Yenching University, Peiping, China
May 18, 1947Dear Friends,
It scarcely seems possible that there is only a month more in this academic year, and that a year ago I was still in South Hadley. Life has been much more normal than I had dreamed possible, both domestic and academic. We have been faced with serious problems all the time, mostly financial, but the morale among both students and faculty has been good. The joy of being back among my old friends, both Chinese and foreign, has been all that I had hoped for.
I am having a quiet restful Sunday, after a Saturday of the most strenuous exercise I have had since reaching Peiping last September. We climbed the [sic] to the top of the first range of the Western Hills. Yesterday was such a perfect morning that both nancy and I spontaneously suggested goign [sic] somewhere. The only other person who was free was a young Anglican priest who has just joined our School of Religion. They two rode their bicycles, while I took a bicycle rickshaw, a vehicle which is fast replacing the old rickshaw, and is much easier on the coolie. I was afraid that I might be too soft to make the climb but I got there with the others. And such a view from the top; range after range to the northwest, up into Mongolia. We went up through the Hunting Park and down through the Pass by the Azure Cloud Temple. At the foot we rested ina shady court by a cold spring within the temple. My rickshaw boy was waiting in the village and guarding the bicycles. I paid him $20,000 for the day, a little over US. $1.00, as the exchange is now around 19,000 to one U.S. dollar.
It is strange how we have got used to these fantastic sums of money. Last fall we were getting 3000 to US$1.00, and now it is 19,000; dear knows where it will be by next fall. We always seem to be on the brink of something in China; it used to be Japanese invasion; now it is financial collapse. When we asked Ambassador Stuart what collapse would mean, he said breaking up of the country into warlord areas again - but of course he does not expect that. However the Reds are doing their best to bring that about: tearing up the railroads whenever things get nicely settled in any area.
Here is a sample of how this changing exchange rate affects us. I have been trying to buy coal for the next winter. This seems to be the best time, before everybody wants it in the fall. Three weeks ago, a friend of mine in the city paid 280,000 a ton. Out here a few days later it was 350,000. I was delayed placing the order because my housemates did not want to buy so far ahead, so by lsat week, one colleague paid 550,000 and another 600,000. Meanwhile I had given a check for U.S.$100.00 to a person who sells on the black market, hoping to get more than 19,000, and to be able to buy four tons for my $100.00. Finally yesterday my money came backat [sic] 23,000, and the coalman promised me four tons at 550,000, so I am CNC$100,000 to the good!-
Another little vicissitude in connection with getting the coal has been that the coal is delivered on camels, and we are having new cement walks laid on the compound, and are requested to walk very lightly until thry [sic] are dry. Since delayed one week, and I have been afraid that the price would sky rocket meanwhile. But the coalman is a gentleman and has promised that the price will he [sic] the same next Tuesday as it would have been last week!
There is some benefit is [sic] having a young woman in the house who does not mind being nice to Marines! They have all left now, but one of the officers brought a whole jeep full of food from their Mess as they were breaking up :- it included 57 pounds of coffee, fifty pounds of sugar, and gallons od [sic] aple [sic] butter - the Marines had tired of apple butter, but we adore it, as jam has been getting scarce. So do no worry about our food, even though we do pay our cook CNC$10,000 a day per person!
Wehave [sic] had a beautiful cool spring with unusually fine fruit blossoms and other flowers. Everybody in Peiping love to come out to wander around our campus. I for one have never regretted that I came back, in spite of the cold last winter, and other so-called hardships.
[Unsigned but written by Alice M. Boring,
visiting professor of zoology at Mount Holyoke College, 1945-1946]