Th e Making of Manhood among Swedish Missionaries in China and Mongolia, c. 1890–c. 1914 Studies in Christian Mission General Editors Marc R. Spindler (Leiden University) Heleen L. Murre-van den Berg (Leiden University) Editorial Board Peggy Brock (Edith Cowan University) James Grayson (University of Sheffi eld) David Maxwell (Keele University) VOLUME 36 Th e Making of Manhood among Swedish Missionaries in China and Mongolia, c. 1890–c. 1914 By Erik Sidenvall LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 Cover illustration: Swedish C&MA Missionaries in 1899. Otto Öberg is second from the left , back row; Elisabeth is placed in front of him. Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sidenvall, Erik. Th e making of manhood among Swedish missionaries in China and Mongolia, c. 1890–c. 1914 / by Erik Sidenvall. p. cm. — (Studies in Christian mission, ISSN 0924-9389 ; v. 36) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17408-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Missionaries—China— Biography. 2. Missionaries—Mongolia—Biography. 3. Missionaries—Sweden— Biography. 4. Masculinity—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. II. Series. BV3427.A1S53 2009 266’.0234850510922—dc22 [B] 2009010952 Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation for the fi nancial support that made this publication possible. ISSN 0924-9389 ISBN 978 90 04 17408 5 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS List of Illustrations ............................................................................ vii Acknowledgements ............................................................................ ix Abbreviations ..................................................................................... xiii Note on Spelling ................................................................................ xv Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Chapter One Th e Swedish Missionary Revival in Context ..... 23 Chapter Two A Public Missionary and a Domestic Man— Olof Bingmark, 1875–1900 .......................................................... 47 Chapter Th ree Extending a Male Private Sphere— Otto Öberg, 1869–1917 ................................................................ 69 Chapter Four Th e Making of a Domestic Adventurer— Frans August Larson, 1870–1957 ............................................... 93 Chapter Five Education and the Problem of Missionary Self-Making—Alfred Fagerholm, 1871–1923 ........................... 115 Chapter Six Masculinising Missions—Consequences and Departures ...................................................................................... 137 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 159 Appendix ............................................................................................. 165 Bibliography ........................................................................................ 173 Index .................................................................................................... 185 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Swedish C&MA Missionaries in 1899 .......................... 90 Figure 2. Frans August Larson in the late 1920s (used with permission from Albert Bonnier Publishing Co.) ................... 109 Figure 3. Alfred Fagerholm c. 1912 .............................................. 131 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing about Christian missions oft en has a personal dimension. Many of my colleagues in the fi eld have had direct experiences of missionary work, or they may have been brought up in a family where the parents served as missionaries, or they may have received some of their edu- cation at a mission school. I do not share this background. Yet, I still can recall that, as a child, it was my worst fear that I was to become a missionary. How could this have happened? I realise, of course, that the subject of missionary work was present when I was brought up during the 1970s. Both my parents, now sadly lost, had been brought up in a spirit of fervent Protestant revivalism. I still can recall how my paternal grandmother, a Pentecostal, did her best to nourish a missionary spirit when she came and visited us; my maternal grandmother, who was a stalwart supporter of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, did her best to further the cause of missionary work in a more quiet way. So the theme of Christian missions is found in my background as well, and, though my vision of missionary work has changed since childhood, I would probably not have been writing this book if it would not have been for the feeling of fear and amazement instilled in me during the fi rst years of my life. A further push towards missionary studies was given by the late Lars Österlin, who had served as Professor of World Christianity at Lund University, and who generously treated me to lunches when I was a doctoral candidate. We spent pleasant hours in discussion together; I was given the opportunity to be tutored by a man who had been born by missionary parents in China and who had been supervised, in his youth, by, ‘the great’, Kenneth Scott Latourette. A more direct impact on this volume has come from Professor Yvonne Maria Werner at the Department of History at Lund University. She organised, and has since acted as congenial co-ordinator of the international ‘Christian manliness’ project within which this book was born. Generous support has been provided by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation; the Tercentenary Foundation has also sup- ported the publication of this volume. An inspiring crowd of people have taken part in our gatherings both in Sweden and in Italy; discussions have oft en been loud and animated, but never boring and unreward- ing. Olaf Blaschke, Callum Brown, Anders Jarlert, Inger Littberger, x acknowledgements Hugh McLeod, Elin Malmer, Alexander Maurits, Marit Monteiro, Anna Prestjan and David Tjeder have all generously contributed with comments on my early draft s. In addition to these valued colleagues a number of experts in the fi elds of World Christianity, Sinology and Imperial studies have contributed with advise or detailed commentary; among these Alvyn Austin, Leif Lindin, David Kerr (R.I.P.), Roy Porter, Dana Robert, Rhonda Anne Semple, Brian Stanley and Gary Tidemann deserves a special word of appreciation. At an early date Anna Maria Claesson, whose dissertation has made my own studies possible, gener- ously contributed with suggestions and advise. Like most works of history this book would not come into being if it would not have been for the skill and ceaseless energy of numerous librarians and archivists. Th e librarians and custodians of Cambridge University Library, Emigrantinstitutet (Växjö), Jönköpings länsmuseum, Missionskyrkans arkiv (Stockholm), Riksarkivet (Stockholm) and the archive of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, have all contributed to making research trips both valuable and enjoyable. Nick Nole of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship granted per- mission to use sources from its London-based archive; Peter Meadows has authorised my use of sources housed at the Bible Society Library, Cambridge University Library. Permission to use his grandfather’s manuscripts has been granted by Per Fagerholm. Jim Larson and his cousins have with enthusiasm allowed me to make extensive use of the autobiography of ‘the Duke’; Virginia W. Hart has been equally generous in allowing me to quote from her grandmother’s unpublished letters. Axel Odelberg made available his copies of the Larson papers and spared me a trip to the US. A Swedish version of Chapter Two appeared in Yvonne Maria Werner (ed.), Kristen manlighet: ideal och verklighet 1830–1940 (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2008); the people at Nordic Academic Press have allowed me to reprint an English version in this volume. During the fi nal stages of my work the people at Brill stepped in with energy and expertise to turn my manuscript into a book. Ingeborg van der Laan, and later Maarten Frieswijk, did not only swift ly and cheer- fully respond to all my e-mails, but also co-ordinated the tasks needed for a book to materialise of which the present writer knows so little. Anonymous readers contributed with encouraging and insightful com- ments. Th e editors of Studies in Christian Mission deserve my gratitude for including this volume in their prestigious series. acknowledgements xi At last, I have of course to return again to those closest at heart. Without a family that off er, at the same time, both support and perspective, I would not have been able to conclude this study. In spite of hectic schedules, my in-laws, Jan and Birgitta, have given extra support dur- ing times of travel. My wife Erika has with love and patience