Situ Leiden, the first president of Yenching University in China, died of illness in Washington on September 19, 1962, at the age of 86, and died of his last words, cremated and buried the body at Yenching University, and if it was not feasible, he had a friend Philip Fu or his wife to make decisions. So why is Stuart Redden so attached to China, even demanding that he be buried in China after death, and what did he do in those years? Let's step into this story and savor it.
The coming of Stuart Layden
In the 19th century, Christianity had been continuously introduced to China, and Hangzhou was the area where Christianity spread in China at that time. In 1869, an American missionary named John Linton Stewart came to Hangzhou, and in order to integrate into China, John devoted himself to studying for three years Chinese, but eventually returned to the United States due to physical illness.
When he returned to China, John already had a beautiful girl by his side, who built a cottage next to the West Lake in Hangzhou, and in 1876 gave birth to the crystallization of their love, which was later Stuart Redden - John Redden Stewart. Redden grew up in China, and in order to make himself sound more in line with the image of Chinese, he transliterated his name as Situ, and Situ Redden was born.
Later, Stuart's parents expanded their hut into a church, and later built a school, which became a gathering place for missionaries and a well-known local Jesus Lane. Stuart Redden welcomed his three younger brothers, who grew up carefree in China and were covered with Chinese air.
In 1887, in order to let the children receive a more advanced education, the parents brought them to the United States to raise, which brought them great inconvenience, Stuart Leiden ate with chopsticks, sang praises with Chinese, all his performances seemed so out of place with the people around him, there was no doubt that he became an outlier among his peers, and this situation did not completely ease until a few years later.
In 1904, the storm of the Boxer Rebellion in China had just subsided, and Stuart Had just graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary and married his wife Irene, who was still obsessed with his childhood memories of Hangzhou, China. Out of love for China and out of a sense of responsibility for mission, he and Irene returned to Hangzhou, China, to devote themselves to the missionary cause with their parents.
For the missionary Stuart Redden has his own unique concept, he believes that mission is not a reform, but a gradual influence, in the subtle and traditional culture of the integration of gradual replacement. To this end, he deeply studied Chinese cultural thought and traveled all over the world in fluent Hangzhou dialect.
Dedication to the nation
In 1918, Situ Leiden founded Yenching University and naturally assumed the position of president, and soon after Fu Jingbo quit Peking University and entered the Department of Politics of Yenching University, he was also the Philip Fu mentioned in Situ Leiden's suicide note.
Fu Jingbo was a Manchu Zhenghong Banner, and his grandfather made outstanding military achievements in the encirclement and suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in that year, and became a great general in the feudal feudal. His father, Fu Ruiqing, also served in the palace. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the government was corrupt, Fu Ruiqing saw through the form and vigorously let his children receive new education, and it was also under the supervision of his father that Fu Jingbo went to the Tianjin Youth Association, and only then did he have the honor to watch Situ Leiden's speech on the theory of education and rejuvenation of the country, Fu Jingbo was impressed by Situ Leiden's concept, so when he heard that he founded Yenching University, he was the first to follow and join.
During his studies at Yenching University, Fu Jingbo unfortunately contracted an illness, and it was Situ Leiden and his wife who took care of him every day to get better, and Fu Jingbo was very grateful for the efforts of Situ Leiden's family, and since then the two families have been like one person.
The grace of dripping water and the spring repay each other. After graduating from Yenching University, Fu Jingbo, with his fluent English and excellent political opinions, held important positions in the provincial government and traveled among various political celebrities as brothers and brothers. In order to thank Situ Leiden for his efforts in recent years, Fu Jingbo often introduced some political celebrities to know him and personally served as Situ Leiden's personal assistant.
As he went, Stuart Layden gradually established himself in politics, and he began to appear in front of celebrities. In 1933, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi joined forces against Chiang Kai-shek, and Situ Leiden played a lobbyist to have a long talk with Li Zongren and persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to find Li Zongren for peace talks.
Coming
In the war of aggression against China, Stuart Leiden always preached that only with a strong military foundation could he stop the japanese invasion. Stuart Called on the British and American governments to aid China, gathered students to demonstrate, and used his various connections to send northeastern exile students to safe places like Hong Kong. His actions also attracted the attention of the Japanese, and Stuart Washudon was unfortunately arrested by the Japanese army and released three years and eight months later.
After the outbreak of the Kuomintang civil war, Truman sent Marshall to China to mediate peace talks, but ultimately ended in failure, after which Marshall met with Stuart Redden, Marshall said, "You know More about China than I do, and if the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communists fail, this matter will be left to you." A week later, Truman appointed Stuart Layden as ambassador to China.
In August 1949, the Kuomintang broke up, and Stuart Redden became a scapegoat for the war and had to return to the United States. In the United States, Stuart Redden was directly thrown into a half-body due to a stroke, he had no relatives, he could only rely on the care of Fu Jingbo's family, and in 1952 Stuart Layden resigned from all positions.
In September 1962, Stuart Leiden died of illness, he gave his property to Fu Jingbo, and made a request to bury his ashes in Yenching University, but due to many objective factors, this last wish has never been realized, and his ashes have been preserved in Fu Jingbo's home. It was not until 46 years later, in 2008, after the efforts of many people, that Stuart's ashes were buried in China, but not in Yenching University, but in Hangzhou.
Brief summary:
As an out-and-out American, Stuart Grew up in Hangzhou, China, and has a deep and inseparable affection for China, and he once said this sentence himself - I am more like a Chinese in my bones than an American, which is what he said in his later years. When he was about to die, his breath was like a gossamer, and he expressed the most intense emotion, still clinging to China, in addition to his deep love for China, his contribution to China is even more admirable.