirring command of Jesus. " The world is my parish,"
cried John Wesley, and Methodism accepted the motto.
" The evangelization of the world in this generation " fired
the zeal of thousands of student-volunteers, " China for
Christ" aroused Canadian Methodism. The church set to
work to carry out Christ's commands. On October 4th, 1891,
the pioneer band of missionaries set sail for China. The
evangelization of the " Heart of Szechwan," one of the most
populous districts in the world, was their objective. The
field was well chosen, as no province in China afforded a
greater or more far reaching field for evangelistic work.

THE SIMPLE WAY THE WORK BEGAN : — The work of the
Canadian Methodist Mission began in a very simple way In
July, 1892, a few men gathered in the guest room for morn
ing prayers, memorizing the catechism and the Lord's
Prayer. Later, schools were organized, and the children
formed the nucleus of the first Sabbath congregations. Their
singing, or attempts at singing, attracted passers-by into the
room fixed up for a chapel.

A CHINESE SHOP RENTED: — The preacher was never sure
of his congregation. The people were very timid, and often
left in a body. In 1893-94 a property was secured on Si
Shen Tsi street, and Dr. V. C. Hart erected a neat chapel.
About the same time a shop was rented on Mien-hwa-kai for
street chapel preaching. This street had a few large inns
where officials and merchants lodged when visiting the
capital. Possibly no agency at that early date was more
successful in spreading far and near the Gospel story. This

267

268 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

was the only building that survived the riots, and for years
afterwards was a centre of preaching activities.

FIRST FRUITS : — Before, however, the work of evangelism
was to take root in Chengtu and surrounding districts the
missionaries must needs pass through great tribulations.
In May, 1895, destructive riots were encountered. All build
ings occupied by foreigners in Chengtu were destroyed. The
missionaries were sent down the river Yangtse to Shanghai.
Evangelistic work to all appearances was impossible. " But
Jesus beheld them and said unto them, ' With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible.' " It so
proved. On January 3rd, 1896, Rev. Dr. V. C. Hart and I
re-entered the city of Chengtu. Marvellous was the change
in the attitude of the people. The despised foreigners who
had been hissed from their city had returned, and were
honorably received by the officials. The evangelistic work
was taken up where it had been left off. A teacher and a
student who had suffered during the persecution were the
first to consecrate their lives to Jesus. A chapel and school
rooms were fitted up for immediate use. Shortly after the
opening of a temporary chapel a Chinese apothecary came
forward and stated that some years ago, in a village, he had
bought one of the Gospels and was impressed with the teach
ing, but this was the first opportunity he had had to hear a
sermon. He became an enquirer, later was baptized, and
Mr. Wei developed into a beautiful Christian character, and
one of the most earnest soul winners of that time. Many of
the older members were the fruit of his work.

THE FIRST CHURCH OPENING :— August 2nd, 1896, marked
the beginning of another epoch in the work in Chengtu. The
newly erected church, now called the First Church, was
dedicated. It was a day of rejoicing. Conspicuous on the
front seat were the street officials. The following extract
from a report to the Mission Rooms gives an insight into the
conditions prevailing at that early period : " Ten o'clock the
church was filled. One hundred and seventy-six women, not
including the bevy of babies, were counted on the women's

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

269

ENTRANCE TO OUR MISSION COMPOUND, CHENGTU.

side. The men's side was crowded. At 4 p.m. the Christians
of the Methodist Episcopal and China Inland Missions were
present. After dedicating the chapel, our first convert was
baptized — a young man of exemplary character. An invita
tion was then given to any who might wish to become
Christ's disciples to stand up. Two teachers, a teacher's
wife, and three others stood up. There are now eighteen
names on the register." Up to the opening of the church,
forty or fifty was considered a large congregation. From
that date three hundred to four hundred people have gath
ered Sabbath after Sabbath. As Chengtu was the rallying
centre for officials, scholars, and merchants of the whole
province, and the church was one of the interesting sights
of the capital city, the evangelizing influences that went
forth into remote towns and cities cannot be measured.

THE CHRISTIANS IN CHENGTU OPEN A CHAPEL: — The
seeds of evangelism took root early in the Chengtu church.
In February, 1897, the Christians at the close of their weekly
prayer meeting decided to open a chapel in the populous East
Suburb. The rent was to be paid out of the weekly offerings,
and the members themselves to be the preachers. " As China
can only be evangelized by the Chinese themselves," this new

270 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

departure gave to the church a fresh enthusiasm, and a lively
interest was taken in her first offspring.

EIGHT BAPTIZED: — A report sent home in April, 1897,
describes the baptism of eight persons : " A baptismal ser
vice in China is a very solemn occasion. It is the dividing
line between the believer and much, if not all, that he has
held dear in the past. Ties of friendship are snapped ; inter
course with nearest relatives is broken; yet gazing into the
faces of those who stood up for baptism, it was evident that
they had weighed the matter well, and were willing to count
6 all loss but gain.' Three of the eight are teachers, a fourth
is the first scholar to enter the school that was opened in
February, 1893. This service will be specially remembered,
as the first woman convert was baptized. She is sixty years
of age." The above report ends by saying, " The number of
inquirers is increasing. The people are most willing to listen,
but the laborers are so few that the church is merely touch
ing the fringe of the millions."

A MAN OF SIXTY RECEIVED: — The report of the Mission
Council which met in May, 1898, records " That the evangel
istic work was very progressive. The opening Sunday, May
1st, 203 men and 220 women assembled in the Chengtu
church. Eev. James Endicott of Kiating preached an
effective sermon. At 3 p.m. Rev. V. C. Hart presided at the
communion service. A man sixty years of age was baptized.
He was the ninth to be baptized during the year, and the
eighteenth since the church was organized. Twenty-two
persons were received as catechumens.

OPENING UP THE CITIES ON THE CHENGTU PLAIN: — The
missionary spirit in the Chinese Church was not lacking
during this early period. To the north and west of Chengtu
there were eight walled cities within thirty miles without
regular mission work. These cities, surrounded by thriving
market towns, were situated on one of the most populous
plains in the world. Frequent itinerating trips were made
by the pastor of the Chengtu church,, who, unable to secure
chapels, preached in the temples, and sold scriptures and

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

27 L

THE FIRST DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE TO THE STUDENTS

•OF SZECHWAN, WHEN 30,000 BOOKS WERE PAID FOR AND GIVEN

AWAY BY THE MISSIONARIES.

tracts on the streets or in the market places. The opposition
to foreigners renting or buying property made it very difficult
to secure a foothold. The Chinese Christians, fortunately,
took up the question, and at the close of an earnest prayer
meeting, decided that the Church should begin Christian
work in the city of Penghsien. A teacher was delegated to
proceed at once, and after a most encouraging experience,
was successful in renting the first outstation chapel in the
Mission. The work began under favorable conditions, and
soon a large number of inquirers were in attendance. From
this beginning in July, 1897, the work has grown, until now,
five of these cities and ten market towns have organized
churches and schools. Ten years from the above date
Penghsien was opened as a central station. Church, school,
and medical w^ork are being carried on by missionaries of the
parent board and the W. M. S. While Bible teaching and

272 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

preaching were the most direct forms of evangelistic work,
yet advantage was taken of every opportunity to reach the
masses who were at this period quite indifferent to outside
influences. One example, wherein splendid results were
afterwards recorded, should be mentioned. The old system
of triennial examinations, which brought from 12,000 to
16,000 students from every part of Szechwan to Chengtu to
compete for the degree of M.A., afforded the missionaries a
most unique opportunity to place Christian literature in the
leading homes of every city and town. The first distribution
to students took place in September, 1897. A special edition
of Martin's Evidences of Christianity was ordered, to which
were added Gospels and Acts. Ten thousand parcels of three
copies each were distributed to the students as they left the
examination halls, a total of 30,000 books. These books were
read with special interest, and paved the way for that pro
gressive evangelistic movement that a few years later was to
arouse the whole province.

OPEN DOORS TO THE STUDENT CLASS: — Other influences
were working to open doors of opportunity. The Japanese
war, in 1894, so disastrous to China from the Chinese point
of view, whetted the appetites of the officials and scholars
for more information on western life and customs. The
" Gospel Halls " were the most convenient mediums through
which magazines and general literature could be secured.
The Canadian Methodist Mission made special efforts to
meet that demand. Fortunately, the Society for the Propa
gation of Christian Literature at Shanghai was publishing
several very efficient magazines. During the latter part of
the nineteenth century the subscriptions ran into the hun
dreds. Thus, the leaders of Szechwan had their first outlook
on the world through Christian eyeglasses. As the sale of
literature was all done through the guest-room, the mission
ary was brought into personal contact with officials and
scholars. These seekers after something new spent hours
with me in the study, conversing on many subjects. Natur
ally, the evangelistic note was sounded, and the visitor went

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 273

away like Nicodemus, to ponder upon all he had heard.
Closely connected with the a'bove movement was the desire
to study English. Classes were formed and the missionaries
were brought into close touch with scores of young men. As
the teaching of Christian truths was emphasized, many of
the young men became very sympathetic with the work the
church was doing. Not a few of the men who have or are
now holding responsible positions and who have been among
the leaders of reform and progress were indebted to Chris
tian missions for their inspiration.

OPENING OF KIATING: — Though the evangelistic work
recorded above was mostly in the Chengtu District, a similar
work was being carried on in another populous district 100
miles to the south. In 1894 the city of Kiating was opened
as a central station by O. L. Kilborn, M.D. On June 6th,
1896, a beautiful church was dedicated by Rev. V. C.
Hart, D.D. On the same day the pastor, Rev. James Endi-
cott, baptized the first convert. In 1898-99 three more
baptisms were reported. A street chapel was opened. This
work was useful in sowing seed. The hearers came from all
parts of the country. It was quite a common thing to hear
men say they had never seen a Christian book or heard the
Gospel before. The first outstation in the Kiating District
was opened early in 1898, at Omei city, by Dr. Hart. The
large district to the east, including the cities of Junghsieu
and Weiyuan, were visited by the Kiating pastor. In these
districts a large number made a profession, and ten men
were admitted on probation.

THE BOXER OUTBREAK MARKED A GREAT DIVIDE : — In the
work of evangelism to-day, as of old, one planteth, another
watereth, but being laborers together with God, " every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labor."
Thus, with many trials and dangers, through riots and local
rebellions, the evangelistic work was faithfully carried on to
the beginning of the twentieth century. Though " not many
wise, not many mighty, not many noble, were called," yet no
small number had come under the direct influence of the

274 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Gospel through the churches, the hospitals and dispensaries,
the press, and the schools. The year 1900 stands out as the
great dividing ridge between the old and the new in China.
The Boxer organization had, as it were, sucked up the venom,
the jealousy, the hatred that was seething in the Chinese
mind against foreign aggrandizement, and with terrible vigor
attempted to pour out its vials of wrath upon all strangers
within its country's gates. God stayed its hand in Szechwan,
and, though the missionaries were ordered to the coast cities
for protection, yet at an early date the evangelistic work was
resumed, under conditions so wonderful and so unexpected,
that the church could scarcely realize what God had wrought.

A TIME OF NEW QUESTIONINGS: — The period from 1900
to 1910 shows an altogether new aspect in the evangelistic
work of Szechwan. A great change had come over the people.
They were in the dawn of a new experience. The darkness
before the dawn had kept them in ignorance and in servility.
A ray of hope was penetrating that darkness. Are the per
secuted missionaries to become our saviours? Can we by
accepting Christianity free ourselves from the galling chains
of official oppression? Are there to be certain recompensing
privileges if we unite with the Christian Church? Granting
that the above motives or impulses manifested themselves in
the wonderful mass movements that began early in the new
century, dare we deny that the movement was not also in
answer to the prayers of the Christian Church, that the Holy
Spirit would move upon the chaos and darkness that existed
in the religious world of China? One fact is certain, that
the missionaries who regarded the movement as an answer
to prayer, and in the power of the Holy Spirit went forth to
guide, teach, and organize, can rejoice with exceeding great
joy at the fruits thereof.

MANY APPLICATIONS FOR HELP IN KIATING: — With the
opening of the twentieth century came open doors every
where for the evangelists. Rev. W. E. Smith, M.D., reports
from Kiating, 1901-2 : " I made two trips round our country
work and found a wonderful rush to get into the church.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

EVANGELISTS, TEACHERS AND THEIR WIVES, JENSHOW.

During the year I have had one hundred applications for
baptism, but have only baptized eleven. I have also a class
of young men for instruction in English, and have succeeded
in winning their regular attendance at religious services.
Five of my pupils are members on probation. We have sold
10,000 portions of scripture, 180 Bibles, many New Testa
ments, and 2,000 tracts and calendars. Our sale of scientific
literature and magazines has been exceptionally large/'

PRAYING FOR WORKERS: — Rev. O. L. Kilborn, M.D., writ
ing as pastor of the Chengtu church, reports for 1902-3 that
" never before in the history of our West China Mission have
the opportunities and the promise of our work in all its de
partments been so great. Our churches, chapels, hospitals
and schools are full." There were eleven baptisms during the
year, making a membership of twenty-six. Formerly the
prayer had been for men to arouse interest in the Gospel.
Now the cry was for men to help teach and organize the band

276 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

of inquirers that were springing up in every city and market
town.

A 400 MILE CIRCUIT:— The Mission Council of 1902 was
face to face with these new problems. There were two
central stations, with churches, hospitals, schools, and press
work all running to their utmost limit. In addition, there
was a belt of territory 300 miles long containing ten cities
and hundreds of market towns. Only five men were ready
for appointment. Only one man could be spared to carry on
the evangelistic work in the large territory outside of the walls
of Chengtu and Kiating. So persistent were the cries from
every part of our mission field for a missionary to visit the
numerous towns to teach the inquirers, that it almost seemed
as if the whole country was turning toward Christianity.
The progress made year by year was almost phenomenal, and
only the sustained help of the Holy Spirit could keep up the
courage and strength of the overworked missionaries. The
ten cities and a score of market towns were early opened to
Christian work. In almost every place the work was self-
supporting, while in Jenshow a splendid property was pre
sented out and out to the mission. To make a round of the
stations to the south, including Jenshow, Tsingyuan, Jung-
hsien, Kungchin, Weiyuan, and their market towns, with
lUble study schools in the larger places, required six weeks.
The distance was 400 miles, and the mode of travelling a
sedan chair. The warm reception, the earnestness, and the
faithfulness of the scattered Christian congregations amply
atoned for all the inconveniences of Chinese inns and food.
In 1903-4, including Northern and Southern Districts, six
journeys were made, nine cities and forty-two towns were
visited, while thirty-one men and twelve women were bap
tized. As each inquirer was expected to possess a Bible,
hymn book and catechism, the 426 Bibles and New Testaments
sold during the year gave some indication of the number of
inquirers.

GATHERING IN THE SHEAVES : — From 1904 to 1907 might
be called the years of reaping, and fulfilled the saying that,

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 277

" They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." These were the
high-tide years of that evangelistic wave that swept over
Szechwan. The work in Chengtu was very encouraging. In
June, 1904, three bright girls in the W. M. S. school, a few
months later a class of eleven, and later still, after a Bible
study class, eight others, were baptized, a total of twenty-
two. In November and December, thirty-one were baptized
in the outstations, and forty advanced to be catechumens.
The total number baptized in the Southern District at the
end of 1904 was : Jenshow city and four market towns, 21 ;
Tsingyuan city and one market town, 11 ; Juughsien city and
three market towns, 35; Weiyuen city, 8 — grand total, 75.
The work in the northern district was no less progressive.
On March 25th, 1906, the first baptismal service was held in
Sinfan. Ten adults and four children were received. At
Pihsien, on March 30th, four men were baptized. On April
1st at Wenchiang, eight were baptized. On April 8th,
Penghsien witnessed a marvellous scene. First, idols were
burned in the chapel; then five families (husbands, wives
and children), together with seven others, were baptized, a
total of seventeen adults and thirteen children. In January,
1906, ten men were baptized in Tsunglin. In several of the
market towns preaching chapels were opened and small
congregations formed.

THE NEED OP TRAINED CHINESE WORKERS: — No mention
has been made of Chinese evangelists. There were none.
The work in all these cities and towns was carried on in the
absence of the missionary by local leaders, who themselves
were just out of heathenism. What they lacked in knowledge
they partly made up in their ability to organize. It soon
became evident that the work must have men specially
trained in Bible study. To accomplish this, each congrega
tion was invited to send one or more of their numbers to
Chengtu. Thus the nucleus of a Theological College was
opened in September, 1904. The results of these Bible study
schools were soon in evidence, and were continued year after
year until the theological school was organized. Nearly all

278 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

of the present evangelists and colporteurs were members of
the Bible study schools.

REORGANIZATION : — The wonderful expansion of the work
and the inadequacy of the force of missionaries to enter the
open doors resulted in a strong appeal to the General Board
for reinforcements. This appeal was nobly responded to,
and by 1908 the Mission Council was able to divide the lanre

field into seven districts: Chengtu, Kiating, Junghsien,
Tzeliutsing, Jenshow, Penghsien, and Luchow, under the
superintendence of Jas. Neave, W. J. Mortimore, W. E.
Smith, R. O. Jolliffe, A. C. Hoffman, G. E. Hartwell, and
C. J. P. Jolliffe respectively. The evangelistic work from
1907 to 1910 consisted largely in strengthening the faith of
the members and deepening their spiritual life.

AN EARLY REVIVAL:— The responsibility of so great a
work extending through the " Heart of Szechwan," and the
need of a deep spiritual revival in the churches, and especi
ally in the hearts of those who were separating themselves
as evangelists and helpers, drove the missionaries to their
knees in agonizing prayer that a Pentecostal shower might
fall upon the mission work of West China. Their prayers
were marvellously answered. In a general convention of the
Christians and workers in the spring of 1909, there came
down upon the assembled company the Holy Spirit. " One
or two began to sol), followed by others. The sobbing
increased, broke into weeping, and then into convulsive cry
ing, until every man, woman and child cried aloud as if their
hearts would break. When this wave of deep emotion passed
over the congregation, there was nothing unseemly or
hysterical, but a deep outburst of the soul for pardoning
mercy. Men confessed sins that only when moved by the
Spirit would they have been willing to confess. Many came
forward to the altar and wept, and would not be comforted
until full confession was made. As the meetings progressed
there was more and more the note of triumph — men and
women pledging themselves to greater earnestness in preach
ing the Word and leading others to Christ." The evangelists

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

279

FIRST ORDINATION CLASS OF THE CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION,

JUNE 2nd, 1918.

Left to right — Revs. C. L. Yang, S. T. Lo, L. L. Li, S. S. Liu, K. G. Tan, H. S. Liu.
Missionaries: Left to right — Dr. O. L. Kilborn, Dr. W. E. Smith, Rev. G. E. Hartwell,

especially, returned to their work with a new vision of
life and duty. Revival meetings in many centres were held
during the autumn and winter of the same year. Thus at
the end of the first decade of the twentieth century the evan
gelistic work of nearly two decades was crowned with God's
approval.

280 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE L. M. S. FIELD ADDED : — In 1910 new responsibilities
were added. The London Mission, with their centre in that
busy open port of Chungking, had been working a large dis
trict for over twenty years. J. Parker and A. E. Claxton
were in charge, when the Canadian Methodist Mission took
over that work. Rev. E. J. Carson, who had won by his
earnestness and ability the admiration of the whole body of
missionaries, was appointed as a co-worker. His early death
stimulated a keener interest in that needy field, and two new
central stations were opened for evangelistic work, viz.,
Fowchow and Chungchow.

THE REVOLUTION AND AFTER: — The revolution of 1911
checked for a time progressive and definite evangelistic work.
It was found, for instance, that the mass movements toward
the Church had subsided : the new spirit of independence did
not feel the need of the Church as a protector; a better under
standing of what the Church stood for made it difficult for
false professors to use the name of the Gospel halls ; a closer
oversight over the members made the Church more eclectic ;
the standard of admission was raised, as the missionaries
were able to give personal supervision. Almost uncon
sciously the evangelistic work of the second decade is shaping
itself to reach the children. In the schools, not only are they
taught the Bible as a text book, but they are breathing the
atmosphere of the Sabbath services and the prayer-meetings.
They are received as catechumens, are baptized, and are able
to enter heartily into the life of the Church.

PREPARING FOR A PROVINCE-WIDE EVANGELISTIC CAM
PAIGN : — As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the
Mission in West China approaches, events fraught with great
interest to the establishing of the Kingdom of God in China
are developing. To-day there is a mass movement of senti
ment toward Christianity. That movement must be guided
by evangelistic men full of the Holy Ghost. There are
refreshing signs that 1917-1918 are to be wonderful years
in the history of Evangelism. Already most prayerful prep
arations are being made for a province-wide evangelistic

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 281

campaign. The Canadian Methodist Mission is entering
heartily into the campaign. Bible study schools and revival
services are being arranged for. The missionaries are hold
ing special prayer meetings. Weeks of prayer with the
Chinese Christians are being held. Special guidance for the
selection of leaders is earnestly sought. All this is in pre
paration for the greatest possible blessings the Holy Spirit
has in store for God's people. Marvellous as has been God's
work in China during the past twenty-five years, it is only
the dawn of a brighter and more glorious futute.

" When He first the work began,

Small and feeble was His day;
Now the Word doth swiftly run,

Now it wins its widening way;
More and more it spreads and grows,

Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strongholds it now o'erthrows,

Shakes the trembling gates of hell."

THE YOUNG MEN'S GUILDS.
G. W. SPARLING, B.A., B.D.

When, twenty-five years ago, the work of the Canadian
Methodist Mission was begun in West China, the nature
and purpose of that work was not at all understood by the
Chinese among whom we had come. Those engaged in our
work at the time, and for many years after, realized, there
fore, that the first great task of the missionary was to
bring to the people, and especially to the educated and
thinking classes, a true idea of our mission and message.
If the movement met with the favor of the gentry, there was
no reason whatever for the people opposing it, especially
when it had to do with outsiders, who, if enemies, would be
just as great enemies of the people as of the princes. Con
sequently, when we came to West China, the responsibility
for directing the attitude of the people rested with the
gentry, and they did not hesitate to determine at the very

282 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

beginning that this attitude should be one of contempt or
open opposition. Our missionaries then felt that they were
here only on sufferance, very unwelcome guests, and when
the possibility arose, even on the slightest pretext, this
opposition would be manifested, the wrath of the people
against the foreigner would be aroused, and, if possible,
they would be " driven into the sea, where they belonged/'

IN PERILS OFT: — Fortunately for the missionaries, the
Chinese Government was pledged by treaty rights to guar
antee protection to all subjects of the British Crown, and
no doubt the certainty that all damages must be paid for,
and that the life of a foreigner is very highly valued by its
Government, has on more than one occasion restrained
these people from acts of violence. When the mob was
surrounding the dwellings of our missionaries, one word
from the official or from the gentry would decide whether
that mob should break in through the gates, destroy lives
and property within, or whether they should disperse and
sullenly return to their homes. Wre leave it to those who
have passed through the experience to tell the story of the
Boxer troubles and other riots which have at times dis
turbed the work of our Mission, and apparently undone
what had been the work of years, but which have been but
milestones marking the slow but steady transformation of
public opinion which Avas taking place among the people.
During all these experiences, our workers have felt more
or less helpless in their efforts to explain to the people that
they were not here as enemies but as friends. With true
Christian love and bravery our people continued their work,
always with the prayer on their lips, " Father, open thou
their eyes that they may understand, and lay not this sin to
their charge."

CAUSES OF HOSTILITY : — The open hostility of the gentry
to the work of the Christian Church in China throughout
those years was based on the conception they had formed
of the aim and work of the Church in this land. The idea
that we had come to the land with purely philanthropic

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

283

THE GUILD READING ROOM ATTRACTS ALL CLASSES OF MEN.

hopes, seeking to do good to the people, was inconceivable
to them, and this for several reasons. They did not believe
that it was possible that we had anything for them to learn ;
they were the civilized nation, and we the barbarians; why
should they listen to ns? The pride of the upper classes,
the pride of the Confucian scholar, careful even to the style
of dress and manner of walking to be like his " Holy
Teacher," controlled them, and through them determined
the opinion of the whole population. Another cause oper
ating to foster this defiant attitude, and to weld the people
together in their determined opposition, was that simul
taneously with the coming of the missionaries came also
the agents of the foreign governments and foreign business
firms to implant and to push the rights of those whom they
represented. The Chinese for many years did not learn to
distinguish between the agents of the Church and political
and commercial agents. So it has been a pressing problem

284 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

in missionary work up to the present time to disperse this
perverted view, and give the people a correct idea of mis
sionary work.

THE CONTEMPT OF THE SCHOLAR CLASS HAS NOW COL
LAPSED :— Again, this attitude of contempt on the part of
the gentry who were to determine the attitude of the multi
tude was fostered by the fact that the Church apparently
existed only for the lower classes. This effect, of course,
was only the natural result of the attitude and air of
superiority assumed by the educated classes. That which
the missionaries were compelled to do by force of circum
stances appeared to them to be the natural purpose which
we sought here to fulfil, and as long as our work was con
fined to the coolie classes and our church was filled by men
from the lower levels of society, the upper classes' were
content to stay apart from us and to tell us that our mes
sage and efforts were not for them. This mistaken conception
of our work, and of the classes whom we hoped to reach,
must be in some way destroyed, but in these early years
efforts to destroy it were comparatively fruitless and our
missionaries longed for the day when the doors of the
homes of the gentry would be opened. But I daresay that
the most sanguine of them hardly dared hope that this
transformation would be so complete or so speedy as that
which we have witnessed within the past few years. No
longer have we this attitude of contempt and superiority;
the atmosphere is no longer one of defiance and hostility to
the Christian Church, but that for which our fathers
worked and prayed has been realized. Everywhere are the
homes of all classes opened and many have come openly
forward and identified themselves with the Christian
Church, while numberless hosts of others are willing to
work unitedly with us in all philanthropic enterprises and
to unite with us to form societies for social service and
Christian work, though they are not prepared to accept
baptism or to openly confess Christ before the world. The
first great victory has been won by our missionaries, and we

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 285

no longer feel that we are cramped and hemmed in by oppo
sition, but are free to work everywhere. Men who ten years
ago despised us are to-day identifying themselves with our
Societies and Guilds, giving us every hope and encourage
ment, and telling us that they need the help which we can
give, and they are prepared to unite with us to make it
possible that we can do at least one class of work for which
Christianity stands. The prejudice of the scholar, the
defiance of the gentry, belong to the past, and with them
have gone the opposition of the masses. As the upper classes
have been won, so with them have come all classes, and a
repetition of what occurred ten or fifteen years ago in this
land seems now to be almost inconceivable. We have every
reason to thank God and take courage.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS A GREAT AGENCY AGAINST PREJU
DICE : — Among the agencies which have helped to contribute
to the accomplishment of this great result, we would give
first place to our Mission schools. There is probably no
place where the real purpose of missionary effort is more
clearly seen by this people than in our schools. Our
churches and their aims have been everywhere misunder
stood, but as we have everywhere established our Christian
schools, and have manifested our interest in the young,
and have laid the emphasis on education, where the
Chinese also believe it should be laid, we have wielded a
mighty force, and one which has by its constant use suc
ceeded in breaking down the strongholds of hostility, and
has led these people captive. And the boys and girls who
have passed through our schools from the lower primary
grade to the high school standing during the past twenty
years have, during their time of education, learned while in
contact with the missionary, beholding his spirit and learn
ing from him what Christianity has done for other lands,
received a true and unbiased conception of the purpose of
missionary work in this and all lands. They, full of love
for their country, and devoted to her welfare, casting about
for some agency which might be of help to them in this

286 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

critical stage of their national history, and having learned
that Christianity and Christian principles have been the
foundation of all true governments, have decided in their
own minds that China needs the Christian message, and
have in their turn become virtually missionaries to their
own people. Our thorough and consistent methods of
education have also been an object lesson to the people who
have gone to great pains to inspect our schools, and have
won the respect of all those who have examined them, and
now, when the Government schools are all but a failure,
they are looking to us to reorganize or to show them how to
reorganize their educational systems, and are prepared to
give honor to the Church or Society which has carried on
these schools. Men who years ago would not permit their
children to enter our schools are to-day willing to co-operate
in educational work.

RETURNED STUDENTS HAVE ALSO ROOTED OUT OLD AN
TAGONISMS :— The return of students from England and
America, reporting conditions as they have found them there,
has done a great deal towards enlightening the Chinese, and
teaching them concerning life in foreign lands. The Chinese
have learned that other peoples are strong while they are
weak, other lands are wealthy while theirs is poor, and they
have set out to find out the reason for the difference. The
countries are not essentially different : the resources of this
land are probably as great as those of any other land, and
may be much greater, yet the Chinese nation is poor. They
have learned that one of the causes of this fact is the trade
which other countries carry on outside of their own lands,
and they are now looking for the development of their own
foreign trade. They have learned that, if they are to be one
of the great nations of the world, they must not be content
to live by themselves, but must have intercourse with other
peoples, and commercially must be united to all the other
lands. If, then, these business men are to be able to compete
with business men from other lands, they must seek to
understand all they can, and be thoroughly enlightened as

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

287

A FIELD DAY.
We aim to develop all-round manhood.

to foreign customs and habits of life, and, in case of
the younger men, be able to carry on this business in
the language of both the contracting parties. As a result
of this desire to understand foreign ways, there is no longer
any desire on the part of the Chinese to hold aloof, but their
homes are open, and they are coming to us for information,
and the young men are flocking to learn English and com
mercial methods. There is a great opening at the present
time for a good business college, where these young men
will be taught English, typewriting, and accountancy, and
thus be equipped for the new life which is opening before
them. Here is a great field opening up before us also. As
Christian missionaries, we believe that we should do any
thing which will help to improve the surroundings and raise
the standard of living of this people. The only agents at
work here to help these people in this way are the Christian
missionaries, and here is an opportunity such as never

288 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

presented itself before. Instead of an atmosphere of con
tempt and hostility, we are now surrounded by one of friend
ship, and these men who despised us as ignorant barbarians
are coming as students of foreign ways and methods. It is
to meet this need that our Young Men's Guilds are being
organized in different centres, and one cannot but thank
God continually, as he is able to move about among this
class of men, for none were more haughty than the young
business men in years gone by, that such a transformation
has taken place, and that he is permitted to come in contact
with these men under such auspices and, we trust, lead
them to a new life.

OFFICIALS ALSO UPHOLD THE NEW ORDER: — There are
also many staunch Christians among the official and gentry
class of the present time, and this number is increasing
every year. Just two years ago a young man called on me
in Chungking with a letter of introduction from Mr. Lock-
wood, of the Y.M.C.A. in Shanghai. He had been appointed
by the Peking Government to come to Szechwan as Salt
Inspector for this province, one of the most important posi
tions in China. He is a member of the Christian Church.
As a boy he was educated in a Mission School in the
province of Fukien and after graduating from the high
school there went to the United States to study. Six years
were spent in the United States, after which he graduated
from Columbia University, and took some post-graduate
work at the University of California. He conversed in
almost faultless English, and of course was quite at home
among us. Such a man must exert an enormous influence
for Christianity in this province, and there are hundreds of
such men in this country at the present time, and their
numbers are increasing. When the plans for our Young
Men's Guild work and building were laid before him, he
expressed his hearty approval of the idea, and expressed his
conviction that such an institution was greatly needed in
this country at this time. His approbation was also mani
fested by a subscription to our building.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 289

THE POLITICAL KEVOLUTION WAS ALSO A REVOLUTION IN
ATTITUDE: — Although the forces at work to produce this
change had been in operation for years, yet the first clear
manifestations of the change appeared at the time of the
revolution of 1911. This revolution was thorough and com
plete. The overthrow of the Manchu Dynasty was only a
symbol of the real revolution which was taking place in the
ideals of the Chinese and their conception of human life and
liberty. To them the old dynasty stood for oppression and
lack of progress, and when it was overturned the pendulum
of Chinese hopes and ambitions swung completely away
from the point where it had been held during the past cen
turies. The Chinese people were no longer to be a race
dominated by a semi-foreign dynasty, but were henceforth
to be reckoned among the free and progressive peoples of the
earth. It may be true that the people at that time did not
know the full significance of the step they were taking, but
nevertheless they took it, and for weal or woe the old Ship
of State loosed from her moorings, and is still drifting about
looking for a pilot who can steer her safely through the
storms of internal strife and foreign interference. While
living at the city of Tzeliutsing, the first news of the inten
tions of the people to overthrow the Manchus came to our
ears, and it was not without some forebodings of ill for
foreign residents that we contemplated a period of unrest
and fighting in this land. Our fears, however, were ground
less, and it was not long until we learned that the officials
and gentry were sparing no pains to teach the people the
full significance of the movement. The eyes of the common
people were opened in those few months, and they received
a good education in the relations of China to other lands,
and especially of the purpose and aims of the missionaries
in this land. When the common people first learned of the
trouble their minds immediately flew to the foreigners, and
they were ready, according to the custom of former years,
to vent their wrath upon the so-called usurpers, and those
in authority had hard work to teach them that missionaries

200 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

had nothing whatever to do with the case, and that our
purpose in this land was only to do good to the people to
whom we had come. Day after day, in the city of Tzeliu-
tsing, and doubtless the same in all the cities of the country,
meetings were held and lectures given, the real purport of
which \vas that henceforth the attitude of the Chinese
towards the foreigners was to be radically different from
the past, and especially were they to regard the mission
aries as benefactors, and seek to get what good they could
from them. The few months of that revolution did more to
clarify the minds of the people as to certain matters than
years of preaching on the part of the missionaries them
selves could ever have done. From that time forth, as we
came in contact with the gentry, we came on a different
footing, our relations with them were henceforth to be freer,
and the Chinese proverb that " within the four seas all are
brethren," was to be extended in its significance to include
men of other lands as well as their own.

GUILD WORK is THE ATTEMPT TO MEET THE NEW NEED :—
Thus has the Avay been opened for a new form of mission
ary work, and conditions have so changed that now work
may be carried on among all classes of Chinese, and it is to
meet the need among the gentry and young men of the
cities that our Guild Work lias been opened

CHUNGKING GUILD.

EARLY EFFORTS IN CHUNGKING: — For some years past,
in connection with the work of the Church, there had been a
Young Men's Club, and classes for studies of various sub
jects had been held. At first the numbers were small, and
the membership was limited to such young men as were in
constant attendance at church. Games of different kinds
were supplied and lectures delivered on scientific subjects.
The rooms 011 Muh Pai Fang Street, where the day school
was conducted, were given over to the purposes of this
Guild, under the direction at different times of E. W.
Wallace and D. M. Perlev.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 291

OFFICIALS, BANKERS,, WHOLESALE MERCHANTS ARE NOW
MEMBERS : — In the summer of 1913, in connection with the
second revolution, a very serious situation occurred inside
the city of Chungking. The Chengtu and Kweichow sol
diers were fighting inside of the city walls, and the people
were terrified. Fortunately there was no anti-foreign feel
ing at all among the people engaged in the insurrection ; in
fact, the only places which seemed perfectly safe were the
residences and other buildings belonging to the foreigners,
and to take advantage of this fact many places which were
not connected with foreigners put up foreign notices outside
of their front gates for protection. As a result of their
fright, great numbers of Chinese sought shelter within the
walls and the compounds of the missionaries. While these
people were with us services were held for them, and they
were told of the One who was a refuge for all in time of
trouble, and they were urged to believe in the One True
God who alone could give them the satisfaction and peace
which they all sought. An invitation was given to all to
connect themselves with the Church and to enter the Young
Men's Guild, and by October of that year a membership of
about two hundred was reached. When the city again
became quiet the Guild was reorganized with the increased
membership, and a formal opening was held on October
23rd, when a temporary constitution was outlined and new
officers elected. The officers consisted of two presidents,
one foreign and one Chinese, two secretaries, and a Board of
Managers of about fifteen members, and upon these was
placed the responsibility for carrying on the work of the
Guild. When these officers had been elected, it was seen
that they were from a class hitherto untouched by the
Church, and we realized that a new field had spread itself
before us inviting us to enter and share in the harvest.
Upon this Board there were four men engaged in the whole
sale cotton trade, one banker, one teacher of the Govern
ment Middle School, one official, one goldsmith, and others
holding responsible commercial positions in the city.

29:

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE SITE FOE A NEW BUILDING GRANTED:— The annual
council of our Mission of the year 1914 convened in Chun
king, and a reception was given to the delegates under the
auspzces of the Guild. Dr. Kilborn also gave a lecture on
The Duties of a Citizen of the Republic," which was after
wards printed by the Guild, and two thousand copies dis-
tributed. This Council was requested to aid the Guild by
granting land on which to erect a suitable building for the
future work of the Guild, and also to give a subscription
towards the building. The Council responded by giving
permission to tear down the old buildings in front of the
hospital in order to erect a new building on this site, and
also passed an estimate of gold $1000 to aid in the expense
of the new building. This estimate was passed by the Home
Board and is being used. Mr. Abrey, the Mission architect
was forthwith requested to prepare plans for the new
building, so that work might commence as soon as possible
MtssiON AND GUILD MEMBERS HAVE A FORMAL AGREE
MENT :-The task of the Council of 1915 in connection with
this Guild was to prepare an agreement between the
-hmese membership and the Mission. It was thought wise
that the two parties concerned should have as clear an
understanding of their relations one to the other as possible
m order to avoid friction in the future. The final agreement
stated that the control of the building should be vested in
the Board of Managers, of whom at least half should be
Christians, that it should never be used for any other purpose
than that for which it was erected, and the Mission should
always have the right to appoint a man to the work of the
Guild. It was also stated that the site would be granted by
the Mission, with their subscription of money, and the rest
of the funds would be raised by popular subscription among
the gentry of Chungking. The Chinese members at the first
seemed to have a rather mistaken idea of the purpose of the
institution, but the last two years have taught them a ^reat
deal along this line, and they are slowly gaining a new"con-
ception of the meaning and purpose of missionary work

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 203

There is much for them to learn along this line, and each
year of work will no doubt modify their opinions, until some
day they will be led to realize the spiritual ideal actuating
it, and a new conception of spiritual values will be given
them. Up to the present the social work has seemed to be
of primary importance with them, but gradually they will be
led to see that all effort is but a means to an end, and that
end the building of character and the purifying of the life
of society.

