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From denationalization to patriotic leadership: Chinese Christian colleges, 1920s--1930s

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From denationalization to patriotic leadership: Chinese Christian colleges, 1920s--1930s

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Content FROM DENATIONALIZATION TO PATRIOTIC LEADERSHIP
CHINESE CHRISTIAN COLLEGES, 1920s-1930s
by
Rebecca Christine Hunter
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES)
May 2001
Copyright 2001 Rebecca Christine Hunter
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UMI Number: 1406450
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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Table of Contents:
Chapter One:
Historical Background of Missionaries in China
Chapter Two:
Rise of Nationalism and Theory of Student Movements
Chapter Three:
1920s Movements and Sinification of Christian Colleges
Chapter Four:
Renewed Student Agitation, 1931
Chapter Five:
December 9th Movement
Chapter Six:
War with Japan
Conclusion
Bibliographical References
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Chapter One: Historical Background of Missionaries in China
China in the 1930s was a time when the country was finally pulled together
under the influence of the Guomindang, but was also beginning to be tom apart with
the increased pressure from Japanese imperialism. It was a time of intense changes
of an entirely different nature from the campaigns and movements of the 1920s.
While the controlling influence of the GMD was beginning to solidify in the late
1920s and early 1930s, both of these decades can be explored from the perspective of
student activism. Students in urban colleges and universities were at the forefront of
the nationalistic movements in China during the 1920s and 1930s. This paper,
however, will focus on a small group of these students who in the 1920s often
remained outside this push of student activism, but began to take a more active role
in the movements and activism in the 1930s. The students at the Christian college
campuses in China were in a unique and often difficult position when faced with
rising tides of nationalism. This paper will explore their position in relationship to
the Christian colleges, the students at public institutions, and the various movements
and campaigns in the 1920s and 1930s.
This paper will examine the effects of student nationalism in the 1920s on the
Christian colleges. Representing foreign powers, these schools became targets for
the attacks against cultural imperialism in the 1920s. Their students equally were
criticized for being “denationalized’’ through their particular style of education at
these institutions. As this paper will show however, the situation began to change by
the 1930s when the students at the Christian colleges had greater opportunities to
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participate in and even lead nationalistic movements. How and why this happened
will be one of the focuses of this paper. An interesting irony began to play itself out
in the process of this transformation. On the one hand, the students at the Christian
colleges had reason to take advantage of the nationalistic tides of the 1930s to prove
their patriotism in the face of the accusation of being denationalized. But, although
the students Christian colleges may have felt that they had something extra to prove
because of their association with the schools and, in fact, had greater opportunities to
express their nationalism in the 1930s, they could not escape their association with
the Christian and foreign aspects of the schools they were attending. Ironically while
students at the Christian colleges increasingly became involved in many of the
nationalistic demonstrations and movements in the 1930s, in many of the cases, it
was because of their unique position of being protected by the foreignness of the
colleges that they were able to be successful in their activism. While the nationalism
in the 1920s was aimed against the very foundation of the Christian colleges, it was
these foundations of having foreign ties that protected the students in their fight for
nationalism in the 1930s.
The Christian colleges in China emerged from a particular phase in history
that stemmed from both the missionary enterprise and the particulars of western
imperialism. An understanding of the foundations of where the missionaries came
from and how that was related to their position in Chinese society is important for
understanding how the Christian colleges emerged as an educational force in China
and how they reacted to the rise of nationalism. Christian colleges in the 1930s were
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a product of their interactions with a changing China and the challenges the
missionaries faced since arriving in China. Before I describe the particular
environment of the Christian colleges during the 1920s and 1930s, a basic
understanding of where they came from is necessary.
Missionaries Come to China
The first major wave of Christianity in China came in the form of Jesuit
missionaries during the Ming dynasty. Their circumstances and acceptance into
China were on a fundamentally different level than the wave of Protestant
missionaries that began in the mid-nineteenth century. Without the protection of
gunboats and treaties, the Jesuits had to take a different approach to spreading their
message in China. They were utterly dependent on consent of the Chinese in order to
remain in the country. In fact, when this consent was lost, missionaries, Christian
converts, and the limited Christian movement were pushed largely underground until
they was able to reemerge with the efforts of the mainly Protestant missionaries who
poured into China under the protection of various political treaties.
The Jesuit missionaries first came to China in the 1580’s when Matteo Ricci,
an Italian Jesuit, was first admitted into the country. While the primary goal was
spreading the Christian (Roman Catholic) faith, because of the consent needed to
remain in China, the Jesuits often had a shared goal of fitting Christianity into the
existing Chinese order. Prominent Jesuit missionaries, like Ricci, earned their
respect and position in China by developing networks with the intellectual elite of
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Confucian society (a position, we will see later, that was deeply coveted but rarely
realized in the early advanced of Protestant missionaries). In fact, Ricci, himself, was
often accepted among the ranks of the Confucian scholars, which put him, and other
Jesuits in his position, in a unique place for understanding elite Chinese culture. One
of the basic notions of early Jesuit missionaries in China was the belief that at their
very foundations Confucianism and Christianity were morally compatible. Ricci
truly believed that the ancient Chinese sages were monotheistic and saw
“Christianity as something that completed what was ancient and true within China’s
own history and culture” (Ross, 1994: 148). While not without difficulty or debate
(which is beyond the scope of this paper), early missionaries understood the
importance of accepting and, at time, accommodating Chinese culture. In part, it
was because of their understanding, respect for, and acceptance of Chinese culture
and their efforts to accommodate tradition that the early missionaries were allowed
to stay in China. We will see that this effort to accommodate Chinese culture and
tradition was not required of later missionaries.
Wave of Protestant Missionaries
Following the initial impact of the Jesuit missionaries in the late sixteenth
century, China was not to face the challenge of foreign missionaries again until the
mid-nineteenth century. For reasons that are beyond the scope of this paper,
Christianity was condemned as heterodox in 1724 by the Qing government who
labeled it in the category of “perverse sects and sinister doctrines” (Bays, ed. 8). Any
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influence that it would continue to have was pushed underground. The time of the
missionaries had ended for the moment. But these early Catholic missionaries had
laid the groundwork for a momentous Christian influx starting in the mid 1800s. The
direction these missionaries were to take, however, was drastically different from
that of the Jesuits. The political situation had changed both in China and Europe
during this break, and when, once again, foreign missionaries descended on China it
was under very different circumstances than the early Jesuits.
While economic ties between the Chinese and western empires had been a
reality for centuries, the nineteenth century saw an upsurge in these trade relations,
especially with the movement of opium into China. Tensions continued to mount as
China tried to maintain control while foreign empires pushed for more liberal trade
relations and access to Chinese markets. There was a degree of free trade dogmatism
on the part of the foreign merchants who were determined to open up Chinese
markets. These tensions reached a head in the late 1830s with the first Opium War,
which resulted in the first set of unequal treaties. While this first set of treaties did
not greatly alter the position of missionaries in China, it laid the foundation for an
expanded missionary enterprise with the following provisions: five open treaty ports,
extraterritoriality, permission to study the Chinese language, most-favored-nation
clause, and permission to open schools, hospitals and places of worship in the treaty
ports (Latourette, 1929: 229).
It was, however, the second Opium War that had a more direct impact on the
position of Christian missionaries in China. While the early set of treaties did not
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grant missionaries any rights beyond those given to all foreigners in China, the
various treaties of 1858 and 1860 opened China up completely to the foreign
missionaries. These treaties opened more treaty ports, extended the right for
diplomatic representatives in Beijing, and stipulated for a series of indemnities, a
portion of which was given to the missionaries. In addition, the Christians
missionaries received the additional right to practice and preach anywhere in China
and the guarantee of toleration and protection. As stated in Article VII of the 1858
Sino-British Treaty: “The Christian religion, as professed by Protestants or Roman
Catholics, inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man to do as he would be
done by. Persons teaching it or professing it shall alike be entitled to the protection
of the Chinese authorities: nor shall any such, peacefully pursuing their calling, and
not offending against the laws, be persecuted or interfered with.” (T’ang 1965: 51).
After this momentous change, missionaries of all varieties flowed into the open
doors of China.
The new wave of missionaries did not need to rely on strong and positive
local networks to ensure their survival in China. Many of the missionaries in the
nineteenth century were not interested in learning the benefits that Chinese culture
had to offer. They were confident in their belief that only through conversion to
Christianity could the souls of the Chinese be saved. They were, for the most part,
unyielding in their belief in the superiority of everything western and everything
Christian. They did not allow the same level of tolerance or appreciation for aspects
of Chinese culture that had been seen with the early Jesuits. There was no pressure to
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adapt or accept Chinese traditions and culture. At the same time, they were not
interested in modernizing China beyond spreading Christianity. In 1877, Griffith
John shows this highly conservative approach to the missionary movement:
The purpose of our mission is to discipline, or make
Christians of, this great nation. Whatever others may do, this
is our work. We are here, not to develop the resources of the
country, not for the advancement of commerce, not for the
mere promotion of civilization; but to do battle with the
powers of darkness, to save men from sin, and conquer
China for Christ (Yeh, 1990: 61).
In fact, during these initial phases of missionary influx, there was a substantial level
of ignorance and intolerance on the part of both the foreign missionaries and the
Chinese they came into contact with about each other’s culture. The cultural
superiority felt on the part of both the westerners and the Chinese added to the
tension in these early years (Lutz, 1971: 9).
This tension was exacerbated by the protection the treaties offered the foreign
missionaries. Because of this protection and their special position in China, the
missionaries had a hard time separating themselves from the image of imperialism.
“In turn, the reliance of the missionaries on force led the Chinese to the conclusion
that the missionary enterprise was part and parcel of Western imperialism and that
the missionary was no different from the merchant, the diplomat, and the captain of
the Western gunboat” (Varg 1965: 2). The church and the foreign missionaries
could not escape this original link to the greater forces of foreign power. In fact,
their very presence in China was dependent on this link. Immediately the
missionaries were starting in a difficult position where “religion is tolerated by virtue
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of foreign treaties” (Costantini 1965: 22). This association would come to haunt
them in the Christian missionary colleges. Even as they worked towards sinification,
their foundations still relied on these unfair and unequal treaties.
Very early in the missionary enterprise, anti-imperialist, anti-foreign, and
anti-Christian feelings became intertwined.1 This limited the potential for success in
Christianizing the Chinese nation and people. But despite the early setbacks and the
almost inherent difficulties the missionaries had to face, they were determined in
their goals. The difficulties, however, were tremendous. Their original methods of
preaching and establishing churches on a local level were not proving to be very
successful in the ultimate goal of Christianizing the nation. People who were initially
attracted to Christianity and the works of the missionaries tended to be on the
margins of society, often attracted for reasons other than the Christian message.
John R. Shepard writes, “.. .missionaries (along with the religion they propagate)
shared in the halo of power and special prestige conferred by being associated with
the foreign powers... {this} prestige offered a glimpse of hope to many groups
marginal to the structure of power and in need of leverage against it. To these
marginal groups the missionary and his religion represented a potential source of
status and power waiting to be tapped” (Bays, 1996: 121). Their special position in
1 While it is beyond the scope of this paper to trace the stages of anti-Christian sentiments in China
during the later half of the nineteenth century, several characteristics might be pointed to. In the rural
areas the missionaries were often the only foreign presence. In these areas they were especially
resented, among others reasons, because of the threat they posed the local gentry, the competition they
posed to the local education system, their interference in litigation. For more detailed accounts of
these anti-Christian elements during the end of the Qing Dynasty see: Paul A. Cohen’s China and
Christianity: The Missionary Movement and the Growth of Chinese Antiforeignism, 1860-1870; and
Part I of Daniel H. Bays, ed. Christianity in China: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present.
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China, empowered by the treaties, attracted many of the poorer or outcast classes of
people. In fact, “many a Chinese guilty of a serious or lesser crime joined the
Christians in the hope of getting the missionary to protect him” (Varg 1965: 3).
The missionaries were proving unable to reach the elite of China, those who
many missionaries believed were the key to the eventual Christianizing of the nation.
Turn to Education
The missionaries were in a difficult position. Although they were under the
protection of treaties, which ensured their place in Chinese society, this did not
ensure the acceptance of their message. Increasingly missionaries saw the need for
new tactics. Originally the idea behind their turn to education was inspired by their
need to raise the status of Christianity in the eyes of the educated elite. Establishing
schools could not only raise the status of Chinese Christians by expanding literacy,
but it could also be a tool to teach and train Chinese assistants for evangelical work.2
Elementary schools served the dual purpose of expanding literacy and exposing
children at a young age to the foundations of the Christian spirit. Their expansion
into higher education was aimed at educating the upper classes in hopes of
Christianity spreading downwards. In the 1870s, W. A. P. Martin and Young J. Allen
were among the first missionaries to suggest that the conversion of the Chinese to
Christianity might be more effectively carried out by reaching to the upper classes of
2 See Irwin T. Hyatt Jr, Our Ordered Lives Confess, for a detailed account of the challenges three
missionaries had in the latter half of the nineteenth century working in Shantung, China. This account
not only shows the early challenges of evangelism and anti-foreignism in China, but also the early
struggles in the turn to education.
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Chinese society. “Martin saw that instruction of Western secular subjects in areas
that corresponded to the needs of the Chinese state promised to secure for the foreign
missionaries a respectable audience among the gentry-reformers. To him, as to the
Jesuit Matteo Ricci before him, the primary stage for evangelical endeavors was the
Court and not the street” (Yeh, 1990: 60-61). In addition, Chinese Christians trained
at the Christian colleges would be a source of native participation in teaching at
Christian schools and working at Christian hospitals and churches. Using this type
of top down approach, they hoped to Christianize the whole nation.
Gradually, these schools revised their vision with the goal of educating all
Chinese, both Christian and non-Christian. Traditional education in China was
largely home education. The formal schools were typically only open to the elite
class for intensive studies of the classics. The Christian schools were designed after
a western model of education and became a valuable source of western knowledge
for the students attending them. In addition to teaching outside the traditional
Confucian standard, the missionaries further revolutionized the education process by
opening formal education to girls.
Indeed, it was through the school system that the missionaries finally began
to feel their niche for acceptance in China. This acceptance was helped by the
changing views of towards education at a society-wide level. But this change in
perspective towards education did not imply that the missionaries had been
3 It is also interesting to note that the missionary enterprise also opened up many more opportunities
for women missionaries to work and teach in China. For a detailed account of the role of women
missionaries in China see Jane Hunter, Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-
of-the-Century China.
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particularly successful is promulgating their type of education simply for education’s
sake. Instead, the need for modern education was being forced on China because of
their experiences with imperialism. As Cyrus H. Peake writes, “It was only after the
humiliating defeat suffered at the hands of Japan in 1894-95 the idea spread that in
order to have a strong nation along military lines the economic and industrial
resources of the nation must be developed, which in turn meant educating all the
people” (Peake, 1932: 154). There was a feeling that China must modernize their
education system in order to stand as an equal among the modern nations. As China
began experimenting with modem forms of education, there was a growing tendency
to link education with the very survival of China. The Chinese leaders of the time did
not willingly change their views on education. “It was based almost entirely on the
necessity for defending China against the rapacity of foreign nations and the
strengthening forces to do the great things which Japan had done” (Van Putten,
1937: 7-8). Things were changing in China at the end of the nineteenth and
beginning of the twentieth century. China was faced with a situation where they
were finally feeling the real effects of imperialism in their country. The Qing
government was starting to feel the severity of the situation and they were looking
for solutions. A new style of education (similar to the style adopted by the Japanese)
seemed to be a possible answer for their troubles. The first step towards this goal was
the abolition of the civil service examinations on September 2, 1905. At the same
time the government began to establish modem schools. But, from the very
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beginning of the government’s efforts to expand formal education, there was an
emphasis on the concept of being Chinese.
This emphasis on education for Chinese survival and its relationship to
Chinese nationalism would prove to be a problem the missionary educators would
have to face time and again throughout the early twentieth century. Nevertheless,
this change in attitude towards education did help the missionaries further exploit
their new niche in education. With the abolition of the civil service exams, followed
by the fall of the Qing empire, there was a real spark of hope for a Christian China.
“In the early period of the Republic the missionaries and their Chinese converts were
alike convinced.that the Chinese Revolution was the great opportunity for
Christianity. The Throne had gone, and with it the stronghold of Confucian
orthodoxy. Once this barrier was down it should be possible to sweep forward with
success” (Fitzgerald 1965: 100). Almost immediately the Christian schools saw a
rise in the number of applicants. With the promise that their students would not be
disadvantaged for lacking a strong education in the classics upon graduation when
seeking employment, demand for western style education increased. With this
newfound respect for western-style education, the Christian institutions were able to
raise their academic standards to compete with the national schools. In fact, the
missionary schools had certain advantages at this time. While the new-style
government schools were dealing with the chaos of experimentation and funding,
many of the missionary schools were relatively stable and experienced. Furthermore,
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the missionary educators and their publications were receiving recognition as a
valuable source of western information (Lutz, 1971: 80).
While not necessarily attracted to the schools because of their Christian
flavor, students saw the benefits of applying to the Christian colleges. They became
an outlet for students who could not get into the new national universities but still
wanted exposure to this new type of education. Also, many students applied to these
colleges because of the English-language training they could receive (Lutz, 1971:
162). Eventually only about a quarter of the students at the Christian colleges came
from Christian families; the remaining students were those who could afford the high
tuition (Lutz, 1971: 168). Even as interest in western methods of education
increased and as the Chinese increasingly focused on importing western knowledge
of science and technology, acceptance of Christianity did not necessarily follow. In
fact, this is one of the first examples of the missionaries and Christianity playing a
somewhat contradictory role. On the one hand the missionary presence and their
contribution to education and the expansion of western ideas proved to be in demand
during the changing times at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the
twentieth centuries. On the other hand, the very information that the missionaries
brought to the Chinese through their education efforts, also served to undermine their
evangelical goals. As Lutz writes, “The Chinese desire to import Western science
and technology did not necessarily mean that they were ready to accept Christianity
from the West. On the contrary, those who recommended changes did so because
they were sensitive to infringements on Chinese sovereignty, and they often
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considered the missionary the personification of Western imperialist pressure” (Lutz,
1971: 48). In fact, the more the Chinese came into contact with western knowledge,
the more wary they became of accepting Christianity as a foundation of the success
of the west. As the Chinese became aware of the secularization of western society,
the missionary education process began to undermine their position and their goals.
