Source: JobTube, MaLong
Crook; then and now.
On September 29th, ahead of Chinas 70th National Day Anniversary, an annual national medal and honorary-title ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The ceremony was aimed at presenting awards for Chinese and foreign individuals who have made great contributions to China. The event was led by Chinese President Xi, who made a speech honoring and congratulating the award-receivers, and showed his respect to the heroes for their contributions to the Party and the people."Today, we honor these heroes and role models with the highest standards to promote their qualities of loyalty, perseverance and humbleness to make huge sacrifice at ordinary job posts without pursuing fame or self-interests," said President Xi.
The honorees included eight Chinese nationals who received the Medal of the Republic, and six foreign-nationals who were awarded with the Friendship Medal. Among the foreign honorees (which included former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn), was one very outstanding individual, with an incredible story to tell.
Canadian national Isabel Crook, had witnessed firsthand the history and founding of the Peoples Republic of China, and has been a major influencer along the nations journey. Born in 1915 in Chengdu to a Canadian missionary family, the 104-year-old grew up at a time in China when Chinas last emperor Puyi was residing in the Forbidden City.
"Over the last 100 years, I have witnessed two World Wars, two revolutions, a number of mass movements, and have, by invitation of the Chinese government of the time, been asked to live in villages in rural China to take detailed notes on peoples lives and living conditions"
Crook at the screening of her lifes documentary
Naturally, as a foreign girl in China during the time of World War, Isabel was very curious about the strange world she was born into. Her curiosity has enabled her to shift away from the path of her parents, and focus her interest on anthropology, specifically regarding the various ethnic minority groups typical to her region.
Her parents Christian mission in Sichuan province, which was typically led by large houses and generally comfortable lifestyles, provided a very sharp contrast to the much poorer lifestyles of their neighbors. This realization has caused Isabel to question her religion, and seek a lifestyle which aligns better with her world views and ambitions.
After obtaining her Masters Degree in Anthropology from the University of Toronto, 23-year-old Isabel returned to Chengdu, where she was immediately recruited to conduct a survey on rural reconstruction in a local market township. While deeply wrapped up in her work along side the rural reconstruction movement, which she considered to be of great importance, Isabel attended a university in Chengdu to continue her studies. It is here where she met her future husband, British communist David Crook. She was inspired by him to explore communist and egalitarianist ideologies, which in turn led the couple to set out on the path of helping build and reform the place they both loved.
Surprisingly, Isabels parents were not too dissatisfied with Isabels decision to abandon her faith, and as Isabel describes, "They considered commitment to a social cause, even one they disagreed with, better than commitment to self-interest."
The couple continued their field work on rural studies, believing that the revolutionary movement they were a part of was the key to reshaping the impoverished rural areas.
"The land reform will obviously change the whole future of China's history, because it will get rid of China's feudal system andput the working people, the farmers in power" Isabel Crook.
Young Isabel with her new comrades.
In 1942, with WWII well underway, Isabels family returned back to Canada due to the increasing conflict in the Pacific arena, and David (now her fianc) enlisted in the British Royal Air Force. Isabel followed David to England where she herself joined the British Communist Party, and served as a Canadian Women's Corps nurse. The couple were married shortly after.
Due to Davids career path in journalism, the couple ended up back again where they started China. They resumed their previous fields of work by undertaking a study of areas liberated by the Communist Party. This step in their journey was a major benchmark in Isabels role as a participant-observer of the Chinese Communist Revolution.
"One of my reasons to study the land reform was to be able to write the book that could help the Indians and help other colonial people learn from China."
Isabel and friends.
Upon completion of their field work, Isabel (and David) considered leaving China once again to continue their journeys elsewhere in the world. Their plan was abruptly intercepted by a letter from Ye Jianying, a notable army chief, as well as a personal request from government official Wang Bingnan, who both encouraged the couple to stay in China, to observe the winning of the liberation war, which will ultimately lead to the formation of the Peoples Republic of China.
No further convincing was needed, and the couple quickly made arrangements to begin teaching at a foreign study school which would later become the renowned Beijing Foreign Studies University. There, they helped coach several dozen students for future diplomatic services, and helped the liberation movement move into Beijing in 1949. The couples volunteerism and devotion in the pursuit of idealism and bettering society, did not go unnoticed.
David and I led simple lives. We ate millet and sweet potatoes lived in peasant homes We were witness to the land reform which soon spread across China in a movement which changed history." Recalls Isabel.
Professor David and Isabel Crook.
A former student of the couples Hu Wenzhou - who went on to become the Vice-President of the school, describes the couple as "really courageous in terms of pressing ahead reforms. They had audacious ideas and are dauntless to make a change. They never held back their opinion nor hesitated to put their words into action or follow the crowd."
Their shift into education had a long-lasting effect on the couple, who ended up making a career out of it for many years. Even now, Isabel still resides on campus, and is celebrated for the passion and reform she helped bring as an educator. While helping reform curriculums, developing suitable teaching methods, and pushing for egalitarian relationships between students and staff, Isabel still found the time to participate in the mass movements thriving at the time.
The prophecy she was told regarding the liberation war, turned out to be more than true, and she recalls witnessing the historic moment of the Peoples Liberation Army entering Beijing, as well as the Cultural Revolution sweeping through (her) campus in 1966.
The Crook couple wrote a book named Revolution in a Chinese Village: Ten Mile Inn, published in London in 1959, which exposed the exceptional social reform in China. After her retirement, Isabel published her book Prosperitys Predicament (70 years after her initial research). There are also two documentaries telling Isabels incredible story, made after Gong Changhua deputy mayor of Pengzhou city (Sichuan) felt deeply touched by her experience.
In 2019Besides the recent honorable Friendship Medal given by President Xi, Isabel was also granted the award of "The Most Influential Foreign Expat during 40 Years of Chinas Reform and Opening up" as a special birthday present from the Chinese government.
To know about the most influential foreign experts in China check this link
China's Most Influential Foreign Experts - Winners announced
Isabel Crook receiving Friendship Medal from President Xi
"Heroes and role models once again demonstrate with their actions that greatness comes out of the ordinary," concluded President Xi during the award ceremony. Isabels life long dedication, although far from ordinary, has truly inspired hundreds, and gained utmost admiration and respect from the country throughout its formation and modernization.
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