The Mandarin and the Schoolboys (1921)

The mandarin is a familiar figure in books and films by Westerners about late 19th and early 20th century China. In the local context, a mandarin was a public official who might be best described as both a bureaucrat and a magistrate. The yamen was a structure that included his office and residence as well as a hall where cases were heard, and a jail. While the mandarin and the yamen were imperial institutions, they continued in modified form after the fall of the empire in 1911.

In the D.M.S. annual report for 1921, Rev. Olesen wrote about a remarkable incident in Siuyen between the local mandarin and the boys from the government school that had occurred that year. Tension surrounding the incident might explain why the girls from the government school were so reluctant to participate in the Christian activities for young women until Anna Bøg engaged in her diplomacy.

That is, as we wrote previously, after Anna Bøg began giving free English lessons several hours a week at the government girls' school, she managed to secure the attendance of the girls from that school at the activities designed for young women, even though at first none had attended. And, by December, the girls turned out in full force for the mission’s Christmas celebration.

Here is what Rev. Olesen related:

“As incredible as it may seem, this sedate city had a school strike. One of the pupils from the government school got into a conflict with a clerk from the yamen. The mandarin sided with the clerk and arrested the pupil. The next day a troop of schoolboys went up to the yamen to reason with the mandarin. They were not permitted to speak to him; on the other hand, an additional half a dozen of the pupils were arrested. The remaining pupils then wrote a diatribe against the mandarin that was distributed in multiple copies. In addition, they sent messages to all the schools in the entire district to come to the aid of their beleaguered comrades. Both sides reported the occurrence to Mukden [the provincial capital], and an inspector was sent here. The matter is now settled and the mandarin has been reprimanded. As a result, the teachers in the government’s principal school were all dismissed. One of them was even put in prison. The other schools have been ordered to stick to their studies and not interfere in matters that do not concern them.”

Referenced source:
Olesen, Rev. Ole; "Missionaer Olesens Beretning"; Det Danske Missionsselskabs Arsberetning for 1921, p. 144.
Used with permission.

Image:
Wikipedia picture of a 19th century imperial mandarin presiding in his yamen.
In the public domain.