Minnie Vautrin
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Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vautrin (September 27, 1886 – May 14, 1941) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
, diarist, educator and president of
Ginling College Ginling College (), also known by its pinyin romanization as Jinling College or Jinling Women's College, is a women's college of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. It offers six undergra ...
. She was a Christian missionary in China for 28 years. She is known for the care and protection of at least 10,000
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refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
during the
Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...
in China, at times even challenging the Japanese authorities for documents in an attempt to protect the civilians staying at her college. After persisting in the Nanking Safety Zone from 1937, she returned to the United States on May 1940. One year later, she sealed her house tightly, turned on the gas and committed suicide in America due to extreme stress and trauma from the Nanjing Massacre. Vautrin was awarded the Emblem of the Blue Jade by the Chinese government for her humanitarian work during the Nanjing Massacre.


Biography

Wilhelmina Vautrin was born in Secor, Illinois on September 27, 1886, to Pauline (née Lohr) and Edmond Louis Vautrin. Her father Edmond, a French immigrant from Lorraine, moved to
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...
in 1883 to undergo a blacksmithing apprenticeship with his uncle, and later moved to Secor, where he married Pauline. Minnie was the second of the couple's three children; her elder brother died as an infant. When Minnie was six years old, her mother died of unrecorded causes. After this, Minnie was sent to several different foster homes. Three years later, the courts permitted her to return home to her father, where she assumed many household chores and excelled in school. Her teacher, commending Vautrin's work at school, later said that "Minnie was a born student...She could excel in most anything she tried, and was a genuinely Christian girl."Hu, Hua-ling. ''American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin''. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000, p. 3. After primary schooling, Vautrin attended Secor High School. During her high school career, Vautrin worked several part-time jobs to save for her schooling and volunteered at local churches. Vautrin was accepted to
Illinois State Normal University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
in
Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...
in 1903. Due to her financial situation, Vautrin had to delay her studies several times to work. When she graduated in 1907, she was ranked first in her class of 93 students and spoke at the commencement ceremonies.Lu, Suping. "Introduction". Terror in Minnie Vautrin's Nanjing. Urbana: University of Chicago Press, 2008: xix. She taught mathematics at LeRoy High School, Illinois before continuing her studies at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. At the University, Vautrin was president of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. She graduated in 1912 as
salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...
of her class with an
A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in Science. The University pastor recommended Vautrin to the recruiters of the
Foreign Christian Missionary Society Foreign Christian Missionary Society (FCMS) was a Christian missionary society established by the Disciples of Christ.Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of ...
, who requested that she replace a teacher in China.
Iris Chang Iris Shun-Ru Chang (March 28, 1968November 9, 2004) was a Chinese American journalist, author of historical books and political activist. She is best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, '' The Rape of Nanking'', an ...
, writer of ''
The Rape of Nanking The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...
'', notes that Vautrin was "Tall and Handsome in her youth, with long dark hair, she was a vivacious and popular woman who attracted numerous suitors," but who decided that instead of getting married she would become a missionary. When Vautrin received this request in 1912, Christian missions to China, facilitated by groups such as the Foreign Christian Missionary Society, had begun to flourish as a result of the treaties ending the
First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
(1840–42) and
Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
(1863-65) that opened Chinese seaports to Christianity. Hua-ling Hu, one of Vautrin's biographers and writer of'' American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin'', writes that "by 1914, about six thousand young Americans went to foreign countries as missionaries, over one-third of them to China." Vautrin accepted the Foreign Christian Missionary Society's request to develop a girls' school in China, and when she was 26 years old, she traveled to
Hofei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
to establish the San Ching Girls' Middle School. During her time at the school the number of pupils increased and a high school department was added. In Hofei, Vautrin also met her future fiancé, a fellow American missionary whose name is unknown. In 1918, after serving for a period of six years in China, Minnie returned to the United States for furlough. She enrolled in
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City to pursue a
Master's degree in Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
, which she received in 1919. While at Columbia University, Vautrin was approached by a teacher from
Ginling College Ginling College (), also known by its pinyin romanization as Jinling College or Jinling Women's College, is a women's college of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. It offers six undergra ...
, and was asked to serve as president of the institution for one year. The college was the third institution founded by a group of American missionaries who sought to "establish four woman's colleges in China — one each in north, central, west, and south."Feng, Jin. The Making of a Family Saga: Ginling College. Albany: SUNY University Press, 2009, p. 28. Vautrin postponed her wedding for one year in order to become the acting president at Ginling College in 1919. However, she later broke off her engagement and never married.Hu, Hua-Ling, ''American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin''. Southern Illinois University Press, April 2000; , pp. 90, 95-96. At Ginling College, Vautrin decided to extend her one-year agreement. She created courses on education administration and management, an innovative student-teaching program, and handled the planning and funding of the new campus by the West Gate of Nanking. During the fall semester of 1922, Vautrin hosted a fundraiser to build an elementary school for 150 local, mostly illiterate children who lived in the homes near Ginling College's campus. The biographer Hua-ling Hu writes that, while at Ginling College, Minnie "attempted to lead the students to fulfill the spirit of Ginling's motto, 'abundant life,' by making them walk out of the 'ivory tower' to see and understand the suffering of the poor and by encouraging them to devote their lives for the betterment of the society." However, some of the college's staff members and students did not support Vautrin's method, who found her overbearing, conservative, and self-righteous. This may be due to her "watchful and interfering administrative style." In 1926, after Vautrin returned from a brief visit to her family in America, the Chinese Nationalist government's
Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
troops under General
Chiang Kai-Shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
captured Nanking. While in Nanking, the army perpetrated the Nanking Incident, which involved the destruction and looting of the city and the slaughter of native citizens as well as foreigners. Ginling College was not harmed during the looting, and Vautrin hid in the college's attic with a few others while Chiang Kai-shek's troops were on Ginling's campus. The Nanking Incident deterred many American missionaries from serving in China, and many left the country. However, Vautrin remained at Ginling College, and served as its president until the Nationalist government mandated that all colleges in China have native-born presidents. She was replaced by a Ginling graduate, Dr.
Wu Yi-fang Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county ...
, in September 1928. In 1931, Vautrin returned to the United States on furlough and in order to care for her aging father. She returned to Ginling in 1932. On June 21, 1937, Vautrin received word that her father, Edmond, had died at the age of 83. Upon hearing of the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...
in 1937, Vautrin cancelled her planned furlough, scheduled for 1938, and immediately returned to Nanking from Tokyo in order to protect Ginling College and its students. Vautrin prepared intensely for the approaching
Imperial Japanese army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
. She made arrangements to prepare the campus by sending records to Shanghai, purchased supplies, instructed students and faculty on emergency precautions, cleaned out and converting rooms in campus buildings for storage and refuge, and ordered the building of trenches. The first Japanese air raid on Nanking took place on August 15, 1937. As a result of the raid, the American embassy arranged for the evacuation of Americans from the city. In her diary, Vautrin wrote that she felt compelled to stay in Nanking:
I personally feel that I cannot leave... Men are not asked to leave their ships when they are in danger and women are not asked to leave their children.
By September, only three Ginling students remained on campus. Due to financial strains, the salaries of the fifteen remaining faculty members at Ginling College were halved. Anticipating a direct Japanese assault on the city, the foreigners who chose to stay in Nanking organized the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone (ICNSZ) on November 15, 1937. The committee requested that the Japanese and Chinese governments treat a refugee zone of Nanking as neutral, and both nations agreed and granted the ICNSZ neutrality. The Japanese placed one condition on the neutrality, requiring that the neutral zone would be made void if Chinese military personnel were found hiding within it. In the first few nights of the Japanese attack on the city, 850 refugees came to Ginling College, which was designated as one of the twenty-five refugee camps in Nanking. When the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
took complete control of Nanking in December 1937, she and other foreign nationals—including John Rabe—worked to protect civilians in the
Nanking Safety Zone The Nanking Safety Zone (; '', Nankin Anzenku'', or , ''Nankin Anzenchitai'') was a demilitarized zone for Chinese civilians set up on the eve of the Japanese breakthrough in the Battle of Nanking (December 13, 1937). Following the example of Jesu ...
. Ginling College took up its full role as a refugee haven, at times harboring up to 10,000 women in buildings designed to support between 200 and 300. During this period, Vautrin wrote fairly frequently in her diary. One of her entries was a prayer:
Oh, God, control the cruel beastliness of the soldiers in Nanking tonight, comfort the heartbroken mothers and fathers whose innocent sons have been shot today, and guard the young women and girls through the long agonizing hours of this night. Speed the day when wars shall be no more. When thy Kingdom will come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When all other refugee camps closed on February 4, 1938, a large number of women and children again sought refuge at the college and a census in mid-March showed 3,310 refugees were resident there. Vautrin would patrol the campus grounds and repel incursions of Japanese soldiers into the college and rescue and care for refugees. She saw to the burial of the dead and the reception of newborn babies and was successful in tracing missing husbands and sons. Industrial or crafts classes were provided for women who had lost their husbands, so that they might support themselves. One hundred women graduated under this program. Vautrin recounted the war in her diary in 1937:
There probably is no crime that has not been committed in this city today. Thirty girls were taken from language school last night, and today I have heard scores of heartbreaking stories of girls who were taken from their homes last night—one of the girls was but 12 years old. Food, bedding and money have been taken from people. … I suspect every house in the city has been opened, again and yet again, and robbed. Tonight a truck passed in which there were eight or ten girls, and as it passed they called out "救命!救命! Jiuming! Jiuming!"—save our lives. The occasional shots that we hear out on the hills, or on the street, make us realize the sad fate of some man—very probably not a soldier.
On 19 December:
In my wrath, I wished I had the power to smite them for their dastardly work. How ashamed women of Japan would be if they knew these tales of horror.
In 1938, she wrote in her diary that she had to go to the Japanese embassy repeatedly from December 18 to January 13 to get proclamations to prohibit Japanese soldiers from committing crimes at Ginling because the soldiers tore the documents up before taking women away. Near the end of her service at Ginling College, Vautrin wrote several entries that lacked her previous determination and optimism. Among these was April 14, 1940:
I'm about at the end of my energy. Can no longer forge ahead and make plans for the work, for on every hand there seems to be obstacles of some kind.
In the spring of 1940, suffering from severe stress probably due to worry about the fate of Ginling College and its students, Vautrin was accompanied back to the United States by a colleague. After attempting to commit suicide using sleeping pills, Vautrin appeared to recover for a short while. However, she later committed suicide by turning on the
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
stove in her apartment in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. She was 54 years old. One entry in her journal, recorded shortly before her death, displays her devotion to Ginling College and the people of China, whom she served for 28 years as a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
missionary:
Had I ten perfect lives, I would give them all to China.
Resting Place: Salt River Cemetery, 9433 South Shepherd Rd., Shepherd, MI 48883, Michigan, USA


