Chinese Mission Schools



Figure 1.--Christian missionary societies supported schools and hospitals all over China. These schools intriduced modrn education and the hospitals intoduced modern medicine. Some Chinese boys were brought to America and Britain (perhaps other European countries) where they were educated to go back to China and work as missionaries. We believe this boy about 1870 attended a school in Hartford, Connecticut.

It was the Portuguese who first reached China. Thus Catholic priests were the first to introduce Christinity yo China. Other European Christians eventually arrived. Jesuit missionaries arrived in China at the end of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). They traveled to Beijing (Peking) via Guangzhou (Canton). The best known of these Jesuits was Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) Ricci was a gifted Italian mathematician who arrived in China (1588) and settled in Beijing (1600). Ricci was received at the imperial court where he introduced Western learning. The Jesuit suceess was due in part because of their willingness to accomodate traditional Chinese ancestor worship. Other groups were less successful. The pace of missionary activity in China increased significantly after the First Opium War (1842). The unequal treaties that followed the War provided legal protection for the missionaries and their schools. The mission schools were the foundation for China's modern school system. And the schools played an important role in the modernization of China. As Christian missionaries went to work among the Chinese they founded schools. Here they introduced modern curricula including science and teaching methhods. They also introduced the latest developments in Westerm medicine. These mission schools were viewed with suspicion by traditional Chinese educators. Besides the different curriculum they were the fitst Chinese schools to offer a basic education to not only poor Chinese, but to both boys and girls. Girls until the Republic (1911) were not educated outside the home. By mission schools we are primarily referring to the school missionaries set up in China for Chinese children. There were , however, schools set up in America and Europe to train Chinese missionaries who then returned to China. Than there were American and European children who attended missionary schools. Pearl Buck is surely the most important, but quite a number of these children made important contributions.

European Voyages of Dicovery

It was the Portuguese who led the European voyages of discovery and first reached China. They were soon followed by the Spmush, Duch, and English. The Europeans were interested in trade with the East. But with them came both Catholic and Protestant missiinaries intentbon winning souls for Christ.

The Jesuits

With the Portuguese leading the maritime outreach to the East, Catholic priests were the first to introduce Christinity to China. Other European Christians eventually arrived. Jesuit missionaries arrived in China at the end of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). They traveled to Beijing (Peking) via Guangzhou (Canton). The best known of these Jesuits was Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) Ricci was a gifted Italian mathematician who arrived in China (1588) and settled in Beijing (1600). Ricci was received at the imperial court where he introduced Western learning. The Jesuit suceess was due in part because of their willingness to accomodate traditional Chinese ancestor worship. Other groups were less successful.

Christianity in China


The Unequal Treaties

The pace of missionary activity in China increased significantly after the First Opium War (1842). The unequal treaties that followed the Opium Wars were aimed at getting better terms of trade for English traders, most notavly access to the Chinese market for opium. The treaties also provided legal protection for the missionaries and their schools. The result was a wave of American and European missionaries who flocked to China yto save souls.

Missionaries

The history of Christian missionaies is extensive and an important chapter of European and Chinese history. It is at first largely an account of the Catholic Church. This did not change until the 19th century when Victorians, especially the English, began to evangelize the Gospel. British missionaries set out to bring the Gospel to the new Empire. The interior of China was opened by the treaties following the Opium Wars. Protestant missionaries were different from the Catholic missionaries in that they brought their families with them. British colonial officials by the 19th century were also bringing their families, but were more likely to live in cloistered foreign communities. The missionary families were more likely to live with the local population since their mission was to convert them. American Protestants also took up this mission, especially after the Civil War (1861-65). American missionzaries went to many foreign locations, but no country fired the American missionary zeal more than China. The missionaries themselves were concerned with salvation. There effort was, however, much more significant. With them they brought modernity and opening to a wider world. Opinions vary. Some see the missionaries as a modernising force. Others see them as a disruptive force, resonsible for Chinese xenephobia. The missionaries set up the first modern schools and hospitals. In their wake came businessmen. They brought with them European products, stimulating a demand for these goods. Europeans seized control of treaty ports in China. The United States did not do this, instead opting for an Open Door Policy. There were military consequences. The Japanese invasion of China (1937) was accompanied with horendous attrocities against Chinese civilians. Reports from missionaries in China had a profound impact on American public opinion. Thus when President Roosevelt began a series of diplomatic efforts including embargoes to force Japan out of China, he received considerable support in a still largely isolationist America.

Mission Schools

The Christian mission schools established by missionaries were the foundation for China's modern school system. And the schools played an important role in the modernization of China. As Christian missionaries went to work among the Chinese they founded schools. Here they introduced modern curricula including science and teaching methhods. They also introduced the latest developments in Westerm medicine. These mission schools were viewed with suspicion by traditional Chinese educators as well as nationalist forces. The missionaries and their Chinese converts were targets of the Boxers at the turn of the 20th century. . Besides the different curriculum they were the fitst Chinese schools to offer a basic education to not only poor Chinese, but to both boys and girls. Girls until the Republic (1911) were not educated outside the home. Japan invaded China (1937). American and European missionaries were generally treated as neutrals and the schools continued to operate. After Pearl Harbor Europen national were largely interned and the mission schools seized. Some continued to operate for ahile with Chinesestaff, but many of of staff and students were eventually interned as well. The Japanese regarded Chinese Christianswith great suspicion. The Chinese mission schools that managed to survive were finally closed by the Communists after their victory in the Civil War (1949).

Training Chinese Missionaries

By mission schools we are primarily referring to the school missionaries set up in China for Chinese children. There were , however, schools set up in America and Europe to train Chinese missionaries who then returned to China. Than there were American and European children who attended missionary schools. Pearl Buck is surely the most important, but quite a number of these children made important contributions.

Sources









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Created: 12:19 AM 6/15/2008
Last updated: 7:10 AM 4/25/2009