A recent report of Fuzhou Evening News said, “To welcome the 44th World Heritage Conference, the exhibition arrangement in President Building of the Fukien Christian University was completed the on July 15...”
The 16-building complex of Fukien Christian University (see the first attached picture) is located in Kuiqi Village in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Walking up the winding steps, we can see a number of red-brick buildings, and the highest red-brick building is the President Building of Fukien Christian University, facing the south, and with a total of two floors and an attic.
In 1911, Dr. John Goucher, president of the higher education committee of the World Missionary Conference, went to Fuzhou to establish a university in conjunction with the six churches of Fujian Christianity. The school board was established in 1915, with W. L. Beard as its chairman and Aduin C. Jones as its first president. The school was named Fukien Christian University.
In February 1916, the school officially began at the old Russian Tea Shop in Cangqian Mountain, Fuzhou. The number of first-year students was only 81, and there were no girls. There were only five full-time teachers and four part-time teachers. In 1917, the State University of New York (SUNY) recognized the private university as a qualified university and stated that its graduates could also obtain a bachelor’s degree, following the management method of American university graduates. In 1918, in light of the growing scale of the university, the Board of Directors of the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States designated a large sum of money annually for the recruitment of additional professors and the purchase of equipment. In January 1919, the Rockefeller Foundation funded the construction and maintenance of the Science Museum in the school. President Aduin C. Jones’ brother and sister-in-law also donated to build the School of Arts, and for annual book-purchasing funds. In 1922, the school chose to build new buildings in Kuiqi Village, Fuzhou, at the foot of the Gushan Mountain and on the bank of the Minjiang River. Dozens of exquisite buildings with classic oriental charm stood to the east of the river, leaning against the Gushan Mountain, and facing the stream of Minjiang River and the distant green mountains.
Fukien Christian University (1915-1951) had established more than a dozen departments in two schools during its 35 years of operation: The School of Liberal Arts consisted of Literature and History, Western Philosophy, Education and Theology; The College of Science consisted of biology, Chemistry, pre-medical science, mathematics, Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, and Agricultural Sciences. Ye Shengtao, Guo Shaoyu, Dong Zuobin, Lin Lanying, and other famous Chinese and foreign scholars taught in the university. In its 35-year history in the last century, it had cultivated many students who became famous, such as Zheng Zuoxin, Lin Lanying, Huang Weiyuan, and other domestic and foreign academics and a large number of professionals. It was one of the two most famous universities in Fujian Province (the other is known as Xiamen University) at that time.
After the liberation of the People’s Republic of China, the university closed down in 1951 and was disintegrated in the first round of merging of departments. The relevant departments became part of the present Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou University, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, and Xiamen University. The school buildings located in Kuiqi Village, Gushan, Fuzhou, the former site of Fukien Christian University, form the largest modern church school complex in Fuzhou and an important exhibit of Chinese and Western architectural culture in modern times. In February 1998, the people’s government of Jin’an District of Fuzhou City listed the school buildings of the private Fukien Christian University as the fourth batch of cultural relic protection units of Jin’an District and cultural relic protection units of Fujian Province and protected them as historical heritage.
In May 2015, when a priest visited Gushan in Fuzhou, he said, “When the foreign missionaries preached in Fuzhou, many small foreign-style houses built with small square stones can be called 'summer resort' in Gushan (Guling, etc.) in Fuzhou. As a summer resort in summer, my uncle chose not to go back to Zhangzhou in summer and winter vacations, but went to the foreign missionaries’ homes in Gushan Mountain to do some housework (watering flowers, doing chores, etc.) and earn a little to cover living expenses through a work-study program...” After he got a master’s degree in theology from Fukien Christian University, he returned to Zhangzhou Dongbanhou Chapel to continue pastoral work.
(Some of the data and photos in the article are from the Internet and the News Network of Union College of Fujian Normal University.)
主内一位弟兄在朋友圈里转来《福州晚报》一篇报导：“为迎接第44届世界遗产大会，7月15日福建协和大学校长楼完成展览布置……”，而且已经对外开放了。
位于福州魁岐村的福建协和大学建筑群共有16幢（上图），我们沿着蜿蜒的阶梯步行而上，便可看到多幢红砖老建筑，最高处的红砖洋楼就是福建协和大学的校长楼（下图），坐北朝南，共两层带阁楼。
查阅相关资料，1911年，世界基督教大会高等教育委员会会长高绰博士(Dr.John Goucher)到福州，与福建基督教六公会联议创办大学。1915年学校董事会成立，俾益知(W.L.Beard)为董事会主席，庄才伟(Aduin C.Jones)任首任校长，校名定为“福建协和大学”，福建协和大学英文名为"Fukien Christian University"（意为“福建基督教大学”）。
1916年二月，学校于福州仓前山租旧俄商茶行正式开课，一年级学生人数只有81人，没有女生。专职教师才5人，兼任4人。1917年，美国纽约州立大学承认私立福建协大是一所合格大学，并且参照美国大学毕业生的管理办法，承认其毕业生同样可取得学士学位。1918年，鉴于协大办学渐具规模，美国罗氏基金董事会便逐年指定一笔巨款，拨作添聘教授和购置设备之用。1919年一月，罗氏基金社拨助该校科学馆的建筑设备及常年维持费。庄校长之兄嫂亦捐建文学院一座，及逐年图书购置经费。1922年学校择定在福州鼓山之麓，闽江之滨的魁岐乡，建筑新校舍，大小数十座饶有东方古典风味的精致建筑峙立江东，背倚鼓山，面俯闽江之流，远山凝翠。
