Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. —Proverbs 3:5–6
At Esther Press, we empower and equip women to courageously stand strong in the truth of who God made them to be. Let us do that for you today by sharing the story of Shi Meiyu.
Have you ever taken care of a sick child or relative? It’s the love we have for those who are near and dear to us that motivates our desire to see them restored to health. For Shi Meiyu, who went by Mary Stone in the US, love for those around her compelled her to blaze a trail that led to the care of thousands.
A Break with Tradition
Shi Meiyu was born in Jiujiang, China, in 1873. Her father was the first Chinese Methodist pastor in the Jiangxi province, and her mother was the principle of a Christian girls’ school. Her parents wanted a full life for their children. They refused to follow the tradition of having Shi’s feet bound, a practice dating back to at least the 1200s where the bones in a young girl’s feet were crushed and tightly wrapped, preventing them from growing beyond a certain size.
Her father admired the work of an American medical missionary named Dr. Kate Bushnell, so he dared to dream that his daughter could become a doctor too. He approached an American missionary named Gertrude Howe about giving Shi the educational foundation she needed to pursue medicine, and she soon began studies that would lead her down that path. Shi’s father and mother believed that their daughter could be more than what their culture deemed appropriate for women.
A Well-Rounded Education
In 1892, Shi Meiyu and her friend Kang Cheng traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take the entrance exam at the University of Michigan’s medical school. Both young women passed the exam with high marks and began their studies. They were the first Chinese women to receive an education at the University of Michigan, and they both graduated near the top of their class.
When they finished their studies, Shi and Kang returned to Jiujiang to open a hospital to help women from around the region. Some advisors believed that they should work in hospitals in Shanghai for a few years to gain experience, but the women believed in their training and ability to treat patients, and soon they had a thriving practice. In 1898, they opened a hospital with the help of Dr. I. N. Danforth, a mentor Shi met in Chicago. They named the hospital after his wife, Elizabeth Skelton Danforth.
They faced many difficult cases. Once, they were called to assist a woman who was giving birth to twins. After the mother had delivered the first baby under the guidance of a traditional midwife, her labor stalled and the young Chinese doctors were called in. Even though the first baby didn’t make it, Shi and Kang were able to save the lives of the mother and the second baby. After the mother recovered, the family threw a party in the doctors’ honor to show their gratitude.
Eventually, Shi and Kang went their separate ways. Shi remained in Jiujiang, and Kang moved to the province’s capital, Nanchang, to establish a hospital there.
A Full Life
After Kang left for Nanchang, an American missionary named Jennie Hughes came to help Shi with her work. This allowed Shi not only to focus on patients at the hospital, but to start a nursing school as well. She trained over five hundred Chinese nurses, translating manuals and textbooks into their own language for use in their training.
In 1907, Shi returned to the United States to have her appendix removed, as well to get some much needed rest. But even still, she used the opportunity to fundraise for her hospital through speaking engagements across the country. Shi was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship, which enabled her to complete postgraduate work at Johns Hopkins University from 1918 to 1919.
When she returned to China in 1920, Shi cut ties with the Methodist Board of Missions after the organization’s growing discomfort with the doctor’s ambitions to implement essentially a high school education poising young ladies toward higher education. Shi moved to Shanghai, but her mission work didn’t stop there. Shi and Jennie Hughes established the Shanghai Bethel Mission, which came to include a hospital, schools, evangelistic training, and an orphanage. Shi continued training nurses, not only in medicine, but also in the Bible.
A Legacy of Courage
Shi Meiyu’s legacy is one of mercy and courage. Her care for the women around her led her to break barriers and forge new paths for the women who would come behind her. She not only cared for the bodies of her patients or the minds of her students, but she cared for the souls of all the people she came into contact with.
Shi spent the last years of her life living in Pasadena, California, where she passed away at the age of eighty-two.
How might Shi’s mercy and courage in medical school, in the creation of a Western hospital in an Eastern province, and in creating opportunities for women to learn the Word of God inspire you today? Who can you help, whether physically or spiritually? Pray for the bravery that comes from confidence in knowing God’s plan for you!
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” —Micah 6:8
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