Chapter VIII
The New Chinese Woman—Miss Tseng, B.Sc. (Lond.)

Unlike the women of other races of the East, the Chinese woman has always shown a marked strength of character, and evidently, as Mrs. Poyser so truly remarked, “God made ’em to match the men.” That the men did not approve of this is equally plain, for, looking back some thousands of years, we find the great Confucius teaching the best way of counteracting this inborn self-will and strength of character.

“It is a law of nature,” he says, “that woman should be kept under the control of man and not allowed any will of her own. In the other world the condition of affairs is exactly the same, for the same laws govern there as here.”

“Women are as different from men as earth is from heaven.... Women are indeed human beings, but they are of a lower state than men, and can never attain to a full equality with them. The aim of female education therefore is perfect submission, not cultivation and development of the mind.”

Not only Confucius spoke thus strongly about the education of women, but all through the centuries Chinese writers of note refer to the subject of woman’s duty and education, and her attitude towards man. This is graphically set out in the important work, The Ritual of Chau—What a revelation of Chinese home life it is!

“In conversation a woman should not be forward and garrulous, but observe strictly what is correct, whether in suggesting advice to her husband, in remonstrating with him, in teaching her children, in maintaining etiquette, in humbly imparting her experience and in averting misfortune. The deportment of females should be strictly grave and sober, and yet adapted to the occasion; whether in waiting on her parents, receiving or reverencing her husband, rising up or sitting down, in times of mourning or fleeing in war, she should be perfectly decorous. Rearing the silkworm and working cloth are the most important of the employments of a female; preparing and serving up the food for her husband and setting in order the sacrifices follow next, each of which must be attended to. After them study and learning can fill up the time.” This last detail shows clearly that it was no unusual thing for the women to have a knowledge of literature, and there is no mean list of women writers in the field of belles-lettres, while one even wrote on the sacrosanct subject of dynastic history in the fifth century. The first treatise on the education of women was written by a Chinese woman some eighteen centuries ago, and it is rather interesting to see what her ideal for womanhood was, and to compare it with the present-day ideal. “The virtue of a female does not consist altogether in extraordinary abilities or intelligence, but in being modestly grave and inviolably chaste, observing the requirements of virtuous widowhood, and in being tidy in her person and everything about her; in whatever she does to be unassuming, and whenever she moves or sits to be decorous. This is female virtue.” In the Rules for Women, written by Lady Tsao, the heading of no less than five out of the seven chapters refers to the attitude of woman towards her menfolk, which shows that she was wise in her generation: and this work naturally became a classic and has been studied by all succeeding generations down to the present day!

After this reference to the past, we come to a consideration of the present-day Chinese woman, and it has been my good fortune to meet some of the finest of the new school. They are taking a high place and winning the respect and consideration not only of their own countrymen, but of British, French and Americans by their ability, their singleness of purpose and undaunted determination. In the law school in Paris lately a Chinese girl took her degree; doctors who have studied in America and England have attained great distinction in their homeland after their return, and have overcome all the opposition aroused, in early days last century, by their foreign training and innovations.

Chinese women have evinced a keen patriotic spirit, sometimes shown in strange ways. When we were at Changteh they had demonstrated against the Japanese aggression by cutting their hair short! This did not meet the approval of the civil authorities, and they sent round the town crier, beating his drum, to prohibit women from doing this, under pain of receiving six hundred stripes! If the girls’ action was ill judged, it meant at all events a great sacrifice, so the penalty seems severe.

Perhaps the best way of showing the new trend of thought is to give a sketch of one of the most remarkable of the new generation, and who may be known to some of my readers, as she spent five years in England and took a London degree in science, with honours in botany, in 1917. Miss Pao Swen Tseng belongs to one of the great families whose genealogies have been carefully kept for the last twenty-five hundred years or so, and whose notable men have left their mark on the page of history. In the sixth century B.C. a philosopher of the family was one of the exponents of Confucian teaching, another was a great general at the time of the Taiping Rebellion and was largely instrumental in putting an end to it. For these services he received a beautiful estate with buildings, temple, lake and gardens in it from the Emperor, and also gifts from the guilds of Changsha, in Hunan, where the estate is situated. Here his descendant the Marquis Tseng lived, who became a well-known figure at the court of St. James, being Chinese minister here and afterwards at the Russian court. Even before he left Hunan—the most foreign-hating province of China—he was an ardent student of the English language, although he had no teacher and was obliged to study it only from most inadequate books. The family library was housed in a larger building than the family, which indicates the family tradition; but as may be supposed, it was no easy task that the Marquis had undertaken. When he lived in Peking he defied all precedent, and allied himself with the foreign British community; although his English was naturally most difficult to understand he persevered, and continually entertained Englishmen at his house and received their hospitality in return. This was done contrary to the strong feeling of opposition then existing at the court of Peking, where no Chinaman, even in a subordinate position, would be seen in company with a European or entering his house. I mention these facts because they reappear so vividly in the history of his granddaughter, Pao Tseng.