THE NEW GUILD BUILDING:— At the time of writing of
this article the new building is almost completed, and it
reflects great credit on the architect who planned it. It is
a modern Y.M.C.A. building, suited to carrying on all types
of the work of that institution. It is a four-story building,
with an attic, eighty feet long and forty-two feet wide. The
roof and two upper floors are supported by trusses, leaving
the auditorium entirely free of pillars. The first or base
ment floor is prepared for all kinds of gymnasium work, for
our motto, which is the development of man in body, mind
and soul, is written large in the very nature of the building
itself. The bathrooms are also in the basement ; many take
advantage of them. As we ascend the stairs to the second or
main floor, we enter the lobby which is to be fitted with easy
chairs, with the reading room opening off from it on one side.
Here also is the guest-room, and the office, with a counter and
small room for the attendant. The entrance' is so arranged
that no one can enter the building without passing by the
attendant, so that he is aware at all times of every man in
the building. To enter the gymnasium it is necessary to
come up the main stairs and, passing by the attendant, to
descend a smaller stairs at the farther side of the lobby.
The auditorium is connected with the lobby by two large
double doors. The auditorium proper will seat about two
hundred and fifty people, with a mezzanine which will hold
two hundred more. The ceiling of the auditorium is twenty-
one feet high, and, being free of pillars, this is a beautiful,

294 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

bright, and airy room. This room is also supplied with a
side entrance, which can be used in case of emergency. On
each of three sides of the room are two large fluted pillars,
surmounted with decorations, while the ceiling is divided
into squares by beams and false beams. The mezzanine,
which ordinarily is to be our game room, is one large room,
capable of seating about two hundred people, and here we
will have placed tables for crokinole, chess, checkers, bag
atelle, caroms, pingpong, nine-pins, dominoes, etc. This
room will serve a very valuable end if it succeeds in teach
ing the Chinese new plans of amusement. The Chinese are
fond of playing games, but have very few games which they
can play in their own homes, and we hope to make this room
attractive to the young men so that many of their spare
hours will be spent here rather than in the other places of
questionable amusement throughout the city. The third
floor is given over to class rooms, and here we have accom
modation for seven classes at one time, with an average
membership of from fifteen to twenty. It is hoped that
the school work of the Guild will be a very prominent
feature of it. Two of the class rooms are large, and will be
fitted up with scientific apparatus, and it is here that lec
tures on physical and chemical science will be given. The
upper floor or attic consists of seven bedrooms with two
beds in each. It is hoped that these rooms will be occupied
by young men of good moral character who are interested
in the work of the Guild and qualified to help in it, and who
will lend their influence to further its ends. Great care will
be taken in selecting the men who shall be allowed to
occupy these rooms.

THE LECTURE DEPARTMENT: — Besides these forms of
work, there are two others which will be carried on in con
nection with the Guild, and the first which I will mention
is the Lecture Department. This department is capable of
broad and varied development. Lectures can be delivered
on almost any topic which it is thought will be educative
or enlightening to the Chinese. We only need to mention

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 295

such subjects as " Social Progress,'' " National Greatness,"
"Compulsory Education,'7 "The Duties of a Citizen7' (all
of which have been used at different times), to realize the
range of the subjects which may be presented. In these
lectures there are also great opportunities for presenting
in a new way the Message which we have come to China to
give. We believe that anything which helps to make a man
a greater man is worthy of attention, and the class of people
reached by the Guild will listen to a message delivered
under its auspices when they would not attend church to
hear the same message. The lecture department of the
Guild is one which has great possibilities, and which would
alone justify the existence of the institution.

SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT: — The other form of work
for which the Society stands might be called Social Service.
This department also has great possibilities. The social
side of Christianity appeals to the Chinese, and here we
have a point of contact with them which we cannot have in
any other way'. The Chinese themselves, uninfluenced by
Christianity, have ideas of social service, but they are crude
and, we fear, are sometimes tainted very strongly with self
ishness. When they open a home for beggars, or give to the
poor, it is not with the purity of aim which should char
acterize a follower of Christ, but even though the motive is
not as high as it should be, yet this virtue of the Chinese
should be used and developed by us. Here is a place where
we can meet them on common ground, and after gaining the
sympathy which comes from a common purpose, the oppor
tunity will come to show them a higher standard, and to
point to One who not only gave to help the poor, but gave
all He had, and gave Himself for the happiness of mankind.
We may reach the Chinese by our social message before we
do bv the message of individual salvation, and this should
be used to present the fuller and more complete message of
our Gospel. Any effort which we may make for the
orphans, the blind, the poor, will meet with ready support
from a great many of the best classes of the Chinese. Some

296 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

of these people are really enthusiastic about such efforts,
and among a certain class the best compliment that you can
pay one is to say that he is enthusiastic for all enterprises
for the public good.

THE ORPHANAGE: — During the past two years there has
been started by the gentry of Chungking, under the auspices
of the Friends' Institute and our Young Men's Guild, an
orphanage. The idea originated in the mind and heart of
one of the members of our church, Mr. Liu Tse-Ruh. It
arose out of his offer to give every year one thousand strings
of cash for the support of orphans. He is not a wealthy
man, and this amount represented a very large sum with
him, but the offer was so free that it called forth the sym
pathy and support of many others. This amount will support
about forty orphans, and the present building will accom
modate only about that many, but when the public meeting
was called to consider the matter, it was decided that the
number must not be limited to forty, and to allow for expan
sion until four hundred were accommodated it was decided
that a site must be secured and a new building erected. A
site has been bought a short distance outside the city, and
the new building begun. The President of the Orphanage
Committee, and one of the most loyal supporters, is the
President of our Guild. This man, Mr. Liu U-Chang, is a
man of high ideals, and, we would say, in everything but
name, a Christian. Although he does not attend church, he
has on many occasions expressed himself as heartily in sym
pathy with it, and on one occasion when plans were being
laid for the carrying on of some work he went so far as to
say that we must have the help of the Church, that without
the Church it would not succeed. This is but one depart
ment of social service which has already been begun, and we
hope that as the years go by several institutions for the
welfare of the more unfortunate members of society may be
opened, and the city of Chungking be made a much better
place because of the efforts which have been put forth by the

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

297

ONE REASON WHY ORPHANAGES ARE NECESSARY.

members of our Society. These departments of work, along
with the opportunity presented by visiting in the homes of
the members, and personal influence through friendship and
daily conversation, represent the main lines of effort of our
Young Men's Guild, and we trust that under God it has a
great future.

CHUNGCHOW GUILD.

A temporary building has been erected, and Guild Work
has been begun by Rev. W. J. Mortimore. During the
two years that the work has been running it has been very
encouraging, and has well justified all effort that has been

208 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

put into it. The building is situated upon the compound in
which the foreigners live, and thus those who attend come in
contact with them and the missionary work which they are
doing. In connection with the work many opportunities
come for the direct presentation of the Gospel message, and
a clear explanation of what work missionaries are really
trying to do in this land, and it means everything that the
people should have their minds cleared of suspicions and
doubts as to the nature of our work. If the people of the
country had a clear understanding of our purpose there
would not be the same opposition to our work, and any effort
which helps to give them this understanding is well worth
while. In the guest-room there are continually present
Christian men whose duty it is to receive the guests, and
they are continually answering questions and explaining
Christianity, and experience proves that this method of
preaching by personal contact and by the conversational
method usually brings greater results than even pulpit
preaching, and they are reaching a class altogether different
from that reached by the ordinary channels of the Church.
Many of these people who hear the message of Christianity
in this way become deeply interested, and in their desire to
learn more soon identify themselves with those attending

*- ^

church. Besides this there is always a good supply of
Christian books and magazines which the visitors read. Mr:
Mortimore says that many times prominent individuals have
called upon him, have become interested through the work
of the Institute, and very frequently ask very pertinent
questions concerning the work of the Church and the nature
of Christianity, and thus opportunities continually arise for
explaining Christian ideals and the benefits derived from
them. On one occasion Mr. Mortimore was asked to give an
address at the memorial service of the County School Inspec
tor, and in the presence of hundreds of students and teachers
was able to present Christian teaching and ideals.

THE INSTITUTE HAS ITS INDUCEMENT TO ALL CLASSES:—
The people reached by the Institute include students and

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 299

teachers from the Government Higher Primary and Middle
Schools, as well as many visitors from country schools.
These young men are attracted by the reading room, as well
as by the games, which include alley board and many other
inside games. The better class merchants and gentry, Govern
ment office clerks, managers, and small officials attend, until
nearly all of the prominent people of the city have been met.
During the time of the recent fighting the officers of the
Northern army were regular visitors, and at the request of
the military commander the latest papers and magazines
have been sent to his headquarters. A great many travellers
from Chengtu and Shanghai, while remaining in the city for
a short time, have found their way to the Institute and
expressed their appreciation of it.

NEWSPAPERS AND SPORTS ARE GREAT ATTRACTIONS: — As
to the kind of work which appeals to these people, and which
offers the attraction to them, a good assortment of daily
papers is a great help, and since there is no other public
reading room in Chungchow, that of the Institute is very
popular. These men are very anxious to know what is going
on in other parts of their country, as well as in other parts
of the world. Lectures on hygiene and other subjects which
have to do with the public welfare are very interesting to
them, and many young men have been won by means of the
free English Bible Classes. The students have also come to
see the value of physical exercise. At first many of them
would not be seen to run, and even yet too many of the
teachers fear that exercise will cause the students to lose
their learning, but slowly and surely such ideas are being
dissipated. Just before the recent revolution a Football
Association was organized which bade fair to be a great suc
cess, but operations were suspended by the fighting. While
the Association was under the auspices of the Institute,
members were admitted directly. Games were played on the
Parade Ground.

MR. MORTIMORE AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE CONTENDING

FORCES: — One result of the Institute and the friendships

300 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

made through its agency, was seen at the time of the recent
fighting. At one time the city was occupied by a band of
robbers, and the Northern soldiers were sent to drive them
out and take possession of the city. Mr. Mortimore, being on
friendly terms with all of the gentry of the city, they came
freely to him to request that he should act as mediator with
the Northern soldiers. Through his efforts an understand
ing was reached between the two parties, and the city saved
from looting, or possibly from destruction. For this act
the good-will of the whole populace, high and low, has been
won, and the Church has apparently acquired a distinct
reputation for altruistic effort, much different from the
past. Mr. Mortimore says : " Our aim is to make the Insti
tute a centre of light and help along all possible lines, keep
ing Christianity as the effectual means for attaining our
end, and to this end Christians should be in every important
office."

FOWCHOW GUILD.

A Young Men's Guild was opened in Fowchow on Nov.
27th, 1915, in the rented compound near the East Gate,
where we hold our church services and also conduct our
schools. Mr. Chang, the Principal of the Provincial Middle
School, was elected President, while nearly all of the
teachers of this school, as well as the County Middle School,
have become members, and we have at present a membership
of about sixty.

VARIOUS CONTACTS WITH LIFE : — We have a large reading
room, with all the Christian Chinese magazines and papers,
together with daily papers from Chungking, Chengtu, and
Shanghai; and besides the papers we have a small library
containing some of the most recent works translated into
Chinese. This reading room is well patronized by men of all
classes. We also have a game-room, with such games as
pingpong, checkers, halma, go-bang, Chinese and English
chess, etc. Good use is made of this room, and the members
get a great deal of amusement learning the English games,

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

301

TEACHERS. EVANGELISTS, AND BOOK-SELLERS, FOWCHOW.

especially checkers and halma. There have been organized
two classes in English, with an enrolment of about thirty,
the son of the chief official being a member of one of the
classes. Arrangements have been made to open a night
school in the autumn, when we will teach Chinese Language,
Arithmetic, Geography, Hygiene, and Sanitation, with plans
to add Bible Classes as soon as practicable. We plan also
to give regular lectures on popular subjects every second
week.

A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FRIENDSHIPS : — Our Guild has
helped to break down prejudice by bringing people in touch
with our work. When we went to the city three years ago.
the better class of people seemed to despise the Church, and
it was very difficult to get acquainted with them. The
Guild has brought many of the business men, some of the
officials of the city, among whom is the head of the Police,
to us, and as they have seen the work which we are doing in
our schools and church they have become our friends, and
some of them now attend church. The people of the city, as
they come to know us, are interested in our work, and are

302 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

now willing to assist us. It has also brought us in touch
with the student body of the Government schools, who are
fond of our games, as well as the books and magazines. As
they become acquainted with us they in many cases become
attendants at church, and during the past few weeks we
have been greatly. encouraged by the large numbers of the
better-class men who are attending our Sunday services.
The Guild has become one of our best agencies for bringing
before the people life in its fullest, noblest, and truest sense.

KIATING GUILD.

In Kiating our Guild work has probably reached a higher
degree of efficiency than in any other of our stations. Some'
years ago Mr. Quentin began his work among the gentry and
business men in the centre of the city. At first there was no
regular meeting place, and the work consisted mainly in
winning the friendship of the men until such time as Mr.
Quentin felt that he had a firm enough grip on the men to
guarantee his organizing a society and in renting premises
for the carrying on of Guild work. A large, spacious build
ing was afterwards rented and fitted up for the work in such
a way as to provide for the various channels of Guild enter
prise. In the centre of the building is the main auditorium
or church, where regular Sunday services are held, and
where popular lectures are given. There are also school
rooms, reading rooms, bath rooms, etc.

CHURCH, SCHOOLS AND GUILD WORK IN HARMONY : — The
work really consists of three departments : The Church, the
School, and the Guild. These are carried on side by side,
and the efforts are fused together. The School is the Guild
school, and the church the moral department of the Guild,
Mr. Quentin says : " The avenues of approach to the Chinese
are exceptional. Close acquaintance is gotten through the
varied forms of work that a non-Christian man can do, and
this close acquaintance is all that a Christian man needs for a
chance to witness. There are also exceptional opportunities

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

303

•<J to

•ft ~

g «

304 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

for social service. Having among your members the influ
ential men of the city, it is easy to get them working
along social lines. Clean homes and clean streets all belong
to Christianity, and soon the opportunity for social service
becomes an opportunity for Christian service."

CHENGTU Y.M.C.A.

CAPT. BRACE AND CHEXGTU Y.M.C.A.: — Besides these
Guilds already organized, beginnings have been made in
other places, but property has not in every case been secured
for the work. In this connection the Mission has also
appointed a man, Rev. A. J. Brace, to the regular Y.M.C.A.
work, and he is now fulfilling the duties of General Secre
tary of the Chengtu Y.M.C.A.

CHURCH GUILDS IN CHENGTU.

NEW GUILDS BUT GREAT EXPECTATIONS: — The Guild
work of the Mission is comparatively young, and it is diffi-
cut to say what the results will be, but the prospects for
good results are very bright, and we trust that under God's
blessing it may be made a very effective means of realizing
the Kingdom of God in West China. We would not neglect
to mention that started by Mr. E. N. Meuser, and in his
absence carried on by Rev. J. Neave in connection with his
work at the First Church, Chengtu. This Guild, or Club,
has a membership to date of three hundred and twenty. Also
the one commenced by Rev. N. E. Bowles in connection with
the initiation of the Sutherland Memorial Church work,
with a very considerable membership also. Both these
Clubs, or Guilds, are seeking to develop along the lines
dealt with above, and are rich in opportunity for valuable
work.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 305

EDUCATIONAL.
J. L. STEWART, P».A., IJ.D.

Summary of a Quarter Century-s Educational Effort
Through the C.M.M. for West China.

China, since ancient times, has divided her vast millions,
theoretically, into four classes, namely, — scholars, farmers,
mechanics and merchants. Thus education is exalted above
agriculture, craftsmanship and commerce. Nor has this
been a mere academic division. No nation has held more
tenaciously the tenet that, " He who thinks must govern him
who toils." Accordingly, her rulers have for centuries been
chosen by an educational examination system; and, as to be
an official was the highest ideal of honor, wealth and power,
it has naturally become the cherished ambition of parents
for generations past to have some of their sons counted
among the honored student class. Indeed, should a son
succeed to high official standing, he brought wealth, honor,
and power, not only to his parents and posterity here and
hereafter, but bestowed equal honor upon lines of ancestors
long since passed to the land of shades. Few incentives
could thus be stronger, and few students have studied more
strenuously than the scholars among the sons of Han.

SOME SOURCES OF STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS IN CHINA'S
ANCIENT SYSTEM: — But though there was much worthy of
honor in the hard work and real heroism of many of her
students, there was also much to be disparaged in the sys
tem. It made its standards the thoughts of ancestors mainly,
a thousand and more years before the Christian era. Even
regarding these it laid the emphasis upon imitation, memory
and orthodoxy, rather than upon truth, thought, and origin
ality. Thus these ancient messages became emasculated,
and moral tenets were too often but fine phrases to turn a

306 CUE WEST CHINA MISSION

paragraph. Moreover, it came to look upon education as
simply a test for official employment, and for the few, — not
a cultivation of the best within each individual for fullest
life and service in every stratum of society for all. No pro
vision was made for the education of the masses, so that
probably not more than three men in ten ever learned to
read, and possibly, most dire of all in its detriment, half the
population, the women, were left ignored and ignorant.
What did a woman want Avith an education? She could
never be an official !

THE FOUR BOOKS AND FIVE CLASSICS, OR CHINA'S
" BIBLE ":— The content of the texts studied also left much
to be desired. These comprised the Four Books and the Five
Classics. A sentence regarding each of these will have to
suffice. The Four Books are :—

THE GREAT LEARNING:— (1). The Great Learning, a book
of about twelve ordinary pages in length, consists of two
pages of text, said to be by Confucius, and the remainder
commentary, by the philosopher Tsang. It discusses the
ethical basis of politics. The text itself says, " What the
Great Learning teaches, is to illustrate illustrious virtue, to
renovate (or love) the people, and to rest in the highest
excellence.7'

THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN:— (2). The Doctrine of the
Mean is about forty-four pages in length, and was, according
to tradition, written by a grandson of Confucius. Its open
ing sentences give the key to the book, " What Heaven has
conferred is called the Nature. An accordance with this
nature is called the Path (of duty).'' The former is fixed
and changeless, the latter " may not be left for an instant,"
Thus the Princely Man, following sincerely the Path, comes
into complete accord with Heaven, others follow his example,
and finally the " whole Empire is tranquillized."

THE ANALECTS : — (3). The third is the Analects, a book of
about fifty pages. It consists of short sentences uttered at
various times by the Sage, chiefly about virtue, with an
illuminating section as to the philosopher's personal habits

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 307

EXAMINATION CELLS USED UNDER THE OLD EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

and deportment. Re the latter we learn that, " He did not
wear anything of a red color. He did not eat what was dis
colored. Only in wine he laid down no limit for himself,
but he did not allow himself to be confused by it. He did
not eat much. When eating he did not converse. When in
bed he did not speak. When in his carriage he did not turn
his head quite round; he did not talk hastily; he did not
point with his hands."

THE WORKS OF MEXCIUS: — (4). The Works of Mencius,
the famous disciple who lived about two hundred years after
Confucius, are about one hundred and seventy-five pages in
length. Like his master, he lived in times of confusion, and
sought to found a political system on morals. He taught
that human nature was essentially good, and had unbounded
faith in the common people, saying that, " Heaven sees as the
people see, Heaven hears as the people hear." He proclaimed
their right to oust unworthy rulers, and thus even to-day
stands sponsor for righteous revolution.

The Five Classics are, briefly, the following:—
THE BOOK OF POETRY: — (1). The Book of Poetry con
tains some three hundred short poems, principally songs
sung by a primitive people at feasts, in feudal halls, or
among the fields. Confucius collected them, 'tis said, so now

308 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

most absurd political and philosophical interpretations must
needs be given to these simple ballads.

THE BOOK OF HISTORY: — (2) The Book of History con
sists of forty-eight brief documents, covering the long history
of the nation's rulers from the days of the great Yao and
Shun, B.C. 2357, to the century before Confucius. Ancient
rulers, by example and precept, extol filial piety and virtue,
denouncing luxury and drunkenness.

THE BOOK OF RITES : — (3) . The Book of Rites deals with
ceremonials, etiquette, and customs in connection with
courts, funerals, and various functions even of everyday life.
It is a sort of Digest of Ancient Deportment, supposedly
compiled by Confucius, and therefore the orthodox correct
form for all time.

THE SPRING AND AUTUMN ANNALS : — (4) . The Spring and
Autumn Annals is directly from the peri of Confucius. It is
a dry-as-dust record of events during the two centuries before
and during his lifetime. A commentary by one Tso seeks to
clothe the dry bones with lively incident.

THE BOOK OF CHANGES : — (5) . The Book of Changes is an
attempt by means of ancient mystic diagrams to divine and
solve all problems of national and individual, speculative or
practical life. It forms the basis of Chinese philosophy, and
of much of the fortune-telling and geomancy of to-day.

THE CLASSIC OF FILIAL PIETY : — In addition to the above
nine books, the former Chinese student was expected to
memorize the three character classic, the one hundred family
names, and the Classic on Filial Piety. The latter is a very
commonplace series of conversations, presumably between
Confucius and his disciples, regarding the origin and de
velopment of filial piety, but is of much later origin.

SOME EXCELLENCIES BUT INADEQUATE FOR EDUCATION: —
From the above it will be seen that the content of Chinese
education, though embodying many excellent moral maxims,
and most praiseworthy in its purity, was none the less primi
tive and narrow. It lacked even such commonplaces as
mathematics, geography, and the spoken language of the

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 309

people. Scholars who could repeat the above ten books and
many commentaries, almost from cover to cover, knew often
scarce how to reckon their own accounts, could not tell the
provinces and capitals of their own country, and could not
write the language they spoke daily.

EDUCATION AS AN EVANGELISTIC AGENCY: — Our first
workers to West China, themselves college graduates, readily
realized these defects in Chinese educational theory, meth
ods, and content. Dr. Hart, who had spent many years in
Eastern China, especially understood the veneration in
which learning was held by all classes, and what an apology
and power it might sway in the new propaganda. This is
well brought out in his earliest letters on reaching the new
field (1892) :—

IGNORANCE APPALLING : — " The ignorance of the masses
is appalling, and the indifference is more so. Here is a
vast Empire, and only one or two newspapers published by
the Chinese, and these seldom seen away from the open
ports. It is a land without colleges or high schools, and with
out railroads." . . .

DR. HART'S EARLY APPEAL : — " There are about twelve
millions of boys and young men in this province where
Canadian Methodism is to be established. What are you
going to do with these boys, all of them your brothers? I
am sure you want them to know more than they now know.

. . The men and women of our party can reach but a
few out of the millions. You must come to our help and
send out many earnest, self-sacrificing young men, — young
men who are willing to dare to do."

And again, "I am more and more convinced that the
missionary's work is to be largely with the children. . . .
To illustrate the importance of this work : While I pen these
lines a dozen Chinese ladies and small girls are calling upon
Mrs. Hart and my daughter, who would scarcely venture if
this school was not here. We not only reach the ears of the
children in the school, but everything said is retailed to
their parents, brothers, and sisters.

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

OUR FIRST GIRLS' SCHOOL IN WEST CHINA.

" In the next reinforcement to this Mission, there should
be one man sent to take full charge of the educational
interests/'

THE APPEAL NOT ANSWERED FOR A DECADE: — Exactly a
decade was to pass before the appeal in this last clause was
granted, but in the meantime the small baud of workers
saw that schools were started, and managed with what
measure of attention they could afford to give from multi
farious other duties. It is the history of the founding and
future development of this department of our work which
Chiefly concerns us in this section. In tracing its outlines
we will endeavor, where possible, to let our workers tell the
story. Naturally it has many fluctuations and discourage
ments, but the quality of its results ever aroused the highest
of enthusiasm, especially among those who gave of their
time, energy, and soul to the service.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

OUR FIRST BOYS' SCHOOL IN WEST CHINA.

THE FIRST SCHOOL.

The first party, Drs. V. C. Hart, O. L. Kilboru, D. W.
Stevenson and Rev. G. E. Hart well with their wives,
reached Chengtu, in May, 1892. A small school was opened
by Dr. Hart in the then rented residence compound at
Pearly Sands Street, in February, 1893. Mr. Hartwell,
writing early in the year, tells of its beginnings :—

A SNAP-SHOT OF THE FIRST SCHOOL : — " At the beginning
of the Chinese New Year, on February 22nd. a school was
opened upon the Mission premises. A Chinese teacher was
engaged, on condition that he obtain fifteen scholars. Over
forty pupils were registered at the close of the first month.
From one to two hours are spent daily (by the foreign mis
sionaries) teaching these children. A text-book containing
the fundamental truths of Christianity is memorized in the
school. Our duty is to explain the text, teach the Catechism,
and instruct in singing. This has been, thus far, a most

312 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

satisfactory work. The boys are just at the right age to be
influenced. The truths of Christianity are being imprinted
on their minds in a manner that can never be erased. The
outside effect is good. Every family that is represented at
the school is naturally kindly disposed to the foreigner.
The people passing our place know that we have opened a
school for children who cannot afford to pay, and think
kindly of us. It is a work that will tell in the future. Their
assistance in singing, in the public worship is of great value.
Chinese boys and girls can be taught to sing very sweetly
and correctly. In our regular prayer meetings four have,
of their own accord, led in prayer. Two of this number are
especially interesting, as we trust God has sent them to us
to be laborers in his vineyard. "

THERE WERE Two GIRLS IN THIS SCHOOL :— Mrs. D. W.
Stevenson, writing in April of the same year, shows that
evidently not all those registered were in attendance, and
gives a detail as to the number of girls, " There are over
thirty pupils in the day school, two of whom are girls. It is
considered unnecessary for girls to have an education in
China. These attend service on Sunday as well as Sunday
School, where they learn the catechism. It brings the tears
to see and hear them as they sing ' Jesus Loves Me ' and ' I
am so glad that our Father in Heaven.' "

BOYS DECREASE BUT GIRLS INCREASE : — Dr. Hart, writing
at the end of the year, shows the attendance further de
creased, but the proportion of girls largely increased, also
adding other interesting details of this first school. " We
have already opened a school, with twenty-nine pupils, nine
of whom are girls. The school opens at 7.30 a.m., prayers
at 8.30. At prayers we have a Bible lesson. The pupils are
bright, and learn with great eagerness. We trust that this
may grow to be an institution of great influence in this
section of the city."

THE TYPICAL SCHOOL WITH A NEW TRANSFORMING
LEAVEN: — This little primary school had many points in
common with the primitive Chinese schools scattered far

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 313

and wide all over the Empire. These were usually a single
room, with a much bespectacled teacher, several shiny black
or dirty, square-topped tables, each with four or more little
bright-eyed, black-haired lads or lassies dangling their short
legs from high backless benches, as they shouted away strenu
ously from dawn to dusk the names of numberless curious
characters, the meaning of which they could not and would
not be expected to know for many a year to come. But even
from the first the missionary made his influence felt.
Arithmetic was taught, a great advance on their old abacus
system. Geography, with its maps and charts about the
walls, gave wider conceptions of life. The Christian books,
explained day by day as they advanced, made studies living
realities. The ten commandments, the Lord's prayer, the
Sunday School lessons, the catechism, introduced new and
emphasized old truths ; while singing and prayer voiced new
visions and aspirations. Best of all, perhaps, the presence
of the foreign teacher, with his optimism, enthusiasm, and
sympathy, won the children's simple, yet loyal friendship,
and they went out, whole-heartedly, the first real reformers,
to break down the barriers of ignorance, indifference, and
antipathy. Did space permit, many significant stories
might be told showing the child's value to society in China,
as influenced by these small Christian schools. They went
forth to aid the singing in the churches, lead their parents
and friends to reading rooms, lectures, hospitals, and preach
ing services, assist in spreading new ideas and new spirit
in sports, entertainment, and social standards, or grew
quickly to manhood to become leaders in newer and higher
ideals of life.

OUR PRIMARY SCHOOL WORK READILY DIVIDED INTO Two
PERIODS: — Our primary school work has thus been in pro
gress for twenty-four years. It readily divides itself into
two periods of twelve years each, that is, the Pre-Educa-
tional-Reform days, of the Chinese Government, and the
Post-Educational-Reform days. As details of this develop
ment in the different stations will be given by each

314

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

separately, only a general summary will be attempted here.
Unfortunately reports being presented at different times of
the year vary considerably, so that only approximate accur
acy can be secured.

PKIMAKY SCHOOLS.
PRE-EDUCATIONAL-REFORM PERIOD : 1893-1904.

TWELVE YEARS STRUGGLE AS TOLD BY STATISTICS: — The
work of this period may be briefly summarized in the follow
ing tables : —

Date

In Charge

Street

Teachers

Attendance

Chengtu ! Kiating

1893

V. C. Hart

1894

G. E. Hart well..
V. C. Hart . .

Yd Sha >

(Pearly Sand)|

Yii Sha

> Shen Tsi..

1895 | (Schools closed after May on account of riots.)

1896 JG. E. Hartwell .. .. Loh Huen Chiao1 1

1897 G. E. Hartwell Si Shen Tsi.

V. C. Hart

1898 G. E. Hartwell

Peh Ta Kai .

(as before).

29 (Girls given to
W.M.S.)

50 (5 boarders)

30 (9 boarders)

1899
1900
1901

1902
1903
1904

G. E. Hart well .

2
" .... 1

ir owing to Boxer rising ; K
time by native teacher.)

lating kept

30
30
20
23

38'
going part

43
35
36
37

V. C. Hart .

(Closed most of the yet

0. L. Kilborn (in Oc
tober)

Mrs. W. E. Smith ....

Peh Tah Kai ... 1

Si Shen Tsi 1

Mrs. Smith ....

(as above) ....

1
" .... 1

" .... 1
1

0. L. Kilborn

Miss Foster (W.M.S.) .
0. L. Kilborn .

Miss Foster.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 315

DIVERS DISCOURAGEMENTS DID NOT DRIVE AWAY THE
CHILDREN : — From the above it will be seen that during these
twelve years only two stations in our Mission \vere opened.
School work was considered part of the propaganda, how
ever, and a very essential part from the beginning. The
attendance was in no case large, but that was to be expected. •
The wonder rather is, when one considers the rumors and
unrest of those days, that children came at all. But come
they did, despite these discouragements, and their enthusi
asm and influence in the homes, the church, and the com
munity is well attested by the workers during those days.

TWENTY-NINE RECORDED EVEN AFTER THE RIOTS: — Mr.
Hartwell, in 1896, just after the return from the riots, and
busy with building operations, writes, " Had there been time
to give to the school work, it would have been as encouraging
this year as last, if not more so. There have been twenty-
nine pupils recorded. The grade of boys is better than
formerly, and their work more satisfactory. [You will
notice there is no mention of a girls' school. Upon Miss
Brackbill's arrival the girls were handed over to the W.M.S.]
Fortunately the teacher, who is now a Christian, and Mr.
Lucas' boy, who is also a Christian, have been active in
teaching the Bible, holding prayers, etc., and have somewhat
redeemed the time which I was not personally able to give.

THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS WERE CHILDREN : — " I omitted
to emphasize the fact that the boy, who is at present board
ing, has become an active Christian, takes part in the
prayer-meetings, and, so far as I can see, lives up to his
profession. His grasp upon the spiritual meaning of the
Bible is deeper than very many of the older ones, while his
knowledge of the Scriptures as to events, etc., is surpassed
by few boys of his age in the Homeland. If our boarding
school should be able to select similar boys, and be as suc
cessful in leading them thus early to Christ, it will prove a
very successful method of raising up ministers for the
Church. He has a little sister equally as bright, who is
attending the girls' school. Three years ago these two little

316 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

mites, as they were then, came tremblingly into our school,
our first scholars."

CONFIDENCE CREATED IN PARENTS THROUGH THEIR
CHILDREN : — Dr. Kilborn, writing about the same time,
shows some of the difficulties of those days : " While the
people are spreading rumors to the effect that we eat babies,
and therefore kidnap some and buy others for the purpose,
there is a goodly number who continue to send their children
to the day school and others send theirs to the hospital."

DR. HART PLIGHTS His FAITH IN SUCH SCHOOLS: — Dr.
Hart, with his usual enthusiasm for education, writes in
1898 from Kiating, " The school work has been carried on
rather more successfully than last year. Although the city,
through a great part of the year, has been more or less
excited owing to rumors of an unpleasant character, the
attendance has continued to increase. We now have thirty-
three pupils, and an average attendance of thirty. The
teacher has been much interested in his work, and has been
more than ordinarily faithful. The native classics are
taught, and Christian books, geography, and the Sunday
School lessons. I am of the opinion that day schools, pro
perly conducted, will produce eventually as large results in
China as in India, if not larger."

FIRST FRUITS FROM A FAITHFUL TEACHER: — Dr. W. E.
Smith, returning to Kiating after the great convulsion of
1900, speaks with equal enthusiasm. " Our day school is a
great success, owing to the more than usual faithfulness of
the teacher. He kept the school open all the year the mis
sionaries were away, and has now forty- three names on the
roll, with an average attendance of over thirty. Mrs. Smith
looked after the school very closely until the new year,
during which time there were twenty-seven who missed not
even half a day. The Sunday School lessons, catechism, and
geography have been taught constantly. Besides this, I have
lessons in English every Tuesday and Friday evenings, with
ten of the most advanced boys."

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

31.7

PUPILS OF A BOYS' PRIMARY DAY SCHOOL.

DAYS OF SMALL THINGS BUT NO " KICE " SCHOLARS :—
Those were indeed days of small beginnings. There is little
spectacular to report. Most of the students were the
children of the poor. No fees were charged in most cases,
but on the other hand they were not " rice scholars " paid to
attend ; in fact, in Chengtu, in 1903, the report runs, " Each
pupil has paid a small sum toward his tuition, thus ensur
ing much more regular attendance and better attention to
study." The expense to the Mission was very small, each
teacher costing only five or six thousand strings of cash per
month, approximately four dollars gold. The buildings were
also inexpensive, just adapted Chinese rooms and furnish
ings.

THE FIRST SEMI-FOREIGN SCHOOL BUILDING : — In Chengtu,
after 1896, the accommodation was considerably improved
by the erection of a semi-foreign school building attached
to, and at the rear of, the church. Mr. Hartwell, who erected

318 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the building, thus reports it : " This building extends from
the back of the chapel to the wall (of the compound), over
forty feet, and is fifteen feet wide. It has two stories, yet
is not so high as the chapel. The upper story will be used
for a dormitory, and ten boys can be housed without crowd
ing. The lower story for the present will be used for
schools, and possibly a part divided off for the teacher, who
can thus have oversight over boys living on the place."

Thus in those early days, though schools were often
closed, though the personnel of teachers and pupils changed
constantly, and though but few graduated, real progress
was being made. Missionaries were beginning to better
understand their people. The people began to better under
stand the motives of the missionaries, and these little child
ren were the chief means of both. Indeed it is not too
much to claim that the unbarring of the long closed door of
China to foreign influence was due to the fearless fingers of
these first little friends. Some of these small scholars of
two decades ago are now the chief preachers, teachers, and
leaders of Christian work in the West. It is significant that
the first two graduates of the Union University, Mr. Wu
Shu-chen in Education, and Mr. Full Hia-yuin in Philosophy,
are boys who have come up through the schools started in
those early days.

POST-EDUCATIONAL-REFORM PI:IUOI>, 1905-1916.

From time immemorial Chinese tradition has it that one
of the duties of the ruler is to seek out men of merit to aid
him in the government of the nation. Credit is given to the
Emperor Tai Tsung, A.D. 627-650, of the great Tang
Dynasty, for devising the most excellent system of securing
such superior men. It was the well-known system of exam
inations. As worked out in later days, this consisted briefly
in an examination open to all the scholars of each prefec
ture, in their own prefectural capital. Those passing this
examination were given the degree of Bachelor of Arts

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

319

THE FIRST GRADUATES OF THE WEST CHINA UNION UNIVERSITY.

320 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

(Hsiu-Tsai). These examinations were held each eighteen
months. From these the successful candidates next tried
their ability at the great triennial examinations held at their
provincial capital. To pass this test entitled each to the
degree of Master of Arts (Chti Ren). From here those de
siring further honors must go to Peking and there in the
vast hall of ten thousand rooms try for the coveted degree
of Ph.B. (Chin Si). After this there was still one higher
test, when men won the exalted degree of Ph.D. (Hanlin).

AN EMPEROR^S FAMOUS KEFORM EDICT,, 1898: — For
almost thirteen hundred years this system had been in vogue,
sanctioned and sanctified by each succeeding dynasty and
long generations of students. Then suddenly, in 1898, the
Emperor Kwang-Hsii, in his enthusiasm for reform, issued
a decree abolishing this time-honored system, and declaring,
" The basis of education will continue to rest on the canons
of the Sages, but at the same time there must be careful
investigation of every branch of European learning appro
priate to existing needs, so that there may be an end to
empty fallacies, and that by zeal, efficiency may be attained.
Parrot-like plagiarisms of shallow theories are to be avoided,
and catchwords eschewed. What we desire to attain is the
elimination of useless things and the advancement of learn
ing, which, while based on ancient principles, shall yet move
in harmony with the times."

