r. C 'n I n a f \ f ^ ‘ I » w O' V ^ Missionary Cameralogs IVest China _4MERICAN baptist FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY NEW YORK, N. Y. ACKNOWLEDGMENT RATEFUL acknowledgment is made to Rev. D. C. Graham, Rev. W. R. Taylor, Rev. W. E. Bailey and C. E. Tompkins, M.D., for their editorial assistance in reviewing the manuscript and the proof sheets of this issue of the Camer- alog series. These missionaries also supplied many of the photographs from which the illus- trations in this pamphlet have been made. HISTORICAL AND PICTORIAL SERIES WEST CHINA I. A Peep Through the Lens — showing at a glance the people and country. II. Time Exposure — being a more minute consideration of the land and people. III. Developing — giving a resume of the beginnings of missions in .Africa. IV. Finishing Touches — showing the present missionary work. PART I A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS West China Scenery Along the Yangtse River @ The great country of China which occupies the body of the continent of Asia, has a population of four hundred millions, and an area of over 1,500,000 square miles. (§) The whole of China shows an average allotment of one missionary to 270,000 people. @ Szechuan province, within which lies our West China Mission, has an area of 218,533 square miles, which is 60,236 square miles larger than the State of California. It has a population equal to that of France. It is nearty twice as populous as the next largest province in the Empire, having a population of sixty millions with an average of two thousand six hundred per square mile. A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS PART I A Typical Street Scene in Chengtu @ Owing to the high altitude the climate of south- western Szechuan is delightfid, moderate in winter and cool in summer, with heavy fertilizing rains. In other parts of the province the climate is damp and hot in summer, — accompanied with fever. (§) China supports three dominant religions, Con- fucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. All three can be held at one time by the same person, as the only real religious practice of the people consists in superstitious propitiation of idols and ancestor worship. @ Szechuan province, which lies close to Tibet, the stronghold of Buddhism, is cluttered with ugly idols, in every town andvn every hillside. 3 PART I A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS Muso from the Foothills of Tibet 1. A Peep Through the Lens. The great rivers of the Orient have often become the highways of the gospel. It was because of the mighty Yangtse-kiang that it was possible to establish a mission in western China, 2,000 miles up the river and two months’ journey by boat and carrier from the coast. The Chinese Empire is composed of the divisions known as China proper, and the outer sections of Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Turkestan. The term China proper refers only to the eighteen pro\’inces. Our West China Mission lies wholly in Szechuan, the largest and most populous province of the Empire. This district in the 4 A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS PART I far western portion of China with as large an area as. Japan proper and as large a population as France, forms a good-sized nation in itself, and is no small portion of the huge Middle Kingdom, the population of which is estimated at 420 mil- lions. According to the survey of the China Continuation Committee in 1917, the population of Szechuan is 60 mil- lions, and its area 218,533 sq. m. While the western promnce is in general a mountainous region the fertile valleys are intensively cultivated and the hills provide pasture and good tim- ber land so that the country could easily support an even larger population than now Harvester at Work in a West China Rice Field occupies it. Nature has used a laxdsh hand in hill and mountain, river and plain, in a fertile soil and luxuriant vegetation. The scenery, beau- tiful throughout the province, borders on the grand as it stretches westward tow'ard the ‘ ‘ great closed land ’ ’ of Tibet. The most remarkable resources of Szechuan are its minerals. Gold, silver and salt have been continuously and profitably mined by the Chinese for years. Of still more importance for the future development of China are the iron, copper and coal which are found in abundance in several localities. The output of these mines can be greatly increased by the introduction of modem methods. o PART I A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS In some parts of the country the climate is as attractive as the scenery. The mountainous sections, due to high altitude and heavy summer rains, have no extreme heat or cold. In Ningyuanfu, the highest sirmmer tempera- ture is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the low- est winter temperature is never below 40 degrees. From October to May there is no rain and al- most continual sunshine so that crops grow all winter long. Into the hills above Kiatingfu, near the sacred moun- tain of Omei, the mis- sionaries from upper Szechuan go for a few weeks yearly to get away from the enervating heat of the valleys. ; The rains feed the streams which furnish water for continuous irriga- tion. If they were God of Pain developed along modem lines, these same streams would provide abundant water power for industrial purposes. The great hindrance to the develop- ment of the country is its inaccessibility. From many of the remote cities one must travel twelve days’ journey overland to reach a ri\"er port. All freight or passenger traffic has to be carried over the mountain roads, going over passes 10,000 feet above sea level. Copper from the 6 A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS PARTI mines south of Ningyuanfu is carried twenty days’ journey to the provincial mints in Chengtu. Our mis- sionaries make the journey over this mountain road carried in sedan chairs by three or four coolies for each chair. Although the jjhysical traits of the people throughout China proper are in general similar, the differences are caused in frontier provinces by climate, the nature of the country and a northern tribal strain of blood. The Chinese as a race are characterized by a complexion of a yellowish cast, which they call the color of olive. They all have the same straight black hair and seemingly oblique eyes, with high cheek-bones and roundish faces. They are stout and muscular as compared with other eastern peoples. In Szechuan the Chinese occupy mainly the valleys and more accessible regions, while interspersed with them is another population almost as large of aboriginal tribes, including Lolo, Nosu, Lisu, Hsifan and Tibetans, who occupy mainly the hills and more secluded valleys. It is believed that when the Chinese entered the country, centuries before the dawn of history, they overcame and drove out a race of aborigines of which these tribes are the remnants. The Chinese language because of its difficulty and complexity has constituted one of