The Canadian Methodist Mission (CMM), also known as Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada (MCC;[1] Chinese: 美道會; pinyin: Měi Dào Huì; Wade–Giles: Mei3 Tao4 Hui4; lit. 'Beautiful Way Society'; former romanization: Mei Dao Hwei[2] or Meh Dao Hwei;[3] also known as Ying Mei Hui[4] [Chinese: 英美會; pinyin: Yīng Měi Huì; Wade–Giles: Ying1 Mei3 Hui4; lit. 'Anglo-American Society']), was a Canadian Methodist Christian missionary society mostly working in the province of Szechwan, which was also referred to as "West China."
 First Canadian Methodist missionaries to Szechwan, sailed in 1891. Standing: Rev. G. E. Hartwell, Mrs. Hartwell, Rev. O. L. Kilborn, Mrs. Kilborn. Seated: Rev. V. C. Hart, Mrs. Hart, Dr. D. W. Stevenson. | |
| Founder | Virgil C. Hart |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Toronto, Canada |
| Type | Methodist mission |
| Legal status | Mission society |
| Headquarters | Chengtu |
Region served | Szechwan |
Official language | English Szechwanese |
Key people | Virgil C. Hart Omar L. Kilborn |
Parent organization | Methodist Church of Canada United Church of Canada (since 1925) |
History
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The Canadian Methodist Mission was founded by Virgil C. Hart.[5] In February 1892, eight members of the mission society led by Hart reached Szechwan. Work began in Chengtu and, two years later, in Kiatingfu,[6] with the establishment of mission stations in both cities.[7] A church and a hospital were subsequently built in Chengtu, which was the result of a team effort by O. L. Kilborn, V. C. Hart, G. E. Hartwell, D. W. Stevenson and others.[8]
After 1900, eight more mission stations were established in Jenshow (1905), Junghsien (1905), Penghsien (1907), Tzeliutsing (1907), Luchow (1908), Chungking (1910), Chungchow (1911) and Fowchow (1913).[9]
The CMM established its own printing house, Canadian Methodist Mission Press, in Kiatingfu in 1897. In 1903, it was moved to the capital city of Chengtu.[10] This press was responsible for the printing of The West China Missionary News (1899–1943) and Journal of the West China Border Research Society (1922–1945). The former was the first and the longest running English newspaper in the province of Szechwan.[11]
The CMM was one of the four mission societies responsible for the creation of West China Union University in 1910.[12] By 1922, the Methodists enrolled almost one half of the Protestant Christians in Szechwan.[13]
Following the merger of the Methodist Church of Canada into the United Church of Canada in 1925, the latter assumed responsibility for the CMM. At that time, the CMM was the largest mission of the newly-founded Church.[14]
By 1934, the CMM had joined the Church of Christ in China (CCC);[15] an annual general meeting of the CCC's Szechwan Synod was held on 9 February 1939.[16]
Gallery
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Canadian Methodist Mission in Central Szechwan -
Canadian Methodist missionaries stationed in Szechwan -
The first Canadian Methodist Mission Press at Kiating, before 1903 -
Canadian Methodist Hospital at Chengtu, before 1917 -
The Canadian School of the West China Union University, Chengtu, c. 1918 -
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CMM West China Mission Annual Conference, Chungking, 1914
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Stauffer 1922, p. 12.
- ^ "Chronology of Missionaries and Mission Stations". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ "The Church in the Tribes Country: Report of a Journey to Weikiu, Lifan, Tzagulao, October 1935". The West China Missionary News. Chengtu: West China Missions Advisory Board. April 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "1891 - 1909 Roster of Victoria College Missionaries to West China". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ MSMC 1920, p. 2.
- ^ Stauffer 1922, p. 224.
- ^ Lü, Shih-chiang (1976). "晚淸時期基督敎在四川省的傳敎活動及川人的反應（1860–1911）" [The Evangelization of Sichuan Province in the Late Qing Period and the Responses of the Sichuanese People (1860–1911)]. History Journal of the National Taiwan Normal University (in Traditional Chinese). Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Department of History: 270. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Yang, Tao (28 December 2013). "四圣祠街：旧时公馆大户扎堆地" [Sishengci Street: An Area for Wealthy Families and Their Mansions]. news.163.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ "The Central Stations of the West China Mission". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Couling, Samuel (1917). "Mission Presses". The Encyclopaedia Sinica. Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh. p. 377. ISBN 9789004213463. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Zhu, Yaling (2019). "The West China Missionary News and Its Tibet Narrative" (PDF). clausiuspress.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ "West China Union University". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Stauffer 1922, p. 228.
- ^ "The West China Mission". asc.library.carleton.ca. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ Yrigoyen, Charles Jr.; Warrick, Susan E. (7 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Methodism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780810878945.
- ^ "Victoria University Honours its Chinese Missionaries". library.vicu.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
Bibliography
edit- Our West China Mission. Toronto: The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. 1920.
- Stauffer, Milton T., ed. (1922). The Christian Occupation of China. Shanghai: China Continuation Committee.