Author: evelynh

Hello blog,

This week, I dug through the rest of boxes 3 and 4 which held a lot of interesting information about Pettus’ activities during WWII. Though the California College in China was likely founded without the explicit intention of partnering with the US military during a time of war, the majority of documents from the period of the second Sino-Japanese War and WWII detail Pettus’ attempts to keep the CCIC open and collaboration with various military officials.

In addition to these exceptionally historically rich documents, I found several documents that detail CCIC’s approach to teaching Chinese to Western students. These texts are interesting because they reflect a different approach to language pedagogy.

Further, I found a “Welfare Map of Peking also showing other points of interest” which depicts the inner ring of Beijing. It’s interesting to note that the CCIC was established within this inner ring, indicating a relatively central position in the city, as present-day Beijing has upwards of seven rings. The caricatures of Chinese people contrast with the Chinese-language depictions mentioned last week. Those pictures are more humanizing and dynamic. Here, the Chinese figures function as decorations and ‘immerse’ the viewer in the Oriental atmosphere of this exotic, walled city.

Despite Pettus’ decades in China, the CCIC was still an American institution engaging with what was perceived, at the time, as a completely foreign and exotic society. These dynamics are well preserved in the correspondence, rhetoric, and materials of the CCIC.

Happy Halloween,

Evelyn Hao

Hello blog,

After a restful fall break, I returned to the Pettus Papers to sort through the rest of boxes. In between the correspondence about college funding and recruiting visiting professors, there are several reports to the Trustees regarding the Japanese invasion of China. The California College in China was based in Beijing, but during the war, it temporarily moved to Berkeley. Pettus’ documents show the chaos, disorganization, and fear permeated Beijing as Japanese planes flew overhead, and contradicting statements were given by Chinese and American militaries.

As an American missionary, Pettus was also in close contact with several US State Department and US Army officials. He strongly advocated on behalf of the CCIC and the necessity of training military officials to best ally with Chinese troops against the Japanese invasion. While the majority of the documents are purportedly focused on ‘education’, the clear military and political stressors of the time become more obvious as I dig further into his correspondence.

Additionally, Pettus kept several Chinese cartoons and calligraphy examples.

The clear brushwork and Wade-Giles transliteration reflect the systems of teaching Chinese in place at the time. As Pettus argued that the CCIC was essential for military training, his personal affects indicate a deep interest for Chinese calligraphy and popular media.

Trying to read seal script,

Evelyn Hao

Hello blog,

My name is Evelyn, and I am a senior at Pomona College! Last semester, I volunteered at the Claremont Colleges Library and began to document all of the correspondence in the Pettus Papers. William B. Pettus was born in 1880, and he spent his life working with missionary groups to establish stronger ties between the United States and China. In 1929, he organized the California College in China (CCIC), based in Beijing, with the goal of educating primarily American students in the Chinese language, culture, and history. After the outbreak of World War II, Pettus relocated the CCIC to Berkeley, California.

This semester, my primary goal will be to catalogue all of the correspondence in Pettus’ papers and ensure that future researchers find the collection easy and intuitive to use. These boxes contain thousands of papers that provide a unique perspective as an American in China as Japan began its invasion of Manchuria. As I process more of the collection, I hope to uncover more about CCIC’s ties to the US military and war effort, as well as more information on one of the most significant figures in pre-WWII US-China relations.

I’ve just gotten started reboxing, recording, and reorganizing the collection, and as I find new and interesting material, I hope to share it here!

Peace and love,

Evelyn Hao