West China Missions Digital Repository

Lone Carrier on Anlan Bridge

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Beginning in the late 1880s, a small stream of Canadian and American missionaries made their permanent home in Sichuan Province in West China. Inspired by Social Gospel theologians, their numbers had swelled to hundreds by the 1920s, then began dwindling during the 1930s and lessened further during  WWII. The missionary presence in China finally ceased in 1951 when they were forced to leave under the Communist regime.

Although these missionary men and women left their homes and families to “evangelize the world in one generation,” from the start their mission embraced not only evangelism, but also education and medicine. Their teaching fine arts, humanities and sciences in middle schools and universities was motivated by the premises that Christianity formed the foundation of a universal democratic society, and that liberal arts and science education was the route to effective Christian leadership. Their social engineering experiment provides a unique opportunity to analyze processes of rapid social and cultural change in both East and West. 

This site is dedicated to presenting resources by and about the West China missionaries, especially photographs and ephemera held in the families of their descendants, compiled and researched mainly by Cory Willmott, a "Mish Kid II" herself, and also an emerita professor of anthropology.

I welcome feedback about the site and its contents. Please email me at cwillmo@siue.edu if you have questions or comments about anything on the site, including but not limited to corrections of fact and identification of subjects in photos.

 

Sneak Peek

  • Six of Floyd Tangier Smith's Pandas

    Six pandas are secured to stakes in the grass at intervals of about six or eight feet apart on the lawn of either Frank Dickinson's or Gordon Agnew's home on the WCUU campus. A man with a camera, two Chinese (probably servants) and a child are seen in the background, as is a fence and line of laundry.

  • Pandora Crawling on a Lawn

    Pandora is crawling on all fours on a lawn with shrubbery behind her. This is probably the Frank Dickinson home where Pandora lived on "Canadian Row" on the WCUU campus for two or three weeks in May and June of 1938.

  • Pandora Holding a Small Stick

    Pandora is lying on her back holding a small stick on the lawn of a missionary home on the WCUU campus. This is probably the home of Frank Dickinson where Pandora lived on "Canadian Row" for two or three weeks in May and June of 1938.

  • Pandora Rolling on the Grass

    Pandora is lying on her back on the lawn of a missionary home on the WCUU campus. This is probably the home of Frank Dickinson where Pandora lived on "Canadian Row" for two or three weeks in May and June of 1938.

  • Pandora on a Tile Roof

    The baby panda Pandora is seen on top of the tiled roof of a missionary house on the WCUU campus. This is probably the home of Frank Dickinson where Pandora lived on "Canadian Row" for two or three weeks in May and June of 1938.

  • Pandora with Roy Spooner at Hawaii

    Roy Spooner and Pandora pose on the deck of the President Cleveland during their stopover in Hawaii. Both man and panda wear Hawaiian leis. Roy is holding Pandora facing the camera wearing a suit jacket with shorts.

  • Pandora on Board the President Cleveland 2

    Roy Spooner and Pandora on the deck of the President Cleveland. Pandora is sitting up with her back to the camera. Spooner, wearing gloves, is reaching out towards her. She is secured by a rope or chain from her neck to the wall of the ship. Another man is standing behind Spooner. The ocean can be seen beyond the railing behind them.

  • Pandora on Board the President Cleveland 1

    Roy Spooner and Pandora on the deck of the President Cleveland. Pandora is lying on her side with Spooner, wearing gloves, reaching out towards her. She is secured by a rope or chain from her neck to the wall of the ship. The ocean can be seen beyond the railing behind them.

  • Pandora Arriving at Hong Kong Met by Roy Spooner

    Roy Spooner meeting Pandora as she disembarked from the four-seater Chinese National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) plane at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.

  • Pandora's Cage with Her Inside

    A large wooden cage with a solid back and bars on the front custom-made for panda transport. It is standing next to a brick building with a tile roof, probably the Dickinson home on "Canadian Row." In this image, Pandora peeks through the bars of the cage and the back door is closed. The cage has been repositioned with its back facing a brick wall.

  • Pandora's Cage Front Side with Door Open

    A large wooden cage with a solid back and bars on the front custom-made for panda transport. It is standing next to a brick building with a tile roof, probably the Dickinson home on "Canadian Row." This image shows the front with zoo-like bars and a wooden slat that can be closed over them. Two children can be seen in the background - one a missionary boy and the other a Chinese boy.

  • Pandora's Cage Back Side with Door Open

    A large wooden cage with a solid back and bars on the front custom-made for panda transport. It is standing next to a brick building with a tile roof, probably the Dickinson home on "Canadian Row." This image shows the back door through which the panda enters. A "chair" can be seen in the background.
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