Along the Grand Canal The Mid-China Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the United States Rev. Henry F. Williams Published by the Presbyterian Committee of Publication Richmond. Virginia Texarkana. Ark-Tex. i c 'J iiK Mid-China Mission, Hangchow, March, 1909. Along the Grand Canal The Mid-China Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Rev. henry F. WILLIAMS. Published bv the PRESBYTERIAN COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. Richmond. Va. Te.xarkana, .^kh.-Tex. Printed by Whittet & Shetferson, Richmond. Va. FOREWORD sketches of the Missions of the Pres- byterian Church, United States, given in this and other booklets to follow, are not intended to be complete historical records of the work, and, therefore, do not contain full data regarding the sta- tions and missionaries. It is intended to follow this series with a book, “In Four Continents,” which will be a condensed historical sketch of the Foreign Mission work of the Church. Grateful acknowledgment is made to all missionaries who have, in letters and reports from the field, supplied the information of which free use has been made in these pages. The illustrations are largely from photographs taken during the recent visit of the editor to our mission fields in the Far East. If this brief story concerning one section of our share of the “uttermost part of the earth” should convey to the Church a better knowledge of our assigned field, con- tribute to a higher appreciation of the men and women who are bearers of the message to the people that “sit in darkness,” increase the adequacies of equipment, provide for the inspiring possibilities of enlargement and, best of all, encourage the consecration of life to the work of speedy world evangelization, the prayerful object of its preparation will be realized. H. F. W. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/alonggrandcanalOOwill ALONG THE GRAND CANAL. THE BEGINNING At the meeting of the first General Assembly of the Preslyvterian Church, United States, at Augusta. Ga., in i86i, the following foreign missionary declaration was made : “The General Assembly desires distinctly and deliberately to inscribe on our Church’s banner, as she now unfurls it to the world, in immediate connection with the Headship of her Lord, his last command, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,' regarding this as the great end of her organi- zation." At the first General Assembly held after the close of the Civil War, the Assembly again declared that the carrying out of the great command of our Lord was regarded "as the great end of her organization, and obedience to it as the indispensable condition of her Lord's promised presence; and as that one great compre- hensive object, a proper conception of whose vast magni- tude and grandeur is the only thing, which, in connection with the love of Christ, can ever sufficientlv arouse her energies and develop her resources, so as to cause her to carrv on with that vigor and efficiency, which true fealty to her Lord demands, those other agencies necessary to her internal growth and home prosperity.” The Execu- tive Committee of Foreign ^Missions, at the time the latter declaration was made, was considering the opening of a mission in China. 8 Along the Grand Canal The following is quoted from an account of the be- ginning of our foreign work: "At the Southern terminus of the Grand Canal of China, there lies a city beautiful for situation. It is the capital of the populous province of Chekiang, and l)ears a name well known to many of the churches in our own land — Hangchow. On one side of it flows the broad and bright Tsien-tang River, famous for the tidal wave, the “bore” which, with foaming crest, and roaring sound, rushes up from the Hangchow Bay. On the other side is the picturesque West Lake, its islets crowned with tea houses and pavillions, and its clear waters re- flecting like a mirror, the rocky hills and gentle eminence on which stand the Needle Pagoda and the tower of the Thunder Peak. The citv has a wall of wide circuit, faced with hewn stone, and broad enough for three carriages travel- ing abreast. The streets are nar- row and not ver}^ clean. The houses are generally of two stories, with walls stuccoed white, and roofed with tiles. Besides the provincial buildings, the city contained the great examination hall, in which, at the triennial examinations, over ten thousand students com- peted for the second literary degree. Before the Taip- ing War, the population of Hangchow was estimated at one million. It was taken by the Taipings twice, with great carnage, and has since been graduallv making up its loss. It has now inside and outside of the city walls, a population of perhaps eight hundred thousand. In this city was planted the first foreign mission station of the Pre.sbyterian Church, Ignited States. K E\'. E H. I NS LEE. Along the Grand Canal 9 The pioneer of our distinctly foreign missionary work was the Rev. E. B. Inslee. Prior to the Civil War, Mr. Inslee, a member of the Mississippi Presbytery, had done good service as a missionary in China for ten years, located at Ningpo. During the time of the war he sup- ported himself on the field. At the close of the war he returned home and in t866 earnestly solicited our South- Hall of Literature — Grand Canal. ern Presbyterian Church to send him to China to lay the foundation of a new mission. Those who knew Mr. Inslee personally, speak of him as a man who loved the cause of his Master and pitied the people of China. He was humble and kindly in service and the people were at- tracted to him as a friend. So earnest was his desire to return to China that he felt that he had heard the sum- mons of God to begin a work in that field. The call was not unheeded and Mr. Inslee and his family were sent out in June, 1867. Thus began our first foreign mis- 10 Along the Grand Canal sionary work outside of America, and Hangchow was the first mission station of onr work in the Chinese Em- pire. Mr. Inslee’s decision to locate at Hangchow was a wise one. No better point of entrance could have been selected. Until his arrival, no missionary had ever regu- larly preached within the walls of the city. Following the going out of Mr. and Mrs. Inslee, a second band of missionaries was sent out to assist our pioneer missionary. Rev. J. L. Stuart, Rev. M. H. Hous- ton, and Rev. Ben Helm were sent to the field in March, 1868. From this comparatively obscure beginning forty- three years ago, the chain of stations has lengthened out until they include a field about five hundred miles in length, and fifty to seventy-five miles in width, on or near the Grand Canal, extending from Hangchow in the south, to Hsuchoufu in the north. The enlarged work made it advisable to divide the field, and at the annual meeting of the mission in 1899 a division was made into the Mid-China Mission, including all the missions south of the Yangtze Kiang, except Chinkiang, and North Kiangsu including all the stations north of the river. The Mid-China Mission The Mid-China Mission is located in parts of two provinces, Chekiang and North Kiangsu. The province of Chekiang is the smallest of the eighteen provinces of China proper. The province has great historic and an- tiquarian interest. In this province some of the princi- pal events of all Chinese history have occurred. It is extremely difficult to correctly estimate the population, but according