A professor shared the great contribution of two American female missionaries to the deaf and the blind in China.
On September 24th, a lecture titled “The School Education for the Deaf and Blind in China: The Legacy of Mary Niles and Annette Thopson” was held as a part of the Zhang Kaiyuan lecture series, which was organized by the Zhang Kaiyuan Cultural Exchange Foundation.
Sharing topics including the history of Christianity in China, women’s issues and charity, Professor Ellen Widmer (Wei Ailian), a famous sinologist and professor of Song May-ling Institute of Chinese Studies, began by introducing two female figures: Mary W. Niles and Annette E. Thopson. Then Widmer went on to present their two pioneering ministry models; geographical divisions between south and north, Guangdong (Canton) and Shandong; and the similarity in their ministry contributions, the deaf and blind.
The professor also showed that special education had high professional demands because Braille was not a specific text but a set of touchable “points” to convey information. Widmer’s report also witnessed how female missionaries were engaged in special education as well as their contributions, which had historical value and practical significance.
She said, “I think this is a very meaningful academic activity.” She hoped to let everyone know how American Protestants helped China in the early days, which involved the contribution of female missionaries.
During the lecture, Professor Widmer, by using slides online, told similarities and differences in the work of the two female medical missionaries and their contributions to Chinese society.
“The birth and death of Mary Niles and Annette Thopson were all in China. They stayed in China for about 43 to 46 years. In 1889, Niles established a deaf and blind school in Guangzhou. In 1887, Thopson founded a school for the deaf in Zhifu, Yantai, Shandong. Their two institutions faced severe local challenges, pestilence, civil strife, xenophobia, and the war against Japan. At that time, methods of medical treatments for deaf and blind people had emerged in Europe, and Helen Keller (author of the book Three Days to See) benefited from the development of medical technology.”
“Niles’ uncle was a medical missionary. Her father was a medical missionary and she received medical training in genecology and obstetrics. Women’s medical work in Guangzhou started before she was born. The job was done by men in those days, and later more and more women could participate. She used to travel around community blocks in a sedan chair at night to pick up pregnant women who were going to give birth,” she added.
She gave examples, “Niles found that at that time many blind girls were decorated with bright flowers, and they were led by an older woman to somewhere to sing and would not come back until the next morning. She opened the obstetrics and genecology clinic to the public. The third child she adopted was found from ashes. She adopted four children in total. Later, she gradually started to establish schools for the deaf, providing a platform for orphans and deaf and blind people who were used as prostitutes to study and change their destiny.”
In particular, Professor Widmer mentioned that Niles could communicate in Braille, and the way she worked hard to learn the language of the blind was amazing. She edited Cantonese and the sign language of the blind into a system. Her family was raising money in America at that time, and the Presbyterian Church in her hometown began to support her ministry. Thopson came to China as an experienced girl. In 1876, she learned lip-reading language and sign language. Niles began to provide guidance to deaf people in Dengzhou, Shandong Province. At that time, Chinese people misunderstood her behavior and thought that deaf people were incapable of learning. Finally, her teaching was successful, which changed Chinese people’s cognition.
Thopson tried to study the languages for the blind and the deaf in Cantonese and set up courses. When she was delivering courses, she learned Chinese by using flashcards. At the same time, she also taught local teachers how to teach deaf and blind people to learn.
The professor concluded that as a medical missionary, Niles adopted children and founded schools, and used to often quote the Bible; Thopson, with rich experience and strong specialty, established a course to teach deaf people.
Niles tended to recruit female students by adopting children and beggars as students. Thopson’s students were not beggars. She needed students with good financial conditions and preferred to recruit male students.
Both of them trained Christian women. Even if they were blind women, knitting and basket making, making ropes, and whistles were left for blind men to support school operations.
“Niles was a very successful doctor. In order to help blind people set up schools and hire Chinese employees, she did the integration of Cantonese and blind people’s languages. Later, her students also set up schools for blind people. She contributed to the primary Braille reading table in Cantonese and was an educator for blind people.”
“At the same time, we need to remember the contribution of local teachers in China. According to the requirements of the government of the Republic of China, under the education management of Niles and Thopson, many students got good work and development, and solved the people’s livelihood problems at that time.”