REACTION, BUT AGAIN REFORM : — A coup d'etat in the
palace followed this so-called hundred days of reform,
and the old Empress Dowager, backed up by the Conserva
tives, made the young Emperor a prisoner and his reforms
but scraps of paper. But this reaction could not long with
stand the spirit of progress. It made its last great effort
and fixed its doom in the mad Boxer uprising of 1900. The
Empress Dowager returned from her flight to the West, much
chastened in spirit and ready for reform. The last exam
ination under the old regime was held in 1903, when, here
in Chengtu, over thirteen thousand B.A.'s from Szechwan
alone gathered to compete for first place, though they knew
that only about one hundred could possibly be successful.

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 321

OLD STYLE EXAMINATIONS ABOLISHED: — On September
2nd, 1905, a decree was issued by the Peking authorities
abolishing these old style tests, and ushering in the new
order of things based upon Western systems. Since that
eventful date, despite many vicissitudes and vagaries, the
soul of China, through her student class, has been open as
not before to Christian education and Christian ideals.

THE WEST CHINA CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL UNION.

Naturally these signs of the times did not pass unobserved
or uninterpreted by the Mission bodies of West China. They
began to set apart men especially for educational work, and
to make appeal home for others. It was, moreover, impressed
upon many that the times demanded united action, as the
task was to be one far too vast for dissipated energies.
Accordingly we read that:—

UNION IN EDUCATION MOOTED BY THE MISSIONS : — " In
December, 1904, at a meeting of the local missionaries held
in Chengtu, it was agreed that the time had come when steps
should be taken to bring about union in Educational Work ;
and in the spring of 1905 several Missions appointed repre
sentatives to confer with others on the subject.

A UNION UNIVERSITY ALSO URGED : — " A tentative outline
of a scheme for the establishment of a Union University in
Chengtu was presented to the Advisory Board of Missions
in West China in May of the same year.

THE WEST CHINA MISSIONS ADVISORY BOARD SANCTIONS
THE SCHEME : — " The subject of Union was considered by
the Advisory Board and the Local Committee, and it was
decided that union in Primary, Secondary, and Higher Edu
cation was possible. The various Missions in this province
were asked to appoint representatives to further discuss the
matter, and to formulate a more complete scheme of Union,
which could be presented to the annual meetings of the
respective Missions, and, when approved by them, brought
before the Home Boards. In response to the above request
seven Missions appointed representatives to confer on the
subject."

322 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

THE MISSIONS APPOINT MEMBERS TO A UNION EDUCA
TIONAL COMMITTEE : — Our Mission, which had been in closest
touch with the movement from its inception, appointed three
representatives, Kevs. G. E. Hartwell, J. L. Stewart and
Dr. O. L. Kilborn, and our W.M.S. two, Misses Brackbill
and Swann. These, together with the representatives of the
American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, Church Mis
sionary Society, Friends' Foreign Missionary Association,
Methodist Episcopal Mission, and London Missionary
Society, constituted themselves the "Union Educational
Committee of West China."

THE COMMITTEE OUTLINED ITS PLANS:— This committee
drew up a scheme of Primary and Secondary Schools,
divided the former into a Junior and Senior Grade, arranged
a tentative course of study, a system of examinations, and
outlined a " Proposed Scheme for a Union Christian Uni
versity." It further requested the Missions in the West to

(1) Approve the principle of Union in Education in
general ;

(2) Approve the idea of Union in Primary and Second
ary Education as outlined;

(3) Appoint a representative on the Committee for
Primary and Secondary Education;

(4) Eecommend to their respective Boards the partici
pation in a Union Christian University for West China, in
some such manner as presented in the outlined scheme.

THE C. M. M. CONCUR :— Our Mission at its annual
meeting considered these requests, and duly appointed its
representative, who reported at the first annual meeting of
the Union, October 15-19, 1906, that, " The Canadian Meth
odist Mission is quite in accord with the scheme for co
operation in Primary and Secondary Education. In regard
to college work, some such scheme of federation as has been
outlined has been favored by the Mission."

IN HARMONY WITH GOVERNMENT STANDARDS: — As the
Chinese Government had during the year, under expert
advice, issued a complete system of grading and curricula

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 323

for Primary and Secondary Schools, the newly formed Union
decided for the sake of harmony and other reasons to fol
low the Government regulations as far as possible. The
result was the division of the schools into Lower Primary,
Higher Primary, and Middle Schools, and the adoption of
the following courses of study :—

Lower Primary: Five years7 course: — Religious Know
ledge, Chinese Classics, Chinese Readers, Arithmetic,
Chinese History, Geography, Elementary Science, and
English ( optional ) .

Higher Primary: Four years' course: — Religious In
struction, Chinese Classics, Chinese Literature, Arithmetic,
Algebra, Geometry, Chinese History, Geography, Studies in
Elementary Botany, and other sciences, Drawing, English
(optional).

Middle Schools: Five years7 course: — Religious Instruc
tion, Chinese Classics, Chinese Literature, English, History,
Geography, Algebra, Plane Geometry, Physical Geography,
Botany, Physiology, Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Zoology,
Drawing.

SOME CHANGES TO THE PRESENT SYSTEM: — According to
the Chinese Government system, graduates of the Middle
Schools (approximately the same as our Canadian High
Schools), were admitted to the University, where they pur
sued a four years' course. As the Government requirements
for university courses were rather elaborate, the required
courses were not at first adopted by the Union University.
In 1912, following the Revolution, the whole scheme was
considerably modified by the Government. Lower Primary
schools called for a four-year course, Higher Primary for
three years, and the Middle Schools for four. Thus each
lower grade was shortened by one year. These three years
were then added, after the Middle School grade, in what
was called the Preparatory or Junior Division of the Uni
versity. The University Course Proper or Senior Division
was also reduced to three years, and certain post graduate
years added. At present the whole Government scheme is

324 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

followed in general outline, as to grading and curricula in
all departments of our educational work, from the primary
schools to the university, we reserving to ourselves the right
to add certain subjects, such as the study of the Scriptures,
and also our own emphasis upon the various requirements.
EFFECTIVE WORK OF THE EDUCATIONAL UNION: — The
Educational Union has thus been in existence for over ten
years, and has greatly aided in strengthening our work. In
addition to its regular work of prescribing courses and text
books, acting as examining body for the various grades of
primary and secondary schools, and acting as clearing house
for educational ideas, it has of late years done much to aid
in the training of teachers. It also conducts Local Associa
tions, inspects schools, holds an annual Educational Asso
ciation, as well as an annual business meeting. Together
with the Union University, it forms a Board of Education
which has a general oversight of all educational work carried
on by the Missions in the three provinces of Szechwau,
Kweichow, and Yunnan.

UNION OFFICERS :— Since 1913, Rev. E. W. Wallace of our
Mission has been released, by special request of the Board of
Education, from the work of our Mission, and devotes his
time largely to the duties of General Secretary, which office
for the present includes that of Registrar, Treasurer, Super
visor of Schools, and other important duties. Others of our
Mission who have aided the Union officially are: Secretary-
Treasurer, and Registrar (1907), J. L. Stewart; (1908)
O. L. Kilborn; (1909) E. J. Carson; (1912) P. M. Bayne.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS, 1905-16.

Through the triple influence of Government Reform, the
establishment of the Educational Union, and the setting
aside of workers especially for educational work, our schools
began to make rapid progress. Space cannot be given to the
publication of complete lists of each year's advance. The
record of alternate years for these primary schools is as
follows : — •

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 325

THE DAZZLING DEVELOPMENT OF A DOZEN YEARS :

1906— Lower Primary Schools at Chengtu, Kiating, Junghsien and Jenshow.
Total registration, 189.

1908 — Lower Primary Schools also opened at Tzeliutsing and Penghsien.

Total registration, 389.

Higher Primary at Chengtu. Registration, 16.
Total registration, 405.

1910 — Luchow and Chungking opened. Lower Primary Schools, 55. Higher
Primary Schools, 4. Total registration, 1,613.

1912 — Owing to the First Revolution, which broke out in August, 1911, many
of our workers left on furlough, and did not return until the
autumn of 1912.

1914 — Schools carried on in addition to the above at Chungchow and Fuchow.
The record for the year is: —

Number. Boys. Girls. Total.

Lower Primary Schools 50 1587 418 2005

Higher Primary Schools 11 184 184

61 1771 418 2189

1916— Lower Primary Schools 86 2691 398 3089

Higher Primary Schools 14 390 8 398

100 3081 406 3487

(These figures are exclusive of the girls in the W.M.S. Schools.)

WHAT THE RECORD REVEALS: — Thus, from 1904 to 1906,
the school attendance more than trebled. From 1906 to 1908
it again more than doubled. From 1908 to 1910 it almost
quadrupled, and since the revolution to 1914 almost doubled
again ; while during the last two years, 1914 to 1916, we have
a gain of 1,300. In brief, we have increased in primary
schools alone from 2 to 100, or from an attendance of 60 in
1904 to an attendance of 3,487 in 1916, i.e., 5,700 per cent, in
twelve years.

HINDRANCES TO PRIMARY SCHOOL WORK.

This progress is all the more remarkable when we consider
the difficulties that have had to be overcome. The chief oppo
sition during the first period was naturally the indifference^
contempt, and open antagonism to everything foreign. What
could the foreign barbarians have to teach the Celestial

326 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Empire? And who, with any self-respect, would demean him
self and risk the ruin of his offspring by sending them to such
beings of no reputation, teachers of heretical views, and
tricksters in strange magic and medicine? Such distrust and
disgust could not die down in a day, and naturally much of
this same antagonism has held sway during this later period
also. Even to-day the average Chinese student will without
doubt, other things being equal, prefer his own government
school to that of the Mission establishment. It is only as the
Christian school shows its real worth, by giving something
that the other cannot give, or by giving something better, that
our schools have gained what measure of success they have.
In addition to this natural prejudice to the foreigner, and to
his religion, prejudices still by no means dead, mention should
be made of such general hindrances as the following : —

1. INCOMPETENT TEACHERS. — It is much to the credit of
the Chinese that early in the educational reform period such
great firms as the Commercial Press, and others in Shanghai,
sent forth some really excellent text-books, not perfect
indeed, but well adapted by selection of subjects and grading
for the needs of the times. The securing of appropriate
teachers was a much more difficult problem. The old-type
teacher was almost invariably too much wedded to his former
methods of memorizing and haranguing, to become a real
teacher and educator. Even where willing to try, he found
the content of the new knowledge so utterly foreign to his
former mental channels that it was usually quite impossible
to adapt him to the new system, to say nothing of catching its
spirit. But to suddenly raise up a generation of new teachers
was an even greater impossibility, so that there seemed
nothing to do but use the most adaptable of the old style men
until something better could be found, and our schools have
suffered as a consequence. Even where, here and there, by
dint of much personal effort on the part of the foreign worker,
a teacher of the old style began to show signs of real ability,
there was not infrequently the discouragement of finding that
he had secured a similar position in some government insti
tution at a liberal advance in salary, or used the school simply

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 327

as a stepping stone to some other place of preferment. This
problem is still acute, but is, as \ve shall note later, being
greatly helped by a new generation of students and by efforts
at Normal training.

fE'iflP* N* •-*"- ^

— ,

2. INSUFFICIENT SUPERVISION. — Next in inefficiency to
that of the incompetent teacher has been probably the lack of
proper supervision on the part of the foreign worker. He
had not infrequently too many irons in the fire. He was in
many cases pastor of several churches, builder of structures
he had never attempted before, a newcomer in a land of

328 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

strange characters and characteristics, and burdened with
scores of duties small and great which only the missionary
knows. Added to this, though he had the knowledge of the
subject to be taught, the worker was himself far from being
an expert upon educational matters, and even had he studied
such things in Canada, he soon found that China was quite as
distinct in its problems as in its people.

Much has been done to remedy this by the setting apart of
men specially for educational work, and by the study of
education and educational methods by our workers while on
furlough. The Educational Union is also constantly collect
ing and disseminating educational experience, while a
splendid series of charts and reports published by the
Mission furnish a series of checks upon schools and teachers
scattered about the stations.

3. LACK OF CONTINUITY.— Another difficulty has been the
lack of continuity. This has been seen in the change of the
foreign worker, who, through furloughs, pressure from other
departments and other exigencies of the work, has too fre
quently been sent from field to field, or from one department
of work to another for the good of the work. Another un
avoidable element in this respect has been the teacher, as
mentioned above. Too frequently teachers have been changed
at the beginning of each term, or even during the term, and
the schools have greatly suffered thereby.

More serious still has been the lack of continuity among
the students, to which the above causes have greatly con
tributed. Schools have continued to increase in numbers, but
too frequently the personnel of the students was riot the same.
Much of this was also due to the " tramp " habit among the
students. Education in the modern sense being untried, they
rambled from school to school in the hope of discovering some
reputed benefit, or finding some short cut to the new know
ledge. Recently this has improved somewhat, and the new
regulations, as adopted by the council of 1916, at Luchow, by
which scholarships are offered to the brightest students in the
lower, higher, primary and middle schools should aid greatly.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 329

4. INADEQUATE PLANT. — A serious handicap has been our
lack of buildings and equipment in general. This has been in
the main due to need of funds from the Homeland, where,
though the Church has given most generously, our needs
have ever outrun our supplies. It is not expected that the
Home Base supply funds for schools in all parts of our field.
In many of the smaller villages and market towns, it would
seem Avise that we struggle along with even semi-equipped
schools, and await the time when the people will themselves
supply the funds. But we should at least have reasonably
well-equipped buildings in our central stations. They are
needed for the sake of the work that is to be done, if that is
not to be robbed of half its efficiency, and many of our
students die from unsanitary and other conditions. They are
needed if we are to keep pace with the government, which at
least in its larger centres has secured many large and com
modious buildings for its use. They are needed if Christianity
is to maintain its claim as leader in all progress for education
and social betterment, as well as religious theory. So far we
have but one school building erected for primary school pur
poses, namely the semi-foreign one in Junghsien. All others
are old Chinese dwelling houses, halls and shops adapted as
best economy and circumstances can, for the all important
work of education. This need of buildings is most urgent.

5. DISTURBED CONDITIONS. — We have naturally been hin
dered also in our work by the many riots and revolutions
which have marked these years. During the first twelve
years, riots, as we have seen, were most common. Even those
which did not occur in the immediate vicinity naturally had
their effect upon the school attendance. Of recent years
revolutions in some part of China have been almost constant,
and Szechwan has had possibly more than any other centre.
We have had the Railroad League risings in the summer and
autumn of 1911, followed by the Revolution, which extended
well into 1912. In 1913 we shared in the recent Revolution. In
1914 we had an outbreak from the Tibetan border, and
throughout 1915 local robberies were still everywhere

330

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

prevalent. This year, 1916, has brought the third Revolu
tion, and the overthrow of President Yuan and his Monarch
ical party. All this has had i;ts effect, breaking up school
work, as in 1911, in the middle of the year, or in the midst of
examinations, as in this year. But despite this the work has
progressed, and we feel that we only need peace for a few
years to find our schools overflowing with students.

SUBSIDIARY SCHOOLS.

This development of our primary schools has been a leaven
to stimulate many other educational developments. Thus
we have had our night schools in various centres, but especi
ally in connection with the Press, in Chengtu. Here some
excellent work has been done, and not a few of the students
have taken the examinations in connection with the Educa
tional Union. One of the former press boys is now a
graduate of the Junior Division of the University, and is out
teaching in the Union Middle School at Chungking.

THE KINDERGARTEN AT CHENGTU.
Conducted by Mrs. Plewman.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 331

THE KINDERGARTEN AT KIATING,
Conducted by Mrs. Quentin.

KINDERGARTENS: — For a number of years prior to her
departure on furlough in 1915, Mrs. Plewman conducted a
splendid kindergarten in Chengtu for the children of the
evangelists who were attending Bible School. In this work
no pains were spared to make the school efficient and up to
date. At no small expense to herself, Mrs. Plewman built a
very picturesque straw thatched school room, and supplied
it with an excellent stock of kindergarten requisites. Among
these were adaptations of the famous Montessori method.
It is hoped that Mrs. Plewman will again take up the work
on her return. A few street children were also admitted.

THE KIATING KINDERGARTEN : — A somewhat similar work
has been carried on, on an even larger scale, by Mrs. Quentin
in Kiating. A recent letter tells the story best : " The
Kiating Kindergarten was opened in September, 1915. We
have just one teacher to assist the foreigner in charge, as
our present quarters are too small for more than one group
of twenty. Last year we had twenty-four on the roll, namely,
eleven girls and thirteen boys. This year our fee is one
dollar per term, as most of the children are from wealthy
homes, but where the parents cannot afford it we lower the
fee to suit circumstances.- . Our hours are from 9 to

332 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

12, five days of the week, and on Sundays we gather at the
central church.

How THE WHOLE CHILD is STIMULATED : — " The children
are taught handwork of all kinds, including paper-cutting,
folding, weaving, sewing, moulding and making of many
objects of interest. Kindergarten gifts are given at play
time to develop their sense of form and inventive faculties.
They are also taught easy Chinese characters, very elemen
tary drawing with crayons, hymns, songs, games, and
stories drawn from the New and Old Testaments, from
history and from nature. Not infrequently we ask them to
act these stories to impress them, and develop their imagin
ations. . . . We teach cleanliness about the room, the
children helping to sweep the floor and tidy up after the
handwork is over, also personal cleanliness, each child
having its own face-cloth and tooth-brush, and little white
apron. . . . Interest in nature is developed by planting
seeds, and expecting each to tend them and watch them
grow. Thus we strive to bring these children into a cheery,
beautiful atmosphere of love and interest, where we may
train their muscles along with various senses and faculties,
imparting to them the social instincts and instilling simple
gospel truths, leading to the worship of their Heavenly
Father.

PARENTS ARE PLEASED : — " Parents tell us how pleased
their children are to come to the kindergarten. Some have
spoken of how their children insist on saying grace, others
mention the, songs they sing, and during our footbinding
campaign at least one mother told me she was going to
unbind her little daughter's feet. We pray that some impress
may be given to these little plastic souls that will help in the
coming years and the long eternity."

THE PROBLEM OF ASSISTING POOR YET WORTHY STU
DENTS: — One of our serious problems in connection with
Church development has been the need for assistance to the
families of our members and other poor people. This has been

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

333

£ |

§ I

* §

O 4?

w §

02 ja

t-3 ^

w 5

M ^

H 5

334 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

especially difficult when it came to the education of their
children. To place all children of Christian parents in
school and develop them as far as possible in leadership
seemed but a proper conservation and cultivation of our
resources. But to place such children in school meant in
most cases the assuming of their support in whole or in part.
A Loan Fund to students was early established, and has
done much to aid worthy boys, they, after graduation or at
such times as the Mission thought fit, going out to teach or
preach, and thus repaying their indebtedness. But this has
its drawbacks. It fosters in some a spirit of dependence, of
a desire to get much and give little in return, and loads a boy
with debt — a big handicap at the beginning of life.

A SELF-HELP SCHEME SUGGESTED: — It became more and
more evident to all that some scheme should be devised by
which these boys might be able to pay their own way, at
least in large part, as they proceeded with their studies. A
paper by Mr. J. R, Earle, at the Council of 1913, gave a lively
incentive, and since then the work has been taken up in a
number of our stations in various ways. In most of our
stations, however, the idea is just beginning to be applied.

A START MADE IN JENSHOW : — In Jenshow a plot of about
five acres has been purchased just outside the south gate,
and there Mr. Soper has been busy developing various sorts
of self-help schemes. The boys of the school study in the
usual way until about four o'clock, then they march through
the town to the " farm," where they may be seen hard at
work.

ATTEMPTS AT ATTAINING THE IDEAL: — " What are we
doing at Jenshow to carry out this ideal of self-help? At
present our main line is agriculture. We have divided our
land into sections, three boys to a section, a big boy, a
medium-sized boy, and a small boy. Each class of three
boys is given sufficient implements to work the ground
allotted to them. These consist of hoes, knives, buckets,
carrying poles, etc. The profit to the boys from our first

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 335

term's work was eighteen thousand cash (|5 gold). In the
second and third terms together they netted ninety-six thou
sand cash. Small vegetables, corn, peas, wheat, potatoes,
flowers, and trees are all cultivated successfully. This year
we are systematically draining the land, which will increase
the fertility at least ten per cent. We are now making our
own hand-made cultivators, which one boy can push.

EXPERIMENTING ALONG MANY LINES : — " We have also
started cotton preparation, turning the locally grown cotton
into absorbent cotton. This is a long, intricate process.
This summer we kept two boys at work till we demonstrated
its practicability. We have now more orders than we can
fill for some time. They also make the cardboard or straw-
board, and use it to make the boxes to contain the cotton.
Other lines of work are in the experimental stage, such as
the making of soap, etc., but cannot be spoken of now. We
also raise hens, pigs, oil, nut and fruit trees, but these, too,
are in the experimental stage. Even the Chinese hen sadly
needs civilizing to bring her up to the standard of the Cana
dian chick as a layer."

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN JTJNGHSIEN: — In Junghsien,
Mr. Batdorf, whose home is in California, has been making
some experiments along the lines of selection of seeds, grow
ing of fruits and flowers, and introduction of foreign varie
ties of vegetables, etc. Again a few extracts from a recent
paper will best illustrate the work done : " Self-help in
Junghsien had a small beginning, because the ground is
small and the supply of seeds still smaller. However, last
spring we sold turnips, cauliflower, red cabbage, onions,
celery, roses and grapevines, here, in Tzeliutsing, in Jen-
show, in Chengtu, in Chungking, and even as far afield as
Litang in Tibet. The little plot of ground we have here
would be quite a boon to four or five students raising foreign
vegetables for sale (we have nothing native on the place
except fig trees ) , but we have about thirty boys all eager to
garden, so we must get at something more remunerative than

336 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

simple vegetables. So we are turning our garden into a
nursery, and trying to supply berry and grape vines, young
fruit trees and rose bushes, and also going in for seed farm
ing. That the Chinese appreciate our work is shown by the
buying by the farmers here of a few hundred plants of cauli
flower, red cabbage, and Brussels-sprouts. As an illustra
tion of what may be done, one of our boys has twenty rose
bushes growing on a patch two by five. We sell these at
20 cents Mex. (lOc. gold) each, so the boy has |400 worth
of roses on his small plot, I have no doubt it would be
possible to raise sixty or more roses on that small piece. In
another little plot we have rows of grape roots. One row is
four and a half feet long and contains about twenty cuttings.
Rows can easily be placed only a foot or so apart, and so
yield $40.00 worth of grape roots per plot of ten feet square.
The raising of seeds is so far more uncertain and difficult
owing to the climate, the long time for ripening, and disaster
from insects and fungus growths.''

SELF-HELP FOR GIRLS IN CHFNGCHOW :— In Chungchow,
Mrs. Mortimore, with Mrs. Kern, and later Mrs. Burwell,
have been busy developing self-help for the girls. If any
thing, this is more needy than in the case of the boys, as
parents are less inclined to help, and they cannot go out to
help themselves. Here again the industrial work is in
addition to the usual studies. Mrs. Burwell reports present
conditions as follows:—

WHITE WORK REQUIRES WHITE HANDS :—" There are
eighty girls now attending. Of these, fifty-six are doing
crocheting, but only about thirty produce enough to earn a
little money. They are also taught to knit, and most of them
are doing very well. This industrial work demands a stand
ard of cleanliness, so that the girls have much less skin
disease than formerly. Their hands must be clean to keep the
thread and work white. Doing this has been an inspiration to
cleaner clothes, and so meant better health generally. We
also teach, in addition to other studies, singing, music, and
have one half-hour of calisthenics daily."

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 337

THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE EXTENDED: — Thus a start,
and a successful one, has been made in self-help for boys and
girls which is proving beneficial, not alone financially, but in
health, in studies, and in character building. It is hoped to
extend this gradually throughout the Mission and probably
even in the Middle School and the University.

INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION.

Closely akin to this development along the lines of self-
help has been the ramification out into industrial education.
This has been done chiefly by our married ladies. As another
section of our history will deal with this development under
women's work we need mention it but briefly here. Many
have done much to aid the poorer women of their neighbor
hoods to read, assisted them in the study of the Gospel, and
made their home life more livable. One or two attempts to
aid them in making a living, and at the same time introduce
foreign designs and methods, may be given:—

In Chengtu, Mrs. J-. E. Thompson, before furlough in
1916, had for some years a class of sewing women. An
expert designer herself, she has succeeded in introducing
many clever little adaptations and touches to tBe benefit of
Chinese children's clothing, also foreign designs and stitches
in crocheting and embroidery. Religious education went
hand in hand with this, and the women learned to read the
Scriptures, to sing, and attend religious services.

In Jenshow, Mrs. F. F. Allan and others have had a
class of about sixteen women. " All women are taught to
embroider, some just to do blue thread work. Several use
the machine. An effort is made to have the work kept clean.
This means clean hands and clothing. As soon as they
arrive at 7 a.m. in summer, and 7.30 or 8 a.m. in winter, we
have morning worship for half an hour. From 1 to 2 p.m.
each day we study the Bible, generally the Sunday School
lesson. Hymns are also memorized, and the Beatitudes and
Ten Commandments. Every Friday they attend the
Women's classes at the church under Mrs. McAmmond. The

338 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

effect has been the development of a conscience against tell
ing untruths and stealing thread. Their health has been
much better, owing to regular work and food. Some of their
children have come to our schools. Two of the husbands
have broken off opium in our hospital."

Thus in these stations and others the work of education
is enabling these poorer women to make a living as a pre
liminary to the greater end of making a life.

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION.

The great hope of raising up a cultured, zealous and
effective Christian ministry from the Chinese Church has
naturally been with our missionary body from the beginning.
Much time was spent in prayer and private teaching of
individuals deemed to be worthy, and many disappointments
came to test the faith of our pastors, as too often these
" on trial " proved untrue. But the number of those found
worthy after much testing gradually increased, until it was
felt that special classes should be opened. This, in addition
to developing the better element, would give further oppor
tunity of weeding out the unworthy.

FIRST THEOLOGICAL CLASSES IN 1905: — Accordingly in
the autumn of 1905, the first beginning of theological classes
was made. The records as they appear in our annual reports
are interesting:—

Mr. Hartwell reports : " From September to November
a bright class of native evangelists was formed into a
theological school, and took their first course. Mr. Morti-
more, Mr. Stewart and myself make up the staff. The
advantages of these three months of training were evident
wherever these men were sent. Good results have followed
their efforts."

Mr. Mortimore writes : " Together with Mr. Hartwell
and Mr. Stewart, a share in the training of the native
preachers has fallen to me. Two sessions, one in the fall,
another in the spring, were held, when instruction was given

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

339

EVANGELISTS AND WORKERS OF CHUNGCHOW DISTRICT.

The purpose of our theological training i

in China.

to raise up a native ministry

to a total of twenty-five students. My work was the training
in the principles of homiletics. Each afternoon these young
men were appointed to go to the street chapel to exercise
their gifts, and as often as possible I spent a while there
listening to them, and judging their ability. Then from
three to four a formal lecture was given."

TWENTY-FIVE STUDENTS :— Mr. Stewart supplements
these : " In the theological classes there has been an aggre
gate of twenty-five students. Of these, however, possibly
only ten can be said to purpose entering the ministry. All
have attended classes, eight in the autumn, seventeen in the
spring term (1906), in the following— Arts (in addition to

340 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

theological subjects), namely, Arithmetic, Geography, As
tronomy and History. ... It might be added that the
aim is to divide the theological students into two sections,
each being one term out and in alternately, thus keeping the
field manned, and giving an opportunity to make their
knowledge practical by preaching.''

THE AIMS ATTEMPTED: — Thus from the beginning the
aim of the Mission was not only to give to these leaders a
training in essential theological subjects, but also to
broaden their sympathies and horizon by studies in the
humanities, and to see to it that they were thoroughly
tested by practice as well as by precept.

SEPARATING THE WHEAT AND THE TARES: — It would be
interesting, indeed, to tell of the men from all classes in life
who have come to these theological classes, of the weak who
have fallen by the way, and the many who have come up out
of great tribulation to their present status, tested, tried and
trusted by our missionaries as we would one of ourselves.
The first class of eight mentioned above will serve as illus
tration of many others. Of these eight, one was dropped
for dishonesty in the handling of funds, but, repentant, still
serves the church and Young Men's Christian Association in
Chengtu. Another got into serious debt and complications
on money matters. He went over to a rival organization.
A third, after long testing, was dropped for idleness and
inefficiency. He is now teaching. A fourth became ill some
three years ago, and is now retired and partially supported
by the Mission. The other four have completed their theo
logical work, finished the subjects required in the four years
High School course and some subjects in the University, and
will, it is hoped, together with some loyal workers of the
old London Missionary Society, come up for ordination at
the end of this year. These eleven years have, with the aid
of the Spirit of Truth, wonderfully transformed their lives,
and they now go forth strong sons of God, fitting and fruit
ful leaders of men. Their names are worth v of record. Thev

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 341

are: Loh Shang Fan, ex- teacher; Yang Chwen Lin, ex
merchant; Tan Ko Chiu, ex-physician; and Liu Shuen San,
ex-teacher and leader of litigation, to-day an orator of rare
ability in the cause of Christ.

THE PRESENT COURSE : — Our course at present still calls
for eleven years. It is divided as follows :—

Two years as helpers. The first is spent on circuit, when,
in addition to certain preliminary Biblical subjects, candi
dates are expected to complete the examinations for entrance
to Middle (i.e. High) School. The second year is spent in
college, when, if the candidate succeeds, he is sent out again
on circuit with the standing of an Evangelist.

Six years as Evangelists, spent as follows, — two years on
circuit, two in college, and then two more on circuit. During
this time a prescribed course is followed for each year.
While in college he continues his work in the Middle School,
taking all the subjects with the exception of English. If
successful at the end of these six years, he is advanced to
the rank of probationer and sent again to college.

Three years as Probationers, spent thus, — two years in
college and one on circuit. By the end of this period he has
completed the Middle School course and taken a year in the
University on selected subjects. In theology, the subjects
covered include all those usually given in our best institu
tions at home, with the exception of Greek and Hebrew, and
also include many books on biography, history, and Chris
tian culture.

The number of men at present pursuing this course are
as follows: — Helpers, 15; Evangelists (Class I) 5, (Class II)
8, (Class III) 4, (Class IV) 7, (Class V) 7, and (Class VI)
9; or total evangelists, 40; Probationers, 13. That is, we
have a total at present of 68 men in preparation for the
Chinese Christian ministry, not to speak of certain boys in
their teens now pursuing their studies in the schools and
university who are volunteers, and will enter the service
later.

342 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

UNION IN THEOLOGICAL TRAINING : — At first our theologi-
cal work was carried on by our Mission workers alone, but
since the union of the middle schools and university in
1909-10, we have conducted a federated work on the West
China Union University campus, in conjunction with the
Methodist Episcopal Mission, the American Baptist Foreign
Missionary Society, and the Friends Foreign Missionary
Association. At present, of the forty-three students in this
Union Bible School, thirty-one belong to the Canadian
Methodist Mission. Our present contribution to the staff
consists of part time by Mr. Carscallen and Mr. Stewart,
and Mr. Brecken.

SUPPORT is STILL LARGELY SUPPLIED FROM FOREIGN
SOURCES : — Salaries paid to these Chinese evangelists mostly
come from the Mission, and so far local support has, been
but imperfectly developed. They receive about seven dollars
Mexican ($3.50 gold) per month as helpers, and gradually
advance to about twelve dollars ($6 gold) as probationers.
While at college these sums are reduced, but support for
their wives and children is also provided. It is expected
that salaries will be considerably increased at ordination,
and that the Chinese Church will contribute a fair share.

A RAPID AND SPLENDID ADVANCE : — Thus, though the first
half of this quarter century of effort found us with prac
tically no Christian leaders from among the Chinese people,
the second half has been marked by a rapid and splendid
advance. Needless to say, every effort is being made to see
to it that these men are men of spirit as well as of learning,
for as are the roots of to-day, so must be the fruits a hun
dred years hence.

SCHOOL FOR EVANGELISTS' WIVES.

There is no rule in our West China Mission which says
that men shall not marry before ordination, so when our
evangelists came to college they brought their wives and
families with them. This soon led to housing them in one

DEPAKTMENTAL SUKVEYS 343

compound, and that to the suggestion that they be taught
certain essentials of hygiene and Bible study. All this in
time developed into classes. So since the year 1908 we have
had a " School for Evangelists' Wives," This has now a full
five years' course for the years while their husbands are in
college, and includes, in addition to the Bible and religious
topics, such subjects as housekeeping, hygiene, care of
children, music and pastoral visitation. This is almost
wholly under the direction of a committee of our married
ladies, and is a very vital part of our propaganda. Mrs.
Carson will soon devote all her time to this important work.

NORMAL TRAINING FOR TEACHERS.

Naturally the one great essential of the whole system of
education which we have sought to foster is the Chinese
teacher. Early in our history, when there were but one or
two primary schools, the teachers taught little but Chinese
subjects, so the problem was simple. Then, too, the teachers
were few and might be called in during the evenings or at
other intervals and instructed as to both the content and
method of imparting a few subjects of Western knowledge.
As time went on, however, the problem became more and
more difficult, and the need of special emphasis upon normal
training more imperative. Accordingly, we find the union
committee of our own and other Missions, as early as 1905,
recommending regarding this need:—

NORMAL TRAINING EARLY URGED :— " Combined and indi
vidual action is recommended, with a view to the establish
ment of Normal Colleges, or where this is not possible, then
the formation of a normal class in secondary schools, to
enable the graded examination and certification of Chinese
teachers."

EFFORT AT FIRST SOMEWHAT SPORADIC: — Effort along
this line was somewhat sporadic for the next five years. In
the interim, movements were inaugurated for the establish
ment of more permanent colleges, but most of the work was

344 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

confined to small classes in connection with the middle
schools. In 1910, however, a good advance was made. Then,
we read : —

ONE OF THE EARLY EFFORTS : — " Normal work for men
teachers had been carried on in three places during the year,
namely, at Lanchwan, Chungking, and Chengtu. The
Lanchwan school, in the new Canadian Methodist Mission
(former London Missionary Society) district, was planned
by the late E. J. Carson to meet the needs of the large dis
trict under his care. At the time he was taken sick he was
busily engaged in preparation for it. After his death, his
evangelist, teacher and friend, Mr. Liu Shuan San, offered,
with assistance, to carry on the work of the school, jointly
with Mr. Chang Chuen Ruh, a young preacher with Middle
School training. . . .

" Each student paid his own board during the six weeks
of the school. Assistance in travelling expenses to the
extent of three cash a li was given. An age limit was fixed
from twenty to forty years. Two men over forty who turned
up were unable to pass the final examinations. Thirteen
took the course. The subjects taught were Scripture,
hygiene, geography, arithmetic, drill, and music."

CONTENT NECESSARY AS WELL AS METHOD: — As will be
seen, the content rather than the method of teaching received
chief emphasis in those days, and necessarily so, for the
Chinese teachers were quite unacquainted with the rudi
mentary knowledge of western subjects needed to teach even
primary schools. A Normal class in Chengtu was also con
ducted throughout the year, the pupils taking general sub
jects in the middle school, and, in addition, "a weekly
criticism class, followed by discussion, and an elementary
class in pedagogical principles." This same year the women
workers drew up a tentative scheme for a " Union Normal
School for Young Women."

CONTINUED EXPANSION: — The good beginning made in
1910 has continued to expand each year, save as checked by
the many revolutions. Summer normal schools in union

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 345

with others at Chungking and Chengtu, and for our Mission
alone at Junghsien, have been held almost yearly with satis
factory results. In the latter, Mr. Batdorf and Mr. Wu Shu
Chen, B.A., have borne most of the burden. At Chungchow,
Mr. Kern has also laid great emphasis on teacher training,
and has had a number of short courses for his own and other
teachers.

THREE PERMANENT TRAINING INSTITUTIONS TO-DAY:—
The need for more systematic training has, however, been
much felt, and this is now being met by the Union Normal
School for Women, the Union Normal School for Men, and
the Educational Department of the West China Union Uni
versity. At present there are about twenty students in each
of the Normal Schools and four in the Department of
Education. Each of these specially trained men should soon
become teachers of teachers, so the foundations of future pro
gress are being firmly laid in this very important work.

MIDDLE (HIGH) SCHOOL WORK.

According to the present system of our Educational
Union in West China, a child spends his first four years in
the lower primary grade, the next three in the higher prim
ary, and, if successful, then the next four in what is called
the middle school, a grade which corresponds to our high
school in Canada.

TIMES OF TRANSFORMATION: — Naturally, in the pioneer
days of our propaganda in Szechwan, there were no students
of this grade. What efforts we made were confined to prim
ary school work, and this among the children. The more
advanced of the student class looked upon anything we
might offer with scorn. Moreover, only their own Classics,
with the inevitable essays and poetry, were necessary for the
great national tests, so why should they trouble about
trivialities such as arts, science, medicine, etc., if indeed
they ever even heard the names. But times changed. The
impact of foreign nations, and especially the defeat by
Japan, led the authorities to deem it worth while to study

34G

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the ways of the Westerner, even if only that these might be
outwitted in their cunning, mechanical devices. So the
sacred examination tests began to have questions which were
somewhat remotely related to foreign education. It

pay the aspiring scholar, therefore, to study some mathe
matics, geography, possibly even history of the West, while
foreign languages were, more and more, as intercourse
increased, having a market value for officials and inter
preters.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 347

A BREAK IN THE BARRIER: — Accordingly, we find the
ring of aloofness gradually breaking, and sons of officials
and other students seeking out our missionaries for special
instruction. Mr. Hartwell, writing in 1897, from' Chengtu,
states : " Several young men have been coming in the morn
ings to take lessons in mathematics and English. Mrs.
Hartwell has assisted in the latter. Almost daily men come
and ask if I can teach their sons. Will some one interested
in higher education open up the way?"

