Finding God in All Things: Indirect Evangelization and Acculturation of Université l’Aurore in Modern China

Abstract

The current literature on Christian mission universities in Modern China (1840–1949) pays specific attention to their efforts to adapt to the intellectual and political context of their time. Through extensive archival works, we contribute to this research orientation by documenting the academic activities of the first Catholic university in China, Université l’Aurore (1903–1952) in Shanghai. Established and managed by the French Jesuits, Université l’Aurore exemplified the mission’s tradition of evangelization through science education. Its pedagogical arrangements, selection of teachers, and moral education showed high levels of professionalism and almost no religious influence. The Jesuits, who took as their motto, “to find God in all things”, believed that their scientific excellence could indirectly promote the Catholic spirit among future Chinese intellectuals and elites. Thanks to their strategy of indirect evangelization, not only did Université l’Aurore survive in a period when the government imposed draconic restrictions on mission entities in the name of “educational sovereignty”, it also contributed to the modernization of China’s education and society.

1. Introduction

In terms of cross-cultural transmissibility, scientific education and religious missions might appear to be antipodes. As a medium of transmitting human knowledge and experience, scientific education is considered highly permeable, able to ignore the limits of time, space, and culture. Religious organizations and practices, in contrast, are bound to local specialties and most sensitive to cultural boundaries. This tendency is exemplified by the modern natural law tradition that refers to physics and geometry to discuss the existence of some universally true propositions of right and justice (Artosi 2010; Hoeflich 1986). This is the gap that the Society of Jesuits endeavored to bridge. Created by Ignace de Loyola and six other companions in Paris in 1534 and formally approved in 1540 by Pope Paul III through the papal bull Regimini militantis Ecclesiae, the Jesuits symbolize the tradition of evangelizing through scientific education. This tradition was put to the test in the Chinese context in the early 20th century, where public opinion and government policy toward mission colleges were filled with both enthusiasm and repulsion. On the one hand, convinced by the motto of “saving the nation by science,” the Chinese elites could not ignore mission colleges’ merit in disseminating up-to-date western knowledge. On the other hand, driven by the imperative of restoring educational sovereignty, they also tried to restrain Christian colleges’ activities. Research on the activities of mission universities in this context sheds light on how religious entities adapted to unfavorable local realities (Li and Wu 2021). Focusing on a case study of Université l’Aurore run by the French Jesuits in Shanghai, the pages that follow illustrate how the Society’s indirect evangelization through professional and personal education helped it acculturate to the Chinese mind and navigate through the difficult waters of political turbulence and war.

China’s experience with the Western powers in the 19th Century was accompanied by a series of military defeats, first in the two Opium Wars (1840–1842 and 1856–1860), followed by the Franco-Chinese War (1883–1885), the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), and, finally, the occupation of Peking by the Eight-Nation Alliance (1900). For the Chinese elites, it had become clear that their country was no longer the central empire, but an accumulation of weaknesses and poverty. It also became evident that the solution was modern science, not knowledge of the Confucian classics. The intellectual movement that sought to modernize the country with western knowledge soon inspired a series of political movements that mobilized a wide spectrum of actors, ranging from moderate bureaucrats to the most radical revolutionaries. While various domestic trends fought for power in the intellectual and political disturbance, foreign actors also strived to seize the opportunity to influence the modernization process in China (Zhu 2021).

Christian universities in China, introduced in this context of the “Eastward spread of Western learning,” played a vital role in state building and socio-cultural transformation (Liu et al. 2021). They combined several contrasting elements. They reflected the particularity of China’s modernization, while representing the universal pursuit of knowledge. They were simultaneously educational and religious. They were the forerunners of modern education in China but also important means of evangelization. Therefore, to fully grasp the complexity and richness of the history of Christian education in China, we must resist the temptation of a single grand narrative and accept the possibility of multidimensional analysis (Zhang 2015, p. 1).

Among the subdisciplines of the history of Chinese Christianity, the history of Christian colleges has been well documented at both the macro and the micro level (Tao and Yang 2009, p. 112). Jessie Lutz offered a comprehensive examination of modern Chinese Christian colleges and their relationships with Chinese society and politics (Lutz 1971). Other than the relationships between church colleges and Chinese society (Zhang 1996), the representative literature in the Chinese language also explored the ways in which western knowledge contributed to the modernization of Chinese education (He and Shi 1996) and the influence of Church education in the formation of Chinese intellectuals (Shi and Wang 1998).

