A DARTMOUTH HALL IN CHINA
For a number of years past contributions have been going to the boys' school in Paotingfu through the Dartmouth Christian Association. Interested in the project which is known as "Dartmouth in China" has been stimulated by the presence there of Mr. Robinson who has sent the following description of the situation and the building of Dartmouth Hall. This article was written some months ago and since then Mr. Robinson has returned to his work in Paotingfu though we believe his family is still at Tientsin.—EDlTOß.
It is two A. M., and I am writing in Paotingfu, China. My wife and three children are on a river boat not far from the house in which I am sitting; and as soon as it is daylight I shall join them for a three-day trip down the river to Tientsin. We are leaving in response to a telegram received yesterday from the American Consul at Tientsin, saying that the political conditions are such that it is advisable for all Americans to go to Tientsin without delay for an indefinite period. This probably is a general telegram sent to all parts of North China where Americans are living; and we have known for several days that such people are on the move,—some to the seashore, some to Japan, some to Korea, and still others are headed directly for America. One of the reasons we have decided to go by boat is the fact that trains are likely to be crowded, and we might not be able to get to Tientsin for some time if we went by way of Peking.
Only one who has received such a telegram can fully realize how disconcerting a small piece of paper may be. I am planning to return to Paotingfu after I have found a safe place for my family; but even so, the situation in China today is so uncertain, and is changing so rapidly, that I cannot escape the thought that this may be my last night in Paotingfu, if not for all time, then until the present storm has blown over and the sky has cleared again. Inasmuch as this city has been "home" to me for a longer period by three times than any other place since I left Hanover seventeen years ago, it is not easy to adjust my state of mind to such an unexpected move.
In some ways it is a rather gloomy situation to face; but there is a symbol of faith, hope, and perhaps I might even say love, in this compound where I am living. And it is of this symbol that I wish to write. In the midst of all the confusion and downfall of present-day China, a building is being erected here in Paotingfu which to me is a symbol of courage and inspiration in an hour of discouragement and gloom. This building is to be named "Dartmouth Hall"; and an account of its origin and realization should be of interest to Dartmouth men the world around.
Last year the "College Chest" at Hanover sent to Paotingfu $1,132 for educational work in this city. About three-fourths of this amount was used for the erection of a dormitory in Tung jen Middle School which the Dartmouth Christian Association is helping to finance. The balance, amounting to $605 Mexican, was set aside for some future need of the school.
Just before the last Chinese New Year (which came early in February this year) the military governor of this Province called the Paotingfu students to his yamen, and gave them a lecture in which he warned them not to get mixed up with the "red doctrine" which is so raging in the "celestial republic." (Since this is neither celestial nor a republic, this combination may seem confusing; but if so, it appropriately describes the present situation.) In order to make his appeal effective, the Governor promised each student a gift of money. Students of university grade were to receive $6 each, middle school students $4, and those in primary grades were each promised $2. The money was not sent to the schools nor would a single dollar be given to any one except to the student for whom it was meant; and each must come in person to the yamen to get it. Every precaution was taken so as to emphasize the fact that it was a personal gift to the students.
Unfortunately, the Tung Jen students had their iNew Year vacation a few days earlier than most Paotingfu students and they had already gone home when the money was given out. Judging from the way Chinese militarists have kept some of their promises in the past, II did not suppose the Tung Jen students would ever receive their gift. Their principal, Mr. Yang Sheng Wu, however, is a man of active faith and I think he never doubted that the money would be forthcoming. Neither did he rest his heart until he had "sold" to the students the idea that their personal gifts would be put to a better purpose if used for some permanent part of the school than if spent for peanuts, candy, or a high-priced meal at a fancy restaurant. Now one who can sell such an idea to such customers is no mean salesman. These boys don't get $4 very often and J doubt if many of them ever had so much money at one time to spend as they wished. I was told that the principal of another middle school in Paotingfu plead with his students for two hours, trying to get them to use, their gifts for their school; but when he finally asked for a show of hands of those who wished to follow his suggestion, not a hand went up. Nor is this surprising, when one realizes that the amount of money they were asked to contribute amounted to nearly a month's board.
Had the students in the other school decided to use their gift for the school, Principal Yang would have had a strong argument to put up to his own boys; but voting as they did, these other boys made Yang's task harder than ever. How could one expect to sell goods to such customers? Yang began by talking to them of Dartmouth College, and told them of the $605 which came from Hanover last year, now waiting to be used for some permanent benefit to Tung Jen School. He then called their attention to their dining-room, which serves not only as an eating place but is also the only assembly hall in the school where all the students can congregate for their school activities. Finally, Yang asked the students how they would like to enlarge this dining-hall so as to accommodate twice as many students as are now in the school. How would they like to help build a school whose name and influence, like that of Dartmouth College, would some day be known and felt around the world? As a matter of accuracy, perhaps I should state that I am not sure that Yang used just these steps; but at least by some equally effective argument he did sell his idea. At least he sold half of it, for the students voted to give more than half of their total receipts from the Governor to be put with the $605 from Dartmouth to enlarge the old hall. There are now 250 students in the school; but the plan is to add one hundred or more each autumn until the total shall equal five hundred. T'ung Jen, like Dartmouth, is not out for large numbers. She is not trying to have the largest school in North China; but the plan is that the school shall be a "top-notcher."