“After them, Ms. Carter, a missionary who taught many blind people, was more in line with the extensive needs. Ms. Niles received an honorary degree from Harvard University for her great contribution to Cantonese Braille. Thopson’s successor, Ms. Carter, had the great administrative ability. After 1938, it was handed over to western women for management and finally to the local government.”
At the end of the lecture, Professor Wei concluded, “The two female missionaries from Protestant America ... supported the Chinese government and people’s livelihood and made contributions. In the beginning, the Chinese government expressed support for the two schools, and the therapy and value provided by this project were widely recognized, which exceeded the missionary’s own contribution.”
“The persistence of the career and success of the two female missionaries was very similar. We should not neglect their good pioneering spirit, and their contributions should not be forgotten. Starting from different routes, the final path and contribution to the deaf cause are similar and great.”
In the subsequent Q&A session, a question was raised: “Was there any opposition from the Chinese government in handling schools at first? What impact will these courses have on the future work of deaf and blind people?” The professor replied, “Chinese society didn't like orphanages set up by missionaries in those days. For medical missionaries, for example, Niles provided medical technical support, which could win the favor of the Chinese people. In terms of curriculum, Niles’ school taught very young children how to read, for example reading Bible stories. Because blind people were disabled, it was not easy for blind people to find jobs. They could not speak and listen, and then they were arranged to find jobs such as taking pictures, typesetting, and tailoring.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
9月24日，一场题为《中国聋盲人学校教育：赖马西、 梅耐德及其遗产》的讲座举行。
此次讲座是由章开沅文化交流基金会举办的章开沅学术讲座上，邀请到了魏爱莲教授作为此次讲座的主讲嘉宾。
魏爱莲（Ellen Widmer)是著名的汉学家、宋美龄汉语学研究所的教授。此次报告涉及了基督教来华史、女性和慈善事业等多个领域的分享。魏教授的分享是从两位女性人物：赖马西与梅耐德开始的，以及她们的两种开拓服事模式；从地理上的南北之分——广东和山东；从两位的的贡献上和服侍的对象上均是对聋盲人特殊群体。
报告也展示了特殊教育领域对技术要求很高。因盲文不是具体的文字，而是籍着可触摸的“点”来传递信息，魏的报告也见证了女性传教士从事了特殊教育工作及其贡献，其内容具有历史价值和现实意义。
她说：“我觉得这是非常有意义的学术活动。”她希望通过分享，让大家知道美国新教帝国是如何在早期帮助到中国，这其中涉及到了女性的传教士的贡献。
讲座中，魏爱莲教授通过在线幻灯片与大家分享两位女性医疗传教士的工作相同点、不同点以及对中国社会的贡献。
魏教授说：“赖马西、 梅耐德两位女性的出生和逝世都在中国，二位在中国停留大概在43-46年，1889年赖马西在广州建立了聋盲人学校；1887年，梅耐得在烟台的芝罘创立了聋人学校。她们的两家机构面都临当地的各种严峻挑战、瘟疫、内乱、排外情绪和对日战争。当时欧洲已经出现了治疗聋盲人的医疗方法，海伦凯勒（《假如给我三天光明》的作者）得益于医疗技术的发展。”
魏教授特别提到：“赖马西的叔叔是医疗传教士，她的父亲也曾经医疗传教士，她曾接受过女性妇产科的医疗训练。广州的女性医疗工作在她出生前就开始了，但当年是男性来完成的妇女医疗工作，现在可以有越来越多的女性参与进来，她曾在晚上乘着轿子穿越街区接要临盆的孕妇。”
她举例子说：“赖马西发现，当时很多盲女被装饰着鲜艳的花朵，由一个老女人牵着瞎眼的女孩子们去唱歌，第二天早上才回来。她开放了妇产科，她收养的第三个孩子是从灰堆里找到了，她一共收养了四个孩子，后期她逐渐开始创建了聋人学校，为那些孤儿和被用作妓女的聋盲人提供学习和改变命运的平台。”