Although the academic exposure of Catholic educational establishments cannot match that of Protestant establishments, the literature on the Jesuit-founded Université l’Aurore has begun to accumulate. The French impacts have been measured by disciplinary curricula, language of teaching, support from the French government, and participation of commercial entities (Wang 2008a, pp. 92–98). Seeing Université l’Aurore primarily as a fruitful example of Sino-French education cooperation, scholars have explored the creation and transition of its medical, legal, and polytechnical education (Chen and Chen 2010; Wang 2016, 2008b). In comparison, other scholars have emphasized the Catholic background of Université l’Aurore. Ruth Hayhoe, for instance, scrutinized the personal experience and philosophy of Ma Siang-pé (Ma Xiangbo), the founder of Aurora, and highlighted the influence of Ma’s personal identity and the Catholic Jesuit educational system on Aurora College, as well as his conflicts with the Jesuits (Hayhoe 1983). Jean-Paul Wiest has revealed the strong sense of national identity and cultural superiority of the Jesuits at Université l’Aurore and has argued that they used the power of the French government to develop their establishment and unwittingly acted as a tool of French overseas colonization (Wiest 1997). Steven Pieragastini has argued that, although Aurora was distinctly French, it flourished more thanks to a loose cooperation between church and state (Pieragastini 2017). By avoiding conflict between church and state and the apparent contradiction of Chinese students receiving a “colonial” education in a republican empire nominally committed to equality, the semi-colonial environment of Shanghai produced a better educational model than the centralized educational system of the formal empire.

Among 16 higher education establishments created by Christian churches in China, Université l’Aurore was both distinctive and representative. Distinctive, because it was one of only three Catholic mission universities and had strong influence from the French government, which promoted anticleric policy at home while supporting Catholic establishments abroad (Cabanel 2013). Representative, because all mission colleges dealt equally with aspirations toward modernity and skepticism toward Christianity fueled by a mixture of patriotism, xenophobia, and, perhaps most importantly, cultural barriers. Université l’Aurore, like a piece of a mirror, allows historians to glance at one aspect of the multidimensional history of mission education in China and appreciate the complexity of the dynamics of cultural exchange in modern China’s troubling context.

Based on the archives conserved in the Shanghai Municipal Archives and the Province de Paris of the Catholic Jesuits, this article explores the Jesuits’ infusion of religious teaching in secular professional elite education. Under the direct jurisdiction of the Province de Paris, Université l’Aurore reflected the political mission and the pragmatic educational philosophy of the Society. The French Jesuits, functioning as both religious and political agents, incorporated the elite French education model into the training of modern Chinese professionals and invented a valuable method that produced positive practical outcomes. By conveying religious care through educational arrangements and the practice of charity, the Jesuits managed to translate the ecumenical concern of the Christian faith in the idea of intellectual and personal improvement, which was and still is compatible with Chinese culture and acceptable for Chinese souls. This indirect approach to evangelization was also a principled and flexible response to various policy guidelines, political changes, and international situations.

2. Scientific Tradition of the Jesuits

The Jesuits are well known for their approach to evangelization through science education. In the 1540s, it was this congregation that established the first rigorous educational “institution” in Europe (Demoustier and Julia 1997, p. 16). Part IV of its Constitutions promulgated in July 1556 contains rules concerning the formation of its members. These rules demonstrate the overall mission of education in adapting to new societies and provide guiding principles for Jesuit education (Guillermou 1992, p. 19). Later, on 8 January 1599, the Jesuits adopted their most fundamental educational regulation, the Ratio Studiorum, to standardize teaching, supervision, and examinations in the Society’s wide network of schools. This document consists of 30 provisions concerning administration, curriculum, pedagogy, and discipline (Romano et al. 2002, p. 56). The administrative provisions defined the operation, interrelationships, and responsibilities of positions such as prefect, rector, and dean of faculty to cope with the hierarchical nature of the Society. As regards the curriculum, aside from theology, which was considered the highest achievement of a Jesuit, the mission offered the rigid education of the seven liberal arts and oriental languages, such as Hebrew (Demoustier and Julia 1997, pp. 124–28). Each teaching unit usually consisted of three parts. The master first read and commented on the text and then asked the students to repeat and discuss. This combination was adapted to the methods that had long been practiced by grammar schools and faculties of humanities (Demoustier and Julia 1997, p. 21).

The long, rigid, and demanding elite education cultivated the sound scientific mind of most, if not all, Jesuits who arrived in China in the first half of the 17th century, the period covering the transition from Ming to Qing. Thanks to the scientific network of the Society, Jesuits who arrived in China, such as Matteo Ricci, Johann Terrenz Schreck, and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, were given the opportunity to learn from Christopher Clavius, eminent Jesuit mathematician and holder of the chair at the Collegio Romano (Euvé 2012, pp. 71–73).

In February 1688, under the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, a delegation composed of six Jesuit fathers who were also mathematicians and astronomists arrived in China, led by Jean de Fontaney, one of the finest French mathematicians of the time. The members of this delegation were elected members of the most prestigious learned societies in Europe, such as Accademia di Lincei, Academy of Saint-Petersburg, and the Royal Society, and frequently corresponded with François Viète, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Jean-Dominique Cassini, and other leading European scientists (Euvé 2012, pp. 75–77). Indeed, just as Ferdinandi Verbiest reported in his circular letter on 16 August 1678, their reputation as renowned scientists gained these early missionaries the trust and patronage of the highest ruler of China.

