China; Chinese -- United States -- Education; Education -- China; Yung, Wing, 1828-1912
During my first year in the Monson Academy, I had no idea of taking a
collegiate course. It was well understood that I was to return to China
at the end of 1849, and the appropriation was made to suit such a plan.
In the fall of 1848, after Wong Shing--the eldest of the three of
us--had returned to China on account of his poor health, Wong Foon and
myself, who were left behind to continue our studies for another year,
frequently met to talk over future plans for the end of the prescribed
time. We both decided finally to stay in this country to continue our
studies, but the question arose, who was going to back us financially
after 1849? This was the Gordian Knot. We concluded to consult Mr.
Hammond and Mr. Brown on the subject. They both decided to have the
matter referred to our patrons in Hong Kong. Reply came that if we
wished to prosecute our studies after 1849, they would be willing to
continue their support through a professional course, if we were willing
to go over to Scotland to go through the University of Edinburgh. This
was a generous and noble-hearted proposal.
Wong Foon, on his part, after much deliberation, decided to accept the
offer and go over to Scotland at the end of 1849, while, on my part, I
preferred to remain in this country to continue my studies here with the
view of going to Yale. Wong Foon’s decision had relieved him of all
financial anxieties, while the problem of how I was to pay my education
bills after 1849, still remained to be solved. But I did not allow the
perplexities of the future to disturb my peace of mind. I threw all my
anxieties to the wind, trusting to a wise Providence to care for my
future, as it had done for my past.
Wong Foon and I, having taken our decisive steps, dropped our English
studies at the close of the school year of 1849, and in the fall of the
same year we began the A B C’s of our classical course. In the summer of
1850, we graduated from the academy. Wong Foon, by previous
arrangements, went over to Scotland and entered the University of
Edinburgh. I remained in this country and finally entered Yale. It was
fully a decade since we had met for the first time in the Morrison
School in Macao, in 1840, to become school-mates as well as class-mates.
Now that link was broken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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