the greatest hindrances to mission work in China. It is a relic of the childhood of the race, for the system of writing is based on pictures of the words or ideas to be written, instead of on letters which represent the sound. Of course through the ages and generations these symbols have gradually taken on complicated meanings, so that each character must now be learned separately, a severe task of memory for the European or American mind. Thus, the word “quarrel” as written in Chinese is a formalized picture of two women in one square or house, and the picture for “good” 7 PART I A PEEP THROUGH THE LENS or “well” is a combination of the characters for woman and son. The written lan<,mage is the same through China, although it appears in two forms, the “deep classical” and the “easy classical.” The spoken language often differs from the written in the words used and in their pronunciation, and varies in different parts of the country. In West China the Mandarin is used in various forms. Numerous dialects of an entirely different language are also found among the remote tribes in hill and mountain ]jass. That the mere mechanical act of forming .the Chinese characters requires long study on the part of the foreigner may be judged from the fact that in old China the formation of written characters was developed as one of the Iiigh arts. Miao Women Aborigines of West China 8 9 PART II TIME EXPOSURE Preparing Raw Cotton for Bed Quilts (§) In the southern part of Szechuan bordering on Tibet live many aboriginal tribes, who dwell apart in the mountain fastnesses. (§) The West China Mission, opened in 1889, is the most recent of our Baptist China Missions. @ The plains of Szechuan are fertile and well- watered by rivers. They could under proper conditions support a much larger population than they do at present. (§) Copper, gold, iron and coal abound in the moun- tains of southern and western Szechuan. They have always been mined a little by the Chinese but their richest resources have not been gauged, much less developed. U) TIME EXPOSURE PART II Rev. and Mrs. Robert Wellwood Starting out on a Trip from Suifu (§) Mount Omei, the sacred Buddhist mountain of West China, overlooks our Baptist mission station at Kiatingfu. (§) Injanticide is common in China, and goes un- condemned by social or legal justice. (§) In some sections the women of China are little better than slaves in the household and can be sold at will. They are not supposed to appear on the streets or in public gatherings. @ 41,000 Chinese women and girls are studying in mission schools. Only 13,000 are taught in government schools. @ The five Baptist stations in West China aim to reach six and a halj of the sixty millions in the province. II PART II TIME EXPOSURE II. TIME EXPOSURE The Chinese claim an authentic history as a nation back to 2800 b.c. Yet by a revolution lasting only a few months they broke away from the customs of 4,71 1 years, and the ancient empire became a republic. Perhaps this was easier from the fact that the reigning dynasty for the last 250 years was a foreign people, the Alanclius, who conquered the country in 1644, and imposed on China the government of a less cultivated race. The Chinese peoples have much to be proud of, but there are many things which call for condemnation. Although they admire learning and have always had a written language, the masses of the people are densely ignorant; although business men have a reputation for fulfilling their obligations, public officials are notorioush’ dishonest; although human sacrifices have never been offered, infanticide is common and goes uncondemned by public sentiment ; and although the position of women is better than in some other non-Christian countries, they have little freedom, are still in many parts of China maimed by foot-binding, can be sold by their parents, and are little better than slaves in the household. In the rich western pro\dnce, however, where the ground is fertile and rich with minerals, the miserable social and economic conditions of the east, caused largely by over- ])opulation and po^-erty, which degrade the race, do not hamper the workers to so great an extent. The people are industrious and prosperous and wide-awake, and have from the first been ready listeners to the gospel, although prompted by curiosity in the main. It is through influence in reshaping social customs, bringing the en- lightenment of modern education, and responding to the direct physical and moral needs of the people, that the missionaries have gained their strong hold on the hearts of the West Chinese. 12 TIME EXPOSURE PART II 'rill' Chinese are not a relij^ious peojile in I lie same sense as the Hindus. They do not take their relij^ion \’ery seriously, although there are some customs of a religious nature that hold them in bondage, such as ancestor worshijD and an infinite multitude of superstitious rites, (jraveyards are holy ])laces in China, and over the graves of the family fathers are burned jjaper offering-; and cheap sacrifices as a symbol of more material comforts wh'ch spirits must be given in one fonn or another. This custom of the Chinese reminds one of another old civiliza- tion, the Egyptian. Man\" things which are found in other pagan religions are absent from the Chinese religions, much to their credit. “It must be stated to the honor of the Chinese,” says Emile Bard, “that no j^eople, ancient or modern, ever ]jossessed a sacred literature more PART II TIME EXPOSURE completely exempt from licentious ideas, and at no epoch has their worship been associated with orgies or human sacrifices.” Three distinct forms of religion are recognized in China: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, — the latter being indigenous and peculiar to China. Mohammedan- ism has also a following in some parts, but compared with other religions its adherents are comparatively few. These three religions are not opposed to each other, nor does it follow that a temple or house where one god is worshiped can not also permit the worship of several others. Images of Confucius, the ancient sage, of Lao Tze, founder of Taoism, and of Buddha, the Indian teacher, often fraternize on the same altar. Confucianism lays more emphasis on ethical precepts than religious feeling and is founded on the writings of Confucius, a Chinese sage bom in 551 b.c. These principles have a high moral tone, but touch lightly the spiritual side of life. Confucius did not originate ancestor worship but he sanctioned it, and it grew to be the central idea of his followers. Today — “hundreds of millions of living Chinamen are bound to thousands of millions of dead ones.” The teachings of Lao Tze are also more philo- sophic than spiritual, but they had in them a germ of mysticism which has grown into an evil flower of super- stitious cults and practices. Grotesque idols are made to represent demons which are invoked in time of trouble. The medical missionary wars continually with these mud and paper demons. Owing to its proximity to Tibet the