Despite the encouraging first contact, the 18th century proved to be misfortunate both for the Christian religion in China, banned in 1723 by the Yongzheng Emperor, and for the Society, dismissed in 1773 by Pope Clemens XIV’s Dominus ac Redemptor Noster (Guillermou 1992, p. 71). However, after the Society’s reestablishment in 1814, the Jesuits did not wait long to set their feet on Chinese soil again, in 1842. Jan Philipp Roothaan, the twenty-first Superior-General, was determined to reinitiate the grand enterprise of his predecessors, namely indirect evangelization under the pretext of science and education (de La Servière 1914, pp. 33–34). Responding to Roothaan’s call, numerous well-trained experts came to the Kiangnan (Jiangnan) mission to promote scientific education.

The implementation of the Society’s educational vision would not have been possible without the contribution of local religious personages and elites. Ma Siang-pé (Ma Xiangbo), a Chinese Jesuit father, was one of the key local collaborators. Determined to establish modern Chinese universities that reached the qualities of higher education in the West (Ma 1996c, p. 1044), he donated 3000 mu (roughly 200 hectors) of paddy as the founding property of Université l’Aurore (Ma 1996a, p. 37). On 25 August 1900, he committed a donation through which his personal property was transferred “to the mission of Kiangnan to help, by way of partial scholarships, with the instruction of those subjects who are most likely to be admitted to the college of the Jesuits, where the European sciences will be taught” (Ma 1996b, p. 36). Ma’s contribution turned out to be fruitful. On 27 February 1903, Université l’Aurore formally opened its doors and began its half-century operation that left a legend and a rich legacy in Chinese modernization.

3. Professionalism in Teaching Modules

In the late 19th century, as China’s government and its intellectuals gradually opened toward Western culture, Catholic missionaries began to realize that “the Chinese upper classes were increasingly inclined toward Western knowledge. If Catholic schools at all levels did not provide them with the education they needed, they would turn elsewhere, even to rationalism” (Ma 2013, p. 100). It was clear to the Jesuits that only educated people could enter the ruling class in Chinese society. In an era where Confucianism was in question, replacing the established literati with young elites baptized in both Christianity and science became possible, but these newcomers needed to be well prepared.

Université l’Aurore naturally served as the proxy for the Jesuits’ ambition of forming new elites in China. Since its founding, it has had as its credo “To pursue science and art, but to avoid dogma.” In 1903, when Université l’Aurore was founded, training students to write the eight-legged essay was still one of the priorities of mainstream education (Shanghai Archives 1928). Even in this context, Ma Siang-pé was aware that the climate would soon change, and China’s modernization could only become a reality through education in modern science. Therefore, in addition to literature, they specifically designed courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics, mechanics, and astronomy (Zhu 1996, p. 41).

Beginning in 1905, the university was under the direction of the Jesuits appointed by Paris, but the French Jesuits continued to follow the attitude of Ma Siang-pé toward religious education, preaching religious freedom to their students. “Some of our Catholic schools also admit non-believers but do not force students to practice the rites of the Church. If students want to learn religious teachings, they must first obtain permission from parents” (Bao 1926). The Jesuits of Université l’Aurore defined the purpose of the school as “to facilitate the education of students from their own countries at the general and advanced levels in Europe and America without having to travel to Europe and America” (Program of the Institut l’Aurore Written in 1909 1912). They also reorganized the initial departments of letters and sciences (Archives Françaises de la Compagnie de Jésus 1905) into three professional schools, namely law, science and engineering, and medicine. Indeed, under the administration of the French priests, the education offered by Université l’Aurore was similar to that of the Hexagon, without ever including religion as a compulsory subject.

A glance at the three professional schools’ curriculum sheds light on the spirit of professionalism of Jesuit education in China. Université l’Aurore began to provide legal education in 1905, when its curriculum first included a course on international law (two h per week). The charter of Université l’Aurore suggests that whoever majored in philosophy must learn public international law as well as constitutional law, and whoever majored in languages must acquire basic knowledge of commercial law (Shanghai Archives 1909). Reverend Father de Lapparent debuted his lecture on civil law in 1911 and later expanded his teaching to Roman law, criminal law, Chinese law, and political economics, which laid the early foundation of Université l’Aurore’s law modules. When Reverend Father Fournier took over the direction in 1914, Aurora had a complete law and politics major of three years that instructed students in constitutional law, international law, criminal law, civil law, administrative law, commercial law, maritime law, Roman law, comparative law, political economics, accounting, finance, contemporary history of politics, industry, and commerce, as well as geography (Shanghai Archives 1948). In 1916, Aurora further improved its law program and increased the class hours to correspond to the legal education in France (Shanghai Archives 1948). In 1914, the assembly of professors voted to extend the originally three-year program to four years. Since then, Aurora Law School “constantly updates and improves its legal education to the point that all modules professed in the most prestigious European law schools can also be found here” (Shanghai Archives 1935, p. 60).

