Letter from C.Y. Sun, Tientsin, to Alfred E. Stearns, July 11, 1921
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from C.Y. Sun, Tientsin, to Alfred E. Stearns, July 11, 1921
Subject
Letter from C.Y. Sun, Tientsin, to Alfred E. Stearns, July 11, 1921
Transcription
My dear Dr. Stearns,
First of all I wish to acknowledge receipt of your three letters dated March 7th., April 16th. and May 24th respectively. I am not unaware of my guilty in not having fully answering them much sooner than this and having allowed your letters to accumulate. But since August last, I have been exceedingly busy in the famine relief work. It is strange to say that it had taken almost all my time and energy and today I feel the effect of such an effort. During the last month, I was compelled to go to the mountains for a complete rest.
Answering your letter of March 7th., allow me to say that while having never been in your country and come into intimate contact with the economic situation in America, I fully appreciate the effect of high cost of living upon every phase of American life. I can readily understand your servant problem. And I sincerely consider what you charge for my children’s room and board is only fair and just. As I have repeatedly assured you, what in your judgment to be right is satisfactory to me. I am much indebted to you for the care you exercise over my children in every other way than the financial matters, which are so well taken care off.
Let me thank you also for the statements so carefully prepared showing a balance on March 1st. to be:
Arthur $185.59; Charles $491.14; Thomas $483.82; Mary $587.41.
I am glad to hear that the children are not unruly and are happy. I have no doubt that they have improved greatly since they were placed under your oversight. In this connection, I am not ungrateful to the kindness of Miss Clemons who takes such a care of them. My especial thanks are due her for her care to Mary when she was sick with a cold. I also very deeply appreciate your kindness to Chareles [sic] when he was operated upon. In short, I consider it a great fortune to the children to have the help they receive from you.
Regarding the plan for the summer, I will again leave the matter entirety to your judgment and, moreover, my letter will reach you after such plans are made I know you will give them the best that is obtainable.
I am glad Mr. Robinson has paid you a visit recently. He has been a good friend of ours when he was in Tientsin and it is really good of him to have come to see the children, and talked over their well-being with you. I am afraid, some of the children, knowing my situation, may have given you the impression that their expenses are a little higher than their parents would them to bear and even made to suggestion of going to some summer camp where fees are relatively lower. I must say such suggestions are altogether unwarranted. I am glad you did not approve of their going to the camps they suggested.
From the letters I receive from the children, Charles and Thomas are members of the Boyscotts [sic]. I am glad they are. If there is a girlscott [sic] in Andover, I wish Mary will also join.
From the last paragraph of your letter dated May 24th., the party in your house is about to be broken up next fall. Arthur going to Boston, Charles and Thomas entering Phillips and Mary going somewhere else. If you think time has come when these youngsters are qualified to be away from your personal guildance [sic], let them go where they will receive the fullest benefit. I know you will not fall in placing them always under the best Christian influence for I wish to see them develop to be true Christians.
As to Arthur's language difficulties, I am much concerned, I think he should be fully equipped with facilities to express himself fully when he returns. I consider an education is not complete without a thoroughly efficient command of the English language, however well he may be informed in technical subjects. I know you will see that his English is improved even he has to spend a little more time just for this particular subject. I am perhaps too ambitious to entertain the hope that these children will come back to China with the best education and will be ranked among the returned students as among the best. I envy our friend Mr. M.T. Liang whose elderest [sic] boy, Paul, recently returned from England with the highest degree and is now rapidly gaining reputation in Tientsin as a surgeon.
In this connection, I doubt if it meets with your approval to have some of the younger children to take up Latin next fall. I think foreign language can be best learnt while they are yet young. If you think none of them is yet ready to study Latin this coming fall, any foreign language perhaps will be just as suitable to them. At any rate, I leave this, as all other matters, to your best judgment.
Once more, let me thank you, dear Dr. Stearns for all the care I imposed upon you. I also wish to thank Miss Stearns for her kindness to Mary.
With my best wishes and regards.