Many Chinese began to believe that they could be selective in their imports from the
west at the expense of Christianity. (Lutz, 1971: 89)
New Approaches: the Christian Colleges
One of the challenges of the missionaries, then, was to convince the Chinese
that “Christianity was fundamental to Western civilization and should be adopted
along with other sources of Western power and wealth” (Lutz, 1971: 99). There was
dissention among the missionaries, however, concerning the best course of action to
achieve this. As more and more missionaries were turning to education as a means
for extending their message, a question arose amongst missionaries (and the
missionary boards backs home supporting these enterprises) as to the relative weight
to be given to evangelism and education. If the purpose of the missions was the
Christianizing of China, then was the turn to education with an increasing non-
Christian presence the right course of action? This would be a continuing problem
throughout the early twentieth century. There was increasing competition between
the evangelist missionary and the missionary educator for funding and support (Lutz,
1971: 102). Throughout this debate, the question of the purposes of the Christian
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colleges remained at the forefront of people’s minds. Faced with the challenge of
proving Christianity to be an essential part of Chinese modernization, gradually
everyone came to realize that the Christian colleges needed to raise their standards of
education, whether or not they believed it should be subordinate to evangelism (Lutz,
1971: 200).
Many of the earliest schools in China clearly had evangelism as their goal.
They primarily existed to train Chinese for work in the mission either as ministers or
as assistants to the missionaries. It was only gradually that some of these schools
began to focus purely on education working towards the transition to a college or
even university. Hangchow Christian University was one such creation. Originally
founded in 1844 as the Ningbo Boys Academy for the training of ministers and
assistants, it only became fully dedicated to full-time educational work in 1867.
Even at that point, however, it did not achieve the status of a college for thirty more
years. Shantung Christian University (Cheeloo University) also had a long history
with a slow transformation into a college and, then, university. The original school
opened in 1864, but only in 1889 had it expanded enough to change its name to a
college. Yenching University in Beijing was founded later than some of the other
schools (in the 1910s), but still grew out of this same tradition, becoming a
university with the combination of four schools with longer histories. Other schools
were developed directly as colleges or universities. St. John’s College (later to be St.
John’s University) was founded directly as a college in 1879. Other schools opened
during the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century,
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struggling to be identified as colleges or universities. The early years at all of these
schools were difficult as they struggled with funding, building campuses, and
attracting students. This resulted in the tendency for the Christian schools to charge
higher tuitions than many of the public schools thereby attracting more wealthy
students. As difficult as these early years were for many of the founders of Christian
schools, they pushed on.
Due to the changes in the Chinese educational scene, the fall of the Qing
Empire, the general trend towards acceptance of western ideas, and the growing
support from the missionary boards for the prospects of education, the missionary
educators had reason to feel hopeful. But despite this, many of the Christian colleges
were still affected by the general trend of isolation from Chinese life. This isolation
was felt on many fronts. It is hard to overcome the initial hesitancy and isolation felt
on the part of the schools stemming from their very different style of education.
Especially before the pressure to change the traditional education system and the
abolition of the civil service examinations, the Christian schools set themselves apart
as different. This was intensified through the Christian schools teaching variant
moral education that challenged the traditional Confucian doctrines (Lutz, 1971: 22-
23). In fact, until the sinification of the 1930’s (to be discussed below), these
colleges continued to be viewed as foreign institutions operating outside of the
national education system (Lutz, 1971: 204). Whereas before the transformation of
the school system in China they were able to offer the advantage of teaching English,
and western science and math that attracted many business bound students, the
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Christian colleges were now being challenged by the new government schools that
focused on teaching foreign languages and other western subjects. The Christian
colleges had the further disadvantage (in the eyes of many non-Christian Chinese) of
requiring attendance both at religious education classes and religious services.
Finally, this isolation was further deepened by the schools’ tendencies to get their
students from just a few feeder schools or by incorporating their own preparatory
schools in the college (Lutz, 1971: 113). This sense of isolation on the part of the
Christian colleges and their position on the outskirts of Chinese educational system
would have a profound influence their place within the growing nationalistic
sentiments in China.
This sense of isolation was not unique to the Christian colleges. It was a
feeling that was felt by many of the missionaries in China regardless of whether they
were primarily educators or evangelists. As mentioned above, many of the Christian
missionaries, educators and evangelists alike, struggled with the issue of making
their message acceptable to the Chinese people and fitting Christianity into the
problems of modernizing China. One approach used by many was the idea of the
social gospel. They had to rethink the goals of Christianity in China to show the
ways that the Christian message and the Christian spirit could help China. “Those
who taught Christianity as a social gospel often talked more about the cultivation of
Christian character than about faith. They seemed more interested in the church as a
center for social service than as an institution for the propagation of a religious
doctrine” (Lutz, ed. 1965, xiii). They believed that Christianity could be spread first
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through the spreading of the Christian spirit. The missionaries began to give more
focused attention to social service, aiding in projects like rural reconstruction, famine
relief, and mass educations programs. It was a way the missionaries (and the students
at their schools) could be active in the community, helping some of the problems that
China faced: hunger, disease, floods, famine, illiteracy, etc.
This attitude towards social service, using the ideas of social gospel, is also
one of the areas in which Chinese Christian women began to show their strength as a
group. Chinese Christian women were at the forefront of this type of social activism,
organizing various social reform movements, including anti-foot binding campaigns,
temperance unions, and health and hygiene awareness campaigns. In addition, their
social reform activities spread to work with many of the problems that Chinese
women faced—poverty, illiteracy, and dependency. While Chinese Christian
women often were not at the forefront of many of the more drastic nationalistic
campaigns, they played an important role in the overall atmosphere of limited
activism on the part of Chinese Christians (Bays, 1996: 194-208). In their attempt to
show the indispensability of Christianity to the modernization process, many of the
missionaries in China turned to the sort of activism, used by many Chinese Christian
women, that came from the notion of a social gospel. They wanted to show that
people embodying the Christian spirit could solve many of the problems that China
was facing in its process of modernization. As West points out, in this respect, “the
list of their pioneering efforts is extensive: the spread of literacy to ordinary people,
the publication of journals and pamphlets in the vernacular, education and equality
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for women, the abolition of arranged child-marriages, the supremacy of public duty
over filial obedience and family obligations, students organizations to promote
physical recreation and moral guidance, and the acquisition and sinification of
Western knowledge for use in remaking Chinese life” (West, 1976: 6). We will see
below, however, that gradually this idea of limited social activism was not enough.
Especially at the Christian colleges, there was an increasing demand on the part of
the students to participate in the rising tides of nationalistic fervor. Social activism
began to be equated with nationalistic activism (Varg, 1965: 8). How the missionary
educators and the students at the Christian colleges reacted to these changes will be
one of the focuses of this paper.
One of the things that continued to set the Christian colleges apart even as the
national education system was redesigned to follow both western and Japanese
models was its commitment to build a Christian community. Even as evangelism
seemed to be taking a backseat to education, the missionary educators and the
mission boards continued to believe in the fundamental importance of Christianity.
It was with this Christian spirit in mind that the missionary educators and the college
administrators kept strict control over many aspects of their students’ lives.
“Especially the old regime of missionary educators believed that hard work, little
amusement, obedience to authority, a keen sense of duty and unswerving regularity
in a set routine were the outstanding features of life and they carried their ideals into
their administration of the colleges” (Van Putten, 1937: 10). Ultimately, one of their
goals was stability through discipline. It was a discipline that was maintained
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through careful instruction, intensive exposure to Christianity, community-oriented
extracurricular activities, and building a strong academic Christian community (Lutz,
1971: 71-73). The Christian spirit was very much alive on these campuses and it was
in the goals of the educators and administrators that this same spirit would be found
in all their students. In Van Putten’s study of the contributions of these Christian
colleges in Chinese life, he finds that the community built by the colleges played a
strong role in the lives of the students. He writes, “The Christian college has also
taught its students the fundamental importance of personality, the necessity of
individual initiative in social and industrial life, the values and virtues of democracy,
the deadening influence of mechanical bureaucracy” (Van Putten, 1937: 15). He
finds that the Christian colleges have done a superior job in comparison to the
government institutions in developing students’ intellect and enlightenment (Van
Putten 1937: 16). Clearly, in addition to the academic goals of these colleges, the
idea of building a strong, tight community with its foundations in Christianity
remained an essential element of these institutions.
It is important to keep in mind, however, the bias Van Putten and some of the
other sources used in the following chapters might have when writing about the
successes of the Christian colleges being either directly tied to or sympathetic with
the Christian missionary movement. While it may be true that these colleges were
able to develop a strong sense of a Christian spirit and community amongst their
students, not everyone in China was pleased by this accomplishment. With the rise
of nationalism, especially among the educated, urban elite, the Christian colleges
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represented everything that was wrong with China. They were foreign institutions
that were claiming to educate young Chinese. Instead this Christian community was
corrupting their students’ priorities. There was increasing criticism of the “laxity of
the Christian educators in adapting the curricula to the needs of Chinese students”
(Lutz, 1971: 187). These feeling were building throughout the early part of the
twentieth century and, as we will see below, came to a head in the 1920s. In the eyes
of many Chinese, the students at the Christian colleges were becoming
“denationalized.” The question to be addressed below is the extent to which this
Christian community and Christian spirit affected the students and impacted their
participation in growing tides of nationalism. How did this nationalism affect the
fates of these colleges? How did the administrators and students react to these
changes?
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Chapter 2: Rise of Nationalism and Theory of Student Movements
“Modern nationalism may be defined as the creation, through press, societies, the
platform, and the school, among all or nearly all members of a nationality, a self-
conscious attitude towards their common linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage
together with the arousing of a sense of patriotism demanding a supreme loyalty to
the political State.”4
One of the ironies in the rise of nationalism in China is that while trying to
defend their nation from the encroachment of western imperialism, the young
Chinese at the forefront of this movement relied on western ideals. It was the
negative impacts of the contacts with the west that inspired much of the nationalistic
impulses, but it was also through contacts with the west that Chinese nationalists
were introduced to the ideas of national sovereignty and self-determination. The
missionaries, perhaps more than anyone else, felt the irony of this situation. When
analyzing the impacts of the Christian colleges on Chinese life, J. Dyke Van Putten
writes, “Perhaps the most conspicuous and immediate consequences of Christian
higher education in the sphere of Chinese public life have been revealed in the
successive political uprisings and endeavors where the ideology is almost wholly
Western” (Van Putten, 1937: 19). While this may be true that many of the ideas
behind the Chinese enlightenment and the subsequent political upheavals were
largely based on western ideology, it is a complicated mix of emotions that were
inspiring the intellectuals and the students they led.
At the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was a push
among many intellectuals to find a way for China to enter into modernity. As Vera
4 Peake, 1932: 120
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Schwarcz points out, the intellectuals were becoming aware that the “protean nature
of traditional culture” was the major hindrance on China’s path to modernity. They
turned to the west to find alternative models that called into question many of the
“natural and immutable” characteristics of the Confucian order and the ethic of
subservience (Schwarcz, 1986: 5-6). But at the same time, they were also aware of
the fact that these models would not work without a fundamental restructuring of the
minds of many Chinese who were still entrenched in the feudal past. The ultimate
goal was not to whole-heartedly accept everything western, but to find a pattern of
development to modernity that would make China a strong country and a modem
nation-state. Cultural criticism was intimately linked to national salvation
(Schwarcz, 1986: 285). Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, as the goal of national
salvation became increasingly important, there was a great deal of backlash against
the foreign roots of many of the ideas behind the cultural criticism. As will be seen
below, the Christian colleges became one of the major targets of the growing
nationalism in the 1920s. These origins gave Chinese nationalism particular
characteristics.
The first of these characteristics is the connections that developed between
modern education and nationalism. As introduced above, towards the end of the
nineteenth century and definitely by the beginning of the twentieth century, many
Chinese realized the futility of the old-style Confucian education for developing a
modem nation-state. In the wake of western encroachment and their defeat in the
Sino-Japanese war, the Chinese were forced to accept that modem education
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modeled after the western European and Japanese systems was necessary for Chinese
national defense.
While, as discussed in Chapter One, this seemed like a positive improvement
from the perspective of the missionary educator which gave the missionary
educational institutions a bit of hope, this change of attitude towards education was
actually deeply connected to the idea of nationalism. As the character of education
began to change in the early twentieth century, so too did the goals of education.
While the general idea of moving away from traditional education in the Classics and
towards a system more like the West was, in large part, agreed upon, the ways to
achieve this goals and the implications of these changes were widely debated. The
“one thread of continuity {was} the assumption that education should be subordinate
to and should serve the national interest” (Lutz, 1971: 81). It was this idea, of
serving the interests of the state and national interests, that posed the greatest threat
to the new niche that the missionaries were carving out for themselves in education.
“Almost no one questioned the theses that the major goal of education was to serve
the nation and that China had no room for institutions with the dual purpose of
evangelism and education” (Lutz, 1971: 268). While the missionaries could
definitely contribute to the overall education of their students, this was secondary to
the role of education as serving national interests. It was believed that the Christian
schools could not fulfill this primary goal of education. This was a problem that was
felt most acutely by the missionaries and foreigners working in China at the time and
one can sense the resentment that was felt towards the government: “The Chinese
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‘state’ cherishes unto itself the educational system as the most effective tool in
propagating its own religion—Nationalism—and is highly intolerant of any other
religious group usurping that power” (Peake, 1932: 153). While there may be some
bias in Peake’s analysis of the forms of nationalism in China during the time, as will
be seen in chapter three, this form of nationalism did turn directly against
Christianity and the Christian schools in the 1920s.
The second characteristic that has been identified as particular to Chinese
nationalism is the fact that it was a negative nationalism.5 Reform efforts of the
1890’s saw the beginning of the rise of nationalism. During this time the concept of
China as a nation-state and the rise of nationalism were being worked out in
opposition to Western and Japanese powers. In fact, many of the holidays and
celebrations for China’s nationalism came on their days that the Chinese had
suffered some sort of national shame. These days became occasions for uniting
China. As Roderick Scott points out, “The idea of celebrating your nation’s shame
may seem a strange form of patriotism, but lacking positive ideals to which the
people could aspire, the youth could only seek to arouse popular responsibility for
better government in this negative way” (Scott, 1954: 26). Lutz writes,
“Consciousness of the national self was emerging from a series of humiliating
encounters with other selves. Antiforeignism became, therefore, both preliminary to
5 To be fair, this characteristic is probably more associated with missionaries and foreigners analyzing
the forms of nationalism in China. Chinese might indicate that nationalism was just as concerned
with strengthening their own country in positive terms as it was defined in negative forms. Despite
the obvious bias such a statement makes, it is still worth including in this discussion because this was
the view of so many of the westerners in China. As unfair as such a statement might be, if this was
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and an important facet of this incipient nationalis m” (Lutz, 1971: 88) As nationalism
grew it continued to be defined in negative terms, being both anti-foreignism, anti-
western, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christian. Negative nationalism
really began to pick up in the 1920s. “The prevalent variety of nationalism was
neither traditionalistic nor aggressive, but anti-imperialist. The concept of
nationalism and anti-imperialism were so closely linked in the minds of students that
the words are almost synonymous when used in reference to the student movement”
(Israel, 1966: 184).
Some of the events of the 1920s in the name of nationalism along with the
largely negative characteristics had a direct impact on the place of Christian colleges
in China. As will be shown in Chapter Three, specifically the Anti-Christian
Movement and the Restore Education Rights campaign both adversely affected the
work of the missionaries in education and the Christian colleges during the 1920s.
To many of the young Chinese fighting for nationalism, the Christian colleges
represented everything they were fighting against—being foreign, western, and
Christian and being viewed as imperialistic and capitalist. The foreign character of
the colleges and their isolation from Chinese life became offensive with the rise of
nationalism in the 1920s. This obviously put the students at these colleges in a
difficult position, but it may be due to the troubles of the 1920s that we see the kind
of activism on the part of the Chinese students at the Christian colleges in the 1930s.
the feeling among the missionaries at the time, it could affect how the missionaries working at the
Christian colleges reacted to student nationalism.
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The third particular characteristic of Chinese nationalism is that it was the
students who were at the forefront of much of the activism. Beginning with the May
Fourth Movement in 1919, students began to recognize the “power of petitions,
strikes, demonstrations, and threats of mass withdrawal” (Lutz, 1971: 170). These
xuechao, or student storms, occurred with increasing frequency during the first
several decades of the twentieth century. They came to a height during the May
Fourth Movement (to be discussed in Chapter Three) and many later demonstrations,
protests, and movements were actually a conscious attempt to re-enact the spirit of
1919 (Wasserstrom, 1991: 77). While some might point to the limited duration and
success of many of these student demonstrations in the 1920s and 1930s because few
of the students were unwilling to give up their academic careers to organize mass
and long-term resistance (Lutz, 1971: 353), it is clear that students movements did
play an important role in the rise and perpetuation of nationalistic feelings. In
addition, they were important mobilizing forces used by both the Guomindang and
the Communists in the 1920s and 1930s. Because of their pivotal role during these
times, it is important to look at why it was the students who were taking the leading
role in much of the nationalistic activism in the 1920s and 1930s. By understanding
the reasons behind why students are often the leaders of such movements, this might
tell us something about why it was somewhat different for the students at the
Christian colleges.