to the latest statistics in the Statesmen’s Year Book, the population is given as 11,580,692. The Along the Grand Canal II old estimates of both the Chinese and English gave a population of 26,000,000. Our central stations in this province are Hangchow, Kashing and Tunghiang. The other principal cities occupied by our Mid-China Mission are Soochow, Kiangyin and Nanking, located in the part of Kiangsu Province south of the Yangtze River. The population of this province is estimated at 14,000,000. The land is chiefly level and exceedingly fertile. The two mighty waterways of China, the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers, flow through this province. The Yellow River has always been an erratic stream. The Yangtze, flowing from the west through the southern part of the province, is among the great rivers of the world on which floats an enormous commerce. It has been said of Kiangsu Province that no country in the world is so well watered, and it would be difficult to find anywhere a territory as rich and fertile and as densely populated. Mid-China Stations The stations of our Mid-China Mission, also those of the North Kiangsu Mission, are situated along and near the Grand Canal. This artificial stream reflects greater credit on the men who devised and constructed it than even the building of the great wall of China. The im- portance of the canal to the whole Empire is an indica- tion of its importance in the establishment and develop- ment of our mission stations in China. The Grand Canal, and the almost innumerable small branch canals, making a net work covering the entire territory, have been uti- lized by missionaries from the earliest days in the evange- lization of China. Along the waterways the message has spread to cities, towns, villages and country districts. 12 Along the Grand Canal The stations of onr Mid-China Mission are eight in ninnl)er — viz., Hangeliow, South Sooehow, North Soo- ehovv, Kiangyin, Kashing, Tunghiang, Shanghai and Nanking. In the brief examination of the work at each of these stations we will begin at Hangchow. A full account of the work of our church at Hang- chow would include much of the early history of the Ancient Bridge on CiRAND Canal. h'oreign Mission work of our Church. The men who have been identified with the field in and around thi^ station are among the veteran missionaries. The mis- sionaries who went out in the early days endured hard service. The physical hardships of the outward journey and the trials of the work on the field far exceeded those of the ])rcsent time. In the beginning days the trip to Hangchow was made by slow canal boats, under sail or towed by men. In later years these were superseded by tbe boats towed by .steam launches, shortening the journey from Shanghai that sometimes occupied weeks, to a little over a day. During the past year (1909) the railroad from Shanghai to Hangchow was opened. Along the Grand Canal 13 The reports of the Hangchow work, in the beginning- days, give an insight into the trials and sorrows of our pioneer missionaries. Soon after the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Inslee, the health of Mr. Inslee began to decline. Repeated changes of climate in China failed to bring relief and he returned to the United States, with his family, in the fall of 1870, and in the following spring (1871) he died in New Orleans. In the service of his Master Mr. Inslee had freely spent all of his patrimony, and in his last moments he commended his family, a wife and seven children, to “God and the Church." His trust was not in vain, and nearly $7,000 was raised for the support of his familv. Another affliction soon fell on the mission. The health of Mrs. Converse entirely failed, and Rev. and Mrs. Converse returned to this country only one month after Mr. Inslee. The care of both the board- ing schools at Hangchow, as well as the public services at the station came on Mr, Houston. It was evident that it would be unwise for the three men left in the field to continue to hold the stations at Hangchow and Guchow. It was determined, therefore, to turn over the station at Guchow to the China Inland Mission, and concentrate the three missionaries at Hangchow. The work done at Guchow was not lost. It was taken up immediately by the China Inland Mission and there is still a good work being carried on at the house where our own missionaries first ])reached. These earlv reports also tell of brightening prospects. When the summer of 1872 opened, the mission was rein- forced by the arrival of Rev. and Mrs. H. C. DuBose and Mrs. Annie E. Randolph. Mrs. Randolph at once took charge of the girls’ boarding school at Hangchow, and the prosperity which the school enjoyed under her 14 Along the Grand Canal devoted managenient is well-known throughout our Church. After fifteen and a half years’ service failing health compelled her to give up work in China, but the sister mission in Japan gained a devoted and experienced missionary who continued her faithful missionary ser- vice in that field. In the fall of 1892 she reluctantly- retired from the foreign field and returned to the home- land. The mission, strengthened and cheered by these various accessions, determined to open a new station. The city selected for this purpose was Soochow, on the Grand Canal, about one hundred and twenty miles to the northwest of Hangchow. Hangchow is the capital of the Chekiang Province ; Soochow is the capital of the teeming Province of Kiangsu. Both cities are famous among the Chinese. The native proverb sums up their delights in the lines — ‘‘Above is tlie palace of Heaven, Below are Soochow and Hangchow.” Hangchow At the opening of our work at Hangchow the station was located near the Temple Hill. Objections were made, for superstitious reasons, to the location, and it was changed to the opposite side of the city. At the mission compound there are homes for two missionary families, the home for the women missionaries, and buildings for the girls’ school. The chapel is a comfortable meeting- place for the native Christians and is in charge of a native pastor of marked ability. The work is under the general supervision of the missionaries at the station, but the church is regularlv organized and is an influential body of Christians. At another point in the city there is a Along the Grand Canal 15 chapel at which regular and successful evangelistic work is carried on. At still another point there is a chapel at which evangelistic and Bible work, a day school and clinics in charge of Miss E. B. French, are maintained. In the district surrounding Hangchow our mission- aries, with representatives of other denominations, occupy an extensive country field. The women missionaries con- Small Town and Canal. nected with the station, using their house boats and ac- companied by their Bible women, visit large numbers of villages and families. For many years Rev. and Mrs. J. L. Striart have had charge of a very remarkable work in the Tehtsing district some 30 miles from Hangchow. Groups of believers have been gathered at a number of points and when Mr. and Mrs. Stuart go out in their house boat to spend several weeks in visitation and preaching the gospel, they are welcomed by these Christians and their friends. The 1909 report of the Mid-China Mission says : Blessed with i6 Along the Grand Canal almost perfect health, having lost hut one day from ac- tive work. Dr. Stuart and Mrs. Stuart