"Kuliang Friend" Gordon Trimble, grandnephew of an American missionary working in China for more than 50 years, paid a recent visit to Fuzhou with his wife.
The Trimble couple returned to Kuliang, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, where his grandaunt Lydia Trimble escaped the heat during summer breaks, on April 26, according to Bond with Kuliang.
Lydia Trimble was sent to Foochow (now Fuzhou), China, in December 1889 at the age of 26 by the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Devoting more than 50 years to education and missionary work in Fujian, she founded four schools for girls, including Hwa Nan College in 1908—the predecessor of today's Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College—pioneering modern higher education for women in the region. During summer breaks, she spent her summer breaks at her summer cottage where she named "Iowa Cottage" in Kuliang, once a popular summer retreat for foreign missionaries, businessmen, and diplomats in the 19th century when Fuzhou was opened as one of China's earliest trading ports.
Accompanied by faculty and student representatives from Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College and professors from the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom, the group visited several landmarks highlighting cross-cultural exchange in Kuliang, including the Former Residence of Lydia Trimble, the Kuliang Post Office, Kuliang Old Street, the Kuliang Historical Architecture Exhibition Hall, the Kuliang Club, King Cryptomeria Park, and the Kuliang Families Story Museum.
As recounted in Hwa Nan College: The Woman's College of South China by L. Ethel Wallace, Lydia Trimble attended the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, where she urged the leadership of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society to establish a women's college in South China, which became the first private women's college in the People's Republic of China. In May 1905, during the China Christian Educational Association meeting in Shanghai, the decision was announced to establish such a college in Foochow. The Official Minutes of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1908) later recorded, "The Woman's College buildings in Foochow promise soon to be a long-hoped-for reality... Miss Trimble, who has been appointed president of the college and is supervising the construction of the buildings, is also taking charge of the Girls' Boarding School…"
Entitled "Hwa Nan University," a mission story published on the official website of United Methodist Church recorded, "The girls in the high school were so excited when Lydia went to the United States to lobby for funds to set up the college, they decided to dig the foundation themselves and remove basket after basket of dirt by hand until it was finished."
Over the years, nearly ten members of the Trimble family made significant contributions to the founding and development of Hwa Nan College. According to the Rideau Township Historical Society, the Foochow College Preparatory program of Foochow Women's College was launched with Lydia Ethel Wallace, the daughter of Lydia Trimble's eldest sister, Barbara, appointed to the staff. Ethel's brother, James Hill Wallace, also traveled to China as a missionary shortly after graduating from the University of Toronto in 1903.
While overseeing the construction of the college buildings, Lydia enlisted the expertise of her nephew, Frederick Homer Trimble, who specialized in architecture and civil engineering. Frederick collaborated with Wilford W. Beach, an architect from Sioux City, on the college building project. By September 1911, Frederick had arrived in Foochow to begin preparing the site for the college's foundation. When funding for the three planned buildings ran short, Lydia's brother, Dr. James Brownlee Trimble, stepped in, mortgaging his farm to provide the necessary financial support. Further funds were raised beginning in 1921 for the third building, Lydia Trimble Hall, which broke ground in 1922 and was completed in 1925.
Lydia submitted her resignation in January 1925 but remained in China until her death in 1942. She was succeeded by Dr. Ida Belle Lewis, who resigned in June 1927 amid political, religious, and educational revolutions in China. In 1928, the Board of Directors appointed Miss Lucy Wang as president, officially marking the transition of Hwa Nan College to Chinese leadership.
As introduced on the homepage of Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College, the institution was later reestablished in 1984 by Dr. Yu Bao Sheng. Today, the college operates across two campuses covering a total of 250 acres and offers 29 majors within six departments. The college currently has nearly 8,500 full-time students and 426 full-time faculty members, 43% of whom hold a master's degree or higher, with 20% occupying senior academic positions.
Garnet Trimble, Gordon Trimble's grandfather, followed in his aunt's footsteps by practicing medicine in Nanping. His son, Robert Trimble, was born and raised in China and held fond memories of his childhood there. In the 1980s, Gordon Trimble and his father, Robert, made several visits to Fuzhou to continue the family's legacy. After retiring in 2005, Gordon and his wife relocated to Fuzhou, where they have taught at Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College for over two decades. Through their continued efforts, the Trimble family has remained dedicated to fostering people-to-people cultural exchange between China and the United States.
On this visit to Kuliang, Gordon Trimble was joined by ten new companions, all distinguished alumni of Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College. "I believe these outstanding graduates are the true ambassadors of the Kuliang spirit on the international stage," Gordon remarked. "Gathered here, hand in hand, they are bringing this spirit to life through their actions and helping others appreciate the essence of Kuliang."
That afternoon, the group took part in a storytelling and speech-sharing session held in Kuliang, where they enjoyed local cuisine and shared personal reflections on their connection to the area.