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Student Participation
Students in China often view themselves as the elite voice in society whose
duty is to speak for the nation. In the early part of the twentieth century a new style
of student arose calling themselves the New Youth. These students believed that
they were in the unique position of being able to speak for the nation concerning
issues of national pride. In many ways perhaps they were an elite group. In a
country where illiteracy was the norm and there was no effective outlet for
expressing public concerns, students felt they had a duty to inform the people of the
troubles that China was facing. They quickly realized that student demonstrations
were an effective means of accomplishing their goals (Kiang, 1948: 1-3). In addition,
many of the students in colleges and universities were concentrated in urban areas
that felt the greatest impact from the effects of imperialism. They were also in a
setting that introduced them to the ideas behind nationalism. As stated above, one of
the particular characteristics of Chinese nationalism is that it sprang from western
ideals taught in the new style educational institutions, learned in the proliferation of
new journals, and brought back to China from the myriad of students who began to
study abroad, especially in Japan. In many ways it developed from intimate contacts
with western imperialism. But it took concrete forms through western discourse that
became more prevalent with the changes in the national educational system. The
students in colleges and universities in China were in the best position to take
advantage of the rising feelings surrounding nationalism. While a small group in
comparison to the larger population, the students in China were still a powerful force
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to be unleashed and used for various ends. It was among these New Youth that a
national consciousness arose.
There are many circumstantial and structural factors that also affect students
and impact their tendencies towards activism. Being away from home and without
outside responsibilities, students had both free time and a lot of energy to devote to
their extracurricular activities. As will be shown below, it was these extracurricular
activities and the various student organizations and associations that helped the
students to organize en masse. Students, seeing themselves and being viewed by
others as an elite group that had the right and responsibility to speak for the nation,
found themselves in a relatively safe and protected position in which to voice their
concerns. As Lutz points out, students demonstrating in defiance against authority
“would need the protection of powerful interests. The young intellectuals, in fact,
were the only group in China who had the prestige and influential connections to
demonstrate against the policies of the older generation with any impunity. Laborer
or peasants who called for direct action against a government program would pay a
dear price. Educators, journalists, and civil servants of the older generation would
jeopardize their jobs, and some of them apparently knew this and were happy to have
the students say what they did not dare” (Lutz, 1971: 341-2). Wen-Han Kiang finds
a similar situation, noting that while students are in the unique position of an elite
group at the forefront of new changes in education that cultivates their idealism, at
the same time, “in the struggle for political freedom and social justice they have little
personal interests at stake” (Kiang, 1948: 1). They did not have to risk their jobs or
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positions in society. Once again, the students were perhaps in a better position to
participate in nationalistic uprisings than many of their fellow countrymen.
As mentioned above, one of the main organizing factors that led to students’
participation in a variety of activities is the level of structured student associations.
Modeled after the American and Japanese universities as well as the Christian
colleges, Chinese campus life was highly organized with extensive networks of
various types of associations. These associations could easily be brought together
for a common cause—this is a foundation for campus-wide mobilization. Group
affiliation is the most important factor for participation in these forms of activism.
“. ..the most important thing is that in times of crisis, the ties established by and the
leadership experience gained through membership in a whole spectrum of
extracurricular associations— sports teams, school councils, and religious
fellowships, as well as Marxist study groups and radical literary societies—provide
nascent youth movements with a solid foundation of pre-existing interpersonal
connections and organizational structures upon which to build” (Wasserstrom, 1991:
131). Students were often involved in many of these associations which were quite
fluid themselves. This aided student activism, especially in the 1930s as the GMD
tried to crack down on political activism, the students were often able to continue
under a different associational name underground (Wasserstrom, 1991: 135). In
addition, many of these student associations were connected across campuses
allowing for greater inter-campus communication. This fact also helped mobilize the
students across cities and across China in times of unrest. At the same time,
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however, this could negatively affect the participation on the part of the students at
the Christian colleges because of the varying degrees of physical and spiritual
isolation felt by many of these colleges without the same connections to these inter
campus associations.
Various scholars have looked to the reasons why students, in particular, are
prone towards activism. Bruce D. Larkin develops a series of themes that he finds
important when considering student activism. He identifies five “thematic
polarities” for explaining students’ political commitments: “youth vs. elders,
modernity vs. tradition, red vs. expert, pure vs. impure, and national identity vs.
foreign incursion.” Each of these categories deals with how students became
motivated to react against things that were changing in China: the struggle against
traditional family values, the changing role of education, perceived forms of
corruption, and, of course, the threats from foreign incursion (Larkin, 1968: 162-
168). While not all of these categories apply equally to the movements of the 1920s
and 1930s, he does reveal interesting contrasts that are important for the question of
students at Christian colleges during this time. When talking about ideas of youth
vs. elders, he finds that the more radical views the students hold concerning the
traditional order, the more likely they would participate in nationalistic activism.
This degree of radicalism may be different for the students at the Christian colleges.
Larkin points to one study in 1936 that seems to exemplify this fact. In that study,
when students were asked to rank the importance of radical claims towards this issue
of youth vs. elders, he finds that “among students in non-Christian institutions,
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radical views were more frequently expressed than those of any other political
coloration, but ranked next to last in frequency among students at Christian colleges”
(Larkin, 1968: 163). This seems to indicate that there was some type of influence
these colleges had on students that made them less likely to respond in very radical
fashions. As will be shown below, the very atmosphere of the Christian colleges
affected students’ participation in various forms of nationalistic activism.
In Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom’s analysis of student protests in Shanghai, he looks
at this issue in China by examining the role of student associations in Chinese
student movements. Wasserstrom uses Frank Pinner’s classification of student
associations to distinguish between “transgressive” organiza tions and “socializing”
organizations, the former representing groups ready to defy traditional bonds and the
latter being groups that support and prepare their members for their traditional and
future roles in society. In many societies, it is only the members of these
“transgressive” organizations that tend to participate in protests. Wasserstrom,
however, finds these distinctions less useful when examining Chinese student
activism. Rather, he finds that students who are members of each type of association
participated in mass student movements. He attributes this to the fact that
nationalism and student movement radicalism were “intimately entwined” in China.
Students with nationalistic and patriotic views tended to show their patriotism
through participation in radical student movements in China, as opposed to other
countries where patriotic students usually tend to show their support for the existing
order rather than participating in radical movements (Wasserstrom, 1991: 128-129).
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Their participation in various student organizations and associations contributed to
the effectiveness of mobilizing students for various campaigns and demonstrations.
Christian colleges had many of the same organizations. As stated above, one
of the ways that Christian colleges helped build their community was through
encouragement of students’ extracurricular activities. But in the effort to build a
strong Christian community, many of these colleges held a tighter rein over their
students’ associations. Campus life and extracurricular activities were highly
structured and monitored by the administrators of these Christian colleges. In times
of upheaval and student unrest, the Christian colleges had a relatively easier time
keeping their students in class. This was a \ery tumultuous time, and many of the
government educational institutions suffered from the ups and downs of the students.
“Mission schools were able to expand during these years immediately preceding and
following the establishment of the Republic, because, while the Chinese government
schools were handicapped by revolutionary activities, the mission schools, protected
by extra-territoriality, had an increasing income and constantly increasing
educational reinforcements of trained personnel from the West” (Gregg, 1946: 77).
For many of these schools, the additional stability offered by their special
position somewhat outside the national education system and their strong
commitment for a positive, Christian community gave them a degree of protection
from much of the unrest. This was further strengthened by the strong relationships
the colleges tried to develop between the faculty and the students. This is a theme
that was turned to several times in the various accounts of the successes of the
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colleges and universities in maintaining order during periods of unrest (West, 1976:
150; Thurston and Chester, 1955: 57; Edwards, 1959: 141). However, as will be
shown below, by the mid 1920s these colleges were thrust into the thick of the unrest
increasingly being the targets of students’ agitation. On the other hand, at the same
time, when looking at the activism of the 1930s, we will see that for a variety of
reasons, the strength of these organizations and associations at the Christian colleges
could, in fact, make their students strong mobilizing forces.
Students, the Guomindang and the Communists
While it is clear that the students were in a unique position within Chinese
society that allowed them to play an important role in rising tides of nationalism, the
students were not completely independent actors. As shown above, the Christian
colleges did play an important mediating role in their students’ activities. They
wielded a degree of influence over the level and degree of their students’
participation in the various movements, campaigns, and demonstrations that were
causing unrest throughout the urban areas of China. But the students at the
government institutions, while not having the heavy hand of Christian administrators
looking over their activities, still did not have the power to act completely
autonomously. Students were almost like pawns in the game between the
Nationalists and the Communists, both of which tried to use and channel the
students’ energy and enthusiasm to serve their own ends.
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This tug-of-war over the students intensified after 1927. Before this time, the
Nationalists were able to take advantage of the student unrest for their own ends.
Channeling this unrest, the Nationalists were able to use the student to help
consolidate their own power and legitimacy as the recognized government during
their Northern Expedition. After the GMD had succeeded on consolidating power, by
1927 the Nationalists leaders were having second thoughts on the wisdom of student
activism and during the following two decades there were constant challenges in
trying to define the relationship between the GMD, the students and politics (Lutz,
1971: 266). This resulted in a relative quietude among the student between 1927 and
1931 as students were encouraged to remain in the classrooms and told that their
proper patriotic duty was to focus on their education. The Nationalists were in a
difficult situation trying to figure out what to do with the students. On the one hand
they had supported student activism and their rise to power was in many ways
dependent on the students’ support and activism during the Northern Expedition, but,
now that the Nationalists were in power, they wanted the students to return to their
classrooms for fear that further demonstrations and activities could turn against them
and undermine their own legitimacy (Wasserstrom, 1991: 156). The GMD made
moves to “undermine the students’ facilities for organizing strikes and
demonstrations” by disbanding the nationwide network of students unions and
encouraging students to focus on local issues at the single college or university level
(Lutz, 1971: 325). In addition, the Nationalists did the best they could to control and
guide the students’ energy into carefully orchestrated demonstrations against the
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Japanese imperialism (Wasserstrom, 1991: 173). These efforts to control the
students came from their awareness of the potential power the students wielded.
They were nervous that the students would undermine the power that they had
helped the Nationalists achieve.
The students at the government institutions were being pulled in different
directions. On the one hand, they deeply believed in their nationalistic and patriotic
causes. On the other hand, they were somewhat dependent on the support of the
higher authorities in their abilities to stage various forms of protests. The
Nationalists seemed to be turning against them by undermining their associations and
their abilities organize on a large scale. Many students saw the Nationalists as
betraying them and their cause. These feelings intensified in the 1930s when the
students became increasingly angry at the Nationalists lack of response to Japanese
encroachment. They were frustrated by the Nationalist’s attempts to curb their
nationalism. This increased alienation between the students and the Nationalists was
exacerbated by the growing influence of the Communist Party on student activists
(Lutz, 1971: 323). After 1927 student movements became more and more defined by
competition between the factions of the Nationalists and the Communists who tried
to use these mass protests and movements to further their own faction’s cause
(Wasserstrom, 1991: 155). The Communists quickly realized that they could take
advantage of the growing alienation many students felt towards the Nationalists. As
Bruce D. Larkin describes it, “Students realized that a disintegration of KMT rule
would bring the CCP to power. The Communists, in turn, understood that their
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success would depend in part on the intensity and persistence of student protests
against the Kuomintang.. .Presenting itself as the champion of civil liberties and
social justice, the CCP met with considerable success in its efforts to gain support
among members of the intelligentsia, including students” (Larkin, 1968: 150). This
is not to say that the students won the war for the Communists whose ultimate
success lies with multiple forces, but it does show how students were being
manipulated and used to a certain extent in their roles as an elite voice able to be
mobilized to different ends.
While the relationship between the students at the government educational
institutions and the Nationalists and Communists might seem only distantly related
to the topic of students at the Christian colleges, as will be shown in more detail
below, the fact that the students at the Christian colleges were largely kept out of this
tug-of-war gave them certain advantages when the tides of nationalism turned
towards the Japanese in the 1930s. Their position somewhat on the periphery of the
national educational system gave them a degree of separateness from some of the
political tides. As Philip West describes this at Yenehing University, “The struggles
involved in the creation of political power were clearly secondary. Yenehing
missionaries sided with whatever government—warlord, Nationalist, or
Communist—was in control. They were above all accommodators to political
power. Their picture of China did not ignore social injustice but relegated it to
second place. The primary attention remained focused on religious matters” (West,
1976: 47). The isolation from these debates offered a degree of stability to the
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Christian colleges. The isolation and the colleges’ association with foreign powers
also gave the students at these schools a bit of protection from the manipulative
hands of the Nationalists. The Nationalists did not have as much power to control
the student associations at the Christian colleges as they had at the government
institutions. The students at the Christian colleges, however, were being pulled in
different directions by the administrators of their schools. It seemed that it was a
constant fight for students at all universities to organize as an autonomous voice and
force of power. While there were certainly changes in the goals and forms of various
student movements, participation seems just as linked to the student’s position within
this power struggle as it was determined by the students’ own patriotic feelings. As
we will see in the case studies looking at the various forms of student activism on the
Christian campuses in the 1930s, the relationship between the students, the
Nationalists, the Communists, and the foreignness of the Christian schools all
combined to influence the degree of activism on the part of the students. But that is
not the only thing affecting the Christian colleges. By the 1930s the Christian
colleges were in a very different position than as described in Chapter One. Now, it
is important to look what happened in the 1920s to fundamentally change the
position and status of the Christian colleges in China.
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Chapter Three: 1920s Movements and Sinification of Christian Colleges
There is no group of foreigners who have done more harm to China than
modern missionaries, either directly or indirectly. It is in connection
with their subversive activities that China has lost the greater part of her
dependencies. By their teaching they have denationalized hundreds of
thousands of Chinese converts, and have thus been instrumental, to a
great extent, in disintegrating not only the body but also the spirit of the
nation.6
In the last chapter, 1 established general ideas behind Chinese nationalism
and the position of students within this unrest. This chapter will go beyond the
general ideas in order to show how specific instances of social unrest and activism
on the part of the students directly impacted the position of the Christian colleges in
China. By the end of the 1920s, the Christian colleges were finally being accepted as
legitimate institutions of education for Chinese citizens. But the process of getting to
this point of acceptance as Chinese institutions was not an easy one. Much of the
turmoil of the 1920s and the rise of student nationalism displayed in mass
movements and demonstrations directly affected the status of the Christian colleges
in China. Before looking at the specifics of student activism on the part of the
students at the Christian colleges in the 1930s, it is first important to look at how the
events of the 1920s affected the Christian colleges.
May Fourth Movement:
The May Fourth Movement in 1919 was among the first of the large, nation
wide displays of student nationalism. It was the first time the students came together
6 T’ang Liang-li in Lutz, ed. 1965: 52.
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across the country as a force of their own. It was the success of the movement that
showed the students the power of their methods of protest: demonstrations, protests,
strikes, and boycotts. As introduced in chapter two, the May Fourth Movement
cemented the formula for student nationalism in China. The success of the
movement and the ultimate power the students were able to harness as a group
reassured the students that they, indeed, were the “formulators of public opinion in
China” (Lutz, 1971: 211).
While the details of this movement are beyond the scope of this paper, a few
words should be said about the immediate effects of May Fourth on the Christian
colleges. Unlike many of the campaigns of the 1920s, the May Fourth Movement
did not directly reject many of the foreign influences in China. This was definitely a
movement about modernization. As stated above, the process of modernization in
China was largely based on western ideology. While the immediate impetus of this
movement did concern foreign encroachment when the Treaty of Versailles gave
certain concession to Japan, the tone of the movement was more concerned with
making China a strong and modem state. As Wen-Han Kiang describes it, the May
Fourth Movement was “characterized by a critical attitude towards the old Chinese
culture and an uncritical importation of the new Western ideas” (Kiang, 1948: 35).
But these ideas were not new to China.
Many intellectuals who had grown up under the traditional Confucian order
and were entrenched in the system had been the driving force behind many of the
changes around the turn of the century: the revamping of the education system, the
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abolishment of the civil service exams, and overthrow of the Qing government and
subsequent establishment of a Republic. It was these intellectuals, raised very much
in two worlds, who were teaching in the universities that would be the playing field
for the students’ activities in the 1920-1930s. For these intellectuals who had lived
through the turmoil of the last decade of the nineteenth century and the beginning of
the twentieth century, there was a degree of frustration with the seeming lack of
progress towards China’s modernization. As Vera Schwarcz writes of this
transitional generation: “While they still carried in mind memories of modem
technology and enlightenment thought from their travels in Japan and the West, the
could not shut their eyes to the backwardness of China. They thus held up the
banner of the new, only to realize more clearly the inertia of the old” (Schwarcz,
1986: 58). While this generation still held out hope, they were refreshed by the
enthusiasm of their students’ certainty that a new culture would be realized.
(Schwartz, 1986: 62) This movement depended on and supported many western
concepts, especially science and democracy, while rejecting much of the traditional
culture as a hindrance to modernization. At the same time, however, both the
intellectuals and their students were still steeped in the Confucian classics and it was
a challenge to them to balance the old with the new. It was a challenge to be critical
of a cultural past that for much of the country was still very characteristic of the
present. As the tides began to turn against the wholesale acceptance of western
ideology, the proponents of this view began to find themselves on shaky ground. As
Schwarcz explains, “In the interval from the patriotic demonstration of 1919 to the
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Anti-Japanese War of 1937-45, the pressure to demonstrate one’s nationalist
sympathies by withholding criticism of the cultural past increased. Those who
persisted in their commitment to enlightenment did so knowing that its foreign
origins, or rather its inspiration in Western models of critical thought, could and
would be used against them” (Schwarcz, 1986: 288).