Miss Tseng’s education began at an early age: she had a tutor when she was three years old and two tutors by the time she was five. No wonder that she rebelled, and history relates that one day she took refuge in a tree, from which she was finally cajoled by one of her Chinese teachers to come down by promises which he forthwith ignored. It may be a source of surprise that she was able to climb a tree, but happily for Pao Tseng she had an enlightened grandmother, who, at a time when such a thing was unheard of, had the strength of mind to save the girls of her family from the torture and disablement of bound feet, knowing in her own person the cost of such disablement.

At ten years old Pao Tseng was a keen student of Chinese history, and the seed was sown, which later sprang up into an ardent patriotism and desire for the ancient glory of her race to be restored. She injured her eyesight by too close study, and two years later had become a Chinese classical scholar, a feat of which it would be impossible for anyone to realize the magnitude unless they knew something of the classics. She then begged leave to go and study Western knowledge, and was sent to one of the new Government schools at Hangchow, some thousand miles distant, to reach which there was no railway in those days. The tone of the school was so displeasing to her, that she soon left it and went to the (C.M.S.) Mary Vaughan High School for girls, where she found a sympathetic friend as well as teacher in the head mistress, Miss Barnes. In the turmoil and distress of mind caused by the condition of her country she found comfort in the study of the Christian faith and wrote to her father that she wished to become a Christian. He was evidently a man of rare wisdom, and stipulated that before taking so important a step she should study the writings of its European opponents. It is strange to think of such a child being set down to a course of Herbert Spencer, Frederick Harrison, and other leading non-Christian writers: her views were not changed by it. She again wrote to her father to this effect, and he gave his consent to her open profession of Christianity, coupled with the wise advice that she should become the best possible type of Christian. She decided to join no particular sect, looking forward to the time when China would have a church suitable to her needs and character.

In 1912 Pao Tseng obtained the family’s consent that she should go to England for further training. She had accepted as her vocation the call of her country to a life of educational work in China. Her family would not allow her to go abroad without a guardian, and Miss Barnes undertook the post, relinquishing the head mistress-ship of the High School in order to do this. Pao Tseng entered the Blackheath High School, and from there passed to Westfield College. It was at this time that I had the pleasure of making her acquaintance, having already heard of the impression she had made at the college. No one could be with her without being aware of the deep seriousness of her nature, and she was greatly liked by her fellow-students. Chinese girls always seem to get on well in England, and to fit in easily with our idiosyncrasies. There is nothing like the gulf between them and us which seems to separate us in our ways of thinking and of looking on life from our Indian fellow-subjects.

After taking her degree and studying educational methods and training at St. Mary’s College, Paddington, she returned to China at the age of twenty to begin her life work at her old home in Changsha, the capital of Hunan.

When the monarchy was overthrown in 1911, the new republic confiscated the property of many of the gentry, amongst others that of the Tseng family, using the buildings as barracks for the troops: they caused great havoc in them. It was only after much difficulty and many delays that the family succeeded in getting the property restored to them, though a part of it is still requisitioned for the soldiers, and a flimsy partition put up to screen it from the rest. This might prove a danger to the school, but so far, Miss Tseng told me, they had behaved extremely well, their only misdeed being to cut down two trees. It was necessary to rebuild the house for a school. The garden is really charming, in true Chinese style, with carved bridges over the winding stretch of water, shady paths and quaint rockery; dazzling golden orioles and kingfishers make their home in the classic willow trees that overhang the lake, and the stillness which broods over all makes it an ideal spot for study.

But study is not the only thing in education, and Miss Tseng has adopted English ideals with regard to the value of sport in a girl’s education as well as in a boy’s. Since my visit the stillness of the tiny lake is joyously broken by girls learning the art of boating, under the coaching of Mr. and Miss Tseng, and they have two boats. They also study American games, and were recently challenged by a boys’ school to a match at lacrosse. They had only been learning a very short time and knew themselves too weak for their opponents, but a sporting instinct prevented their declining the challenge. As may be supposed, they sustained a severe beating, but bore it so gallantly that the onlookers said that they were like the British: they had learnt to take defeat smiling!

It is difficult to believe that some of these girls did not know their alphabet two years ago; that discipline, as we understand it, was unknown to them. They all learn English and some had got on amazingly well with it. They have a “Round Table,” at which meetings all must take a share in whatever is the subject under discussion: this is to teach them how to take part in public meetings and how to express themselves.

The spirit of service is strongly developed. In a three days’ public holiday the girls set themselves to collect money from their friends for the famine relief in the north. Their aim was five hundred dollars, but they collected double the amount. Christianity is taught as the basis of social service, as it is at the root of this fine piece of educational work. The whole staff is united in this bond, and they have already succeeded in setting a new standard among the schools at Changsha.

