The Chuncao Mansion is a core element of the World Cultural Heritage and also a famous scenic spot of the Sea Garden on Gulangyu Island, Xiamen, Fujian Province. Many documentaries and entertainment programs related to Gulangyu Island would mention this building. Xu Chuncao, the owner of Chuncao Mansion, was a legendary Christian. He was not only a member of the Xiamen Tung Meng Hui (Chinese Revolutionary League), but also won praise from all walks of life for initiating the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls.
Born in 1874, Xu Chuncao had never seen his father since he was a child, so he had to live only with his mother. Xu made a career out of hard work and became the president of the Xiamen Construction Association. He was very hostile to the “foreign religion” (Christianity) in his early years, and had been to various churches to stir trouble. But after his contact with some Christians, he was attracted by their wonderful testimony. Later, he came to know Jesus Christ and was baptized.
Xu Chuncao served as an elder in the church, enthusiastic about various social welfare with a good reputation inside and outside the church. In his early years, he followed Sun Yat-sen and propagated revolutionary ideas. After the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, he was in the Revolutionary Party which attacked the yamen (government office) of the governor of Xiamen and freed his hometown. He was a staunch supporter of Sun Yat-sen until the victory of the Northern Expedition, and once served as commander in chief of the Fujian Army of Crusading Bandits.
The most commendable achievement in Xu's life is no doubt the establishment of the "Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls", which saved countless women from the fate of slavery. Although it was the period of the Republic of China, many wealthy families still kept maids. Most of the maids lived a hard life. It was common for them to be beaten and scolded, and some of them were even beaten to death by their masters.
When Xu Chuncao knew that a maid committed suicide after experiencing unbearable insult in Gulangyu Island, a righteous fire of anger gushed out from him. He was determined to “liberate the maids first, as Lincoln liberated the slaves!” In 1929, he held a mass meeting at Bijia Mountain, Gulangyu Island, and proposed to set up the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls to rescue maidservants.
Many maids in Xiamen area were informed of the news, so they left their masters and came over for shelter. According to Xu Chuncao’s son, Xu Mushi (a modern Chinese translator), “Within a few years of its establishment, this hospice had taken in 50 or 60 handmaids, sometimes more than 100. It lasted until the Pacific War broke out and my father entered the mainland, and then it was handed over to an international relief agency for management. The maids learnt to read in the hospice, and there were devotional meetings in the morning and evening. The loving sisters of the church would come to teach them to read the Bible, learn to sing and pray, and if they were old enough for marriage, they would marry the persons they like. Most of these women later accepted salvation and became believers. They adored my father in the hospice and even after they left it.”
Xu Chuncao’s staff were all engaged in the construction industry. They often decorated the house of the wealthy. Through this convenience, they found some abused maids and encouraged them to escape from the “den of monsters”. Many people in the society also strongly supported for Xu Chuncao’s charity. For example, a maid went to the police for help several times, but according to the laws at that time, it was difficult to sue her master, so the police told the maidservant to go and find Xu Chuncao for help, thus getting rid of her tragic fate.
His behavior offended a lot of powerful people, such as Wang Jing, the adjutant of the Naval Guard Command, and Lin Guan, the leader of a group of Taiwanese hooligans. They put pressure on Xu through a variety of connections, asking him to hand over the runaway maids. Xu Chuncao was not afraid of these powerful people and resolutely fought against them. As a result, the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls received support from all sectors of society, so those powerful people finally had to give up looking for trouble.
Many people also strongly backed Xu's career. Adequate financing was needed to take in the maids, so Zhuo Quancheng, a famous businessman, Yin Bixia, the wife of Lin Wenqing (president of Xiamen University), and other celebrities donated money to support his career. Many among the medical staff at Salvation Hospital (hospice founded by Xu ) were devout Christians. They sympathized with the plight of the maidservants, actively supported the work of the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls, and worked tirelessly for the maidservants in the hospice. Many women were covered all over with cuts and bruises when they reached the hospice, and Xu Chuncao would immediately send them to the hospital for treatment. They would get meticulous care from doctors and nurses. The hospital also reduced medical fees whenever it was appropriate. During the 7 or 8 years of treatment, more than 200 women had been successfully treated, except for one woman who died of severe injuries.
Xu's act of justice also changed the social atmosphere, and many families did not dare to abuse the handmaid at will anymore. To the point where a popular saying had spread in society, “Stop beating them, else there will be trouble when Xu Chuncao learns about this”.
The women who entered the hospice were all well taken care of. They not only acquired a lot of useful knowledge there, but also grew up to be good wives and mothers, as well as useful people to the society. Xu’s Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls had won recognition in the international community. In 1930, an inspection delegation of the Organization Against Slavery of the League of Nations in Geneva came to the Far East. While they were in Shanghai, they learned about the deeds of Xu Chuncao. So they specifically came to Gulangyu Island to visit and highly commend the anti-slavery mission of Xu Chuncao’s Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls.
His actions to rescue maidservants made many women escape from the “dens of monsters” and lead a normal life. His act of righteousness demonstrated the glory of Christ. Mr. Zhuo Quancheng, an elder, once recalled, “I unconditionally approve of what Xu Chuncao is doing. For everything he does is according to the word of Christ.”