spent a large part of their time in country work. In one visit to the Tehtsing District, they spent thirty-four days, visiting sixty-four places and one hundred and twenty-one families of Chris- tians and enquirers. In the case of our beloved Dr. and i\Irs. Stuart the promise is literallv fulfilled. “They shall renew their strength * * * they shall run and not be weary : they shall walk and not faint.” Our principal school work at Hangchow is the Girls’ School, established in the early days of the mission. A Boys’ School was also begun, hut, unfortunately, for lack of funds and other reasons it was discontinued. The Hangchow Girls’ School, during its history of nearly forty-three years, has been the pride of the mission. It was established by Mr. Inslee a few months after his arrival in 1867, long before the awakening for female education. It is not onl)' well known in our church as our first school for girls on the foreign field, but is re- cognized as one of the few first and imi)ortant schools established for girls in the Chinese Empire. The girls going out from this school are found in almost every part of China. They are the wives of evangelists anci preachers, teachers in mission schools, Bible women, and wives and mothers in Christian homes. A jdan of co-operation has been arranged whereby there is to he a union college for Chinese boys, to be sup- ])orted ami conducted jointly by the Presbyterian Church United States, and the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. The buildings in process of erection are beautifully lo- cated on a hill overlooking the river. This institution provides for the higher education of the boys and men that come from the academies at the stations. The same Along the Grand Canal 17 general plan of co-operation has been applied to the girls’ school. The marvel is that during the past years so much has been done with so little in the way of equip- ment. The buildings are not only inadequate but old and unsanitary and very poorly adapted to the work. Under the new arrangement the buildings will be first-class and an enlarged sphere of usefulness will be open to the school. The educational policy by which the Presbyterian schools of Hangchow, and the Mid-China Mission have been co-ordinated provides a regular system from the primarv schools to the college. The plans for this system have been adopted by the mission and approved by the Executive Committee. The location of these institutions at Hangchow, the capital of Chekiang, with their thoroughly equipped buildings “will be the capstone of our Presbyterian educational system in this part of China.” We have no regularly established hospital at Hang- chow. A satisfactory arrangement with the excellent medical staff and hospital equipment of the Church Mis- sionary Society, supplies our missionaries with the best physicians whenever needed. Miss E. B. French has for many years done considerable clinical work. In the cholera period some years ago, Miss French remained with the people, and bv her ministries to the sick and dying, and her visits to the homes of the sorrowing, she won a place in the hearts of the Chinese which has given her entrance to a large work. Kashing Kashing is one of the eleven prefectures of Chekiang Province. The city walls were built about the year 897 i8 Along the Grand Canal A. D., upon a site of some repute from feudal times. Situated on the Grand Canal nearly midway between Hangchow and Soochow, it marks the highest reach of tidewater from Shanghai. Canals connect with the bay ports on the south, and with the mountains on the west. A strategic point in war, it is also an important commer- cial center in times of peace. A palace fortress, built by Buddhist Women at Worship. the Taiping rebels, is still in use as an ofificial residence, Kashing is noted for its great scholars, superior fruits, ex- cellent rice, salt-fish market, brick, tiles, and durable brass work. The city abounds with Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist temples. The worship of ancestors, devotion to idols, and fear of demons is universal. Swarms of priests, monks, and nuns prey upon the people. A careful esti- mate, based upon the last census with reference to im- migration and the birth rate, fixes the population for the city and suburbs at 100,000, and for the department, in- cluding the city, 2,000,000. The entrance of the gospel into Kashing required a long seige. For over thirty years representatives of the Along the Grand Canal 19 different missions in China had endeavored to enter the city without success. In 1892 the best that our mis- sionaries could do was to get a foothold in Sinchang, a town nine miles distant. By that kind of patient and tact- ful effort, combined with continued prayer, known only to the pioneer missionary, entrance was finally gained to the city in 1895. The door by which the entrance was gained was the medical work. The first place to be oc- cupied was a small room for a dispensary. Healing and preaching went on together until a group of believers was formed and soon property was secured for a chapel, hos- pital, school and missionary residences. In the early days the health of the missionaries suffered severe tests on account of the unsanitary condition of the native dwell- ings in which they were compelled to live. With the modern missionary houses and surroundings on the com- pound the health of the station is much improved. Dur- ing the passing years there has been a steady gain in the friendliness of the people. One of the missionaries when he first entered the north gate at Hashing and paused at a shop within the gate to offer a tract to a man at the door, was met with a look of unutterable contempt. Not- withstanding the early persecution, the church has quietly and steadily grown. Within that same north gate there is a fine compound on which has been erected dwellings for the missionaries, hospital buildings, and a school building. The chapel has, until recently, been immediately connected with one of the hospital buildings. The ser- vices are crowded with interested audiences. The church is well located and is the center of a large evangelistic work in the city and surrounding country. A very active Young Men’s Christian Association is one of the evange- listic agencies of the school and church. A work that 20 Along tjil Gkand Canal has promise of great blessing has been opened directly across the city from the main station. The policy of all onr missions is to hnild np a strong center, and from these centers, reach ont to points of vantage in the city and country. The latest reports from the city and the surrounding helds, read with remembrance of the intense opposition Children in Winter Dress. to the gospel in the early days, the trials of onr mis- sionaries, and the persecution of the native Christians, tell the story of the triumph of the grace of God. The completion of the railroad from Shanghai to Hangchow, passing through Kashing will add immensely to the facili- ties for reaching the people in this district. A large and important section of the country around Kashing is regu- larly visited by the missionary appointed for the work. The out station work in this district, as at other stations, has many encouraging features. One of the most pleas- ing sights in the Mid-China Mission field is of witness Along the Grand Canal 21 the gathering of a congregation for Sabbath worship in a country