Université l’Aurore Law School mimicked the French model so closely that even the “crisis of social science” in legal education (Audren 2010, 2015) also found its echo in the Paris of the Orient. In the metropole, when sociology and other social sciences were introduced into the university curriculum, they first found home in the faculty of law. If many doctrinal lawyers remained skeptical to these relatively new branches of study, some law professors found inspiration or even fascination from the inquiries of their sociologist colleagues (Donzelot 1994). However, as it became more and more clear that the differences of approaching norms, technicalities, and texts were irreconcilable, educators in the social sciences eventually sought independence.

Et in arcadia ego! In l’Aurore, the methodological and ontological differences between dogmatic lawyers and social scientists also led to the separation between the department of law and that of political economics in 1932. Only three years later, the law school was finally split into four units, namely the section of law (section juridique), the section of politics and economics (section politique et économique), and the two aforementioned departments (Shanghai Archives 1935, p. 60).

The initial science curriculum at Université l’Aurore included mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, conics, and graphs), physics, and chemistry. Until 1908, instruction was limited to theory and only simple experiments, which was far from practical science and could not prepare students for future careers (Shanghai Archives 1935). Being aware of the growing demand of the Chinese government and society for engineering professionals, Jesuits revised the curriculum to keep up with the pace of their time. In 1909, when Father P. H. Allain took charge of the school affairs, he was deeply concerned about the superficiality of the university’s mathematics and science instruction and the inadequacy of its theoretical education. After due consideration, he established a quasi-polytechnic curriculum which combined two stages of training. At the first stage, students undertook pure theoretical training in mathematics and science for three years and could obtain the Bachelor of Science degree, if they passed their examinations. The second stage, necessary for obtaining the engineer’s diploma, consisted of two years of practical training in practical mechanics, material resistance, hydraulic science, railway science, electrical science, industrial chemistry, etc. (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 123). The Department of Mathematics and Physics and the Department of Engineering were created in 1910 and 1914, respectively. In 1916, as the important laboratories were created one by one, and established professors were recruited in France to lecture at the university, the Polytechnic School of Science and Engineering was formally established.

The Université l’Aurore’s early exploration of engineering education proved successful, as the number of students kept growing. However, it also became evident that the initial curriculum was not sufficient to meet the various demands of the students. In the summer of 1932, the School of Science and Engineering was reorganized into four departments: mathematics and science, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and civil engineering. The curriculum was also updated and diversified, with specific emphasis on applied education in engineering and technology, and the pedagogy stressed the need to properly grasp the relationships between theory and experimentation and between specialized courses and engineering practice when building the curriculum system (Shanghai Archives 1935). This reflected the intention of adapting to the needs of China and serving the construction of Chinese society.

The origin of l’Aurore Medical School can be found in 1909, when Father Allain began to give lectures on nature—physics—chemistry under Le Coq’s initiative (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 91). Reverend Father Fournier established a four-year specialization in pharmacy and natural history, which was later transformed into the major of medicine (Shanghai Archives 1928, p. 4). The six-year medical program was divided into two parts. The first two years were devoted to nature—physics—chemistry, commonly named natural history at the time, with major courses in French, psychology, physiology and anatomy, physics, chemistry, flora and fauna, and physiology. The subjects taught at the pre-medical level were the basic courses that needed to be mastered before starting medical studies. The two years of basic subjects constituted an intermediate period to help students determine whether they were suitable to continue the path of medical studies, as the difficulty and intensity of medical studies were high. From the third year onward, medical students began their professional training. The last four years, called “doctoral program,” included major courses in bacteriology, medical and surgical pathology, obstetrics, pediatrics, pentalogy, ophthalmology, and other medical and technical courses, such as radiology and surgery, with internship work in hospitals scheduled every morning from the third year onward and clinical internships in the fifth and sixth years (Université l’Aurore 1934, pp. 97–99).

French medical education is characterized by the cross-examination between clinical scientific observation and theoretical knowledge, such as pathological anatomy and biopsy (Poirier and Derouesné 2017, p. 81). Therefore, the curriculum of l’Aurore Medical School attached great importance to clinical practice. Not only were the usual anatomy and pathology courses combined with theory and experimentation, but also the Sainte Marie Hospital, the internship hospital for medical students in the second three years, provided a unique learning environment and conditions for internship students with its perfect facilities and large number of admitted patients.

4. Excellence in the Selection of Teachers

The orderly and uniform administration and effective pedagogy of Université l’Aurore were achieved in large part by the excellent faculty. The priest-educators of the Jesuit society were the backbone of Université l’Aurore and were in charge of the professional education of some five hundred students (Chronique 1934–1935 1935). In 1934, for example, there were 28 Jesuits among the university’s 100 faculty members. Most of the administrative positions were also held by Jesuits, such as the Rector (André Gaultier), the Dean of the School of Science and Engineering (Pierre Lejay), and the Dean of the Law School (André Bonnichon). The only exception was the Dean of the Medical School, Dr Jean-Augustin Bussière (Université l’Aurore 1934, pp. 49–57).