魏特别提到说，赖马西可以使用盲文进行交流，而她努力学习盲人语言的方式十分震撼，她将广东话和盲人的手语编辑成一个体系。她的家人当时在美国筹集善款，家乡长老会开始支持她的服事。梅是作为一名经验丰富的女孩来中国的，1876年，她学到了唇语和手语。赖马西曾在山东登州开始为聋人提供指导，当时中国人误解她的行为，认为聋人没有能力学习，最后梅耐德的教学获得了成功，改变了中国人的认知。
梅尝试用广东话学习盲人和聋人学习，她学习了很多汉语和聋盲人的语言，组建了课程。当她在教授课程的时候她用卡片的方式学习汉语，她成为了优秀的老师，同时她也教授当地的老师如何教聋盲人学习知识。
主讲人总结说：赖马西作为医疗传教士，收养儿童、创立学校，非常习惯引用圣经；梅耐德她经验丰富，专业很强，建立了教授聋哑人的课程。
赖马西通过收养孩子和乞丐作为学生，倾向于招收女学生。梅耐德招收的学生没有乞丐，需要经济条件好的学生，倾向招收男学生。
两人都培养圣经女性，即便是女性盲人，针织和篮子编制，绳子和哨子制作交给男性盲人，支持学校运作。
“赖马西是一位非常成功的医生，她为了帮助盲人建立了学校，雇佣中国员工，做了广东话和盲人语言的融合工作，后期，她的学生也建立盲人学校，她在粤语的初级盲文阅读表做出贡献，是一位盲人的教育学家。”
“同时，我们需要记得中国本地教师的贡献，按照民国政府的要求，赖马西和梅耐德在教育管理下，很多学生都得到了很好的工作和发展，解决了当时的民生问题。”
“在她们之后，传教士卡特女士教授了很多盲人，更加符合广泛的需要。赖马西女士得到了哈弗大学的荣誉学学位，赖的粤语盲文贡献很大。梅耐德继承者卡特女士很有行政管理能力，在1938年后转交给西方女性来管理，最后交给当地政府管理。”
报告最后，魏教授总结到：“美国新教帝国中的两个女性传教士......支持了中国政府和民生，做出了贡献。一开始中国政府对两所学校表达了支持，这个项目提供的疗法和价值得到了广泛的认可，这个超出了传教士自己的贡献。”
“二位女性传教士的事业和成功的持久性是非常相同的。我们不应该忽略他们有良好的开拓精神，她们的贡献不应该被忘记。从不同的路线开始，最终的路径和对聋人事业的贡献是相似和伟大的。”
在随后的问答环节中，与会者的一位老师向魏教授提问说：“起初办理学校是否得到中国政府的反对”，“这些课程对聋盲人未来的工作有哪些影响？”魏爱莲教授回答说：“当年的中国社会不喜欢传教士建立的孤儿院，对于医疗传教士而言，比如赖马西提供医疗技术支持，可以赢得中国人的好感。课程方面，赖马西的学校帮助年纪很小的孩子们如何阅读，如阅读圣经故事。因为盲人是一种残疾，盲人不容易找到工作，他们无法说话和倾听，之后就安排他们寻找拍照、排字、裁缝等工作。”
学者分享｜中国聋盲人学校教育：两位来华女传教士赖马西、 梅耐德的贡献深远
A professor shared the great contribution of two American female missionaries to the deaf and the blind in China.
On September 24th, a lecture titled “The School Education for the Deaf and Blind in China: The Legacy of Mary Niles and Annette Thopson” was held as a part of the Zhang Kaiyuan lecture series, which was organized by the Zhang Kaiyuan Cultural Exchange Foundation.
Sharing topics including the history of Christianity in China, women’s issues and charity, Professor Ellen Widmer (Wei Ailian), a famous sinologist and professor of Song May-ling Institute of Chinese Studies, began by introducing two female figures: Mary W. Niles and Annette E. Thopson. Then Widmer went on to present their two pioneering ministry models; geographical divisions between south and north, Guangdong (Canton) and Shandong; and the similarity in their ministry contributions, the deaf and blind.
The professor also showed that special education had high professional demands because Braille was not a specific text but a set of touchable “points” to convey information. Widmer’s report also witnessed how female missionaries were engaged in special education as well as their contributions, which had historical value and practical significance.
She said, “I think this is a very meaningful academic activity.” She hoped to let everyone know how American Protestants helped China in the early days, which involved the contribution of female missionaries.
During the lecture, Professor Widmer, by using slides online, told similarities and differences in the work of the two female medical missionaries and their contributions to Chinese society.