district. Many families come in their canal boats. The day is spent in preaching the Word, talking with inquirers, holding conferences, etc. As the evening comes on the people return to their homes, and the tired, but happy missionary finds a ])lace of rest in the village, or more frequently in the canal boat. I'rom these country churches, as in our own country, come many of the very best Christians. The Kashing High School, originally called the Axon Alemorial School, began, as nearly all mission schools begin, with the smaller hoys and a very elementary course of study. Under the excellent administration of Rev. J. Mercer Blain, assisted by Mrs. Blain and others, the standard of the school has been steadily raised until now its graduates are qualified to enter the missionary colleges. One cannot visit this school without becoming conscious of the spiritual atmosphere pervading the entire work. The results are all the more remarkable when it is remembered that the facilities in the way of buildings and equipment have been very inadequate. By the wise purchase of land a splendid location, adjoining the station compound, has been secured for the new buildings, which when completed, will enlarge the capacity in the matter of room, and increase the ability of the Kashing High School to give Christian education to bovs, who will, in a few years, be the preachers and teachers in the communities from which they come. The hospitals at Kashing have been one of the most important and successful lines of missionary activity from the very beginning of the work. Here, again, we find an inadequacy as to buildings and facilities, but notwith- standing these limitations, many thousands of patients 22 Along the Grand Canal have been treated in the daily clinic, and many hundred have received treatment for more serious ailments in the hospital. Dr. W. H. Venable, who for more than twenty years has been in charge of the hospital, with the assis- tance of other missionaries, has gained for the medical work at Kashing a deserved wide reputation. A num- ber of men have been trained for hospital work, and others are qualified to practice medicine among the Chinese. During the absence of Dr. Venable on his recent fur- lough a large part of the hospital administration was directed by a courteous, refined Chinese Christian doctor, who is a product of the hospital training. The evange- listic side of the medical work, as in all other of our station hospitals, is never subordinated to the physical welfare of the patients. While the people are waiting for their turn to be admitted to the examination room, they are gathered in the chapel, and the gospel is faith- fully preached to them by the native evangelists and the missionaries. Many who have gone to the hospital for the healing of the body only, have gone away with spiritual healing to “tell their friends what great things the Lord hath done for them.” The relation of the evangelistic work to all other lines of activity in the conduct of our foreign work in any field is well stated in the following paragraph taken from the annual report of the Mid-China Mission for 1910; “In motive and in purpose all the work is evangelistic. 'Fhe worker in ward and clinic exemplifies the love of Christ, and is inspired by the hope that both body and soul of the sufiferer may receive the healing touch of the Great Physician. The teacher gives of the sweat of his brow that the youth of China, while learning mathematics, science, and literature, may, above all, learn to know Along the Grand Canal 23 Christ, and that he may be thoroughly furnished for wit- nessing to the uplifting power of the gospel among his own people. The same purpose inspires the student of the language, the literary worker, the builder of dwellings, chapels, and churches.” Tunghiang The beginning of the work in the Tunghiang field (formerly Dongshang), was at the town of Sinchang, nine miles from Kashing. The difficulty in gaining an entrance into Kashing was the occasion of the opening of Sinchang. At this place, Rev. P. F. Price, with a Chinese preacher, lived in a small house where the gospel was first preached in this vicinity, and from the small town of Sinchang, entrance was finally gained into Kash- ing. Rev. P. F. Price, in giving an account of the early days of this work relates that at the first Christian ser- vice held in Sinchang there were four Chinese Christians and three missionaries. The meeting was held with closed doors to avoid interruption. Those were days when mis- sionaries leaned hard on the promises and, as Mr. Price remarked, “Probably with a tighter grip than in the days of prosperity and quietness.” During the first winter of the work, the missionaries lived in Chinese quarters. Of these experiences Mr. Price writes as follows : “Our bed rooms were very much ‘in the open.’ There was a stove in the dining-room, which was also used as sitting room, reception room, library and whatnot. It was a severe winter, the coldest that has been experienced in China for thirty years, and we found our stove seeming to give out little heat. We made the discovery that the heat was leaking out in the tile roof overhead. So one evening we went to work and pasted paper on the inside 24 Along the Grand Canal of the rafters, which was a great improvement. One night we saw a movement inside of the paper. We dis- covered it was a snake in pursuit of a rat. One evening there was a crash suddenly on the table while we were at supper. It was a neighboring cat that had come to spy Bible Woman — Kiangyin. us out. Gaining a perch in the Chinese room she decided to make a spring. These and other novel e.xperiences were turned into ])astimes. The second summer found us fully readv for a little respite from the crowds and inces- sant work and a sight of our own people on the welcome hills near Hangchow.” From the beginning there has been a steady gain in the friendliness of the people, with entire change of spirit. Along the Grand Canal 25 The premises at Sinchang were only thirty-five feet wide. The missionary residence, built in 1893, though small, has housed a number of missionaries — all who have engaged in work at Sinchang in the passing years. In the little missionary house we are told that as many as seven grown people lived at one time. There being no room for ex- pansion, in 1905 the central station was moved to Dongs- hang, now named Tunghiang. This is an important town in the center of a heart-shaped field, about eighteen miles from Kashing on a branch canal a few miles from the Grand Canal. The population is about 20,000. It is a Cjuiet city apart from the main line of China’s great artery of travel. A large number of important towns in the vicinity of Tunghiang render its position one of impor- tance. On the well located land adjoining the city wall, and accessible b}- canal, there have been erected two good mis- sionary homes, a hospital, dispensarv room, a school build- ing and an excellent chapel, with the necessary out build- ings. The work at Sinchang is continued as an outsta- tion. At Tunghiang thee is a medical work and a school for twenty boys. There are six outstations including one large town. There are four ])reachers, two Bible women, two theological students, and one hundred and thirty communicants in the field. In all departments of the work — evangelistic, educa- tional and medical, splendid progress is being made. In the church at Sinchang there