CLASSES IN CONSERVATIVE KIATING: — The same autumn,
Dr. Endicott wrote from Kiating : " In response to repeated
requests, I commenced to give lessons at night to a small
body of literary men who wished to study Western learning.
We have been much encouraged by the results. Not only has
it helped us directly by getting this class to think and speak
more kindly of us, but we have been encouraged at the pro
gress the men have made in their studies. The fees from
the students, though small, have yet been sufficient to pay
the rent of our street chapel and dispensary for the past
year. Many more have expressed a desire to be taught, and
a good work among the student class could be accomplished,
if only we had the necessary time and appliances."

The great upheaval of 1900 increased this desire for the
learning of the Occident. Dr. Smith, writing in 1902 from
Kiating, reports : " I have a class of young men who pay well
for instruction in English. I take them every morning at
six o'clock, and have succeeded in winning their regular
attendance at religious services."

THE NUMBERS INCREASE IN CHENGTU : — At the same time,
Dr. Kilborn reports from Chengtu, — " Classes were opened
in English and mathematics in October, in response to the
demand for such teaching. Seventy or eighty young men
have been or are on the roll, and over $270 have been paid in
fees. Quite a number of them are regular attendants at
morning worship or the Sunday services."

THE TIME COME FOR SPECIAL EFFORT : — The time seemed
to have arrived for action. Some one or more should be set

348

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

ENLISTED FOR LIFE SERVICE.

Twenty-eight boys of the Chengtu Union University and Middle School who have

volunteered to spend their lives in the Christian ministry. Fifteen of the

boys belong to the Canadian Methodist Mission.

apart to give full time to this important opening. We there
fore read in Mr. Stewart's report from Chengtu for 1904 :—

" That the field for educational work is especially ripe
for reaping here in the capital seems recognized by all
missionary societies without exception. The Methodist
Episcopal Mission, China Inland Mission, Friends, and
Koman Catholics are all putting forth strong efforts to enter
immediately. The Annual Council has seen fit to appoint
me to this department, and I am preparing as speedily as
slow studies in the Chinese language will permit. We must,
of course, have buildings and equipment. We should have
a graduate in natural science and, if possible, another in
practical science, come out with the new party this autumn.
These, with the co-operation of others resident here, might
furnish a college staff, and aid also in medical and minis
terial training."

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 349

AN INFORMAL OPENING IN 1905: — The Middle School
work was opened rather informally in the spring of 1905 by
adding to the teaching which some of these advanced
students were already receiving in English, such subjects as
arithmetic, geography, and religious instruction. Most of
the twenty-odd students were day students, only two at firstj
a couple of first-degree men from Junghsien named Liu and
Chao, residing on the place. A small class, who were being
taught English by Mr. and Mrs. W. N. Fergusson of the
British and Foreign Bible Society (then just across the
street), also at their kindly persuasion joined our school.
Among these was Liu Li Hsien? who was later to be our
first graduate from the Middle School. Since then Mr. Liu
has been out for some time since the Revolution acting as
overseer in the provincial arsenal, and later as Adviser to
Governor Chen Er-Ngan. He is now back in the University
completing his university course.

THE FIRST CLASSES MET IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL ROOMS :—
Classes were at first carried on in the two small school
rooms at the rear of the Si Shen-Ts'i church. During the
summer some of the old Chinese buildings on the then
newly acquired hospital property were adapted, and the
school moved there at the commencement of the autumn
term. It was well that the beginning had been made, for
during the year the famous edict above referred to came
from Pekin abolishing the old style examination subjects,
and ordering the new style school with its semi-western
curriculum.

THE YEAR OP DELUGE : — Consequently, the year 1906
was, compared with former years, the year of deluge. The
report for the spring term runs : " In the Middle School we
have an aggregate attendance of seventy-nine. The course
consists of the following subjects : Chinese classics, ethics,
history and composition, all these under the instruction of a
Chinese M.A., whom we pay |20 gold and over per month;
English, five classes, the two advanced classes being taught
daily by Dr. Gifford Kilborn ; chemistry and physiology, by

350 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Dr. O. L. Kilborn, three times weekly; history of Western
nations, weekly, by Rev. J. Endicott; arithmetic and mathe
matics, daily; geography, astronomy, and biology, twice a
week. Each morning all students and teachers are assem
bled for singing, Scripture reading, and prayer. They are
also 'expected to attend Sunday School, Sunday service, and
Wednesday evening prayer-meeting. Six boys during the
past six months have professed their intention of living the
Christian life, and all, we trust, are having the gospel seed
implanted.

FINANCES : — " Financially, we have charged $2.50 gold
per month for boarding students, and $1.75 gold for day
students. This, so far, has met all expenses of school work
in general, making up for deficiency in day schools, and
providing desks, seats, beds, chairs, tables, bookcases, win
dows, flooring, painting, and many other school repairs,
also the salaries of Chinese teachers, coolies, cook, and
other assistants."

THE NEW STYLE CHINESE SCHOOLS :—" Chinese schools
are in full swing all about us, each with a large staff of
governors, teachers and sub- teachers, monitors, etc., etc.,
and paying (for Chinese) large salaries. As in these
schools, in the majority of cases, the student gets his
tuition, and in many cases his board, clothing, and books
free, while we charge fees, and have the disadvantage of
being foreigners, we must necessarily present the very best
in the way of instruction, if we are to do the work and
exert the influence we desire."

FAT AND LEAN YEARS: — The rivalry referred to in the
last paragraph, proved a potent factor in the next year's
history. To the dismay of those in charge, little by little
the attendance dwindled till the next report reads : " In
our Middle School we have this year registered forty-eight
students." However, the decrease was probably a blessing
in disguise, as more attention could be given to the training
of the theological students already referred to above. More
over, the following year saw the tide slowly turning our

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 351

way once more, and we read in the report for that year
(1908) : " Two years ago we were on the high tide of the
educational movement which followed npon the issuing of
the great reform edict. Nearly two hundred students
rushed into our different schools in Chengtu, willing to
accept any accommodation, eager to study anything. The
decree had said that in future officials were to be selected
from schools, and each aspirant saw wealth, fame, and
power before him. To their thought this Western education
might be mastered in a few months at most, and then all
that life might long for was open before them.

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL LIMITATIONS : — " Then came the
decree from Peking stating that only the degrees from
Government Schools would be recognized. Almost as
quickly as they came, our students began to quit us for
Government institutions. We asked permission to register
ours as private schools, scores of which had been opened
by the gentry, but were refused. . . . This last six months
the tide has turned again. For the Government schools,
unfortunately, it has been a partial reverse. It has been
found difficult to finance the institutions and fees have had
to be charged. Teachers, too, could not be found, those
returning after a few months in Japan, naturally, soon
reaching their limitations."

ADDITIONS TO THE STAFF : — " The same time has seen
our position slowly improving. Our staff has been
strengthened by Dr. Kilborn giving two hours daily to the
teaching of science, and one hour per week to music, while
Mr. and Mrs. Carscallen assist daily with classes in
English."

UNION SENTIMENT GROWING: — In the meantime, the
renovated buildings where the new hospital now stands had
been torn down to make room for the new structure, and in
the spring of 1907 the school had moved to the present site
of the lower and higher primary school on the Loh Huen
Oh'iao Street (Lost Souls' Bridge), just around the corner
from Si Shen Ts'i. Mr. Stewart went on furlough early in

352 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the summer of 1908, and first Dr. Kilborn, then Mr. Cars-
callen, took charge. During these years, as pointed out
previously, the sentiment for union had been growing apace.
The 1908 report referred to had added : " Already the site
for our long longed-for college has been purchased. It is
by the river's edge, just outside the south-east corner of the
city, and within a half-hour's walk of our Mission. Three
other Missions have united in the joint purchase."

FIRST UNION ACCOMPLISHED IN 1909 IN CHENGTU: — In
the autumn of 1908, it was therefore decided as a first step
in aid of the desired union that each Mission move its
Middle School to the new college site, and there unite the
teaching staff and classes. This was readily accomplished,
and the first union work began with the spring of 1909, the
first university classes opening just one year later, namely,
on March llth, 1910. It was suggested at the time that this
union of Middle School work might be but temporary, but
so far it has been a decided success, and is therefore in all
probability permanent. Kecently the Board of Governors
of the Union University has also taken over the administra
tion of this Union Middle School, ground has been pur
chased for permanent buildings, the four small, temporary,
rough-cast buildings having outlived their usefulness, and
a grant for the new building, with all modern equipment,
to accommodate some six hundred students, has been made.
Mr. Stewart (1905-07), Dr. Kilborn (1908), Mr. Carscallen
(1909), Mr. Robertson (1910-11), Mr. Stewart (1912-14),
Mr. Eobertson (1914-16), have been successively in charge
of our Middle School interests at Chengtu.

EACH MISSION " HOUSES " ITS OWN STUDENTS : — The
present registration of the Union Middle School is over one
hundred and seventy, exclusive of theological and normal
school students who take some classics. Each Mission
houses its own students in dormitories for boarding, sleep
ing and study purposes. The Missions are thus in intimate
touch with their own students along religious and moral
lines. Our own Canadian Methodist Missionarv dormitory

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

353

r ""if

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

has at present some seventy students. This does not include
university or theological students who are accommodated
in the new University dormitory. Fees are $24 Mexican
per year, and board extra at about |2 per month.

PROPOSED UNION IN CHUNGKING: — Since the taking over
of the big London Missionary Society territory in 1910, our
Mission, as did the London Missionary Society workers
before us, has strongly emphasized educational work in
that section. As the Friends' Foreign Missionary Associa
tion and Methodist Episcopal Mission had already well
established middle schools in the city of Chungking, our
Mission hesitated to establish a third, especially as our
students of that grade were few at first, and could be accom
modated in the other Mission schools. From the success of
the Chengtu effort it was natural that an attempt be made
in Chungking also along union lines. Therefore for some
time a scheme was proposed for the union of the Canadian
Methodist Mission, Methodist Episcopal Mission and
Friends' Foreign Missionary Association interests, whether
by using one of the sites of the two latter, by a division of
the work according to grades, and so using both sites, or by
disposing of both and moving to a neutral site where suffi
cient land might be secured for all future benefit. It was
found, however, as the discussion proceeded, that vested
interests and local traditions were too strong to consummate
so radical a movement. Accordingly, though the discussion
had been carried on during the years 1910 and 1911, up to
the time of the Revolution, little progress had been made.

MANY MIDDLE SCHOOLS NEEDED AS FEEDERS FOR THE
UNION UNIVERSITY : — As in the meantime our own educa
tional work was suffering somew^hat, and as denomination
ally we were more nearly related, it was decided in 1912,
that Mr. Harris, then just returning from the coast after
the Revolution, move out to the Methodist Episcopal Mis
sion school grounds at Tsen Kia Ngai and co-operate with
those in charge, looking to a more permanent union either
with them or with both the other Missions. This tentative

DEPARTMENTAL SUKVEYS 355

co-operation has been steadily growing toward union with
the Methodist Episcopal Mission. An agreement has been
drawn up, by which the Canadian Methodist Mission are to
buy out a half interest in the old site and buildings, and
each to have an equal responsibility and control in future
expansion, the direction of affairs to be under not only the
teaching staff but a board of managers from both Missions.
So far the agreement has not been sanctioned by the Home
Boards, and there have been the usual difficulties owing to
difference of view-point. It yet remains to be seen, how
ever, whether the experiment of only two Missions uniting
is or is not a success. Should the experiment fail, then it is
still an open question whether we shall develop a middle
school of our own in Chungking, or restrict our energies to
other centres. In any case, in the not distant future it
would seem as though we should have additional middle
schools at Fowchow, Junghsien, or Tzeliutsing, and other
centres, where the higher primary schools are supplying a
base. Such middle schools will, moreover, it is confidently
expected, form excellent feeders for the already flourishing
West China Union University, with its faculties of Arts,
Science, Medicine, and Eeligion. This latter is naturally
the fountain-head of our educational hopes, as from here
should flow forth the leaders ready and able to mould the
thought, history, and destiny of this great, new — yet
ancient — nation.

THE PRECEDING SUMMARY SHOULD SHOW GENERAL
LINES OF PROGRESS: — Such, in general outline, is the story
of our Canadian Methodist Mission Educational work for
our first quarter century in West China. In this hurried
summary, there are many points of interest and importance
that have been but mentioned, and possibly many others
have been entirely overlooked. Still, we trust enough has
been given to indicate our general lines of growth, and some
later day a more detailed survey may be given. Thus, much
might have been said regarding the religious side of our
educational work, telling of the numbers of our students

356 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

who have become Christian during their days of study with
us, and of the individuals, homes and communities they
have influenced. Indeed, our chief aim is not alone to
educate the head, but also the heart and will, sending forth
the youth of the land to serve society, the nation, and that
great, far-off, divine event, the ever-nearing Kingdom of
God. But this more properly belongs to the story of our
Churches, our Sunday Schools, and evangelistic endeavor.

TWELVE YEARS OP PATIENT PREPARATION : — Our review,
then, would show that during the first half of the past
twenty-five years, until the year 1904, our educational work
in the stricter sense of the term was confined to primary
schools, and these mostly of the simpler sort. The time for
expansion had not yet arrived. The traditions and spirit
of the nation were solidly against us. The ancient classics
still held sway, prescribing the bounds of endeavor, and
binding men's efforts as with bands of iron. International
impact, and the seemingly insignificant influence of small
Christian schools scattered here and there all over the
Empire were, however, exerting their power, until at last,
as we have seen, the whole system of centuries came crash
ing down.

TWELVE YEARS OF SPLENDID PROGRESS : — Fortunately,
the signs of the times were being in large measure rightly
interpreted by our workers, and preparations for the crisis
were proceeding apace, by the formation of an Educational
Union and similar steps. Since the year 1905, therefore,
we have seen our educational movement radiating out into
many and varied forms of activity. We have, as recorded,
not only our loAver but also our higher primaries, our night
schools, kindergartens, self-help departments, industrial
classes, short-course summer normal classes, and regular
normal schools; also our middle (or high) and theological
schools ; and, at the apex of all, our West China Union Uni
versity, with its faculties, departments, and many courses.
Truly, when the development of these last dozen years is
looked at from the standpoint of what China was during the

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 357

first twelve of our missionary propaganda, the result is
little short of incredible.

A TABLE OF STRIKING CONTRASTS: — The following brief
table presents the striking contrast:—

Educational Educational

Development, 1905. Development, 1916.
Institutions. No. Students. No. Students.

Lower Primary Schools 2 60 86

Higher Primary Schools 0 00 14

Middle Schools 0 00

Theological Schools 0 00

University 0

2 60 104 3681

DATA FOR THE COMPARISON : — In this summary, only the
students of our own Mission, in union institutions such as
the Union University, etc., are counted. The students of
the summer normal classes and other less permanent move
ments are omitted, and the students of the Normal School,
at present seven in number, reckoned with the Middle
School. Even with the omission of our kindergarten and
industrial work, and the total exclusion of the great
majority of our girl schools and scholars, who will be
reported under our Woman's Missionary Society, we have a
proportional increase* of 1 to 52 in our educational institu
tions, and of 1 to 62 in our student body.

WHAT ANOTHER DOZEN YEARS MAY MEAN: — Will the
next dozen years give us an equal proportional develop
ment? Then we must prepare for some such conditions as
these : —

PROPORTIONAL DEVELOPMENT BY 1928.

Institutions. Number. Students.

Junior Primary Schools 3,698

Higher Primary Schools 616 20,000

Middle Schools

Theological Schools 1 ( ?) 3,50

Universities 1_(?) !>250

Total 4,404 190,378

THE UNFINISHED TASK: — Such figures rather appal us
at present, but they are not less astonishing than our past

358 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

growth. Even then, they are small in proportion to our
responsibility. We stand committed from the Christian
standpoint for the welfare of approximately 14,000,000
souls here in Szechwan. If, as is often reckoned, one in
seven of these be a child or youth of school age, then there
should be 2,000,000 somewhere securing an education.
Were we to expand as suggested to 200,000, by 1928 there
would still be but one in ten securing an education under
Christian auspices, while now there is less than one in five
thousand. To-day the door of opportunity is wide open.
The Government, weakened by successive rebellions and
revolutions, and the people, poor through robberies, cannot
provide this basic element of progress, so welcome our co
operation most heartily. This is assuredly a time of times in
the affairs of men to be taken at the flood for the ushering in
of that eternal Kingdom of Truth and Righteousness, Peace
and Joy.

WEST CHINA UNION UNIVERSITY.

C. R. CARSCALLEN, B.A.

Methodism has always been the friend of education.
From the days of Wesley her schools have been an important
factor in her policy. History is repeating itself on the
Mission Field, and the same conditions which drove Meth
odism into the work of education at home are still more
urgently impelling her to education abroad. There is the
necessity of a well-trained ministry. There are the children
of our members scattered over the province, who must not be
allowed to grow up in ignorancej but must be trained, and in
schools which ensure the formation and deepening of Chris
tian character.

IN 1904 — THE FIRST APPEAL FOR A COLLEGE: — So it was
not to be wondered at that, when it was proposed to establish

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 359

a Christian University in West China, Methodism was ready
for the enterprise. Indeed, before the scheme of a union
enterprise had taken shape, our own Church had decided to
undertake higher education alone, if necessary. The Mission
Council in 1904 had so petitioned the General Board, and
the Rev. G. J. Bond, to whom the University owes much
indeed, through the columns of the Christian Guardian, had
by 1905 obtained the first $10,000 toward a Canadian College
in Chengtu.

IN 1905— SCHEME FOR A UNION UNIVERSITY SUBMITTED :—
It was in December, 1904, at a meeting of local mission
aries, held in Chengtu, that it was agreed that the time had
come when steps should be taken to bring about union in
educational work, and early in 1905 several Missions
appointed representatives to confer on the matter. A tenta
tive outline of a scheme for the establishment of a Union
Christian University in Chengtu was prepared and presented,
in April of the same year, to the Advisory Board of Missions
in West China. The Advisory Board approved of the idea
and asked the various Missions in West China to appoint
representatives to further discuss the matter. These repre
sentatives met in Chengtu in November, 1905, when a more
complete scheme of union was formulated and sent on with
their recommendation to the Annual Meetings of the various
Missions and through them to the Home Boards. It is in
teresting to note that our representatives on this committee
were, for the Woman's Missionary Society, Miss S. Brackbill
and Miss M. Swann, and for the parent Society the Revs.
G. E. Hart-well, O. L. Kilborn and J. L. Stewart.

FOUR MISSIONS FORMED THE UNION : — Four Missions were
eventually found ready to participate in the enterprise, viz.,
the Friends' Foreign Mission Association, Great Britain and
Ireland, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, the
Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, U.S.A., and the General Board of Missions of the
Methodist Church, Canada.

360

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

A SPLENDID SITE SECURED :— Early in 1908 approximately
sixty acres (English) of land were purchased jointly outside
the city of Chengtu, about midway between the East and

WEST CHINA UNION UNIVERSITY

ENTIRE AREA APPROXIMATELY
120 ENG. ACRES

rOUNDED BY

J=JU*-™-

•^ ll>.t»C»

<)-

South gates. This was divided into six equal sections and
re-sold, one section each to the Friends' Foreign Mission
Association, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society,
and the Methodist Episcopal Mission, and two sections to
the Canadian Methodist Mission. One, the central section,

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 361

was reserved as a central plot to be owned and controlled by
the University. Since then, under authorization from home,
more land has been acquired, until now, including the site
for our Union Middle School, which is controlled by the
University, the total area owned (1916) by the University
falls very little short of one hundred and twenty acres.

THE NATURE OF THE UNION.

The nature of the union will be easily understood by
Canadians, as it is very similar to the union of the various
Colleges in the University of Toronto. Each participating
organization owns its own land, builds and controls its own
college, which it puts, for teaching purposes, at the disposal
of the University, governs its own students, and supplies one
or more teachers and provides their residences. The academic
work of the University is directed by a Senate, consisting of
the representatives of the various participating Missions,
together with certain members of the staff. This body,
together with the Faculty through which it works, prescribes
the courses of study, conducts examinations, confers certifi
cates and degrees, assigns members of the staff to their
various duties, in short, directs the whole academic work of
the University, and deals with all matters which need to be
dealt with in a uniform way by the various Colleges. Such a
union, while securing the advantage of union, still preserves
the individuality of the various Colleges, and enables each to
make its own peculiar contribution to the whole.

A BOARD OF GOVERNORS,— AND CERTAIN POWERS:— The
property of the University as distinct from that of the various
participating organizations is held in trust by a Board of
Governors in the home-lands, which consists of representa
tives of the various participating organizations, together with
certain co-opted members. The Board of Governors also
exercises control over the general policy of the University ; in
fact, speaking generally, it is supreme in all matters in which
it mav wish to act.

362 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

THE PERSONNEL OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS: — For the
year 1916 the personnel of the Board of Governors is as
follows : —

Friends' Foreign Mission Association, Great Britain and
Ireland : —

James E. Clark, B.Sc.
H. Wilson Harris, M.A.
Henry T. Hodgkin, M.A., M.B.
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society : —
Mornay Williams.
Kev. A. K. DeBlois, D.D.

The Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Epis
copal Church, U.S.A. :—

Rev. John F. Goucher, LL.D.
Rev. Frank Mason North, D.D.
W. O. Cantz.

General Board of Missions of the Methodist Church of
Canada : —

Rev. James Endicott, D.D.
Newton W. Rowell, K.C.
Chancellor R. P. Bowles, M.A., B.D.
Co-opted members :—

Vice-Chancellor Michael E. Sadler.
Professor Shailer Matthews.
William North Rice, Ph.D., LL.D.
Rev. T. E. E. Shore, M.A., D.D.
J. W. Flavelle, LL.D.
Rev. J. H. Franklin, D.D.
T. R, W. Lunt.

It will be seen that the representatives of our Church on
this Board are, Rev. Jas. Endicott, Rev. R. P. Bowles J. W.
Flavelle, LL.D., Rev. T. E. E. Shore, D.D. and N W Rowell
K.C.

THE SCOPE OF THE UNIVERSITY.

The aim of the University is to provide courses in Arts,
Science, Medicine, Law, Engineering and Agriculture, to

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 363

become a University in the fullest sense, to make it unneces
sary for any student of the Western provinces to go abroad
for any course needed to fit him for any phase of life in
China. All this to be pervaded by a Christian spirit, the
learning of the West to be mediated to the Chinese in a
Christian atmosphere, men to be inspired with high ideals, to
be trained to serve, — this is the object of its founders.

THE UNIVERSITY OFFERS SIX-YEAR COURSES IN ARTS,
SCIENCE AND MEDICINE: — Of course the University is yet a
long way off from its ideal, so far as equipment and staff are
concerned. At present it offers a six years course, three
years in a Junior Division and three years in a Senior
Division. In this the University follows generally the system
laid down by the Chinese Government. In the Senior
Division there are organized the Faculty of Arts, including
the departments of English, History, Philosophy, and Edu
cation ; the Faculty of Science, including the departments of
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics ; and a Faculty
of Medicine.

THE SENATE CONTROLS SEVERAL SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOLS :
—In addition to this, the following supplementary schools
are closely associated with the University, and most of them
are under its control. They are on the University property.
There are the Union Middle School, the Union Normal
School, the Union Bible Training School, and the Union
Training School for Missionaries. Then there is a Junior
Primary School, the Dewey School, serving as a practice
school for the students of the Normal School. Last year, in
these various associated schools, there was a total of two
hundred and forty-six students, and this year the total comes
up to three hundred and fifty-five.

PROGRESS IN THE UNIVERSITY PROPER.

Classes in the University were begun in the Spring of
1910, with eleven students, who were soon reduced to seven.
In 1911 we registered seven students. Unfortunately the
Revolution broke out in Chengtu in September of that year

364 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

and greatly disturbed the work of the University. In Decem
ber, 1911, all foreigners were ordered out of the province, and
of course all work in the University ceased. It was not until
the Spring of 1913 that enough of the staff were back to begin
work again. That year we had seventeen students. In the
Fall of 1914, in addition to the Arts and Science Faculties,
we instituted the Faculty of Medicine, and eight students
entered for that course. Our total registration for that year
was thirty-six. For the year 1915-16 we enrolled forty-five
students, while we are beginning the year 1916-17 with
seventy-five students.

UNDERGRADUATES ALREADY ASSISTING THE MISSIONS:

These figures do not properly represent the extent of the
work of the University, for each year the various Missions
take out some of the brightest students and send them out
for a year or two to man their schools in their stations and
out-stations, so that, in addition to those actually enrolled
in the University, there are these men scattered over the
province, who have been trained by us and will in many
cases come back later to complete their training. Twenty-
two of these men are now out serving the Mission as. teachers
and preachers, or in other forms of Christian service.

TWO-THIRDS OF THE STUDENTS ARE CHRISTIANS: Con
sidering the interruptions in our work, progress has been
satisfactory indeed. We have not been desirous of an inrush
of non-Christian students. Our aim has been to keep the
student body predominantly Christian, and to introduce only
that number of non-Christian students which we felt could
be properly assimilated by the Christian body. In this we
have been quite successful, and it is safe to say that probably
two-thirds of our University students are Christian, and
before they go out from among us we confidently expect that
the remaining third will become Christian. Through the
Young Men's Christian Association, which directs the stu
dents' activities under its departments of Bible Study,
Prayer Circles, Social Service, etc., a great number of the
students every week take part in some definite form of Chris
tian service.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

365

§ S

O CO

W ^

o ^
02

g £

H o
O

a S

W -S

g a

D «

g «

s -s

fi 2

36G OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

TEMPORARY BUILDINGS BEING KEPLACED BY PERMANENT : —
As already stated, the site for the University and its asso
ciated Schools comprises about one hundred English acres.
Teaching was begun in temporary buildings, which are still
in use. The permanent buildings erected, or in course of
erection, number five, and in addition we have fifteen resi
dences for the teaching staff. Many other buildings are pro
jected and planned, such as a Medical building, Science
building, Library, Assembly Hall, etc., and will be erected as
funds permit.

THE WHOLE PLANT WILL HAVE A HARMONIOUS EFFECT :—
All these buildings will harmonize in architectural features,
and will be located so as to produce a unified effect. The
University has secured the services of F. Rowntree, London,
Eng., who designs and plots all the buildings. Mr. Rowntree
is working out a style of architecture which incorporates the
best features of Chinese classic forms. He has obtained some
striking and effective results.

RELATION TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.

The West China Union University does not stand alone as
an isolated venture in Christian Education in West China.
It is the crown of a system, extending from the Kindergarten
to the University. It has its roots in the Primary and Sec
ondary Schools of the West China Educational Union, which
act as its feeders.

THE UNIVERSITY WILL BE WELL FED BY THE EDUCATIONAL
UNION : — The schools of the Union according to the 1916
report were as follows :

Schools Pupils (boys only)

Lower Primary 222 8,266

Higher Primary 46 826

Middle Schools 11 416

279 9,508

These schools of the Educational Union, of which Rev. E. W.
Wallace of our Mission is Secretary, are growing by leaps
and bounds, both in number of schools and in extent of pupils

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 367

enrolled. It is from these schools that the University is
chiefly drawing its students at present, and in an ever-grow
ing degree these schools will continue to feed the University,
so that its foundations are well laid, and, no matter what
the attitude of the Government toward us may be, a supply
of Christian students from our own schools is assured.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT TOWARD THE UNIVERSITY.

Since the revolution of 1911 the attitude of the Govern
ment has been especially friendly toward our work. Both the
Military and the Civil Governors of the province have on
several occasions honored University functions by their
presence. The Superintendent of Education for the province
has visited the University and addressed its students.
Former Military Governor Fuh and Civil Governor Ch'en
each donated $3,000, Szechwan currency, to our funds. The
former gave the University his written endorsation and in
troduced our President, Rev. J. Beech, D.D., to the late
President of China, Yuan Shih Kai, who added a donation
of $4,000. Governor Fuh's successor, Ch'en Er Ngan, has
been equally cordial. The present Governor, Loh Beh Chin,
has received a deputation from the University and expressed
his interest in our undertaking.

ALL CLASSES ARE MOST CORDIAL TOWARD OUR WORK:—
Our relations with China's Educationists are similarly
friendly. The Principal of the most efficient school in the
city gives several hours of his time every week to our Normal
School, and we in exchange do some teaching in his school.
In Chinese circles we have gained a reputation for efficient
work, especially for the quality of the men we turn out.
Students are turning to us in greater numbers. This enables
us to more or less select our students. At the beginning of
this year the University rejected many students who applied,
because of "deficient educational or other qualifications. The
place our University has won in the esteem and respect of
the Chinese holds much promise for the future permanence
of our work.

368 OUR AVEST CHINA MISSION

OUR CONTRIBUTION.

Having by far the largest number of missionaries in the
province of any of the Societies there, and the most extensive
work, naturally our interest in the University is propor
tionate, and we have made to it, 'as we should be expected
to make, the largest contribution. For the total work which
is carried on in union, on or in proximity to the University
site, viz., the Union Middle School, the Union Normal School,
the Union Bible Training School, the Union Training School
for Missionaries, and the University proper with its Arts,
Science and Medical Faculties, the Canadian Methodist Mis
sion contributes the following staff:— Rev. O. L. Kilborn,
Rev. J. L. Stewart, Rev. C. R. Carscallen, H. D. Robertson^
M. Bayne, Rev. A. E. Johns, Rev. E. R, M. Brecken, and
for a portion of their time Drs. C. W. Service and C. B. Kelly.
The first Vice-President of the University, the late Rev. E. J.
Carson, was a member of our Mission, as is also the present
Vice-President, the Rev. J. L. Stewart. In addition, our
Mission has given the Rev. E. W. Wallace (supported by the
University) to the Educational Union as its Secretary. Mr.
Wallace also gives part time to the Educational Department
of the University. More than half of the staff is provided
by the Canadian Methodist Mission.

OUR HART MEMORIAL COLLEGE NEARING COMPLETION:

In regard to buildings each Mission is expected to supply a
College building for teaching purposes, and dormitory
accommodation for its own students. Our own College, the
Hart Memorial College, made possible by the liberality of the
late Jairus Hart, of Halifax, is now Hearing completion and
is a fine, imposing structure. At present, owing to the war,
funds are lacking to complete it. In addition to the College,'
we have already one dormitory erected and are now in
urgent need of another, as the accommodation of 'the first is
outgrown. When the financial strain of the war lifts we hope
to be able to complete these projects which are so much
needed.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

369

THE HART MEMORIAL COLLEGE.
One of the Canadian Methodist buildings of the Union University.

THE FIELD OR CONSTITUENCY.

The University is situated on a branch of the river Min,
just outside the walls of Chengtu, the capital of the province
of Szechwan. Szechwan has a population of approximately
sixty millions, and in area equals that of France. Chengtu
is thus not only the centre of the most extensive and populous
province of China, but by political and geographical relations
is well placed to extend its influence to Tibet and the many
border tribes. There are already in our Middle School and
University six students from the Miao, one of the aboriginal
tribes in Yunnan.

THE UNIVERSITY HAS A CONSTITUENCY OF ONE HUNDRED
MILLIONS: — The West China Union University is the only
University of any kind. Government or Christian, west of
Hankow, distant nearly fifteen hundred miles. It has as its
especial constituency the three western provinces, Szechwan,
Kweichow and Yunnan. It thus appeals to a constituency
of nearly one hundred millions. Think of its possibilities !

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

MAP -OF -CHINA-

WING tut cooTirutucY OP int.

WE5T- CHINA-UNION-UNIVER5lf Y-

The only Christian University, the only University of any
kind at present, amid a population nearly as great as that
of the United States. Can you wonder that its friends
enthuse over its future? It would be difficult indeed to over
estimate its possibilities.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY JOINING THE UNION.
Up to the present four Missions only have participated in
the University. The Church Missionary Society, however,
has decided to come in, and is already negotiating for a site
for its College building. The West China Union University
will then represent a union of practically all the Christian
forces at work in Szechwan — a union in the high endeavor
of providing, under Christian influences, education for the
youth of these three great Western Provinces.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

371

THE FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING AND MISS KER, THE FIRST TEACHER.

THE CANADIAN SCHOOL— A SCHOOL FOR MISSION
ARIES' CHILDREN.

LELA A. KER.

The Canadian Methodist Mission began, in 1903, to con
sider seriously the education of the children of its mission
aries. In that year the Council asked that a suitable woman
teacher be sent out by the Woman's Missionary Society.
The Council proposed to engage in none but primary school
work and a boarding school was not proposed.

In 1904 the Council strongly recommended and urged the
opening of a boarding school in Chengtu. They stated that
contributions and fees would almost, if not entirely, cover
the teacher's salary. Council again asked that a suitable
teacher be sent out without delay.

In 1906 the General Board of Missions made arrange
ments for the education in the home land of children of its

372 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

missionaries, allowing the mothers to accompany the children
to the home land if necessary.

In 1907 the General Board approved of the recommenda
tion of delegations— that the Mission Council make a
thorough investigation of the whole question of needs, cost,
income, and proposed usefulness of a boarding school in
Chengtu.

In 1908 Council recommended the opening of a boarding
school in Chengtu, the securing of a site, and that a building,
including a teacher's dwelling and a dormitory to accommo
date forty pupils, be erected within the next two years.
Council strongly recommended that the teacher be a married
man. (Carried unanimously.) The same year a special
Council made similar requests for site and' building, but
asked for two women teachers to be sent. In response to
this latter request one woman teacher was sent to the field.
I left Canada in the early autumn of 1908 and arrived in
Chengtu March 5, 1909.

THE SCHOOL OPENED MARCH 9TH, 1909 :— There now being
both pupils and a teacher on the field, which are the only
absolutely necessary requisites for a school, no time was lost
in opening the school. A committee meeting was held on
Monday, March 8th, and the school opened on Tuesday,
March 9th. There were five pupils— James Endicott, Nor
man Endicott, Edna Ewan, Douglas Ewan and Joyce Can-
right, There was no school-room, there was no black-board
or chalk, nor were there text-books, slates, pencils, paper, or
lead pencils. But at the back of the church was a class-room
which was made to serve as a school-room. A black-board
from a nursery was loaned, Chinese chalk was bought, and
paper and pencils were bought at the Mission Press. Any
thing that could be made usable as a text-book was put on
the curriculum.

REMOVAL TO A CHINESE BUILDING :— A few months later
many cases of school goods that had come from Canada had
wended their way for two thousand miles up the Yangtse
and were carried on the backs of men to a Chinese compound,

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MISSIONARIES' CHILDREN.

one half of which was occupied by the Primary School for
Chinese boys. The inside of the building was no more
attractive than the outside ; but it offered an opportunity for
exercising much Christian optimism.

GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT: — Chinese carpenters were try
ing to fix up this compound for the school, but they were very
slow. They were also initiated into making out of window
glass some blackboards which are in use in the school-room
to-day. Adjustable desks and adjustable seats, brought from
Canada, gave the children a most comfortable position and
a modern appearance to the schoolroom. Into this room the
school moved in June. Beds and bedding for boarding-
pupils' rooms, cutlery, china and glass for the dining-room,
and all kitchen furnishings were also brought from Canada
for the boarding department.

374 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

ADDITIONS DEFERRED: — The day after I arrived in
Chengtu, a letter was received from a lady, three days away,
who wanted to send her little girl to school. Then in July,
application was made for the admission of two boys from
Chungking. But in both cases the Committee of Manage
ment said they thought that if I studied Chinese, taught four
hours a day, attended language school, superintended the
housekeeping for myself and another, and incidentally had
some furniture made for the new school building, I would
have enough to do without having boarding-pupils. So there
were no pupils in residence until September, 1910.

FIRST BOARDERS : — Then in September of 1910, three girls
came as boarders. Two were English and one American;
they had an interesting time getting acquainted with each
other's games, manners, dress, habits, and especially in get
ting acquainted with each other's language.

AN APPEAL FOR AID: — In order that the next workers
should have time for language study, before beginning work,
a teacher and a matron were asked for, to come out in the
spring of 1911, so that they would be ready to take the work
when I went home on furlough. Miss Perkins came as
teacher and Miss Norman as matron.

Alas, for our plans ! In June of that year Miss Perkins
was married, and so withdrew from the school; and after
the revolutionary disturbances Miss Norman was trans
ferred to the Japan school.

POST REVOLUTION PERIOD: — In December, 1911, I left
China for furlough, as did many of the pupils. So there was
no more school until April, ' 1913, when I returned from
Canada. For the year 1913-14, there were only day pupils.
When I returned from furlough, Miss White came with me
to act as matron. In the spring of 1914, after she had had
a year's language study, the boarding department was again
opened with three boarding pupils in No. 3 house. So during
these years of beginning we have lived in Chinese com
pounds; we've lived in foreign compounds; we've lived in a
compound by ourselves ; and we've lived in a compound with
our neighbors.

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 375

FORTY-SEVEN PUPILS HAVE ATTENDED: — From the open
ing of the school to the present time, we have, for one reason
or another, been compelled to refuse admittance to some
pupils. We long for the time to come when we may admit
all who wish to enter. Our attendance has nevertheless
steadily increased year by year, our average for the present
year being nineteen. During this year the total number of
pupils attending has been twenty-nine, two of whom are non-
missionary, five of other missions, and twenty-two of our
own Mission. Of these, twelve have been students in resi
dence. Since the school opened there have been, in all,
forty-seven pupils in attendance. The pupils vary in age
from seven to thirteen years.

MODES OF TRAVEL: — Some pupils come to school with
their parents, others travelling by themselves or with a
Chinese servant. They ride in sedan chairs carried by two
or three men, or occasionally they travel horseback.