“The birth and death of Mary Niles and Annette Thopson were all in China. They stayed in China for about 43 to 46 years. In 1889, Niles established a deaf and blind school in Guangzhou. In 1887, Thopson founded a school for the deaf in Zhifu, Yantai, Shandong. Their two institutions faced severe local challenges, pestilence, civil strife, xenophobia, and the war against Japan. At that time, methods of medical treatments for deaf and blind people had emerged in Europe, and Helen Keller (author of the book Three Days to See) benefited from the development of medical technology.”
“Niles’ uncle was a medical missionary. Her father was a medical missionary and she received medical training in genecology and obstetrics. Women’s medical work in Guangzhou started before she was born. The job was done by men in those days, and later more and more women could participate. She used to travel around community blocks in a sedan chair at night to pick up pregnant women who were going to give birth,” she added.
She gave examples, “Niles found that at that time many blind girls were decorated with bright flowers, and they were led by an older woman to somewhere to sing and would not come back until the next morning. She opened the obstetrics and genecology clinic to the public. The third child she adopted was found from ashes. She adopted four children in total. Later, she gradually started to establish schools for the deaf, providing a platform for orphans and deaf and blind people who were used as prostitutes to study and change their destiny.”
In particular, Professor Widmer mentioned that Niles could communicate in Braille, and the way she worked hard to learn the language of the blind was amazing. She edited Cantonese and the sign language of the blind into a system. Her family was raising money in America at that time, and the Presbyterian Church in her hometown began to support her ministry. Thopson came to China as an experienced girl. In 1876, she learned lip-reading language and sign language. Niles began to provide guidance to deaf people in Dengzhou, Shandong Province. At that time, Chinese people misunderstood her behavior and thought that deaf people were incapable of learning. Finally, her teaching was successful, which changed Chinese people’s cognition.
Thopson tried to study the languages for the blind and the deaf in Cantonese and set up courses. When she was delivering courses, she learned Chinese by using flashcards. At the same time, she also taught local teachers how to teach deaf and blind people to learn.
The professor concluded that as a medical missionary, Niles adopted children and founded schools, and used to often quote the Bible; Thopson, with rich experience and strong specialty, established a course to teach deaf people.
Niles tended to recruit female students by adopting children and beggars as students. Thopson’s students were not beggars. She needed students with good financial conditions and preferred to recruit male students.
Both of them trained Christian women. Even if they were blind women, knitting and basket making, making ropes, and whistles were left for blind men to support school operations.
“Niles was a very successful doctor. In order to help blind people set up schools and hire Chinese employees, she did the integration of Cantonese and blind people’s languages. Later, her students also set up schools for blind people. She contributed to the primary Braille reading table in Cantonese and was an educator for blind people.”
“At the same time, we need to remember the contribution of local teachers in China. According to the requirements of the government of the Republic of China, under the education management of Niles and Thopson, many students got good work and development, and solved the people’s livelihood problems at that time.”
“After them, Ms. Carter, a missionary who taught many blind people, was more in line with the extensive needs. Ms. Niles received an honorary degree from Harvard University for her great contribution to Cantonese Braille. Thopson’s successor, Ms. Carter, had the great administrative ability. After 1938, it was handed over to western women for management and finally to the local government.”
At the end of the lecture, Professor Wei concluded, “The two female missionaries from Protestant America ... supported the Chinese government and people’s livelihood and made contributions. In the beginning, the Chinese government expressed support for the two schools, and the therapy and value provided by this project were widely recognized, which exceeded the missionary’s own contribution.”
“The persistence of the career and success of the two female missionaries was very similar. We should not neglect their good pioneering spirit, and their contributions should not be forgotten. Starting from different routes, the final path and contribution to the deaf cause are similar and great.”
In the subsequent Q&A session, a question was raised: “Was there any opposition from the Chinese government in handling schools at first? What impact will these courses have on the future work of deaf and blind people?” The professor replied, “Chinese society didn't like orphanages set up by missionaries in those days. For medical missionaries, for example, Niles provided medical technical support, which could win the favor of the Chinese people. In terms of curriculum, Niles’ school taught very young children how to read, for example reading Bible stories. Because blind people were disabled, it was not easy for blind people to find jobs. They could not speak and listen, and then they were arranged to find jobs such as taking pictures, typesetting, and tailoring.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Scholar Shares Two American Female Missionaries' Contributions to School Education for Deaf, Blind People in China