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
鼓浪屿的春草堂，是世界文化遗产的核心要素，也是海上花园的网红景点，不少与鼓浪屿相关的纪录片、娱乐节目都会出现这座建筑的身影。春草堂的主人许春草，则是一位颇具传奇色彩的基督徒，他不仅是厦门同盟会的成员，更因其发起了“中国婢女救拔团”而得到了各界的赞誉。
许春草生于1874年，从小父亲就不知所踪，只好与母亲相依为命。但他靠着辛苦奋斗，成就了一番事业，成为厦门建筑公会的会长。许春草早年非常仇视“洋教”（基督教），曾到教堂里捣乱。不过他通过接触一些基督徒，被他们的美好见证所吸引，逐步认识了耶稣基督，受洗入教。
许春草在教会里担任长老，热心各种社会公益，在教内外拥有美好名声。他早年就追随孙中山，宣传革命思想。辛亥革命爆发后，他与革命党攻打厦门提督衙门，光复了家乡。直到北伐胜利前，他都是孙中山坚定的支持者，曾经担任福建讨贼军总指挥。
而许春草一生最令人称道的，无疑是发起了“中国婢女救拔团”，拯救无数女子摆脱了奴役命运。虽然已经是民国时期，可不少有钱人家都养着婢女，她们大都生活艰苦，被打骂是家常便饭，有的人甚至被主人打死。
有次许春草看到鼓浪屿有位婢女不堪凌辱而自杀，义怒之火喷涌而出，立志“首先就要解放婢女，如同林肯解放黑奴！”。1929年，他在在鼓浪屿笔架山召开群众大会，倡议成立“中国婢女救拔团”解救婢女。
厦门地区不少婢女得知消息后，纷纷离开主人，前来投奔。据许春草儿子许牧世（现代中文译本翻译者）回忆，“这个婢女收容院创办后不数年，即收容了婢女五六十人，多的时候超过百人，一直维持到太平洋战事发生，父亲进入内地，始移交国际救济机构管理。婢女们在收容院读书认字，早晚有灵修聚会，由教会热心姊妹义务前来教读圣经，学习唱诗、祷告，及龄的即择配结婚。这些女子以后多半接受救恩，成为信徒。她们在院及离开后都很敬爱我父亲。”
而许春草的员工，都是从事建筑行业的，经常要为大富人家装修房子，他们也通过这个便利条件，发现了一些遭到虐待的婢女，并动员她们逃出“魔窟”。而社会上不少人也大力支持对许春草的义举。比如有位婢女多次去找警察求助，但因为当时法律问题，难以起诉她的主人，于是警察就告诉婢女去找许春草帮忙，从而摆脱了悲惨命运。
当然许春草的行为得罪了不少有权有势的人，海军警备司令部副官王经和台湾流氓头子林滚等。他们通过各种关系向许春草施压，要求他交出逃跑的婢女。可许春草不畏强暴，坚决与之斗争。由于“中国婢女救拔团”得到了社会各界的支持，这些人最终也只好放弃找许春草麻烦了。
不少人也成为许春草事业坚强的后盾，收容婢女需要大量钱财，于是著名商人卓全成、厦门大学校长林文庆夫人殷碧霞等社会名流纷纷捐款支持。而救世医院的很多医务人员都是虔诚的基督徒。他们同情婢女的遭遇，积极支持中国婢女救拔团的工作，并不辞辛苦地为收容院的婢女服务。不少女子到收容院时，已是遍体鳞伤，许春草立即送往医院治疗，她们得到医生护士无微不至的照顾。医院还酌情减免医药费。在救治她们的7、8年间，除了一个重伤女不治身亡外，200多位女子，都得到治愈。
许春草的义举，也改变了社会风气，很多家庭不敢随意虐待婢女了，当时社会上流传了这么一句话，“不要再打了，让许春草知道会惹麻烦的”。
而进入收容所的婢女得到了很好的照顾，她们不但在此学习了很多有用的知识，长大成为贤妻良母以及对社会有用的人。许春草创立的“中国婢女救拔团”在国际上得到了肯定。1930年，在日内瓦的国际联盟的“反对奴隶制度组织”下属的一个考察团前来远东视察。他们在上海时，得知了许春草的事迹，就特地来到鼓浪屿参观，高度肯定许春草和救拔团反奴隶的宗旨。
许春草长老救助婢女的行动，使很多女子逃离了魔窟，得以过上正常人的生活，他的义举彰显了基督的荣耀。卓全成长老曾回忆说，“许春草所办事业，我无条件的赞成。因为他所作所为，都符合基督的道理。”
鼓浪屿网红景点的主人，曾经拯救不少婢女与水火
The Chuncao Mansion is a core element of the World Cultural Heritage and also a famous scenic spot of the Sea Garden on Gulangyu Island, Xiamen, Fujian Province. Many documentaries and entertainment programs related to Gulangyu Island would mention this building. Xu Chuncao, the owner of Chuncao Mansion, was a legendary Christian. He was not only a member of the Xiamen Tung Meng Hui (Chinese Revolutionary League), but also won praise from all walks of life for initiating the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls.