COURSE OF STUDY: — Our course of study includes read
ing, composition, grammar, history, arithmetic, dictation
and spelling, writing, geography, art, singing, physical cul
ture, nature study, hygiene, sewing and music. The more
important subjects are taught daily to each grade separately,
others are taught two or three times a week and some even
less often. Some subjects, as writing, drawing, singing,
physical culture, nature study and hygiene are taught to all
pupils as one class. Some subjects receive necessarily much
less attention than could be given in a graded school or than
in an ungraded school with more teachers.

EXAMINATIONS AND TESTS : — The first pupil of this school
to take the Entrance Examination to the High School was
Winnifred Service, who wrote on it in June, 1916. She
passed with honors. Written examinations are given at
intervals. Keports of the pupils' efficiency in the several
subjects are sent to the parents at the end of each term. In
all teaching the emphasis is placed, not so much on the
amount of knowledge imparted or acquired, as upon the
degree of development attained in the art of acquiring know
ledge. We have had pupils from eight different Missions, as

376 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

well as some non-missionary. They are also of varied
nationalities and will in the near future attend schools of
various kinds. It is therefore obvious that no course of study
can be followed that will produce pupils already adjusted
to whatever schools they may attend. The aim, therefore, is
to produce pupils who can readily adjust themselves to any
curriculum.

ASSISTANCE IN TEACHING: — Several missionaries have
kindly and graciously assisted in teaching — Mrs. C. R. Cars-
callen, Mrs. C. B. Kelly, Mrs. Homer Brown, and Mr. Brace.
Dr. Lindsay has given the children a course of lectures in
oral hygiene, and Mrs. Brace has taught piano for three
years.

Music : — While home on furlough I was enabled to obtain
the Kindergarten Music Course, which is a year's prepara
tion to the piano, and I have therefore been able to teach it.
Thirteen pupils have completed the course and six more are
taking it.

HOME-LIFE AND HEALTH : — The privilege of ministering
to the home life of the pupils in residence is increasingly a
joy to Miss White. Regular hours for meals and retir
ing are observed. Nourishing food is carefully selected.
Clothing is suitably changed to meet the needs of the child
and the weather. The health of both day-pupils and those in
residence has on the whole been excellent. Dr. C. W. Service
has been the medical attendant.

CHARACTER : — But more than by the mental or the physi
cal have our hearts been made joyful by the development of
that alone which will be taken to their eternal home —
character. The enriching in character and the leading of
these young lives Godward has been a joy indeed. The aim
in this regard is to enable the child to do the right when by
himself, even amid temptation. This seems especially neces
sary when one remembers that these children, possibly
earlier than many, may be separated from home and parents.
The spirit that is developing is indicated by what I heard a
senior boy say one day, " We want to do right because it is
right/'

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 377

OLD PUPILS : — Another very interesting feature is, that
pupils who have left us even six years ago still remember
and write to us. One of these is never satisfied with less than
100 per cent, in her work, another is head of his class, while
another, already a gold medalist, has decided to enter the
ministry and return to China.

LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF THE NEW SCHOOL: — The
central part of our new school building is now erected. For
financial reasons only this part can be erected at present.
In this building we will have accommodation for thirty
pupils. On the afternoon of Friday, December 17th, 1916,
the corner stone of this building'was laid. The members of
our Mission and the parents of pupils attending the school
were present. Rev. C. R. Carscallen acted as chairman and
the honor of laying the stone was given to the principal of
the school.

THE NEW GROUNDS NEEDED : — We long to get outside the
city to our new compound. The children want to plant their
own seeds and see them grow ; they want a gymnasium ; they
want a place in which to play all kinds of games ; they want
a class-room big enough that they will not step on the next
pupil's toes and knock the next pupil's elbow every time they
stand up; they want a place big enough so that all their
cousins who. want to come to school and live with them, may
come.

FUTURE HOPES : — Nor can we close our history without
expressing a few of the hopes that have lived with us and
grown with us since 1908 ; that the time may soon come when
our new building will be completed; that the staff may be
increased sufficiently to give to these pupils, who deserve it,
the best possible under these far-away conditions; and that
above all, this may be a home for each pupil and for each
member of the staff, yes, in the sense of a home being next
to Heaven itself — that this may be a place where education
stands in its true relation to character building, which is
the highest aim of life.

378 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

MEDICAL WORK.
C. W. SERVICE, B.A., M.D.

With the first contingent of Canadian Methodist mission
aries sent to West China in 1891, there were two doctors
and their wives. These were Dr. O. L. Kilborn and Dr. D. W.
Stevenson. Thus, from the beginning of our work, our
Missionary Society and our Church recognized the place
and the value of the medical arm of missionary service.
Only a few months after their arrival in Chengtu these
doctors began medical work, in November, 1892. They had
had less than six months' study of the language. They soon
found that the medical work was increasing so rapidly as to
crowd out all time for language study. They, therefore,
very wisely decided to close up the medical work and to
devote themselves solely to the great task of acquiring the
difficult Chinese language, .for without a good working
knowledge they could not satisfactorily carry on medical
work or engage in the very important work of preaching
the Gospel. In other words, they could not do the work
they came to China to do, for it is as necessary for doctors
(;o speak the language freely as it is for the preachers.

1894: FIRST FOREIGN HOSPITAL BEGUN IN CHENGTU:

Early in 1894 the erection of the first foreign hospital in
Chengtu was begun, on the street and site now occupied by
our present large medical plant. This was the small begin
ning of a steadily growing medical work.

1895 : MEDICAL WORK OPENED IN KIATING : — In February,
1894, Dr. Retta Gifford, of the Woman's Missionary Society,
and Dr. H. M. Hare, reached Chengtu, and shortly after
wards Dr. Gifford and Dr. Kilborn were married and went
immediately to Kiating, the second station of our Mission,
to open up work there. Property was secured and repairs
made, so that at the beginning of 1895 medical work was
started in Kiating, and was carried on for several months

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

379

THE CANADIAN METHODIST HOSPITAL, CHENGTU.

by the Drs. Kilborn. In May of that year the Drs. Kilborn
were removed to Chengtu, and Dr. Hare sent to Kiating.
Then came the riots, in May, 1895, which resulted in the
complete destruction of all our Mission property in both
Chengtu and Kiating. These riots were the result of wild
rumors chiefly connected with the medical work. All our
missionaries had to go down river, most of them to Shanghai,
the medical work was at a complete standstill, the hospitals
and dispensaries destroyed, but worst of all, Dr. and Mrs.
Stevenson had to return to Canada, and were unable to come
again to China.

Six YEARS OF SUCCESSIVE CHANGE: — Early in 1896 the
Drs. Kilborn returned again to Chengtu and began at once
to rebuild houses and church, and, in the early autumn, the
hospital. In November, 1896, Dr. Gifford Kilborn began
medical work for the Woman's Missionary Society in rented
Chinese buildings. In March, 1897, Dr. Hare returned to
Kiating and soon began the erection of a new hospital. In

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the winter of 1896-7 Dr. W. E. Smith arrived, and a year
later came Dr. K, B. Ewan. In July, 1898, Dr. Kilborn left
Chengtu for furlough and Dr. Smith was appointed to the
medical work in Chengtu. A year later Dr. Ewan was given
the medical work in Chengtu, and Dr. Smith was appointed
to itinerate among the outstations of the Chengtu Plain. In
July, 1900, owing to the Boxer uprising, all our missionaries
were ordered to the coast, so that our medical work was
interrupted for over a year. But the time was not wholly
lost, for our doctors, while in Shanghai, spent much time in
the study of the language. As Dr. Hare's furlough was
nearly due, he returned to Canada, and has not since
returned to China. In the spring of 1901, Doctors Kilborn,
Smith and Ewan returned as far as Chungking, where they
were compelled to remain until September, which time they
spent in language study. Then Dr. Smith went to Kia ting-
to re-open the evangelistic work and to do Avhat medical work
he could find time and energy to do. Dr. Ewan re-opened
the medical work in Chengtu, while Dr. Kilborn undertook
the church work in Chengtu. Fortunately the Mission prop
erty had suffered very little during the absence of the
foreigners, so that on their return regular work could be
begun at once.

KlATING ALSO HAS A CHEQUERED CAREER: — In October,

1902, Dr. W. F. Adams and Dr. C. W. Service reached
Shanghai, and, after a rather short and somewhat inter
rupted period of language study, were both appointed to
Kiatiug in 1901, where as novices they spent the first half-
year or more repairing and altering the Mission buildings.
Dr. Adams was given the evangelistic work of the station,
while Dr. Service was appointed to the medical work. In
this station there was an interval of over a year in which no
medical work was done, viz., from the time that Dr. Smith
left for furlough in March, 1903, until the early spring of
1905, when Dr. Service took charge of this department of
work. In March, 1909, Dr. Service left for furlough, and
again there was a break in the continuity of the Kiating

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS ^81

medical work, until Dr. Crawford assumed charge and re
opened the work in the spring of 1910, having spent the
intervening time in language study.

THE BOXER TROUBLE AND AFTER: — In the latter half of
1902 there occurred the West China Boxer troubles, which
greatly interfered with the normal development of the
medical work both in Chengtu and Kiating. It was not until
February of 1903 that the Chengtu medical work under Dr.
Ewan began to increase appreciably, so that the capacity of
the hospital and the strength of the missionary were taxed
to the utmost.

CHENGTU OFFICIALS GIVE $1,584 TO THE HOSPITAL: — On
Dr. Ewan's departure for Canada in April, 1904, Dr. Kilborn
took over the Chengtu medical work. There was no lack of
either in-patients or dispensary patients. Dr. Kilborn made
an attempt to place the need of a new hospital before some
of the officials, with the result that $1,584.43 gold was raised
towards land and buildings for purposes of hospital exten
sion. During the following year the Doctors Kilborn were
kept very busy in Chengtu.

MEDICAL HISTORY OF JENSHOW: — Dr. J. R. Cox arrived
in Chengtu in the spring of 1904. His first duty was to
study the language. In October, 1905, he went to Jenshow
as our pioneer medical missionary there, but being unpro
vided with drugs and suitable accommodation, no definite
medical work was undertaken. The autumn and winter
were taken up with study, and with the preparation of
accommodation for living, a dispensary, and a few patients.
Still a great deal of incidental medical work was done, as
many as twenty-five having come to the gate in one day to
seek attendance. In February, 1906, Dr. Cox was called to
another station to attend a fellow missionary who was seri
ously ill, and subsequently accompanied this missionary to
the coast. This, with the return trip, occupied several
months. Then in the autumn of 1900 he made a second trip
to the coast to escort a party of reinforcements up river.
Thus the real opening of the Jenshow medical work was

382 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

delayed until early in 1907. At first only dispensary work
could be carried on, but later the rooms formerly occupied
by a fellow missionary were used as wards for in-patients.
Both dispensary and hospital patients were not wanting
during the next two years, and much good work was done
despite the old, dark, insanitary buildings used. Dr. Cox
left Jenshow for furlough in November, 1908, and was fol
lowed by Dr. F. F. Allan. But, as there was no dwelling
accommodation, Dr. Allan and family had to occupy the
rooms which Dr. Cox had used as wards, with the result that
his medical work was limited to the dispensary. Dr. Allan
made active preparations for the erection of a new dwelling
so as to release their living rooms for use as wards once
more. It required not a little time, as is usual in China, for
Dr. Allan to complete the dwelling, so that it was some time
after his appointment to Jenshow that he was able to devote
his time and his energies to the work for which he came to
China.

WORK BEGUN IN A SMALL WAY IN JUNGHSIEN: — After
Dr. Smith's return from furlough early in 1905, he was
appointed to open the new station of Junghsien. As his
main work was the church and out-stations, he had little
time for medical work, yet at the hour of morning worship
each day he treated twelve hundred patients throughout the
year.

THE VERSATILE MEDICAL MISSIONARY: — In 1907 there
were six medical missionaries, but two of these had to be
placed in charge of evangelistic work because of shortage of
pastoral workers. These two were, Dr. Kilborn in Chengtu,
and Dr. Smith in Junghsien. Dr. Allan, still a language
student, was in March appointed to Penghsien to study. Is
it any wonder that the Special Council of 1907 requested the
Board to send six more doctors as soon as possible? More
stations were to be opened, and it was obvious that more
doctors would be needed in the near future.

DR. EWAN BUILDS THE BIG CHENGTU HOSPITAL : — On Dr.
Ewan's return from furlough early in 1906, he was appointed

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

383

DR. AND MRS. ALLEN AND THE HOSPITAL STAFF, JENSHOW.

to the task of erecting the new hospital in Chengtu, and at
the same time to give what time he could to the care of
patients. This was too heavy for any one man to undertake,
but the doctor undertook it, and carried it on for several
years, though much to the impairment of his health, which
necessitated his return to Canada for furlough before com
pleting his full term on the field. It was in April, 1907, that
the foundations for the new hospital were begun. Its erec
tion was slowly carried on, although there were about two
hundred men at work each day. In July a threatened break
down made a rest for Dr. Ewan absolutely necessary. For a
few weeks the patients left in the wards were cared for by
Dr. Allan. Had it not been for the active and efficient help
of Mrs. Ewan, the medical work in Chengtu would have had
to close completely.

A MEDICAL MAN THE ONLY MISSIONARY: — During the
first half of the year 1906, Dr. Service was our only mission
ary in Kiating, and had charge of both church and medical

384 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

work, much to the detriment of the latter. In July, an
evangelistic worker arrived, when the doctor was able to
devote himself more fully to his medical work. For several
years Mrs. Mortimore (nee Dr. Cassidy) gave frequent help
in the operating room.

DR. W. J. SHERIDAN IN CHARGE OF THE CHENGTU M. E. M.
HOSPITAL : — After the arrival of Dr. Cox, there was an
interval of three years before the next doctor came. Dr.
Allan arrived in West China in the spring of 1907. Then in
November, 1907, came Dr. W. Crawford and Dr. W. J.
Sheridan. Dr. Crawford spent his first year of language
study in Penghsien, then in March, 1909, moved to Kiating
for his second year of study, and, later, to take the place of
Dr. Service, who had gone on furlough. Dr. Sheridan, hav
ing spent two years of language study at Tzeliutsing, was
moved, in 1910, to Chengtu, in order to carry on medical
work for a year in the Methodist Episcopal Hospital, which
would otherwise have been closed. It was very fortunate
that we were able to place one of our doctors to work in this
way, as it entirely released Dr. Ewan for the task of erect
ing the hospital and the new hospital dwelling. It also
demonstrated that co-operative medical work is practicable
as well as economical.

MORE REINFORCEMENTS : — In the spring of 1909, Dr. A. J.
Barter and Dr. W. D. Ferguson arrived. Dr. Barter was
appointed to live in Penghsien for language study, and began
his medical work there early in 1911. Dr. Ferguson was
appointed to Luchow, and Avas also ready for medical work
early in 1911. In the spring of 1910, Dr. E. C. Wilford
arrived, and was sent to Tzeliutsing to live and to study the
language. He reached there after the departure of Dr.
Sheridan for Chengtu. He remained there until his furlough
in the spring of 1916.

MUCH VALUABLE TIME AND SKILL LOST IN BUYING, BUILD
ING, ETC. : — It was mentioned above that Dr. Smith in
Junghsien had gradually to give up most of his medical
work, although many patients sought treatment. It is

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 385

certainly not very pleasurable for any doctor, either for lack
of time or lack of strength, or because of pressure of other
work, to have to refuse to see patients, and yet every mis
sionary doctor in China has had that experience for longer
or shorter periods. Dr. Smith's great desire that Junghsien
should have a doctor who could give himself wholly to the
medical work of the station was fulfilled in the early spring
of 1910r when Dr. Cox returned from furlough. Dr. Cox was
appointed to Junghsien, and threw himself with zest into
the work of securing property for the erection of a hospital
plant. Here once again we see the lamentable fact of a
doctor ready for full work set at the task of securing prop
erty, re-modelling buildings, and erecting a plant in order
that he may begin his real work of ministering to the sick.
Almost all of our doctors have had to do this, owing to the
stress of circumstances and to the lack of workers. It is
exceedingly unfortunate that our doctors, after having spent
two years in language study, should again be forced to
abstain from medical work wholly or partially, for another
year or two, or even more, in order to prepare some place in
which to begin their real life work.

NURSES HAVE GREATLY STRENGTHENED THE MEDICAL
WORK: — Toward the end of 1908 our first nurses arrived in
West China (that is, the nurses attached to the General
Board). These were Misses Switzer and Plewman. This
was an event to which our doctors had long looked forward.
After all, what is a hospital without a trained nurse? That
is easily answered by anyone who saw the hospitals prior to
the advent of our trained nurses and their appointment to
the staff of some of. our hospitals. With what joy the news of
the appointment of these two ladies was received by all in our
West China Mission ! But on the way up river Miss Plewman
was taken so seriously ill that her immediate return home
was necessitated. This was a great disappointment. When, a
year later, two other nurses, Misses McNaughton and Wood,
came to the field, there was renewed rejoicing. But after a
time the latter decided that she would devote her life to

386 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

another ministry by uniting in marriage with one of our
ministers. Yet out of the four we had two left, and these
have faithfully served the Mission. Both have assisted in
the care of several of our missionaries when ill, but their
time has been mainly given to work in two hospitals, Miss
Switzer in Chungking and Miss McNaughton in Chengtu.
Miss Switzer was called on to accompany one of our sick
missionary ladies to Canada. Miss McNaughton left for
furlough in the spring of 1915, and returned to Chengtu in
November, 1916, where she is again attached to the staff of
the Chengtu Hospital.

THE L. M. S. MEDICAL WORK AND DR. WOLFENDALE ADDED
TO OUR MISSION: — Early in 1910 the territory, plant, and
work of the London Missionary Society were transferred to
the Canadian Methodist Mission. This added greatly to our
responsibility in this part of China. The large hospital in
Chungking belonging to that Society became ours. Dr.
Wolfendale, who had spent many years in charge of that
hospital, joined our Mission, and was appointed by our
Council to the same place. We were very fortunate in
receiving an experienced doctor to continue the work in a
large plant all ready for use. Dr. Wolfendale remained in
charge of that hospital until his furlough in 1913, when Dr.
Sheridan, who had just returned from furlough after the
Revolution, was placed in charge of the Chungking medical
work. He and Miss Switzer are still carrying on the work
there, which, under their sole administration, is very flour
ishing. The future of our medical work there is somewhat
uncertain, as there are now in progress negotiations looking
towards a union in medical work in Chungking, comprising^
the Methodist Episcopal General Board, the Women's Board,
and our own medical work.

LUCHOW MEDICAL WORK: — After Dr. Wolfendale's
return from furlough in 1915, he was appointed to medical
work in Luchow, which Dr. Ferguson had begun, but, as Dr.
Ferguson had returned to Canada at the time of the Revo
lution, there had been a rather long break in the Luchow

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

387

THE CANADIAN METHODIST HOSPITAL, CHUNGKING.

medical work until the arrival of Dr. Wolfendale. Fortun
ately for Dr. Wolfendale, his predecessor had erected a
splendid modern dispensary. Dr. Wolfendale found this
dispensary a very useful building during the recent Revolu
tion, when there were so many wounded soldiers brought to
him as a result of the several months of fighting in the
vicinity of Luchow. Luchow is an immense city, affording a
great opportunity for medical work, but on Dr. Wolfendale's
arrival he found neither hospital to work in, nor house to
live in. Thus he has to begin almost from the foundations
to build up a medical work, as so many of his younger con
freres have had to do. This is indeed regrettable, that an
experienced doctor should have to spend his time directing
the purchase and also the placing of bricks, stone, and
mortar.

THE REVOLUTION REVEALED THE WEAKNESS OP OUR
WORK: — In the summer of 1911 began the great Chinese
Revolution, which completely disorganized all of our Mis
sion work in West China. The doctors, together with the
other missionaries, were compelled to leave their stations,
some going as far as Shanghai, others whose furloughs were

388 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

nearly due, going home to Canada. One of the doctors who
returned to Canada has not come back to us. This loss of a
doctor was one of the ways in which our medical work was
prejudicially affected by the Revolution. Another aspect of
the case is this. With the exception of Chungking, where
Dr. Wolfendale was able to remain and to carry on his work,
the medical work in all our stations was necessarily com
pletely closed down. Why? Because there were, and still
are, no Chinese doctors to carry on this work when the
missionary doctor is absent. This strongly emphasizes one
of the greatest needs of our West China medical work, viz.,
ample facilities for missionary doctors to multiply them
selves by training young Chinese doctors. Our evangelistic
and our educational fellow workers have splendid facilities
for preparing Chinese associates and workers in their
departments, but the medical department has not been per
mitted to do this until very recently, and even now the
attempt made is very inadequate. Medical education cer
tainly needs greater consideration. Evangelistic and educa
tional work, during the Revolution, as far as possible, were
left in charge of Chinese workers who had been in training
under our missionaries, and in our University and other
schools. And, so well did they respond to the respon
sibility laid on them that, on the return of our missionaries
to their fields, affairs were found to be in a satisfactory con
dition with but very few exceptions.

DR. EWAN'S DETENTION AT HOME DEEPLY LAMENTED:—
The Mission Council held in Shanghai in the spring of 1912
designated Dr. Service to go to Chengtu as soon as possible
in order to open up medical work in the new hospital which
Dr. Ewan had nearly completed. Dr. Service reached
Chengtu in June, but as there was still much to be done on
the interior of the building before it was usable, only dis
pensary work was carried on for a few months. After the
completion of the hospital, a formal opening was held in
January, 1913, at which a number of the higher officials and
many other Chinese were present, Thus the great task of

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 389

erecting one of the best hospitals in China was ended after
about six years, which period includes, of course, times of
sickness and the Revolution. Up to the beginning of the
Revolution in the summer of 1911, Dr. Ewan gave himself
unstintedly to the building of this hospital, which will long
stand as a monument of the initiative, faith, perseverance,
and patience of the man who almost literally built himself
into this great structure. Unfortunately, Dr. Ewan has not
been able to return to West China on account of ill health.
Thus our medical work suffered another great loss, and just
at a time when we could ill afford to lose doctors from it.
Dr. Service has continued in the work of the Chengtu
Hospital until the present.

PHARMACY AND NURSE TRAINING BEGUN :— On the return
of our missionaries to West China after the Revolution, Mr.
E. N. Meuser, who had come into our work from another
Mission, and who had already spent two years at language
study, was appointed to the pharmaceutical department of
the Chengtu Hospital, and rendered valuable assistance
until his furlough in 1916. Then, not long after Mr.
Meuser's accession to the staff, Miss B. G. McNaughton was
appointed Lady Superintendent, to have charge of the
nursing department of the hospital. Under her able man
agement a Training School for male nurses was organized
and carried on with many ups and downs for several years,
until her furlough in the spring of 1915. Miss Ada Morgan
was appointed to take her place, and has carried a heavy
burden of responsibility in a rapidly developing medical
work. She merits a well-earned furlough, which is due in
the spring of 1917, when Miss McNaughton assumes charge
again. The Council of January, 1914, appointed Dr. C. B.
Kelly also to the Chengtu hospital staff. Dr. Kelly had
arrived in China during the Revolution, after which he spent
a year or more in Chungchow, as a language student. His
appointment was necessitated by the increasing medical
work among both Chinese and foreigners, as well as by con
sideration of the needs of the recently opened Medical
College.

390 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

DR. JONES' EARLY DEATH A GREAT Loss : — In the spring
of 1913, Miss Ada Morgan, nurse, and Doctors L. P. Jones
and E. K. Simpson reached West China. Miss Morgan spent
her two years of language study in Luchow, and was then
appointed to Chengtu hospital. Dr. Jones was stationed at
Kiating as a first year language student. During the year
he contracted a serious illness, which resulted in his death.
Thus another valuable life was taken, and our medical work
was left so much the poorer. Dr. Simpson shortly after
arrival was sent to Luchow for study and to care for the
health of the foreigners. There he remained until he was
removed to Penghsien to take the place of Dr. Barter, who
had recently gone on furlough. There he is now engaged in
full time medical work, but, unfortunately, with a very
inadequate plant, since the buildings used for dispensary
and hospital purposes are small, renovated Chinese
buildings.

SUCCESS ATTENDS THE MAN WHO " STICKS TO His JOB " :
—Early after the New Year, 1914, Miss Ella Dale, nurse,
and Dr. W. H. Birks, reached Chengtu, and spent their first
year in the language school. Miss Dale, during the spring of
1915, although still a language student, was called upon to
nurse some urgent cases of illness amongst our missionaries.
Later in the year she proceeded to Junghsien, to which
station Council had appointed her, for second year language
study. She is now acting as Lady Superintendent of the
new Junghsien hospital, and is working in conjunction with
Dr. Cox in the medical work of that station. Fortunately,
as a result of Dr. Cox's painstaking efforts, Junghsien has a
splendid hospital plant, including hospital, dispensary, and
foreign dwelling. The hospital has two large wings, so that
both male and female patients can be accommodated. Dr.
Cox has developed a very large medical work, and is known
amongst us a man who " sticks to his job."

READY FOR PRACTICE BUT No PLANT: — Dr. Birks, in the
spring of 1915, moved to Chungchow for his second year of
language study. Having now passed the stage of language

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

391

THE HOSPITAL STAFF, CHUNGCHOW.

student, he is ready to enter upon the full work of a medical
missionary, but, unfortunately, he too, like so many before
him, has no plant. He is now engaged at the task of erecting
a dispensary and a dwelling. Again we wish to repeat that
this kind of an experience is a great misfortune, since the
doctor, more than any other missionary, stands to lose a
great deal by such forced abstention from medical work,
especially after having already spent two years as a student
of the language, during which period he has very little time,
energy, or opportunity for medical work or medical reading.
BED CROSS WORK CENTERING IN TZELIUTSING: — In Janu
ary, 1915, Dr. A. E. Best, reached Tzeliutsing, where Annual
Council was in session. It was decided to leave him in that
station for his first year of language study. During his
sojourn there he rendered valuable assistance in Ked Cross
work, along with Dr. Wilford and Messrs. K. O. Jolliffe and
R. E. S. Taylor, at the time of the serious fighting between
the Northern troops, sent to Szechwan by President Yuan,
and the Yunnan troops, who were contending against Yruan's

392 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

assumption of the Emperorship. As Dr. Wilford left
Tzeliutsing for furlough early in 1916, Dr. Crawford was
moved from Fowchow to Tzeliutsing to take his place, and
Dr. Best was sent to Fowchow for his second year's language
study, and to attend to the medical needs of the foreigners.
Dr. Best has not yet entered upon his work as a doctor, but
in the near future he will be able to commence dispensary
work in the new dispensary building which has recently been
finished in Fowchow. Fowchow is a very large and import
ant city, on the Yangtse, below Chungking, and should be a
very advantageous place in which to carry on medical work.
TZELIUTSING ONE OF THE FEW STATIONS WITH AN ALMOST
COMPLETE PLANT:— Early in 1915, Misses S. Haddock and
L. G. Hartwell, nurses, reached Chengtu, where they spent
their first year of language study in the language school.
By the Council of 1916, Miss Haddock was appointed to
Tzeliutsing. After finishing her second year of study, she
has been appointed to the Tzeliutsing hospital as Lady
Superintendent. Dr. Crawford is now in that important
centre carrying on the medical work, and has also almost
finished the large, new hospital begun and brought far for
ward to completion by Dr. Wilford. The beginning of 1917
will probably witness the complete readiness of the hospital
for full work. Dr. Crawford is known amongst us as a
" hustler," and is a worthy successor of Dr. Wilford, who
spent his entire first term in that station. Dr. Wilford left
for Canada in the spring of 1916, for a well-deserved fur
lough. He was a most assiduous worker, and very versatile.
Not only did he begin and develop a very large medical work,
but he also cultivated the acquaintance, and secured the
interest and financial co-operation, of many of the wealthy
salt-well owners, who have subscribed several thousands of
dollars towards the erection of one of the largest and finest
hospitals in China. It is a commodious general hospital,
well adapted to the care of both male and female patients.
Tzeliutsing is one of the few stations in our Mission which
has an almost complete medical plant. It is to be hoped that

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

393

THE HOSPITAL AT TZELIUTSING.
The woman's ward at the right.

it will receive generous treatment, both in the way of equip
ment and staff.

A NURSE NEEDED FOR FOREIGNERS: — By appointment of
the 1916 Council, Miss Hartwell was left in Chengtu for her
second year with permission to assist in the nursing of
urgent foreign cases. Thus, the Council recognized the need
of such help in Chengtu, and the experience of the year has
confirmed the great need for every facility for handling
foreign cases. There has been a great amount of sickness in
Chengtu during the past year, so that the services of Miss
Hartwell had to be secured much more frequently than any
one had anticipated. It is very probable that there will be
ever increasing need for such nursing facilities in Chengtu,
as already not a few applications for admission to the hos
pital, or for a nurse in private homes, have had to be refused.

THE MODERN MEDICAL MISSION.

The work of modern medical missions may be summar
ized and tabulated as follows:—
1. THE ACTUAL CARE OF THE SICK AND THE SUFFERING.

(a) Itinerating. This was more common in the early
pioneer days; but it is unsatisfactory professionally.

394 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

( 6 ) Visits to homes of Chinese, in response to calls. This,
too, is quite unsatisfactory from the professional point of
view.

(c) Foreign practice, among foreign missionaries, busi
ness men, consuls, etc. In large communities, such as we
have in some stations, this practice consumes much time.

(d) Dispensary work. Tens of thousands of outpatients
are seen every year, and much suffering is relieved, yet pro
fessional results are far from satisfactory. The dispensary
affords opportunity for wide-spread Gospel seed-sowing; yet
its chief value is as a feeder to the hospital, to bring in in-
patients.

(e) Hospital work. It is in the thoroughly-equipped
and well-manned hospital that the doctor can do his best
work. Keligiously and professionally the opportunities and
results are far in advance of those in any other line of
medical work.

2. TRAINING OF NURSES.

Skilful doctors are handicapped without good nursing.
Non-hygenic hospitals are a reproach to Christianity. The
primary essential for training Chinese nurses is a properly
conducted hospital, and to secure this a sine qua non is a
foreign missionary nurse. Fortunately this need is being
met in our West China Mission. Our Board has sent us
seven nurses who are now on the field. Four of our hospitals
are already supplied with nurses. In the Chengtu hospital
a training school for male nurses has been established, with
eight or ten nurses now in training. One has just completed
his term of three years' training, and is the first male gradu
ate nurse in West China. In this way our missionary nurses
are able to multiply themselves.

3. MEDICAL EDUCATION.

After the foreign doctor had come to China and had settled
down to work he found that one of his first and greatest
needs was that of trained native assistants, and so he was
forced to undertake this training himself. Thus there

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

395

A "CHINESE DOCTOR" AND HIS ADVERTISEMENT OF "MEDICINES."

gradually grew up a number of one-man or two-men institu
tions for training native physicians. These proved altogether
inadequate and unsatisfactory. Thus grew the demand for
larger and better medical colleges, one of which we have now
as a department of our West China Union University. For
many years the idea of a medical college for West China has
been in the minds of our doctors, but it was only in 1914 that
these ideas fructified. Our Mission is now one of several
which are united in this young enterprise of training young
men of good character and fair education for the great work
of going forth as efficient healers amongst their fellow-
countrymen. To maintain a medical college of high standard
our Mission will need to give more generously of her doctors.
Surely in this case " the end will justify the means," and
generosity in this respect now will be rewarded richly in years
to come. The missionary doctor is not here merely to cure

396 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

individuals, but rather to cure conditions, and to do this on
a large scale he must be able to reproduce himself among
China's young men.

4. PUBLIC HEALTH, SOCIAL AND MORAL REFORM WORK.

An educational propaganda along the lines of personal,
domestic, civic and national hygiene and sanitation is one of
the crying needs of China, and one to which the China
Medical Missionary Association is devoting its attention.
This includes the education of the common people, the
students, the gentry, and the officials, on the evils of tobacco,
alcohol, immorality, self-pollution, gambling, etc. These are
lines of work in which doctors can work very effectively, and
in which some of our own have already evinced enthusiasm
and enterprise.

5. PHILANTHROPIC WORK.

Up to the present this work has been largely along the
lines of regular missionary activity. But this alone is not
sufficient to exhibit the "fullness of the gospel of Jesus
Christ." The Chinese Church needs to be familiarized with
the idea of philanthropy and benevolence. To this end
foreign missions should provide model institutions, not only
hospitals, dispensaries, and medical colleges, but also insti
tutions for the blind, the deaf and dumb, insane, incurables,
lepers, the aged, etc. Our Women's Missionary Society has
set us a good example in establishing their Chengtu Orphan
age. Many of us think that the time has come when we
should launch out along some of these lines.

6. MEDICAL RESEARCH.

This is a search into the deep and hidden mysteries of
many of the diseases of China. Much has already been done
by medical missionaries in China, but as a Mission we have
contributed very little. One of our greatest needs in West
China is a well-equipped and thoroughly up-to-date patho
logical laboratory in charge of one or two doctors who are

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

397

THE FIRST MEDICAL COLLEGE, STAFF AND STUDENTS, CHENGTU.
Standing, extreme left, Dr. C. W. Service; extreme right, Dr. O. L. Kilborn.

experts in such lines of work — in short, pathological and

research experts and specialists. This institution should

appropriately be a department of the West China Union
Medical College.

398

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

7. CO-OPERATION WITH CHINESE IN KED CROSS, PLAGUE,
FAMINE AND EPIDEMIC WORK.

Some of our doctors have, during the present year, ren
dered excellent service to the, Chinese Bed Cross Society
during the recent fighting and disturbances in several parts
of our province. As a result of this voluntary work much
favor has been won from the Chinese, and in some instances
substantial gifts of money have been made to our hospitals,
especially in Tzeliutsing. Drs. Wolfendale, Wilford, Craw
ford and Best did signal service along Bed Cross lines, while
the rest of our doctors also rendered more or less aid to
wounded as occasion required.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF MEDICAL WORK DONE SINCE THE

BEGINNING

Year

Dispensary
patients

In-patients

Special
patients

Grand total

Operations
of all kinds

1897 to 1912.
1913

102,336
38 504

2,034
1 151

1,566

CCC

105,936
AH 91 1

2,320

1914

66 828

1 861

1 ^Q^

4rU,£ll

7O 984

9o9

1915

83 767

2 8Q1

1 ^Qi

/U,£o4
oo oro

,802

1916

118 891

4 652

? 090

1 9fi 479

,o49

,14/

410,376

12,589

8,240

431,155

13,857

It will be noted that from the year 1892 to the year 1896
there are no statistics available, mainly because of their loss
in the riots of 1895.

Up to the year 1912 the medical statistics were not kept
in as good form as during recent years. Consequently, here
and there no figures were available.

In 1895 occurred the riots in West China. In 1900 was
the Boxer year. In 1911 and 1912 occurred the Kevolution.
During these years the missionaries had to leave West China.

For the above reasons, as well as for several minor
reasons, the statistics up to the year 1912 are not quite as
large as they would otherwise have been.

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 399

It will be noted with great satisfaction that since the
year 1913, when our missionaries returned to the field after
the Bevolution, the statistics of our medical work have
steadily increased, making it more apparent that fruition
has at last come for all the preparation of the first twenty
years of our mission work in West China.

OUR PRESENT MEDICAL MISSIONARY FORCE

Name Stations First arrived in China

F.F.Allan ................ Jenshow ................ December, 1906

A E Best ....... Fowchow ............... November, 1914

IxBarter.:::::: ......... Kiatii* ..... • ........... October, 1908

W. K.Birks ............... Chungchow ............. November, 1913

J.R.Cox .................. Junghsien .............. November, 1903

W. Crawford ............... Tzeliutsing ............. November, 1907

C.B.Kelly ................ Chengtu ................ ^arch IS?

0. L. Kilborn .............. Chengtu ................ November, 1891

R. G. Kilborn (nee Gifford) . . Chengtu ................ February, 1893

D. F. McKinley ............. Leaving for furlough .... October, 1910

M. Mortimore (nee Cassidy) In Canada .............. December, 1904

M. K. Neave (nee Killam) . . . Chengtu ................ February, 1897

C. W. Service .............. Chengtu ................ October, 1902

W.J. Sheridan ............. Chungking .............. November 1907

E. K. Simpson ............. Penghsien .............. February, 1913

W. E. Smith ............... Junghsien ............... September, 1896

E C Wilf ord ............... n Canada on furlough . . . November, 11

*«• Wolfendale

The three lady physicians are not appointed by Council
to definite work. Nevertheless they render invaluable
medical services. Dr. W. E. Smith has for many years been
engaged in evangelistic work.

OUR PRESENT NURSING FORCE

Miss M. E. Switzer ......... Chungking .............. Fall of 1908

Miss B. G. McNaughton ..... Chengtu ...... ..... ..... Fall of 1909

Miss Ada Morgan ........... Leaving for furlough .... Fall of 1

Miss Ella Dale. : ........... Junghsien .............. tail of 1913

Miss S. Haddock ........... Tzeliutsing ............. Fall of 1

Miss L. G. Hartwell ........ Chengtu ................ Fall ol 1

In addition to the above mentioned nurses, a number of
wives of missionaries are also trained nurses, and render
valuable help as occasion requires.

400 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

A SUMMAKY OF OUR C.M.M. MEDICAL WORK IN WEST CHINA

Station

Buildings

Beds

No. of
In-patients
in 1916

Doctors now
in charge

Penghsien . .
Cheng tu

Old Chinese buildings adapted
New brick hospital and dis
pensary for men only.

25
150

250

1 99Q

Dr. Simpson
Dr. Service and

T)-f "[Toll-ir

Medical college

ur. _h.eiiy

Dr Tnihnrn

Jenshow ....

