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Mary Austin was a mayor’s daughter who expected to live an uneventful life in Canada. But when she said “I do” to Jim Endicott she found that she had “married China.”
Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, but undeterred by the political turmoil around her in China, Mary Austin Endicott determined she would achieve the goals she set for herself. She bore and raised four children, ran a one-room school and became the foster mother to three Chinese boys, despite the raised eyebrows of many of her fellow missionaries.
The family moved back to Canada, but it wasn’t long before Jim, who was becoming a well-known peace activist, returned to wartorn China. Mary, by then a school trustee, continued her fight for teachers’ rights and focussed her energy on increased activity in left-wing politics, all the while separated from Jim and grieving for a marriage she felt to be in jeopardy.
Mary and Jim were finally reunited in 1947 in the police state Shanghai had become. She used all her energy and faith in that time to help Jim regain his equilibrium. For thousands of readers her book Five Stars over China countered the common practice during the Cold War of vilifying the Chinese Revolution. Then her greatest crisis came: Jim was accused of treason.
Shirley Jane Endicott has presented us with a fascinating account of her mother’s life, based on Mary Austin Endicott’s private writings and flavoured with Shirley’s memories. She brings to life the story of an exceptional woman whose life was shaped by profound political and historical circumstances.
— Larissa Liepins
This is an interesting portrayal of a talented and intelligent woman trying hard to negotiate a profession as treacherous as the Yangtse Gorges.
— Janice Dickin, University of Calgary
China Diary is a gripping story of a courageous woman in tumultuous times. It gives keen analysis and intimate personal details of a largely unknown story in Canadian history. It is well written, informative, and touches both heart and mind.
— Bill Phipps, former Moderator, United Church of Canada
China Diary is a daring book.... Mary Austin Endicott's early years couldn't prepare her for life with a missionary in China during the era of warlords and the invasion by the Japanese. The most satisfying sections are the harrowing stories of Mary establishing a home...and staying in love while birthing four children, starting a school, and living with the terrors of war, disease, poverty and beheadings. Mary's account of the bombing of Chungking is hair-raising...The author once wrote, `Within the family, stories about my father abound, while the life of my mother has faded like an old photograph.' She has restored the photo, and added colour. China Diary is a courageous book. I admire the author's compassion and honesty. I am glad she has provided Canadians with the story of a strong woman who worked for peace in all aspects of her life., Caroyln Pogue, The Observer, 2003 July|
— Carolyn Pogue
A rich psychological portrait of a complicated inner life and a difficult relationship.
— Carol C. Chin
Table of Contents for China Diary: The Life of Mary Austin Endicott by Shirley Jane Endicott
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Map of China
Introduction: Who Was My Mother?
Part 1
1. From a Background of Privilege
2. Prelude to Adventure
3. Struggling with Culture Shock
4. Spring in the Golden Valley
5. Chungchow Diary: Living with Uncertainty
Part 2
6. Hijacked on the Yangtze
7. Shanghai Exile
8. Eight Months of Separation
9. Back to Chungking: Four Months in Purgatory
10. Golden Valley Scrapbook: 1930–33
11. “When Death Threw the Dice”
Part 3
12. Furlough: An Oasis of Opportunity
13. A Greater Acceptance of the Universe
14. A Time of Transition
15. Conquering Herself
16. Creative Writing
17. Wartime in Chungking
18. Wedding Anniversary
19. Wartime Diary: 1939–41
Part 4
20. The Little Brown Bird Takes Flight
21. Eden Rent Asunder
22. Deciding to Work with Communists
23. Two Solitudes
Part 5
24. Heaven and Hell in Shanghai, 1947
25. Life—in the Cold War—with Jim
26. The Winter Years
27. Epilogue
Appendix A: Three Poems by Mary Austin Endicott
Appendix B: Historical Background
Bibliography