In 1918 Miss Tseng opened her school, under the guardianship (if one may so call it) of Miss Barnes, and splendidly helped by two of her men cousins, whom I knew as fine students in London, and both of whom are honorary workers. All the élite of Changsha were present, including the Minister of Education, the British consul and the missionary community. This was the planting of the mustard seed destined one day to grow into a tree. There were but eight pupils, varying in age from fourteen to twenty-two, a number which was increased fivefold in two years. As befits a Chinese school, it has a poetic name, I-Fang—“The Garden of Fragrance,” and the school motto is “Loyalty and Sympathy,” the two words by which the philosopher Tseng had summed up the teaching of Confucius some two thousand five hundred years ago.

It was at a garden party in honour of the King’s birthday held at the British Consulate that we met Miss Tseng last summer, and she most kindly bade us to lunch next day, and asked me to speak to her students. I had no idea at the time of what she had done since we parted in London, or even that she lived at Changsha. It was with a shock of delighted surprise that we passed from the hot, busy, dusty street into the cool loveliness of the garden. Our time was woefully limited, and I should like to have sketched all day as well as talked, but there was so much to see and hear that it is impossible to do justice to it in this brief account. If the Tseng family can leave their impress on the charming bevy of girls we saw, they will have rendered the greatest possible service to their country, and I feel confident that such will be the case. When I reflect on the state of unrest which existed during the birth of this school and the masterly way in which Miss Tseng has overcome all the difficulties of the situation, I find no words adequate to express my admiration.

In another chapter I have dealt with the student movement, which produced strikes all over the Chinese empire: not a school or university escaped its influence. Miss Tseng explained to her students her feelings with regard to the movement, and told them to reflect on the subject, and discuss it among themselves before deciding whether they would strike. She brought no pressure to bear on them, while very strong pressure was brought to bear on them from outside, but their unanimous decision was to “carry on,” and this school alone out of thirty-six in the city continued its work steadily and continuously, while the others—both boys and girls—were on strike. Miss Tseng wrote a letter to the Central Chinese Post, a paper published in English, which won widespread admiration. The editor of the paper wrote to her: “Allow me to congratulate you on the sane and patriotic views which you hold, and on your splendid mastery of the English language. Your letter is by far the best thing which has appeared on the subject of the students’ boycott.” When it is considered that it is written by one so young it is indeed remarkable, and I make no apology for quoting part of it, with the explanation that the mistress-ship to which she refers was one that she had been persuaded to accept by strong governmental pressure—that of the first Normal School for Girls: she soon found herself obliged to resign the post.

I was much struck with the frank, pleasant tone of the girls: some were able to talk English. In connexion with the student strike a master of one of the other schools said to one of the girls:

“Your Principal has managed splendidly to keep her students from striking.”

“Yes, indeed,” she replied, “but our Principal did not force us, we all agreed unanimously with her not to strike.”

This detail is characteristic of both teacher and taught—Liberty and Frankness. The Christian temper of “sweet reasonableness” irradiates the place, but no one will be urged to become Christian. Brightness, cleanliness and gaiety rule everywhere, and the dormitories and classrooms are thoroughly attractive. What a pleasant sphere for any English girl who goes as teacher there, and the growing needs of the school demand such help at once; a B.Sc. is required, and none but highly qualified teachers are suitable for such educational posts in China.

It seemed passing strange to realize that Changsha was the storm-centre of fighting between Northern and Southern troops, and the very next day the latter were expected to invade the city.

It may be thought that educational work is specially suitable for Chinese women, and perhaps something of it is already known in England, while other forms of activity are less known and less approved, but from the time of the opening of China’s doors to Western influence they have been eager to seize the new opportunities, and have become an important factor in the national life. “While not yet numerous, modern Chinese women,” says Dr. Rawlinson, “are beginning to exert a tremendous influence” (China in Contemporaneous Literature). The first woman’s newspaper in the world was written and edited by Chinese women, and in Peking the ladies of the gentry some nine or ten years ago organized a club under the leadership of Princess Kalachin, called the “Women’s Mutual Improvement Club,” and this is entirely unconnected with foreigners. The special object of this club is discussion, and Chinese women have proved themselves already to be excellent speakers, having very pleasant voices and a good self-possessed manner, which inspires respectful attention. They have appeared on platforms where such a thing would have been scouted with horror not twenty years ago.

As doctors, Chinese women have already proved their efficiency, and the names of Dr. Ida Kahn and Dr. Mary Stone are everywhere held in high respect.[26] In the new Rockefeller Medical School at Peking women students are admitted, and girls as soon as it was announced entered their names. In various parts of China women are training for the medical profession, as well as in Great Britain and America. I was greatly impressed by the nurses also in various hospitals, especially those in the Women’s Hospital at Swatow. There had been over a hundred and thirty midwifery cases in the previous six months, and Dr. Heyworth told me she had been able to leave nearly all of them to her Chinese assistants and nurses. They are often sent for to visit outlying villages and they are doing splendid work. What is everywhere the one essential is to have thoroughly competent foreigners to train Chinese girls till such time as native training schools in Western methods have been established.