According to the Jesuits’ Decree on Teaching, “the seven arts and natural sciences provide a sound intellectual and practical basis for theological study, and these subjects must be carefully taught by knowledgeable teachers” (Demoustier and Julia 1997, p. 124). In order to be “discerning,” free from “disturbing affections,” and cultivating a wise heart, Jesuits had longer and more rigorous examinations of faith and learning than any other religious community. Before becoming a père profès, a Jesuit needed to complete 15 years of studies (Flauraud 2005, p. 40). The long training in pedagogy ensured that Jesuits were well qualified as teachers and that the Jesuit schools used efficient teaching methods.

Among the Aurora’s professors, Father Joseph de la Servière was perhaps the most distinguished scholar. He held a Doctor of Theology from the University of Lyon as well as a Doctor of Literature and a Doctor of History from the University of Paris. He taught elocution at the Collège de Vaugirard in Paris from 1893 to 1897 and church history at the Catholic seminaries of Canterbury and Hastings (Le R.P. de la Servière S.J. 1937, p. 126). From 1909 until his death in 1917, he taught general history, literature, diplomatic history, and the diplomatic system at Université l’Aurore. His career at l’Aurore left an amazing legacy. “Three-fourths of the Chinese priests of the Kiangnan mission attended his courses. The former students of l’Aurore who work in foreign relations can still recall Professor de la Servière’s teaching of political history” (Zhang 2012, p. 338).

Father Bonnichon, Dean of the Faculty of Law, earned a doctorate in law from the University of Paris and was a professor at the Collège de Versailles. Father Paul Beaucé, who taught French language and French literature, received a bachelor in literature from the University of Rennes, and gained experience in teaching French at the Notre Dame de Bon Secours School in Jersey from 1908 to 1910 (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 49). Before his post in l’Aurore, he was the principal of the Yangzhou l’Aurore High School from 1919 to 1933. The professor of Chinese law translation was Father André, a Doctor of Theology at the seminary in Jersey and a professor at the Zi Ka-wei Seminary. Father Gérardin, who taught sociology, has a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Paris and is a graduate of the l’École libre des sciences politiques de Paris.

The Jesuits of the School of Science and Engineering were also experienced teachers and practitioners. Father Henri de Bascher, the professor of mechanics, graduated in physics from the University of Nancy and once taught at the Jesuit School Sainte Geneviève in Versailles and at the Institute of Chemical Physics in Nantes from 1928 to 1932. Father Gaétan de Raucourt, the professor of philosophy of science, was formerly the principal of the Jesuit School Notre Dame de Bon Secours School in Jersey and principal of the St. François de Salles School in Evreux. Michel Vittrant, who taught physics, had a Bachelor of Science from the University of Paris and was professor at the Jesuit School Notre Dame de Bon Secours in Jersey from 1907 to 1908 and from 1913 to 1915. Father Guérault, who taught mathematics, graduated from the École Centrale in Paris and worked as an engineer for the railway from Paris to Orléans and Midi in France. Father Louis de Jenlis, the professor of mechanics of materials, graduated from the École Supérieure d’Électricité in Paris as well as the École Centrale in Paris and was an engineer at the Maison Dujardin and Hellesmes workshops in Lille (Université l’Aurore 1934, pp. 55–57).

In comparison, the profile of the Jesuits in Medical School was less impressive, because the Society had no tradition of medical training. Only Father Jacques Hernault, a medical graduate of the University of Rhin and a former teacher at the Faculty of Medicine of Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, taught zoology, histology, and parasitology (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 53).

In addition to the domestic professors, priests of high academic reputation from other Jesuit institutions also taught part-time at l’Aurore. Paulus Tsutsihashi and Edmund de la Villemarqué from the Zi Ka-wei Observatory were professors of mathematics. Ludovicus Dumas was not only a professor of mechanics and radio from 1936 to 1951 but also served as the last rector of the university (1946–1952). The Zi Ka-wei Museum (Musée Heude), founded by Pierre Heude, was incorporated into Université l’Aurore in 1930, adding practical observation and enrichment to the curriculum of the university’s medical and science students. Most of the priests in charge of the museum also served as biology teachers, such as entomologist Auguste Savio and Octave Piel (Shanghai Archives 1935).

5. Moral Education by Examples

As is mentioned above, Université l’Aurore offered a very French scientific education with a minimal religious dimension. However, although the Jesuit priest-educators only rarely referred to religion, they were firmly committed to moral and spiritual education. They believed that “the great need in China is a self-creativity that can regenerate the spirit,” (Goucher 1912, p. 133; cited by Ma 2013, p. 103) and that parochial schools had a unique role to play in this regard. More than anything else, Jesuit priest-educators demonstrated responsibility for their work and concern for others through their words and example.

