Among the westerners who came to China in modern times, missionaries are a remarkable group. The judgment by people toward missionaries is mixed, especially because in historical narratives they were always associated with the imperialist invasion of China. Although there was no lack of good deeds among some missionaries, they were generally viewed negatively.
Whether they were accomplices of imperialist aggression or the driving force of Chinese modernization, the appraisal of missionaries from Chinese is always from the perspective of national interests. Their attention is basically focused on W. A. P. Martin, James Legge, Timothy Richard, Young John Allen and John Leighton Stuart. These men were deeply involved in the fields of Chinese culture and politics and had a profound influence on modern China.
However, in the context of global missionary work, there were thousands of missionaries who came to China, but only a few could really go down in the books of Chinese modern history. The vast majority of missionaries were just ordinary people. They came to China due to enthusiasm of faith and dedicated their lives to the ancient oriental country quietly.
The book Jin Ko-Niu: A Brief Sketch of the Life of Jessie M. Johnston for Eighteen Years W.M.A. Missionary in Amoy, China tells the story of an ordinary woman missionary. Born in 1861, Jessie M.Johnston was the Scottish daughter of a British Presbyterian missionary, James Johnston, who briefly preached in Xiamen. During his one year in China, he fell in love with this country. After he returned to Britain, he always hoped that he could return to Xiamen, but he could not do so. So he put his hope in the next generation.
Jessie grew up in a religious family, and her father often told her stories about Xiamen, which made her curious about Gulangyu Island. In 1885, after missionary training, Jessie took over her father's mission and set foot in Xiamen.
After Jessie came to Xiamen, in addition to going deep into southern Fujian to spread the Gospel, she put all her energy into women’s education. When she first came to Gulangyu Island, she took charge of the management of Wu Di All-female Academy (later changed to Huairen All-female High School). The school was founded in 1877 and there were 23 female students when she took over the school. In addition to improving the quality of her teaching and to make education more accessible to Chinese girls, she often traveled to Zhangzhou and other places to encourage local girls to study on Gulangyu Island.
She was good at motivating female students. It is recorded that "usually, as long as a female student made progress despite previously poor work, Jessie would turn over several backward freshmen to the girl and ask her to tutor them, so as to help the girl develop strong self-esteem. Any progress made by the girls would be noticed by this young teacher and all these stories would prove that even a simple word of encouragement from the teacher could be an important turning point in a girl's life." Her educational ideas are still worth learning today. Some of her students became doctors, teachers, good wives and mothers.
She left Xiamen in 1904 due to illness and died in 1907. She had an ordinary but glorious life.
The book mainly consists of her letters to friends and relatives and some journal entries. It describes her experience in managing a female school on Gulangyu Island in the late 19th century and her experiences in Xiamen and the surrounding areas.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
新书速递：《仁力西：厦门生活忆略》
在中国近代来华的西方人中，传教士可谓是一支引人瞩目的群体，国人对他们的评价也是存在争议。在几十年前的叙事中，他们总是与帝国主义侵华相联系，虽然不乏肯定部分传教士的善举，但基本上持负面评价。
无论是帝国主义侵华的帮凶还是中国近代化的推手，国人对于传教士的评价，都是从国家利益角度出发的，所关注的对象也基本是丁韪良、理雅各、李提摩太、林乐知、司徒雷登等等深入参与中国文化、政治等等领域，对近代有着深远影响的传教士。
然而，在全球宣教的大背景下，来华的传教士可谓成千上万，但真正能在近代史书上留下深刻印记的，仅仅是少数。绝大多数的传教士都是平凡人，他们出于信仰的热忱，在古老的东方大国默默奉献一生。
《仁力西：厦门生活忆略》一书就为我们讲述了一位平凡女传教士的故事。仁力西是苏格兰人，她生于1861年，其父是英国长老会的传教士仁信，曾在厦门短暂宣教。可在中国一年的时间，让他对这片土地充满负担，很希望能够再次回到厦门，但一直未能如愿，于是就把希望寄托到下一代。
仁力西在虔诚的信仰氛围中长大，加上父亲经常给她讲来自厦门的故事，让她对鼓浪屿充满了好奇。1885年，仁力西经过传教士的培训，终于接过父亲的宣教旗帜，踏上了厦门的土地。
