1. The Origins of World Quakerism (1640s)
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) emerged in mid-17th century England. Its founder, George Fox (1624–1691), was the son of a weaver. Devout from childhood, he grew deeply disillusioned with the formalism of the established church.
In 1647, during a time of intense inner struggle, Fox heard a voice: "There is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition." This experience transformed his life. He began travelling across England, preaching a radical message: there is "that of God" in every person — all may know the divine directly, without priests, sacraments, or church as intermediaries.
"Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come… that you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone." — George Fox, 1656
Because early members often trembled under spiritual conviction during prayer, they were mockingly called "Quakers." The nickname was later embraced and has stuck ever since.
Early Quakers suffered severe persecution in England — they refused to swear oaths, pay tithes, or remove their hats before social superiors, all of which were seen as challenges to the social order. Fox himself was imprisoned eight times. Many Friends emigrated; most notably William Penn, who in 1681 received a royal charter to establish Pennsylvania as a Quaker haven. Philadelphia became known as the "Quaker City."
2. The Quaker Spirit
Quakers have no creed, no clergy, and no set liturgy. Their gathering is called "Meeting for Worship": Friends sit together in deep silence, waiting for inner leading. If someone is moved, they stand and share; if not, the silence continues until the meeting ends.
This unique practice grows from a core conviction: revelation is ongoing. God has not stopped speaking. Any person — regardless of status, gender, or race — may receive a divine message in the silence.
Quaker social concern runs deep. In the 18th century, John Woolman campaigned against slavery decades before the wider abolitionist movement. Quakers were also among the earliest advocates of gender equality and opponents of war. These practices were later distilled into six testimonies (SPICES): Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship.
3. Quakers Come to China (1887)
Two Quaker branches entered China: one American, one British.
American Friends' Mission
In 1887, the American Friends' Mission sent a female medical missionary, Esther H. Butler (义白礼), to China. She first resided in Nanjing, working as a nurse at the Methodist Episcopal Mission's Jinling Hospital. The mission's headquarters was in Mount Gilead, Alliance, Ohio, and it belonged to the Friends tradition.
Butler was succeeded by the Chinese pastor Gao Zhu (高竹). Under Gao's leadership, the American Friends' Mission expanded to several cities. According to Wang Zhixin's "Outline History of Christianity in China," the Quaker mission "had significant ministries in Changsha, Wuchang, Wuwei, Lintan, and Wuzhou."
British Friends' Foreign Mission Association (FFMA)
Unlike the American Quakers, the British FFMA focused on Sichuan in the southwest. British Quakers co-founded the renowned West China Union University (predecessor of today's West China Medical Center, Sichuan University). The Quaker architect Fred Rowntree (1860–1927) designed the Huaxiba campus, blending the symmetry, balance, and simplicity of Quaker architecture with the grace of traditional Sichuan buildings — a landmark of East-West fusion.
Quaker architectural style shares a natural affinity with traditional Chinese architecture — both value symmetry, balance, and parallel lines. Rowntree boldly integrated these Quaker features into the university design, achieving "the most natural harmony and acceptance."
4. Arriving in Changsha, Hunan
Hunan was China's most conservative province, with the strongest anti-foreign sentiment. The Cambridge History of China notes: "By 1890, missionaries were living in every province except Hunan." Changsha did not open to foreigners until 1903, under Western pressure.
Against this backdrop, the American Friends' Mission's decision to establish a station in Changsha required great courage. Sadly, due to the Quakers' inherently low-key style and Hunan's long-standing exclusionary tradition, very few written records of Quaker activity in Changsha survive. What we can confirm:
- The American Friends' Mission maintained a station in Changsha;
- It was overseen from the Nanjing headquarters and belonged to the Friends tradition;
- Specifics — missionary names, meeting house address, membership numbers — remain under investigation.
Compared to other missionary bodies in Hunan (the China Inland Mission, Yale-in-China, the London Missionary Society), Quaker records in Changsha are remarkably sparse. This reflects both the Quaker testimony of simplicity ("be salt and light") and Hunan's特殊性 as an "iron gate" — foreign faiths took root here with exceptional difficulty.
5. Arriving at My Home
A century later, the Quaker spirit continues in Changsha in a different form.
I am Song Zhuo (宋琢), a native of Changsha. I first encountered Quaker thought through the words "there is that of God in everyone" — and was deeply moved. It resonates so strongly with the Chinese concept of "liangzhi" (innate knowing). Wang Yangming said "liangzhi is the heavenly principle"; Mencius said "all may become Yao and Shun." Eastern and Western sages, in turning inward, arrive at the same place.
And so, in my home in Changsha, we began a small "meeting" — no pastor, no ritual, just a few friends sitting together, quietly waiting, listening for the voice within. This is the beginning of Changsha Friends Meeting.
We do not know exactly what the Quaker missionaries in Changsha did a century ago, or where they went. But we believe the light has never gone out. It may be in a yellowed diary, in an old person's memory — or perhaps, right now, in the silence where we sit together, it is being rekindled.
If you are interested in Quakerism, or if you know any clues about the history of Quakers in Hunan, please get in touch.
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