Foreign ^house used as hospital
and dispensary

017

F)r Allan

Kiating

Small brick buildings erected
in 1896-7

Qft

0«>C

Junghsien ..

New brick dispensary and
hospital, with two wings,
for men and women

ur, Jt>arter

Dr PHY

Tzeliutsing .

New brick dispensary and
hospital. Women's wing
not complete

150

11 K

Luchow ....

^few brick dispensary

qen:

T)r WnHWirlolo

Chungking . .

Large two-story brick hospital
and dispensary, nearly 20
years old

Aft

001

Fowchow . . .

New brick dispensary

jji. onenaan

Dr Rpet

Chungchow..

New brick dispensary nearly
completed

T)-t* Riflrc

PHARMACY.

E. N. MEUSER^ PHM.B.

There is much routine work round a hospital that, in the
absence of someone else, falls on the doctor. If he could be
relieved of this, his work for his patients could be both more
intensive and extensive. With trained Chinese the doctors
could obtain much relief, but until that time comes there is
need for a foreigner to supervise the dispensing and drug
department of our hospitals. Partly because of this need of
supervision of his work, and partly because of his natural
propensity to make money by selling the wonderful foreign
medicine to his friends, the Chinese dispenser must be under
a foreigner's direction. With these and other things in view,
the Board sent out a trained pharmacist in 1908, Mr. M. A.
Brillinger. Owing to the fact that the Chengtu hospital was
not finished, he was drafted into the Business Agency at

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 401

Chungking, where he did good work, among other duties, in
purchasing drugs for use in all our hospitals. Later another
pharmacist was engaged who had already spent a year on
the field, Mr. E. N. Meuser. I took up the work in Chengtu.
My time has been occupied as hospital treasurer as well as
pharmacist. This has lifted from the doctors there, who have
a large foreign missionary practice as well as Chinese, a
great deal of work.

A SCHOOL OF PHARMACY NEEDED : — The doctors in stations
other than Chengtu are not so fortunate in having the assist
ance of a foreigner in this department and depend on Chinese
whom they have trained themselves. It is the intention to
open a school of pharmacy in connection with the medical
college in Chengtu, to give these men a better training than
is possible where there is only a busy doctor to give it. In
this work the pharmacist in Chengtu will be of great assist
ance in providing trained pharmacists.

MAY MANUFACTURE MANY OF OUR OWN DRUGS : — It was
thought at one time that it would be worth while manufac
turing many of the drugs used here in West China. Medi
cinal herbs are found in abundance, especially on the high
land towards Tibet. For one reason or another this has not
been done, and it yet remains to be seen whether it is feasible.

DENTAL DEPARTMENT.
A. W. LINDSAY, L.D.S., D.D.S.

The Dental Department of the West China Mission was
inaugurated in the year 1907 by the appointment of the
writer to that field. To-day the Department has two
dentists on its staff and is housed in well-equipped buildings.
A large Chinese practice has been built up, and the mission
ary and commercial communities of the province have been
cared for; whilst, in addition to this, we have a promising
class of dental assistants in training, and we are experienc
ing an ever-increasing demand for dental graduates. As we

402 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

thus review the nine years' growth of the Department we are
impelled to express our gratitude to the Quebec Methodist
Church for its splendid and timely support in the beginning,
for without it it is greatly to be doubted whether there would
be any Dental Department to-day. The Mission Board is
also to be congratulated on the step it took, though maybe
with some daring; which but proved again that Canadians
are not bound to follow beaten paths, for at the time of my
appointment, as far as was known, no other Mission had set
a precedent in making dentistry a direct agent in its propa
ganda.

AN EXPLANATION: — To write more than a bare outline
of the history of this branch of work it will be imperative
that I be somewhat personal, for a Department consisting of
but two men does not allow of much latitude. If anything
has been accomplished, one or the other of us is responsible,
and it was my privilege to be the first man on the field. With
this prelude, then, allow me to start the narrative with my
appointment.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES PRIOR TO APPOINTMENT : — In my
college days, at the instance of Mr. E. W. Wallace, I
became acquainted with the work of our Mission in West
China. And, being interested in missions generally, the call
came to me to spend my life in that field, and in the fall of
1906 I made application to the Board of Missions to be
appointed to do dentistry there. The Board promptly
turned me down. They, however, made the proviso that if I
would graduate in medicine I might then secure my appoint
ment; but this I was unwilling to do. This, in all proba
bility, would have been the end of the beginning had it not
been for Dr. Fred Stephenson, that bridge between the old
and young, who had become interested and kept in touch
with me. In a conversation I had with him, at one time, he
made the suggestion that should I be able to secure my own
support the Board might be led to reconsider their decision.
With this in mind, during the Christmas holidays, I made

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

403

A. W. LINDSAY,
L.D.S., D.D.S.

So far as known Dr.
Lindsay was the first
dental missionary sent to
the foreign field.

H. J. MULLETT, D.D.S.

J. E. THOMPSON, D.D.S.

enquiries of my home church. They agreed to undertake my
support should I be accepted, and on my return to Toronto
I again applied to the Board with this offer as a lever. Their
reply was not altogether favorable, but not altogether nega
tive. I was requested to " wait a little." In the meantime
Drs. Sutherland and Carman were commissioned to make
careful inquiries while in Shanghai attending the Centenary
Conference, to discover whether a dentist would have a
place in our Mission work. As a result, in the spring of
1907 I received my appointment as a " Medical missionary " ;
this, because at that time the Discipline of the Church only
allowed the appointing of evangelists and medical men to
the Mission work of our Church. But it was clearly under
stood that I was going to the field for dental practice. The
Board, to guard themselves, however, had me spend six
months in anaesthetics and minor surgery post-graduate

404 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

work, so that I would be sure to find enough to do during my
first years, for had it not taken years for the medical work
to become appreciated by the people ! Also, our missionaries
were at that time so few in numbers, they would require but
a small percentage of my time.

A WARM WELCOME WAITING: — In the autumn of 1907
we left Canada, and after a long and somewhat wearying
journey,, along which on several occasions with a small
travelling dental case I rendered "first aid," we reached
Chengtu the afternoon of March the 10th, 1908. The next
morning I met one of our Shanghai Centenary delegates;
who, after introducing himself, promptly informed me that
of the whole of our party there was no one he was so glad to
see as myself. If a man talked in that strain to-day I would
understand; then, I was young and innocent, and became,
naturally, rather elated! After a further few minutes' chat
he exhibited an upper denture which was on the point of
dividing into two separate and thus two quite useless parts.
My dental supplies had not arrived, nor, by the way, did they
do so for nearly a year! However, after a thorough search
through the limited equipment which Dr. Adams had brought
out with him, I discovered a vulcanizer and some* dental
rubber. I found gypsum to be procurable locally, bought
it, baked it, and made a usable plaster of paris, and in a
day or two was able to return that denture — whole — to
an ever after enthusiastic Dental Department supporter.
For if this Department had not arrived on the field at this
very opportune moment he would have had to wait weary
weeks while that denture travelled by slow post to Shanghai
and return, which would neither have been good for his
digestion nor his disposition.

LANGUAGE STUDY DELAYED: — According to Mission rul
ing, everyone is expected to spend the first two years exclus
ively at the study of the language. This requirement is
strictly adhered to, except under peculiar circumstances ; and
I, unfortunately, got into the peculiar class and vaiijly en-

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

405

THE DENTAL BUILDING, CHENG-TU.

deavored to discover a method by which those requiring
dental attention could be kept away. For there were many
Europeans in the province who had not had oral care for
from one to eight years, and I was soon compelled to give up
half a day of my study.

EARLY DENTAL AND OTHER " PARLORS " : — My operating
room was a small room in the old hospital building; the
waiting room, Mrs. Ewan's sitting room, quite near; and
the laboratory a shed in the small Chinese compound in
which we then lived; and to let you into the secret of the
disadvantages under which a pioneer may have to work I
will give you a description of it. The building could hardly
have had the status of a third rate woodshed in Canada.
The floor was of mud, literally so when it rained, and the
rafters (for there was no ceiling) were as black as the soot
and creosote of many years of open fires could make them.

406 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

The roof was of poorly laid burned earthen tiles, with their
many cracks and leakages. The front of the room was com
posed of a Chinese paper-covered lattice window; the back
of the room was a damp, badly repaired, mud compound wall,
which only reached part way to the roof, dividing the room
from a noisy Chinese tenement compound whose tenants
seemed to live constantly in an atmosphere of bickerings and
loud family disputes. One end of the shed was occupied
with our household supply of coal, wood and shavings ; at the
other end were piled the broken, unusable pieces of Chinese
furniture belonging to the rented house in which we lived.
I worked in the centre, somehow. Fortunately this was used
but for a year, when I was able to have more satisfactory
quarters. These, now, consisted of an operating room built
on the end of the verandah of the house into which we then
moved, and the work rooms were the two rooms adjoining.
This had one great drawback, and that was, that still we
lacked a waiting room; or, as is necessary in China, two,
one for men and one for women : and so for three years and a
half our private sitting-room had to be requisitioned for that
purpose.

A FIRST CHINESE PATIENT : — I have mentioned the great
number of Westerners who required my services, but their
need was not the only hindrance to my acquiring a grasp of
the language, for my presence was soon discovered by the
Chinese, who also desired and needed attention. Before my
arrival an old friend of Dr. Kilborn's had brought his
daughter to him, asking for treatment for a badly diseased
jaw. The doctor explained that a dentist was then on his
way up river and suggested to them that they await his
coming. I had not been long in the city when these people
learned of it, and came again to Dr. Kilborn, who asked me
as a special favor to see these Chinese friends of his; for I
was not supposed to touch the Chinese work until I had
acquired a little, at least, of the language. On examination
I found that she had an alveolar abscess of ten years' stand
ing. There was a large loss of bone and a constant, very

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 407

unhealthy flow of pus. She was very ansemic and dis
couraged, having taken a great deal of Chinese medicine ( ? )
without any improvement. Fortunately, with the extraction
of a few teeth and thorough curetting, improvement was
rapid, and before long she was a well woman, much to her
delight. She and her family were asked not to mention the
fact that I had cured her, for at present my duty was to
study the language. But doubtless the improvement in her
health made it difficult for them to keep the secret, for sub
sequent facts proved that most of the patients that sought
my services spoke of her recovery, or in some way mentioned
that they knew the " Wang family."

THE VICEROY'S NIECE: — For some time I managed to
keep free from most calls, but they gradually became more
insistent and numerous, thereby demanding a large amount
of my time. It was at this point that another interesting
event took place. I had found it necessary to refuse out-
calls on account of the great amount of time consumed in
these and the unsatisfactory conditions under which work
would have to be done. This position of mine caused a great
deal of dissatisfaction among the women patients of the
wealthy and official classes, as they are practically never
allowed to leave their compounds. Perhaps my position
would have been unwise at that time, the commencement of
the dental work, but for the fact that my steady insistence
on the rule caused the Viceroy to send his niece to me with
a severe case of necrosis of the lower jaw. Her many trips
to my office, accompanied by a large retinue of servants and
soldiers, could not but be noticed and discussed on the
streets ; and from that time on I had but little trouble in this
respect, for what one of the ladies of the highest official
household could do, the others accepted as " good custom."

DR. THOMPSON JOINS THE STAFF: — In the spring of 1910,
Dr. J. E. Thompson arrived in Chengtu, not appointed to
the Dental Department, but as a Y.M.C.A. worker. The
doctor and myself had been college friends. We had done
some work together in the College Y.M.C.A. and had many

408 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

times discussed the Mission field, more especially after my
own appointment; but his being an Anglican and holding a
preference for India seemed to preclude our ever being in
the same Mission. But he found on application to his
Church Mission Board that they could not see their way
clear to appoint a dentist on their missionary force. Some
time after this the doctor met Dr. T. E. Egerton Shore at a
Summer Conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and there con
sulted with him regarding the situation. Dr. Shore informed
him of the need of a Y.M.C.A. worker in our West China
Mission, and suggested that, if he should wish it, our Board
would probably accept him in that capacity, and then as the
need arose transfer him to the Dental Department. Dr.
Thompson agreed to this proposal, transferred his member
ship to the Methodist Church and was appointed to the
China field. Because of the rapid growth of the Dental
Department, the 1911 Council assigned him to the Dental
Staff, with the work of taking a dental itinerary that year.
Unfortunately, the Eevolution prevented the trip, and after
a summer at Douglas Heights, where he was able to do a
little for the missionaries gathered there, without being able
to return to his home he had to proceed down river.

OFFICES AND DWELLING ERECTED: — The 1909 Council
passed estimates for the building of a dental residence and
dental offices, but it was not until the spring of 1911 that a
suitable site was found. I started the building in March
and continued it with some interruption on account of the
summer heat and the disturbances of the Revolution, until
November, when we moved into the house — only to remain
two weeks. The dental offices had been completed and in
use for some time.

ON FURLOUGH: — On our arrival in Shanghai we found
that Dr. Thompson, who had arrived at the coast some time
earlier, had been authorized to buy a dental outfit, such as
could be procured in the Japanese dental houses, and was
attending to the oral health of those of our Mission who had
come down from Szechwan. After a stay of some months in

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 409

Shanghai, our 1907 party were furloughed home; and after-
assisting for a short time in the famine relief work in Anhwei
province, we proceeded to Canada. While there I enjoyed
a winter of postgraduate work, and in the fall of 1913
returned to China.

THE TRAINING OF CHINESE DENTISTS STRESSED: — Dr.
Thompson had again reached Chengtu near the end of
December, 1912, and in January, 1913, opened the dental
offices, which had been closed for one year. His practice for
the next year was large, and kept him very busy. On my
return I found that there was a movement on foot to open a
second Dental Department, viz., at Chungking, to care for
the eastern section of our field. This idea had arisen through
the fact that on my return there would be two dentists in
Chengtu and the keen desire of the eastern section to have
a dentist near at hand. Fortunately for the future of the
Dental Department this project did not succeed. I believe
that the dental policy should be one of concentration for the
present. This because of the difficulty of securing dental
volunteers for the Mission Field, and because of the reiter
ated statements of the Council that we should train dental
students, which training can be accomplished only by con
centrating our forces for some years to come.

CHINESE ASSISTANTS GIVE VALUABLE AID : — In the fall of
1915 the Mission found it advisable to grant Dr. Thompson's
furlough because of a series of more or less severe illnesses;
thus again reducing the staff to one man, with a two-man
clientele; which, but for the increasing ability of the dental
assistants, could not have been maintained during the last
two years.

Six STUDENTS Now IN TRAINING: — Just a word about
these assistants. On my return from furlough I saw that it
would be necessary to have trained helpers and mechanics
to provide for the growth of the department and the future
development of the profession. To this end I took a number
of students who were willing to embark on a new profession
and started to train them. Their number has increased until

410

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

THE PRESENT DENTAL APARTMENTS, WITH A GROUP OF
DENTAL STUDENTS.

we have six in the class. The period of training as I now
have it will be a four years' one. They are studying the
regular Union Educational School Course at night school,
and spend their days in the laboratory and at the operating
chair. Some of these students, on completing their four
years' course, will continue their school work, full time, and
become full-fledged dentists; others will take positions as
assistants, as mechanical dentists, and demonstrators in
dental prosthetics.

A DOZEN OTHERS ON THE WAY : — At the present time, in
the West China Union University and in middle school out
side the city, we have ten students who are receiving assist
ance from either Dr. Thompson or myself with a view to
their entering the dental profession. We have also two in
the primary school. Of course time and capabilities and
chance may lessen this number, but we reason there may be
also certain recruits, and we hope to have a good showing
when we are granted by the Senate the right of opening a
dental college.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 411

THE DEMAND FOR CHRISTIAN DENTISTS: — As I view the
possibilities of the future for dentistry in China, I believe
that it is potentially a mighty evangelizing force not to be
ignored. It is my hope that our Mission will grasp the
opportunities, and that it will make the fullest use of such
a promising beginning. There is no department of our
Mission work that has had greater success in so short a time.
There is no function that medical missions fulfil as a Chris
tian force that dental missions cannot lay claim to, and
perhaps with the added consideration that it is having the
benefit of the experiences and failures of the medical branch ;
and again, because it is having its inauguration in an era
of progress and enlightenment, and the limits of its influence
will be those that we ourselves put upon it. Our hope is to
train Christian dentists who will be able to alleviate, in
some measure, the pain and suffering of their own people,
and by their practical Christianity raise the standards of
social and Christian life in their communities. What may
we not expect of a community in which the best educational,
medical and dental men are Christians? Anything short of
this will mean an agnostic or atheistic China, for she is
demanding and will have all the sciences. Our opportunity
is to see that they are Christ-filled. May our vision be
broad, and may we with foresight make good use of the
many doors of opportunity which at this present time are
open to us !

412

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

THE FIRST PRESS, KIATING.

THE MISSION PRESS.

S. P. WESTAWAY.

Some parts of Mission work are self-evident, considered
as integral with any and all propagation of the Gospel ; such
are the work of the pastor, and the doctor. Few Missions in
the foreign field consider that either of these is dispensable,
but there are few Missions that consider it their duty to
provide Mission presses for the printing of the Word. It
is therefore little to be wondered at that when the protagon
ist of our Mission work in West China saw the work that
our Mission should initiate in this part of the Empire, he
should have but little encouragement in his views regarding
the establishment of a Mission Press. True there were some
who held strong views in the opposite direction. But where
the vision is clear there is often the opened way. So after
some difficulty, a few machines, a few fonts of type and a
Chinese printer from Shanghai were brought up the great
river and installed in a small building in the city of Kiating.
Dr. Virgil C. Hart in starting this branch of the work here
urged the opening on a double ground, first that the nearest

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 413

supply of books was at Hankow, a long and dangerous
journey from our field of work, and secondly, the vision of
the large use that printed work would be put to in the future.

AN EARLY ENCOURAGEMENT: — Already the West China
Religious Tract Society had had difficulty in getting its
supply up from Hankow, and when that Society heard that
the Canadian Methodist Mission was beginning to plan a
press in West China, they began to turn their thoughts here
for their own supply, an evident greater convenience. That
was a first encouragement. From the beginning the West
China Religious Tract Society sent some of its work to this
infant publishing house of the West, and from the beginning
the capacity of the institution was taxed, for the work was
well printed, even then.

WORKERS CHANGE BUT THE WORK CONTINUES : — Dr. Hart
always took a fatherly interest in this special department,
attending to the work amid his other endeavors. He was
not conversant with the technique of printing, neither was
there then any Canadian Methodist missionary who was at
all trained in this regard. But where experience and train
ing were lacking there was no lack of sympathy and help in
what had begun to look like an appreciated endeavor. So
from time to time Mr. Endicott was to be found in the Press
doing his bit to help. When the time came for Dr. Hart to
leave China, on his earnest request Mr. Endicott was
appointed to look after the future of the institution. This
choice was a fortunate one. His enthusiasm was turned
into this channel, and the result was what might have been
wholly expected. With Dr. Hart at home telling of the
prospects and needs of this work, and Mr. Endicott on the
field, the work continued to advance. When the time came
for the using of the financial aid given by the Canadian
Methodist young people, Mr. Endicott started the work of
the new building in Chengtu. To this new site the plant
and some of the employees moved in 1905.

ENTHUSIASM IN LIEU OF TECHNICAL TRAINING:— Up to
this time there had been no missionary who had had techni-

414 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

cal training to superintend the work of this new and unusual
branch of work, but good results had been secured to the
Mission through the enthusiastic goodwill and inspirited
missionary zeal of those who could see its present use and
its future successes. Then came the new era.

EXPERIENCE BRINGS ENTERPRISE :— In that year, too, the
Rev. Jas. Neave was appointed to the work of the Press. He
brought with him a knowledge of the printing work, stereo
typing, and some machinery. And English type was then
added to the plant. So in 1906 the first English work was
done in West China. To train young men in the use of a
font of type, the use and meaning of which were new to them,
was no little task. But the attendant difficulties and the
unavoidably ludicrous settings were met and corrected.
Account ruling was taught, and at the same time a greater
use was made of foreign paper for the use of the English
type, and to satisfy the greater demands upon the press. A
wider range of work was asked for. The former work, done
almost entirely upon the paper produced locally, was con
sidered as not a good index of the great work the Press was
doing. From 1899 the West China Missionary News was
published, first by duplicator, then by printing done in
Chungking. Later, when our Press was in a position to take
it on, it was given to the Press to do. The work has from
that time to the present been a great boon to all the mis
sionaries.

TIBETAN AND MIAO LANGUAGES BEGUN : — About this time,
too, there were added the Tibetan and Miao types to the lan
guages already in use. These were also new and difficult of
use at the beginning. Care and patience were required in
the training in this work. These were busy days when the
men were taught the use of the ruling machine, the use of
the stereotyping plant, the English type, and a little later
the Tibetan and Miao types. But where vision and enthusi
asm were required before, now the new elements of care and
patience were needed more. The first instruction received
has left its marks. The foundation has in these latter years

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

415

OFFICIALS AND MISSIONARIES AT THE OPENING OF THE PRESS, CHENGTU.

been built upon, and the work is stronger for the past. One
stops to think sometimes of the trouble that might be en
countered in a similar institution at home in the training of
men in such a variety of branches as those we have men
tioned, particularly when these are all foreign to any
previous training they had received. So we recall with pride
the initial technical development accorded the Press
employees.

A GROWING INSTITUTION DEMANDED AN INCREASED STAFF :
— In 1907, when the call for a missionary trained in the
work of printing was heard at home, another missionary,
this time one to give his full attention to the work of the
Press, was sent out. Thus the first call for a special mission
ary other than a pastor, doctor or dentist (the latter under
the head of medical work), or an ordained man for educa
tional work, was for a printer. In that year, Mr. S. Percy
Westaway came to the work. Two years were spent in the
usual language study, and then the work of the Press was
attempted. At that time, too, early in the year 1910, Mr.

416 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Endicott left on furlough. A year later another printer was
appointed, Mr. T. Edgar Plewman. Mr. P. Murray Davis
arrived in the year 1912, and entered the Press in 1914. We
are proud to think that while Mr. Endicott did not return to
China, it was one so intimately connected with the work of
the Canadian Methodist Mission Press who was chosen for
the office of the General Secretary of Foreign Missions.

EXPANSION IN ALL DEPARTMENTS MADE DEMANDS ON THE
PRESS: — During all these years the Press was not the only
branch of missionary endeavor that was growing. The work
of the pastors, the work of the doctors, the great hospitals
that have been set in operation, the many schools attended
and supervised by the various educational workers, each was
making its advance. Each advance had its corresponding
effect upon the Press.

THREE PROMINENT PATRONS: — One of the first to appre
ciate the work that the Press was doing for West China was
the American Bible Society. They, along with the West
China Tract Society, early sent that part of their work
wanted for this section of the field to Kiating. They are
still ardent patrons of the institution. Later the Distribu
tion Fund of the Bible House of Los Angeles has been
sending us their work for this field. These three are the
largest publishing patrons that the Press boasts, but are by
no means all.

A COMPARISON OF PAST AND PRESENT : — If you happen to
have a copy of the West China Conference Keport, 1908, and
look at it in the light of what we have said above, that is,
that the English type was first installed in the Press and the
first typesetting in that language done in 1906 (to say
nothing of the book-binding, a part of which was likewise
initiated the same year), one will get some idea of the care
ful training and supervision that was necessary to the
successful completion of that work, and some of the limita
tions overcome. But now the foreign book-binding work of
the Press is not a negligible factor. Its work is growing and
the quality of its output is highly advanced to what it was

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

417

THE BAND AT THE OPENING OF THE PRESS, CHENGTU.
Note foreign instruments.

then, almost ten years ago. But this is but one instance of
the varied calls there are upon the talents of the missionaries
in the Press and their staff. It would be difficult to find
anywhere at home an institution that carries on such a
variety of work and for such a variety of purposes and tastes.

NOT YET PERFECT BUT EFFICIENT : — It would not be inter
esting to the average reader to tell of the development of the
technical work in the Press or the evolution of the systems
by which the work is operated, but during the time that the
Press has been working all those that have had to do with it
have added their quota to the whole, till now we feel that
while perfection is by no means reached, yet we have attained
to a fair degree of efficiency.

A NEW WING ADDED IN 1913: — Many changes would be
noticed by a person who had seen the work ten years ago.
Ten years ago the bulk of the work in Chinese was done
on Chinese paper, locally produced; now the greater part
is done on imported stock. To fill the need and demand of

418 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

those who were using the Press we had to supply a stock of
foreign papers. The amount secured has yearly increased.
To house such a stock an addition to the building was neces
sary. In 1913 this substantial addition was made, allowing
for the placing of the English composing room on the ground
floor. This section of the building is built so as to allow the
same ample light as is afforded in the main building. The
room that was then secured for paper stock is kept well
supplied for the anticipated orders. Being so far from the
source of supply, it is a point to be remembered that the
institution must not allow itself to lack the wherewithal to
supply any demand that may be made upon us, — as well may
a pastor be not ready to preach the Word. These papers,
these inks, these machines are the necessaries to our pro
clamation.

AN ELECTRIC PLANT INSTALLED: — But this is not the
only way in which we have tried to breast the wave of
advance. In the last few years — it seems a long time — we
have been planning to install an electric plant to drive the
machines, and thus secure greater output, again to meet the
need. Owing to the war this wras delayed, as there were some
parts that were cut out of the order when the war inter
vened. But it is ready now and will soon be in operation.
This will enable the Press to still further measure up to all
that we may be asked. While this electric plant is not a
very large one, yet it is ample for our needs and expansion is
possible.

LITHOGRAPHING MACHINERY ALSO " MAKING GOOD " : —
It was in 1911 that the lithographing machinery was bought,
but it has had but limited use until the present year,
owing to the large demand on my time in the other and
older parts of the work. This year, however, the work is
really operating to the full and we are doing fair work. Wre
are looking to great developments in this work in the near
future. Already several pieces of color work have been
attempted, and others of a still finer nature are in prospect.
The Chinese have a sense of the artistic all their own, and

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

419

420 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

to appreciate and develop it we are using this means, and
through it we hope to still better do His work. The Chinese
are highly appreciative of a colored picture, and this should
be a means to reach them. Then again there are those Mission
institutions that are constantly requiring certificates, di
plomas, and engraved work of various kinds. If these things
cannot be secured here, they must be ordered from Shanghai
or from the homeland, which method is very unsatisfactory
from many standpoints.

MANY AVENUES_, BUT A GREAT WORK STILL TO BE ACCOM
PLISHED : — So far we have tried to tell you of what we have
tried to do here in the building. There will be those who
will want to know whether the Press is a necessity. First
there is the great missionary body here in these three, yes,
four provinces of the West. These number about four hun
dred. They have to be supplied from somewhere with tracts
and all the printed work that is necessary for the proper
carrying on of a continued evangelistic campaign. These
comprise the churches, the hospitals, the schools, the guilds
and clubs, and the Y.M.C.A. We have already mentioned
the American Bible Society and the West China Religious
Tract Society and the Distribution Fund for whom we print,
and the product sent out through their agents. But these
that I have mentioned are no more than the means by which
we speak to the people. These are the arms by which we
reach; we are no more effective than the pastor, the doctor,
the educationist, the secretaries and colporteurs can make
us. The end we wish to attain is the placing of all that we
do in the hands of the people. You have heard that the
Chinese are a reading people. They are. First they read
the life as led among them. There are no people so quick to
see and know by actions. Then they read books, yes, they
read books and those who cannot read for themselves secure
the assistance of those who can, and they read, — but it has
been worked out that at the present rate of output of the
Canadian Methodist Mission Press alone, and everyone read
ing a single page, it would take thirty years for everyone

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 421

CHINESE.

John,,,: 16.
MIAO TRIBESMEN.

Tn OH'? Tn T- Toe (
> ( n Lf T- Tw f C

3 II ro

U (C ( 1W J? HA +? A®

U 9 D

T" Hoc y^ L Tn'

John III : 16.
TIBETAN.

'%fl^^

ENGLISH.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. John 3: 16

SAMPLE OF THE FOUR LANGUAGES IN WHICH WE PRINT AT OUR
PRESS IN CHENGTU.

here in these three Western provinces to have received and
read one page. There is thus a great work to be done. These
are not a people of a single tongue. There are the Chinese
who read and write Chinese. There are Miao who read and
write the Miao script that Rev. Samuel Pollard invented.

422 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

There are those tribes who are reading a romanized script.
There are the Tibetans and the Tribesmen. In all these
languages the Press passes out the Word, and does its share
of direct evangelism.

MILLIONS OF PAGES MONTHLY FLOW FROM THE PRESSES : —
And how much work has the Press been able to do? It was
sending out in 1909 and 1910 about a million pages of
printed matter a year. Gradually it has increased until it
has reached the high total of three and a half millions in
one month. An average of about three million pages of
printed work go out every month to the various people of
this great West! And this is not the limit of possibilities;
this is only the present stage of development. Let there be
light!

CUSTOMERS IN FOURTEEN PROVINCES: — While the Press
is working primarily for the West of China, we have had the
pleasure this year of sending goods to fourteen of the
eighteen regular provinces of China. We are hardly any
longer provincial, we are having a wider effect upon this
people. Last year we were one of the earliest to answer the
call of the Christian Publishers' Association, an organiza
tion called into existence by the China Continuation Com
mittee. This Association aims to assist in the co-ordination
of all Christian publishing, — terminology, tract publishing,
translating and editing, and to gather such statistics as will
be available and necessary to the more thorough organization
of missionary work.

THE GREAT COMMON PURPOSE, TO MAKE CHRIST KNOWN
—The last report given at Shanghai by this Association
makes an interesting statement as to the amount of money
spent annually by the whole of the missionary force in China
for printed work and literature for the propagation of the
Gospel. The finding is that less than one per cent, of the
total appropriations of the missionaries is so used. Not
more than six or seven Societies give literature grants to their
missionaries, and yet we expect great results ! We are here
too, among a reading people, and are spending not one dollar

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 423

in one hundred on books and tracts for them to read. The
Press is endeavoring to be in all possible ways ready to meet
all the calls that may be made upon it, and we are looking
forward to the filling of the whole place with His Name, but
we also look to the time when we can be made of larger use
to the missionary who uses the printed word, because the
means is at his command more largely. We look back to the
opening of the Press work and see what has been done these
twenty years, and we look forward with an eye undimmod tr>
the day some time hence when we may know that all that we
can do is done for these people and He is known whom to
know is life eternal.

ARCHITECT.

With the passing away of the Chinese fear of the evil
influences arising from the dwellings of the foreigners it has
become possible to build houses and churches more suitable
to the needs on the field. The question may be asked, why
not live in Chinese houses? No one who has seen even the
best of them will need to think twice why. They are drafty,
ill-ventilated, often insanitary, cold in winter, hot in sum
mer, and when you remember that the missionary's home is
his only refuge from the misery and squalor around him, you
will see the need of a comfortable house in which to live.
Looked at from a pecuniary point of view, it is cheaper to
build a house than to replace a man on the field. We also
have something to do in teaching the Chinese to improve
their conditions of life.

MR. ABREY^S APPOINTMENT: — Up to 1910 we had no
trained architect on the field. Plans had to be roughly drawn
and results guessed at, or wait until letters could come and
go from Canada, which often meant several months' delay in
the erection of the much needed buildings. In that year the
Board sent out Mr. F. E. L. Abrey, a trained architect, to

424 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

superintend and advise the building operations in West
China. Now a decision is arrived at in a short time and
advice given so that mistakes are avoided and the best use
obtained from the land and materials to hand.

His WORK : — During his term here Mr. Abrey has drawn
plans for three churches, sixteen residences, one college dor
mitory, one business depot, two Young Men's Guilds, one
college building, one school for missionaries' children, three
hospitals, three dispensaries, and numerous other buildings,
prospective or actual.

BUILDING.

In the olden days, that after all are not so very long ago,
in opening up work in a new place one had to consider very
carefully the attitude of the people much more than one does
nowT? and in no way was this more needed than in choosing
a building site and the style of buildings. More than one
riot or serious disturbance has arisen from ignoring the
Feng Shui of the place. It was with much trepidation that
the first foreign house was built in Chungking, and report
says that trouble followed its erection. In many cities to-day
may be seen the fantastic figures on the roofs of buildings
adjoining our mission compounds to ward off the evil influ
ences of the foreigner's house. The first houses in which
missionaries lived were either entirely Chinese, or were
Chinese houses made over to suit the habits of the foreigner.
For years no missionary dared to build his house higher, than
the neighboring houses, but the time came when this pre
caution could be neglected and now our houses and other
buildings are built the same as in the home countries. Our
first churches were built behind high walls and our worship
carried on half in secret, but now even the walls and gate
ways of our churches are made of open work so that the

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS

425

A FOREIGN HOUSE IN CHENGTU.

passers-'by can see right into the buildings without entering.
With the passing away of the suspicion of the foreigner there
came the use of more elaborate buildings and our men were
able to live more as befitted their needs.

FOREIGN STYLE HOUSES BECOMING COMMON : — No one who
has not had the experience can realize the difficulty of break
ing custom in China, perhaps of all lands the most governed
by tradition and preconceived ideas. The Chinaman's ways
are to him the only ways. He thinks he knows what the
foreigner wants even before he has told him, so cannot realize
that anything else is wanted. A builder must know what he
wants and be ready to lead the workmen to understand that
he will have that and nothing else. With the coming of a
new China in recent years the demand for foreign-built
houses has increased among the Chinese, and in most of the
important cities one can see attempts at foreign styles of
architecture. This and the buildings already erected by
missionaries have more or less familiarized Chinese carpen
ters and masons with the principles of foreign building, but
for all that, one has always a percentage of untrained men
in the gang.

426 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

DIFFICULTIES IN SECURING MATERIAL :— Not .only is there
the difficulty of untrained men, but there is great difficulty
in getting the right kind of material. Chinese bricks are a
different size to foreign bricks, the timber has to be cut and
dried, tiles have to be burned and the hardware ordered
from home, so that it is no easy matter to erect a building.
With the fashion for foreign things coming into vogue many
substitutes for foreign goods can be bought here, but they
are poor imitations and only resorted to in an emergency,
such as when a boat load of freight is sunk in the ever vor
acious maw of the Yangtse. But nevertheless we would not
be surprised to see, before many years, Chinese glass and
other building materials made after foreign patterns that
can be used without objection in foreign houses.

TRAINED BUILDERS Now ON THE FIELD :— With the advent
of a new era in mission buildings came increased work in
building them. A missionary is supposed to be an all-round
man and he generally measures up to the standard, but in
doing so he often suffers loss of skill in the particular line of
work in which he is a specialist, Building is not a good
preparation to see the good qualities of the Chinese, and it is
no help to a specially trained doctor to have to spend the first
four years of his missionary life wrangling with Chinese
merchants and coolies. It was a distinct gain from a busi
ness point of view when the Home Board sent out the first
trained builder in 1908; and from that time a period of
greater activity began, which was only stopped by the forced
economies due to the outbreak of the war of 1914 ; but our
programme is still far from finished and many stations are
just making the best of a bad job by doing without very
necessary buildings. The accompanying table shows the
actual state of the mission plant to date of writing. This is
valued at about half a million gold dollars. These all speak
of faithful, painstaking service on the part of the builders,
professional and otherwise, in West China.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS
HALF A MILLION IN MISSION BUILDINGS.

427

Station

Foreign style
brick built

Ditto under
construction

Foreign style
lath and plaster

Total

Cheng til (within) . . .

5, r, 2, p. 1, g.
1 c 1 bd 1 h

7, r. 2, s

, . ,, ,*

1 r 1 smc 1 cl

2 r. 1, c

1, h. 2, r

1 r 1 c

2, r. 1, h

? r 1 h

1 s 1 r

1, c

4 r -1 h. 1 d 1 c.

1, s. 1, d

4 r Id 1 c

1 h

1, s

2 r Id 1 c

1 r

Chungking

2, r. 1, d. 1, c..
1 d

2, r. 1, g. 1, bd.

2, r. 1, c. 1, s.

8
5

Chungchow

3, r. 1, d

1, r

1, g. 1, s

Totals ....

Explanation: r, residence for foreigners; c, church; sd,
dormitory; h, hospital; d, dispensary; g, guild; cl, college;
s, school with dormitories ; bd, business department ; p, press
and book room ; smc, school for missionaries' children.

OLD CHINESE BUILDINGS STILL IN USE: — In addition to
the above, there are many Chinese buildings used as street
chapels, schools and residences for Chinese helpers, etc., that
have had practically no alterations made in them. In the
valuation given above only the bare cost of the buildings is
given. It does not include compound walls, levelling, or
sites.

428

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

MR. A. T. CRUTCHER.
The first accountant sent out by our Mission.

ACCOUNTANT.

In the days when the Mission consisted of but ten or a
dozen members it was a comparatively light task to keep
the accounts. The number of accounts necessary was not
large nor the amount of money great. With the coming of
large reinforcements and the opening of new stations the
business of keeping the books became somewhat formidable,
especially to a man already overloaded with other work. To
remedy this Mr. A. T. Crutcher was sent out in 1908 for this
particular work, and after a short period for language study,
took over full charge of the books of the West China Mission.

THE ACCOUNTANT'S DUTIES: — The duties of the account
ant are more than just keeping the books. He acts as
treasurer for Chengtu and in a sense for the whole Mission.
He pays the salaries of all the missionaries on the field and
sells cheques on the banks at Shanghai to find the actual
silver. The number of our missionaries has increased fifteen
fold since the commencement. In 1915-16 we had sixty-
seven on the field for the full year and sixteen on furlough.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 429

During the same year there were 2,278 orders or cheques
issued for the purpose of transferring money from one station
to another on the field and cheques were sold on Shanghai
totalling Mex. $172,738.00. Some idea of the growth of our
Mission can be gained from a comparison of the annual ex
penditure.