As will be seen with many of the incidents of student activism and
nationalistic movements of the 1920s, the participation by the students at the
Christian universities was rather low. This was in part due to the relative isolation of
many of the Christian colleges from Chinese life. Another reason is the stress on
stability at many of the Christian colleges and the emphasis on keeping their students
in class. For example, in the early years of Ginling’s existence, the school and their
students were largely unaffected by the growing nationalism. As an all-girls school,
the students were already taking a somewhat radical position by getting an education.
In the 1910’s many of these girls were still cautious with the new liberties afforded
them. As Mrs. Lawrence Thurston and Ruth M. Chester describe it, “Certainly in
those early days the Ginling girl was not radical in her attitude, not at all because she
was repressed and restricted by school rules but because her instincts were wise and
right” (Thurston and Chester, 1955: 25-6). While in 1919 and in the following
decade they did participate in limited ways in some of the nationalistic
demonstrations with the support of their faculty and administrators, they tended to
returned to class relatively quickly realizing that their primary duty was doing their
school work (Thurston and Chester, 1955: 50). In one example, the students at
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Ginling decided not to participate in the national demonstrations, but instead to
implement a patriotic program in the school which included the support of an adult
education program, the use of Chinese goods over imported goods, reading
newspapers, and having patriotic chapel services utilizing outside speakers (Thurston
and Chester, 1955: 51). The students as Hwa Nan took a similar approach by
deciding in 1922 to mark the occasion of May 9th (the day that the Chinese had
agreed to sign the Twenty-one Demands called The Day of National Shame and
Humiliation) as a day for constructive service to their country by going out into the
surrounding countryside to preach love and understanding rather than hate and
arouse the people’s interest with patriotic songs (Wallace, 1956: 27). The students at
this school, all women and mostly Christian, for the most part stayed out of many of
the strikes and demonstrations preferring instead to stay focused on their studies
(Wallace, 1956: 37).
Despite the rather low participation rate among students at Christian colleges,
the administrators of these institutions did not condemn the movement. In fact, at
first the demonstrations of the May Fourth Movement were supported by many of
the students and administrators at many of the Christian colleges. They were seen as
an opportunity to show their support for the Chinese nationalist cause (Lutz, 1971:
212). Many of the students and administrators at these colleges were sensitive to the
fact that the students at Christian institutions were often being viewed as being
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7
“denationalized.” It is a charge that would stick with them throughout the 1920s.
The May Fourth Movement seemed like a good opportunity to show this support.
For example, the students at Yenehing University were eager to join the other
students in the city in a general strike. It was not that they were anxious to
demonstrate against their university, but rather that “this was the first time that
students in a Christian institution had been treated as equals by students in
government institutions, and now they had a golden opportunity to show that they
too were loyal patriots” (Edwards, 1959: 138).
However, many of the Christian colleges quickly changed their reaction to
their students’ demonstrations of nationalism. Many of the colleges preferred to
return the focus to education and keep their students in the classrooms. Increasingly,
the Christian colleges became concerned with the students participating in the
demonstrations. After the May Fourth Demonstrations in 1919, the administrators at
St. John’s University were beginning to feel the awkwardness of their situation.
After several days of strikes and protests, “it began to be evident that the university
might find itself in a particular position. An American institution on Chinese soil but
under extraterritorial jurisdiction had within its limits a body of students no longer
attending classes but instead actively engaged in political propaganda against their
own government...” (Lamberton, 1955:78). While they understood and sympathized
7 J. Dyke Van Putten argues that this accusation of “denationalized” students at the Christian colleges
is largely unfounded. He argues that the Christian colleges not only supported and promoted national
spirit among their students, but, in fact, were a major impetus in the rise of nationalism “where the
ideology is almost wholly western.” While somewhat Eurocentric in his favorable assessment of the
Christian colleges, he does point to their efforts to expand modernity, national consciousness and
democracy in their schools, (see Van Putten, 1937: 19-27)
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with many of the their students’ aims, the administrators of the university were
hesitant to take on a more overtly political role. Even with a degree of protection
because of extraterritoriality, the administrators may have been reluctant to directly
go against the national government
Obviously this could be a very difficult situation for the administrators of the
Christian colleges of how to balance their special position in China with the growing
nationalism on the part of students both at Christian and national colleges. It was
because of the Christian colleges’ special position outside of the national school
system that they fared pretty well academically during the uprisings of the May
Fourth Movement. Because of this position, the administrators at the Christian
colleges were often better able to maintain discipline among their students than at the
national colleges and universities. But this type of limited and hesitant participation
on the part of the Christian colleges would have backlashes in many of the events of
the 1920s. Lutz writes, “When the missionary educators for academic reasons
refused to sanction participation in some of the patriotic demonstrations, numerous
Chinese interpreted it as an attempt by foreigners to quell nationalism” (Lutz, 1971:
214).
Anti-Religious Movement of 1922:
The Anti-Religious Movement of 1922 was originally aimed at all religions.
Following the trend began during the May Fourth Movement, there was an increased
focus on and acceptance of western concepts of modernity over Confucian ideology
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and superstition which was seen as stale and unable to cope with the changing world.
But increasingly, this became a selective process of acceptance of western ideology.
The themes of the day were science and democracy. Religion, it was thought, had no
place in this system. It was an old-fashioned relic that was not compatible with
modernity. (See Kiang, 1948: 46-74 for an in-depth look at this.) While this
movement began as an attack on Confucianism, it quickly spread to Christianity and
by the mid 1920s Christianity and the mission schools had become the focus of the
attacks.
Since the May Fourth Movement there was increasing debate over the place
of religion in China. The question many were asking was whether or not religion
was needed at all in the modernization process. While the debate began with the
proper role of Confucianism in modem China, with the focus on democracy and
science, many educated Chinese began to doubt the necessity of religion altogether.
Christianity was the next obvious target. The Great Federation of Antireligionists
“had only one goal: the destruction of all religion in order to foster the scientific
spirit. Over and over again, nationalistic Chinese condemned Christianity for
fostering outdated superstitions discredited by science and inhibiting the growth of
freedom and equality through its exclusiveness and racial prejudice” (Lutz, 1971:
229). T’ang Liang-li exemplifies popular sentiment among many intellectuals during
this time. They were increasingly resentful of the place of the missionaries in the
nationalistic movement. More specifically, in his writings it becomes clear he feels
Chinese Christians and students educated by missionaries were in no position to help
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China’s struggle towards modernity. He writes, “The missionary interpretation of the
Christian spirit as the duty to serve foreign interests, the identification of legitimate
expressions of national aspirations with un-Christian methods of propaganda, the
willingness of certain Christian Chinese students to bring Christian influence to bear
on the Chinese student movement and thus act as foreign agents, could not but lead
to a healthy reaction, and result in the inauguration of the anti-Christian movement in
1922” (Lutz, ed. 1965: 57). This shows that there was definite resentment towards
the students at Christian colleges who dared to participate in the student movements.
Once again, we see the charge that these students had become “denationalized.”
The immediate impetus to the Anti-Religious Movement was the World’s
Student Christian Federation conference that was to be held in Beijing in the spring
of 1922. This sparked a series of proclamations that attacked Christianity.
Interestingly these attacks, while originally focused on the superstitious quality of
Christianity and the incompatibility of religion with modernity, beginning with this
movement and throughout the 1920s the attacks against Christianity increasingly
included anti-imperialist sentiments. In a proclamation on March 9, 1922 by the
Anti-Christian Student Federation the students expressed this: “...there is on the one
hand the exploiting and oppressing class and on the other hand, the exploited and
oppressed class. The present Christianity and the Christian church are the devils that
support the former class in their effort to exploit and oppress the latter class” (Kiang,
1948: 62). During this movement it is possible to see the effects of the burgeoning
communist ideologies that were beginning to attract many students and intellectuals
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during the 1920s. As suggested by the proclamations of the students above, the
movement against Christianity was being strengthened by moving away from
viewing it solely as a religion as beginning to view it as an imperialistic and
capitalistic attack on China. These attacks against Christianity began to take on a
more Marxist-Leninist tone accusing Chinese Christians as being “the handmaids of
capitalist exploitation and ... ‘running dogs’ willing to do the bidding of foreign
imperialist masters” (Wasserstrom, 1991: 47).
Led by a small, elite group of intelligentsia, the anti-religion movement of
1922 did not develop into a full-scale movement of mass participation by the
students or any other segment of society. It is important to note that the participation
by the students was mainly limited to students at the government schools and it did
not have a large impact on the Christian colleges at the time. In fact, many
missionaries, especially in rural areas, remained unaware of the movement at all
(Lutz, 1971: 230). While debate over the issue of religion continued, the movement
itself had died down by the fall of 1922 without affecting any real changes (Yip,
1980: 28-9). To the extent that the schools were aware of the movement, it became
the job of the Christian educators to show that science and religion were compatible
and that “science could become the tool of Christian social work” (West, 1976: 40).
But, for the most part, the missionaries at the Christian colleges seemed oblivious to
the charges that were soon to come. West writes of the administrators of Yenching,
“At times their optimism seemed to blind them to harsher realities, and it gave the
Yenching experiment a touch of unreality amid the nationalistic tides and China’s
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social disorder” (West, 1976: 45). This would soon change however. This
movement did not have lasting power, but it did have lasting effects. Although it
died out relatively quickly, it laid the foundation for the Anti-Christian Movement of
the mid 1920s.
Restore Educational Rights Movement
Unlike many of the other movements and campaigns of the 1920s where the
Christian colleges were only implicitly attacked in their association with foreign
powers, the Restore Educational Rights Movement was directly aimed at the
missionary educational institutions. Similar to the sentiments expresses in the Anti-
Religious Movement of 1922, during this movement Christian education was seen as
a direct attack on the sovereignty of China. The separateness and autonomy of these
institutions was a basic threat to nationalistic goals. Wen-Han Kiang concisely
summarized the problems many Chinese nationalists had with the mission schools.
They were: under foreign control, not registered with the government, not subject to
regulation or supervision of Chinese educational authorities, missionaries served as
presidents or principals at most schools, religious education was a requirement, there
was a neglect of Chinese studies and a greater emphasis on English as the medium of
instruction, and the students had little contact with students at government schools
and often remained outside of the nationalistic movements (Kiang, 1948: 90). He
writes, “In so far as the purpose of the mission schools is to conquer the national
spirit and to supplant it with the Christian religion, mission education is a kind of
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cultural aggression. If China is to unify its education, it cannot tolerate an
independent mission educational system. Education must be neutral and it must be
separated from religion” (Kiang, 1948: 89).
At the Young China Association in 1924 the following resolution was made
marking the beginning of this movement: “That we strongly oppose Christian
education which destroys the national spirit of our people and carries on a cultural
program in order to undermine Chinese civilization” (Peake, 1932: 149). During this
time there was increased pressure on the part of many intellectuals to revise and
reaffirm the role of education as primarily to serve the needs of building China.
There was a general feeling that religious education undermined the goals of the
national education plan that supported the rise of China. Attacks against the
Christian schools were enacted “in order to prevent the propagation of westernized
Christianity at the expense of nationalism in the schools” (Peake, 1932: 143-4).
Unlike the earlier Anti-Religious Movement of 1922, this movement did attract the
attention and interest of the students at the Christian colleges.
It was during this campaign that a new type of student began to emerge at the
Christian colleges. The events of the late 1910-20s left many of the students as
Christian colleges feeling alienated and confused about their proper role in the
campaigns for nationalism. While students at the mission schools often did not
participate at the same level as their government college counterparts in many of the
campaigns and demonstrations of the 1920s, it is interesting to note that there were
actually quite a few students at the missionary colleges who were active participants
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in the Restore Education Movement. These students were the ones most directly
affected by the policies and procedures of the mission colleges and, thus, we in the
best position to feel the consequences of these charges against the institutions. This
was especially true considering the high percentage of non-Christian students at
many of these colleges. Jessie Lutz explains the position many of these students
were in:
Though Christian college students were benefiting from the
educational work of Christian missions, their public
declarations revealed that they often harbored deep
resentment over the dominance of foreigners in the schools,
the religious requirements, and the isolation of the
institutions from Chinese culture and national life. Their
very experiences in the Christian schools made them
responsive to an antiforeign, anti-imperialist nationalism,
and so they were often ready to support the educational
rights movement; they themselves wanted changes in the
status of the Christian colleges. When they supported
demands for the integration of the mission institutions with
the national educational system, their own integration with
the New Youth of China was begun. (Lutz, 1971: 246)
While there was already some sense of resentment especially towards the required
religion, there was little opportunity before this to unify these sentiments. The
Restore Education Movement gave many of these non-Christian students at the
Christian colleges an outlet for their frustrations and a group of mass support. The
students at these colleges were exposed to the propaganda against Christianity and
the mission schools and, as Ka-che Yip notes, perhaps were more resentful “over
Western dominance in mission schools and the restrictions imposed on their
activities, such as patriotic demonstrations and parades” that made the students very
responsive to these anti-Christian sentiments (Yip, 1980: 37). He further notes that
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tensions mounted to such an extent at these institutions that some Christian students
began to be reluctant to admit their faith and many began to participate in these
various campaigns (Yip, 1980: 49). It is important to remember, however, that at
this point the Christian colleges were still completely autonomous in their policies
towards their students and often were not tolerant of this type of activism. In fact,
some of the students who took part in these demonstrations against their schools
were expelled for their participation (Kiang, 1948: 94). Others took their own
initiative and withdrew voluntarily from these institutions, often transferring to other
private or government schools (Yip, 1980: 55).
The students were particularly sensitive to the charges that the schools
represented cultural imperialism. In an interview on May 11,1984s, Dr. Theodore
Chen remembers this movement: “There was a big campaign against cultural
imperialism. And then there was an accusation that the missionary schools were
really the channels of cultural imperialism, and the students had neglected the study
of China, and whatever they studied was tainted by American viewpoint. The major
faculty was Western. So, during that period, the students were very—I am not
talking about this college or my arrival; I mean in China—all over China, students
were involved in this movement called ‘recovery of educational rights.’ In other
words, take them back from the foreigners. Not necessarily make them government,
but they have to be under Chinese. (Interview, May 11, 1984)
8 Transcript of interview of Dr. Theodore Chen by Kenneth Klein at the University of Southern
California on May 11, 1984.
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One school particularly hard hit was St. John’s University in Shanghai. This
university had a reputation of catering to the rich of Shanghai. It took it students
from and reproduced the financial, commercial, industrial, and professional elites of
Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s. As a result, “St. John’s was portrayed as the
archetypal creation of ‘cultural imperialism’: both an institution advanced by foreign
missionaries to serve as the vanguard of imperialistic penetration, and a cultural
enticement used to prevent Chinese students from developing an appropriate national
consciousness” (Yeh, 1990: 84). Because of this type of reputation, St. John’s was
particularly hard hit during the Restore Educational Rights Movement. During this
time, in fact, nearly 60% of their students at the college level decided to sever their
ties with the school and founded Guanghua University. St. John’s had a hard time
recovering from this blow and even closed down between 1927-1928 in order to
regroup and in anticipation of the impacts of the Nationalist’s Northern Expedition.
When they reopened in the fall of 1928, special precautions were taken and
registration was limited to former students, students from affiliated schools, and
those recommended by alumni as being “young men of good character” (Yeh, 1990:
84-85).
May 30th Movement:
As the Christian colleges were still struggling with the eff ects of the Restore
Educational Rights Movement, another event happened to spur further reaction on
the part of the students towards western imperialism. The immediate impetus of the
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May 30th Movement was an incident in early 1925 when there was labor unrest in a
Japanese-owned cotton mill in Shanghai. After a Japanese foreman shot one of the
Chinese labor leaders, widespread unrest broke out in Shanghai. Many students
protested against the treatment of the Chinese on the part of the Japanese. During
these protests, several students were arrested by the police in the International
Settlement in Shanghai. In response to this, more students began to protest within the
International Settlement resulting in more arrests and even the death of several
students who were fired upon by the police of the International Settlement. It was
during this movement that the issue of extraterritoriality was brought to the forefront
of many students’ and missionary educators’ minds. There was a collective cry to
end extraterritoriality. The response on the part of the missionaries was mixed (see
Lutz 1971: 246-254), but the students were called on to demonstrate to prove their
patriotism. Actual participation in the demonstrations by the students at these
institutions was limited and many of the students and administrators in the Christian
colleges simply offered their verbal support while trying to minimize the impact of
the movement on the education process. But this movement did widen the gap
between the Chinese and Western administrators at the colleges and heighten the
demand for sinification (to be discussed below).
To get students to participate in the nationalistic movements “there were
emotional appeals to patriotism which carried the implication that it was a privilege
for Christian college students to be included in the nationalistic revolution and
thereby give proof that they were not foreignized” (Lutz, 1971: 257). However, the
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colleges still wielded much control over their students. While they were sympathetic
to the May 30th Movement and many Christian agreed that it was time to end
extraterritoriality and to get out from under the protection of the unequal treaties,
they were hesitant to give full support to the movement, at least with regards to their
own students’ participation. Once again, the Christian college administrators were
more concerned about stability, discipline, and keeping their students in class.
Although many of the Christian college administrators at the time may have been
sympathetic to the nationalistic causes, they were for the most part all still
Westerners. As a result, the students at the Christian colleges did not have the same
radical role models leading them, as may have been the case at many of the
government schools. Concerning the mayhem of the 1920s, Van Putten writes of
varying situations of the Christian and government schools, “Just here a clear-cut
division came about between the students in Christian colleges and those in
government institutions. While the former were found to be more amenable to the
accustomed discipline, the latter were under no restraint of any kind. Hence their
obedience to authority, simply because it was authority, became rarer and rarer”
(Van Putten, 1937: 10-11). But it was precisely this division between the types of
schools that became the focus of the agitation during the 1920s.
The anti-imperialist sentiments had reached a previously unknown height, not
only among college students but also throughout much of China as a whole. The
Nationalists were able to take advantage of these sentiments stirred up by the
students to succeed in their Northern Expedition (Kiang, 1948: 95; Yip, 1980: 61).