The doctor–patient relationship has been the cornerstone of medical practice and medical ethics. Ever since Hippocrates, the most important moral principle that guides this relationship is to protect the rights of members of both sides. From the Middle Ages until the 20th century, training in the management of the doctor–patient relationship has been closely related to the concepts of medical ethics and physician professionalism (Poirier and Derouesné 2017, p. 245). In France, Louis Delasiauve, the famous psychiatrist, proposed in 1843 to create a course of moral education in medical education through which students would learn to “gain the trust of patients with skill and integrity,” because, for doctors, “the capacity for noble and generous feelings is valuable” (Poirier and Derouesné 2017, p. 246).

In addition to attending lectures on moral philosophy, as other students did, medical students took a course in medical ethics. The professor of ethics, Father René Desnos, had extensive experience as a teacher at the Collège de Sainte-Croix du Mans, the Collège de Saint-Grégoire de Tours, and the Collège de Vaugirard in Paris (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 53). Father Georges Payen, the professor of medical ethics, had taught at Zi Ka-wei Seminary. He insisted that an exemplary physician should have a love of science, a sense of responsibility, loyalty, and distinction (Université l’Aurore 1934, pp. 111–12).

As head of the civil engineering department, Father Louis de Jenlis believed that engineers should not only be persevering researchers, but also chiefs who deal with people on the shop floor and in factories on a daily basis, with the ability to organize, supervise, and lead. Engineers without consciousness are sad for society (Le Père Louis de Jenlis 1875–1938 1938, p. 5). Therefore, engineering schools should also pay attention to students’ moral development. He was not only a tireless scholar but also a mentor to his students in life. De Jenlis maintained extensive correspondence with his graduates. When former students working in Yunnan, Hebei, or Sichuan sought advice from him on the difficulties they encountered while building bridges and roads to open mines with sketches and diagrams, his answers were always detailed, practical, and enthusiastic.

He always followed with pride the graduates’ subsequent development, achievements, and progress. He was particularly concerned about those who went to study in France and always enthusiastically recommended them to his friends in France and to his colleagues at the École Centrale and École Supérieure d’Électricité. In 1937, suffering from cancer, he was forced to interrupt his teaching, but he returned to his students as soon as his health improved, and in May, after undergoing surgery, he insisted on proctoring the final exams in June. A few weeks before he died, he was still following the professional development of l’Aurore graduates from the directory of engineers. As a moral exemplar, de Jenlis cared for and loved his students, helped them solve difficulties in their lives or their studies, taught them by example in the process of imparting knowledge, and influenced them with his personality as well as his way and attitude. After his death, many students wrote of him: “My teacher’s life witnessed no disgrace, and I shall follow his path and work as diligently as he did”(Le Père Louis de Jenlis 1875–1938 1938, pp. 5–7).

Lieou Yong-choen, the founder of the BCG vaccination in China and a graduate of the Medical School of 1922, once fondly recalled the influence of Father Jacques Hernault on him (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 53). When Lieou Yong-choen was considering joining the medical school, he relied on Hernault’s guidance to make his final decision. Upon his entrance to the medical school at the beginning of 1916, he was able to deal with many difficulties under his guidance. During the year, Father Hernault provided extracurricular tutoring for the students every night. In the second year of medical school, after a physiology class, he offered a reward for answers to the medical problems of the French medical school, so that the students would have a desire to study modern medicine without overestimating it (Presentation of the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur Medal to Dr. Lieou Yong-choen 1947, p. 43). Soon afterward, in 1918, Lieou Yong-choen published his first research paper, “The Circulatory Organs of Reptiles” in the Bulletin of Université l’Aurore under the guidance of Jacques Hernault (Lieou 1917).

Other than Hernault, Rector de Lapparent also left Lieou Yong-choen a strong and long-lasting impression. Lieou recalled his insistence on maintaining discipline, “his habit of taking notes on each student”, and “the authority he exercised over everyone, even the young.” It seems that de Lapparent’s authority was effective, because “at evening study classes when there was a lot of commotion, his appearance, announced by the bunch of keys he waved, was enough to restore order” (Lieou 1935). Indeed, l’Aurore was particularly concerned with the maintenance of good order. Unexcused absences, disruption of order, and damage to the school’s reputation were considered gross negligence (Shanghai Archives 1935).

Jesuit priest-educators believed that the best way to teach Catholicism was by example. They merged the healing function of medicine with the essence of the Catholic doctrine, emphasizing the consistency of healing and love in God’s teaching. During the two battles of Shanghai, l’Aurore students and faculty were actively involved in rescuing the wounded and refugees. After the 28 January 1932 incident, the warfare between China and Japan escalated, and the number of wounded soldiers constantly increased. “Witnessing the tragedy, the Rector Father Germain felt compassionate and followed the request of the Red Cross Society of China to set up the school’s magnificent auditorium, which is well known in Shanghai, as a hospital, and sent medical students from the school to join the work” (Aurora Auditorium Converted into a Hospital 1932). Following the outbreak of the Second Battle of Shanghai in 1937, the Université l’Aurore’s new auditorium and the Sainte Marie Hospital were transformed into the third ambulance hospital, with Professor Ou Yun-joei as director, where students, faculty, graduates, and doctors from the Sainte Marie Hospital volunteered to serve the wounded (Le Troisième hôpital temporaire de la Croix Rouge 1937, p. 34).