have probablv been one. hundred persons baptized. From this little church there have gone out five preachers, two Bible women, and a number of other workers. The original members have been scattered. A number of them are now living in other stations. It has peopled the mission premises at 26 Along the Grand Canal Tunghiang, and yet there is a band of believers left at Sincbang and the work is growing. The field of which Tunghiang is the center, and for which our mission is responsible, is forty miles m extent, from north to south, and thickly populatevl. The estimated population is 250,000 souls, and “each of these souls is more precious than the whole world.” Soociiow Soochow is known as the beautiful city of China, in poetical terms, “lleautiful Soo.” The city was founded during the life of Confucius B. C. 500. It is four miles in length, north to south, and nearly three in breadth. The walls around the city are about thirteen miles in length. It is intersected by about thirty miles of canals faced with stone and spanned by numerous bridges. Of the seven pagodas in and around the city, the Great Pagoda is the highest in China. The Tiger Hill Pagoda, the leaning tower of Soochow, is thirteen hundred years old. There are fourteen temples within the sacred precincts. The great trade of Soochow is silk, with a large trade in fur- niture, jade and articles in silver. Around the walls of Soochow “Chinese Gordon” led his army. Soochow is an open port, situated in Kiangsu I’rovince, on a cluster of islands in “Great Lake,” seventy miles northwest of Shanghai, with which it is connected by streams, canals and railway. It is celebrated for its Iniildings, terraces, gardens, manufactures, and extensive trade. The environs are covered with orchards, gardens, highly cultivated fields of cotton, rice, wheat, etc. There are four large suburbs. The population of the city and vicinity is estimated to be about 5,000,000. Along the Grand Canal 27 The work of the Presbyterian Church, United States, in Soochow was begun in 1872. In 1874 a lot was bought near to the Confucian Temple. In the autumn, at the sacrifice to the sage, the literati decided if the foreigner built on the dragon’s head (the Confucian Temple) the chances for the young aspirants for academic honors would be reduced to a minimum. The middle man was arrested and kept in prison for four years. Just before Re\-. H. C. DuBose With Company of Christians — Soochow. this occurred there was a riot at the chapel, as Sunday came on a general holiday, the throngs were too great for holding religious service. A dozen years afterwards, land was bought, but work on the wall being forbidden, an American Consul spent six weeks in the city settling the case. South Soochow Station. In connection with the Soochow field, we have two stations, the oldest being South Soochow. Connected with the compound at this station, located in the heart 28 Along the Grand Canal of the city and accessible to an immense population, there are two missionary homes and a chapel. A primary school is conducted in a Chinese house. The evangelistic work conducted from this station in- cludes the services at the chapel, for many years in charge of our veteran and well known missionary, Rev. H. C. DuBose. He was assisted by competent native workers. Many thousands of Chinese have heard and a large num- ber have received the gospel message. There is the usual Sunday-school and Bible study work. The missionary women have done a very large amount of visitation in the city. In recent years Dr. DuBose has had the assistance of his son, Rev. Palmer C. DuBose. Very early in the history of the mission an extensive small town and country work was established in which Dr. and Mrs. DuBose have faithfully labored. The South Soochow station and our entire missionary body, have suffered a great loss in the death of Rev. H. C. DuBose, which occurred on March 22, 1910. Dr. Du- Bose, by his preaching of the gospel, his literary work, including a large number of religiotts works in the Chinese language, and in recent years, his leadership in the anti-opium movement, has made a profound impress u])on the people of China. In all this service Mrs. Du- Bose has been his constant com])anion. North Soochow Station. The North Soochow station is located outside the city walls adjoining one of the large suburbs. In the early days of the work. Dr. J. R. Wilkinson conducted a dis- pensary at the home of Rev. J. W. Davis inside the city. In the year 1897 this dispensary was moved to its present Along the Grand Canal 29 location and the Elizabeth Blake Hospital was founded. The experiences leading np to the establishment of this hospital are an interesting part of the history of the work at Soochow. Rev. John W. Davis, who had been preach- ing the gospel in Soochow for twenty-five years, monnted his wheel one morning in 1893 and rode into the country taking with him a package of quinine, for which he found a ready demand. The next morning he took a larger package, using it in a simi- lar way, and gathered around him an audience that listened with interest to the story of the Great Physician, who would not only heal their bodies but tbeir souls. Tbe next mail from America brought him a letter from his old friend. Prof. J. R. Blake, of South Carolina, making inquiry about establishing a hos- pital for the advancement of medical missions in China. This was an answer to prayer. A missionary, commenting upon this, savs : “Thus was verified the promise, ‘Before they call, I will answer; and while they are vet speaking, I will hear." Prof, and Mrs. Blake, considering where they might make an in- vestment that would yield the largest returns in spiritual dividends were led to decide upon the establi,shment of a mission hospital in China. After considerable delay in obtaining a suitable site, property was obtained outside the north gate at Soochow in 1896. A dwelling house for the doctor’s use was erected in 1897. The buildings were finished in 1898 and the work of the hospital was begun in the fall of the same year, when the first patients were received in the new wards. All the hospital build- 30 Along the Grand Canal ings are of brick. The original cost was about $ii,ooo gold. The grounds extend about 300 feet along a main thoroughfare leading from the north gate to a large town. A canal passes the hospital, and the entire water-front l} ing between the hospital enclosure and the stream be- longs to the hospital. Over the gateway is a Chinese inscription in large characters, “Protestant Gospel Hos- pital.’’ Above the desk in the chapel, or reception room, is a marble slab built into the wall bearing the in- scription, “Elizabeth Blake Hospital, founded by John Rennie Blake, in Loving Memory of his Mother and his W’ife, in 1897.” The location of the hospital is easily accessible to a large section of the country by means of countless canals which intersect the rich plain in every direction. It is estimated that in a circle within a radius of twenty-miles, with the hospital for a center, there is a population of a million people. In connection with the work of the hosjutal, Dr. Wilkinson and his associates have conducted a medical school from which a number of excellent young men have Iieen graduated. In the women’s department there ha-, been a nurse’s training school in which young Chinese women have had an excellent preparation for ministering to the sick in ways unknown to the Chinese before the in- troduction of medical missions. A recent generous gift will provide for the erection of an additional good build- ing to be used in connection with the hospital, which will |)rovidc facilities for enlarged work and also for the medical school for the training of medical students. At the North Soochow station there are several mis- sionary homes. The inadequate chapel has been recently replaced l)y a new and better located building. A very considerable work in the country, reaching out to the Along the Grand Canal 31 towns and villages on the great plain, has been conducted. The country work of this station, and indeed of the entire Soochow field has for its only limitation workers for the waiting harvest. Adjoining the hospital grounds is the very inadequate building in which the Sibley Home and School for Girls has been conducted for a number of years, and is giving a Christian education to a number of bright Chinese girls. The need of land and building fo'r this school has been repeatedly made known to the church. How much longer shall the patient workers wait for a generous response? The South Soochow station has recently sufifered a great loss, as has the whole mission, in the death of Dr. David Todd Stuart, the son of Rev. and Mrs. J- L. Stuart, Sr. His tragic death, suddenly removed from the sphere of active service one that it seemed could not be spared from tbe work. The vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Stuart is a call for a well educated and strong young man to take the vacant place in the great work of the Elizabeth Blake Hospital. Kiangyin Kiangyin is a city of some sixty thousand population, located near the southern bank of the Yangtze River about half way between Chinkiang and Shanghai. It is some thirty miles from the Grand Canal. Its military impor- tance, including the historic fortifications guarding the Yangtze River, and its location in the center of one of the most densely populated portions of China make it a missionary center of great importance. The first attempt to organize a Protestant work at Kiangyin was made in the spring of 1894 by Rev. George H. Hudson, who it was expected would be Permanently 32 Along the Grand Canal located at that station. He was to have the assistance of Rev. H. C. DnBose and Rev. John W. Paxton. A beginning v/as made by renting a native house on a small piece of land outside the east gate of the city. The gentrv, assisted by tbe magistrate, made every effort to stop the Elder in Sinchang Church. Wife and Son. work. A proclamation was issued instructing the magis- trate to protect the persons of foreigners, but no protec- tion was to lx: given to natives who might enter their services. The op])osition culminated in a riot gotten up by tbe gentrv which was attended by tbe secretary of the magistrate wdio was jx'esent to see that no violence was done the missionaries provided they would leave the place. Along the Grand Canal 33 Under the circumstances the missionaries were compelled to temporarily abandon the station. In the spring of 1895 a second effort was made to open a station at Kiangyin. Rev. R. A. Haden was in charge of the work and had the assistance of Dr. DnBose. When these brethren presented themselves at the door of the yamen of the magistrate they were compelled to wait for two hours and a half before they were granted an au- dience. A letter from the American Consul was given the magistrate who read it in a most perfunctory man- ner, and looking up. his face expressing hatred and con- tempt, said, “Is that all ?“ The missionaries replied, “Yes, we have presented our case. We have no more to say except that we hope our request will be granted.” The magistrate answered, “Very well ; good-bye,” and rose from his seat, thus signifying that the interview was over. An attempt by the missionaries to speak further was met by the magistrate saying, “Get out, get out.” waving them away as if thev had been criminals and were driven from the presence of injured law. Rut the effort was not given up. The Consul personally took the matter in hand and had an interview with the Taotoi, a higher official. The result was that the Taotoi wrote a letter to the magistrate in which he said, “you must now cease this. I cannot give you supjwrt any longer.” After this favorable decision by the Taotoi the Consul sent a repre- sentative to Kiangyin with the result that a place was rented. However, it was evident to the missionaries that the atmosphere was charged with opposition and that the slightest mistake would set the whole community in a blaze of opposition. Mr. Haden at a later date located at Kiangyin as the missionary in charge. A native Chris- tian day school teacher and an ex-soldier, who was also 34 Along the Grand Canal a Christian, took possession of the rented property in the early part of May, 1895. The work encountered every possible opposition. False reports were spread among the gentry and spies were constantly around. Some days the people would come in crowds and immediately fol- lowing there would be no one around. Mr. Haden’s time was largely occupied with repair- ing the property, treating some of the more simple diseases in the hope of making friends. In the fall of 1895 Rev. Lacy L. Little located at Kiangyin and began the study of the language. Some progress was made until the spring of 1896, when an at- tempt was made to break up the mission work by riot. The writer of the original deed to the property, thinking to frighten the missionaries into giving money, secretly buried a child in the rear yard of the compound and circulated the story that the missionaries were killing the children and using their eyes for medicine. The missionaries readily gave permission for a search of the premises to be made. The leader of the riot led the crowd to the place where he had secreted the body of the child and unearthed it. This precipitated a riot, and the mission- aries, barely escaping with their lives, took refuge in the Kiangyin fort where they were given protection. The furnishings were destroyed and the mission building was wrecked but not burned. Within a few days the plot llnii-E Woman, Kiangyin. Along the Grand Canal 35 was divulged and the missionaries were completely ex- onerated. The tide turned in favor of the missionaries. The leader of the riot was sentenced to be beheaded, but was allowed to take poison instead. The second man in the plot was sentenced to perpetual banishment, though the missionaries were not convinced that he was guilty, for it was through his statements that the plot was divulged. A gratifying incident of the work has been that after eight years of banishment this exile “is known as a reader of The Book, and one who would not work on the seventh day.” He was found by a China In- land missionary in another province and was living a lone Christian life in the midst of absolute heathenism. The opposition of the people following the riot was finally broken down by the uniform kindness of the missionaries, preaching the gospel, the practice of medicine and personal work. In 1897 the work that had been started at Wusih was moved to Kiangyin, making one strong station. More than two years after the first attempt to open the station the first openly confessed inquirer was received. About this time work was opened in the surrounding country. At Kiangyin we have an organized church of which Rev. Lacy L. Little with a Chinese