First draft: Research Paper
History 600
Colonial Encounters:
Religious perceptions in the age of Empire
Steven Gutwein
This discourse on the complex issues that drove women of the colonial era and early 1900’s to become missionaries, is meant to shed light upon the ideals and drive that processed these women. I infer that it was a combination of cultural, economic, and religious issues that explains the high proportion of women in the mission field in china. Issues in china and in the women’s respective home countries. I will try to be as panoptical as space allows, in covering this subject from as many angles as possible.
This discourse will cover a brief history of the Chinese its peoples, religion and geography, and foreign relations so as to give the reader a sharper view of china from 1800-1900. This will be followed by a brief history of the missionaries that have entered china and the denominations that have supported them through mission societies, with focus on the Chinese Inland missions of the Methodists and other societies from America and England. An overview of the societies and their contributions, both in money and workers will be laid out for the reader. While the main focus of this discourse is the late 1800’ early 1900’s, the Tai pai rebellion will be given a mention, as its repercussions would be felt in china for decades.
As for the geography of China between 1918-1921, it encompassed approximately, 4,277,260 square miles and covered the spread of climates ranging from the tropical south to the sub artic in the far western and northern provinces. 
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The religious makeup of the Chinese peoples is as varied as their dialects. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, along with a large Muslim population; comprise the majority of the population while ancestor worship in accordance with Confucius, and Buddhist rites, plays a huge roll in the lives of the average Chinese.
Christianity while having been introduced by the Jesuits as early as the 1400’s and by the 1900’s was being firmly supported by the protestant missionary movement, did not take with the Chinese people and remained a minority religion.
Chinese society was based upon the family structure with the emperor (the “father”/protector/provider), and his subjects (the “children” whose requirement was obedience). This structure endured until the 1800’s when numerous changes occurred.
China until the mid 1800’s had been a closed society that while accepting as “subjects” outside traders and merchants, did not accept foreigners living on their soil.(except in small walled enclaves) Males and Females were kept separate with females not even permitted in the established areas; they were kept in Macao a ways from the mainland. Strict codes of conduct along with sever restrictions on the movement of foreign merchants kept all but a few port cities from foreign influence.
The Chinese government and administration remained a theocracy far longer then its European counterparts. And sole control rested in the hands of one man, the emperor. While the emperor holds supreme authority; by the 1900’s his power had weakened to the point were civil administration left out the absolute monarch.[2]
Foreign relations China 1800-1900 CE, the Manchu Qing dynasty with numerous rebellions, financial crisis, corruption, an economic recession, and military losses to the Europeans concerning the opium wars weakened the imperial state. In 1841 the Chinese as a result of their loss in the opium war ceded Hong Kong, and by the treaty of Nanking opened five ports Caton, Amoy, Shanghai , Ningpo, and Foochow opened to foreign trade, and centers of missionary activity.[3]
This deterioration, which continued during the first half of the nineteenth century, ended in a fearsome social explosion between 1850 and 1870. In the last thirty years of the nineteenth century the economic and military pressures of the Western nations caused the decomposition of the state and society, the collapse of the economy, and the loss of national independence.
The most notable rebellion of the period was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Why is this rebellion in particular important to this discourse? This rebellion is important when looking at the missionary activity and occupation of china. It broke out in the middle or Yangtze River basin, and would consume 20 million lives over its 20 year duration. With the Qing dynasty needing and using Foreign generals, and gunboats, to subdue the rebellion.
What was the cause of this rebellion? It would be several christen tracts and writings (translated into Chinese) that when combined with dreams would inspire Hong Xiuquan to try and establish heaven on earth in the form of a christen empire in the heart of china with himself as God’s Chinese son. What is surprising is that this rebellion would not end with the expulsion of Christian missionaries in china but it would pave the way for further expansion of missionary work in China.
