Section 2 - Education with a Purpose 教育的使命

As a member of the West China mission in Sichuan, Jim gained prominence through his educational work among China’s cultural and political elite. His innovative “Direct Method” English course was so successful that it earned him a position at Chongqing University, where he encountered like-minded educational reformers.   

 In 1939, he became an advisor for the New Life Movement, initiated by President Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling. This movement attempted to combine Christian and Confucian understandings of self-cultivation through a revival of traditional Chinese virtues. Madame Chiang had tasked Jim with reporting on the movement’s progress but when he expressed concerns about fascist influences within the Nationalist Party, it led him into open conflict with China’s top leaders. After a tense confrontation with Chiang Kai-shek, Jim resigned and returned to teach English at Chongqing University.  

In 1946, Communist leader Zhou Enlai approached Jim about publishing an underground paper for Shanghai’s foreign community critical of Chiang’s regime, to which he agreed. When the Chinese Civil War forced Jim to return to Canada in 1947, he changed the paper’s name from the Shanghai Newsletter to the Canadian Far Eastern Newsletter and repurposed its content to educate Canadians about China and the struggle of its people.      

文幼章的职业生涯起步于四川省华西的传教士工作。他推广的“直接法”英语课程取得了巨大成功，因此重庆军阀刘湘特聘他为重庆大学的全职教师。在重庆大学，文幼章结识了一些志同道合的教育改革者，他们在教学法和传教工作方面有着相似的理念。 

1939年，文幼章受邀担任由蒋介石和宋美龄发起的新生活运动的顾问。该运动旨在通过复兴传统的四项美德，将基督教信仰与儒家的自我修养理念相结合。宋美龄还委托文幼章负责监督并报告运动的进展。然而，当他对国民党内部日益显现的法西斯化倾向提出批评时，与中国最高领导人发生了冲突。在与蒋介石的一次激烈对峙后，文幼章辞去了职务，回到华西协合大学教授英语。 

1946年，应共产主义领导人周恩来的邀请，文幼章开始了地下工作，给上海的英文读者撰写文章和宣传共产党政策。他参与创办了刊物Shanghai Newsletter，致力于揭露蒋介石政权的腐败与反民主本质。1947年，中国内战爆发，文幼章被迫返回加拿大，他将刊物更名为Canadian Far Eastern Newsletter，并调整内容，向加拿大民众宣传中国人民在战争与革命中的艰难斗争。