1891-92 G$ 10,364.57 Opening year.

1892-93 G$ 5,769.73 No travelling expenses.

1894-95 G$ 6,372.80

1904-05 G$ 16,311.60

1906-07 G$ 45,589.01

1909-10 G$ 77,817.70

1913-14 G$164,966.00 Maintenance, $120,148; Plant, $44,818.00.

1914-15 G$144,306.97 Year of outbreak of war.

1915-16 G$130,857.00 Maintenance, $107,706.00; Plant, $23,151.

1916-17 G$140,909.00 Estimates for maintenance only.

BUYING AND SELLING OF CHEQUES: — During the early
years of the Mission the silver needed for the payment of our
expenses on the field was obtained largely through the native
banks. As the years passed and the financial reputation of
the Mission became established a large body of customers
was gained who trusted to the financial security of the mis
sionary's cheque and the fair dealing he gave his customers
in preference to that of the native bankers. Chinese sent
money to all parts of China and, for that matter, of the
world. This continues to some extent, but with the opening
of branches of the two national banks in Szechwan a greater
trust has been shown in them and they have obtained a fair
share of the business. Whilst we have lost customers in one
way, we have gained in the general steadiness and security
that comes from a national institution.

PANICS THROUGH PAPER MONEY: — During the years of
the Kevolution the money market was disturbed by the fre
quent issues of paper currency. Each commander issued his
military notes whose acceptance for the time being was com
pulsory. To meet this the merchants put up their prices and
when the first flush of the Kevolution had died down the
notes became a drug on the market and it was not until a
loan had been floated for their redemption that the market

430 OUE WEST CHINA MISSION

steadied. The second revolution again disturbed things.
This time there was no new issue of notes, but the banks
were robbed and their notes put in circulation much beyond
their reserve. Since these notes had been stolen the banks
refused to recognize them, and we are awaiting a new solu
tion of the difficulty. When the second revolution broke out
the government declared a moratorium for the national
banks and no silver could be obtained from them at all. It is
feared that nothing can be done until more silver is sent into
the province to replace that taken out by the hordes of sol
diers who came to pacify it, and incidentally to collect their
pay.

COINAGE REPLACING BULK SILVER : — In the olden days the
paying out of silver was a very different kind of thing to
what it is in most places in the province to-day. China is
fast approaching a national coinage and a common standard
for all the provinces. In the past the only medium of ex
change was sycee or lump silver and copper cash. The
former had to be weighed and tested each time it changed
hands, and many a crafty trick was played on the uninitiated
by means of lumps of iron imbedded in the silver, or the
quality reduced by an alloy. This lump silver is becoming a
thing of the past and a decimal coinage is fast taking its
place with the dollar as its unit. There are national and
provincial dollars. For a long time these were not current
except in the province of origin, but last year dollars of every
province were made legal tender in Szechwan. The sub
sidiary coins vary in their relation to the dollar with each
province of the empire, but in Szechwan they are reckoned
at their face value. Considering the Chinese capacity for
cheating his neighbor, there is very little spurious coin to be
met with. Although some of the mint managers have in all
probability made money by reducing the weight of the dollar,
it was found that the Szechwan provincial dollar was lighter
by three ounces to the $100.00 than the national dollar with
Yuan Shi Kai's head.

" SQUEEZE " IN COPPER COINAGE : — There has also come a

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 431

change in the copper coinage. The small one-cash piece,
with its square hole reminding us of its ancestry, is fast pass
ing away and its place is being taken by coins of 10, 20, 50, 100
and 200 cash value. This is being hastened by the shortage
of silver, and the fact that one-thousand one-cash pieces equal
in weight about 4,440 cash when coined in ten-cash pieces,
and 10,000 when coined into fifty-cash pieces, and so on in
proportion. This is another incentive to an impecunious
government to change its coinage to make money.

AIDS TO THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM: — The institution of a
well-run postal service with a uniform rate for the empire,
and of a fairly well-managed telegraph system, has also
worked wonders in the financial system of China.

DIFFICULTIES IN EXCHANGE SOMEWHAT SIMPLIFIED:—
Another result of the coming of the dollar into common use
has been to simplify the Mission accounts. The Mission
drafts which are made out in gold or Canadian dollars are
sold in Shanghai. The bank first turns them into taels,
which are nominally an ounce of silver but in reality are
only a term for bookkeeping and an opportunity for the
banker to take an extra profit. In Szechwan the tael varies
from that of Shanghai. In the old days the tael of one city
in Szechwan varied from that of another and in reckoning
money as paid from one station to another the difference in
weight always had to be considered. From this some inkling
of the perplexity of the financial transactions could be
gained. But with the coming of the dollar the accounts were
changed from taels into that coinage and the work much
simplified; the difference between the Szechwan dollar and
the Mexican dollar in Shanghai is negligible. There is still
a difference between the Shanghai and the Szechwan tael,
but in the province itself there is a fixed rate of exchange
between the dollar and the tael. Seventy-one tael cents equal
one Szechwan dollar.

EXCHANGE BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR : — Inasmuch as
all the money granted by the Home Board is granted in gold
or Canadian dollars, the exchange between the gold and the

432

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Mexican dollar is of vital importance to our work here. Just
prior to and during the first year of the war, the exchange
was very favorable for our work. For every gold dollar we
had $2.50 Mexican to spend here, but with the rise in relative
value in silver and gold common all the world over it has
now reached the rate of about $1.80 for Gf 1.00, or a rise of
371/2 per cent, on the Mexican dollar. When you realize that
this means the cutting down of our appropriations by one
third, its seriousness is apparent. This is compensated for
in some instances when the payments are reckoned in cash
by the high rate of exchange between the silver dollar and
the copper cash which has taken a rise of about 28 per cent
in the last two years. This rise does not help very much,
though, as since the Kevolution nearly all our payments have
been put upon a silver basis to compensate for the higher cost
of living. The accompanying figure shows in a diagram form
the fluctuations of exchange between the Mexican dollar and
the gold dollar for the last fifteen years. The figures at the
side are the number of gold cents required to purchase one
Mexican dollar.

A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF GOLD CENTS REQUIRED TO
PURCHASE ONE DOLLAR SILVER DURING THE YEARS
1901-1917.

•01

03 '04J '05^ *06i '07

04 >O5i 'Ofil 'O7 'Oft

10 '111 '12 '13 '14! '15J '16

11 '12! '13 '14 '15l '16 '17

56
55

?B~

44"

4~0~

-^ 1-

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS 433

THE BUSINESS AGENCY, CHUNGKING.
CAPT. G. R. JONES, B.Sc.

Council of 1911 appointed M. A. Brillinger to Chungking
as Business Agent and Pharmacist. This appointment and
several resolutions passed by the same Council recommend
ing the appointment mark the beginning of the Chungking
Business Agency.

Two PURPOSES TO AN APPOINTMENT: — The need for this
appointment was two-fold. In the first place, it was felt
that the dimensions to which the Mission had grown made
it necessary to appoint one man to look after the purely
business interests. And in the second place, it was thought
that with the large quantities of medical supplies used by our
various hospitals and dispensaries it would be a wise move
to establish a Medical Supply Depot in Chungking.

THE BUSINESS AGENT'S WIFE AN ACTIVE PARTNER: — Ac
cordingly, on his arrival at Chungking, Mr. Brillinger pro
ceeded to organize the West China Drug Depot and to
establish the Homeland Business Agency. The Home is for
the entertainment of the members of the Mission passing
through Chungking, and falls naturally within the province
of the wife of the Business Agent. That it meets a very
real need is shown by the fact that over forty guests were
entertained during the last Council year (1915-16).

THE DUTIES OF THE BUSINESS AGENT: — Chief among the
duties of the Business Agent is the forwarding of the goods
of the missionaries and of the Mission. The missionary is
dependent on the homeland for a good deal of the food he
eats, for a good deal of his clothing, for all of his drugs
and instruments and for many of his building supplies.
Steamship companies will forward goods to Ichang, but from
Ichang to Chungking, and from Chungking to the various
stations of the Mission, native junks must be used for tlio
oreat bulk of the traffic. To receive these goods at Chung
king and arrange for the forwarding to the various stations
is the work of the Business Agent.

434 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

THE OLD METHOD : — Prior to the opening of the Business
Agency goods had simply to wait in Ichang until some mis
sionary returning from furlough came along, who would
gather them up, pass them through Customs, load them on
to his houseboat, and deliver them to the various stations as
best he could. This sort of thing often delayed parties of
missionaries for weeks at Ichang.

THE VOLUME OF THE FORWARDING BUSINESS : — Some idea
of the volume of this forwarding business may be gained
from the fact that in the last Council year (1915-16), over
eleven hundred packages were received in Chungking from
some fifty-two junks and steamers. Over fourteen hundred
packages were forwarded to the various stations.

ESTABLISHING BUSINESS CONNECTIONS : — Mr. Brillinger
arrived in Chungking in March, 1911, and in the following
fall all the missionaries were ordered to the coast. However,
during his stay in Shanghai, which lasted till the fall of 1912,
he was able to do much valuable work in establishing con
nections with the business firms there, and in arranging for
the re-opening of the Agency on his return to Chungking.

MR. BRILLINGER ON FURLOUGH: — Eeturning to Chung
king, Mr. Brillinger was continuously at his post until he
left for furlough in May, 1915, with the exception of a visit
to Council of January, 1913, in Chengtu. As will be seen
later, this 1913 Council passed resolutions deeply affecting
the future of the Business Agency. On Mr. Brillinger's
departure on furlough the present Business Agent took
charge, having been appointed by the Council of 1915.

Two NEW DEPARTMENTS ADDED : — The reception accorded
the Drug Depot at once made it seem obvious that the scope
of the Depot must be broadened. Council of 1913 therefore
authorized the establishment of a Building Supply Depart
ment, and of a Household Supply Department.

THE BUILDING SUPPLY DEPARTMENT: — The Building
Supply Department was to be financed by an appropriation
from the Mission. Unfortunately, in the estimates which
went home this item was omitted. Council of 1914 again
passed the item $2,000 gold, but the outbreak of the war

DEPAKTMENTAL SURVEYS 435

made it impossible for the Board to grant the amount. Thus
the Building Supply Department so far exists only in theory.
However, each year makes more apparent the need for it,
and it is hoped when the appropriation is finally made this
department will be of great service to the Mission.

THE MEDICAL SUPPLY DEPARTMENT: — The same Council
which authorized the establishment of the Building Supply
Department passed a further estimate of $3,000 gold to allow
for the expansion of the Drug Department. Unfortunately
again, this appropriation met the same fate as that for the
Building Supply Department with which it was grouped.
However, the Drug Department (now known as the Medical
Supply Department) is able to be of some use to the doctors
of the Mission, though of course only to a limited extent
because of the small stock it is able to carry.

THE HOUSEHOLD SUPPLY DEPARTMENT: — The Household
Supply Department, as authorized by Council of 1913, was
to be financed by subscriptions of $15 (Sze.) each from the
members of the Mission. With the limited capital thus
afforded (some $1,300 Sze. in all), the Department was
launched, and under Mr. Brillinger's able management grew
by leaps and bounds. Indeed, so rapid was its growth that it
became evident there must be a reorganization to allow for
its expansion. During the Council year 1915-16 considerable
attention was given to this reorganization. A committee of
Messrs. Sparling, Harris, Sheridan and Jones was appointed
to report on the matter. The report of this committee was
finally presented to the Divisional Councils, and with slight
amendments passed by Kepresentative Council of January,
1916. The scheme of reorganization covered the whole Busi
ness Agency, but was mainly concerned with the Household
Supply Department. It was arranged to finance this depart
ment by subscriptions from the members of the Mission,
with a minimum subscription of Sze. $100. That the mis
sionaries believe in the Household Supply Department is
shown by the fact that six months after Council had adopted
the reorganization scheme the total subscriptions had

436 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

reached Sze. f 10,000. While it is perhaps premature to speak
with certainty, it would seem that the Household Supply
Department will become more and more useful as the years
go by. At present the members of the Mission annually send
off a grocery order to Shanghai or abroad. The Household
Supply Department should make this unnecessary in the
course of a few years, as the stock carried becomes larger
and larger. That this when it comes will be a great con
venience to the members of the Mission goes without saying.
It is also hoped it will mean considerable saving in money
over the present method. At present we serve only the mem
bers of our own Mission. Is it too much to expect that
before many years we will be able to serve several Missions,
not only with the Household Supply Department, but with
all the resources of the Business Agency?

A SPLENDID SITE SECURED: — From the beginning to the
present, the Business Agency has been obliged to occupy
rented premises, with frequent moves. Council of 1913 esti
mated gold f 7,000 for the purchase of site for Business Agency
and erection of godown (storehouse). In 1914 a site was
secured on the city w^all near the Dung Shui Men (known as
Mei Go Miao) . In the summer of 1915 an appropriation was
made for the erection of the house, and in the spring of 1916
building operations actually commenced. The Mission archi
tect, Mr. Abrey, has drawn a splendid set of plans, and it is
hoped that before many months the Business Agency will be
occupying its new premises, and will be in a position to serve
the Mission with much greater efficiency than at present.

BOTH GENERAL BOARD AND W.M.S. SERVED: — One feature
of the Business Agency, in which it is almost unique among
the institutions of our Mission, should be mentioned. It
serves both the Woman's Missionary Society and the General
Society. True, the W. M. S. do not officially recognize the
Agency to the extent of making an appropriation towards its
support, but as they do support certain nurses belonging to-
the General Society, this is understood to be to some extent
in recognition of the use they make of the Business Agency.

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION THE HOPE OF CHINA.

Strategic Christian Educational Centres. Union Universities are located at
Chengtu, Peking, Foochow, Nanking.

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

O. L. KlLBORN.

The words of Dr. John K. Mott, written some years ago,
are yet entirely applicable : —

" One of the greatest opportunities with which I am fam
iliar throughout the entire world field is the one which just
now confronts the Canadian Methodist Church in the Prov
ince of Szechwan, West China. This province of over sixty
million people is the Chinese province most distant from
Western civilization. This is not a fault, it is an advantage,
because the cause of Christian Missions is not handicapped
as in the case of the coast provinces of China by the presence
and spread of so many forms of the corrupting influences of
the Occident. The province is not only of great importance
in view of the vast number of people belonging to it, but also
because of the great influence which it is destined to exert
upon neighboring provinces of China and upon the spread
of Christianity in Tibet and other parts of Central Asia,
Moreover, it has within its borders a larger Mohammedan
population than possibly all the rest of China. What Chris
tianity does there will influence profoundly the Moham
medan power in a quarter of the world which has been so
largely neglected.

" Notwithstanding the distance of this province from the
currents of the Western world, it has, in common with the
other parts of China, been moved mightily by the spirit of
modern progress, and has turned its face resolutely from the
past in the hope of acquiring Western civilization. This
province is fairly vibrating with the power of the new life
which is sweeping over the Eastern world. It is in a plastic
condition. It is the time of all times to bring to bear the
influence of pure Christianity. It is of the utmost impor
tance that Christianity be well established in this distant

439

440 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

province before the adverse influences of the West obtain a
stronger foothold there. The Canadian Methodist Church
lias, in my judgment, exhibited the highest form of states
manship and has also exercised the strongest strategy in
concentrating so much attention upon the Province of Sze-
chwan. My only solicitude is lest the plans be not made
sufficiently large to make possible the actual mastering of the
situation. I do hope that the full programme proposed may
be carried out in the not distant future."

The first visitor to our West China Mission from our
Church was the Rev. Geo. J. Bond, LL.D. He spent six
months in West China, visited all our stations and many of
our outstations. He attended the Conference of West China
Missions in Chengtu in January, 1908, and contributed much
to its success by his sermons and addresses. He visited
Tachienlu, away on the border of Tibet, and so widened his
knowledge and experience in West China as to be able to
speak with authority. He writes : —

" We have the most superb stretch of mission territory
anyone could imagine, as respects location, population, cul-
ti\ ability or strategic importance. We have everything we
could wish or pray for, for the present and for the future.
The foundations have been well laid in all departments for
both consolidation and advance. The system on which we
are working provides for both. . . . The strategic value
of our hospitals, our press, and our educational work can
hardly be overestimated. Lastly, our directly evangelistic
work, our close, constant, face-to-face and heart-to-heart
preaching of the gospel in public and private, is being thor
oughly done; and the markedly powerful manifestations of
spiritual energy witnessed in connection with the conven
tions of Chinese Christians during the last two years are pro
foundly significant as to the genuineness of the work being
done, and as to the spread of that work through native agency.
It must be remembered, too, that our work cannot at all be
adequately measured by the counting of hands. We are

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

441

ONE METHOD OF TRAVEL IN REACHING WEST CHINA MISSION.

cheating an atmosphere of Christian enlightenment and civil
ization whose circumference is inestimably wider than sta
tistics can give any conception of.

" As to our present duty as a Church : with such workers
and with such a work, that does not admit of question. We
must not only go forward, but we must go forward ade
quately and promptly. A man who has been in China comes
back with a vision of need and opportunity that makes his
earnestness and his enthusiasm seem extravagant to those
at home. Yet it is my solemn conviction that the English
language does not contain words that can overstate the need
of China at this hour, or the opportunity in China at this
hour, or the imperative importance of seizing that oppor
tunity before it passes forever. It is now or never for the
Christian conquest of China. We should pour in every
man and every dollar we possibly can. We should be extrav
agant in our sacrifice of our best in men and means to win

the greatest empire in the world for Jesus Christ, and sat
urate its growing civilization with the spirit of the Prince of
Peace."

442 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

The West China Mission Council at its 1919 annual meet
ing appealed to the General Board of Missions for forty
missionaries, to meet the present needs in the stations
already opened. " This appeal does not contemplate future
expansion of the field or the opening of new stations. As
far as possible the reasonable needs for additional workers
for the next two or three years are considered. It is not
expected that all of those asked for will be secured in any
one year. But it is believed that at this particular time it
will be of assistance to the Board in securing satisfactory
candidates, and to the young men and women who are con
sidering the mission field for their life work, to provide a
comprehensive statement. To say this does not imply any
weakening of the urgency of our appeal. Work of pressing
importance is being left undone to-day, and must remain
undone until these reinforcements arrive.

" While no attempt is made to present the claims for men
in order of importance, it can be stated without hesitation
that the most urgent need is in the medical department. It
is the most earnest hope of the Mission that within the next
year or two numbers of doctors and nurses may be led to
give themselves under our Church to meet the unparalleled
and ever-growing demands for their services in China.

1. MEDICAL.

" The paucity of medical workers in the Mission is start
ling. No new doctor has gone to China for four years.
Even after withdrawing temporarily from our share of the
Medical Faculty of the West China Union University, we
are unable to provide our ten stations with one doctor each.
In 1918 medical work in two stations was closed; this year
the doctor has gone on furlough from a third, and a work
that had become self-supporting is terminated for the time.
There are seven doctors left on the field, four of whom are
due for furlough in 1921.

" To man our ten stations and to provide our share of the
staff of the medical faculty, we need a minimum staff of 22

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

443

A RED CROSS CORPS READY FOR SERVICE.

doctors. There are now appointed to the field 13, with two
others under appointment. Thus we lack seven men. Even
if new doctors sail for China in the autumn of 1919, it will
be impossible to reopen all of the stations where medical
work has been closed, until 1922. We therefore ask that as
many as possible of the seven be sent to China in 1919.

" The condition of our nursing staff is equally difficult.
No new nurse went to China in 1918. In order to supply
the place of a nurse going on furlough already a year over
due, it is necessary to curtail the language study of one not
yet two years in China.

" Thus far we have had in each of our large hospitals
only one nurse in full time. Experience has proven that this
is inadequate. The supervision of a hospital, with its
Chinese nurses, in addition to the training of Chinese nurses,
is much more taxing in China than in Canada. The training
of Chinese nurses is a necessary part of the work. We

444 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

already have in two hospitals small schools for nurses, affili
ated with the < Nurses' Association of China/ and complying
with the regulations of this Association. In addition, in
Chengtu and Chungking a nurse is needed in each hospital
for foreign nursing.

' There is, therefore, a demand for nine additional nurses.
Of these, five should, if possible, be sent in 1919, and two
each year in 1920 and 1921.

" Many years ago it was decided that we should have two
pharmacists in the Mission. At present there is only one.
Another is required for Chungking. In addition, there is
ample scope for research work among the drugs that are
being exported from that city, and which form, we are told,
the basis for many of the products of such firms as Parke'
Davis & Co. We believe that the time has come when a
second pharmacist might well be added in Chengtu. Re
search work and pedagogical duties in connection with the
Medical Faculty of the University would take the full time
of one man.

2. PASTORAL.

' The pastoral needs are great. The policy of the Mission
for some years has been to have two missionary pastors in
each station. With the growing strength of the city
churches, and the increasing demands for regular super
vision of country outstations, this minimum staff is essential.
In 1919, of our ten stations, only one, Chengtu, has more
than one man giving his time solely to pastoral work. Fur
loughs, it is true, are partly responsible for this condition.
But we remember that in any year we must expect that on
an average one-sixth of our force is absent on furlough, so
that conditions this year are quite normal.

" After going carefully over the needs of the field as they
face us this year, we find that nine additional pastoral mis
sionaries are needed. The method of arriving at this number
is indicated in the table below. The large district of

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

445

A COUNTRY HOME.
An appeal for better housing conditions.

Penghsien is temporarily in the charge of a man who is
definitely marked for other work when he can be released.

Penghsien

Jenshow

• • 1

Kiating

-I

Tzeliutsing

. . . . 1

Luchow

Chungking

-1

Fowchow

Chungchow

3. EDUCATIONAL.

" In considering educational needs, Council places first
the requirements of the Canadian School (School for Mis
sionaries' Children). Since its removal to the fine new
building at the West China Union University campus, the
School has grown rapidly, and it has won a splendid place
in the esteem of missionaries of our own and other Missions.
We may confidently look to having a large and influential
school in a very few years. This involves the folio win o-

446 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

additions to the staff, according to the policy laid down in
the 1918 Council minutes, No. 126 :—

" 1. A married man to act as principal and business
manager of the School.

" 2. A teacher to fill the vacancy that will be caused in
December, 1920, when the engagement of Miss Marcellus
terminates.

" 3. A teacher-matron, to assist with the work of the
matron, and to take classes in the school.

" The Higher Primary Boarding Schools of the Mission
are proving fruitful nurseries for the future leaders of the
Church. The prospects are that each of them will ultimately
add to their course one or two years of the Middle School, in
accordance with the new course of study of the West China
Christian Educational Union, and so continue to reach large
numbers of boys in the formative period of adolescence. Four
more men, with experience in teaching, and ability to attract
and lead boys, are needed for this grade of work, in order
that there may be one for each of the ten stations.

" The increasing number of Higher Primary graduates
has made it imperative that the policy decided upon two
years ago of opening two additional Middle Schools be
carried into effect immediately. This will require one more
man, trained for High School work.

" It is strongly urged that every man before being sent ta
China for educational work shall have normal training or
work in a Faculty of Education for one year at least, and a
minimum of one year's experience in teaching as well.

4. SPECIAL FORMS OF WORK.

" 1. A man for the Press. With no allowances for fur
lough, the Press has now only two men. The volume of
business demands a third man.

" 2. During the war, building operations in the Mission
were reduced to a minimum. Even so, the two builders on
the field were unable to meet the imperative demands for
new buildings. Now that the war is over, one of the most

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE 447

urgent matters for the Mission is to endeavor to catch up
with the building programme. This will require the services
of at least two new building superintendents. They should
be men of experience, and able to handle men.

"3. The business of the Mission, in Chungking and
Chengtu, has grown to a large volume. One additional man
is required to handle it. He should have both training and
experience in business.

" 4. In view of the coming furlough of Mrs. Carson, a
woman will be needed to take charge of the School for
Evangelists' Wives, and the Board is asked to secure some
one for the position.

SUMMARY OF NEEDS.

Doctors 7

Nurses 9

Medical:
Doct
Nurs
Pharmacists ..................

Pastoral .............. "9*9

Educational:

Canadian School ........... .' ........ 3

Higher Primary Schools ...... ..... 4

Middle Schools .................. .......... l

Special Forms:

Press ............................ j

Building Superintendents ..........

Business Agent ................... . . j . j

'School for Evangelists' Wives . ............. l

— 5

Total

The above " Appeal for New Workers " just quoted from
the minutes of Council is followed by a "Forward Move
ment Statement," the most of which is appropriately
recorded here. I shall put the last paragraph first :—

" We do not feel that we need to urge upon the Mission
Board the inauguration of a great forward policy. This has
already been undertaken. Our hearts have been stirred by
the action of the General Conference in adopting as a mis
sionary objective eight millions of dollars in five years. We
present these facts (below), our conception of the needs of

448 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

the field, in order that the Board may have before it some
thing concrete and definite in the laying of its plans for the
decade to come, with the fact that these great responsibilities
and needs will be adequately met by the people of our
Church"

FORWARD MOVEMENT STATEMENT.

"Resolved, That this Council (1919) call the attention
of the Board of Missions to the following facts :—

" To provide for the work already begun or contemplated
in the ten stations already opened, we need as indicated in
the appeal (quoted above), forty new missionaries. This
makes little or no provision for furloughs or losses through
sickness or other causes.

" In the territory between Chungking and Wanlisien, a
distance of approximately 250 miles along the Yangtse River,
a territory worked solely by us and definitely allocated to us
as our responsibility, we occupy at present only two stations,
Fowchow and Chungchow. In this territory there are the
fol1 owing walled cities unoccupied by any Mission, each with
a great country, thickly populated, around it : Peng-
shui, Yiuyangchow, Chienkiang, Hsiushanhsien, Changshow,
Fengtu, Lanchwan. Changshow governs a district contain
ing 48 market towns, and Fengtu containing 120 market
towns, both cities on the Yangtse River. Lanchwan, south
of the river, has 48 towns. There is also Wanhsien, a treaty
port, fast becoming a commercial centre. It has one or two
resident missionaries of another Mission, but there is no
medical or educational work being done. We believe it is
our duty to occupy as central stations, Wanhsien, and at
least three others of these cities.

" Along the Yangtse River, west of Chungking, between
Chungking and Suifu, a distance again of approximately 250
miles, there is another great territory at present occupied
"by only one Mission, with ourselves in one city, Luchow. In
this territory there are the following large walled cities:
Kiangching, about 50 miles above Chungking on the big

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

449

450 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

river, at present having one family of resident missionaries
of another Mission; Hokiang, about 75 miles farther west,
with no missionaries; Luchow, now occupied by three
families of our Mission, and two of another Mission;
Kianganhsien, about 40 miles above Luchow, with no resi
dent missionary; and finally Fushuen, on a branch of the
main river, a very wealthy and busy city, with but one
missionary family of another Mission. Fushuen would form
a very convenient link between our two stations, Luchow and
Tzeliutsing, which are at present separated by a three-days'
journey.

" There are in this large, populous, but mainly unevan-
gelized, section of the province other cities on the Yangtse,
or not far from it, which have either no Christian work, or
are worked as outstations with only a feeble cause. With
the coming of steam navigation on the Upper Yangtse, the
importance and the population of these cities will largely
increase, as well as their value as evangelizing centres.

" We believe, therefore, that we should open as stations
of our Mission four' cities west of Chungking. If these pro
posals are carried into effect, we shall then have a stretch of
territory extending along the Yangtse River from west of
Luchow to Wanhsien, a distance of about 500 miles. As we
already occupy the river farther west, from Chengtu to
Kiating, we shall then have a line of stations, mostly along
the river, extending from Penghsien in the north to Wan
hsien in the south-east, a distance of about 750 miles. River
stations are, moreover, peculiarly adapted to foreign mis
sionary occupation. Communication and transportation are
much easier than in the case of inland cities. Steamers
already reach Chungking regularly, and as far as Suifu
occasionally, and the time is not far distant in our opinion
when there will be regular steamer service as far west as
Suifu.

" We believe that these facts constitute a distinct chal
lenge to our Church, calling for a very large increase in our
missionary staff in West China. To properly occupy the
eight stations suggested above, allowing a minimum of three

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

451

452 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

missionaries to a station, would require an additional staff
of 24 missionaries. These added to the 40 necessary to
properly staff our present stations, would make a total of
64 missionaries. At present we have 80. Taking into account
the depletion of our workers, present and prospective,
through furloughs and losses because of illness and retire
ment, we believe that to adequately meet our responsibilities,
we require at least the doubling of our present staff. These
men will moreover require the provision of considerable
plant and equipment. Can this programme be carried out
within the next ten years ?"

(In the above "Appeal" and "Statement," the term
missionary is used in the sense in which it is used in the
Discipline, — " appointees of the General Board, whether lay
or ministerial, to the foreign field." Wives are not counted.
The sentence quoted above, — " At present we have 80 mis
sionaries,"-— means that we have 80 appointees of the General
Board; when the wives are added, we find that we have 150
men and women appointed to China under the General
Society. What is asked in the above " Forward Movement
Statement " is that the 150 Canadian men and women sent
out by the Church to West China be increased to 300. )

To sum up, what have we in China? We have a compact
strip of territory extending for 600 miles through the central
portion of that great, rich, populous province of Szechwan.
In that territory we have at least ten millions of people for
whose evangelization the Canadian Methodist Church is
exclusively responsible. No other Church and no other
Mission will enter that territory, unless we prove unable to
overtake the task there assigned to us.

We have a Chinese Church of more than two thousand
members upon whom is being yearly devolved more power
and responsibility for their own self-government, self-
support and self-propagation. A Preparatory Conference is •
serving admirably in the development of a corporate con
sciousness, and as a training ground for the leadership of
the Church. A young Home Missionary Society that has
been slowly gathering funds for several years, in July, 1918,

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

453

CHINA'S NEW PHONETIC SCRIPT — RAPID TRANSIT IN LEARNING TO READ.

Only five per cent, of China's population can read. By means of the Phonetic
Script, with its thirty-nine instead of thousands of characters, the illiterate can learn
to read in two or three weeks. Newspapers are using it and the coolies are reading
the daily news. The New Testament in the Script is already in the hands of thousands
of readers; the Bible is in process of publication.

engaged its first missionary, a tried preacher named Mao,
and sent him to the unevangelized independent tribes to the
north-west of the province. Eight ordained Chinese min
isters, together with a number of elected representative lay
men, worthily uphold the traditions of Methodism, whether
in Conference and District Meeting, or in the great work of
proclaiming the Word and winning men to a knowledge of
Christ. Our Chinese Church is alive and growing, and com«
pares favorably with similar Churches established by other,
Foreign Missions in China.

We have a comparatively small body of Canadian men
and women, devoted, trained and experienced, who are giving
themselves whole-heartedly for the redemption of the Chinese
people. They are on the ground, they are in the midst of the
fight, — in recent years literally as well as figuratively. Sur
rounded by dense masses of people who are steeped in
ignorance, superstition and idolatry, the missionaries are

454 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

fighting the good fight against evil, against sin in all possible
manifestations, and the people are being saved.

Circumstances have greatly changed in our favor since
the Mission was established in 1891. Then the people were
against us; now they are kindly disposed towards us; then
the missionaries were despised, now we are respected and
trusted, and our message of life and liberty through Jesus
Christ is listened to by all classes. Never before in the
history of China Missions was the way to the hearts of the
people so open as it is to-day. The challenge of China and
the Chinese nation, in their poverty and wretchedness, in
their vice and degradation, comes with renewed and deep
emphasis to the Christian people of Canada. Can we, dare
we sit quietly by, while this unprecedented opportunity
passes? For pass it will. " The opportunity in China to-day
is boundless in every respect except that of time." I do not
believe we can; I have confidence, and all our missionaries
have confidence, that the Methodist Church is going l:o
shoulder its responsibilities bravely, meet its difficulties
firmly, and with strong faith in our God advance steadily
and surely to the conquest of those ten millions for Jesus
Christ.

ANALYTICAL INDEX

MISSION STATISTICS

(From minutes of West China Council, 1919.)

Church.

Number of Stations 10

Numiber of Outstations 81

Number of Ordained Chinese 8

Number of Chinese Probationers 8

Number of Chinese Evangelists 16

Number of Chinese Bible women 16

Total Church Membership, men, 1,443; women, 639 2,082

Catechumens, enquirers and others under Christian instruction 8,252

Total 'Christian community 10,334

Organized churches under quarterly official boards 52

Other places of worship 50

Street chapels other than outstations 19

Number of Sunday Schools 101

Number of Teachers 474

Number of Sunday School scholars 8,956

Number of Young Men's Guilds 18

Members 1,671

Leagues of C.E 14

Members 486

Chinese Contributions.

To ministerial support $566 00

To Sunday Schools 300 00

To Guilds and C.E 2,830 00

Gifts for purchase of property 542 00

Other gifts " 4,876 00

Total Chinese Contributions 9,958 00

Educational.

Number of Lower Primary Schools 109

Teachers 157

Pupils, boys, 2,911; girls, 1,245.. 4,156

Number of Higher Primary Schools 13

Teachers 40

Pupils, boys, 450; girls, 20 470

Number of Middle Schools 2

School students (boys) 186

Number of Arts students, West China Union University 20

Number of Medical Students 9

Total number of students 4 626

Number of students in residence 527

' Day students 4,099

' Students supported by the Mission 99

' Students partly supported by the Mission 185

Total cost of school expense $25 183

Amount received in fees .' .' 1^016

Chinese gifts '271

Medical.

Number of Hospitals 8

' Dispensaries .'.'.'.' 8

Hospital beds . . ' 389

In-patients, Men 3,396

Tnpatients, Women « 375

Operations 3,390

Visits to patients in Chinese homes 816

Nurses' training Schools 4

Student nurses 34

Graduate Nurses 10

Dental.

Number of dentists 3

11 Chinese assistants ..'.'...'..'.'.'.'.'.'. 6

' Patients 712

:' Chinese patients 399

' Return visits 1 691

Total receipts '. $5,350

Surplus 1 708

ANALYTICAL INDEX

HISTORICAL.

Annual expenditure, p. 39.
Central stations, p. 31.
First missionaries, p. 29.
Outstations, p. 31.

MISSIONARY FORCE.
Concentration the policy of the

Mission, p. 114.
Deaths, pp. 30, 390.
Losses and retirements, pp. 30, 388.
Missionaries on the field, 1917, pp.

29, 31.
Preparation on the field, p. 40.

RIOT AND REVOLUTION.
Boxer troubles, pp. 43, 192, 247, 273,

380.

Minor risings, pp. 46, 53.
Revolution of 1911, pp. 45, 56, 192,

210, 231, 248, 280, 289, 387.
Riots of 1895, pp. 42, 192, 246, 249,

379.
The Chinese go to the missionaries

for protection, p. 56.
The missionaries as peace makers,

pp. 48, 299.

FIELD.

Concentration the policy of the

Mission, p. 114.
Extension of the field, p. 111.
Geographical position of our Mission,

p. 68.

Industries of Szechwan, p. 78.
Irrigation system, p. 82.
Natural resources of Szechwan, p. 72.
Our missionary responsibility in and

around Chengtu, p. 91.
Present opportunity, p. 119.
The province of Szechwan, area and

population, p. 68.
The Yangtse, the great river ot

China, p. 65.

COUNTRY AND PEOPLE.

Abolition of foot-binding, p. 51. .

Change in attitude towards mission
aries, p. 54.

Changes in the customs of the people,
p. 49.

Conservatism of the people of

Kiating, p. 95.
"Feug-shui, p. 96.
Food and clothing, p. 74.
Fowchow, formerly the centre of the

opium trade, p. 106.
History of the Szechwanese, p. 70.
Industries :

Boat traffic, p. 84.

Irrigation, p. 82.

Salt mining, p. 80.

Silk culture, p. 78.
Postal facilities, p. 41.
Queues cut off, p. 49.
Temperament of the people, pp. 71,

86, 111.
The telegraph, p. 42.

UNOCCUPIED FIELDS.

Chungkia tribes, p. 143.

Community life, p. 144.

Religion, p. 145.

Where found, p. 144.

Women of the tribe, p. 144.
Kweichow and Yunnan provinces,

p. 113.
Kweichow Province, p. 129.

Need, p. 130.

Population, p. 131.
Miao tribes, pp. 135, 138.

Burial customs of Hwa Miao,
p. 139.

Conditions of life, p. 136.

Dialects, p. 136.

Effect of Christianity on the
tribes, p. 140.

Number of tribes, p. 135.

Opportunity, p. 138.

Tribal origins, p. 137.

Virtues and vices, p. 139.

Visit to the Hwa Miao, p. 141.
Nosu tribes, p. 146.

Feudal system, p. 151.

Government, p. 149.

Interrelation of tribes, p. 150.

Literature, p. 150.

Location, p. 146.

Marriage and burial customs, pp.
149, 151, 152.

Missionary opportunity and
triumph, p. 152.

457

458

OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

Nosu tribes. — Continued.

Occupations, p. 148.

People, p. 147.

Religion, p. 152.

Witchcraft, p. 149.
The "Eighteen Tribes," p. 154.

Country, p. 154.

First missionary of the Chinese
Church sent to the " Eighteen
Tribes," p. 158.

Government, p. 154.

Language, p. 157.

Military settlements, p. 155.

Occupations, p. 156.

Other tribes, p. 156.

Population, p. 156.

Religion, p. 157.

Type of workers needed, p. 158.
The Tibetan tribes, p. 112.
Tibet, p. 121.

Civilization, p. 126.

Homes, p. 124.

Missions at work, p. 127.

People, p. 123.

Religion, p. 126.
Yunnan province, p. 132.

Experienced workers needed, p. 134

Need, p. 132.

