Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

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III. The Foundation 1901 – 1912. From the Boxer Uprising to the Birth of the Republic As has already been suggested, the turn of the century was characterized by concern and uncertainty for the Mission. Hesitation and caution held the missionaries back from more extensive efforts. Moreover the two missionary couples Högberg and Raquette were both back home in Sweden during the first years of the 20 th century. The Mission was “worn out”, and when Bäcklund came to Kashgar in 1900 “it was shattered”. But the remarkable expansion that missionary efforts in China on the whole was to experience after the Boxer Uprising was also to be seen in Eastern Turkestan. The planning for the mission work was soon in full swing. The era of foundation had arrived. New missionaries are sent out, activities within medical care and orphanages are expanded. The Chinese branch of the mission work develops. This period also harbours a magnificent “Bible dispute”. This section comes to an end with the Chinese Revolution that reached Kashgar in 1911-1912. A summary of this period shows that Waldenström came to be of decisive importance for the missionaries in several important issues. What is also made clear is the difficulty for the Mission to win Asians for the Christian faith. The summary also gives evidence to the fact that the Mission activity during this period establishes itself as a work of institutions. The path chosen for the work during these years came to be decisive for the whole missionary era. A foundation was built, and on that foundation the work was continued. 1. New Missionaries Keep Coming to the Field in a Constant Stream. The “old” missionaries, Högberg and Raquette and their wives, received 20 new collaborators during this period. Albert Andersson and his wife Maria Lovisa arrived at the turn of the year 1900-1901 together with Lovisa Engvall. In 1903 Adolf Bohlin and Elsa Svensson (later to become Mrs Törnquist) arrived, and in 1904, John Törnquist. Elsa Andersson and Hilda Nordqvist arrived in 1906 and the year after, Stina Mårtensson and Elin Svensson. David Gustafsson and Oskar et Gerda Andersson (brother and sister) in 1908 and Rikard Nyström, Gottfrid Palmberg and Maria (Mia) Mobeck 1910. In 1911, Gustaf Adolf Arell, Helena Lundahl (later on married to Nyström) and in 1912 Hanna Larsson (later on married to Arell) and Gustaf Ahlbert. During the whole missionary era, 24 male and 36 female missionaries were sent out, all in all 60 persons. So those above mentioned make up not less than a third of the whole number of missionaries. A considerable number of missionaries remained single which created some problems. Muslims have no respect for an un-married woman. According to them, she is necessarily a whore. Furthermore, it was not considered appropriate to station a single woman and a single man at the same mission station. If that happened, evil rumours rapidly went around among the population. Not even if they were engaged to be married, and the marriage would take place in a very short period of time, was it considered acceptable that they lived in the same place. Palmberg for instance had his fiancée in the field, but he did not dare to have her near him but was obliged to live alone at the mission station in Jarkend. 1 Problems could arise already on the journey out to the mission field. The MCCS regulations concerning marriage, stipulating that missionaries had to spend three years in the mission field before marrying caused a lot of trouble in Eastern Turkestan. The workers in the field complained on several occasions about the fact that the Mission had so few married couples. They expressed for instance their disappointment at the fact that Bohlin came back single. 2 1 Palmberg to Sjöholm, April 4th, 1914. 2 Albert Andersson to Sjöholm, September 9 th , 1910. 1
The basic training for the missionaries at that time included a full curriculum at the Theological Seminary, or as the school was called at that time, the Mission School. During the first decades of the mission era, there was no university training. At that time, P.P. Waldenström was a leading figure within the Mission headquarters and he did not seem interested in university training for missionaries, neither at home nor in the mission field. Mission Secretary Lundahl, Waldenström’s collaborator for many years expresses his wonder at Waldenström’s negative attitude towards university training within the MCCS. Lundahl relates how Rev. Janne Nyrén (later to become MCCS President) one night walked up and down the streets of Stockholm together with Waldenström, trying to make him understand the value of having university trained people within the MCCS. Waldenström however did not listen to him, but only said that Nyrén could preach just as well as any university trained pastor, and that without having a university degree. But when Nyrén asked Waldenström if he himself would have been able to achieve what he had done if he had not had his university training, he was speechless. 