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But, as introduced in Chapter Two, this was just the beginning of a rocky
relationship between the students and the Nationalists. The Nationalists, having seen
the power the students could hold when aiding in their own rise to power, began to
fear that such levels of student agitation could turn against them. The Nationalists
made their best efforts to calm the situation down and return students to their studies.
For the most part this worked between 1927 and 1931. In the 1930s, however, the
students were becoming increasingly frustrated by the Nationalists who, in their
minds, were turning their backs on the needs of the country in the face of Japan. The
students were feeling alienated and disillusioned. By 1931, with the encroachment
by Japan in Manchuria, the students were once again on the streets, this time with the
backing and support the rising Communist Party. Before looking at the renewed
student activism of the 1930s, however, it is important to take another look at the
Christian colleges because by the 1930s, the students at these schools were joining
their government school counterparts in the fight against imperialism. The question,
then, is what happened in those years following these movements that had changed
by the 1930s?
Simfftcation of the Christian Colleges
Following the Restore Educational Rights Movement and the Northern
Expedition, the Christian college administrators began to seriously re-evaluate the
role of the Christian colleges in China. The impact of the North Expedition caused
many foreign missionaries to flee China altogether. The ones who remained realized
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that changes were inevitable. In the wake of the troubles of the 1920s, it was thought
that, “Unless we can make it clear that the purpose of the Christian school is
fundamentally one with the best aims of the Nationalist Movement in China, our
days are numbered” (Gregg, 1946: 131). By the late 1920s, many of the missionaries
themselves were unhappy with the special protection offered to the Christians by the
unequal treaties and believed the charge that because of their special position there
may be some merit to the accusation that they were operating simply as the agents of
western imperialism. As they began to reject their own special position in China,
they struggled with ways to re-evaluate the goals and practices of the missionaries in
China. Many reacted to the anti-Christian movements by distinguishing between
attacks on the beliefs of Christianity and attacks on the practices of the missionaries
and the churches (Lutz, 1971: 230-231).
While sticking with their basic faith in Christianity, the missionary educators
realized that the practices of the schools must change. Christian education must
become “more efficient, more Christian, more Chinese” (Gregg, 1946: 123). Most
colleges began to follow a dual process in order to be accepted as Chinese
institutions. In the first place, many schools began to revise their staff practices,
allowing more room for Chinese administrators. This was, in fact, already occurring
in many of the schools after “the flight of the missionaries in 1927 had placed
Chinese in most of the top administrative positions in the colleges” (Lutz, 1971:
263). Dr. Theodore Chen remembers how he was called back to China:
In 1927 the K.M.T., the Nationalist government, was
established. Then there was a change from missionary
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management and control to native, Chinese. And there was a
call for Chinese leadership. I got a call from my alma mater,
Fukien Christian University: “We have got to have you;”
asked me to go back and serve as dean.... Up to that time, in
all missionary schools and colleges, the administrative
positions were all held by Western personnel. Now, under
the Nationalists, there was a feeling that this was too much
cultural imperialism. So they wanted Chinese to take over.
It was not a political appointment that I got. It was the drift
of events; events were moving in that direction. And, of
course, they were looking for people. Since I had graduated,
my missionary teachers had known me, and said, “Well, here
is a man who can come back and take the job.” (Interview,
May 11, 1984)
Secondly, many of the Christian colleges began the process of registration with the
Nationalist government. This, however, proved to be a more challenging
proposition.
Alice H. Gregg offers a brief description of the process necessary for
registration. A summarized version of these registration requirements is: 1. Any
school will be allowed to apply to register for recognition, 2. These institutions must
prefix their name with U ssu li” (private), 3. The president should be Chinese; if a
foreigner is president then a Chinese vice-president should represent the institution in
the process of registration, 4. If an institution has a board of managers, then more
than half the board must be Chinese, 5. The institution must not have as its purpose
the propagation of religion, and 6. Its curriculum must adhere to the standards set by
the Ministry of Education and cannot require religious courses (Gregg, 1946: 138).
Of course it was the fifth and sixth clauses that presented the most problems to the
administrators of the Christian colleges.
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The decision to register with the Nationalist government was not an easy one.
The Christian colleges were faced with the reality that registration would undermine
one of the basic foundations of their schools, the Christian atmosphere. “The
institutions, when applying for registration, could not acknowledge the providing of
a Christian education as their purpose, nor could registered schools maintain
compulsory courses in Christianity. In addition, registration subjected the schools to
government supervision over the entire curriculum...” (Hoyt, 1976: 47). These
problems were compounded by the fact that most of the institutions continued to be
largely funded by foreign churchgoers, who were not likely to continue support in
light of revised goals that pushed Christianity to the background.
Hangchow University actually ended up closing in June 1928 while they
were trying to figure solutions to the problems of government registration and the
problems of financial support of the Mission boards (Day, 1955: 67). It reopened in
September 1929, but with none of the former students and with great care being
taken that they were not admitting potential troublemakers (Day, 1955: 70). The
schools were struggling with how they could comply with the government’s
demands while still not denying their Christian purpose. Through creatively worded
mission statements, the schools were able to please both the Chinese government and
the mission boards. Fukien Christian College solved the problem with the following
mission statement: “Fukien University offers education to the young men of China
on a collegiate level in a spirit of love, service and sacrifice” (Scott, 1954: 41). When
Hangchow reopened, its new mission statement was: “The purpose of the Founders
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in conducting Hangchow Christian College is to carry out the general educational
aims of the Nationalist Government; also in the Christian spirit of love, sacrifice, and
service, to prepare men with the highest moral qualifications, intellectual ability, and
practice training to meet the needs of society” (Day, 1955: 74).
Despite these difficulties, many Christian colleges did undergo this process of
registration. Along with these changes, the administrators of the Christian colleges
also realized that if Christianity was to continue to have a strong influence over their
students that they would have to show the ways it was compatible with Chinese
nationalism. They realized that they could not win the conflict between Christianity
and nationalism by denying their students the right to participate in and develop their
patriotic feelings. Their hope was to do this through building a Christian spirit
among the students. Knowing that education must serve the need of the nation, they
had to adopt ways that Christian education could also serve the needs of the nation.
They accomplished this through character-building, a new curriculum that focused
on technical skills students would need to help China, social service and the social
gospel, and limited and directed activism involving rural reconstruction, small social
service projects, and mass educational efforts.
In the battle between evangelism and education, education had decidedly won
out. Moreover, the education of the Christian schools was beginning to fall in line
with the goals of education in China. There was a continued process to better the
quality of education, to speed up the process of sinification, especially in the
selection of administrators and curriculum, and to conform to the priorities of the
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national education system. Writing in 1928, Lewis Hodous indicates, “The winds of
the revolution soon swept away the semiforeign atmosphere which enveloped the
church. The Chinese Christians demonstrated that they were nationalists” (Gregg,
1946: 152). While perhaps an optimistic view, it does indicate that the missionary
educators were trying to change and that “social gospel” and social service were
becoming important. Moreover, it seemed that the students at the schools began to
be accepted as real Chinese patriots.
As we will see, the 1930s sees a dramatic increase in the levels of student
activism at the Christian college campuses. The increased sinification meant that
they are no longer considered foreign institutions. Moreover, there was still the
lingering pressure for the students at Christian colleges to prove their patriotism.
They were finally able to join in full force the students at the government institutions
in their pursuit of nationalism and patriotism. This was further aided by the fact that
nationalism was beginning to move away from the anti-western impulses towards the
growing threat of the Japanese. This allowed the students at the Christian colleges to
participate in nationalistic demonstrations and campaigns without having a conflict
of interest.
The next part of this paper will focus on three case studies of the 1930s : the
demonstrations of 1931 following Japan’s movement into Manchuria, the December
9th Movement of 1935-1936, and the limited activism during the war with Japan
beginning in 1937. In each of these cases I will look at the participation of the
students at the Christian colleges and the role of the Christian colleges during the
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1930s, the tenuous relationship between the Nationalists and the students, the
growing influence of the Communists, and the role of Japan in these student
movements.
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Chapter Four: Renewed Student Agitation, 1931
By 1927, the Nationalists had established themselves as the recognized
government in China. With the completion of their Northern Expedition, not only
had they curbed much of the competition for power from the warlords, but they had
also proved their superiority over the Communists who, after the slaughter in
Shanghai in 1927, were pushed out the city and trying to regroup in the countryside.
While by the end of the 1920s it was clear that the Nationalists had emerged
somewhat victorious, the growing factionalism and continued threat from the
Communists and the Japanese during the late 1920s and early 1930s made their
position of power somewhat tenuous. The Nationalists definitely recognized the
importance of establishing firm control and authority over the people within their
realm of influence. One of the most important things that needed to be done is it get
control over the students. As was seen in the various campaigns of the 1920s, the
students were a powerful force of political will that the Nationalists believed needed
to be harnessed in order to prevent the tides from turning on them. It is ironic,
however, that it was this effort to control and manipulate the students that actually
helped cause the growing alienation between the students and the Nationalists.
This growing alienation was hard for the students to accept. In the late 1920s
the students were very much in line with many of the goals of the patriotic goals of
the Nationalists. In fact, it has been suggested that the success of the Nationalists in
their Northern Expedition and their establishment of control over a large part of the
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country was, in part, due to the help and support of the students. Dr. Theodore Chen
returned to China in 1929 to help in the administration of his alma mater, Fujian
Christian University, and remembers the revolutionary spirit of both the students and
the Nationalists:
Well, at that time, the students, Nationalists, were beginning
to be very very assertive. They were in a revolutionary
mood, and so there was a good deal of problem keeping the
students in the mood to concentrate on their studies. The re
were so many distractions. They wanted to go out and take
part in propaganda, and in political campaigns, and that sort
of thing. That problem became more acute later, far more
acute later. Even by the time of 1930, they became very
serious. And by 1931, the Manchurian, then the turmoil
spread all over the colleges and the so-called political
movement among the students, naturally rose to a very high
peak during that time, in the early thirties. But it began
under the K.M.T. The K.M.T. sort of felt they were
revolutionary at the time; they liked the idea of revolution.
(Interview, May 11, 1984)
But while the Nationalists encouraged and benefited from the enthusiasm of the
students during the campaigns of the 1920s, once they had established control, they
were nervous about the possibility of the students' enthusiastic activism undermining
their authority. The Nationalists wanted the students off the streets and back into the
classrooms. Not only would they be able to better control the students there, but they
also realized the importance of actual education for these future leaders of China.
In short, the Nationalists realized that they needed to establish firm control
over the education system. As was described in Chapter Three, one way of doing
this was requiring all schools to register with the Nationalist Government for which
they had to submit to Nationalist supervision. Equally important, however, was
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establishing control over the autonomous student organizations, for it was these
groups that had the greatest potential to stir up trouble and unrest on college
campuses. In January 1930 the Ministry of Education implemented a series of basic
laws to undermine the autonomous nature of student associations and bring them
under the guidance and control of the Nationalists. As Israel explains them, “ (1)
The student movement would turn from a path of destruction to ‘follow the great
road of construction and progress.’ (2) Student organizations would be confined to
the schools but would receive orders directly from local Party Headquarters. Their
structures would be ‘interwoven with that of the party.’ (3) These groups would
create an environment of self-government based on the Three People’s Principles.
(4) They would emphasize ‘moral, academic, physical, and group education.’ (5)
They would not interfere with educational administration” (Israel, 1966: 35). This,
in effect, dissolved many of the autonomous student organizations that were
involved in national politics. It also added to the growing alienation many of the
students were feeling towards the Nationalists and, as will be discussed below,
played well into the hands of the Communists.
Both the Nationalist government and the students were in a difficult situation
trying to decide how to best deal with the other. The GMD was in a difficult
situation deciding what to do with the students. On the one hand, they saw the need
to keep the students in school, not only to ensure an educated group of leaders for
future generations, but also to control mass waves of activism that could potentially
turn against them. On the other hand, the Nationalists also saw the risk of stifling
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student patriotism because they depended on students for mass support and they saw
the risk of other groups, like the Communists, who “would exploit youthful idealism
and enthusiasm if the KMT did not” (Israel, 1966: 45). The students were also
facing an equally difficult choice of how to deal with the Nationalists. On the one
hand, they were disappointed by and increasingly alienated from the GMD who in
their eyes were abandoning nationalism, especially after 1931. On the other hand,
however, by the 1930s, the Nationalists were successful enough that they had
become the legitimate government of China and the students could not successfully
go out on their own. “Students were reluctant to accept the Kuomintang as
champion of Chinese nationalism when the policies of the two groups diverged; yet
the power of the Kuomintang forces students to turn to it as executor of policy”
(Lutz, 1971: 329).
For much of the period between 1927 and 1931, the Guomindang was
successful in their efforts to curb student uprisings. The control they wielded over
the colleges and the universities and, by extension, the student organizations,
resulted in relative stability throughout these years. The limited uprisings that did
occur were very localized and were most concerned with immediate university
policies rather than nationalistic patriotism. It was campus unrest rather than national
unrest (Israel, 1966: 89). While these small uprisings were a concern for the
administrators of the specific college or university that they were affecting at the
time, it was not a major problem for the Nationalist government. It should also be
noted that the challenge for control over the student uprisings was more acute in the
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government schools than in the Christian institutions. In general life and classes at
the Christian colleges were less disrupted than at the national universities. But this
period ended suddenly in 1931, and throughout the 1930s new forms of students
activism began, this time aimed at Japanese aggressiveness and being more acutely
orchestrated by party politics. Yeh explains, “As a result both of manipulation and
suppression, there was a marked decline in spontaneous mass participation in student
political movements in the 1930s. Such movements during the Nanjing decade, in
sharp contrast with the May Fourth era, were characterized by erratic patriotic
outbursts manipulated skillfully by contending political parties” (Yeh, 1990: 230).
As will be discussed below, these new forms of student activism were particularly
interesting when looking at the participation of the students at the Christian colleges.
Crisis in Manchuria
As with most of the student movements and student activism in the 1930s,
the immediate impetus of the nationalistic uprisings in 1931 and 1932 was Japanese
encroachment. On September 18, 1931 Chinese troops clashed with Japanese
railway guards near the South Manchurian Railway center in Mukden. The
Japanese quickly occupied the city of Mukden and looked for opportunities to extend
the expansion into China. On January 18, 1932 the Japanese attacked Shanghai. On
both of these occasions, throughout China students quickly reorganized themselves
against Japanese encroachment. The Nationalists were faced with a situation where
they had to take a stand on student’s participation in the growing anti-Japanese
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sentiments. Initially the government chose to work with the students’ feeling and
encouraged further anti-Japanese education in the schools. One way they did this was
by encouraging military education in the schools to try to absorb some of the student
patriotism. By supporting the students they were hoping to be able to retain control
over the situation. But, ultimately, the students were beyond the control of the
Nationalists. Ironically this was the result of the Nationalists earlier policy of
dismantling many of the organized student associations. With this growing threat
from Japan student quickly reorganized themselves into new groups that were
outside the ineffectual government-controlled associations (Israel, 1966: 49-50).
The students were angry that China would not declare war on Japan. They
reorganized themselves the best they could into new student associations outside the
control of the recently established Nationalist-run student organizations. Through
demonstrations, petitions, and most importantly, a nationwide boycott of Japanese
goods, the students hoped to draw attention to the movements of Japan in China. In
addition, students from all over China converged on Nanjing, the seat of the
Nationalist government. Nearly four thousand students attempted to make their way
to Nanjing (Israel, 1966: 65). They demanded and were given passage on trains to
the capital where they were addressed by Chiang Kai-shek on China’s position with
regards to the Japanese. The Nationalist government originally encouraged these
trips as a way to directly address the students as encourage their patience. Chiang
Kai-shek insisted that China needed more time to prepare for war against Japan.
First they needed to build a strong army and develop China’s unity. But, as the
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students’ actions began to get more radical and demanding, many of the fears of the
Nationalists concerning the power of the student movement and its potential to turn
on them began to come true. Some of the more radical groups of student began to
change their focus from solely an external enemy (Japanese aggressiveness) to also
include the internal enemy (the government) (Israel, 1966: 66). Eventually the
government realized that things were getting out of hand and began to take measures
to crack down on the students’ unruliness. They saw the need to get the students out
of Nanjing, back to the own cities, and most importantly back into the classrooms.
Although the Nationalists initially encouraged the anti-Japanese rhetoric, in
the students’ eyes, they took few steps to actually do anything about China’s
threatened sovereignty. The students organized boycotts against Japanese goods, but
this had little effect on Japan’s position in China. The students demanded military
resistance by the GMD, but to no avail. John Israel, in his final analysis of this
movement calls it a fiasco. It did not succeed in many of its aims: the Nationalist
government continued its policy of appeasement, many businesses did not support
the boycotts, and national sentiment turned against much of the more radical student
activism, the students across the country remained uncoordinated and disorganized.
But, while the ultimate evaluation of the movements of late 1931 and early 1932 did
not prove to have the lasting effects of many of the movements of the 1920s or the
later December 9th Movement, it did set the stage for much of the activism
throughout the rest of the 1930s. In the first place, this movement was the first to see
mass waves of student converging on the capital in Nanjing. Furthermore, this
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movement enhanced the students’ alienation from the Nationalists and gave the
competing Communists a chance to infiltrate the students (Israel, 1966: 83-6).
Factionalism Among the Students: The Nationalists and the Communists
As in the 1920s, the 1930s saw an active effort on the part of the Nationalists
to use the students for their own ends. But unlike the 1920s, the increasing
alienation between the students and the GMD led to a greater role for the
Communists on the college campuses. The more the students turned away from the
Nationalists, the greater potential the Communists would have in securing their own
position of power amongst the students. We will see that throughout the 1930s, the
Communists became more organized in taking advantage of these student
movements (and in the case of the December 9th Movement, discussed in Chapter
Five, perhaps played a role in orchestrating some of the events).
