The George W. and Clara Sargent Shepherd papers provide an intimate look at Chiang Kai-Shek and China through the eyes of a Congregationalist minister. The papers also document the experience of a missionary family living in China between 1919 and 1939. This collection will be used by those seeking information about China from an American/Australian Christian perspective during a time of great change within China. Shepherd's writings include correspondence, memoranda, notes, and manuscript of Shepherd's book about Chiang Kai-Shek and China. The New Life Movement in China materials include promotional materials, photographs, maps, and missionary records.
George W. Shepherd served as a Congregationalist missionary in China between 1919 and 1939 during which time he became intimately involved in that country's political workings. Shepherd worked mainly in the Fukien region, though he traveled due to professional assignments and the political climate. Shepherd became proficient in the Chinese language and worked to spread Christianity around the Chinese countryside. While in China, Shepherd married Dr. Clara Sargent. She travelled to China on her own and studied at a language schoo, where she met Shpeherd. The couple had five children.
During Shepherd's time as a missionary China experienced much political turmoil. Both the Communist and Nationalist parties raised armies and fighting broke out across China as both factions sought dominance. Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of the Nationalist party, gained control of the country in 1928. The Nationalists were largely anti-Western and anti-Communist and instead embraced Confucianism and other traditional Chinese influences.
Shepherd's close connection with Chinese politics developed during the latter half of his time in China as the result of his work with Chiang Kai-Shek's wife, known as Madame Kai-Shek, and the New Life Movement she supported. The New Life Movement sought to blend Chinese moral values found in Confucianism along with some Christianity and had a heavy nationalist influence. George Shepherd focused primarily on the Christianity piece and sought to spread Christianity to as many Chinese citizens as possible through the New Life Movement.
George Shepherd and his family eventually had to leave China in 1939 because of the looming Second World War; however he continued to speak about his time in China and even wrote a book that was never published about his experiences. He also collected his letters and writings from the time and kept them together. Dr. Clara Sargent Shepherd was a prolific writer. She wrote about the family's experiences in an unpublished memoir.
