China's Christian Colleges: Cross-Cultural Connections 1900–1950 (review)

In 1976, John King Fairbank predicted that, in twenty years, the field of China studies would be much broader and more varied. One must wonder if he envisioned a book like this one, where the essays are written by a librarian, three people in the field of education, a former grants administrator, an architect, a lawyer, an anthropologist, and several historians of China. They bring to the study of the Protestant mission colleges in China a perspective based on their own discipline, adding new dimensions to what we know about these institutions. The cross-cultural dimensions of missionaries in the field who wanted the colleges to produce Christian graduates who could then convert all of China; the administrators at home whose views of the institutions were based on their American experience and frequently ignored the realities of China; the Chinese government, which tolerated foreigners teaching modern subjects but preferred it without proselytizing; and the students who wanted education in the modern subjects that they perceived had strengthened Western nations and thus might enable them to transform China into an equal partner with the West—these varied elements all collided on the campuses of the Christian colleges. Each competing group, convinced its methods were the correct ones, sought ways to achieve its goals. From Mathilda Thurston and her Shanghai-based, Western architect, who wanted the Ginling College campus in the shape of a cross, to the students at Soochow Law School in Shanghai who wanted to further their prospects in the business world, each found and took from the colleges lasting cross-cultural understanding (or misunderstanding) of the other's country. Jiafeng Liu's article on American plans for China's colleges in the period after World War II demonstrates how those in the United States could so misunderstand the situation in China and the dangers of using the experiences of Christian colleges in the United States as a model for those in China. Helen Schneider's article on Ava B. Milam and the introduction of home economics as a discipline in China illustrates how Americans' ideas of what women should study in college was translated to China as the improvement of Chinese families through women knowing how to scientifically run their homes. Apparently, no one thought to ask if Chinese women were interested in the topic. The issue of teaching English to Chinese students is covered very effectively in the article by Edward Yihua Xu.

The inclusion of essays on a Christian college in Japan and Robert College in Istanbul demonstrate that the challenges of establishing a foreign-style college in China were not unique to that country. The establishment of Robert College, in particular, demonstrates how misunderstandings, private interests, and public diplomacy intersect.

In sum, this book covers many topics not previously researched regarding the American Protestant missionary effort in China and thus adds much to our knowledge of that endeavor. The book is highly recommended for those seeking a broader understanding of cross-cultural education and its impact on globalization in recent times.