仁力西来到厦门后，除了深入闽南各地传福音外，把其他精力都放在了女子教育上。她刚来鼓浪屿时，就负责起乌棣女学（后改为怀仁女中）的管理工作。这所学校建于1877年，她接手时有23名女学生。仁力西除了提高教学质量外，为了让更多中国女孩能够接受教育，她经常前往漳州等地，鼓励当地的女孩能够来鼓浪屿读书。
仁力西善于激励女学生，据记载“通常，一位女生，只要她在原先懈怠的工作中有所进步，仁力西就会将几个落后的新生交给女孩，请她帮着特别辅导，以帮助那位女孩树立起强大的自尊。女学生们的任何进步，都会被仁力西这位年轻的老师注意到，并且证明，来自老师的哪怕一句简单的鼓励话语，也许将成为那位女生一生成就的重要转折点。”可以说她的教育理念在今天看来仍值得借鉴。而她的学生中，有些成了医生、教师或者家庭的贤妻良母。
1904年仁力西因为疾病而离开厦门，并于1907年安息，结束了平凡而荣耀的一生。
《仁力西：厦门生活忆略》主要部分是仁力西写给亲友的信件和一些生活日记等，记述了19世纪末期仁力西在鼓浪屿兴办女学的经历以及在厦门和周边地区的见闻。
Among the westerners who came to China in modern times, missionaries are a remarkable group. The judgment by people toward missionaries is mixed, especially because in historical narratives they were always associated with the imperialist invasion of China. Although there was no lack of good deeds among some missionaries, they were generally viewed negatively.
Whether they were accomplices of imperialist aggression or the driving force of Chinese modernization, the appraisal of missionaries from Chinese is always from the perspective of national interests. Their attention is basically focused on W. A. P. Martin, James Legge, Timothy Richard, Young John Allen and John Leighton Stuart. These men were deeply involved in the fields of Chinese culture and politics and had a profound influence on modern China.
However, in the context of global missionary work, there were thousands of missionaries who came to China, but only a few could really go down in the books of Chinese modern history. The vast majority of missionaries were just ordinary people. They came to China due to enthusiasm of faith and dedicated their lives to the ancient oriental country quietly.
The book Jin Ko-Niu: A Brief Sketch of the Life of Jessie M. Johnston for Eighteen Years W.M.A. Missionary in Amoy, China tells the story of an ordinary woman missionary. Born in 1861, Jessie M.Johnston was the Scottish daughter of a British Presbyterian missionary, James Johnston, who briefly preached in Xiamen. During his one year in China, he fell in love with this country. After he returned to Britain, he always hoped that he could return to Xiamen, but he could not do so. So he put his hope in the next generation.
Jessie grew up in a religious family, and her father often told her stories about Xiamen, which made her curious about Gulangyu Island. In 1885, after missionary training, Jessie took over her father's mission and set foot in Xiamen.
After Jessie came to Xiamen, in addition to going deep into southern Fujian to spread the Gospel, she put all her energy into women’s education. When she first came to Gulangyu Island, she took charge of the management of Wu Di All-female Academy (later changed to Huairen All-female High School). The school was founded in 1877 and there were 23 female students when she took over the school. In addition to improving the quality of her teaching and to make education more accessible to Chinese girls, she often traveled to Zhangzhou and other places to encourage local girls to study on Gulangyu Island.
She was good at motivating female students. It is recorded that "usually, as long as a female student made progress despite previously poor work, Jessie would turn over several backward freshmen to the girl and ask her to tutor them, so as to help the girl develop strong self-esteem. Any progress made by the girls would be noticed by this young teacher and all these stories would prove that even a simple word of encouragement from the teacher could be an important turning point in a girl's life." Her educational ideas are still worth learning today. Some of her students became doctors, teachers, good wives and mothers.
She left Xiamen in 1904 due to illness and died in 1907. She had an ordinary but glorious life.
The book mainly consists of her letters to friends and relatives and some journal entries. It describes her experience in managing a female school on Gulangyu Island in the late 19th century and her experiences in Xiamen and the surrounding areas.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Book Recommendation: Jessie M. Johnston's Life in Xiamen