Legacy

Vautrin was awarded the Order of Brilliant Jade on July 30, 1938 by the Chinese government for her sacrifices during the Nanjing Massacre. Her work saving the lives of Chinese civilians during the massacre is recounted in the biographical book, ''
American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking ''American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin'' is a biographical book about American missionary Minnie Vautrin and her experience of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937–1938. Written by historian Hua-ling Hu and published in ...
'', written by historian Hua-Ling Hu. In the 2007 documentary film '' Nanking'', Vautrin was portrayed by actress Mariel Hemingway, who recited excerpts from Vautrin's diary. The
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is a museum to memorialize those that were killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army in and around the then-capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell on ...
is a museum built by the Nanjing Municipal Government to memorialize the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing massacre, the survivors, and those who tried to protect the people of Nanjing during the atrocity. In the museum, there is a memorial to Minnie Vautrin. Additionally, there is a statue of Vautrin in Jinling Women's College, among memorials to the other non-Chinese individuals who helped to protect the college and its inhabitants during the Nanjing massacre. The hardcore band
Hiretsukan Hiretsukan (from the ja, 卑劣漢 meaning "vicious man" or "despicable person") was an American, New York-based band, that formed in 1998 just outside Washington, D.C., United States. In the following years, they recorded their "Brown Bag" demo ...
honors Wilhelmina Vautrin in their song "Song For Wilhelmina Vautrin" on their 2005 record ''End States''.