stronghold of Buddhism, West China is cluttered with the relics of decadent religion. A missionary’s wife writes a description of this strange land : We are surrounded by Chinese houses of tiled roofs, only one story high, filled with idols, idols everywhere, in house, shop, street, mountain and river. It is interesting as you pass along the street to note the variety and kind. They mostly take the shajje of man. 14 TIME EXPOSURE PART II though sometimes they are in the form of a woman, and often placed in groups of three or four. All are painted in gay colors; before them are placed bowls, of wood or brass, in which incense sticks are poked when occasion demands. Our little town is sur- rounded by mountains, and whenever it is possible to make the ascent of any of them, we find upon the way a small temple or shrines protecting these hideous creatures. Last year we made a trip to the top of the peak easiest of access; there we found a priest spending his spare moments making new hands and feet for some of them, and with the aid of different colored paints contained in a series of little saucers, beautifying them to the best of his ability. Beyond our peak the gorgeous snow-capped mountains rose behind the clouds in far off Tibet; there at our feet lay a rudely constructed temple containing these awful caricatures upon the work of God. Buddhism is not a native religion but was brought over from India about the beginning of the Christian era. To the Chinese it appealed as a doctrine of hope, because it taught existence beyond the life which now is, and that future welfare depends upon conduct during life. The Buddhist establishment of temples, monasteries and shrines is kept up by endowments, by the mendicant’s bowl, gifts of worshipers and prayers for the dead. Thus the stupendous problem of the gospel in West China stands revealed. It must penetrate into a land where even the echo of the vast movements in the civilized world can not be heard; it must meet the stupendous pride of the learned class, and the snug materialism of the prosperous middle class; it must overcome the inertia, and superstition of three great religious systems, and the ignorance of aboriginal \rild tribes; it must work in a society where women are degraded and child murder is not a crime. LG PART III DEVELOPING House Boat for Travel through the Yangtse Rapids (§) The journey from the east coast of China to the inland province of Szechuan takes nearly two months to cover, — traveling 1,000 miles up the river by steamer and the rest of the way by houseboat. (§) To reach many of the inland stations the mission- aries must travel twelve days overland by sedan chair or on the backs of ponies. @ The West China Mission was opened at Suifu in 1889, the fir. st woman missionary arriving in 1891. @ During the first year of the missions existence, seven were baptized. Hi DEVELOPING PART III I Modern Steamships on the Yangtse River (§) Three times within the history of the mission, in 1895, at the time of the local riots] in 1900, because of the Boxer Rebellion] and in 1911, the time of the Revolution, the missionaries have had to vacate their stations in the face of civil war. (§) Very httle advanced educational work had ever been carried on in West China until the Union University at Chengtu was opened in 1906. (§) Since the Revolution, the people have been more eager than ever for foreign education, and the study of foreign beliefs and ideals. 17 PART III DEVELOPING III. DEVELOPING For forty-five years and more the work of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in China had been limited to two fields, South China and East China. It was, therefore, an important step forward when the new field in West China was occupied. The pioneers were Rev. W. M. Uperaft and Rev. George Warner, who sailed in 1889, taking a river steamer 1,000 miles up the Yangtse to Ichang, then making the remaining distance in a houseboat. On account of high water and primitive namgation, the journey required many weeks ere they reached Suifu. This is the chief city of a large district of about 3,000,000 people, and has a population of 200,000. Two millions of the district live in exclusively Baptist territory. The multitudinous variety of work characteristic of a pioneer field was vigorously prosecuted: study of the language, house renting and repairing, medical work, preaching, teaching and touring in country districts. A long seed-sowing time was not the portion of the founders of the West China Mission, for during the first year seven were baptized, the promise of a generous harvest which was to be vouchsafed by the Lord in the years to foil nv. Early in 1891 Mrs. George Warner, arrived to join her husband; in the same year came Rev. and Mrs. Robert Well wood, who had previously been connected wdth the China Inland Mission and therefore began with a knowledge of the language. At the close of 1892 the Society was represented by nine missionaries, with medical work, two preaching places, women’s classes, a boys’ school, a Sunday school and a church of eleven members, with offerings amounting to one dollar per member. Up to this time Suifu was the only Baptist mission station in West China. In 1893, however, twelve new 18 DEVELOPING PART III workers joined the mission, and plans were immediately made for ad^"ance, with the opening of new centers. Kiatingfu was occupied in 1894, four missionaries remov- ing to that city. Unwilling to stop even there, two ex- plorers, Mr. Upcraft and Air. H. J. Openshaw, pushed on the same year to Yachowfu, the central city of a large district as yet wholly untouched by Protestant missionary effort. “A little medicine, a great deal of visiting, and a daily parade on the main streets of that city, so that every one might see us, were our first forms of work.” The renting of permanent quarters stirred up opposition and vile placards were posted abusing the foreigners. How- ever, when one of the missionaries successfully treated Chinese Temple at Suifu 19 PART III DEVELOPING the servant of an official, who had been bitten by a snake, the tide was turned in favor of the missionaries and they were allowed to stay. The three stations were by this time well establi.shed, with a good staff of workers. But in a moment all were left desolate. The riots of 1895 began in Chengtu, and thence spread all over the western part of the province, taking in Yachowfu, Kiatingfu and Suifu, as well as other cities. The little band of workers was loath to leave. Finally they made their way down the river and scattered at Chungking, some going to the coast, some to Japan and others to Burma. When the missionaries returned in the spring of 1896 it was with greatly depleted numbers, — three married couples, two single ladies and a doctor having entered other fields of labor. Nevertheless, the work was resumed in each station with renewed zeal. Reports like this came from the missionaries on their return; “The native church members are seemingly as strong in the faith as before.’’ This may be said to be the period of greatest activity and widest expansion in the history of the mission. Enquirers and converts increased in number, and interest sprang up in places where previously the missionary had been stoned and driven out. At Lichwang, where the fleeing missionaries were attacked in 1895, twenty or thirty enquirers were reported at the end of 1897. A West China association, with Chinese delegates, met in Kiatingfu at the end of the same year, 1897, when Christians from the three stations assembled for the first time. The middle of the year 1900 marked the member- ship of the three churches, Suifu, Kiatingfu and Yachowfu, at sixty-eight, with some two hundred names on the en- quirers’ roll. Hope was large for the continued expansion of the work, when once again, in 1900, the order came; “Leave your stations immediately and come to points of safety and 20 DEVELOPING PART III protection.” The storm-cloud of Boxerism had broken in all its fury in the northern provinces, and threatened to sweep every foreigner and native Christian out of the ^ land. Most of the members of our West China Mission returned to America to remain until conditions sliould favor a return. Dr. Corlies availed himself of tlie first opportunity to get back to Suifu, where he found the Christians still at work as though nothing had ]iai)])ened. The Chinese Christians in all the stations had been kc])t faithful. God had more than answered jDrayer for the safety of the little flock which had been left as slieep among wolves. Not only so, but the return of the missionaries was hailed with joy, and a royal welcome was accorded them by officials and people. New educational and medical work of an advanced grade was started in this next period. Dr. and Mrs. C. E. Tompkins arrived to take charge of the hospital worlc at vSuifu. In 1905, a new station was opened at Ning- yuanfu, the capital of a prefecture, 300 miles south of Yachowfu. At Chengtu the Union imiversity was organ- ized in 1906 and in 1909 received its first Baptist repre- sentatives in the persons of Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Taylor, transferred from Yachowfu. Chengtu, the latest Baptist station, thus became the center of the West China educa- tional system. In 1911 the province was again disturbed by rumors of railroad troubles and threats of revolution. At last the real Revolution broke out in central China and all were advised to depart for the coast. The Chengtu missionaries and those who were at the hills for their summer vacation went. But the Ningyuanfu missionaries and Mr. and Mrs. Openshaw, who had not left Yachowfu for the summer, felt that it was better to remain where they were than to face the unknown dangers of the road. During the momentous months that followed 21 PART III DEVELOPING Mr. Openshaw won the lasting gratitude of hundreds of Chinese by acting as a whole Red Cross Society in himself, with Mrs. Openshaw as auxiliary. The Chinese Christians still tell of Mrs. Openshaw’s bravery during the siege of Yachowfu, — how she would play the organ and sing while bullets whizzed about the house. The Administration Building at the West China Union University Like a vast earthquake, the Revolution crumbled the old foundation of Chinese social and religious life and left an eager longing for everything western. Even in the far west the queue was cut, foot-binding officially forbidden, yamens thrown open, dragons erased; the people were almost drunk with ideas of liberty and patriot- ism. But they were like prisoners long housed in the dark and now brought out for the first time to the light of day in a vast new world. All roads were new, and unknown 22 DEVELOPING PART III dangers lurked on ever>" hand. A wonderful opportunity of leading and counselling has been granted to the mission- ary in the years following the great awakening. In 1919 the West China Mission celebrated its thirtieth anniversary". Wars and rumors of wars have filled the annals of these years with an exciting story, and, largely thanks to the brave missionaries who made the future of this remote land their own, — history has meant progress for West China. On the one hand we look back on the days when the wondering Chinese watched the foreigner making marks with a small round stick which he took from his pocket, and discussed with one another by what black art the magic was done ; on the other, we find a group of progres- sive Chinese scholars busily writing with these same lead pencils. There, we see suspicious and doubting natives, discussing wfith one another the dark purposes of the foreigners who came to spy out the land and take their homes away from them; here we find their de- scendants praising America — “their sister nation.’’ There we find the guests of the missionary afraid to accept a cup of tea politely proffered them, because they fear some mysterious poison which will change their hearts into foreign hearts and make them whiling to believe the foreign doctrine and worship the foreign God ; — and common talk on the street says that the foreigners are- cannibals who eat the flesh of little children and gouge out the eyes of the dead to use in making medicine ; — here we find Chinese and foreigners feasting together, the missionary doctor called to attend the mother in her travail, to minister to those who lie at death’s door, to officiate at w-eddings and funerals, and the Chinese enquirer washing to cast all his cares upon the shoulders of the missionary. Finally, instead of a land of no schools, no hospitals, no Christian worshipers, — w"e find today a land rich with the promise of civilization and evangelization. 23 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES A Baptist Mission School in West China (§) The most accessible of the five Baptist mission stations is 2,000 miles from the coast. All the five stations are at least 100 miles apart, and the most remote is 300 miles from its nearest neighbor. (§) There are 1,207 Baptist church members in the province, distributed among the five station churches. (§) Each central station has several outstations, manned by Chinese preachers and lay-workers. @ Owing to the small number of the station, schools and their elementary character, candidates for baptism come in to the central station for instruction in en- quirers' classes. 24 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV Mrs. C. E. Tompkins^ Kindergarten at Suifu (§) There are thirty-nine schools in the TlVsi China Mission: four hoys' higher primary schools, three station girls' schools, two middle {high) schools, one kindergarten, and a university which includes depart- ments in religious and medical work. At Chengtu are two normal schools for men and women. (§) Medical work is carried on in all the stations. Two have regularly equipped hospitals. Three men and two women doctors serve the mission. Chinese workers are being trained in the medical college and the nurses' school of the Women's Hospital at Suifu. @ The people of West China are eager for foreign in- struction, and willing listeners to the gospel. They are like a flock which will follow if it be led. ] \ 'hy are six and a half million sheep left to only thirty-three shepherds? 