3 Apart from their basic training at the Mission School, most of the missionaries also received special training through courses of varying extent. During the first part of the mission era, women missionary candidates were often sent to follow Bible courses at the training centre of Elsa Borg, Vita Bergen, in Stockholm. Those who got their training there were called Bible women. Twelve missionaries followed this training. The MCCS General Conference had decided in 1882 that especially “mission brides”, i.e. women missionaries engaged to be married, should spend some time at the Bible school of Elsa Borg. From 1891 they then did one year at the Mission School. In 1912, a two-year course was introduced at the Mission School for them. 4 The majority of the women missionaries had a complete nurse and/or midwife training. Several of the men missionaries also had medical training. They had received this training at different hospitals in Sweden. Added to that were complementary courses for example at the Livingstone College in London, at Kingsmead College or the The Mothers Hospital of Salvation Army in London. 28 missionaries had complete or abridged medical training. One of them was a dental technician and another one was a trained pharmacist. 11 missionaries were qualified teachers. It was mostly the women missionaries who had gone through this form of training. But there were also some men who had studied at a teacher training college. Language studies started already in Sweden, where the missionaries studied either Turkish or Chinese. The Chinese language was taught by professor Karlgren in Stockholm. Continuous courses in Turkish were also organized. After his return home to Sweden in 1921, Raquette was in charge of these courses. Most missionaries had a training in one sphere, either education or medical care. Several of them however had a double training. 16 missionaries had training within two or more areas. 5 In the course of time several missionaries became scientific field researchers, without having any university training. Apart from Missiology, the research also embraced other areas. Högberg for instance collected ethnographical artefacts commissioned by Professor Erland Nordenskiöld. The aim was to include the 700-800 objects in an exhibition in Sweden in 1907. The delivery was however delayed during transport in Russia and did not arrive in time. Later on the collection found its way to the Ethnographical Museum of Stockkholm. Commissioned by Nordenskiöld, Högberg also wrote a small pamphlet, “Some Facts about 3 Lundahl, 1943, p. 151 ff. 4 Nyrén, 1928, p. 13. Mosesson, 1921, p. 163. 5 Westin, 1937, p. 898. Palmaer, 1938, p. 172 ff. Lundahl, 1917, p. 537 ff. Biografiskt album, edition 1934, p. 112 ff and edition 1946, and interviews with the missionaries. 2
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Mission and Revolution in Central A
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1. A Coming Storm 2. “Distressed,
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Preface by the Author 1981 Eastern
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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
Page 55 and 56: We have already touched upon some i
Page 57 and 58: The Boxer Uprising resulted in seve
Page 59: well-founded, the missionaries woul
Page 63 and 64: industry” there were other achiev
Page 65 and 66: sketch does not exist”. 26 Manner
Page 67 and 68: instruments he needed. Often the mi
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Page 73 and 74: Högberg adds, “If the sister who
Page 75 and 76: editing. 99 This revision was of co
Page 77 and 78: Sometimes fathers came quite openly
Page 79 and 80: Mission worked in favour of the pop
Page 81 and 82: P.P. Waldenström came to play a de
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Page 85 and 86: ecovery.” 187 Medical care was no
Page 87 and 88: applied to Hancheng. This station h
Page 89 and 90: But now we own a really good gramma
Page 91 and 92: year attended Mission schools. In t
Page 93 and 94: In his book The Cross over Asia fro
Page 95 and 96: With the establishment of the print
Page 97 and 98: was a baptism grave, which was howe
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Page 101 and 102: situated only a day’s walk from O
Page 103 and 104: 8. Severe Blood Letting in the Miss
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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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