Other

She is depicted in Lu Chuan's 2009 film ''
City of Life and Death ''City of Life and Death'' is a 2009 Chinese drama film written and directed by Lu Chuan, marking his third feature film. The film deals with the Battle of Nanjing and the following massacre committed by the Japanese army during the Second World W ...
''. In the 2009 film '' John Rabe'', Minnie Vautrin is replaced by the fictive Valérie Dupres of an "International Girls College" as an important fellow Nanking Safety Zone committee member. In ''
Nanjing Requiem ''Nanjing Requiem'' is a 2011 novel by Ha Jin, about the Nanjing Massacre. Background Ha Jin wrote this novel in English, his second language. The author consulted the journals of Minnie Vautrin and other works for research. Contents The book ...
'', a 2011 novel by Chinese-born writer and Boston University professor
Ha Jin Jin Xuefei (; born February 21, 1956) is a Chinese-American poet and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin (). ''Ha'' comes from his favorite city, Harbin. His poetry is associated with the Misty Poetry movement. Early life Ha Jin was born in L ...
, Ha writes from the perspective of a fictionalized assistant to Vautrin named Anling Gao. Minnie Vautrin's diaries provided inspiration for the novella ''13 Flowers of Nanjing'' written by
Geling Yan Geling Yan (; born 16 November 1958) is a Chinese-American author and screenwriter. Early life Yan was born in Shanghai, China in 1958. She is the second child of Yan Dunxun and Jia Lin. She has an elder brother Yan Geping (严歌平). Her fath ...
, which was the basis for the 2011 film ''
The Flowers of War ''The Flowers of War'' () is a 2011 Chinese-Hong Kong historical drama war film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi and Cao Kefan. The film is based on a novella by Gel ...
'' (金陵十三釵; pinyin: ''Jīnlíng Shísān Chāi''), directed by
Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...
.


See also

* ''
Finding Iris Chang ''Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind'' is a biography of Iris Chang, author of the best-selling history book, '' The Rape of Nanking''. Written by Chang's friend, journalist Paula Kamen, and published ...
'' * '' Nanking'' * John Magee (priest) * John Rabe


Citations


General bibliography

* Chang, Iris, '' The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II'', foreword by William C. Kirby. Penguin USA, 1998. (paperback) * Hu, Hua-Ling, ''American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin''. Southern Illinois University Press, 2000. * Lutz, Jessie Gregory. "Vautrin, Minnie" ''American National Biography'' (1999
Vautrin, Minnie (1886-1941), missionary to China
* Secor Centennial Committee, "The Minnie Vautrin Story," in ''The Secor Centennial Book, 1857–1957,'' 1957 * Treudley, Mary Bosworth. ''This stinging exultation'' (Asian folklore and social life monographs) (1972)


Primary sources

* Hu, Hua-ling, and Zhang Lian-hong. ''Undaunted Women of Nanking: The Wartime Diaries of Minnie Vautrin and Tsen Shui-fang'' (Southern Illinois Press, 2010). * Vautrin, Minnie. ''Terror in Minnie Vautrin's Nanjing: Diaries and Correspondence, 1937–38'' (University of Illinois Press, 2008).


Further reading

Novels about the Nanking Massacre, inspired by or featuring Vautrin: * Galbraith, Douglas (2006). ''A Winter in China''. * Kent, Kevin (2006).
Nanking
', BookSurge Publishing. .


External links




"Google books copy of Minnie Vautin's diary"

Original diaries of Vautrin
The Nanking Massacre Project, Yale Divinity School Library * Hu, Hua-ling
"Minnie Vautrin"
National Women's History Museum. 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vautrin, Minnie 1886 births 1941 suicides American expatriates in China American humanitarians American Protestant missionaries Female Christian missionaries Illinois State University alumni People assisting Chinese during the Nanjing Massacre People from Woodford County, Illinois Protestant missionaries in China Suicides by gas Suicides in Indiana Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Columbia University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre Women humanitarians Women in war in China Women in World War II