Mission Homes in China by H. W. Miller, M. D.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 29, 1910

Mission Homes in China

By H. W. Miller, M. D.

H. W. MILLER, M. D.

AMERICANS and Europeans, and especially missionaries, residing in the interior of China, have come to look upon the hot, tropical summer with dread, doubtless due to the intensity of heat, coupled with the insanitary conditions surrounding them, over which they have no control. The older missions have come to see the great importance of endeavoring to avoid the serious ills resulting from residence in native houses, which has so often necessitated returning to the home land efficient and valued laborers. We have, doubtless, carried forward our work with the fewest facilities of any mission in China, and have the most to show for it. But it is now recognized that our past methods of working and living, which have no doubt been the best possible considering our circumstances, will not prove wise policy for the future.

We have lived in mud-walled houses with thatched roofs, which usually contain hibernating vermin, representing several species, such as scorpions, centipeds,

lizards, etc. The fear of vermin and harmful insects, and the intense heat in closed walls, cause us to look forward to the summer months with no little anxiety. Through all the inland provinces of China, the only houses to be rented are the native houses, and not the best class of these can be rented by foreigners. The men of wealth who own the best houses fear they will lose their dignity should they rent to a foreigner. Only a few houses are procurable, and quite often these are made undesirable for renting by the natives, because of some superstition that is attached to them.

In planting mission stations it has been necessary to rent native houses, and make them as habitable as possible, by repairs and alterations. It usually takes from one to two weeks to find a house. During this time we have to stop in a Chinese inn, where for a bed we have a rice-straw mat spread on the floor, and a narrow bench for a chair. If there is any other furniture, it is a small table, on which stands a tiny vial of native oil, with a little wick hanging over one edge, to give a dim light. Often one is required to occupy the same room with animals. When at length a house is found, there is seemingly an endless round of negotiations to go through, and a number of interested persons to be seen. After the negotiations are completed and put in written form, a feast must be arranged for, to which all the interested parties are invited. After this is over, the owner of the property passes you the deed of rental, and you pass him the money. The arrangements are thus completed.

The next step is to look over the débris of tile and sun-dried brick, with the view of altering and repairing it for use as a home and mission station. In a very short time come rumors that the house, owing to its being haunted, has stood empty for the last two years, because there were two deaths in the family who last lived there. This one can readily believe, owing to the insanitary state of things, and wonder that the rest survived. Glad as we are to secure even such a foothold, we are not discouraged at these rumors, and at once set about to arrange the mission station, uninviting as it is.

In one instance, the only respectable building of the whole compound was the one facing the street, which had been used for a store. This we chose as our street chapel. Back of this were two rows of thatched-roofed buildings built of sun-dried brick, facing each other, and separated by a narrow court. All the windows and doors, such as they were, faced this court, the outside walls being solid, admitting no light nor air. As there is no circulation of air in the enclosed court unless there is a very strong wind, it is impossible to get any air through the stuffy, low houses, with windows only on one side, facing the court. As the thatched roofs leaked, the dirt walls in places were crumbled down, and small puddles of water had accumulated on the floor. Several of the rooms were black with soot, because the house had no chimney, and the courts were filled with accumulations of water, due to lack of drains.

With this view before us, we were forcefully reminded of a few important principles of sanitation; namely, that a free circulation of air is required; that all insects, or most of them, may be carriers of disease; that the bite or sting of vermin is very poisonous; that in such a humid climate it is unhygienic to sleep on the ground floors; that stagnant pools of water breed malaria, and mosquitoes in countless numbers, and therefore drains are a necessity; that the free admission of light is requisite to disinfect the rooms and protect them from mold and mildew; that verandas are necessary in hot climates to prevent the heating of the walls; that garbage and all other wastes must be properly disposed of in hot climates. So we set about fixing up the dilapidated compound according to our knowledge of sanitation, a host of masons and carpenters being employed.

After two or three hundred dollars have been put into these undesirable quarters, and enough time and energy spent to build a new house, and we have done our best at sanitation, we have nothing very desirable. Shut in from the air on all sides, with windows and doors on only one side, the rooms are still damp. The base-boards at times are covered with fleas, and not infrequently scorpions and centipeds make their appearance. The little air that might find its way down into the court is interfered with by the nets and screens used to protect the sleeping-rooms from mosquitoes and other dangerous insects. It is only natural that one should occasionally feel that he would like to go for a little stroll into the country outside of the walled city, but as soon as he makes his appearance upon the street, he is surrounded by a multitude of both old and young. The result is that the stroll is taken as a duty rather than a pleasure, and so is not indulged in very often. Thus missionaries in these lands take altogether too little exercise.

I have briefly stated a few of the conditions as we find them to-day existing at all our inland stations. We have only rented Chinese houses, which have been repaired as stated above, and there are many conditions that could be remedied were we able to procure land and erect suitable buildings for mission use and for residence of the foreign workers. It is no wonder that those conversant with conditions in these fields should call for funds from the $300,000 Fund for the construction of mission premises and houses in these great heathen countries. Our brethren at home can now perhaps better appreciate the reason we at times seek refuge in a mountain home, to avoid the heat of the summer days.

For the first few years we were compelled to remain during the summer months at our rented stations, and many are yet obliged to stay at their posts during these months, to promote the interests of the work. But it has been a heavy tax on the health and strength of the laborers to do so. Of these it can truly be said, “They loved not their lives unto the death.”

We are greatly encouraged in the belief that relief is soon to come, through the enthusiasm being aroused at home in the raising of the $300,000 Fund, by which homes will be provided, thereby insuring some degree of sanitation and hygienic surroundings, safeguarding the health and life of those laboring in the hot, sultry tropical lands.

Mokanshan.