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

  • Displaying Wild Furs - 2

    A rare animal trapper has spread out his catch on the lawn of a missionary household on the WCUU campus (probably the Grahams'). Dryden Phelps (left) holds one side of a giant panda skin, while the trapper holds the other. Constance Walmsley and a young girl (possibly Enid Walmsley) hold up a leopard skin. There is a row of skins behind Dryden and a pile of skeletons in front of him.

  • Displaying Wild Furs - 1

    A rare animal trapper has spread out his catch on the lawn of a missionary household on the WCUU campus (probably the Grahams'). Dryden Phelps (left) holds one side of a giant panda skin, while the trapper holds the other. Constance Walmsley holds a Tibetan antelope skin. A young girl (possibly Enid Walmsley) holds what looks like the skeleton of a young gharial. On the ground there are several rare takin skins with skulls. There are two bicycles at the porch in the background. Probably one of them is Dryden's since he has his pants strapped for bike riding.

  • New Years Dragon Lamp with Villagers

    A man holds up a dragon head on a pole with a long streamer trailing behind to the right. In the center, a man with an elaborate cloth wrapped headdress holds a ceremonial umbrella. Villagers observe the scene, some looking straight at the camera. A stone building with a clay tile roof forms the backdrop.

  • Chinese New Years Dragon Parade

    Three men performing the dragon parade on Chinese New Year. The Man with the mask teases and chases the dragon, which is animated by two men - one in the front and another at the back. The man crouching to the right has his face painted like a monkey, suggesting that this brings in the Year of the Monkey - in this case, 1932.

  • Sellerys on Fourth of July - 2

    Morley and Gladys Sellery stand in front of a large American flag. Morley holds a small British flag, while Gladys holds a small American flag.

  • Sellerys on Fourth of July - 1

    Morley and Gladys Sellery stand in front of a large American flag. Morley holds a small British flag, while Gladys holds a small American flag.

  • Empire Day Salute

    School children stand in two long parallel rows, all holding their arms up high in a salute. In the foreground are two men, seen from behind. One of them has raised his pith helmet in salute.

  • Empire Day Audience

    Men, women and children sit on bleachers or stand on the lawn watching the sports events. The Canadian School in West China can be seen in the background.

  • Empire Day Track and Field Games

    Dozens of men, women and children stand on a sports field watching some sort of game or race. Many of the adults wear pith helmets or straw boaters.

  • 6 Christmas Treasure Hunt - In the Pantry

    Hand drawing of four shelves with piles of plates, cups, bowls, and pitchers on them. An arrow pointing the below the dishes on the bottom shelf shows where the present is hiding.

  • 5 Christmas Treasure Hunt - On Book Case

    Hand drawing of a small bookcase with a candleholder with seven lit candles and a pair of small objects, perhaps pagodas, on top. The bronze candleholder is still in the Willmott family. An arrow points to below the books on the bottom shelf to show where the next clue can be found.

  • 4 Christmas Treasure Hunt - Behind the Piano

    Hand drawing of an upright piano shows motif on front, petals, and white and black keys in proper arrangement. Two arrows point to the side and top, to indicate that the next clue is behind the piano.
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