In 1887, British missionary S. Pollard was sent to the mountainous areas of southwestern China to start his career. In 1904, when he visited a small Miao village, he was attracted by their unique culture and silver jewelry art. Finally he made a decision to stay there.

At that time, the Miao lived in extreme poverty and were enslaved by the local nobles. The first thing Pollard decided to do was set up a church and a school.

He went to visit a local noble to buy a piece of land to found the church and school. The noble asked him how much land he wanted. Pollard said he only needed a piece of land as big as a cowhide. The noble thought it was funny, and promised to give Pollard that piece of land for free. So they signed a contract.

Later Pollard used a chemical to make a cowhide into fine threads, and when they were all set out they measured one square kilometer!

Soon churches and schools were built up on this land. The local Miao people learned Chinese, English, science, math, and basic knowledge of hygiene at the schools for free. The oldest student was 46 years old, and the youngest was only 8.

Pollard often dressed him up with the ethnic Miao garment, and he was very interested in learning the Miao language from his disciples. The Miao didn’t have a written script at that time. So Pollard worked together with his disciples and created Miao letters based on English and Chinese characters. The Bible was translated and printed in this Miao language. More and more people became Christian, and they went to Pollard’s school to learn the Miao script. Even today, this form of writing is still used by the Miao people.

Pollard also built hospitals, swimming pools, and soccer fields on the land. Some of these historic sites are still kept today.

Pollard helped the local people repair roads, build house, and improve their spinning machines. A safe and environmental friendly stove invented by Pollard was widely used instead of the old one which consumed lots of wood. People called him LaMeng, which means King of the Miao.

On September 16, 1915, Pollard died of typhoid at the age of 51. Lots of local people attended his funeral.

But the education he brought changed the life of the Miao. Thousands of students finished their primary school education. About 200 finished high school. 30 students went to colleges in other areas of China, and one of them later became a doctor. In this remote village with so many illiterate people, Pollard created a wonder.

Today, Christianity still has an overwhelming influence among the Miao. If you examine their batik, silver jewelry, and embroidery art, you can find lots of patterns that come from the stories of the Bible.

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