Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen - The China Years - Part 1

When we last looked in on Hulda May (Culbert) Carsallen and her husband, Reverend Charles Rupert Carscallen, they'd finally reached their destination after a journey of six months. They arrived in Chengtu, China on 26 June 1906.

Chengtu (early spelling of Chengdu) was a prosperous, walled city surrounded by 4,000 miles (6,437 km) of fertile plains.

 

The Carscallens were educational missionaries; part of a group of Methodist missionaries in China that also included religious missionaries and medical missionaries.

Missionaries (and Wives) of the Methodist Church, Canada in China and Japan. Credit: Service Family via University of Victoria, Toronto. The Carscallens are pictured third row from the top. See close-up of their images, below...

The Canadian Methodist Church began work in Chengtu in 1892. Early missionaries had to overcome opposition to foreigners because the first Westerners had been lawless traders and self-seeking adventurers. During the Boxer Uprising of 1900, missionaries had to leave because the Chinese thought they posed a threat. This opposition, however, had died down before 1906 when the Carscallens arrived in Chengtu.[1]

The goal of the Carscallens and their group was to establish a university. We'll learn more about that in another post.

Less than two months after their arrival in China, their first child, Charles Newton Carscallen was born on 10 August 1906.

In her diary, Hulda May wrote:

"On Friday, Aug. 10, Baby was born at 2 a.m. ... All the pain is forgotten in the joy of possessing such a lovely baby."

Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen and her first-born child, Charles Newton Carscallen. Photo courtesy of Betty (Carscallen) Marmura.

Hulda May started Mandarin lessons on 14 July 1906, a month before baby Charlie was born. She studied Mandarin for several years, resolving to spend from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day in this pursuit. 

Hulda May strove hard to retain her knowledge of Mandarin, even after she returned to Canada many years later. Her daughter Alice said:

When they attended church in Canada, Hulda May always repeated the Lord's Prayer in Chinese while the rest of the congregation said it in English. Alice was a bit embarrassed by this, and her father wondered too if it might not be disturbing to other worshippers, should they hear strange sounds from Mrs. Carscallen. But Hulda May kept up this habit -- and never forgot the Lord's Prayer in Chinese.[2]

There was much to be done in these early years to establish their household, learn the language, and plan construction and curricula of the university. They were very busy socially, as well. 

In March 1907, Hulda May attended the annual meeting of the Mission Council in the town of Kiating.
 

The first Mission property in Kiating.

But first, she made a trip to the pretty town of Renshow, to visit fellow Canadians, Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Hoffman. Another missionary named Miss Fox accompanied Hulda May and baby Charlie to Renshow. Hulda May travelled twelve hours in a rickshaw with a seven-month-old baby! The next day Hulda May wrote:

Last night was my first experience of a Chinese inn. Miss Fox said it was a good one ... I wonder what a bad one would be like. We had the best room ... mud floor, dirty walls, dust, soot and grime everywhere ... The first thing I did was fix Baby's bed and tuck him in. I had brought his Japanese Kore [a wicker basket for carrying an infant] and eiderdown quilt, so he was quite cozy. Then we had our supper and got our beds put up and retired ... but not to sleep very much. There were noises around us most of the night and we got up before daylight in order to get an early start. We were off by six and today, arriving at Renshow about six. We are very tired and glad to have a clean comfortable bed to sleep in. Mr. Hoffman is away itinerating. They have a nice new home here.[3]

Then it was on to Kiating to attend meetings lasting several days. 

 

Not surprisingly, she came down with a sore throat. Keeping healthy was a challenge in China as there were no sanitation laws. Typhoid and malaria were rampant, and Charles contracted malaria twice during their time in China.

In the summer of 1907, the Carscallens took their first vacation. They went to the mountains, as most missionaries did in the summer to escape the oppressive heat.

They travelled by junk on the Yangtzee River, arriving once again at Kiating. It took three days to procur "chairmen" for their rickshaws. Hulda May was exasperated by the wait. Apparently, the chairmen wasted a lot of time smoking opium!

In January 1908, the Carscallens billeted delegates of The West China Conference, and Hulda May attended most of the Methodist Council meetings. One of their billets, Rev. George J. Bond lived with them for several months and baptized Charlie Jr. during his stay.

In February, Hulda May hosted the first meeting of the wives of area missionaries to discuss how they might help Chinese women and girls. They concentrated on strengthening their work in the schools and Hulda May was soon helping to teach in the Middle School in Chengtu.

Hulda May's second child, Kathleen Ethel "Kay" Carscallen was born 21 July 1908 during a heat wave. The baby did well despite the weather but in early August there was a bad storm and the bedroom ceiling fell in. Taking it in her stride, Hulda May said, "I had to move to another room." A month after giving birth, Hulda May was back to playing tennis and teaching English to a class of Chinese students. 

To be continued, here...

Footnotes:  
[1] Eula C. Lapp, China Was My University. Agincourt, Ont.: Generation Press, 1980, 32. 
[2] Ibid., 40. 
[3] Ibid., 36.