when he refused to tell them where I was hiding. Eventually, they found out. They broke into the church at night and took me. It was Carie who sent a message to Absalom. Without delay, Absalom appealed to the governor. He said that my abduction was a violation of the treaty law. The next day the governor ordered my husband to either free me or be arrested and beheaded!
I didn’t feel safe, because I suspected that my husband would look for another way to kidnap me. Papa saw suspicious men hanging around our house. Carie thought that it would be a good idea for me to leave Chin-kiang for a while. She made introductions for me at the Christian School for Women in Shanghai. I was offered a scholarship. All I can say is that I am truly blessed by God.
March 24, 1916
Dear Pearl,
Who would believe that the “Paris of the East” is built on sand? The city’s old name even says it. “Shang-hai-tan,” meaning a sandbank at the mouth of our great Yangtze River. Emperor Guangxu considered it next to worthless, I’ve been told. His imperial opinion must have lessened the sting when he was forced to give it up to foreigners after losing the Second Opium War. What a lot the English, French, and Germans have done with that sandbank, my new home!
I shouldn’t be singing about Shanghai as if you knew nothing about it. I well know that you once lived here. In fact, I often picture you here, imagine where you may have gone, what places you liked best. But forgive me, I can’t help but share my feelings with you because I have no one else.
The Christian school is perfect for me. I have been taking as many classes as I can. The teachers have all been very helpful, sometimes even staying after class to answer my many questions. I never knew that there were so many books, so much to learn.
The students are nice, too. At first I was shy and awkward around them. I felt like such a country bumpkin. I didn’t even know that the Manchu dynasty had been overthrown! So many other things! But isn’t it wonderful that we no longer have an emperor, that China will soon become a republic!
My first weeks at the school now seem like a lifetime away. I feel more at home now and have begun to make some friends. Not like you, of course. But there are some brilliant people here and there is an electricity in the air. The most interesting people are the artists, writers, journalists, and musicians. They form a loose group that gathers at certain bars and restaurants in the city, talking and drinking and arguing for hours on end. I seem to be falling in with these people more and more. I find it exhilarating, so different from the life we knew together in Chin-kiang.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen is among us. He has been single-handedly leading the New Republicans to change China. He is a Christian and a Cantonese by origin. Before he became a revolutionary, he was a physician. He was educated in the West and studied political science. He went to Japan to study how the Mingji Reform has changed the country. In 1911, Dr. Sun returned to China and succeeded in stirring up a military uprising.
Pearl, as you can tell, my universe is expanding at the speed of light. If it wasn’t something I had promised Carie, I would have skipped Sunday church. My stomach is full, but my mind is hungry.
I miss your mother, and I’ll forever be in her debt. Two days ago I went to visit Grace to deliver your mother’s package. Your sister is turning into a fine young lady. She is sweet, but a little shy compared to you. Oh, how I wish you were here with me.
September 2, 1916
Dear Pearl,
It’s been six months since I last wrote you. Things have kept speeding up. I have been involved with the National Party of China. Most of our members are followers of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Although I’ll always have faith in God, I find myself open to other ideas. I must now leave for a meeting and will continue to write when I return.
October 27, 1916
This letter is taking too long. My life
I didn’t feel safe, because I suspected that my husband would look for another way to kidnap me. Papa saw suspicious men hanging around our house. Carie thought that it would be a good idea for me to leave Chin-kiang for a while. She made introductions for me at the Christian School for Women in Shanghai. I was offered a scholarship. All I can say is that I am truly blessed by God.
March 24, 1916
Dear Pearl,
Who would believe that the “Paris of the East” is built on sand? The city’s old name even says it. “Shang-hai-tan,” meaning a sandbank at the mouth of our great Yangtze River. Emperor Guangxu considered it next to worthless, I’ve been told. His imperial opinion must have lessened the sting when he was forced to give it up to foreigners after losing the Second Opium War. What a lot the English, French, and Germans have done with that sandbank, my new home!
I shouldn’t be singing about Shanghai as if you knew nothing about it. I well know that you once lived here. In fact, I often picture you here, imagine where you may have gone, what places you liked best. But forgive me, I can’t help but share my feelings with you because I have no one else.
The Christian school is perfect for me. I have been taking as many classes as I can. The teachers have all been very helpful, sometimes even staying after class to answer my many questions. I never knew that there were so many books, so much to learn.
The students are nice, too. At first I was shy and awkward around them. I felt like such a country bumpkin. I didn’t even know that the Manchu dynasty had been overthrown! So many other things! But isn’t it wonderful that we no longer have an emperor, that China will soon become a republic!
My first weeks at the school now seem like a lifetime away. I feel more at home now and have begun to make some friends. Not like you, of course. But there are some brilliant people here and there is an electricity in the air. The most interesting people are the artists, writers, journalists, and musicians. They form a loose group that gathers at certain bars and restaurants in the city, talking and drinking and arguing for hours on end. I seem to be falling in with these people more and more. I find it exhilarating, so different from the life we knew together in Chin-kiang.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen is among us. He has been single-handedly leading the New Republicans to change China. He is a Christian and a Cantonese by origin. Before he became a revolutionary, he was a physician. He was educated in the West and studied political science. He went to Japan to study how the Mingji Reform has changed the country. In 1911, Dr. Sun returned to China and succeeded in stirring up a military uprising.
Pearl, as you can tell, my universe is expanding at the speed of light. If it wasn’t something I had promised Carie, I would have skipped Sunday church. My stomach is full, but my mind is hungry.
I miss your mother, and I’ll forever be in her debt. Two days ago I went to visit Grace to deliver your mother’s package. Your sister is turning into a fine young lady. She is sweet, but a little shy compared to you. Oh, how I wish you were here with me.
September 2, 1916
Dear Pearl,
It’s been six months since I last wrote you. Things have kept speeding up. I have been involved with the National Party of China. Most of our members are followers of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Although I’ll always have faith in God, I find myself open to other ideas. I must now leave for a meeting and will continue to write when I return.
October 27, 1916
This letter is taking too long. My life
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