Population, p. 135.

STATION SURVEYS.

Chengtu :

Centre of our educational work,
p. 169.

Chengtu district, p. 175.

First Church Club, p. 172.

First Church has the largest mem
bership of any church in our
Mission, p. 170.

General survey, p. 88.

Junior church, p. 171.

Medical work, p. 173.

Schools, p. 173.

Situation, population, etc., p. 168.

Sunday school, p. 170.

Sutherland Memorial Church p
172.

Women's service, p. 171.
Chungchow:

Buildings, p. 244.

Church and outstations, p. 241.

Educational work, p. 243.

General survey, p. 108.

Medical work, p. 243.

Opening of station, p. 241.

Situation, p. 240.

Young Men's Institute, p. 245.

Chungking:

Business agency, pp. 230, 433.

Church, p. 266.

restrict, p. 227.

Educational work, p. 227.

General survey, p. 102.

Guild, p. 230.

Location and importance, p. 223.

London Missionary Society work in

Chungking, p. 224.
Medical work, p. 228.
Revolution, p. 231.
Transfer to Canadian Methodist

Mission, p. 224.
Fowchow :

A bright future, p. 239.

Canadian Methodist Mission takes

over work, p. 233.
Church, p. 235.
Colporteurs, p. 236.
District, p. 232.
Educational work, p. 237.
First preachers, p. 233.
General survey, p. 106.
Medical work, p. 238.
Opening of the station, p. 232.
Outstations, p. 236.
Property, p. 234.
Resident missionaries, p. 234.
Situation, p. 231.
Young Men's Guild, p. 236.
Jenshow:

Educational work, p. 187.

First resident missionaries, p. 179.

General survey, p. 92.

Jenshow city and district, p. 177.

Jenshow revival, p. 180.

Medical work, p. 189.

Opening of the station, p. 178.

Property, p. 179.

Results, p. 183.

Second great convention, p. 186.

The place of medical work in the

hearts of the people, p. 190.
The Self-governing Society, p. 184.
Junghsien :

Building difficulties, p. 199.
Church dedicated, September 22n<3,

1907, p. 200.
Early workers, p. 195.
Educational work, p. 201.
First resident missionaries, p. 395.
General survey, p. 97.
Medical work, p. 200.
Membership statistics, p. 204.
One of the first graduates of the

West China Union University a

member of our first school, p. 201:

ANALYTICAL INDEX

459

Junghsien. — Continued.
Pastoral work, p. 202.
Securing property, p. 196.
Situation, p. 195.
.Summer schools, p. 205.
Kiating:

A conservative city, p. 192.
Boys' schools, p. 193.
Central Institute, p. 193.
Country work, p. 194.
Evangelistic work, p. 193.
General survey, p. 94.
Kindergarten, p. 193.
Location, p. 191.
Need, p. 195.
Staff, p. 191.

West Gate chapel work, p. 194.
Luchow :

A strategic centre, p. 223.
Church opening, p. 218.
Educational work in its initial

stages, p. 220.

First Sunday services, p. 218.
General survey, p. 101.
Location and occupation, p. 217.
Medical work, p. 221.
Membership at Luchow, p. 219.
Outstation work, p. 220.
Property, p. 218.
Workers, p. 222.
Penghsien :

Changes in twenty - five years,

p. 167.

Christian communities in out-
stations, p. 166.
Educational work, p. 167.
General survey, p. 87.
Medical work, p. 167.
Opening of work, p. 163.
Property, p. 166.
Situation and appearance, p. 163.
Social club, p. 167.
Some missionary experiences, p.

164.
Tzeliutsing:

Church work, p. 210.

Educational work, p. 214.

First missionaries, p. 207.

General survey, p. 99.

Gradual gospel penetration into

the lives of the people, p. 211.
Medical work, p. 215.
Outstations and their development,

p. 212.

Outstation statistics, p. 214.
Property, p. 208.
The gospel and the Tzeliutsing

community, p. 216.

*Tzeliutsing. — Continued.

Tzeliutsing and district, p. 205.
Work among women, p. 211.
Work begun, p. 206.

DEPARTMENTAL SURVEYS.
EVANGELISTIC.

A province-wide evangelistic cam
paign, p. 280.

Beginnings, p. 267.

Church and outstation work at
Chungchow, p. 241.

Church and Sunday-school work at
Tzeliutsing, p. 210.

Church opening at Luchow, p. 218.

Church work at Fowchow, p. 235.

Colporteurs and their work, p. 236.

Evangelistic work at Central Insti
tute, Kiating, p. 193.

Evangelistic work at First Church,
Chengtu, p. 170.

Evangelistic work at Penghsien,
p. 166.

Evangelistic work for women at
Junghsien, p. 260.

Evangelistic work for women at
Kiating has received a great
impetus, p. 259.

Evangelistic work in Chengtu dis
trict, p. 175.

Evangelistic work in Junghsien and
district, p. 202.

Evangelistic^ work under the Woman's
Missionary Society, p. 59.

First Church opened, 1896, p. 268.

First distribution of literature to
Chinese students, p. 272.

First members, p. 34.

First preachers of Fowchow, p. 233.

First Quarterly Board, Junghsien,
1907, p. 204.

First Sunday services, at Luchow,
p. 218.

Gradual gospel penetration into the
lives of the people, p. 211.

How Jenshow was opened, p. 178.

How the Miao tribes received the
gospel, p. 140.

Industrial and evangelistic work for
women at Jenshow, p. 259.

Junghsien church dedicated, Septem
ber 22nd, 1907, p. 200.

Luchow outstation work, p. 220.

Mass movements, p. 44.

Membership at Luchow, p. 219.

Needs of the work, p. 60.

Open doors for the evangelist, p. 274.

460

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Opening up cities on Chengtu plain,
p. 270.

Orphanage work, p. 59.

Our responsibility as a Church ten
million people, p. 68.

Outstations and their development,
p. 212.

Outstation work on Fowchow dis
trict, p. 236.

Present Christian constituency, p. 34.

Second Jenshow convention, p. 186.

Statistics of membership for Jung-
hsien district, p. 204.

Summer schools on Junghsien dis
trict, p. 205.

Sutherland Memorial Church,
Chengtu, is well situated for evan
gelistic work, p. 172.

The Boxer outbreak marked a great
divide, p. 273.

The children's church at Tzeliutsing,
p. 262.

The course of study for theological
students, p. 338.

The earliest Christians were children
p. 315.

The famous Jenshow revival, pp. 180

• 278.

The gospel and the Tzeliutsing com
munity, p. 212.

The London Missionary Society field
added, p. 280.

There have been 283 baptisms on
Penghsien district, p. 167.

Two-thirds of the University students
are Christians, p. 364.

Unprecedented opportunities offered,
p. 57.

Workers needed, p. 60.

EDUCATIONAL.

Bible training school for women
opened, pp. 251, 252.

Chengtu is the centre of our educa
tional work, p. 169.

China's old educational system, p. 305.

Educational growth at Junghsien,
pp. 201, 334.

Educational work at Luchow in its
initial stages, p. 220.

Educational work at Tzeliutsing,
p. 214.

Educational work for girls on Tze
liutsing district, p. 261.

Educational statistics, p. 37.

First educationist, Kev. J. L. Stewart,
p. 35.

First schools, pp. 34, 311.

First W.M.S. boarding school,

Chengtu, p. 246.
General Secretary of the West China

Christian Educational Union, Rev.

E. W. Wallace, p. 36.
Girls' educational work at Jung
hsien, p. 260.
Girls' primary school at Luchow

p. 263.

Great opportunities for the educa
tional missionary in Tibet, p. 128.
Hindrances to primary school work,

p. 325.

Industrial education, p. 336.
Kindergarten work at Kiating, pp.

193, 331.

Many middle schools needed, p. 354.
Middle school work, p. 345.
New boarding school, Chengtu, p. 247.
Normal training for teachers, p. 343.
Primary schools, pp. 314, 324.
Primary schools a great agency

against prejudice, p. 285.
Properly qualified teachers the great

need, p. 262.
Returned students have rooted out

old antagonisms, p. 286.
School work at Chungking, p. 227.
School work at Fowchow, p. 238.
School work at Penghsien, p. 264.
School work for girls at Jenshow,

p. 259.
School work for girls at Kiating,

p. 259.
School work on Penghsien district,

p. 167.

Schools at Chungchow, pp. 243, 335.
Schools at West Gate, Kiating, p. 194.
Schools in Kiating district, p. 194.
Schools under the W.M.S., p. 59.
Self-help in the higher primary

school at Jenshow, pp. 187, 332.
Subsidiary schools, p. 330.
Survey of a quarter of a century of

educational effort, p. 305.
Table of contrasts, p. 357.
The Chengtu schools, pp. 173, 330.
The earliest Christians were children,

p. 315.

The new school for girls at Tzeliu
tsing, p. 261.
The problem of assisting students,

p. 332.
The school for evangelists' wives,

p. 342.
The school for missionaries' children,

p. 371.

ANALYTICAL INDEX

461

The West China Christian Educa
tional Union, pp. 35, 321.

Theological education, p. 338.

Union in middle school work, p. 352.

West China normal school for young
women, p. 256.

WEST CHINA UNION UNIVERSITY.

Attitude of Government toward the

University, p. 367.
First appeal for a college, 1904,

p. 358.
Four missions formed the Union,

p. 359.

Language school, p. 40.
Medical department, p. 395.
Nature of the Union, p. 361.
One of the first graduates a member

of our first school at Junghsien,

now inspector of mission schools

in Junghsien county, p. 201.
Organized, 1910, p. 37.
Progress in the University proper,

p. 3&3.
Relation to primary and secondary

education, p. 366.

Scope of the University proper, p. 363.
The constituency of the University,

p. 369.
The contribution of the Canadian

Methodist Mission, p. 368.
Theological department, p. 335.

MEDICAL WORK.

Department of pharmacy, p. 400.
First woman's hospital, Chengtu,

p. 250.
Medical work at Chungchow, pp. 243,

391.
Medical work at Chungking, pp. 228,

386.

Medical work at Fowchow, p. 239.
Medical work at Jenshow, pp. 189,

381.
Medical work at Junghsien, pp. 200

382, 391.
Medical work at Luchow, pp. 221,

387.
Medical work at Penghsien hampered

by lack of a hospital, p. 167.
Medical work in Chengtu, pp. 173,

378, 379, 380, 384.
Medical work in Kiating, pp. 378,

380, 383.
New hospital at Chengtu, built by

Dr. Ewan, p. 382.

Nurse for foreigners needed, p. 393.

Nurses in our West China Mission,
p. 385.

Nurses' training school begun in. Jen-
show, p. 189.

Opportunity for medical work In
Tibet, p. 128.

Pharmacy and nurses' training begun,
p, 389.

Bed Cross work by missionaries,
pp. 46, 392, 398.

Second dispensary opened, p. 250.

Statistics for the Mission, pp. 38
398, 399, 400.

The medical college, pp. 38, 395.

The modern medical mission, p. 393.

The Revolution revealed the weak
ness of our work, p. 387.

Time and skill lost in buying and
building, p. 384.

Tzeliutsing medical work and hos
pital, pp. 208, 209, 215, 392.

Women's hospital opened, 1915, p. 251..

DENTAL DEPARTMENT.

Appointment of first dental mission
ary, 1907, p. 401.
Chinese dental students, p. 409.
Demand for Christian dentists, p. 411.
Early experiences, p. 405.
First Chinese patients, p. 406.

PRESS.

A common purpose — -to make Christ
known, p. 422.

Beginnings, p. 412.

Electric plant installed, p. 418.

Expansion, p. 416.

Increased staff, p. 415.

Millions of pages printed each month,
p. 422.

Printing in Tibetan and Miao lang
uages, p. 414.

YOUNG MEN'S GUILDS.

Chengtu Guild, p. 304.
Chengtu Y.M.C.A., p. 304.
Chungchow Young Men's Institute,

p. 245.

Chungking Guild, p. 290.
Fowchow Guild, p. 300.
Guild building, Chungking, p. 293.
Kiating Guild, p. 302.
Orphanage, p. 296.
Primary schools a great agency

against prejudice, p. 285.

462

OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

Purposes of organization, p. 281.

Returned students have rooted out
old antagonisms, p. 286.

Social service department, p. 295.

The contempt of the scholar class has
collapsed, p. 284.

The political revolution was a revolu
tion in attitude, p. 289.

OTHER AGENCIES.
Accountant, p. 428.
Architect, p. 423.
Building, p. 424.
Business agency, p. 433.

WOMAN'S MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.

Beginning of medical work in
Chengtu, p. 249.

Bible training school opened, pp. 251,
252.

Boarding school work, p. 258.

Educational work in Tzeliutsing dis
trict, p. 261.

Evangelistic work has had a great
impetus, p. 258.

Evangelistic workers, p. 59.

First missionaries, p. 57.

First woman's hospital, p. 250.

First W.M.S. boarding school In

Chengtu, p. 246.
Industrial and evangelistic work at

Jenshow, p. 259.

Missionary force at Kiating, p. 258.
New boarding school, Chengtu, p. 247.
Opening of work in Chengtu, p. 246.
Opening the work at Luchow, p. 263.
Orphanage work, p. 253.
Present staff, p. 58.
Primary school work at Luchow,

p. 263.
Properly qualified teachers the great

need, p. 262.

School work at Jenshow, p. 259.
School work at Penghsien, p. 264.
Schools, p. 58.

Second dispensary opened, p. 250.
The children's church, p. 262.
The new school at Tzeliutsing, p. 261.
The work begun at Junghsien, 1910,

p. 260.

Training Chinese nurses, p. 252.
West China normal school for young

women, p. 256.
Women's hospital opened, 1915, p.

251.

Women's work at Junghsien, p. 260.
Workers needed, p. 60.

NAMES AND POST OFFICE ADDRESSES OF MISSIONARIES
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENT FOR SUPPORT

The Missionary Bulletin

(ISSUED QUARTERLY)

One copy to any address in Canada for one year $1.00. Other countries,
postage 25c. a year extra. Single copies 35c.

Men and women are investing their
lives ; we are investing money in
our mission work. The investments
can be followed through the letters
written by the missionaries and
published in The Missionary Bulletin

THE BULLETIN PROVIDES

The latest information from the mission fields
The best material for missionary addresses
Stories of the work in all fields
Illustrations showing the work

Helps and suggested programmes for the
Sunday School, Epworth League and
Mid- Week Prayer Meeting

Order from

F. C. STEPHENSON,

Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto

NAMES AND POST OFFICE ADDRESSES OF MISSIONARIES
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENT FOR SUPPORT, MAY, 1920

The numbers before each name are a key to the pictures on pages 8 and 9.

Address missionaries on furlough, Methodist (Mission Rooms, Toronto.
All mail will be forwarded promptly.

Name. Post Office Address.

1. Allan, F. F., M.D Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Brampton District Epworth League and Sunday Schools.

2. Albertson, W. B., B.A., B.D Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Dauphin
and Swan River Districts.

4. Abrey, F. E. L Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of St. Paul's

Church, Toronto.

3. Annis, Stanley E., M.A., B.D Jenshow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth League and Sunday School of Simpson
Avenue Church, Toronto.

86. Anderson, R. M., D.D.S Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

(Sails Oct. 1920, for China).

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Owen

Sound District.

12. Bowles, N. E., B.A On furlough.

Supported by the Sunday School of Central Church, Toronto.

8. Batstone, Miss M. E Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of Earlscourt

Church, Toronto.

7. Barter, A. J., B.A., M.D Kiating, Szechwan, China.

14. Bayne, P. M., M.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Renfrew, Cobden, and Haley's Churches.

10. Brecken, E. R. M., M.A., B.D. ...Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Young 'Peoples Societies and Sunday Schools of
Yorkton, Moosomin and Balcarres Districts.

13. Bateman, T. W On furlough.

11. Batdorf, C. W., .M.S .Tzeliutsing, Szechwan, China,

Supported by Sault Ste. Marie District Epworth League and Sun
day Schools.

5. Beaton, K. J., B.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of Danforth
Avenue Church, Toronto.

6. -Bell, Gerald S., B.A Junghsien, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of Howard
Park Church, Toronto.

9. 'Best, A. E., B.A., M.B Fowchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth League and Sunday School of Centennial

Church, Toronto.
15 Brace, A. J Chengtu, Szechwan. China.

Supported by the Metropolitan Church, Victoria, B.C.
17. Bridgman, C. A., B.A On furlough.

Supported by the Epworth League of Hamilton District.

465

466 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

Name. Post Office Address.

18. Brown, Homer G., M.A., B.D Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Missionary Society of Victoria College.

20. Burwell, H. B., B.A On furlough.

•Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Simcoe

District.

19. Birks, W. H., iM.D On furlough.

Supported by Orangeville District Epworth League.

21. Cox, James R., M.D Junghsien, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Car
man District.

22. Carscallen, C. R., B.A On furlough.

Supported by the Sunday School of Central Church, Calgary.

23. Crawford, Wallace, M.D Tzeliutsing, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the First Church Sunday School, London, Ont.

16. Carson, Mrs. E. F Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

88. Clark, James M., M.D Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

25. Crutcher, Mrs. A. T.* Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

26. Davis, F. Murray Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Barrie District Epworth League.

27. Dickinson, Frank, B.A Penghsien, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Madoc

District.

24. Dale, Miss Ella Tzeliutsing, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Sydney

District.

28. Earle, J. R., M.A Kiating, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of the
Portage La Prairie and Neepawa Districts.

29. Elson, A. J., B. A., B.D On furlough.

Supported by Brantford District Epworth League.

90. Frier, H. S Ohengtu. Szechwan, China.

(Sails for China, Oct., 1920.)

'Supported by the Epworth League and Sunday School of Eglinton
Church, Toronto, Ont.

34. Haddock, Miss S. M On furlough.

31. Hartwell, Geo. E., B.A., B.D Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by London District Epworth League.

32. Hartwell, Miss Geraldine On furlough.

Supported by the Epworth League and Sunday School of College
Street Church, Toronto.

30. Hoffman, A. C., S.T.L On furlough.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues of Collingwood, Bracebridge
and Parry Sound Districts.

33. Hibbard, E., B.A On furlough.

Supported by the Epworih Leagues and Sunday Schools of the
Peterborough District.

35. Irish, H. H., B.A Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Sackville
District and the Students of Mount Allison University.

36. Jolliffe, C. J. P., B.A Luchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Sarnia District Epworth League and Sunday Schools.

37. Jolliffe, R. 0., B.A Tzeliutsing, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Northern

Alberta.
*See page 16.

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF MISSIONARIES 467

Name. Post Office Address.

38. Johns, A. E., M.A Chengtu. Szechwan, China.

Supported by Exeter District Epworth League.

39. Jones, Gordon R., B.Sc Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of Metropoli
tan Church, Toronto.

41. Kern, D. S., B.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported toy the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Winnipeg
North, Winnipeg South and Port Arthur Districts.

40. Kilborn, O. L., M.A., M.D. Dr Retta Gifford Kilborn appointed.

Supported by Toronto East District Epworth League.

42. Kelly, C. B., B.A., M.D Ohengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Guelph

District.

95. Kitchen, John Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

('Sails for China, Sept., 1920.)

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Saska
toon District.

46. Lamb, Miss Mary L Ohengtu, Szechwan, China.

44. Lindsay, A. W., L.D.S., D.D.S On furlough.

Supported by the -Methodist Church, Quebec City.

45. Longley, R. S., B.A., B.D Powchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday Schools of Nova Scotia Conference.

43. Leonard, W. M On furlough.

87. Morrison, W. R., 'B.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Men's Methodist League of iBrora Circuit and the
Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Regina District.

47. Mortimore, W. J., B.A Penghsien, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School and Epworth League of High Park
Church, Toronto.

48. McAmmond, R. B. Jenshow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth League and Sunday Schools of Matilda

District.

54. Mclntosh, Miss I. K Ohengtu- Szechwan. China.

Supported by the Sunday School of Wesley Church, Brantford, Ont.

53. McNaughton. Miss B. G Chengtu, Szechwan. China.-

Supported by Palmerston District Epworth League.

50. Meuser, E. N., Phm.B Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Brandon

District.

51. Morgan, E. W., B.A., B.D ...Fowchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Picton

District.

52. Morgan, Miss Ada Luchow. Szechwan, China.

Supported by Strathroy District Epworth League.

49. Mullett, H. J., D.D.S Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

91. Male, Miss Annie Penghsien, Szechwan, China.

(Sails Sept. 1920.)

55. Neave, James Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Nova Scotia Conference Epworth League.

56. Newton, R. H., B.A On furlough.

Supported by Uxbridge District Epworth League.

*See page 16.

468 OUK WEST CHINA MISSION

Name. Post Office Address.

58. Plewman, T. E Chengtu, .Szechwan, China.

Supported by \\esLiiiOifcianu ^.ve. tip worth League and Sunday

School, Toronto.

57. Parker, John On Military Service.

Supported by (Montreal District Epworth Leagues.

59. Pound, A. N. C., M.A., B.D Chungchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday Schools and Epworth Leagues of Milton
District.

60. Quentin, A. P Kiating, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School, Epworth League and Congregation
of Trinity Church, Kitchener, Ont.

93. Reed, F. J., H..A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

(Sails for China, Oct., 1920.)

Supported :by the E'pworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of the
Cannington District.

61. Ricker, R. C., B.S., M.A., B.D. ..Chengtu, Szechwan, China.
f62. Robertson, H. D., B.A

63. Ross, Miss K. D Chengtu, ,Szechwan, China.

Supported 'by Riverdale Sunday School, Toronto.

65. Smith, W. E., M.D Junghsien, Szechwan, China.

iSupported by Cobourg and Peterboro District Epworth Leagues.

70. Smith, M. P., B.A., B.D Chungchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues of Norwich District.

66. Sibley, W. E., B.A Junghsien, Szechwan, China.

67. Service, €. W., B.A., M.D On furlough.

Supported by Brockville District Epworth League.

68. Stewart, J. L., B.A., D.D Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported toy Stratford District Epworth League.

69. Sheridan, W. J., M.B Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday Schools of St. John's, Nfld.

71. Sparling, G. W., B.A., ,B.D Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Bowmanville District Epworth Leagues and Sunday-
Schools.

72. Small, Walter Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School, Epworth League and Congregation;
of Killarney Church, Killarney, Man.

73. Switzer, Miss Mary E On furlough.

Supported by the Sunday School of Douglas Church, Montreal.

74. .Soper, S. H., B.A On furlough.

Supported by Newfoundland Conference, Epworth League.

75. Simpson. E. Kyle, M.B On furlough.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of the
Chatham District.

92. .Sellery, C. M., B.A., M.B Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

(Sails Sept., 1920.)

t64. 'Surtees, B., B.A

89. Taylor, Hugh D., B.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Epworth Leagues and Sunday Schools of Godericb

District.

76. Taylor, Mrs. R. E. S.* Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

*See page 16
fResigned.

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF MISSIONARIES 409

Name. Post Office Address.

77. Thompson, J. E., L.D.S., D.D.S. ..Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School, Epworth League and Congregation
of Euclid Avenue Church, Toronto.

78. Thompson, Miss <M. I Chungking, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School of Norfolk St. Church, Guelph.

94. Veals, Howard J., B.A Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

(Sails Oct., 1920.)

84. Walker, J. A., B.A Penghsien, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Toronto West District Epworth Leagues.

81. Wallace, E. W., B.A., B.D On furlough.

79. Wilford, E. C., M.B., L.R.C.P. & S.. .Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Union Forward Movement Board of Elm St.
Church, Toronto.

83. Williams, T. H., M.D Chungchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by the Sunday School of Young Methodist Church,

Winnipeg.

85. Wilson, iMiss E. A. R. V Chengtu, Szechwan, China.

82. Wolfendale, R., L.R.C.P. & S Luchow, Szechwan, China.

Supported by Grand Bank Circuit, Newfoundland.

80. Would, J. M On furlough.

Supported by the Young People's Societies and Sunday Schools of
Arcola, Oxbow, Weyburn and Shaunavon Districts.

LIFE of DR. V. C. HART

The Founder of Our West China Mission
By his Son, E. I. HART, D.D.

Price $1.50

Special rates for 5 or more copies.

"Little did I imagine, when I got hold of
the book entitled 'Virgil C. Hart* that I
was the possessor of one of the most delight
ful missionary books your department ever
published.

"Amid thrills and smiles and tears, I read
it through. This book is suitable to be
placed in the hands of Sunday School
scholars, teachers, preachers and professors.
Into every reader it will throw a gleam of
light upon the romance, the tragedy and the
rapture of our foreign missionary work."

Hamilton Wigle

The story of Dr. Hart's life is interwoven into
the work of the first years of our work in China.
To few men has the honor been given of founding
two great Missions.

Order from

F. C STEPHENSON

Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto

MISSIONARIES OF OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

1891-1920

After you have read

" Our West China Mission"

SEE THE WORK f

THROUGH

LANTERN SLIDES

These are for Sale or Rental

The following are sets of 1 00 .slides, accompanied by a lecture.
The Life of Dr. V. C. Hart.

Medical Missionaries and Their Work.
Up the Yangtse to West China.

The Printing Press and Missions.
China — Old and New.

Little Sets for Girls and Boys ( 1 2 to 50 slides).

Bamboo and Its Uses.

China's Staff of Life (Rice).

China's Boys and Girls at School.

Little Orphans.

Printing Stories for Little Chinese.

Just Salt.

How Yee Din Changed Her Name.

Beh— The Story of a Little Chinese Girl.

Yang — The Story of a Little Chinese Boy.

The Story of Li.

Other Sets in Preparation.

Catalogue of Lanterns and Slides, Prices of Purchase and
Rental, sent on application to

F. C. STEPHENSON

Methodist Mission Rooms - Toronto

MISSIONARIES OF OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

1891-1920

GENERAL BOARD.

Adams, W. F., 1902-1908 (resigned,
ill-health).

Allan, F. F., 1906.

Albertson, W. B., 1908.

A'brey, F. E. L., 1910.

Annis, S. E., 1916.

Bowles, N. E., 1906.

Barter, A. J., 1908.

Bayne, Parker M., 1908.

Brecken, E. R. M., 1908.

Brillinger, M. A., 1908-1916 (re
signed).

Bateman, T. W., 1910-1920 (re
signed, ill-health).

Batdorf, C. W., 1911.

Brace, A. J., 1912.

Bridgman, C. A., 1912.

Brown, Homer G., 1912.

Birks, W. H., 1913.

Burwell, H. B., 1913.

Beaton, Kenneth J., 1914.

Best, A. E., 1914.

Bell, Gerald S., 1915.

Batstone, Mary E., 1919.

Cox, James, 1903.

Carscallen, C. R., 1905.

Carson, E. J., 1906-1910 (deceased).

Crawford, Wallace, 1907.

Crutcher, A. T., 1908-1920 (de
ceased).

Claxton, A. E., 1910-1911 (during
transfer of London Missionary
Society work to Canadian Meth
odist Mission).

Carson, Mrs. Florence Dunfield, 1916.

Clarke, J. M., 1920.

Crutcher, Mrs. Isabella Paton, 1920.

Davis, F. Murray, 1912.

Dickinson, Frank, 1913.

Dale, Ella, 1913.

Endicott, James, 1893-1913 (became
General Secretary of Foreign Mis
sions).

Ewan, R. B., 1897-1915 (resigned,
ill-health).

Earle, J. R., 1907.

Elson, A. J., 1909.

Ferguson, W. D., 1908-1914 (re
signed, wife's ill-health).

Hart, V. C., 1891-1904 (deceased).

Hartwell, George E., 1891.

Hare, H. M., 1893-1900 (resigned).

Hoffman, A. C., 1903.

Hockin, Arthur, 1908-1912 (de
ceased).

Harris, Geo. G., 1909-1918 (resigned,
ill-health).

Henderson, J. W. A., 1909-1913 (re
signed).

Hibbard, Ernest, 1912.

Hartwell, Geraldine L., 1914.

Haddock, Miss S. M., 1914.

Irish, H. H., 1908.

Johns, A. E., 1910.

Jolliffe, R. O., 1904.

Jolliffe, C. J. P., 1906.

Jones, Gordon R., 1910.

Jones, Lawrence P., 1912-1913 (de
ceased).

Kilborn, O. L., 1891-1920 (deceased).

Ker, Lelah A., 1908-1919 (resigned).

Kern, D. S., 1909.

Kelly, C. B., 1912.

Lindsay, A. W., 1907.

Longley, R. S., 1907.

Lundy, Wesley C., 1913-1919 (re
signed, ill-health from overseas
service).

Leonard, W. M., 1913.

Lamb, Mary L., 1920.

Mortimore, W. J., 1902.

McAmmond, R. B., 1906.

Morgan, E. W., 1906-1910, 1915. •

McNaughton, Miss B. G., 1909.

McKinley, D. Fuller, 1910-1919 (re
signed, ill-health).

Meuser, E. N., 1912.

Morgan, Miss Ada, 1912.

Moore, W. A., 1912-1916 (resigned).

Modeland, Miss M. J., 1916 (married
in 1917 to Rev. C. A. Bridgman).

Mullett, H. J., 1917.

473

474

CUE WEST CHINA MISSION

Mclntosh, Isobel K., 1919.
Morrison, W. R., 1920.
Neave, James, 1905.
Norman, Miss Lucy, 1910-1912 (trans
ferred to Canadian Academy,
Japan).

Newton, R. H., 1912.
Plewman, Ethel B., 1908-1909 (re
signed, ill-health).
Plewman, T. Ev 1908.
Perley, D. M., 1908-1912 (resigned,

wife's ill-health).
Parker, John, 1910.
Perkins, Miss Mary L., 1910 (mar
ried Mr. T. E. Plewman).
Pound, A. N. C., 1915.
Quentin, A. P., 1908.
Robertson, H. D., 1906-1920 (re
signed).

Ross, Kathryn D., 1919.
Ricker, Raymond C., 1913.
Stevenson/ David W., 1891-1895 (re
signed, wife's ill-health).
Stevens, Wellington, 1899-1900 (re
signed).

Service, C. W., 1902.
Stewart, J. L., 1902.
Smith, W. E., 1896.
Sheridan, W. J., 1907.
Sparling, G. W., 1907.
Sibley, W. E., 1907.
Switzer, Miss Mary, 1908.
Small, Walter, 1908.
Soper, S. H., 1912.
Simpson, E. Kyle, 1912.
Surtees, Benj.,' 1913-1920 (resigned

ill-health).
Smith, M. P., 1914.
Taylor, R. E. S., 1909-1919 (de
ceased).

Thompson, J. E., 1909.
Thompson, Miss M. I., 1917.
Taylor, Hugh D., 1920.
Taylor, Mrs. Evelina E. Woodward

1920.

Wallace, E. W., 1906.
Westaway, S. Percy, 1907-1917 (re
signed).

Wilford, E. C., 1909.
Wood, Miss Muriel, 1909-1912 (mar
ried Rev. N. E. Bowles).
Wolfendale, R., 1910.
Would, J. M., 1913.
White, Miss A., 1913-1919.
Walker, J. A., 1919.
Williams, T. H., 1919.
Wilson, Miss E. A. R. V., 19.19.

WOMAN'S MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.

Asson, Mary A., 1909-15, 1916.

Austen, May, M.A., M.D., 1907-11
1913-17 (retired).

Armstrong, Mildred J., 1913-17 (mar
ried).

Brackbill, Sara C., 1893-99, 1900-07
1908-14 (retired).

Brooks, Charlotte A., 1897-00, 1902-
09, 1910-18 (furlough).

Brimstin, Minnie, 1899-1900, 1901-05
1906-12, 1913-15, 1916.

Barnett, Martha, 1918.

Campbell, Florence Margaret, 1918.

Elderkin, Elizabeth J., B.A., 1909-15,

Estabrook, Alice L., 1910-15 (married
Dr. E. K. Simpson, of the General
Society).

Ellwood, Ila M., 1913-17 (retired).
Ford, Jennie M., 1895-97 (deceased).
Foster, Mary A., 1896-1900, 1902-07

(retired).

Forrest, Fannie, 1900-07 (married).
Fox, Belle, 1903-08 (married Dr. J.

R. Cox, of the General Society).
Folkins, Sadie M., B.A., 1909-12
(married P. M. Bayne, of the
General Society).

Foster, Beatrice Louise, B.A., 1918.
Graham, Eleanor D., B.A., 1916.
Henry, Anna, M.D., 1899-1905. 1907- '

12, 1913-18, 1919.
Hambley, Laura H., 1904-10, 1912.
Hall, Ellen E., 1909-17, 1918.
Harrison, Adelaide, 1913-18, 1919.
Hockin, Mrs. Arthur, B.A., 1913-19

(now on furlough).
Holt, Jane Ethel, 1913-19 (now on

furlough).

Jack, Florence F., 1915.
Kilborn, Mrs. Retta Gifford, M.D.,

1893-97 (married).
Killam, Maude, M.D., 1897-1900,
1902-04 (married Rev. Jas. Neave,
of the General Society; died 1920).
Lawson, Lottie E., 1908-11 (married
Walter Small, of the General
Society).

Loree, Edith, 1919.
Marshall, Eliza, 1909-15, 1916.
McPherson, Ethel, 1910-14 (married
H. B. Burwell, of the General
Society).

Massey, Winona Annie, 1918.
McRae, Lottie S., 1918.

MISSIONARIES OF OUR WEST CHINA MISSION 475

McArthur, Katherine W., 1919.

O'Donnell, Florence, M.D., 1902-08
(married).

Russell, Lois E., 1919.

Eea, Olive, M.D., 1909-12 (retired).

Swarm, Martha R., 1902-08, 1909-17,
1918.

Steele, Uberta F., 1906-12, 1913.

Speers, Edna M., 1908-13 (married
E. N. Meuser, of the General
Society).

Smith, Mary Totten, 1910-14, 1915-
19 (deceased).

Sparling, Edith P., 1909-15, 1916.

Srigley, Zelma L., 1909-14 (mar
ried).

Shuttleworth, V. A., 1910-12 (re
tired).

Speers, Ada B., M.D., 1914.

Sherritt, Lydia B., 1914-20 (now on
furlough).

Shepley, Beulah M., 1915.

Snider, Lena, M.D., 1918.

Sweetman, E. Maude, 1915-18 (mar
ried R. C. Ricker, of the General
Society).

Turner, Olive M., 1910-14 (retired).

Thompson, Mabel E., 1910-16 (mar
ried).

Thexton, Annie C., 1918.

Ure, Jennie, 1913-19 (married Rev.
Ernest Hibbard, of the General
Society).

Virgo, Ethel M., 1908-11, 1913-19
(on furlough).

Wellwood, Caroline, 1906-12, 1913.

Wheeler, Myrtle M., 1915.

Ward, Constance E., 1918.

Woodsworth, Hattie Elizabeth (mar
ried Rev. E. Wesley Morgan, of
the General Society).

A NEW BOOK ABOUT JAPAN

Progress «*? Mikado s Empire

ROBERT CORNELL ARMSTRONG, M. A., Ph. D.

Author of

Just Before the Dawn : the Life and Work of Ninomiya

Sontoka, the Peasant Sage of Japan. Light from the East; a

Study in Japanese Confucianism

Price 50 cents

"I have read with keen interest 'Progress in the Mikado's
Empire.' Let me congratulate you on being able to secure for
the use of your young people so succinct, illuminating, impressive
and altogether satisfactory an interpretation of Japan as a
growing nation."

FRANK K. SANDERS

25 Madison Ave. Director of the Board of Missionary Preparation

New York

Canada s Share in World Tasks

Edited by
REV. H. C. PRIEST

Secretary of the Missionary Education Movement

Cloth, 75 cents ; paper, 50 cents

The five leading denominations in Canada have co-operated
in producing this book which reviews the present situation in
the foreign mission fields in which Canadian Mission Boards
are operating, outlines their work, and presents their needs for
equipment and workers.

Order from

F. C. STEPHENSON

Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto, Ont.

LANTERN SLIDES

ILLUSTRATING

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS

EACH LESSON ILLUSTRATED BY FOUR SLIDES
THREE BIBLE AND ONE MISSIONARY

Price : 20 cents each uncolored 50 cents each colored

Send for Catalogue of Sunday School Slides

Let These Pictures Help Your Work

LANTERNS, SLIDES, LANTERN LECTURES

Write to

F. C. Stephenson, Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto

For Catalogues and Help with Your Lantern Work
KEEP ON ADDING TO YOUR SLIDE LIBRARY

ENJOY A TRAVELOGUE

THROUGH WEST CHINA

Visit our Mission Work. See the
Wonderful Yangtse Gorges, the Ti
betan Borderland and Some of the
Finest Scenery in the World

By Means of Stereoscopic Views

The photographs from which the pictures were
made were taken by Dr. G. J. Bond, and
colored by a famous Japanese colorist.

Dr. Bond's delightful descriptions make the travelogue
a personally conducted tour

A complete set of 75 views, $24.00

There is no limit to the number who may
enjoy the travelogue evening

A set of views and 6 scopes will be rented for $1 (carriage extra)
Just the thing for a verandah missionary afternoon

For directions for use in an Epworth League
or other large gathering, write to

F. C. STEPHENSON, METHODIST MISSION ROOMS

TORONTO

Due Date Bookmark

= -- = - •

Robarts Library

DUE DATE:

Mar. 29, 1 994

telephone renewals
call

978-8450

Hours:
Monday to Thursday

9 am to 9pm
Friday & Saturday
9 am to 5 pm

Si
ARftm

Fines 500

A oi7

BX
8316
C 51-148

Methodist Church (Canada)
Our West China Mission

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Our West China Mission; being a somewhat extensive summary by the missionaries on the field of the work during the first twenty-five years of the Canadian Methodist Mission in the Province of Szechwan, Western China"

See other formats