Things have to move rapidly in North China these days; so before we hardly realized it parts of the, old building were torn down, materials for the addition began to arrive; and now the new walls are nearly completed. To-day, as Treasurer of this station, I paid over the $600 which came from Hanover last year; and I hope I can get back to Paotingfu in time for the dedication of the new hall. Yang is teaching the boys a Dartmouth song to be sung in English at that time and I am confident they will do it well. In the meantime the boys have to find a new dining room; and for that purpose a matshed has been erected. It isn't very satisfactory on rainy days; but it is easy for the students to imagine that they are in a summer camp and of course a leaky roof doesn't count in that case. That's the kind of spirit which Yang is instiling into these boys. Close the school because the Nationalists may reach Paotingfu some time this spring? Not for a minute. The Nationalists are ushering in a new day, even if at the same time they are—temporarily at least ushering out the foreigners. Yang's tactics are not to sit tight, but to have, a school of which the Nationalists may well be proud, and which they will want to have kept going.
And now Yang believes that he has good evidence that the fates are, with him in his new project. When the workmen 0 were digging up the brick floor in the old building, they unearthed one hundred silver dollars. Some thief, apparently, had hidden them there some years ago, and had never been able to get away with his loot. Twenty dollars has been turned over to the workmen as a reward for their honesty and the balance is going into the. new Dartmouth Hall to make it a better building than it otherwise could have been. The members of the faculty have caught the spirit of the occasion ; and although no one gets more than $45 Mexican a month, they have contributed $.70 or $.80 as a group. This repre sents real sacrifice for men of their standing.
Nor has Yang been content with arousing interest in his proposition among those directly connected with the school. Much significance in China is attached to a name; and it is very important to have a suitable person write the characters that are to be used for the name on a building. Yang's first attempt was to get the ex-president of China, Li Yuan Hung, to write the characters which had been chosen to represent in Chinese "Dartmouth Hall." A paralyzed arm prevents ex-president Li from complying with Yang's request; so now the latter is endeavoring to get another ex-president, Hsu Shih Ch'ang, to do the honors. I don't know whether he will succeed or not; but having begun at the top, or at least what was once the top, he will probably find some important man to write the characters. You might ask, Why doesn't he ask the military governor who gave the money to the students ? That might be all right if the governor were as much of a scholar as he is a fighter. But he isn't. In spite of the fact that he is acting as president of the university where I am teaching English, I doubt very much if he can write the characters in question; for I have heard it stated that he can't even write his own name. Another element in a Chinese name which is considered of great importance is that the characters used shall have an exalted meaning. For "Dartmouth" Yang has chosen two characters which when pronounced are similar to the sound of the first syllable in Dartmouth. The first character is Romanized Da, and means "perceived" or "attained." The sound of the second character is not easily Romanized; but perhaps the "d-o" of "done" is as near as one can get; and the meaning of this part of the name is "virtue" or "moral excellence." Thus "Dartmouth Hall" in Chinese comes to mean "hall of attained virtue." As I sit here to-night, pondering over the present situation, not knowing in the least where this journey down the river is going to end, it seems to me that there are some just grounds for sleeplessness. I have been wanting to write this story of Dartmouth Hall in China for some time; and the logical place to do it is right in Paotingfu. Here it was that Dr. Charles Tenney, a Dartmouth man, who had an important part in developing China's modern educational system, built a provincial college. In those buildings I have been teaching English for two years. Professor David Lattimore, who is now head of Dartmouth's Department of Far Eastern Civilizations, taught in Paotingfu for some time. And now there, is to be a Dartmouth Hall here. I wonder what it is that causes the name of Dartmouth to so hover over this place. Is there a hidden significance, if we were but able to discover it? Perhaps so, and perhaps not. It may be that this is only a night for dreams and imaginings and for wondering. If so, I wonder where Eleazar Wheelock sees the best manifestation of the Dartmouth Spirit if he be looking on? Is it in Hanover, New Hampshire, or in Paotingfu, China? If by the Dartmouth Spirit we mean the spirit of pioneering, the spirit of making much out of little, the spirit of building for better days and for better inter-racial relations, then my guess is that the name of Dartmouth deserves to be carved on the stone slab to be placed over the entrance of yonder building.
As I said before, I hope to be back in Paotingfu for the dedication of the new hall; but whether I am here or not, it is very gratifying to realize that the school will go on just the same. There is nothing anti-foreign in Yang, nor in his student body. He even told me the other day that the faculty had recently come to the conclusion that they wanted to have me made "honorary principal," or "principal emeritus," as Yang stated it. And he wanted an enlarged copy of my likeness to hang in the new hall. I thanked him for the honor, but said I did not think this an appropriate time for any such action. Yale-in-China has had to close, and Dr. Hume has resigned the presidency of that institution. Canton Christian College has recently elected a Chinese president to replace the former foreign head; so, like the penniless darkey, who was asked to change a tendollar note, I declined the offer with thanks. I am content to work for the success of the school without having any official title, except as friend and adviser. I may have to work from a long range; but I shall continue to do what I can, so long as there are evidences of appreciation such as the new hall bespeaks.
These last days have been memorable ones to me. They have reminded me of the time when the scaffolding was being removed from a building in process of construction. We foreigners have had no idea that we should be needed here forever ; and it has been a source of inspiration in this present crisis to see how the Chinese leaders have been willing to take over responsibilities which we are laying down. We are only the scaffolding; but the real structure is here also. No structure can be clearly seen and appreciated as long as the scaffolding remains. It is only when the latter has been removed that one can judge how well the structure will stand. In the present situation, it is a toss-up to know whether one prefers to remove to some distant spot so as better to behold what has been built; or whether he prefers to remain close at hand so as to watch more carefully the developments of the future. As loyal Americans, it seems best that we should follow the advice of the Consul and leave,—temporarily at least. If I am prevented from returning, I shall rejoice that there will remain behind here in Paotingfu a Dartmouth Hall in China.
"Dartmouth Hall" under construction
Tung Jen students planting "trees of faith" on Arbor Day 1927
The old dining hall being rebuilt into "Dartmouth Hall"
Dick's House. The Entrance Hall and Library