While it is unclear the actual level of Communist infiltration into the student
organizations and the extent to which the Communists orchestrated the events versus
simply using student unrest to their advantage, what is clear is that Communist
ideology, at least, was attracting many students in the 1930s. To the question of why
students were attracted to Communism, Kiang Wen-han writes, “First, because of a
real conviction comparable to a religious faith. A number of students are fascinated
by the ideas of class struggle, economic determination, historic materialism,
proletarian dictatorship, the dialectic method, etc., etc...Secondly, the Communist
Part and the Communist propaganda consist of a very effective appeal to the student
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in China... Thirdly, the spectacular success of the Communist experiment in Soviet
Russia strengthens the belief that Communism is the best way out for
China...Fourthly, there is a growing discontent and distrust of the present
Kuomintang regime” (Kiang, 1933: 304-6).
Dr. Theodore Chen describes the activism at his school during the late 1920s
and throughout the 1930s with regards to the growing influence of the Communists:
In the first couple years—twenty-nine, thirty—the students
were, in general, in a rebellious mood, but they were not
especially involved in specific movements such as the May
Fourth. That was specifically anti-Japanese. Or in twenty-
seven, twenty-eight—which was against the Western cultural
imperialism. Then, by 1931, after Manchuria, it was again
very very strongly anti-Japanese. Also, during that period
gradually, the Communists were becoming more active.
And so, some of the more radical students—in any student
group there is a radical wing—tended to be more interested
in the study of Marxism. Now, we had classes in Marxism,
and so on. But I told the students—and I managed them very
well—I said, “Now, I don’t interfere at all with what you do
outside of the campus, but I don’t want political
organizations on the campus, because then you get the
college into trouble. You don’t get the college into political
trouble; we won’t get you into political trouble...
Ch’en, in fact, admitted several known Communists into Fukien Christian University
with the agreement that they would keep their politics off campus. He continues:
Then, for a long period, politically, it was the anti-Japanese
that was strongest, but underneath, there was now more and
more the Communist problem became more acute. ...the
Communists did get a good deal of sympathy by raising the
anti-Japanese banner. At that time, from 1931 on, Chiang
Kai-shek began to temporize. He just felt we had to
somehow make compromises, concessions, and so forth.
And the students were very much opposed. And so the
Communists very strongly for, “We raise the national flag
against the Japanese.” That went deep with the students; that
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went very deep with the students. That did not mean that the
students were, really, following, choosing the Communist
leadership, but they liked their slogans. And more and more,
the students became very critical of the K.M.T. because of
the continual concessions that they made to the Japanese. As
you know, they first took Manchuria, the students said,
“Fight!” They organized. “We are willing to go to the
frontlines. We will fight.” And the Communists said,
“Fight!” They started, “You follow us. We will fight our
way back to Manchuria.” That went big. (Interview,
May 11, 1984)
While the influence of the Communists remained unorganized in 1931-1932, as will
be shown below, by the December 9lh Movement in 1935, the Communists had
learned their lesson and were ready to take full advantage of the students’
enthusiasm.
The Manchurian Crisis and the Christian Colleges
Once again, it is time to turn to the Christian colleges to see how they were
involved in these general trends of the early 1930s. It will be recalled that in the late
1920s many of the Christian colleges succumbed to pressure from the Nationalist
government to register. In order for them to comply with the demands of the
Nationalists prior to registration, many of the colleges had already effectively dealt
with criticisms of foreign imperialism. These schools that had begun or finished the
process of registration had already undergone the changes necessary for their schools
to be accepted on equal levels of the government schools. Religion was no longer
required and much of the administrative positions were turned over to Chinese. By
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the 1930s, many of the Christian schools were finally being accepted as Chinese
institutions.
For the students at these schools, patriotic activism took on a new meaning.
They were no longer forced to choose between defending themselves against the
charges of being under the control of foreign imperialists or standing in defiance
against their own schools as foreign aggressors. Participation in patriotic and
nationalistic movements was made easier in the 1930s as the enemy was not Western
or Christian (Lutz, 1971: 330). But at the same time, the students were still living
with the memory of the charges against them and their schools during the 1920s, and
were anxious to prove their patriotism now that the opportunity had arisen.
Philip West, in his study of Yenching University, finds this drive among the
students to prove their nationalistic sentiments. He admits that the earlier charges
may not have been entirely inaccurate: “Yenching Chinese admitted that in some
cases conversion and attending mission schools may have weakened patriotic
feeling. These schools, after all, were controlled by foreigners, ignored government
orders, and overwhelmed their student with Western subjects to the extent that some
students were unable to tell the general outline of Chinese history and geography”
(West, 1976: 97). This was not something that the students at Yenching took pride in
and were sensitive to the fact that they were being educated at a foreign-bases
university. West continues, “Like all students in China, Yenching students were in
the forefront of the patriotic tides, but their feat of being overly influenced by foreign
ideas, especially after the Anti-Christian movement, may have been an added
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incentive for their activity” (West, 1976: 147). These students at these schools felt
the “burden of proof.. .to show that they are patriotic and are not the slaves of
foreigners” (West, 1976: 147).
What is ironic, however, is that even as the colleges were being more and
more accepted as being Chinese rather than foreign institutions, it was the ties that
they continued to have as foreign institutions that allowed their students the freedom
to finally be able to express their patriotism throughout the 1930s. “With the greater
immunity to Kuomintang and Japanese pressures brought by the foreign connections,
Christian college students were freer that other groups to vent their nationalist
sentiments and organize for protest movements” (Lutz, 1971: 323). While the
pressure from the Japanese was not as great during the movement of 1931-1932 as it
would be at the end of the 1930s during the War of Resistance, Christian schools, as
well as other private institutions, were spared the same degree of Nationalist political
interference in comparison with government schools. As Philip West points out, the
political activism of the students at all schools was related to the relative strength of
control the government was able to hold over the students. In time of strong control
(the early 1930s and during the Japanese occupation) there was little student
activism. In times of weaker control (the mid 1920s and mid 1930s) there were great
waves of student activism as the weak control resulted in few consequences (West,
1976: 148). At the Christian colleges the government control was always weaker
than at the government institutions, in part due to their foreign connections.
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This was especially seen with regards to student associations. As mentioned
above, one of the ways the Nationalists took control over student activities was
through the destruction of many of the autonomous student associations that were
operating on the campuses. The foreign-based YMCA was the only non-official
organization that still had the ability to engage in patriotic work free of the
interference of the government. The foreign connection of this organization gave it a
degree of protection from government suppression, which allowed it to follow a
patriotic program of lectures, dramas, and discussion groups to organize patriotism in
largely positive terms (Israel, 1966: 105). In fact, it was this challenge of presenting
and organizing patriotism in positive terms that proved one of the greatest challenges
for the foreign and Chinese Christians during the early 1930s.
Missionary educators and Chinese Christians were faced with the challenge
of how to understand the challenge of Japanese imperialism. On the one hand, they
wanted to promote peace and understanding. On the other hand, they were reluctant
to turn their backs in the face of injustice. There was not a clear consensus among
the missionaries or the Chinese Christians as to the position China should take
against Japan. You can sense a real dilemma felt among the Chinese Christians at
the time. The student departments of the National Committees of the Y.W.C.A and
Y.M.C.A. issued on February 19, 1932 a “Message to Christian Students of China
Regarding the Attack on Shanghai” which addressed this dilemma: “However, just
the cause (of the war) we still question seriously the use of war as a method of
national policy. The basic principle of the spirit of Christ is love. Love’s method is
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contrary to the method of war. No matter how we try to justify a war, our hearts are
still profoundly disturbed. In this hour of national crisis we cannot, on the one hand,
advocate a policy of non-resistance which gives away our territory, yet, on the other
hand, in the spirit of Jesus Christ we cannot endorse the use of military force”
(Chinese Recorder Editorial, April 1932). Throughout 1932 there were numerous
article published in the Chinese Recorder stressing the same concerns. While many
of the people who were contributing to the Chinese Recorder were sympathetic
towards the students’ goals and the resistance effort against Japan, there seems to be
real hesitancy concerning the push for war. For these Christians contributing to the
Chinese Recorder there was debate concerning the position of war in the Bible. In
1933, P. C. Hsu echoes the concerns of many Chinese Christians: “Here arises an
important problem and that is, what can we, who believe in Jesus Christ, at such
times do with regards to the national crisis? What kind of attitude should we adopt?
What sort of responsibilities have we and what should we do?”(Hsu, 1933: 555). In
response to these questions, he and others turn to the bible as a way to interpret what
Jesus would have done. But among Christians there is no clear consensus on Jesus’
position towards war and self-defense.9
One of the ways that the administrators of the Christian colleges dealt with
this dilemma was to encourage patriotism in more positive ways. The schools did
9 See Chen Tsing-Hsien “An Analysis of the Attitudes of Christians in China Toward the National
Crisis” in The Chinese Recorder December 1932, p. 761-768 for an overview of the various positions
Chinese Christians have taken concerning this question of war. In this article he reviews evidence
from the Bible to support both resistance and non-aggression. For other examples of this debate in
The Chinese Recorder see: March 1932: 153-161, 164-170; June 1932 Editorial; September 1933:
555-557).
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this by revamping some of the basic educational goals of the schools. They created
programs of study that more directly dealt with practically minded subjects that
would help build and develop China. They implemented programs of rural
reconstruction and mass education. In short, they furthered the goal of the social
gospel, and “Thus youthful idealism was diverted from both political and religious
struggles, and directed toward China’s critical socioeconomic problems” (Israel,
1966: 92).
Of course, this was more a dilemma for the Chinese Christian administrators.
Many of the students were not Christian and even those who were tended to be very
similar to their non-Christian counterparts in their thoughts and opinions. In fact,
most of the students and the administrators at the various campuses across China felt
that the Japanese encroachment was wrong and that something should be done. The
difference, however, was in degrees: the degree to which different colleges
participated in this movement, how they participated, and how well the
administrators retained control over the students. While there were a variety of
responses on the part of the different Christian colleges, in general all the Christian
colleges were able to retain more control over their students resulting in a less
disrupted school year than many of the government institutions (Lutz, 1971: 331).
The degree of participation on the part of the students at the Christian colleges
depended, in some respects, on the level of sinification that the school had undergone
in the previous few years and the location of the school vis-a-vis the direct threat of
Japanese imperialism. It depended on the school’s relative isolation, both
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intellectually and geographically. For example, as Lutz points out, the most active
centers of patriotic demonstrations were at the Christian colleges (and the
government schools) in Shanghai and Beijing. It was in these centers that the vast
majority of the students in China were concentrated. Additionally, the threat of
Japanese aggression was felt very acutely in both of these cities (Lutz, 1971: 330).
But throughout China students reacted to the news of the Japanese actions in
Manchuria and the seeming lack of response on the part of the Nationalist
government.
Some of the Christian colleges experienced very little direct participation in
the student activism of 1931-1932. While not unaware of the students’ actions at
other schools, the students (with the support of the administrators) decided the best
course of action was to concentrate on their studies and implement more programs of
rural reconstruction, mass education, and practical first aid. These schools tended to
be either still working out the details of the registration process and thus wrapped up
in their own concerns or were relatively isolated from the political life of China. For
example, “At Hwa Nan, which was just beginning to accept the necessity of
registration and which was still insulated from Chinese political life, not
participation in the 1931 student movement was reported” (Lutz, 1971: 329). There
was a similar lack of participation at Ginling. In response to the activism in 1931 the
students at Ginling did organize a branch of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation
Society, and while they did not approve of the action taken by many of the students
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in Nanjing, they showed their support by adding first aid classes (Thurston and
Chester, 1955: 73).
There was greater participation at many of the other schools. The students at
Fukien Christian University did participate in mass demonstrations in Fuzhou. In
fact, “according to the dean, {they} even assumed leadership in certain activities”
(Lutz, 1971: 329). But, at the same time, this participation did not disrupt academic
work as much as at many other schools. The school did its best to remain focused on
academics and out of politics. As Dean Chen instructed the students, “Don’t disobey
any rules; but don’t obey any either” (Scott, 1954: 49). Meanwhile, the school
launched an extensive program on rural service throughout the 1930s as a way of
putting the students’ enthusiasm to good work (Scott, 1954: 58). Other schools took
an even more active role in the 1931-1932 demonstrations. Some of the specific
circumstances facing Yenching have been discussed above. At this school, not only
were the students quite active in the patriotic demonstrations, but the school’s status
as a semi-foreign institution actually helped their cause. Philip West writes,
“Yenching’s private status and distance from the city walls may have encouraged, in
John Israel’s words, the ‘free-thinking, socially conscious, politically active
undergraduates,’ to pursue their patriotic activities in the early 1930s in ways other
state-controlled universities.. .couldn’t” (West, 1976: 90). He continues this idea,
“the Yenching faculty were understandably upset with the interruptions created by
student protest. And yet they sympathized with the students. The recurring irony is
the role of extraterritoriality, an issue which irritated students again and again but
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which provided the faculty with a power used repeatedly to protect political suspects
and secure the release of those arrested” (West, 1976: 164). Finally, just as the
students at Yenching were inspired, in part, to finally prove their patriotism in the
various campaigns of the 1930s, the same motivation can be seen behind the huge
turnout on the part of the students at Hangchow University. On November 22, 1931
the entire student population of the College and the Middle School went to Nanjing
by train. In fact a $10 fine was imposed on students who would not go. It was
thought that it was finally time to show the other students in China their patriotism.
As was written in “Campus Life,” the school paper, during that time, “Our College
has joined the strike because, under the organization of the Hangchow Students’
Anti-Japanese National Saving Organization, we had to take the same step to show
that we in Hangchow are of one mind and heart with all students in the country. Now
that a new National Government has been established, we hope it will save China
from perishing” (Day, 1955: 78-79).
Return to Stability:
Following the student unrest of 1931-1932, the Nationalist government
realized it was not exaggerating its concerns about the potential problems of
continued student agitation. In fact, in 1931, many of the Nationalists fears were
beginning to come true. The students were turning against them. While still a very
unorganized force, leftist leanings were beginning to become apparent in many of the
students activities and writings. What it ironic is that it was the GMD’s policies of
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limiting student activism that, in part, turned the students against them. This only
served to exasperate the students’ frustrations over the seeming un-nationalistic
appeasement policy the GMD took towards Japan.
While the ultimate outcome of the 1931 student movement was limited in its
success, it did awaken the Nationalists to the fact that much of the control they
thought they wielded over the students was a mere illusion. Students did prove
capable of reorganizing themselves on at least a short-term basis in response to a
direct threat from the Japanese. What was more discouraging was the speed at which
the students then began to turn against the Nationalists. After the 1931 incident, the
Nationalist government tried harder than ever to regain control over the students and
the schools, shutting down both the student unions and the student governments
(Lutz, 1971: 335). In this control, the government was rather successful. Relative
peace and stability returned to many of the college campuses throughout China. But
even this would prove to be short-lived. By 1935, anti-Japanese sentiments were
again bubbling up; especially at the schools in Beijing, and by the end of 1935 the
larger and, ultimately, more important December 9th Movement began.
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Chapter Five: December 9th Movement
Throughout the 1930s the students were getting increasing frustrated by the
lack of action taken by the government in the face of Japanese aggression. It seemed
like the Nationalists were continually taking the path of appeasement rather than
resistance. Meanwhile the Japanese were getting increasingly aggressive in their
actions in North China and Manchuria. Things began to come to a head in 1935 and
the tensions were growing between the students and the government.
But the frustration the students felt throughout the 1930s was not as easy to
organize into mass mobilization as it was in the 1920s. As was seen prior to and
after the demonstrations against the Japanese (and the Nationalists) in 1931-1932,
the GMD held strong power over the schools and their students in the 1930s. As the
official policy of the GMD was for students to remain focused on their academics
and stay out of politics, there was limited political activism throughout the 1930s on
the part of the students. While response to the Manchurian crisis was an exception to
this, in the wake of the movement the Nationalists took even stronger actions to
maintain control over the activities of the students in China. By 1935, the political
suppression of the past five or so years had begun to take its toll on the students in
China’s colleges. As Israel writes, ..four years of police suppression and ‘saving
the nation through study’ had obliterated all traces of the militant spirit of 1931.
Untold numbers of activists had been killed, imprisoned or forced into hiding. The
result was a complete lack of leadership” (Israel, 1966: 113).
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By 1935, however, the frustration was again beginning to mount over the
further advancement of the Japanese into China and the perceived continued lack of
response on the part of the Nationalist government. They were tired of the empty
promises that Chiang Kai-shek kept telling the students to keep them in line. As
Shin Li-teh remembers, “On October 15, 1931, when the student petitioners and
demonstrators from various parts of the country encircled the headquarters of the
Kuomintang government he had declared, ‘If in three years the lost territory are not
recovered I will tender my apologies to the whole nation and have my head chopped
off.’ The following day, when he was again compelled to receive the petitioners and
demonstrators, he declared: T shall order my troops to take the field within three
days.’ Chiang Kai-shek did order his troops to go into action, but it was not into a
battle of resistance against Japan. He ordered them to massacre the patriotic
students” (Chiang, et. al., 1963: 22). While this was admittedly remembered by a
member of the Communist Party in the 1960s, it still probably indicative of the
general frustrations many of the students were feeling at the time when four years
later the Nationalists continued in their policy of appeasement.