assistant, is in charge. Large congregations attend the Sunday services. In the chapel, connected with the hospital, there is daily preach- ing to the large number of men and women who come for treatment. All the regular services in the church are well attended and there has been recently a great spiritual aw'akening among the members and a spirit of inquiry among the people generally. In the city of Kiangyin there is a chapel near the north gate where a most hopeful beginning has been made. An important feature of the rVl.ONG TIJK GkAN]) CaNAL 36 evangelistic work at the Kiangyin station is the monthly meetings of three days each held for conference and llihle study with tlie evangelistic workers. Kiangyin is the center of a large country work in charge of Rev. Lacy I. Moflfett, assisted bv his associate Chinese preacher who has rendered invaluable service. The Kiangyin held inclndcs the organized church and chajiel in the city and two organized churches and seven ehai)els in the country. The 1909 report for this held shows a total of four hundred and twelve members of churches, one hundred and sixty-four inquirers, seven elders, and six deacons. The women missionaries at this station are very ac- tive in city and country work. They travel in their small house l)oats, acconqranied by their Chinese Rible women, visiting the villages and country places, meeting women in groups and in their homes — a rvork that is hnding its reward in the souls that are coming out of the dark- ness of heathendom into the light of the gos[)el of Christ. The excellent hospital under the direction of Dr. Geo. C. Worth, wdth his Chinese assistants, has been one of the very successfnl agencies of the Kiangyin field. The hos- pital is admirably located. The number of patients treated in the clinic and taken care of in the ho,spital is only limited hv the capacity of the buildings. Dr. WTrth has develo])ed a number of competent native medical helpers. There is great need of a woman’s hospital build- ing. A school for boys rvas opened in the early davs of the station. This school has steadily grown from its begin- ning. The majority of the students come from Christian lamilies and a good proportion of the students are church members. The school has been limited in its possibili- Along the Grand Canal 37 tics by lack of an adccjiiatc biiildino', and a missionary teacber to assist Air. Little. A new building is being erected and the needed teacher is to be supplied. With the enlarged quarters and better equipment the already efficient work wdll be largely increased. The girls’ and women’s training school is one of the very successful educational features of the Kiangyin sta- tion. This school is attended by as large number of girls and women as can be accommodated in the remodeled Chinese building. A number of the girls come from homes of the middle and higher classes of people in the city. Airs. Little is in charge of the girls, and also the training school in which women are prepared for Chris- tian work by a regular course of .study and training in actual seryice. Cii.VNGcnow Changebow is a ])refectural city on the Shanghai and Nanking Railway, situated about half way between Soo- chow and Cbinkiang. This is the last large city along the Grand Canal, to be occupied by our Church. The establishment of our ^york at Changchow is the only link lacking in the chain of stations that will bind together the Alid-Cbina and North Kiangsu Alissions. For many years the Alission has desired to enter this city and plans haye been repeatedly made but without permanent suc- cess. The temporary work that has been done has proyen the importance of the field, and the possibility of getting a strong bold in the city. 38 Along the Grand Canal Nanking Nanking is one of the great cities of China. It was the seat of government of the Ming dynasty. Not far from the city is the tomb of the first emperor of this dynasty. Nanking is situated on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, which at this point makes a right angle so that it borders the city on the north and west. At one time the wall surrounding the city, twenty miles School Gikl, Sibley Home and School., Soochow. in circuit, seventy feet high, thirty feet wide and pierced with thirteen gates, was considered one of the finest known. Much of the territory included in the walls is unoccupied. It is a great Chinese literary center and is also noted for various industries. Along the Grand Canal 39 Union Theological Seminary^ Nanking. Previous to 1903 a growing interest was taken in the matter of the union of the native churches in connection with the Presbyterian, U. S., and the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. (Southern and Northern), with special interest in the establishment of a Union Theological Seminary. In the summer of I90jat an informal meet- ing held on Mohkansan there was an earnest discussion of the subject by representatives of both churches. At the annual mission meetings of this year both missions appointed committees to consider the question of a Union Theological Seminary. This joint committee met in Nanking on January 1, 1904. Nanking was selected as the place for the seminary to be established and a call was made for $12,000 gold, $6,000 from each of the churches represented, to be used in buying land and erecting build- ings. It was recommended that a board of eight directors representing the two churches, and two professors be elected. At the meetings of the missions of the Pres- byterian Church, U. S., and the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., in 1904, the recommendations of the joint com- mittee were approved and directors and professors elected as recommended. An excellent site near the Imperial Granary inside the west gate was secured, and at a meeting of the Board of Directors held at Nanking in 1905, a comprehensive plan for the buildings of the institution was adopted. The Board ordered that one professor’s house, one dormitory and a gate house be erected at once and provided for the enclosure of the lot by a substantial brick wall. These buildings were finished in May of that year. While the plans for the estabiishment of the semi- 40 Along the Grand Canal nary were being developed the matter of the union of the two branches of the I’reshyterian Church working in central China were making steady progress. In May, 1906, the meetings of the Board of Directors and of the foreigners and natives for the purpose of establishing a union Presbyterian Synod were held simultaneously in Nanking. The seminary dormitory, seventy-five feet long and thirty-two feet wide, containing eighteen rooms for single students, a reception room, a guest room, a dining room, and a kitchen, was utilized as a place for en- tertaining the Chinese delegates to the Synod. After full discussion the Synod was formed to he known as the Synod of five province.s — Chekiang, Kiangsu, Anhui, llunau and Hupeh. At the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Seminary the members of the Board and the professors solemnly took the pledge recpiired in the constitution requiring conformity to the Confession of Faith, Catechism and Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church, and the Nanking Union Theologi- cal Seminary was duly opened. The work of the Seminary has made very encourag- ing ])rogress. The students, from the verv beginning, have taken a deep interest in the work