One hundred years ago, British missionary S. Pollard came to the mountainous areas of southwestern China where the Miao reside to start his career. He was fascinated by their culture and amazing silver jewelry, so he decided to stay.
At that time, the Miao lived in extreme poverty and were enslaved by the local nobles. The first thing Pollard decided to do was set up a church and a school.
He went to visit a local noble to buy a piece of land for his church and school. The noble asked him how much land he intended to buy. Pollard said what he needed was just a piece of land as big as an oxhide. The noble laughed and told Pollard he could have that piece of land for free. Pollard was happy and signed a contract with the noble.
Later Pollard made a cowhide into thin threads with a special chemical. And after the threads are set out, they measured one square kilometer!
Soon churches and schools were built up on this land. The local Miao people learned Chinese, English, science, math, and basic knowledge of hygiene at the schools for free. The oldest student was 46 years old, and the youngest was only 8.
Pollard often dressed him up with the ethnic Miao garment, and he was very interested in learning the Miao language from his disciples. The Miao didn’t have a written script at that time. So Pollard worked together with his disciples and created Miao letters based on English and Chinese characters. The Bible was translated and printed in this Miao language. More and more people became Christian, and they went to Pollard’s school to learn the Miao script. Even today, this form of writing is still used by the Miao people.
Besides schools and churches, Pollard also set up an orphanage, hospitals, soccer fields, and swimming pools on the land.
Pollard helped the Miao people build houses, repair roads, and ameliorate their spinning machines. People loved him, and called him LaMeng, which means King of the Miao.
On September 16, 1915, Pollard died of typhoid at the age of 51. Lots of local people attended his funeral.
By the time of his death, there were about 10,000 Christian in the Miao areas. From 1905 to 1949, thousands of students graduated from his primary schools. About 200 finished their high school education. 30 went to universities in other areas of China. Mr. S. Pollard created a wonder in this remote village.
Christianity exerts a powerful influence among the Miao even today. Looking at their embroidery, silver jewelry, and batik work, you will be surprised to find that lots of designs come from the interesting stories of the Bible.
Tags: One Hundred Years, Repair Roads, Cowhide, Square Kilometer