福建协和大学(1915-1951)在实际办学35年中，先后办二院十几个学系：文学院分文史、西哲、教育、神学系；理学院分生物、化学、医预、数理、农学、农业经济和农科系。叶圣陶、郭绍虞、董作宾、林兰英等知名中外学者到校任教。上个世纪短短35年办学史中，桃李满天下，培养了郑作新、林兰英、黄维垣等国内外院士和一大批专业人才，是当年福建省内两所（另为厦门大学）最富有盛名的大学之一。
解放后，1951年学校停办，在首轮院系合并中被分解，相关院系分别成为今福建师范大学、福州大学、福建农林大学、厦门大学的部分组成。位于福州市鼓山魁岐村原福建协和大学旧址的校舍，是福州现存最大近代教会学校建筑群，是近代中西方建筑文化的重要见证。1998年2月，福州市晋安区人民政将私立福建协和大学校舍列为晋安区第四批文物保护单位、福建省文物保护单位，作为历史遗产加以保护。
2015年五月，一位牧师到福州鼓山游时，说：“外国传教士在福州传教期间，福州鼓山（鼓岭等处）用小方型石块筑起不少的小洋房——堪称“避暑山庄”，作为暑天避暑胜地，大伯在校寒暑假选择不回漳州，而是到鼓山上的外国传教士们做一些家务事（浇花、勤杂等）勤工俭学赚一点生活费用……”他在福建协和大学取得神学硕士学位后，又回漳州东坂后礼拜堂继续牧养……
（文中部分资料及照片来自网络、《福建师范大学协和学院新闻网》等）
福建基督教会创办的最富盛名大学之一——福建协和大学
A recent report of Fuzhou Evening News said, “To welcome the 44th World Heritage Conference, the exhibition arrangement in President Building of the Fukien Christian University was completed the on July 15...”
The 16-building complex of Fukien Christian University (see the first attached picture) is located in Kuiqi Village in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Walking up the winding steps, we can see a number of red-brick buildings, and the highest red-brick building is the President Building of Fukien Christian University, facing the south, and with a total of two floors and an attic.
In 1911, Dr. John Goucher, president of the higher education committee of the World Missionary Conference, went to Fuzhou to establish a university in conjunction with the six churches of Fujian Christianity. The school board was established in 1915, with W. L. Beard as its chairman and Aduin C. Jones as its first president. The school was named Fukien Christian University.
In February 1916, the school officially began at the old Russian Tea Shop in Cangqian Mountain, Fuzhou. The number of first-year students was only 81, and there were no girls. There were only five full-time teachers and four part-time teachers. In 1917, the State University of New York (SUNY) recognized the private university as a qualified university and stated that its graduates could also obtain a bachelor’s degree, following the management method of American university graduates. In 1918, in light of the growing scale of the university, the Board of Directors of the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States designated a large sum of money annually for the recruitment of additional professors and the purchase of equipment. In January 1919, the Rockefeller Foundation funded the construction and maintenance of the Science Museum in the school. President Aduin C. Jones’ brother and sister-in-law also donated to build the School of Arts, and for annual book-purchasing funds. In 1922, the school chose to build new buildings in Kuiqi Village, Fuzhou, at the foot of the Gushan Mountain and on the bank of the Minjiang River. Dozens of exquisite buildings with classic oriental charm stood to the east of the river, leaning against the Gushan Mountain, and facing the stream of Minjiang River and the distant green mountains.
Fukien Christian University (1915-1951) had established more than a dozen departments in two schools during its 35 years of operation: The School of Liberal Arts consisted of Literature and History, Western Philosophy, Education and Theology; The College of Science consisted of biology, Chemistry, pre-medical science, mathematics, Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, and Agricultural Sciences. Ye Shengtao, Guo Shaoyu, Dong Zuobin, Lin Lanying, and other famous Chinese and foreign scholars taught in the university. In its 35-year history in the last century, it had cultivated many students who became famous, such as Zheng Zuoxin, Lin Lanying, Huang Weiyuan, and other domestic and foreign academics and a large number of professionals. It was one of the two most famous universities in Fujian Province (the other is known as Xiamen University) at that time.
After the liberation of the People’s Republic of China, the university closed down in 1951 and was disintegrated in the first round of merging of departments. The relevant departments became part of the present Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou University, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, and Xiamen University. The school buildings located in Kuiqi Village, Gushan, Fuzhou, the former site of Fukien Christian University, form the largest modern church school complex in Fuzhou and an important exhibit of Chinese and Western architectural culture in modern times. In February 1998, the people’s government of Jin’an District of Fuzhou City listed the school buildings of the private Fukien Christian University as the fourth batch of cultural relic protection units of Jin’an District and cultural relic protection units of Fujian Province and protected them as historical heritage.
In May 2015, when a priest visited Gushan in Fuzhou, he said, “When the foreign missionaries preached in Fuzhou, many small foreign-style houses built with small square stones can be called 'summer resort' in Gushan (Guling, etc.) in Fuzhou. As a summer resort in summer, my uncle chose not to go back to Zhangzhou in summer and winter vacations, but went to the foreign missionaries’ homes in Gushan Mountain to do some housework (watering flowers, doing chores, etc.) and earn a little to cover living expenses through a work-study program...” After he got a master’s degree in theology from Fukien Christian University, he returned to Zhangzhou Dongbanhou Chapel to continue pastoral work.
(Some of the data and photos in the article are from the Internet and the News Network of Union College of Fujian Normal University.)
Fukien Christian University, One of the Most Prestigious Universities Founded by Fujian Churches
