Shen-kuang-szu Incident
Encyclopedia
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Shénguāngsì Shìjiàn; Foochow Romanized: Sìng-guŏng-sê Sê̤u
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and was marked as one of the earliest conflicts between local Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and foreign Protestant missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. It began in June 1850 when two English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
missionaries rented rooms in a temple known as the Shen-kuang-szu on Wu-shih-shan within the walled city of Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
. In the months that followed, local Chinese gentry and officials attempted in various ways to evict the missionaries from the hill, but all their efforts apparently failed. The controversy was settled the following year in October with the terms of the agreement stating that the missionaries were allowed to stay behind. This led to great discontentment amongst the local gentry and eventually foreshadowed yet another more important missionary incident - the 1878 Wu-shih-shan Case.
Background
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
(ABCFM) and the Methodist Episcopal Mission (MEM), the English Church Missionary Society established a mission at Fuzhou during the spring of 1850. During first few days since their arrival they resided temporarily on Zhongzhou Island (中洲岛), together with their American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
predecessors. As the Methodists had moved south of the River Min and the ABCFM northwards into the Nantai, the CMS missionaries, Robert David Jackson and William Welton, decided to seek assistance from the British consulate to secure premises within the walled city (which is located within the present day Gulou District
Gulou District, Fuzhou
Gulou District, Fuzhou is a district of Fujian Province, China. It is under the administration of Fuzhou city. Gulou District used to be the walled city of Fuzhou....
). They considered Wu-shih-shan (乌石山; Black Stone Hill), the tallest hill of Fuzhou, to be the most desirable site not only because the British consulate had been located there for years already but also because, living on the hill, they would "never go out or come in without being occasionally reminded of the vastness" of their work.
The Incident
When Jackson and Welton brought with them a letter from the bishop of Hong Kong to the Consul in June 1850, expressing their desire to reside within the city, Dr. William Raymond Gingell, who was the then consular interpreter in Fuzhou, provided assistance. Having formerly been informed about the availability of a temple on Wu-shih-shan called Shen-kuang-szu (神光寺), Gingell arranged a meeting with the county magistrate Xinglian (兴廉) to discuss about its rental opportunities. Without putting much detailed thought into the matter, Xinglian placed his seal on the agreement.The Chinese, however, were not pleased with the outcome of the meeting, protesting that foreigners other than consular officers should not be permitted to reside within the walled city. Two days after the conclusion of the rental agreement, Gingell began receiving urgent communications from Xinglian and other Chinese officials requesting to undo the rental agreement at Shen-kuang-szu. Gingell refused, taking the position that foreigners had the Treaty rights to reside within the city, and that the magistrate himself had already placed his seal on the agreement.
By the time the missionaries had moved into the Shen-kuang-szu premises, the tensions soon escalated to a large outburst of protesting amongst the students and gentry which lasted for weeks. This protest took many forms: a public letter from the gentry and people of Fuzhou to the British consular officers, petitions to the Qing government
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, public meetings, the posting of placards and the publication of pamphlets, and even harassment and threats of violence. The Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
Sir George Bonham informed the Chinese government that he would not ask the missionaries to leave the city, and that the Fuzhou authorities should be held responsible for their safety. On August 30, 1850, British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston also gave approval to the actions of the British officers in China regarding this matter.
The Fuzhou authorities were then in a dilemma: on one hand, to compromise with the foreigners was to add fuel to the flames of xenophobia and enrage the common people who might carry out further violence; on the other hand, to deny the foreigners what they considered as their treaty rights could also provoke Great Britain
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
into using military force to settle the issue. On the handling of this case, great dissension existed amongst Chinese officials. The governor-general of Yun
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
-Gui
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
Lin Zexu
Lin Zexu
Lín Zéxú ; 30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850) was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing Dynasty.He is most recognized for his conduct and his constant position on the "high moral ground" in his fight, as a "shepherd" of his people, against the opium trade in Guangzhou...
(林则徐), who had then returned to his hometown in Fuzhou for retirement, played a key role amongst the native gentry in taking a strong position demanding that the foreigners be expelled by force. Such a proposal was never accepted, however, by the governor of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
Xu Jiyu
Xu Jiyu
Xu Jiyu , native of Wutai County in Shanxi, high-ranking Chinese official and geographer during the late Qing dynasty. He is mostly known as the author of A short account of the maritime circuit and is widely regarded as an early participant of the Self-Strengthening Movement.-Early life:Xu came...
(徐继畬) and the governor-general Liu Yunke (刘韵珂), who believed the issue could be settled in a peaceful manner. To avoid violent actions, Xu Jiyu and Liu Yunke sent soldiers to guard the temple premises, but they also discouraged people from going to the missionaries to listen to their preaching or seek medical care from them, and forbade any carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
s or mason
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
s from repairing the rather dilapidated temple, in the hope that the foreigners would themselves give up on the premises. In spite of these difficulties the missionaries refused to leave, believing that the Lord's work required their presence in the city.
Caught between the demands of the Fuzhou gentry and the stubbornness of the foreigners, Xu Jiyu offered the two English missionaries another temple on Wu-shih-shan known as Tao-shan-kuan (道山观) in November 1850. Tao-shan-kuan had at one stage been rented as a residence for the interpreter of the British consulate, and this had not been objected to by the Fuzhou gentry. By December 13 Welton had decided to accept the exchange, and by January 21, 1851 the two missionaries relinquished Shen-kuang-szu.
Meanwhile, Lin Zexu, together with other Chinese officials outside of Fuzhou, sent in memorials to the Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
Court criticizing the Fuzhou officials for their mishandling of the Shen-kuang-szu Case. These memorials especially accused Xu Jiyu of favoring the foreigners and thwarting the will of the common people rather than siding with them to resist the foreigners, which aroused the wrath of the Xianfeng Emperor
Xianfeng Emperor
The Xianfeng Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.-Family and his early years:...
. On October 30, 1850 an edict was issued ordering the dismissal of Xinglian. Xu Jiyu was reprimanded in January 1851 and relieved from office by June.
Consequences
With Xu Jiyu having placed his official seal on the Tao-shan-kuan rental agreement, Fuzhou became the first Chinese treaty port (before GuangzhouGuangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
) in which Protestant missionaries were eventually permitted to reside within the walled city. During the next three decades Wu-shih-shan had been the mission center of the Church Missionary Society in Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
. Although the controversy of the Shen-kuang-szu Incident was supposedly settled in October 1851, a strong undercurrent of discontent still existed amongst the Chinese populace, leading to yet another larger-scale conflict in 1878 known as Wu-shih-shan Case that resulted in the final eviction of the English missionaries from the walled city of Fuzhou in 1880.