Born in 1874, Xu Chuncao had never seen his father since he was a child, so he had to live only with his mother. Xu made a career out of hard work and became the president of the Xiamen Construction Association. He was very hostile to the “foreign religion” (Christianity) in his early years, and had been to various churches to stir trouble. But after his contact with some Christians, he was attracted by their wonderful testimony. Later, he came to know Jesus Christ and was baptized.
Xu Chuncao served as an elder in the church, enthusiastic about various social welfare with a good reputation inside and outside the church. In his early years, he followed Sun Yat-sen and propagated revolutionary ideas. After the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, he was in the Revolutionary Party which attacked the yamen (government office) of the governor of Xiamen and freed his hometown. He was a staunch supporter of Sun Yat-sen until the victory of the Northern Expedition, and once served as commander in chief of the Fujian Army of Crusading Bandits.
The most commendable achievement in Xu's life is no doubt the establishment of the "Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls", which saved countless women from the fate of slavery. Although it was the period of the Republic of China, many wealthy families still kept maids. Most of the maids lived a hard life. It was common for them to be beaten and scolded, and some of them were even beaten to death by their masters.
When Xu Chuncao knew that a maid committed suicide after experiencing unbearable insult in Gulangyu Island, a righteous fire of anger gushed out from him. He was determined to “liberate the maids first, as Lincoln liberated the slaves!” In 1929, he held a mass meeting at Bijia Mountain, Gulangyu Island, and proposed to set up the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls to rescue maidservants.
Many maids in Xiamen area were informed of the news, so they left their masters and came over for shelter. According to Xu Chuncao’s son, Xu Mushi (a modern Chinese translator), “Within a few years of its establishment, this hospice had taken in 50 or 60 handmaids, sometimes more than 100. It lasted until the Pacific War broke out and my father entered the mainland, and then it was handed over to an international relief agency for management. The maids learnt to read in the hospice, and there were devotional meetings in the morning and evening. The loving sisters of the church would come to teach them to read the Bible, learn to sing and pray, and if they were old enough for marriage, they would marry the persons they like. Most of these women later accepted salvation and became believers. They adored my father in the hospice and even after they left it.”
Xu Chuncao’s staff were all engaged in the construction industry. They often decorated the house of the wealthy. Through this convenience, they found some abused maids and encouraged them to escape from the “den of monsters”. Many people in the society also strongly supported for Xu Chuncao’s charity. For example, a maid went to the police for help several times, but according to the laws at that time, it was difficult to sue her master, so the police told the maidservant to go and find Xu Chuncao for help, thus getting rid of her tragic fate.
His behavior offended a lot of powerful people, such as Wang Jing, the adjutant of the Naval Guard Command, and Lin Guan, the leader of a group of Taiwanese hooligans. They put pressure on Xu through a variety of connections, asking him to hand over the runaway maids. Xu Chuncao was not afraid of these powerful people and resolutely fought against them. As a result, the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls received support from all sectors of society, so those powerful people finally had to give up looking for trouble.
Many people also strongly backed Xu's career. Adequate financing was needed to take in the maids, so Zhuo Quancheng, a famous businessman, Yin Bixia, the wife of Lin Wenqing (president of Xiamen University), and other celebrities donated money to support his career. Many among the medical staff at Salvation Hospital (hospice founded by Xu ) were devout Christians. They sympathized with the plight of the maidservants, actively supported the work of the Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls, and worked tirelessly for the maidservants in the hospice. Many women were covered all over with cuts and bruises when they reached the hospice, and Xu Chuncao would immediately send them to the hospital for treatment. They would get meticulous care from doctors and nurses. The hospital also reduced medical fees whenever it was appropriate. During the 7 or 8 years of treatment, more than 200 women had been successfully treated, except for one woman who died of severe injuries.
Xu's act of justice also changed the social atmosphere, and many families did not dare to abuse the handmaid at will anymore. To the point where a popular saying had spread in society, “Stop beating them, else there will be trouble when Xu Chuncao learns about this”.
The women who entered the hospice were all well taken care of. They not only acquired a lot of useful knowledge there, but also grew up to be good wives and mothers, as well as useful people to the society. Xu’s Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls had won recognition in the international community. In 1930, an inspection delegation of the Organization Against Slavery of the League of Nations in Geneva came to the Far East. While they were in Shanghai, they learned about the deeds of Xu Chuncao. So they specifically came to Gulangyu Island to visit and highly commend the anti-slavery mission of Xu Chuncao’s Society for the Relief of Chinese Slave Girls.
His actions to rescue maidservants made many women escape from the “dens of monsters” and lead a normal life. His act of righteousness demonstrated the glory of Christ. Mr. Zhuo Quancheng, an elder, once recalled, “I unconditionally approve of what Xu Chuncao is doing. For everything he does is according to the word of Christ.”
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Xu Chuncao, Owner of Famous Scenic Spot in Xiamen, Who Saved Slave Girls