25 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES IV. FINISHING TOUCHES The five stations of our mission in West China aim to minister to a population of six and a half millions. Among the numbers of this vast pastorate have been built up five churches, which now count a membership of 1,207 persons ; forty schools of various degrees are busy training the next generation of Christians. Medical work is carried on in all five stations to some degree, and in three stations through the agency of regular physicians and equipped hospitals. The five stations in the order of their founding are Suifu, 1889; Kiatingfu, 1894; Yachowfu, 1894; Ning- yuanfu, 1905; and Chengtu, 1909. Suifu, the earliest station, is in the southern part of the Szechuan pro\dnce, at the junction of the Min and Yangtse rivers, 2,000 miles from the sea. It has a popula- tion of about 200,000, and is the chief city of a district of 3,000,000 people scattered in eleven walled townships or “hsien” cities, sixty-eight market towns, and dense farming districts. The people are prosperous, not over- densely settled, and have proved willing listeners to the gospel message. After the disturbances of 1900, the missionaries returned to find a new marked interest in the Christian faith and a persistent demand for teachers, pastors and schools. But a depletion of the mission forces resulted in diminished fenmr on the part of the people. The death of two workers retarded the advance still further. In 1913 a new lease of life was entered upon, under a system which has lasted up to today except for the interruption of furloughs. The field has been divided and assigned to two evangelistic leaders, one for the city church and one for the country districts. The church, with a membership of 235 and a Sunday school of 400 is now flourishing; the educational and medical plants both contribute in their own peculiar way to the evangeliz- ing of the people. 2 () FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV Day School Pupils and Teachers at Kiatingfu Kiatingfu, the second station, is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in China. It lies at the junction of the Min and Tong rivers, 100 miles north of Suifu. The landscape forms a brightly colored picture ; red sandstone cliffs and city walls contrast udth the abundance of green hillsides and trees reflected in the sometimes blue, some- times yellow waters of the river. Facing this citv sits the famous image of Buddha, two hundred feet high, whose eyes seem to look over the habitation of man in cold dis- dain toward the “Golden Srunmit” of Mount Omei, the Buddhist sacred mountain of West China. The town of Kiatingfu numbers a population of about 120,000. Lying at the head waters of rteam na\’igation it is famous as a center for trade in silk, white wax, salt and Irunber, and is the transfer point for a large district whose jjroducts are brought to Kiatingfu by the three rivers, Min, Tong and Ya. The outlying district is very populous, — nearly 400,000 i:)eople living within a ten mile radius of 27 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES the city. There are three missions at work in the city, — the Canadian Methodist Mission, the China Inland Mission and our own Baptist Mission, represented at present by one married couple only. The Roman Catholics (French) are here in force, and own large stretches of property inside the city. Mission work in this station was largely established by Rev. W. F. Beaman, who re- turned after the riots of 1895, alone, and worked there until in 1911 ill health compelled his permanent departure from the field. The district lying to the northwest of Kiatingfu, of which Yachowfu is the center, has a population of about one million. Although the city itself is not of great size it holds an important place in the province. The residence of the district official of the surrounding district, and that of the circuit judge are in Yachowfu. It is a military station, for the army and all equipment pass through here on their way to the border of Tibet, along the main road from Chengtu, the capital of the province. All Tibetan trade is transhipped here, including the important tea trade. The Ya River on which all this trade is carried, is not navigable even by rowboats, but only by bamboo rafts. Much merchandise finds its way to Yachowfu on these long light rafts to be here repacked and carried on the backs of coolie carriers to Takienlu, the gateway to Tibet. Products of the interior, notably antimony and salt, — and even opium when it is occasionally smuggled through, — are from here shipped to the outer world. At present the Yachowfu station has the largest staff of foreign missionaries in its history, and the work is proportionately advancing. A new church has just been completed under the supervision of the able building director. Rev. Ward E. Bailey. A fine hospital and a boys’ school act as feeders to the evangelistic efforts. Women’s work has been started since 1914 and is now established on a finn and promising basis. 28 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV Ningyuanfu, opened as a regular station by Rev. Robert Wellwood in 1905, is a frontier center which appeals to the pioneer spirit. Located near the border of Tibet in a secluded valley, twelve days’ journey from any other mission station, at an elevation just one mile above sea level, and .surrounded by mountains rising to an altitude of 14,000 feet, — this city has long been the political and trade center for an area of 150 square miles. Nearly one million Chinese people inhabit this district. Interspersed with the Chinese are a large number of the aboriginal tribes, occupjdng the remote hills and more secluded valleys. Tibetans, Lolos and Nosus live here in numbers which are quite ungauged. It is in this mountainous district that the greater part of the mineral wealth of the western province is concentrated. Coal, iron, silver, gold in unknown quantities lie hidden in the giant folds of these hills, some day to be uncovered by a generation to come. But owing to the lack of means of transportation comparatively little of these riches can at present reach the outer world. The nearest stream which connects Ningjmanfu with the world market flows by Yachowfu, — a twelve days’ journey from the former city. Mission work at this station has from the first been supported by popular approval. The injustice of Chinese courts is accentuated in frontier districts, and the practice of Roman Catholics of aiding all adherents, has produced a demand for assistance in private troubles which has embarrassed to a considerable degree our missionaries at Ning\manfu. The size of the field and its remote location make it imperative that a sufficient force of missionaries be sent to man the field adequately until such time as a responsible force of Chinese