AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF HWA NAN WOMEN’S COLLEGE

Unknown to most the seed was sown in 1859 for the development of a women’s college in Foochow (as Fuzhou was then known). The Ladies China Missionary Society located in Baltimore, Maryland, sent two women missionaries to establish a boarding school for girls. By 1880 the school’s leaders were dreaming of a college for women. The Baltimore group merged with a larger Women’s Foreign Missionary Society based in Des Moines, Iowa. It was in 1889 that Miss Lydia Trimble, a young Iowa teacher (age 29), was sent to Foochow to learn Chinese and take a leadership role in starting several boarding middle schools for girls in Fujian Province. As students graduated from these schools, it became evident that a college for further education was needed. In 1904 Lydia appealed to the Missionary Society for financial help to plan and build a new college. She and two other missionaries were commissioned to form a committee of three as well as a Board of Directors to oversee the planning and building of a new college. By 1908 The Hwa Nan College of Letters and Sciences became a reality. The first college class was admitted for a two-year curriculum but by 1917 a four year program was in place. From the start, the college motto was:“Having Received, I ought to Give”

What needs to say here is that opening schools for women was faced with strong opposition. Lydia Trimble became the first President of Hwa Nan College (1908 to 1926). Miss Trimble was born in Ireland, the seventh child of nine children.  She immigrated to the United States and graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. Interestingly, it has never been public knowledge that Lydia’s older brother became the President of Morningside College and Lydia’s nephew (Fred Trimble) was appointed a superintendent of construction of the first Hwa Nan Women’s College buildings. A small hill in Foochow was deemed the right location for the college. With significant fund available Payne Hall and Cranston Hall were built between 1911 and 1917 which are still standing today. During that time a remark was frequently made that “These buildings are far too large. You will not fill them in 50 years.” To the surprise of all, a rapid increase in enrollment 202 in the Preparatory Department and 42 in the College, it was decided to build a dormitory which by 1921 was available under the name of “Lydia Trimble Hall.”

By 1917 the full four-year college program was in place. The first class graduated in 1921 and were sought after to teach in new government schools. Hwa Nan was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, adding to its perceived legitimacy. By 1926 Lydia Trimble had been in China 37 years and had held the Hwa Nan Presidency for 18 years. It was time to step down. A loyal member of the Hwa Nan Women’s College faculty, Dr. Ida Belle Lewis, became the second President but for only two years (1926-1928) because nationalistic and anti-foreign movements led to government orders that all private schools and colleges must have Chinese leadership and that religious propaganda must be excluded.

Miss Lucy Wang became the third President of Hwa Nan in 1929, Hwa Nan’s first Chinese President. Sadly, her years as president were also tumultuous but in a different way.  World War II was looming over China. The Japanese began taking over the country and bombing Fuzhou (1938) that caused Lucy Wang to make a life changing decision. Students, teachers and books were loaded into boats and headed for Nanping, 120 miles inland on the Min River. It was arranged that classes would resume in facilities offered by the Methodist Mission Center located there.  Eight years later (1946) students and faculty returned to Fuzhou to find their beautiful Hwa Nan buildings had been plundered and burned. Classes were resumed wherever possible but there was no money to pay staff members. However, the government granted money for a half a year until other benefactors arrived. Finances from the United States finally began to come in to help in the internal renovating of the Hwa Nan buildings. A feeling of normalcy was beginning to set in.

Until….the Communist Party and the PLA took over Fuzhou in 1949, American faculty gradually left and suddenly, all direct communication and transmission of funds between China and USA became illegal and were severed completely. In 1951, the government merged Hwa Nan with three other colleges to form a new public institution called Fujian Teachers’ University. The faculty and students were simply absorbed into this new institution. The Cultural Revolution began in 1966 which interrupted education yet again. Many colleges and universities were closed. Teachers as well as students were sent to the countryside to work in the fields. The Cultural Revolution ended in 1976. Hwa Nan alumnae now envisioned a new future for Hwa Nan but were sorely disappointed because their original buildins were not returned to them. 

Hwa Nan Women’s College has often been called the Phoenix of higher education in Fujian Province. The phoenix is a Chinese symbol of women and its myth is of rising whole from the ashes of its destruction. Yes, thirty years later, in 1984, a reunion of old Hwa Nan graduates was held culminating in the formation of a committee to plan raise whole a new Hwa Nan Women’s College. Against all odds, in 1985, with a great amount of financial help new Hwa Nan buildings were built on land donated on a hill overlooking the Min River (the river that once saved Hwa Nan students and faculty 47 years ago).  With Dr. Yu Bao Sheng as President, 160 students were enrolled in the first classes. Finally, the dream of a permanent private college became a reality.  As more students enrolled, more classroom buildings were built. When Dr. Yu died, Chen Zhong Ying was President from 1996 to 2003.8. Her leadership brought needed organization to the college structure, adding a Council and preparing for the 100th Anniversary of Hwa Nan Women’s College (2008)

Hwa Nan Women’s College is considered a three year college with its main purpose is to graduate women who can compete in a changing society as productive citizens. When President Chen became ill, Lin Ben Chun was asked to be President for four years. He is given accolades for bringing Hwa Nan in compliance with the new empowering Educational Department. He also was instrumental for having land donated by the provincial government to build a new Hwa Nan campus (in Min Hiu County). As President, Lin Ben Chun oversaw the building of the new campus which took two years. It is a modern campus that rightfully belongs in what is called ‘University City’.  Replacing Lin Benchun in 2008 was Zhang Xunjie as President. Then in 2011 Su Mengna became President for two years. President Ren Jianhong took over in 2013 and has remained the esteemed President of Hwa Nan Women’s College at this writing (2023). At this writing there are over 3,500 students at Hwa Nan. The Fujian Education Department continues to inspect Hwa Nan to guide graduates employment work and conduct surveys and guidance work. There are presently 14 departments and a vocational center. As can be understood after reading the history of Hwa Nan Women’s College that the struggles that presented themselves over the early years have now proven that perseverance, dedication and endurance made Hwa Nan what it is today. We all know because of the strong women (past and present)  that Hwa Nan will never lose its identity again.