In looking at the missionary field in China one can not write a brief history, but I will attempt to give an overall picture of the missionary field. Most of my research in this history has been done for me. The Christian occupation of china: a general survey of the numerical strength and geographical distribution of the Christian forces in china. This survey gives detailed information on the makeup of the Christian presence in china. It was written “With a desire to find out where and how the evanglicalization of china and its christianization…to be used as a baseline for future measurements of growth and change in the Christian occupation.” To start the brief outline of the christen presence in china I will narrow the number of missionary societies that I will look at. If this is not done the sheer volume of societies would take more then 20 pages as there were more then 91 different missionary societies with a measurable presence in china.[4] In looking over the list there is some interesting and note worthy mentions. First of the 91 societies/organizations only 3 were specific to women. The Women Union Missionary society of America, Women’s foreign missionary society (Methodist Episcopal church), and Young Women’s Christian Association of China or the W.U., WFMS, and YWCA respectively. It was these specific organizations that recruited single women into the mission field. While other organizations did recruit women, only these three made it a priority. Some common issues among all the societies and their missionaries, was the difficultly with making an impact upon the communities that they ministered to due to the population density of Chinese cities. With on average only 2-5 workers per district missionaries often had more then a thousand times that number in potential Christians to evangelize to. Communications were very bad and until the early 1900’s communications could take one to two months before reaching it destination. The lack of a reliable train system (until the 1900’s), and the treacherousness of the roads made for difficult travel. And while river travel was possible until the early 1900’s was subject along with the roads to being plagued with bandits. This put strain on missionary societies operating in the more remote areas of china. All missionaries from 1800-1900 arrived in china via ship, with the trip taking up to a month depending on the weather.
All missionary societies had to cope with these difficulties along with the problem of religious intolerance, (which admittedly went both ways between the Chinese and the foreign missionaries); with religious tolerance not being adopted until 1907 and not being put into law until 1916. [5]
To understand Christianity in china one has to know a little of its history in missions covering the whole spread of denominations. The first efforts in the field of missionary work in china came from the catholic church who established the first mission in china in the court of Kublai Khan;”…after a brief sway of less then a hundred years, Christianity was for a time being swept out of china.”[6] A second catholic effort connected with the Jesuits was under way by 1560 with much difficultly as by 1722, Catholics mission were under sever limitations and persecution, with converts and Europeans alike being put to death.[7]
The first protestant missionary one Dr Morrison to china came from the London missionary society, in 1807 with his death in 1834 he left behind a Chinese English dictionary, a whole bible translated in Chinese, and the established Anglo-Chinese college at Malacca.[8]
In looking at the Methodist denomination and its history in the mission field in china one can see that during this period 1800-1900 they were quite active in the mission field. The missionary atlases on the era stated only one mission in the whole of china by 1839.[9] The china inland mission was founded in 1865 by Hudson Tayler an early missionary to china having arrived in 1854. This mission was to grow from a very small mission to one of the largest in china. But what relation does this have with women in the missionary field as they are mentioned as afterthoughts and wives but never are they described as doing anything. So what was it that drove these women to enter a field that was inherently dangerous, and one were they receives little to no recognition for their efforts? I believe it was people like Florence Nightengale whose life as a nurse and social worker of the era acted as inspiration to married and single women alike. Here a sample of her pleas.
It is not easy everywhere, especially in England, to set about doing what no one has done before. Many people will undergo considerable risks, even that of death itself, when they know that they are engaging in a cause which besides approving it self to their consciences, commands sympathy and approval, when they know that their motives are appreciated and their conduct applauded. But in this case custom was to be violated, precedent broken through, the surprise, sometimes the censure, of the world to be braved. And do not underrate that obstacle. We hardly know the strength of those social ties that binds us until the moment we attempt to break them. [10]
In the missionary field as the 1800’s
Even in the missionary field disputes arose that reflected the outside influences of society on the larger scale.
“One of the major points of contention about the Chinese missions, and about the missionary movement in general, regards the development of independent native churches. Since the beginning, Chinese and foreign critics have accused the 19th-century Christian missionaries of keeping the native churches dependent on the mission boards in Britain and the U.S. for financial support and clerical leadership alike. In some cases, the criticism is warranted, but much can be attributed to jingoism and xenophobia on the part of succeeding Chinese governments, and in the West to ideological rejection of perceived Victorian era priggishness and paternalism.[11]
[1] The Christian Occupation of China: A General survey of the numerical strength and geographical distribution of the Christian forces in China made by the special committee on survey and occupation china continuation committee. Milton Stauffer, Tsin Fong, and M. Gardner Tewksbury. Shanghai: China Continuation Committee. 1922.
[2] China in Transformation. Archibald R. Colquhoun. p.56
[3] the Jubilee story of the inland china mission p. 6
[4] the Christian occupation of China. p.11
[5] the Christian occupation of China.p.33
[6] the Jubilee story of the inland china mission p.4
[7] the Jubilee story of the inland china mission p. 5
[8] the Jubilee story of the inland china mission p.5
[9] the Jubilee story of the inland china mission p.3
[10] the Jubliee story of the inland china mission p. 20
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_China#The_Missionary_Period
