Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

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Foreword by Ambassador Gunnar Jarring The history of Swedish Mission covers many years and many parts of the world that were thought to be inaccessible and unreachable. The work and living conditions of the missionaries have never been easy. Often the journey to the mission field was full of hardship. Living conditions were very primitive and the climate was often tiring and bothersome to many. Illnesses and diseases of varying kinds were a daily experience. In his historical account of the Mission’s history in Eastern Turkestan, fulfilling all the criteria mentioned above, John Hultvall describes in detail the work of the Swedish Mission in Central Asia which began in 1892 in the southwest part of the province of Xinjiang, China’s most westerly and inaccessible province. The work continued until 1938 when the last missionaries were forced to leave the country because of internal political turmoil. John Hultvall’s history of the Mission in Eastern Turkestan has been written with great insight on the basis of highly valuable sources with whose help he has been able to present an integrated picture of the unforgettable work of the Swedish Mission there. It was a difficult mission field, both physically and psychologically. The missionaries were confronted with a conservative, almost fanatical form of Islam. It would not be true to say that their work resulted in great numbers of people converting from Islam. Their main contribution was in meeting social needs in medical work, in education and giving general help. The Swedish missionaries were not only representatives of Christ but were serving the people in various ways. Their assistance provided technical help for an undeveloped country. Swedish Mission also made similar contributions in other parts of the world. In John Hultvall’s book we have a well documented description of the contribution to Central Asia by the Swedish Mission - a contribution which was also a cultural one to far away Central Asia. . Gunnar Jarring Stockholm, September 1980
Preface by the Author 1981 Eastern Turkestan, or Sinkiang as the province is called today, is the very hub between the two eastern giants of today, the Soviet Union and China. At the end of the 19th century, this area was not just a political “hot spot”; it was also an area of confrontation between different religions. And in this meetings of religions, the Swedish Mission was involved for at that time the Mission Covenant Church, of Sweden (the MCCS), as sole mission society within a vast area, was carrying out an attempt of evangelical mission work among Turks and Chinese. Its main mission stations were built in Kashgar, in 1894, Jarkend, in 1896, Hancheng in 1908 and in Jengi-Hessar in 1912. This Swedish Mission attracted international attention. Dr John R. Mott’s comment on the Eastern Turkestan Mission reads, “If the door of Islam is not opened, Christianity cannot win the world.” 1 And Dr Samuel Zwemer underlined the great importance of the Swedish Mission for the propagation of the Gospel in Asia, as it was so strategically located in Kashgar. He also stressed the fact that this particular mission society was the most successful one among orthodox Muslims that he knew of. 2 After 45 years of hard work, however, this missionary effort came to a full stop in 1938 because of political upheavals. By the look of things, the end came as a failure, and “the most remarkable enterprise among many other missionary efforts” never had the time to develop into anything more than an attempt, a beginning. Behind my wish to put together some essential aspects of the Eastern Turkestan mission lies a long time interest in what is, in my opinion, a remarkable mission. For the last ten years – and more – all my spare time has been spent studying these highly interesting matters. This account is based mainly on a large collection of letters, sent to and from the missionaries in the area. I have also used the minutes from meetings and conferences both in Sweden and in Eastern Turkestan. Other non published material has been found in different archives such as the Mission Archives of Lidingö, those of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden in Stockholm and of the British and Foreign Bible Society in London. Several missionaries, their children and close friends have on various occasions recounted memories and very willingly placed diaries, letters and other material not in print at my disposal. The printed material used includes a number of general works on the country, its people and religions, etc. Several Swedes are among the authors. During the 1970s, books by Jan Myrdal, Lars-Erik Nyman and Gunnar Jarring have been published. There are also documents and other publications written by missionaries and various Mission leaders. In many cases the story of a life-long missionary commitment lies behind these books. Other printed documents include annual reports, diaries, periodical reviews and newspapers. Unique printed material, such as the MCCS registers, mission station diaries, correspondence between stations and between the mission and local authorities, etc. were lost when the mission activities came to an end. As a precautionary measure, the missionaries burnt their archives before leaving the mission field. Thereby they wanted to remove everything that could possibly be used as evidence against the Asian Christians. They hoped that doing this they might be able to save their lives. How suspicious those in power were of everything printed or non printed, belonging to the Mission was experienced for instance by missionary Moen. At the time of his expulsion, Moen had a handwritten portion of the Bible in his pocket, the letters of Paul to Timothy. During a search this text was found and when the officer of the guard saw that it was “a letter”, it was immediately confiscated, with the 1 Folke, 1927 I, p. 84. 2 Folke, 1927, p. 27, 84, 87. Nyrén to Törnquist, January 27th, 1927. Andersson, 1948, p. 29.
Page 1 and 2: Mission and Revolution in Central A
Page 3: 1. A Coming Storm 2. “Distressed,
Page 7 and 8: is sometimes found. Here I use the
Page 9 and 10: total population in Xinjiang. In 19
Page 11 and 12: a narrow sense. Turkish Today this
Page 13 and 14: the “drowning” in the desert sa
Page 15 and 16: we lived in an oasis,” she exclai
Page 17 and 18: whole one gets to know them as scou
Page 19 and 20: The Indians dealt with the Chinese,
Page 21 and 22: opium-den. A hole in the town wall
Page 23 and 24: developed some patients with this p
Page 25 and 26: same time efforts were made to cont
Page 27 and 28: no unknown man was allowed. On the
Page 29 and 30: “Chinese religions are like a mot
Page 31 and 32: When he died it was impossible for
Page 33 and 34: there was nothing they could do abo
Page 35 and 36: Towards the middle of the 3 rd cent
Page 37 and 38: When they behaved in an aggressive
Page 39 and 40: decision, and Höijer became more a
Page 41 and 42: Högberg concludes by expressing th
Page 43 and 44: Owen Lattimore repeatedly underline
Page 45 and 46: his absolute loneliness. In the day
Page 47 and 48: Caucasus and the others became pion
Page 49 and 50: clear to him that something had to
Page 51 and 52: “Mr Högberg was clever enough to
Page 53 and 54: emoved. Raquette’s attempts to ma
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We have already touched upon some i
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The Boxer Uprising resulted in seve
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well-founded, the missionaries woul
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The basic training for the missiona
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industry” there were other achiev
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sketch does not exist”. 26 Manner
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instruments he needed. Often the mi
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were damaged. In the eyes there wer
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misleading. 72 Totally unaware of t
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Högberg adds, “If the sister who
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editing. 99 This revision was of co
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Sometimes fathers came quite openly
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Mission worked in favour of the pop
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P.P. Waldenström came to play a de
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the two people baptized last summer
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ecovery.” 187 Medical care was no
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applied to Hancheng. This station h
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But now we own a really good gramma
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year attended Mission schools. In t
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In his book The Cross over Asia fro
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With the establishment of the print
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was a baptism grave, which was howe
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and sided wholeheartedly with the B
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situated only a day’s walk from O
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8. Severe Blood Letting in the Miss
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slander from her missionary colleag
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expresses how encouraged the missio
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eluctant to go on holiday to the mo
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“I have written a serious letter
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In the autumn of 1925, the closing-
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and the Chinese had been locked out
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The recruiting of Eastern Turkestan
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exercise their daily work they all
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Chinese judicial system worked in t
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (Language in which the
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Axelson, Sigbert, Församlingens in
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Grenljuset, A Christian calendar pu
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- Vad har den kristna missionen utr
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Ringgren, H and Ström, Åke, Relig
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Asiatic, Journal, Vol. VI, No. 4, 1
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Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

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