The “Jacquinot Safe Zone,” established by the French Jesuit Jacquinot de Besange, who taught English, English literature, and natural sciences at Université l’Aurore, protected some 250,000 to 360,000 Chinese refugees between 9 November 1937 and June 1940 (Ristaino 2011, p. 62). In support of Father Jacquinot de Besange’s work, Université l’Aurore held the first Mini Soccer Cup in 1938; “with a ticket price of 20 cents each, the proceeds were 1800 Yuan, all of which was donated to the South City Refugee District” (Liang 1943, p. 54). In 1940, the second tournament was held, and the proceeds of 5000 Yuan were donated to the French Red Cross and Sacred Heart Hospital for refugee relief (Liang 1943).

The students were able to see firsthand the teachers and priests treating and caring for the sick day and night. They could also experience the love and generosity of the nurses-sisters from Filles de Charité of the Sainte Marie Hospital for the poor, and the great comfort of the priests accompanying the dying. The students were deeply touched by these experiences.

6. Indirect Evangelization by Acculturation

Université l’Aurore took an indirect, discrete, and influencing approach to religious education. “Our superiors in Paris and Rome specifically pointed out that what you do is to pagans, and that you apply some kind of leadership to establish a link between the missionary and pagan groups to serve the Lord indirectly” (Shanghai Archives n.d.). The goal was “to create a small environment sympathetic to Catholicism in a large context full of pagan ideas” (Ducathcay 1929).

Before the 19th century, the Jesuits in China prioritized translation in their work of spreading Occidental knowledge, translating more than 437 European books into Chinese. When the Society returned to China in the middle 19th century, the Jesuits saw an Empire that had lost its strength and wealth that once had consistently impressed Matteo Ricci, a nation that was defeated not only militarily but also intellectually. In light of this, they turned from the “cultural adaptation” approach advocated by Matteo Ricci to a “cultural transplant” approach, which allured Chinese elites through pride in Western science, language, and culture. They believed that “at the time of the transition between Ming and Qing, the primary scientific knowledge of Europe was sufficient to convince Chinese society. Time has changed, and the moral code of our forefathers should be followed, but it is not necessary to repeat all their deeds. Science must begin with training and education, and our public schools and monasteries are preparing to produce, step by step, useful people capable of mastering all kinds of science” (de La Servière 1914, p. 37).

The Jesuits’ choice of science education was a way to survive in the face of China’s complex and volatile political and regulatory environment. When the Republic of China was established in 1912, the Ministry of Education already had the intention of prohibiting foreign educational institutions. In March 1919, the Ministry of Education issued a decree prohibiting religious schools. According to this regulation, “establishments providing professional or higher education owned by foreigners are allowed to be registered to this Ministry in accordance with regulation on professional education or law of higher education, given the establishment has no missionary purpose nor major in religion.” After the May Fourth New Culture Movement in 1919, nationalist consciousness awakened, and patriotic enthusiasm rose. Church education was the target of the anti-Christian movement as well as the movement to reclaim educational sovereignty in the 1920s. In 1925, the “May 30th Movement” set off a nationwide anti-imperialist nationalist climax.

On 16 November 1925, the Ministry of Education promulgated the Measures for the Approval of Requests for the Establishment of Schools by Foreign Donors, reiterating that schools may not have the purpose of preaching religion or include religious subjects in the mandatory curriculum. This was the first decree in modern Chinese history that comprehensively regulated all schools established by foreigners in China, including parochial schools, and stipulated the institutions, purposes, and curricula of parochial schools. It profoundly changed the organizational structure and pedagogy of Chinese church universities, and directly led to the “Chinesization” and “localization” of church universities (Ministry of Education Announcement No. 16 1925). Later, on 6 February 1928, the Nankin Government issued the Regulations on Private Schools and the Regulations on Private School Boards, which situated parochial schools within the scope of private schools, reaffirmed that the directors shall be Chinese, and once again restricted missionary activities in private schools. As an increasingly secularized country, modern China experienced an evolution in its policy toward Christian education from negative restrictions to active outlawing. Driven by the authoritarian and statist ideology, successive governments—Beiyang, Guangzhou, and Nankin—all spared no effort in trying to nationalize the right to education, so as to ensure national homogeneity in state-making.