Throughout 1935 a series of events occurred which allowed for further
Japanese influence in China. The main source of concern among the students was
the Japanese proposal to create an autonomous north China regime. This was a
direct threat to the sovereignty of China. In little steps the students felt like the
Nationalists were giving in to the Japanese. On June 10, 1935 the Japanese forced
the Chinese government to sign the Good Will Mandate which outlawed anti-
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Japanese words, deeds, and organization (Israel, 1966: 111). Once again, the
Nationalist government took no actions to prevent this encroachment. To the
students, the only action that they seemed to be taken was against the students in the
form of limiting speech and associations as well as arresting those students in
violation of their rules. On November 1, 1935: eleven student self-government
organizations sent a petition to the Sixth Plenum of the Guomindang Central
Executive Committee to protest against arbitrary arrests and infringements on
freedom (Lutz, 1971: 339). This petition was drawn up by the students at Yenching
and supported by ten other colleges and universities in Beijing. But the decision to
protest was made after Major General Doihara Kenji inaugurated the East Hopei
Autonomous Council on November 25, 1935.
On December 9th about eight hundred students from Beijing marched in the
streets in protest against the north China autonomous regime and the policy of
appeasement by the Nationalists. Over the next several days the strikes and protests
spread throughout Beijing and the rest of China culminating in massive
demonstration on December 16th with some 5000 students.1 0 The basic student
demands were: the end of the civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists
and the formation of a united front against Japan, a protest against the creation of the
north China autonomous regime, the freedom of speech, press, and association; and a
called for a mass uprising against the Japanese (Lutz, 1971: 351). Nym Wales who
1 0 For a first-hand account of the various demonstrations in Beijing with special attention paid to the
role of the students of Yenching see Hubert Freyn’s Prelude to War: The Chinese Student Rebellion
o f 1935-1936. This gives a very detailed account of the immediate circumstances of the students in
Beijirig during the initial demonstrations of the December 9 t h Movement.
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was on the scene of the December 9th Movement and, along with her husband Edgar
Snow (both American journalists), was in close contact with many of the students
leaders of Yenching University, characterizes the December 9th Movement as an
anti-Fascist movement. She indicates that for many of the students and intellectuals
at the time, the Nationalist government had much in common with a fascist regime:
they were trying to break down all Leftist opposition, tried to build “a strong nucleus
of personal power for General Chiang”, and there was a strong attempt at “cultural
control” (Nym Wales, 7-13). This indicates that although the main target of the
movement was Japanese imperialism, anti-Nationalist feelings were behind much of
the movement, even more so than was seen in 1931.
The December 9th Movement started in Beijing but spread quickly to other
cities where it had varying lasting effects. Representatives were sent to other cities
and circulars were sent out to students and schools throughout China to spread word
of the movement. Between December 9lh and December 31, there were sixty-five
demonstrations in thirty -two different cities. These demonstrations in other cities
played a largely supportive role to the main sphere of activity in Beijing (Lutz, 1971:
347). In comparison to many of the movements in the 1920s, the December 9th
Movement was relatively short-lived. In many of the cities, the schools that showed
their initial support of the students in Beijing returned to classes relatively quickly.
For example, after the chaos in Nanjing in 1931, there was not as much support for
the movement on the part of the students in Nanjing. The power and centralization
of the Nationalists in Nanjing was a powerful force and a strong consideration for
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those students. It was only in Beijing that the movement was extended beyond the
initial outburst. Even here, as will be discussed below, it has been suggested that the
continuation of the movement was strongly dependent on powerful leftist forces
(Israel, 1966: 131).
The Nationalist government naturally tried to make efforts to regain control
over the students. They cracked down on protests, arrested students, and made a
general call for students to return to classes. Even as the students were agreeing to
return to class, the government took actions against the student agitators using
“whatever force is necessary” to destroy students’ political activities (Israel, 1966:
143). The Nationalists also tried to follow in the footsteps of the student protests of
1931 when the students flocked to Nanjing to meet with GMD representatives. In
1931 this gave the government the opportunity to talk directly with the students to
convince them of the necessity of China’s policies and encourage them to return to
class. But, as seen above, many students were cynical of the empty promises from
1931 and were reluctant to be duped again by going to Nanjing. The Peiping Student
Union unanimously decided against sending representative to Nanjing; their
explanation:
We have been deceived and stupefied for four years. Is this
not enough? Of shall we send more delegates to be deceived
and drugged again? The threats and suppression suffered by
us during the past four years—are these not enough? Shall
we send more delegates to be utilized and hired by
him?...Our demonstration on December 9 was held for the
purpose of presenting a petition to General Ho Ying-chin,
but we received no reply. These were the demands of the
entire student body of Peiping. How is it possible that a few
delegates (under the threat of the Government) can get a
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satisfactory answer?... Therefore, as a result of the fifth
meeting of the representatives of the Student Union the
decision was reached to send no delegates to the gathering at
Nanking. At the same time all the student associations of the
different universities supported the action so that this attitude
in unanimously held among the majority of the student
bodies in Peiping (Freyn, 1939: 55).
The degree to which the students had lost faith in the Nationalist was clear at the
time. As will be discussed below, this played right into the hands of the Communists
who were busy trying to exert their own influence over the students of China.
While small demonstrations and locally-run protests continued throughout
the first half of 1936, the mass demonstrations seen in December 1935 were brought
under control by the end of December. Most schools let their students out early for
the winter break in hopes of diminishing some of the unrest. But several schools
used this break to continue their patriotic efforts by bringing them to the countryside.
First, there was a concentrated effort to spread their ideas to the workers and the
peasants through the extant rural reconstruction programs. At the same time, many
of the students in Beijing used their break from classes to go directly to the peasants
with their message. The propaganda tour to the countryside in January of 1936
sought to gain support of the rural masses through patriotic lectures, songs, skits, and
stories. It is interesting to note, however, that it was not until they equated the
Japanese with the tax collectors and the landlords that there was a positive support
and response from the peasants.1 1
1 1 Hubert Freyn accompanied the delegation from Yenching University on their tour through the
countryside in January 1936. See Prelude to War for an eyewitness account of his participation in
this event. He writes about the students’ goals, their reception throughout the different villages
around Beijing, and the Nationalist government response to this endeavor.
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Role of the Chinese Communist Party
Taking the message to the peasants to educate them and win their support in
the struggles against Japan and the Nationalist is reminiscent of the tactics the CCP
would continue to use in their struggle for supremacy. Indeed, it seems that the
Communists did play some sort of influential role in the events of the December 9lh
Movement. What this role was and the extent to which they orchestrated events
rather than simply taking advantage of the situation is open to debate. In fact, there
does not seem to be a clear consensus as to the role of the Communists in the
December 9th Movement.
As already suggested several times, the student movements of the 1930s were
clearly under the direct influence of competing factions and parties. It seems that
everyone recognized the potential power the students held and believed that it was in
their best interest to have them on their side. As seen in 1931, many of the fears of
the Nationalists were coming true. The more alienated the students felt towards the
reigning power in Nanjing, the more attracted they became to the leftist ideas of the
Chinese Communist Party. This became even more apparent in 1935 and 1936.
Increasingly the students were divided between the left and the right and
factionalism, even on the campuses, became a defining characteristic of student
activism in the 1930s.
One dominant theme in discussions of the December 9th Movement was the
leading role of the Chinese Communist Party played in orchestrating the events of
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the students. Proponents of this interpretation point to the presence of Communist
infiltrators into the students associations at many of the colleges and universities
throughout China. They point out that left-wing students and student organizations
took an active role in these demonstrations in 1935-6 (Israel, 1966: 123). They point
to the Communist tactics of bringing the message to the peasants in the rural
campaigns. They further point to the fact that the students were turning away from
the Nationalists and supporting the Communists in their push for a united front. One
account of the December 9th Movement using this interpretation is found in The Roar
o f a Nation: Reminiscences o f the December 9th Student Movement. Through a series
of chapters detailing the events of this period, the various contributors are quick to
point out that the Communist Party was orchestrating the students towards their own
ends. As written in the introduction, “The December 9th Movement against
imperialism was led by the Chinese Communist Party and carried out by patriotic
students” (Chiang, et. al., 1963: vii). This may be a bit overstated. While the
influence of Communist ideology does seem to play a significant role in the
movement, it must be pointed out that these reminiscences were written by people in
the 1960s who were active in the bureaucracy of the CCP. However, even some
secondary analysis shows the importance of the December 9th Movement for the
Communist Party. In Rebels and Bureaucrats: China’s December 9ers, John Israel
and Donald W. Klein analyze the student participators in this movement who later
became active in the Communist bureaucracy as a political generation. In this they
find that not only is Communist ideology a strong motivating force behind the
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students of the December 9th generation, but that a large number of these participants
would continue their association with the CCP.
At the same time, however, there is also evidence that the Chinese
Communist Party, rather than orchestrating the events of December 9, instead simply
used to their advantage the leftist leanings of the students who were acting somewhat
autonomously. It is not that the student leaders in this demonstration were
necessarily Communists, but they were attracted to the their party line as the only
alternative for national salvation in light of the Nationalists’ conciliatory approach
(Israel, 1966: 152-156). Four years of Japanese aggression had discredited the
Nationalist government. The CCP was gradually turning towards a united-front
approach that had real draw for the students. More importantly, the Communists
were in support of the main student goal: war with Japan. As Lutz explains this,
“What is important is that the Chinese Communist Party and many of the New Youth
were on converging paths during the December 9th Movement, and the sense of
common goal made students more ready to the benefit of the doubt to the
Communist Party rather than the Kuomintang. The Kuomintang seemed to be losing
the nationalist issue to the communists despite the fact that the importance of the
Kuomintang to a coalition against Japan was gaining recognition” (Lutz, 1971: 356).
This does not necessarily mean, however, that the students were communists or were
in any way in direct control by the communists. For what it might be worth, Edgar
Snow and his wife Helen Snow (Nym Wales), who were in direct contact with many
of the student leaders of the December 9th demonstrations, both found that the
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Communist Party played virtually no role in the instigation of the movement. In
fact, Edgar Snow states that the “demonstration’s leaders were ‘mostly Christian or
Christian-trained youths...There was not a Communist among them” (Israel, 1966:
153). Nym Wales echoes this in her collection of notes on the December 9th
Movement: “I believe I have already made clear that the whole idea of starting the
student movement, which brought in it trains so many effects, originated solely with
myself and my husband and the Yenching student government in Peking, and had
nothing to do with anyone else in other cities not with any Communists” (Nym
Wales, 43). Dr. Theodore Chen also remembers that the agitation at his schools was
not specifically communist, “Student resentment was rising very high, and they went
on strike. 1935 and ’36. By the winter of 1935, the resentment was so strong, the
students were on strike everywhere; my campus too. It was not Communists or
anything; the Communists took advantage of that, you can be sure of that! But the
students, really, were patriotic; they just wanted too—they were willing to go to
battle against the Japanese. ‘Let’s quit conceding!”’ (Interview, May 11, 1984)
According to these interpretations, it was spontaneous and was not organized by the
CCP.
Christian Colleges and the December 9th Movement
While the verdict may still be out on the question of the role of the Chinese
Communist Party in the December 9th Movement, what seems clear is the important
role Christian colleges, Yenching in particular, played during the December 9th
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Movement. Similar to the student activism in 1931, in 1935 students at the Christian
colleges were anxious to step up to the plate to show their support for Chinese
nationalism. Not only were they anxious to show support, but it was, in fact, the
students of Yenching who were the instigators and the leaders of this movement.
While it may seem a bit at odds that the students of a foreign-based, missionary
university would lead the charge against imperialism when they were the victims of
such charges only 10 years before, it was clear that the tides were definitely
beginning to turn for the acceptance of these schools as Chinese. But even as they
were being accepted as true Chinese patriots, it is ironic that once again it was the
schools’ foreign ties that enabled the students to play such an important role in the
movement.
That the movement began in Beijing is not surprising. Beijing was farther
away from the Nationalists stronghold in Nanjing and the Yangze Valley. It had one
of the largest student populations of any city in China. It was also physically closer
to much of the Japanese movement in China. Finally, it had a strong history in
participating in and leading student movements. But, as Israel and Klein point out, it
was typically Beida that led the patriotic and nationalistic impulses of the students in
China. Their faculty and students played a leading role throughout the various
campaigns in the 1920s. But being the premiere national university located within
the walls of Beijing, by 1935 Beida “had lost its political vitality” (Israel and Klein,
1976: 23). While it was still a strong hold of excellent academics, “it easily
succumbed to pressures of local and national authorities” (Israel and Klein, 1976:
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23). The special situation of Yenching allowed it to step to the forefront to take
Beida’s place as leader.
Why was it Yenching? It was a variety of reasons. First, like in 1931, the
students saw an opportunity to prove their patriotism. Lutz writes, “Integration had
gone far enough so that they were no longer likely to be condemned as
denationalized ‘running dogs' of the foreigners. Even so, they felt the separateness
of Yenching enough so that they desired to be first and loudest in expressions of
Chinese nationalism. They had reason to want to prove their patriotism” (Lutz,
1971: 341). Secondly, there were a variety of other advantages that the students at
Yenching had: they came from relatively affluent families, which meant that their
interests were protected somewhat by their influential fathers; they had a functioning
student government as the GMD had little influence over the extracurricular
activities at the Christian schools because of their foreign affiliation; the faculty and
administrators at Yenching largely sympathized with the students due to the strong
campus community life and added to the cohesiveness amongst the students (see
Wales, 47); the faculty and administrators of Yenching could support the students
against the GMD without the same fear their government school counterparts had for
a loss of their position; they had a number of Tungpei refugee students at Yenching
who transferred there after the loss of Manchuria to Japan which displayed strong
anti-Japanese sentiments; and finally they had a strong journalism department that
pushed for the freedom of speech, press, and association as well as having important
connections with the foreign press (Lutz, 1971: 341-345; Israel, 1966: 113). While
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the reasons are numerous, what is striking is that in each example the reasons were
connected to the fact of Yenching’s foreign connections. Even as the government
began to crackdown on the student's activities, once again, it was only at Yenching,
with its special status, that escaped the raids, seizures, and arrests (Israel, 1966: 144).
It is clear that in 1935, Yenching University used its American connection to ensure
its survival and the continued freedoms for their students.
In other Christian colleges there was a large amount of verbal support and
varying amounts of limited demonstrations and strikes. Like the government school,
the Christian schools in other parts of the country gave limited support to the
movement but quickly returned to classes. As mentioned above, the movement,
while quickly spreading around the country throughout December, had limited
staying power outside of Beijing. For the Christian schools, the ones that were the
most physically and culturally isolated did little beyond giving this movement verbal
support and the academic work at these schools was largely uninterrupted (Lutz,
1971: 348). In other areas, they more quickly succumbed to the pressure to return to
normal from the regional and the Nationalist governments. In Cheeloo, the students
were ready to give active support to the movement, being relatively close to the
sphere of Japanese influence, but were under strong pressure to remain in their
classes because the provincial government had given an order to close all schools
that were not holding their normal classes (Lutz, 1971: 349). Also the students at
Fukien Christian University got caught up in the moment but were easily appeased
by the pleading of Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. Dr. Theodore Chen
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remembers of the movement accepting the Nationalists invitation for representative
to come to Nanjing:
Fukien Christian had a student leader, also by the name of Chen, but
unrelated to me. He went. I was the faculty representative. So I took my
student—our student body only elected one to go; he was the head of the
Student Union at the time. He and I went from Foochow, and we stayed
there for three days, meeting with Chiang Kai-shek. He was an amazing man,
really. Every night there were small conferences, and every afternoon, we
would meet Chiang Kai-shek...
He quotes Chiang at those meetings:
‘When they came over, there was no way of stopping them; there is no way
of saving our cities. It just cannot be done. I would like to have ten years,
and I could pledge to you, we would fight. If we do not have ten years, then
give me five years; we would still have a chance. But we will not fight the
Japanese now—no chance. We would have to give up all this coast, and all
that. There is no chance.’ That evidently moved the students. So the student
representatives went back, pacified in a considerable way. Not that they were
happy; not that they were satisfied; but they were pacified.. .So that was in
1935. In 1936, the students were quite active; they were convinced that
Chiang Kai-shek was the person that should hold the rein at that time. I think
that was more of realism than any worship of Chiang Kai-shek as a person or
as a leader, it was not that. It was just a realization that nobody could walk in
and take his place at that time, he had that power. I think it was more that
than anything else. (Interview, May 11, 1984)
It seems clear that the students outside of Beijing, while sympathetic, did not reach
the same level of radicalism as their Beijing counterparts.
The December 9th Movement saw a continuation of many of the patterns of
protest seen in 1931. Students were increasingly being influenced by the various
factions and parties all vying to control them. The immediate inspiration for the
movement was the growing Japanese imperialism, but the tone of the movement also
took on an anti-Nationalist tone. The Nationalists before and after both movements
in 1931 and 1935 took sometimes extreme measures to regain control over the
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students both academically and in their extracurricular activities. As for the
Christian colleges, there was a trend of participation on the part of the students in
order to show their patriotism and support for the students of China. The Christian
colleges seemed to have evolved to the point that they were no longer at as much risk
of being condemned as the carriers of cultural imperialism. More and more they
were being accepted as Chinese. But at the same time, the ability of the students to
actively participate and even lead the various campaigns was, in large part,
dependent on their school’s semi-foreign status. We will see below that this was
even more the case by the time war had officially broken out between the Chinese
and the Japanese in 1937.
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Chapter 6: War with Japan
The forms of student activism during the war with Japanese were very
different from what was seen throughout the 1920-1930s. In fact, while most of this
paper has concerned itself with the activism during the periods of large student
movements, the official outbreak of war with Japan did not see the typical large
student uprisings that had defined so much of the student politics of the previous two
decades. Nevertheless, the limited forms of student activism that did take place in
the last few years of the 1930s and the changes in education are worth spending
some time describing, particularly with regards to the situation of the Christian
colleges.