Yours gratefully,
P.S. I enclose a letter addressed to my children. Please be good enough as pass it onto them.
First of all I wish to acknowledge receipt of your three letters dated March 7th., April 16th. and May 24th respectively. I am not unaware of my guilty in not having fully answering them much sooner than this and having allowed your letters to accumulate. But since August last, I have been exceedingly busy in the famine relief work. It is strange to say that it had taken almost all my time and energy and today I feel the effect of such an effort. During the last month, I was compelled to go to the mountains for a complete rest.
Answering your letter of March 7th., allow me to say that while having never been in your country and come into intimate contact with the economic situation in America, I fully appreciate the effect of high cost of living upon every phase of American life. I can readily understand your servant problem. And I sincerely consider what you charge for my children’s room and board is only fair and just. As I have repeatedly assured you, what in your judgment to be right is satisfactory to me. I am much indebted to you for the care you exercise over my children in every other way than the financial matters, which are so well taken care off.
Let me thank you also for the statements so carefully prepared showing a balance on March 1st. to be:
Arthur $185.59; Charles $491.14; Thomas $483.82; Mary $587.41.
I am glad to hear that the children are not unruly and are happy. I have no doubt that they have improved greatly since they were placed under your oversight. In this connection, I am not ungrateful to the kindness of Miss Clemons who takes such a care of them. My especial thanks are due her for her care to Mary when she was sick with a cold. I also very deeply appreciate your kindness to Chareles [sic] when he was operated upon. In short, I consider it a great fortune to the children to have the help they receive from you.
Regarding the plan for the summer, I will again leave the matter entirety to your judgment and, moreover, my letter will reach you after such plans are made I know you will give them the best that is obtainable.
I am glad Mr. Robinson has paid you a visit recently. He has been a good friend of ours when he was in Tientsin and it is really good of him to have come to see the children, and talked over their well-being with you. I am afraid, some of the children, knowing my situation, may have given you the impression that their expenses are a little higher than their parents would them to bear and even made to suggestion of going to some summer camp where fees are relatively lower. I must say such suggestions are altogether unwarranted. I am glad you did not approve of their going to the camps they suggested.
From the letters I receive from the children, Charles and Thomas are members of the Boyscotts [sic]. I am glad they are. If there is a girlscott [sic] in Andover, I wish Mary will also join.
From the last paragraph of your letter dated May 24th., the party in your house is about to be broken up next fall. Arthur going to Boston, Charles and Thomas entering Phillips and Mary going somewhere else. If you think time has come when these youngsters are qualified to be away from your personal guildance [sic], let them go where they will receive the fullest benefit. I know you will not fall in placing them always under the best Christian influence for I wish to see them develop to be true Christians.
As to Arthur's language difficulties, I am much concerned, I think he should be fully equipped with facilities to express himself fully when he returns. I consider an education is not complete without a thoroughly efficient command of the English language, however well he may be informed in technical subjects. I know you will see that his English is improved even he has to spend a little more time just for this particular subject. I am perhaps too ambitious to entertain the hope that these children will come back to China with the best education and will be ranked among the returned students as among the best. I envy our friend Mr. M.T. Liang whose elderest [sic] boy, Paul, recently returned from England with the highest degree and is now rapidly gaining reputation in Tientsin as a surgeon.
In this connection, I doubt if it meets with your approval to have some of the younger children to take up Latin next fall. I think foreign language can be best learnt while they are yet young. If you think none of them is yet ready to study Latin this coming fall, any foreign language perhaps will be just as suitable to them. At any rate, I leave this, as all other matters, to your best judgment.
Once more, let me thank you, dear Dr. Stearns for all the care I imposed upon you. I also wish to thank Miss Stearns for her kindness to Mary.
With my best wishes and regards.
Yours gratefully,
P.S. I enclose a letter addressed to my children. Please be good enough as pass it onto them.
Creator
C.Y. Sun
Publisher
Phillips Academy
Date
July 11, 1921
Rights
All Rights Reserved by Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence