CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVE

Section I: East Asia Missions

Part 15: Western China Mission, 1897-1934

Part 16: Western China Mission, 1898-1934 and Fukien Mission, 1900-1934

Part 17: Fukien Mission, 1911-1934

Part 18: Fukien Mission, 1900-1934, Kwangsi-Hunan Mission, 1911-1934, China General, 1935-1951
              and South China, 1935-1951

Part 19: South China Mission, 1935-1951, Fukien Mission, 1935-1951 and Kwangsi-Hunan Mission,
              1935-1951

Introduction to Part 15

Part 15 continues coverage of missions to China with the papers of the Western China Mission, 1897-1934. It includes the Letter Books for 1897-1934 and most of the Original Papers covering the years 1898-1928. The remaining Original Papers to 1934 are included in Part 16.

The Letter Books for 1897-1934 contain private and confidential letters from the Secretary in London to individual missionaries. Material includes: circulars re Chinese students; rules for a Women’s Conference in the Western China Mission; a circular re the outbreak of war in 1914; a memorandum re support of the Native Agency in the mission field; a circular re the China Advisory Council. The great majority of the letters contain instructions to missionaries.

The Original Papers, 1898-1928 are the incoming papers sent by the missions to London. They contain letters regarding all manner of subjects, the current political situation in China being covered in depth. Letters from missionaries describe the riots in 1898 which destroyed the mission, the anti-Christian outbreak in 1899, the unrest in Peking in 1900 and the disturbances in Sintu in 1911. There are letters from missionaries describing their first impressions, requesting furloughs, increases in salary, permission to marry, illness and retirement and there are vivid descriptions of their travels in the countryside around the missions. These are contained in the missionaries’ letters, journals and annual reports. An interesting account is to be found in the papers for 1909 by the missionary Rose Lawrence describing her travels up river to Seng-Pan. She tells how the inhabitants had only seen a foreign woman once before. Deaths and funerals of missionaries are also described in detail by their colleagues.

Reports, Minutes and Pamphlets of all kinds are to be found including: Minutes and Recommendations of the West China Women’s Conference; copies of The West China Religious Tract Society; The Bulletin of the Diocese of Western China; a report of the West China Missions Advisory Board; the regulations of the West China Mission; a leaflet of the West China Educational Union; reports on the progress and policy of the West China Mission; a copy of The Western China CMS Notes; many reports from the University; a statement regarding a Woman’s College for West China and a booklet on science in Szechuan.

Items related to finance cover: discussions about missionary salaries, diocesan statistics; educational statistics; minutes of the Standing and Finance Committee; statistics of staff and churches.

Miscellaneous items include: notices of examinations in Chinese; maps of the Western China Mission area and of Sichuan; colourful postcards depicting Chinese scenes sent by missionaries to headquarters in London; certificates of good health of missionaries; requests for more missionaries to be sent out to China; probation reports of missionaries; instructions on how the new Union Christian University should be run; a list of Protestant missions in Western China, 1909; photographs of famine sufferers; plans for a new college at Mienchow; line drawings depicting the West China University; maps re educational work; photographs of the first graduates from the University; plans for the extension to the Mienchow Boy’s School; a pamphlet A Review of Ten Years describing the work of the West China Union University.

The papers also contain copies of The West China Missionary News beginning with some of the first editions in 1899 which were handwritten. The issues contain interesting articles and the later ones include photographs of the missionaries and the local Chinese. There are also newspaper cuttings covering subjects such as: the rioting in the Yang-Tse Valley; missionary journeys in China; the urgent need for more missionaries in China.

The following extracts give an idea of the type of material to be found in the papers. The two below, written by missionaries to the Secretary in London, tell of the continuing violence against foreigners:

Hien Cheo Oct 10 1898
I am thankful to tell you that the 15th of the Chinese moon passed without any disturbance at Chentu. The Missions are all being guarded, not only by soldiers, but by the officials in person. I believe it is the same in Chungking. The Consul has just telegraphed to Chentu, with instructions to tell the other places, that missionaries are not to leave their Stations and go to Chungking unless “absolutely expelled”… All continues quiet here, although some of the disaffected put up a large placard against foreigners in this City on Saturday. There are strange rumours about, the latest today is that the Emperor’s mother has killed some of the highest mandarins in Pekin!

Paoning Nov 11th 1898
The British Consul at Chungking, basing his calculation upon information received from the French Consul and priests computes that up till now 25 R C Chapels have been destroyed, thousands of native Christians rendered homeless and perhaps 60 or 70 killed. I know from other sources that in some cases the R C Christians have had an opportunity given them to recant and refusing to do so, have been beheaded. The intention of the Rebel leader Yumanlsi is to sweep Christianity out of the province… The chief danger just now on the northern region is of lawless bands who assume the name of the rebels for their own purposes.

The following extract is from an account by a lady missionary, Mrs Rose Lawrence, of her six day journey in a sedan chair to Song-Pan, one of the chief entry points into Tibet.

Mow-Chow, Sz-chwan, West China, Sept 25th 1909
The scenery is lovely all the way until you near Song-Pan and then it is rather bare of trees, but the pasture land is so splendid and horses and mules abound as they seem to suit the rough roads and steep climbs better than chairs carried by coolies. Lower down the high mountains were magnificent and the wild rushing river was grand to see while trees, flowers and ferns abounded everywhere… Rev W Kitley was able to shoot both pheasants and pigeons for dinner as we went along the road and we were very glad as it is most difficult to buy anything along that lonely road, even our coolies had to carry their own chop sticks to eat their rice or corn and we had to bring every single thing we needed on the journey with us too, beds and bedding, lights, eatables and cooking utensils and above all plenty of Keating’s Powder… Many many of the people had never seen a foreign woman on that lonely but beautiful road before. Of course on that account their curiosity was very great and they crowded round in the tea shops until we were nearly smothered for want of pure air… As to Song-pan itself it seemed a God-forsaken spot at the end of the earth and we were not at all so well in health while in the city… As to the Thibetans they are a sturdy race but very wild and rough… They camp out in the grass in the open air just rolled up in a blanket or fur coat while their mules lie near by at night… They seem a cute people who would either make a good friend or a bad enemy – a bit gypsy-like in appearance. … In the Courtyard where we stayed and had two rooms and a kitchen there Chinese men were gambling all day long in a room opposite to us and opium smokers occupied a room at the back of us, they sent their foul fumes in through our windows it made our bedrooms reek of opium…

The next extract tells of the unrest caused in Sintu in the province of Szechwan in 1911 over railway loans:

… It was not till we got to Tangkiasra… fifteen miles from Sintu that we noticed things were happening of an unusual nature. Here we found shops shut everywhere the yellow poster, or spirit tablet to the late Emperor Kwang Hsu posted up, we asked why these things? and they replied it was the sign of the railway league and a protest against the loan. Here also we were met by special messengers from Chengtu telling us of the seriousness of the situation there and the preparations that had been made for women and children leaving the city, also that we should proceed there, of if the road was too unsafe to return to Mionchow… Arriving at Sintu, immediately sent off letters to Chengtu to inquire about the situation there, I also requested a few of our Sintu gentry to kindly call and discuss the situation… About this time trouble began to break out in our immediate neighborhood, first to the north of us and many skirmishes were fought, troops constantly passing and repassing our city, both before and after these skirmishes, at times bearing their wounded with them. Then south of us began to get affected and Kingtang was the seat of great unrest: here it was that the Feitu became rampant and deeds of violence were the order of the day, dreadful tales were brought in about this district, tales of murder, rapine, robbery and utter lawlessness. Sintu however was absolutely quiet, taxes of course were the subject tabooed and shops were closed but on hearing of the expected arrival of Tsun Chuen-shuen confidence was restored, the question of taxes was settled for the time being and shops opened.

But gradually a feeling of unrest began to steal over the people and men were enrolled as a kind of city militia; the walls were daily manned and ammunition consisting of stones, lime, acting as a means of defence were amply provided in case of possible escaladers.

It so happened that the 16th of the eighth moon had been the day proposed for an attack on our city: on this very day as our Hsien was returning to his yamen from his daily rounds, he, passing a tea shop heard the clash of staves; he immediately ordered the two young men to his presence… and there and then had them severely beaten; this was the match that exploded the long repressed wrath of the people; immediately the shops were once again shut as if by magic, the crowds followed the Hsien to the City Temple, the place where most of our local offices are located, they then tore the Hsien’s official umbrella to pieces, beat his chairman and literally smashed the official chair to smithereens. They then proceeded to the land tax office here they demolished everything, then to the Customs office and from there onto the salt office”

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