As Hubert Freyn points out, some may question the true patriotism of the
students who just as the war was breaking out seemed to shrink away from their role
of patriots when faced with real war. But, as Freyn shows, this would be a naive
interpretation of the role of student movements in China. He writes, “There was no
student movement in the accepted sense since the war, because none was called for:
once the Chinese Government had made the decision to resist the Japanese invasion,
it did what the students had always wanted it to do. National resistance when it came
at last cleared the atmosphere of internal conflict and removed the restrictions which
had been imposed by the authorities” (Freyn, 1940: 8). Not only had the Nationalists
finally abandoned their policy of appeasement, but in 1936 the Nationalists and the
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Communists finally agreed to abandon (at least temporarily) their civil war and form
a united front to fight Japan.
Despite the fact that the official outbreak of war did not result in any mass
demonstrations on the part of the students, the war did present many problems to the
students of China and profoundly changed the basic educational scene. The Chinese
government needed to reevaluate the goals of education to fit with the wartime needs
while dealing with an increasingly aggressive Japanese occupation in the cities
where most of the colleges and universities were located. In response to these
problems, the Ministry of Education first set forth the following three propositions
for carrying out its wartime educational program: “(1) the formulation of an
educational policy for the promotion of social welfare and interests; (2) the
establishment of closer co-operation between educational and national reconstruction
movements; (3) national defense and the training of technical experts as one of the
cardinal principles in the education of youths” (Freyn, 1940: 93). As part of this, one
of the main priorities was keeping the students in the classrooms where their formal
education could be maintained as best as possible with adjustments in practical
subjects for the wartime effort. These college students, although young and able-
bodied, were not recruited for the army. As Freyn explains, “The purpose of
exempting the students from direct army service is to preserve them for the country’s
future. In proportion to the entire population their number is so small that war
casualties of any magnitude would seriously threaten that so vital process of
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reconstruction the accomplishment of which is to China’s leaders as important as
winning the war” (Freyn, 1940: 126).
The more pressing reason behind changing the scene of education, however,
was the pressure from the Japanese in the occupied areas. The Japanese were
particularly ruthless to many of the educational institutions, either occupying or
destroying many of the campuses. Where schools were allowed to stay open in
occupied areas, they were forced to submit to the policies of the Japanese
occupational force becoming puppet institutions for training young Chinese students
to support the Japanese cause. The particularly harsh nature of the Japanese attacks
on the schools is perhaps quite natural from the Japanese point of view. “One of the
prominent features in the present Sino-Japanese war is the destruction of cultural and
educational institutions in China. From the Japanese militarist point of view this is a
strategic attack. The Chinese schools are the source of modern Chinese
nationalism...The Japanese militarists have, therefore, unflinchingly gone out to
destroy those institutions in the places they have not occupied, and have work hard to
get control of the schools in the temporarily occupied areas” (Lin, 1938: 579).
In light of these challenges, the government schools in the occupied areas
really had three options: close the schools, stay open and deal with Japanese
interference, or move inland to Free China. Most public schools chose to move.
(Lutz, 1971: 363) This resulted in the widespread migration inland of many of the
colleges and universities, of which 90% were located in large cities along the coast—
among the first places to be occupied. While certainly a long and laborious process,
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as CJ. Lin points out, this move also had the potential of being more helpful to
China: “Instead of operating chiefly in the commercial centers along the coast, the
colleges have gone into the interior where they are much closer to the actual life of
the countiy people. Instead of giving courses which are mostly superficial, unreal,
and foreign to Chinese society, they have now worked out curricula which are
designed more adequately to meet the needs of the masses” (Lin, 1938: 580).
During this period of war and the Japanese occupation, student activism was
understandable limited. Mass displays of anti-Japanese protests were necessarily
limited in the occupied areas. The schools that decided to stay open had to screen
the extracurricular activities of the students so as not to antagonize the Japanese,
limiting the amount of war and propaganda work (Lutz, 1971: 367). The end of the
1930s differed from the past several decades in that the students’ activities and
nationalistic activism took on a more small-scale approach on more individual levels.
As was explained by one Yenching student in December 1937: “In general the
student movement had transformed itself from a big movement {meaning the student
movement of 1935/6} into small-group work. The students know now that their
main work is to organize the people, especially the villagers. Since this war broke
out, some students went to the front to fight, but most of them went to the villages.
Those who went to the front and were killed did a glorious deed but they still had not
done enough. The students’ main duty is to call up many, many people who still
know no meaning of this war, and their main duty is also to organize the people”
(Freyn, 1940: 81).
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Students organized themselves to participate in programs of mass education
and illiteracy campaigns. They lectured to peasants on the war efforts, using similar
tactics that were seen in 1935: teaching patriotic songs, lecturing, and using stories
and skits to rally support for the war. In addition, during the war, a few of the
Christian college campuses, the colleges having been moved to Free China or to
various international settlements, became havens for many refugees fleeing the
Japanese. Rudimentary medical facilities were set up at colleges that did not have a
hospital and efforts were made to provide food and clothing to the refugees. The
administrators who stayed behind to try to protect the campuses from looting offered
a bit of protection to the refugees as well. Finally, many schools restructured their
curriculum to add practical courses to aid the war effort and encourage part-time
work for their students (Lutz, 1971: 374-7). For example at Fukien Christian
University the students participated in citizenship training which included things like
lectures on the meaning of the war, first aid training, tips in the event of a military or
gas attack, and singing patriotic songs (Scott, 1954: 80). As opposed to the mass
campaigns and demonstrations of previous periods, Wasserstrom characterizes the
war efforts of the students as a “completely covert nature of radical activity during
the occupation” (Wasserstrom, 1991: 165). The only forms of mass participation on
the part of the students was when they were playing lip service to the occupying
authorities, participating in marches and rallies in support of the puppet regime as
well as joining pro-Japanese youth groups (Wasserstrom, 1991: 167-8).
10!
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Christian Colleges During the War
The war took its toll on many of the colleges and universities in China. “By
June 1939 there were left in Occupied China only a few universities and colleges.
Forty-seven institutions had moved to Free China and twenty-one had moved into
foreign concessions in Shanghai or elsewhere. Twenty other had lost their identity
either through consolidation with other institutions or by demise” (Corbett, 1955:
239). What is interesting is that in the first several years of the war the Christian
colleges faired better than many of the government institutions. While the
government schools had to decide whether they wanted to close, stay opened under
Japanese supervision, or move inland, the Christian schools, because of their foreign
connections, had more options. Their foreign connections offered the hope for
immunity from Japan, at least in the early part of the war before the attack on Pearl
Harbor. Many Christian schools in the eastern cities moved to the nearby protected
western enclaves, some migrated inland, and still others “hoisted the United States
flag and tried to make themselves into islands of extraterritoriality” (Lutz, 1971:
363). In fact, the Christian colleges that managed to stay open in the eastern cities
during the war (especially in Shanghai and Yenching University in Beijing) saw an
increase in the number of applicants and students during this time. Because so many
of the government schools had closed or moved, there was a great demand on the
Christian colleges as there was too many students for too few spaces (Lutz, 1971:
365). What it ironic is that this label of being foreign, which had caused these
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schools so much trouble during the 1920s actually served to protect their students
and the schools in the late 1930s.1 2
In Hubert Freyn’s look at the educational system during the war, he outlines
what happened to various college and university students, faculty, and campuses as a
result of the war. In the Beijing area, he briefly outlines what happened at twelve
different campuses. In almost all these cases the schools had to close or move while
their campuses were either destroyed or occupied by the Japanese. In striking
contrast, however, were the reports on the missionary and foreign-run institutions. In
Beijing he reports that at Yenching University (an Americanowned missionary
institution), Fu J.en University (supported by American Catholic institutions) and
Peking Union Medical College (endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation) the schools
were able to remain open with any major interference from the Japanese (Freyn,
1940: 23-6).
Yenching University in Beijing offers a good example of a school that was
able to remain open during the war years without caving into the pressure from the
Japanese authorities, which would have undermined their position as a credible and
respectable university. Yenching University did not close and was not brought under
Japanese control at the start of the war. Even as the Japanese were occupying areas
all around the school, the campus was a safe haven from Japanese aggression. As
Edwards writes, “Yenching University, however, was not closed nor was it brought
under control. This was in spite of the fact that the Japanese were thoroughly aware
1 2 It should be noted that after the incident at Pearl Harbor in 1941, followed by the entrance of the
103
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that both faculty and students had repeatedly been active in protest demonstrations
against Japanese aggression, and that even the Chancellor and the President had once
headed such a street procession. Though the Japanese rated Yenching as one of the
most important obstacles in their path, they were not ready to take it over, because of
its American and British connections” (Edwards, 1959: 347). In fact, the university
played up its American connections during the war actually raising an American flag
prominently hung at its front gate. An action that would have spelled deep trouble a
few years before was not protested even by the most patriotic of Chinese (Edwards.
1959: 350).
The university administrators also took careful control over the students in
order to ensure that they did not rock the boat too much and were able to remain a
free institution rather than a puppet university under Japanese control. In order to
prevent overt Nationalistic agents from taking advantage of Yenching’s position,
they disbanded the Student Association, required that all student organizations be
registered and their meetings be authorized, and did not allow student notices to be
posted on bulletin boards. In addition, the students had to register to leave campus,
manuscripts had to be approved before publication, and literature or publications on
campus were all monitored (Edwards, 1959: 351).
Other schools were not as fortunate as Yenching in their ability to stay
opened on their own campuses, but still depended on their foreign ties in order to
best deal with the situation. Cheeloo (Shantung Christian University), being in the
United States into the war, the Christian colleges were relegated to the same status of the public
104
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north of China, was in an area that was occupied early by the Japanese. Like many of
the schools facing the threat of direct Japanese invasion, much of the school moved
to Free China to join the campus of the West China Union University in Chengtu.
But, in 1939 things had settled down in Tsinan, the location of the college. While it
was under Japanese control there was no fighting in the city and the question arose as
to whether they should try to reopen the university at its own campus.
This was not an easy decision for the administrators of the university to
make. Having already been closed it was felt that reopening under Japanese control
would have very serious repercussions for the university. It was believed that the
Japanese would take the following steps in the administration of the university which
would ultimately undermine the basic foundations of the school: “ (1) They would
force Chinese students to take part in Japanese victory parades; (2) They would insist
on the hiring of one or more Japanese teachers; (3) They would try to enroll Japanese
students; (4) They would use the reopening of Cheeloo as a valuable propaganda
item” (Corbett, 1955: 240). Unlike Yenching University, which did not have to
close, having been closed and then reopening under Japanese control “would be
interpreted to mean that some agreement for collaboration had been made with the
Japanese, and this would be fatal to the standing of Cheeloo among patriotic
Chinese” (Corbett, 1955: 243). There was worry that opening Cheeloo up to formal
education in its original location in Occupied China would result in it being labeled
as a traitor, which would hurt its chances for future recognition. In response to
institutions.
105
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foreign pressure to reopen the school, one of the secretaries of the school responded,
“The point that Western friends cannot see (which probably seems madness to them)
is that the government’s programme of resistance to Japan includes as an essential
part of it, so that Japan can get nothing out of them, making the occupied areas as
derelict and disorderly as possible, and any sort of ordered education is just playing
into the hands of Japan. Rightly or wrongly, the government and its supporters in
these regions believe that any loyal youth to his country can find a way to get to Free
China where he or she will be provided with free education or support if
necessary...” (Corbett, 1955: 244).
The various Christian colleges in Shanghai were also not able to remain open
on their own campuses throughout the war. However, several of the schools were
able to move to the protection of the International Settlements in Shanghai where
they maintained their status and continued classes. Although the University of
Shanghai was owned by the American Baptist Mission, the Japanese continued to
fire on the campus eventually forcing the students and faculty to retreat to the nearby
international settlements while the Japanese occupied the campus. In fact, it was
only after protracted negotiations between the Japanese, local American authorities,
and the State Department that the foreign-owners of the property were even allowed
back on campus to reclaim what property had not been looted or destroyed (Freyn,
1940: 27-30). St. John’s University similarly had to move off its campus into the
international settlement in Shanghai. The university, operating in the International
Settlement in Shanghai, actually saw an increase in enrollment throughout the war
106
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years. Students from North China were filtering into the Shanghai where there were
still relatively independent colleges and universities operating under the protection of
their foreign connection in the international settlements (Lamberton, 1955: 159).
Finally, Hangchow University and a segment of Ginling College also moved into this
area in Shanghai. While in cramped quarters, these various Christian schools were
able to work together to remain open.
The students during the war had an extremely hard time showing any types of
anti-Japanese sentiments or strong nationalistic feelings. Especially in occupied
areas, there was real danger to the students. As was recounted by one of the teachers
of many of the students at St. John’s of their frustration over the Japanese aggression
in the city, “This sight the students did not find easy to bear quietly. Often they
expressed their hatred of the Japanese in their English compositions, so that the
instructors in English often tore up the essays rather than risk their being found on
the persons of students who might be searched on their way home. If they had been
discovered and read by someone who understood English, punishment would have
been swift and severe” (Lamberton, 1955: 184). Nevertheless, by being able to stay
in school and through their limited forms of activism the students were able to carry
out their patriotic duty.
While, as mentioned above, part of the Ginling College joined the Associated
Christian Colleges operating in the international settlement in Shanghai, the rest of
the school moved to various other regions of Free China. Being in Nanjing, which
was the center of much of the fighting in the early years of the Sino-Japanese war,
107
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Ginling found it impossible to keeps its door open on its campus. The school
actually moved to three locations where it could be associated with other prominent
Christian colleges: Shanghai in cooperation with St. John’s University and the
University of Shanghai; Wuchang at the Huachung University, and Chengtu at the
West China Union University (Thurston and Chester, 1955: 92). By moving to new
location they could assure the students the opportunity to continue with their studies
and participate to the war effort. “Many students were restless and eager to do
something to help the war effort of the country, but there was little opportunity
because of the government’s policy was for students to continue their classes”
(Thurston and Chester, 1955: 120). It is also interesting to note that while the
students and many of the administrators left for protected areas, Ginling’s campus in
Nanjing became a refugee center for many women and children trying to escape the
Japanese invaders. Under the protection of Miss Minnie Vautrin who stayed behind
during the exodus to try to preserve as much of Ginling’s property as possible, many
women were able to avoid the terror of the Japanese soldiers (Thurston and Chester,
1955: 99).
While the levels of student activism were low during the years of war with
Japan and there was not the same level of mass participation in student movements,
many students were able to carry on with their patriotic duties by staying in school
and participating in limited activist programs to help with rural reconstruction, mass
education, anti-illiteracy campaigns, first-aid relief for soldiers, and by following a
restructured curriculum for practical courses to help with the advancement of China
108
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and the war effort. The students at the Christian colleges actually had some
advantages over their government school counterparts in that there schools offered
them a bit more protection from the Japanese. Yenching was allowed to stay open
and function on its own campus without interference from the Japanese. Others
schools were able to relocate to international settlements where they were protected
by extraterritoriality. As Lutz explains it, “During their operation in east China, the
Christian colleges were in the paradoxical position of serving Chinese youth by
stressing their foreign connections and extraterritorial rights” (Lutz, 1971: 364).
While this was the image the schools were fighting for so long to defend themselves
against and, it seems, by the 1930s were winning in that there students were no
longer likely to be labeled as denationalized, it is ironic that it was these foreign
connections that protected their students in the late 1930s and allowed the students
the opportunity to stay in school and fulfill their patriotic duties.
109
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Conclusion
The paradoxical position of the Christian schools in China during the 1920s
and 1930s is indicative of their struggles for acceptance in China. This paper has
shown that although many of the early missionaries who came to China had the
singular goal of saving the lost Chinese souls by introducing them to Christianity,
they gradually opened their project to included working for the general
modernization of China. As China began its road towards modernization, it depended
not only on rethinking some of the traditional understanding of family values but
also how to incorporate the new knowledge coming from the West and Japan.
Through their efforts in modern education, the missionary educators were able to
contribute to many of the overall changes in Chinese society. But even as many of
the missionaries turned away from direct evangelism and towards education, their
role in China was still defined by their religious background and they did their best
to instill a Christian atmosphere in all of their schools. Even as pure educators who
may even sympathize with the patriotic feelings of their students, to many Chinese
nationalists they still ultimately represented the very worst kind of cultural
imperialism.
This is an image that the students at the Christian colleges had to contend
with in their own contributions to Chinese nationalism. This tension over the
implications of the Christian schools in China reached a head in the mid 1920s. In
the wake of the anti-religion movement, the restore educational rights movement,
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and the May 30th movement, and as the Nationalists were able to consolidate power
throughout China, the schools realized they would have to change if they wanted to
stay afloat. Many began the process of registration with the government and all
revised their curriculum and their faculty to reflect the growing demand that the
schools become more Chinese. As a result of this sinification process, by the early
1930s the students at the Christian colleges were finally being accepted as true
Chinese patriots. This was further aided by the fact that the tides of nationalism
were increasingly focused on the growing threat from Japan.
In the 1930s, there are two paradoxical situations that were affecting
Christian college students’ participation in patriotic movements. In the first place,
the students were finally able to join their compatriots at the government schools
without the charge of them representing the foreign imperialists. At the same time,
however, it was their associations with the Christian colleges that offered them a bit
of protection and allowed them to participate and even lead the patriotic efforts of
the 1930s. In each of the case studies from the 1930s, it is evident that the schools’
foreign connection served as a buffer from the Nationalist government and, later,
from Japan. Whether for better or for worse, in the end, it seems that the students at
the Christian colleges in China could not escape their association with the
“foreignness” of these schools.
with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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Asset Metadata

Creator Hunter, Rebecca Christine (author)

Core Title From denationalization to patriotic leadership: Chinese Christian colleges, 1920s--1930s

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, history of,Education, Religious,history, Asia, Australia and Oceania,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor [illegible] (committee chair), Furth, Charlotte (committee member), Rosen, Stanley (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-37736

Unique identifier UC11337423

Identifier 1406450.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-37736 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 1406450.pdf

Dmrecord 37736

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Rights Hunter, Rebecca Christine

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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