The challenges of nationalism and the requirements of government decrees seriously threatened the existence of church universities in China. Holding a conservative political stance, the administrators of Université l’Aurore tried to avoid involvement in political disturbance and adopted a strategy of ambiguity. To circumvent the identification of a foreign or Chinese university, it described its nature as “a French university in China for Chinese students” (Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes 1926). This description was, however, at odds with the official classification of the French authority. While the French Ministry of Education, by a ministerial ordinance dated 30 November 1918, recognized the diploma of the high school affiliated to Université l’Aurore as having the same status as the French Baccalauréat (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 25), it never recognized that of Université l’Aurore as the equivalent of a French university diploma. The establishment sought recognition from both sides. With the help of the French Consul General in Shanghai, the Rector, Father Scellier, requested several times the French Minister Plenipotentiary, de Fleuriau, to convince the Beiyang Government to put Université l’Aurore on the list of foreign establishments whose diplomats were recognized as valid in China (Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes 1923). At the same time, he also hoped that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs would convince the French Ministry of Education to validate l’Aurore graduates’ educational experience in Shanghai and, therefore, to implicitly recognize the value of their diplomas (Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes 1926).

While continuing to maintain its elite educational character, the university did not fully embrace the trend of localization in its educational plan and consistently employed Jesuits or foreigners educated in Jesuit schools as faculty members. Its insistence on high educational standards was well rewarded. Despite governmental and social pressure, Université l’Aurore still managed to attract a large number of students and its graduates continued to enjoy bright prospects in job markets. Meanwhile, this Catholic institution also emphasized its compliance with the governmental requirements of secular education: “Religious freedom in our university is absolute. No religious courses are provided. And religious ceremonies are not obligatory” (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 23).

As the French government was reluctant to recognize its university diploma, it became imperative for Université l’Aurore to register with the Chinese Ministry of Education. Full integration in the domestic framework of private higher education would grant its alumni the equal status of college graduates and, therefore, access to political careers. The influence of the Catholic Church would also increase. The university established a board of governors composed of nine Chinese and foreign socialites, including five Jesuits, namely Mgr. Haouisée, R.P. Germain, Mgr. Tsu Kai-min, R.P. Yang Wei-shih, and Father Ma Siang-pé (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 26). In terms of the choice of the director, it was intended to find someone who “is familiar with Université l’Aurore’s organization and capable of analyzing the overall political situation, but would not interfere the matters of administration, pedagogy, discipline, or faculty selection” (Archives Françaises de la Compagnie de Jésus n.d.). The French Jesuits described the selected director, Dr Hou Wen-yao, as “a friend of the Fathers who understands his role and is trusted by the authority of the French concession in Shanghai” (Archives Françaises de la Compagnie de Jésus n.d.). After all the efforts, Université l’Aurore’s registration was eventually completed in December 1932 (Université l’Aurore 1934, p. 18).

The Chinese government’s increasingly systematic management and increasingly draconic regulations could easily have jeopardized the Jesuits’ enterprises. In this circumstance, their pragmatic mentality turned out to be beneficial. By concealing the purpose of “China to the Lord” under the disguise of scientific education, the Jesuits were able to continue to control the development of Université l’Aurore and to carry out their mission of spreading the Christian faith by adapting to the times.

7. Conclusions

Due to economic difficulties, most of the human and material resources of the Catholic Church in China were scattered in the countryside, and they work independently, lacking contact with each other (Liu 2011, p. 62). The Catholics were also concentrated in rural areas, rooted in the lowest strata of Chinese society. In contrast, Protestantism had a strong economic presence and established good relations with intellectuals and the bourgeoisie within the city, and its social influence was superior to that of Catholicism. At the same time, within the Catholic Church, the Jesuits faced a complicated situation upon their return to China. After 1842, the Propaganda Fide of the Holy See greatly increased its funding for missionary work in China, and by 1900, there were as many as ten foreign Catholic missions in China (Liu 2011, p. 16). As the Missions étrangères de Paris administrated the largest number of Chinese parishes, it almost monopolized Catholic affairs in China. However, the Missions étrangères de Paris focused its activities in rural areas and rarely demonstrated interest in education. Aware of their inability to compete with the Missions étrangères de Paris, the Jesuits had to find another way to exert their influence in China, and the domain of education in cities, left by the Missions étrangères de Paris, offered an important space of action.

Following the Society’s spirit of “finding God in all things,” the Jesuits used their expertise in advanced scientific knowledge to establish the authority of Western science and to preach Catholicism in an indirect and pervasive way, using Université l’Aurore as a vehicle. Though the Jesuits of Université l’Aurore all possessed a strong sense of cultural superiority, they were no less idealistic and humanistic. They achieved maximum success by incorporating the elite French model of education into the training of modern Chinese specialists and by continuing the Jesuit tradition of educational rigor. In return, Université l’Aurore’s flourishment consolidated Jesuit dominance in the natural sciences. The success of this Church university advanced Chinese society’s understanding of Western culture, especially among the rural bourgeoisie and ruling classes. It also won the trust of the Chinese intelligentsia toward Catholicism, allowing further access to the elite and the upper classes and breaking the monopoly of Protestantism in the field of science. The testimony of Ducathcay revealed the perception of their contemporaries toward this university: “The very existence of Université l’Aurore is clear evidence of the victory of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church belongs not only to the poor peasants but also to the high intellectuals. Without Catholic higher education provided by Université l’Aurore, the young people of China would have to go to Protestant or pagan universities”.