Gladys Aylward facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gladys May Aylward
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| Born | 24 February 1902 Edmonton, London, England
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| Died | 3 January 1970 (aged 67) |
| Resting place | New Taipei, Taiwan |
| Other names | 艾偉德 |
| Citizenship | British subject (1902–1936) Republic of China (1936–1970) |
| Education | Silver Street School, Edmonton, London |
| Occupation | Christian missionary |
Gladys May Aylward (born February 24, 1902 – died January 3, 1970) was a brave Christian missionary from Britain. She traveled to China to help people. Her amazing life story was told in a book called The Small Woman. It was also made into a famous movie, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman.
Contents
Gladys's Early Life
Gladys Aylward was born in 1902 in Edmonton, North London. She was one of three children in a working-class family. From a young age, Gladys worked as a housemaid.
She felt a strong desire to become a Christian missionary overseas. She applied to the China Inland Mission. They accepted her for a short training course. However, she found it hard to learn the Chinese language. Because of this, she was not offered more training.
On October 15, 1930, Gladys used all her savings to buy a train ticket to Yangcheng, Shanxi Province, China. This was a very dangerous trip. She traveled across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. At that time, the Soviet Union and China were in a quiet war. She was stopped by Russian soldiers, but she managed to escape with local help. She even got a ride on a Japanese ship. With help from the British Consul, she traveled across Japan and took another ship to China.
Her Work in China
When Gladys arrived in Yangcheng, China, she worked with an older missionary named Jeannie Lawson. Together, they opened "The Inn of the Eight Happinesses." In Chinese, this was called 八福客栈 (bāfú kèzhàn). The name came from eight good qualities: Love, Virtue, Gentleness, Tolerance, Loyalty, Truth, Beauty, and Devotion.
At the inn, they offered a place to stay for travelers. They also shared stories about Jesus to spread Christianity. For a while, Gladys worked for the Chinese government. She became a "foot inspector." Her job was to travel around the countryside and make sure people followed a new law. This law was against footbinding, an old custom where young girls' feet were tightly wrapped to keep them small. This practice was very painful. Gladys was very successful in this job, even though other inspectors often faced resistance and violence.
In 1936, Gladys became a citizen of the Republic of China. People respected her greatly. She took in many orphans and adopted several children herself. She also helped calm a dangerous prison riot and worked to improve prisons. She risked her life many times to help those in need.
In 1938, Japanese forces attacked the region during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Gladys led more than 100 orphans to safety over the mountains. She was even wounded but still cared for them all. Many of the orphans became Christians because of her.
Gladys did not return to Britain until 1949. Her life in China was in great danger from the Communists. They were actively looking for missionaries. She settled in Basingstoke, England, and gave many talks about her work. After her mother died, Gladys wanted to go back to China. The Communist government would not let her in. After staying in Hong Kong, she finally settled in Taiwan in 1958. There, she started the Gladys Aylward Orphanage. She worked there until she died in 1970.
The Movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
A movie about Gladys's life, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, came out in 1958. It was based on the book The Small Woman. Gladys became famous around the world because of the movie and many interviews. However, she was very upset about how she was shown in the film.
The actress, Ingrid Bergman, was tall, blonde, and Swedish. Gladys was small, had dark hair, and a North London accent. The movie also changed many parts of her story. For example, her difficult journey across Russia, China, and Japan was made to seem much easier. Many characters and place names were changed, even important ones. The inn was named after the number eight, which is lucky in China, but the movie changed it.
Gladys was given the Chinese name 艾偉德 (Ài Wěi Dé) in real life. This meant 'The Virtuous One'. But in the movie, she was called 真愛 (Zhen-Ai), meaning "true love." She also felt that the movie's love scenes damaged her reputation. In real life, she had never kissed a man. The movie's ending showed her leaving the orphans to be with a colonel. But in reality, she worked with the orphans until she was 60 years old. She gave her life to the orphans in Taiwan and was buried in Taipei. Her work continues today as the Bethany Children's Home in Taipei.
Gladys's Death and Legacy
Gladys Aylward died on January 3, 1970, just before her 68th birthday. She is buried in a small cemetery at Christ's College in Guandu, New Taipei, Taiwan. The Chinese people knew her as 艾偉德 (Ài Wěi Dé), which means 'The Virtuous One'.
A secondary school in London, which used to be called "Weir Hall and Huxley," was renamed the Gladys Aylward School after she died. There is also a blue plaque on the house where Gladys lived in London. Another school in Nottingham named a "house" after her.
Many books, short stories, and films have been made about the life and work of Gladys Aylward.
See also
In Spanish: Gladys Aylward para niños
