A Primary School to Expand, Built by Missonary Sam Pollard in Yunnan Border Town

The Huize Primary School to Expand
1/3The Huize Primary School to Expand(photo: Photo provided to CCD)
New teaching building under construction
2/3New teaching building under construction(photo: Photo provided to CCD)
Former Teachers' houses of Dongfeng Primary School
3/3Former Teachers' houses of Dongfeng Primary School(photo: Photo provided to CCD)
By Yang YiAugust 30th, 2016

In line with the concept that "Where there is a church, there is a school," Pastor Sam Pollard and Frank Dymond once built a school in the Huize county, a border town in Yunnan province. Its predecessor was Xinghua primary school, now called Dongfeng.

With a history of more than 100 years, so far, this school is going to expand - build new teaching building at the former site of Enze Holy Church and the dispensary of western medicine. This causes the co-workers in the church to appeal for regaining the church estate.

According to the article written by the former headmistress of Huize-Dongfeng Primary School -- The History of Running Schools by Christianity in Huize , Pastor Frank Dymond came in Huize in 1886. He who graduated from Oxford University made friends with some educators with his profound knowledge and helped some government-supported students who would study in Japan to learn English. Frank Dymond bought a house covering an area of about 3 mu, owned by a citizen in Fengle street. He also built a church and a school. Later, he built a chapel and a two-storey dormitory. The church then got a new name --- "Enze Holy Church"  

The Methodist Church which Sam Pollard and Frank Dymond belonged to was a sect that emphasized on "Education & Mission" very much, putting forward a slogan "Where is a church, there is a school." During Sam Pollard's stay in Huize, he built a school naming after "British Word Association Branch School in West China -- Primary School for Male and Female," which was the predecessor of Fengle Primary School. The school was the earliest modern education school in Huize county. The most significant characteristic was its bilingual education: besides "Chinese" which was the required subject by the national government, it also had English teaching which had 1 or 2 classes per week. Besides, it was a co-educational school. According to the doctrine of Christianity, the school firstly put forward the idea of the equality of men and women and put into effect the school principle of coeducation. The school not only admitted the schoolboys, but also the female students. So the school was labeled as "Two-Level Primary School for Male and Female."

So far, the co-workers in the Huize Christian church are applying to the local related authority to return the church estate, including the original pastor's building, the church's location and the housings where the teachers and co-workers of Dongfeng primary school once lived. The co-workers in the church claimed that even if the former lands couldn't be returned, they hope that the related department can admit the property belongs to the church and allocate another land to build a church.

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