History: Canton Christian College and Its Development

Photograph of buildings across a large grassy courtyard

Permanent school buildings of Lingnan University

Permanent school buildings showing, from the left, Third Dormitory of Middle School, First Dormitory of Middle School, Martin Hall, Grant Hall, Jackson Lodge, Blackstone Lodge, McCormick Lodge No. 2, Swasey Hall, and Second Dormitory of Middle School.

Lots of wooden benches under a high roof

Examination House during the Qing Dynasty

During the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, the education system in China underwent drastic changes, and that of Guangdong was no exception. By the time of the Qing Dynasty, traditional government schools and most old-style academies had been reduced to nothing but a stepping platform to the civil service examination system. After the Opium War, traditional economic and cultural institutions in China had been greatly undermined. Chinese people witnessed the power and prosperity of the West and began to doubt the traditional Chinese education system.

In 1888, a group of American missionaries established Canton Christian College in Guangzhou (Canton), China. At the request of the American Presbyterian Mission in Canton, Andrew Happer (1818-1894), a Presbyterian missionary and the first president of the college, aimed to open a non-denominational institution, while integrating Presbyterian values within the college.

Petition written by the Guangdong gentry in Chinese with an English translation

Petition by the Guangdong gentry, led by Li Hongzhang, to the Board of Lingnan Trustees requesting the establishment of Canton Christian College in Guangzhou

Photograph of a field with a river and a mountain in the background

The Kangle Garden at the Bank of the Pearl River, where the Lingnan campus was located.

Andrew Happer in a suit with a large beard

Andrew Happer, the founder of Canton Christian College

In its early phase, Canton Christian College was very small, with less than a score of students. The courses offered were English, the Bible, and natural sciences. The College offered only a four-year preparatory school system (became the middle-school program later) and first- and second-year university courses.

Wooden buildings connected by covered walkways

Log cabins of Canton Christian College, which were the only two campus buildings used as a multipurpose compound for classrooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms

Three story building with people in light colored clothing standing along the balconies on all three stories

Classrooms in Martin Hall, the first permanent building of Canton Christian College used as a classroom building as well as middle school and primary school at the same time

Eight people sitting in a semicircle around a desk

Administrative meeting at the president’s office

When an anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising, known as the Boxer Rebellion, broke out in North China between 1899 and 1901, the College moved to Macau, then a Portuguese colony, in 1900 to escape the repressive measures implemented by the ruling Qing Dynasty. In 1903, the Chinese name was changed to 嶺南學堂 (Lingnan School, literally) in Macau, while maintaining the English name, the Canton Christian College. The college moved back to Canton in 1904.

Eighteen people standing and sitting in three rows

1903-1904 Class at Canton Christian College

Long one story brick building, with two people standing outside

Lingnan Hospital of Canton Christian College

In the early twentieth century, the College had expanded dramatically, with hundreds of students, and more courses such as Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, History, Geography, and Christianity were included into the school curriculum. In particular, the English textbook compiled by its teachers became very popular in China and was widely used in middle schools across the nation. In the early years of the Republic, Canton Christian College surpassed all other higher education institutions in Guangdong in scale, expertise, facilities, and quality of teaching.

Students standing and sitting in a classroom, with another person standing in front of them with a globe

Early Lingnan students attending a geography class

Group photograph of people standing and sitting in rows

All faculty and staff of Lingnan University, 1914-1915

Three people in academic robes and mortar boards holding rolled papers

First class of graduates from the College of Arts and Science. 1918

The history of Canton Christian College, later renamed Lingnan University, as well as activites of Trustees of Lingnan University in New York is well documented by a series of publications by the Lingnan alumni and faculty members.

Cover of "Lingnan University: A Short History Based Primarily on the Records of the University’s American Trustees"

Corbett, Charles Hodge. Lingnan University: A Short History Based Primarily on the Records of the University’s American Trustees (New York: Trustees of Lingnan University, 1963). This history book is a comprehensive work on documenting the origins, foundation, development, and closing of Lingnan University in Guangzhou from the late 19th century to 1950.

Cover of "Modern Education in Guangdong and Lingnan University" with a photograph of two people

Ju-yan, Huang. ed. Modern Education in Guangdong and Lingnan University, (Hong Kong: The Commercial Press, 1995). In addition to a short summary on the history of Lingnan University, this book includes a large number of photos of the educational system of the late Qing Dynasty and Lingnan University from the late 19th-century to the 1930s.

Flyer titled "Origins of Lingnan University" with photographs and some text

Origins of Lingnan University showing a short history of Lingnan University and its photos

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