Francis Lister Hawks Pott

Early Years and Calling

Francis Lister Hawks Pott was born in New York, USA, on 22 February 1864. He studied at Columbia University and at the General Theological Seminary. Shaped from childhood by a devout Episcopal faith, he resolved to give himself to overseas mission.

Taking Charge of St. John's

On 18 November 1886, sent by the American Church Mission, the 22-year-old Pott arrived in Shanghai, beginning some sixty years of service in China. The following year he was ordained a priest in Shanghai. In June 1888, St. John's College, founded by Bishop Schereschewsky (施约瑟), needed new leadership, and the 24-year-old Pott took on the post at a difficult moment, becoming its head and the de facto leader of the school. On 27 September of the same year he married Huang Su'e (黄素娥) in Chinese ceremonial dress in the chapel on the St. John's campus. Huang Su'e was the eldest daughter of Huang Guangcai (黄光彩), the first Chinese priest of the Episcopal Church; she was fluent in Chinese and English, gifted in music, and had served as principal of St. Mary's Hall girls' school. After their marriage she devoted herself fully to supporting her husband's educational work.

Building the School

During his years at the head of St. John's, Pott pressed ahead with reform. He strongly promoted teaching in English and in modern subjects, and emphasised physical education and the formation of the whole person. In 1896 the school was raised in status and he became president of St. John's University; in 1905 it became a four-year university, taking its place among the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in modern China and earning the name “the Harvard of the East.” Over more than half a century it trained large numbers of leading figures in Chinese politics, business, scholarship and the church.

Student Movements and Principles

Pott held to the principle that “education should be separate from politics” and opposed the campus becoming a venue for political activity. After the May Thirtieth Incident of 1925, as waves of patriotic student protest swept the country, some teachers and students left the school in protest over this clash of principles and founded Kwang Hua University (光华大学). Amid the currents of his time he kept on writing, producing works such as China's Upheaval, China's Crisis, Outline of Chinese History and A Short History of Shanghai, which introduced China to the West.

Holding On Through the War

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, in dangerous and difficult times, Pott still did all he could to keep the school running. In 1941 he resigned as president, having led St. John's for about 53 years in all; in 1946 he was named president emeritus. He died of illness in Shanghai on 7 March 1947, aged 83, and was buried in the Bubbling Well (Jing'an Temple) Cemetery.

A Foundation for Education

Pott spent his whole life rooted in Shanghai and gave all his strength to St. John's; he was one of the founders of Christian higher education in modern China. He was twice decorated by the Chinese government. His efforts to bring together Chinese and Western learning, and to educate students through English and modern subjects, deeply influenced several generations of Chinese intellectuals and left a lasting mark on the history of modern education in China.