workers and evangelists can be raised up to minister to their own people. Chengtu, at the opposite end of the province from our last station, is the capital and educational center of Szechuan. It is located in the midst of a popifious and 29 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES fertile plain, not far from the foothills of the mountains. Within the city walls dwell about three quarters of a million people. Mission work in this city is carried on by the Canadian Methodists, the American Methodists, the English Friends, the China Inland Mission, the Church Mission Society and the American Baptists. The French Roman Catholics also have chapels and workers here. The southeast corner of the city for which the American Baptists are responsible contains more people than any other station of the mission in West China, except Suifu. Work was first begun here through educational channels, the Baptists sending their representative to the Union Middle School and University which is supported by the Canadian Methodists, the American Methodists, the English Friends, the Church Mission Society and the American Baptists. Five years ago the Baptist mission had at the University one permanent and one semi- irermanent re.sidence and a tumbled down Chinese build- ing that served as a dormitory for our students. Today the Baptist Campus of the West China University is a well ordered and artistically laid out college campus with its avenues bordered by trees and hedges. In addition to the two main buildings there are four brick and one semi-permanent residence. On the Baptist Athletic Field which is inclosed and equipped with a quarter-mile race track, the University Field Day Meets have been held for the past three years. Recently the Baptist Mission has completed four new buildings at the University, — the Van Deman Memorial Hall, a gift of the Van Deman brothers in honor of their father and mother; a Middle School dormitory and two commodious residences, the latter three being gifts of a friend deeply interested in our foreign mi.ssion enterpri.se. In addition to the work which has been accomplished at the University much progress has also been made within 30 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV the city of Chengtu. In 1914 a Bajjtist Church was organized. The students under Baptist supervision have been able to contribute to the evangelization of the l^eople, while they themselves gained experience for Christian work. This station is undertaking eventually to ])rovide Chinese leaders for the entire West China Mission. EVANGELISTIC WORK The missionaries to West China work on the principle that only through the labors of a trained staff of Chinese workers could this va.st and remote district be thoroughly evangelized. Many methods beside preaching are em- ployed for the instruction and training of the people. A rally day in one station occurs annually and has been .successful in bringing larger numbers to the days’ services and in arousing a fine enthu- siasm for advance. At another place the Christian young men are gathered into a Baraca class, following the methods of that movement in America. In still another station a two years’ class for enquirers has been in- stituted with the hope that some good evan- gelistic workers may be raised up. Evangelistic work has been emphasized above all other forms of endeavor in West China. To supplement the work of the limited number of paid preachers in the Chinese Evangelist and Family at Suifu 31 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES cx'anj^elizin^ of llie oiUor towns and districts, unsalaried lay jjreachers have been utilized. Especially valuable are the services of these men in maintaining regular street I^reaching at many of the outstations. Their sermons, although often merely ]jersonal testimonies, are none the less effective. The results of these efforts are already being felt in Suifu, the earliest station, where trained helpers are now being brought into the ministry. The church work is ver\- encouraging here wnth its membership of 23d and large Sunday school, institutional work for men, and large enquirers’ class. The work of the immense evangelistic field which for several years was under the direction of Rev. D. C. Graham, is now being carried on by Rev. A. G. Adams. New church buildings in both Yachowfu and Chengtu are recent acquisitions, and promise to be well su]:)ported by the native membership. On the com- ])Ound at Yachowdu are Chinese buildings to accommodate FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV the men’s and women’s Bible elasses whieh are held for several weeks in the spring and autumn, so that the en- quirers from the outstations may come in for several weeks’ instruction before being accepted for church mem- bership. The Chinese Christians of Yachowfu contributed f 1,000 mexican for the equipment of the church ])lant. At Chengtu the church membership con.sists largely of students in the Baptist donuitory who have recei\'ed letters of transfer from other Baptist churches. At Kiatingfu, where one man has been left in charge with his wife of the city church and four outstations, the evangel- istic work has nevertheless held its own. Ningyuanfu has been no less undermanned and at present is without resident missionary. A concerted strenuous effort must be made to properly staff this great and promising mission. EDUCATIONAL WORK Chengtu, the latest station of the Baptist mission, is the seat of the highest educational institution. The West China Union university was organized in 1906, but it was not till 1909 that our mission had any representatives there. As there were no students of university grade at that time in the district, the Union Middle School was established first. It was a time of small and modest be- ginnings quite contrary to the usual method of procedure employed by the Chinese, who usually commence such undertakings with great display and then gradually let the buildings fall into decay. The university is now fully established on a fine site just outside the city. Included within its walls are the faculties of arts, science, religion and medicine, the middle school, the nonnal school and the Bible training school. The instruction is under union auspices while the various missions each have their own dormitories and thus keep in touch with the social and religious life of the students. 33 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES Opening Exercises of the Middle School Domitory at West China Union University The lower schools in the various other stations of the mission act as feeders to this central and highest institu- tion. In vSuifu, the schools, of which there are eleven in all, are particularly high grade and well supported, — a growing enthusiasm being evident and willingness on the part of students to pay fees. Here is located the Munroe Academy, which started as a boys’ primary school and later developed into a boys’ boarding school of higher and lower primary grades. The Academy of which J. E. Mon- crieff is now principal, is taking its place as the leading educational institution among a population of several million people. There are two jmimary schools for boys, well attended, in Kiatingfu, one girls’ school, and three outstation schools, — all under the supervision of the 34 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV one evangelistic missionary. The school at Yachowfu has far outgrown the old Chinese buildings and is about to move into more commodious quarters. The boys’ school here has a regular attendance of over a hundred. In Ningyuanfu the girls’ school is the oldest institution, having been carried on continuously by Mrs. Wellwood since the opening of the station until her departure. There is also a boys’ school. Both schools are well organ- ized, and during the absence of the missionaries are carried on enthusiastically by the Chinese. WORK FOR WOMEN The importance of winning over the women of China to Christianity and to a civilized way of life in order to fix a lasting influence upon the lives of the people has been fully realized by the workers in West China. Girls’ schools have been started in all the stations, although in one station the school has had to be given up for lack of women work- ers, and in another has been left entirely to per- sistent labors of Chinese helpers. Foundations were well laid by the earlier missionaries for the work- ers of the Woman’s Board who were to follow. In 1 902 a school was opened at Suif u by Dr. Britton Corlies. Not long afterwards it was taken over by Mrs. R. Wellwood and still later by Miss F. Pearl Page under whose efficient direction it has become one of the leading girls’ schools A Little Maid of China 35 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES in this section of China. It is a boarding school with high school department, and is attended by the daughters of some of the best Chinese families, many of them coming from distant cities. As a result of the strong religious influence in this school and the splendid spirit with which Miss Page has inspired the girls, many of them have become earnest Christians, and not a few have entered His service as mission workers. At Yachowfu Miss Winifred Roeder opened a higher primary boardiirg and day school in 1914 upon the basis of the old out- station schools. The attendance grew in three years from thirt}'-three to seventy-three. The Union Nonnal School for wom.en is well attended. Through the Woman’s Board also has come the Cecilia hlemorial Kindergarten of Suifu, the first Kindergarten organized in the great West of China. Nor has evangelistic work for women been neglected. The wives of the early missionaries prepared the path for advance. Bible classes and per- sonal visits to the outstations are the methods employed. Gradually the customs which bind the upper class women of West China in seclusion almost as rigid as that of the zenana women of India are breaking away, and the vision of the broader life and broader interest which comes with the gospel is bursting the fetters which bind women to a life of darkness and ignorance. MEDICAL WORK Although medical work is carried on to some extent in all the stations of the West China Mission, it has flourished especially at Suifu and Yachoudu under Dr. C. E. Tompkins and Dr. Emilie Bretthauer at the former city and Dr. G. Glass Davitt at the latter. It was begun in 1892, at Suifu, by Dr. C. H. Finch. The Yachow hospital was completed in 1907 by Dr. Britton Corlies, and later conducted by Dr. E. T. Shields. It is open for men and women, and a daily dispensary 36 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV The New Baptist Church at Yachow is carried on. Outstation tours are also taken occa- sionally by Dr. Davitt. On these tours, which took him as far as the border of Tibet, Dr. Davitt found especially .yood use for the opium cure, for in the border towns the druy is to this day used extensively. Ai-riving on the field in 1902, Dr. Tompkins immediately set about the building of the new hospital which has been his workshop ever since. The hospital, with its mixing of races, ranks and religions, offers a concentrated fiekl of action for evangelistic work by the doctor and his Chinese evangelist assistant. During the civil riots and fighting between northern and southern forces which has gone on periodically for the last two years. Dr. Tompkins and his staff have been constituted an Emergency Red Cross Corps and have rendered single-hearted and im- 37 PART IV FINISHING TOUCHES Dr. C. E. Tompkins in his Operating Room at the Suifu Hospital partial service to all sufferers of all ]jarties. Only when Dr. Toinjjkins actually broke down from overwork and contracted severe typhoid fever was he forced to leave his post. As a publicity measure alone the undertaking of Red Cross activity was highly successful, for the doctor has become the best known and the most loved of all .'58 FINISHING TOUCHES PART IV foreign workers in the Suifu district. If you meet a robber on the road, he has more than likely been to the hospital for treatment at some time or other, — and when you say: “ I am a friend of Dr. Tompkins,” he will let you pass with a friendly word. Women are treated in the woman’s hospital in charge of Dr. Bretthauer and Miss Crawford. A nurses’ training school is conducted here. At the Chengtu Union Medical School the Society is represented by Dr. W. R. Morse, who is one of the lead- ing surgeons of West China. The success which this school has already had leads one to expect that it will be able to supply the mission fields adequately with Chinese doctors. SUMMARY In one of the most prosperous and fertile lands of the great Chinese Empire, remote from ci\’ilization but full of promise for the future, Christianity’s peaceful penetra- tion is well imderway. Good pioneer work has been done, and on a strong foundation the future advance of the work can be carried out. The people are interested; all classes, learning, agriculture, labor, commerce and military, ■ — not to mention the wild aboriginal hiU- dwellers, — have been reached. Intensive educational and medical work is being imdertaken in the five central stations, from which trained workers and sincere believers are being sent out into the vast surrounding lands to spread the gospel. As, through the years to come, modern commercial and industrial methods open the cities, farms, and mines of West China to the developmenl hey require, ■ — ■ so the Christian workers will open the hearts of the people to show forth the spiritual and moral riches that lie hidden there, imtil West China shall become one of the great strongholds of the Kingdom of Christ. :39 STATIONS THE FIVE STATIONS Chengtu (chen-t66) opened 1909, a city of 700,000 people; the capital of Szechuan Province, the center of a densely populated plain (1,700 to the square mile) over 2,000 miles from Shanghai. Here are located the West China Union University, the Union Bible Training School, the Union Normal School for women and the Union Language School for missionaries. The church has 30 members. Kiatingfu (Ja-dm-foo), founded 1894, between Suifu and Chengtu, is located at the meeting-point of three rivers, and is known as a center for the silk, white-wax and salt trades. Mount Omei, one of China's famous sacred mountains, a stronghold of Buddhism, is only one day distant. There is a strong Baptist church and several well organized schools for boys. A number of promising students have gone from here to Chengtu University. Ningyuenfu (Ning-yuen-foo), opened 190.5, is our most remote station in China, located 500 miles southwest of Yachowfu; is the capital of the prefecture and affords access to many cities to the south, west and north. East of the district are the Lolos, wild aboriginal tribes, for whom nothing adequate is being attempted. Ningyuenfu is not much farther northeast of Myitkyina, Burma, than it is southwest of Chengtu, West China. There is a large lower primary school for boys in the city and upper primary classes have been opened. A large school for girls used to be conducted by the wives of the missionaries and is now kept up by Chinese helpers. Suifu (Swa-foo), 20,000 miles from the coast, opened 1889, the first station in the West China Mission. This city, with a population of 200,000 is the center of a district of 2,000,000 people and com- mercially ranks as the third city in the province. A vigorous church is established here. The new church building, erected through contributions of Chinese friends, American friends and missionaries, is already proving too small. Higher and lower primary schools are conducted for both girls and boys. In Munroe Academy the students are prepared for the middle or high school and University. The day school for women is sending out useful Christian wives and mothers. The kindergarten started a few years ago has proved a great success. The girls’ boarding school has become one of the finest evangelizing agencies in the station. Yachowfu (Ya-j6-f66) opened 189.3; most western station, a walled city standing at the head of raft navigation on the Ya River, center of a district of 1,000,000 population. The work here is well developed through a church with 395 members, and all the regular departments are active. Boarding school work for boys and graded day schools with a chain of five primary schools in outstations; schools for girls; a Bible school for women; and hospital work for both men and women. 40 MISSIONARIES MISSIONARIES IN WEST CHINA Complete to December 1, 1919 Abbreviations; m. married; * deceased while in service; f retired from the mission and still living (1919); I retired from the mission and since deceased. Name Date of Arrival Adams, Rev. A. G 1914 Adams, Mrs. Olive O. Mason 1914 Argetsinger, Miss Minnie M 1919 Bailey, Rev. W. E 1912 Bailey, Mrs. Bertha L. Collins 1912 Bassett, Miss Beulah E 1907 tBeaman, Rev. W. F. (m. Miss Frances C. Bliss) 1894 {Bliss, Miss Frances C. (m. Rev. W. F. Beaman) 1894 Bovell, Miss Mabel E 1918 Bradshaw, Rev. F. J 1894 Bradshaw, Mrs. Martha A. Phillips, M.D 190.3 Bretthauer, Miss Emilie, M.D. (transferred from Central China) 1916 Brodbeck, Miss L. Emma 1918 tChambers, Miss Irene M 1911 *Cherney, Rev. J. A 1909 jCherney, Mrs. Julia S. Wilson (Mrs. T. Bateman) .... 1909 Clark, Rev. I. Brooks (transferred to East China Mission) 1906 Clark, Mrs. Clara Heyel (transferred to East China Mission ) 1906 *Cody, Miss Jennie L. (transferred from Central China) . . 1915 fCole, Miss Anna B. (Mrs. H. A. Vernon) 1903 Corlies, Miss Anna E., M.D. (m. Rev. H. F. Rudd) . 1906 *Corlies, Briton, M.D 1898 Crawford, Miss L. Jennie (transferred from Central China) 1916 Davies, Rev. J. P 1906 Davies, Mrs. Helen E. MacNeill 1906 tDavitt, G. Glass, M.D 1913 {Davitt, Mrs. Laura LaRue 1913 Dye, Mr. Daniel S 1908 Dye, Mrs. Jane C. Balderston 1919 tFinch, C. H., M.D 1892 {Finch, Mrs. Clara B. Whitemarsh 1892 {Forbes, Miss Bessie G 1892 Foster, Mr. C. L 1910 Foster, Mrs. Ruth B. Smith 1912 tGardelin, Miss M. A 1894 41 MISSIONARIES Name Date of Arrival Graham, Rev. D. C 1911 Graham, Mrs. Alicia M. Morey 1911 tHall, Rev. Asa Z. Hall, M.D 1906 jHill, Rev. G. W. (transferred to Japan in 1895) 1894 tHill, Mrs. Mary Hoyt (transferred to Japan in 1895) . . . 1894 Humphreys, J. C., M.D 1910 Humphreys, Mrs. Ethel M. Baumgardner 1910 Inveen, Miss Emma (m. Rev. W. M. Upcraft) (transferred from East China) 1891 Jensen, Rev. J. C 1911 Jensen, Mrs. Lois A. Butler 1911 *Lewis, Rev. C. G 1905 tLewis, Mrs. Ada Culley 1905 Lovegren, Mr. L. A 1917 Lovegren, Mrs. Ida Langsea 1917 tMcKinney, Rev. W. A 1903 tMcKinney, Mrs. Roberta H. Montgomery 1903 JMalcolm, F. B., M.D 1894 tMason, Miss Pansy C. (Mrs. Charles Surtees) 1909 Moncrieff, Mr. J. E 1915 Moncrieff, Mrs. Virginia A. Merriam 1915 Morse, W. R., M.D 1910 Morse, Mrs. Anna C. Kinney 1910 Openshaw, Mr. H. J 1894 Openshaw, Mrs. Lena Van Valkenburgh 1898 Page, Miss F. Pearl 1903 Roeder, Miss Winifred M. (transferred from Central China) 1915 Rudd, Rev. F. H. (m. Miss Anna E. Corlies, M.D.) . 1903 *Salquist, Rev. C. A 1893 Salquist, Mrs. Anna M. Ericsson 1897 fShields, Edgar T., M.D 1908 jShields, Mrs. Frances E. Davis 1908 tSilke, Rev. William G 1893 Slaght, Miss Carrie E., M.D 1917 Smith, Rev. F. N 1911 Smith, Mrs. Lucy H. Holmes 1911 Taylor, Rev. Joseph, D.D 1903 Taylor, Mrs. Helena W. Witte 1906 Taylor, Rev. W. R 1912 Taylor, Mrs. Harriett E. Duguid 1912 Therolf, Miss Frances 1918 Tompkins, C. E., M.D 1902 Tompkins, Mrs. May T. Bisbee 1902 JUpcraft, Rev. W. N. (m. Miss Emma Inveen) 1889 42 MISSIONARIES Name Date of Arrival fViking, Rev. C. F 1894 tViking, Mrs. C. F 1894 Wall, Miss Frida G 1919 tWarner, Mr. George (transferred to East China in 1895) . 1889 fWarner, Mrs. Mara S. Morehead (transferred to East China in 1895) 1889 *Wellwood, Rev. Robert 1891 Wellwood, Mrs. Robert 1891 The Van Deman Memorial Hall at West China Union University 43 INDEX Index Part I. General Survey Location 4 Topography 5 Climate 6 The People , 7 The Language 8 Wap of China 9 Part II. The Land and the People Characteristics of the People .12 Religions 13 Idol Worship 14 Buddhism in China 15 Problems Confronting Christianity 15 Part III. Beginnings of Missions First Missionaries 18 Expansion 20 Political Disturbances 21 Reorganization 22 Retrospect 23 Part IV. Present Work Baptist Stations: Suifu 26 Kiatingfu 27 Yachowfu 28 Ningyuanfu 29 Chengtu 29 Evangelism 31 Encouraging Signs 32 Education 33 M unroe Academy 34 Work for Women 35 Medical Work 36 Suifu Hospital 37 Emergency Red Cross Corps 38 Summary 39 List of Stations 40 List of Missionaries 41 44 * f* Tj'OR Additional literature ^ or other information regarding the work of the AMERICAN BAPTIST Foreign Mission Society write to any of the following: The General Board of Promotion, 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The State Board of Promotion of your State. Department of Missionary Education, 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Literature Department, 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 205-5M-4-1-1920