West China Missionaries Digital Repository
Courtesy of Johns Family Archives
Beginning in the late 1880s, a small stream of Canadian and American missionaries made their permanent home in Sichuan Provence in West China. Inspired by Social Gospel theologians, their numbers had swelled to hundreds by the 1930s, then dwindled during WWII and 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,” once in China a major portion of them were more focused on education than they were on evangelism. 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.
Sneak Peek
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Main WCUU Gate with Foreign Couple in Front A foreign couple pose in front of the main West China Union University gate. Photo shows the entire three arches and portions of the brick wall of the compound. -
People Outside the WCUU Main Gate A foreign couple and a group of five Chinese stand outside the main gate of West China Union University. -
Clock Tower Reflected in a Pond, WCUU Shows the West China Union University Ackerman Clock Tower from the side front across a pond with another building in the background. The tower is reflected in the pond. -
Hart College in Summer, WCUU Pathway lined with hedge and brick wall on one side leading to the front of Hart College. -
WCUU Irrigation Ditch with Geese Irrigation ditch runs between roadway and row of trees on West China Union University campus. Five white geese enjoy the water. -
Shaded Road on WCUU Campus Landscape at West China Union University showing avenue of trees with small ditch at side, large grassy lawn and clock tower in background. -
Portrait of Wilfords, Crawfords, Smalls and Sparlings Ten missionaries stand on lawn in garden for portrait. Brick building in background. -
Lewis and Constance Walmsley Lewis and Constance Walmsley pose in winter coats in front of a brick building. -
Ralph, Margaret and Judith Outerbridge Outerbridge family seated on a checkered blanket on the ground. Judith is a small child. -
Dayfoot Wedding Best Man with Four Men and Camera Rev. John Stinson poses on a lawn with four unidentified men, one of whom holds a tripod with a movie camera. The hospitality tent can be seen on the left of the photo. -
Dayfoot Wedding Best Man with Photographer Rev. John Stinson poses on a lawn with an unidentified man who holds a camera. The same man is seen in DS_014 with a movie camera. -
Three Dayfoot Wedding Guests with Camera Three unidentified men pose on a lawn with trees, wicker chairs and a building in the background. The man on the left holds a tripod with a movie camera.