and there has been alreadv a splendid hand of 3mung men prepared under Presbyterian training for the preaching of the gospel. The work of the institution has been greatlv hindered,, hitherto, by lack of adequate Iruildings. The much-needed building has been erected during the past vear. The added cquijanent will enable the Seminarv to do a much more satisfactory rvork with the students now in attendance and provide for an increased number of new students. The two churches jointly interested in the Seminary may well rejoice in an institution that gives Presbyterian train- Along the Grand Canal 41 ing to tlie Chinese young men who will in years to come be trained jDreachers of the gospel to their own people. The greater the force of well instructed native preachers the earlier will be the day when the work of evangeliza- tion of China shall be completed. The following is the condensed Annual Report of the Seminary for 1909 : The Mid-China Mission has the privilege of furnishing two of the- three foreign profes- sors in the Union Theological Seminary at Nanking. The Seminary has enrolled during the year forty-three stu- dents, as follows : Seminary proper, ten ; training class, thirty-two ; irregular course, one. The student body represents four provinces, and is about equally divided between the missions of the American Presbyterian Church, North and South. Four of the regular Seminary students and thirteen of the training class graduated in ^lay. Rev. John W. Davis, D. D., LL. D., occupies the chair of Theology ; he is also treasurer of the mission and chair- man of the Seminary Building Committee. Rev. J. Leighton Stuart occupies the chair of New Testament Literature and Church History. An important recent ad- dition to the course of study has been a class in modern missions, the object being to bring before tbe Chinese students the leading facts of present dav evangelism. A beginning in teaching Greek has been made, the instruc- tion being given bv means of blackboard exercises and notes printed from a hectograph. Shanghai Shanghai, the greatest port city in China, is the center of a large number of missionarv activities and is especially noted as a headquarters for the creation and 42 x\long the Grand Canal publication of missionary literature. The Chinese are great readers and it is of utmost importance that they should be supplied with Christian literature. We have no mission station at Shanghai, but it is an important city to our denomination on account of the conspicuous use- fulness of Rev. S. Isett Woodridge, as editor of the Chinese Christian Intelligencer. The influence of this A Home of the Poor Near Soochow. w'eekly newspaper, already large, is extending in ever widening circles. The importance of this publication is such that when our Mission was called upon to release Mr. Woodridge to take the editorship of the Intelligencer, it was granted, notwithstanding the loss it meant to our evangelistic force in the Mission, The appreciation of this publication is seen in its increasing subscription list. Its pages are filled with timely, instructive and stimulat- ing articles from one hundred and fifty Chinese corres- pondents all over the Empire. Alonx the Grand Caxal 43 Summary Field, Statistics, Needs, Encouragements The following summary is quoted from a report made by Rev. P. F. Price, dated March, 1910; The Mid- China Mission has nine stations which, reading from south to north are Hangchow, Tunghiang, Kashing, South Soochow, North Soochow,' Kiangyin, Shanghai, and Nanking. In general the field of the Mission is bounded by the Chien Tang (or Hangchow) River on the south and the Yangtze River on the north. The Mission has sixty-two missionaries for the man- ning of its stations, the carrying on of its important in- stitutions, which includes seminary, college, four high schools, four dispensaries, one newspaper, varied literary work and an immense evangelistic field. There are fifty-four centers of work, including sta- tions and outstations. There are one hundred and forty Chinese assistants, paid and unpaid. Within the bounds of the Mission are one thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine professing Chinese Christians, of whom one hundred and eighty-nine were added on examination during the last statistical year (1909). There are seven- teen organized churches, thirty ruling elders, and twenty- nine deacons. There are four hundred and eighty stu- dents in mission schools. During the year there were one thousand and ninety-eight persons accommodated and treated in mission hospitals, and twenty-six thousand one hundred and forty-six in mission dispensaries. The opportunities for effective work in every depart- ment are exceptional at this time, and the greatest and most urgent need of the mission at present is for more workers to care for the work already established and to 44 Along the Grand Canal take advantage of the opportunities already pressing upon the missionaries to center upon the new work that needs to be developed. The Mission has been planning for years to open the large and important prefectural city of Changchow, which lies on the railroad between Soochow and Nankins', and North of the Yangtze. which would link the field of the Mid-China Mission with that of the North Kiangsu Mission, making one blue line from Hangchow clear to Hsuchoufu on the border of Shantung, but for lack of forces the Mission has not yet been able to permanently open this work. The recent meetings of the Preachers’ Conference and of the Synod illustrated the strength of the Presbyterian- ism that is being developed in this region. At the Synod Along the Grand Canal 45 the Chinese pastors and evangelists, and elders, wlio were largely in the majority, showed their administra- tive ability by the admirable way in which they conducted the afifairs of that court and they gave us a vision of the time when they, and not the missionaries, will be the leaders in the evangelization of the Chinese. And, both at the Preachers’ Conference and the Synod, they re- vealed that high conception of their trust and those lofty ideals that is the pride of the Presbyterianism that is being planted by our church in this land. This Presby- terianism has already grown into a national church, the first independent national Christian church ever estab- lished in China, conservative in its adherence to the truth and catholic in its relation to all other bodies of evangelical Christians. Who would not be proud to have a part in such an enterprise? And the fact that the work is hindered for lack of the men and women, and the means for adequate equipment to carry it forward, should stir the heart of the whole church. LIST OF Missionary Booklets Covering the Work of the Southern Presbyterian Church, BY REV. H. F. WILLIAMS, Editor of The Missionary. 1 — Along the Grand Canal (our Mid-China Mission.) 2 — North of the Yangtse River (our North Kiangsu Mission.) 3 — In the Hermit Land (our Korea Mission.) 4 — In the Mikado’s Empire (our Japan Mission.) 5 — In Mexico and Cuba (our Near-Home Missions.) 6 — In South America (our Mission in Brazil) 7 — In the Congo (our Mission in Africa) Price 5 cents each Postpaid. In Four Continents (I'ext-Book 1910-11) — The Foreign Mission Work of the Southern Presbyterian Church. Cloth, 50c. Paper, 35c. Published by the Presbyterian Committee of Publication, TEXARKANA, ARK.-TEX. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.