THE FIELD
by the Rev. R. O. Jolliffe

FOWCHOW.

Midway between Chungking and Chungchow is Fowchow, opened by the London Missionary Society as an out-station nearly a quarter of a century ago, and opened as a central station by our Mission in 1913. Fowchow is situated at the junction of the Yangtse and a tributary flowing north through Kweichow and southern Szechwan. This river is navigable for about three hundred miles up from Fowchow, and is the great commercial highway for all of that section. Down the river come rafts of timber and bamboo poles, the latter for use in the salt wells in the salt-well areas of Szechwan, in addition to large quantities of food stuffs. Strange to note, the boats on this small river have a most peculiar twist in their back bone. The deformity seems to be hereditary. The reason given is that at certain difficult passages in the river this style of boat can more easily avoid the rocks.

A DISTRIBUTING CENTRE: Fowchow is of course a large distributing centre for the district to the south, one of the greatest commodities being salt. Communication on the Yangtse is splendid, it being a port of call for the steamboats. Between this place and Chungking there are only two very bad rapids, so that Chinese boat traffic has few difficulties up river, and links Fowchow to Chungking.

OPIUM AND CHARACTER: Fowchow was formerly the great centre for opium, when it came from inland districts in tremendous quantities. Large numbers of wealthy opium merchants built godowns (SP?) and fine dwellings, and the city and surrounding district were humming with apparent prosperity, until prohibition came in force and business fell with a crash. One of the most insubordinate places in connection with stamping out opium was Fowchow, and soldiers had to be sent down to enforce law. In fact, the opium tields were hoed up and the dealers heads cut off in some cases before it was done, and even yet large quantities of the drug leak through. The distress and poverty which followed on the stoppage of the trade is one evidence that the prohibition was comparatively effective. Unfortunately, the distress was increased by a disastrous fire a few years ago, and more recently by the disturbed state of the country, but Fowchow is now commencing to recover herself. It is perhaps not strange that opium should have somewhat the same effect upon the general characteristics of the people of the place as idolatry. Until within the last two years Fowchow has been anti-foreign in spirit. Now we are glad to know that the missionaries of our Mission are gaining a strong hold on the leading people of the place, and a new spirit of friendliness to the gospel is growing up.

Fowchow city is extremely crowded. Only one-third of the population is contained within the walls; the rest are in the two suburbs. The city lies parallel with the river along the bank. At the top of the hill to the rear is our fine mission property, outside the walls, but well placed to be adjacent to all the city for work in school, or hospital, or church. The Canadian Methodist is the only Protestant missionary society working in the city of Fowchow. South and east of Fowchow the Roman Catholics are established. Some idea of their work can be gained from the fact that at the outbreak of the war, twenty-eight Roman Catholic (French) fathers boarded the steamboat at Fowchow for down river to join their colors. Our four or five workers look rather few when compared with their numbers.

R. S. LOXGLEY, B.A.
p. 231

Fowchow, the largest and busiest city between Wanhsien and Chungking, is situated on the south bank of the Yangtse Kiang (River Yangtse), where it is joined by the tributary known as the Kung-Tau, the \Yu or the "small river." It is about one hundred English miles east of Chungking. Its population is anywhere between seventy and one hundred thousand. Fowchow is a very crowded and congested city, with scarcely a vacant lot within its walls. Probably less than one third of the city is enclosed within the city wall. A large suburb extends to the east and south along the small river. The Roman Catholics have a residence, church, and school in this suburb, with a resident French priest. A still larger suburb extends along the "great" river, as the Yangtse is commonly called, to the west. In this suburb we have a girls school and a street chapel. This city is of strategic importance on account of its situation. The small river affords an outlet for trade to that portion of this province to the south, as well as to the northern portion of the province of Kweichow. In former years it was a great opium emporium, and most of the wealthy men have made their money by handling this drug. So the city suffered considerably a few years ago by the prohibition of poppy culture. Its trade, however, is increasing year by year, as markets are found for other produce.

OPENING OF THE STATION : Fowchow was opened by the London Missionary Society in the last years of the nineteenth century as an outstation, visited periodically by the missionary resident at Chungking. The missionaries on their first visits were very roughly handled by the people. On several occasions they sold their books and tracts in the courtyard of the district magistrate's yanien, and under his protection.

RESIDENT MISSIONARIES: The Council of 1913 appointed Dr. Crawford and myself to Fowchow, he in charge of medical work and I in charge of church, schools and outstations. On returning from furlough I proceeded about the first of November to my new station, to be heartily welcomed by Mr. Loh, the evangelist, and his wife. The house which had been rented consisted of a three-story building on the street, the lower story of which was practically useless because of lack of light. The rooms were large but difficult to alter satisfactorily. There was a small boys school of twenty- two pupils.

The following Sunday I discovered that the attendance at church service was very small, that most of the members had either left the church or were cold and indifferent, and that very few outsiders came to hear the gospel.

PURCHASING PROPERTY: The city is compactly built up, almost every foot of ground being covered with buildings. Available sites were few and costly. Eventually, in January, 1914, we had the joy of completing the purchase of an area ten or twelve acres in extent, outside the city but close by. It is large enough for sites for four residences, hospital and dispensary, together with school and playground. By May of that year the first two temporary houses were completed and the Crawfords and ourselves moved into our new, four- roomed, one-story, mud-wall buildings. We were all pleased to get away from the noisy city to a place where the children could have a little out-door life, as there was not a foot of ground not covered by buildings in the compound inside the city.

The third temporary dwelling was erected, and up to the present these have had to accommodate the stall of missionaries at our station. Good permanent dwellings are very much needed.

THE Circuit : For the three years since this station was opened we have made the best of the dark rooms available in the Chinese building originally rented. Not long after arrival, our regular church services were full to overflowing, due perhaps to the curiosity of the people to see the foreigner. We attempted to relieve the situation by conducting a service for the school children in another room, but the crowds were just as great. Every night we opened our doors to preach to the multitudes, who filled the building. A prayer meeting soon had a regular attendance of between twenty and thirty. A Bible class was formed for daily study of the Bible, and prayer.

A good work was started amongst the women by the evangelist's wife and Mrs. Longley. Before the end of the year the crowds were so unwieldy that we had to adapt another large room for church services. We divided the people into two classes, those who had some knowledge of the gospel and those who had none; so that we had two preaching services going on at the same time in different parts of the building. This plan relieved the pressure some what and has proven very satisfactory. Every day the chapel is open for three or four hours in the middle of the day, and a Chinese helper with books for sale is stationed there to sell his books and explain the gospel. A street chapel was opened in the western suburb, in which books are sold by day and there is preaching in the evening.

In 1915 the church and outstation work required two men, Messrs. Earle and Bridgman. The need was the greater because of the departure of Mr. Loh Shang-fan for Chengtu to college. Mr. Loh is a good preacher and a great student, and very careful of the name of the church. Mrs. Loh also did a fine work, especially with the higher classes of girls in the school. Her fine Christian character inspired these girls to lead a true Christian life.

236 OUR WEST CHINA MISSION

In spite of many encouragements, our membership has not increased very much. Many were in the church for the help which they could get for themselves from the church; but as they learned the true meaning of the church and of Christianity they gradually withdrew. We now have large classes of catechumens and inquirers, who we believe are getting a clear conception of what it is to be a Christian. Our Sunday school has grown from an unorganized service with a superintendent as preacher into a fully organized school of thirteen classes, with a regular attendance of about two hundred.