What is the relationship between the first U.S. president to visit ChinaNixon, the folk singer Joan Baez, Mrs. M in 007 Judi Dench, Cadbury chocolate, Quaker cereal, the Huaxiba Bell Tower in Chengdu, the United States' Declaration of Independence, and Philadelphiathe city?
The only clue that can connect these famous people and things is a religious organization with a history of more than 300 years-Quakers.
Quaker logo, picture source: Wikipedia
Hello everyone, I am Cao Mao, a scholar of urban history and public administration who is looking at the world with you. Today we look at the history of Philadelphia, the ancient capital of the United States.
Why do you want to talk about Philadelphia, a city with a weak presence? Because there is much more to Philadelphia than its physical shell. Philadelphia is the birthplace and spiritual capital of the United States. More importantly, some of the traditions that are regarded as core values in today's civilized world were born here.
Speaking of Philadelphia, we have to talk about William Penn (William Penn, 1644-1718, Penn or translated as "Pan" and "Penn") who created this city with his own hands and the Quakers. When you visit Philadelphia, it's hard not to see the 11-meter-tall bronze statue of William Bean standing atop the white City Hall.
01.
William Bean Jr.: The "silly" son of the landlord
Philadelphia is an abbreviation, Philadelphia, which is an ancient Greek name, meaning "the city of brotherly love." There was a city of the same name in ancient Rome, in today's Türkiye .
We know that most cities in the world have gradually developed due to trade, industry, transportation, military and other needs. Philadelphia is like playing the game "Minecraft", created by a rebellious boy in his own land. He is England's William Bean Jr.
22-year-old William Bean Jr., source: Wikipedia
What is William Bean Jr.’s background? Let’s mention a little bit of British history. In 1649, the most unlucky king of England, Charles I, was beheaded by Lord Protector Cromwell. In 1660, after Cromwell's death, the exiled prince and his younger brother, the future Charles II and James II , returned. The ship they were traveling on was the naval battleship of the protagonist's father, Sir William Bean Sr.
Lao Bin is a character. In the troubled times of Britain, he was promoted from an ordinary sailor to a British naval general by virtue of his military exploits. After Cromwell's death, he decisively supported the restoration of Charles II and was awarded the title of admiral. He advanced money to the king to fight the war, and the royal family owed him a large sum of money that was never reimbursed.
This year, his son William Bin Jr. was sixteen years old and went to Oxford to study like other aristocratic children. In Oxford, Xiaobin belatedly joined the Quakers, an emerging sect that was regarded as a heretic by the whole of Britain at that time. From then on, the legendary life of his chosen one began.
Quakers are still a very fringe small branch of Christianity today, with only a few hundred thousand believers worldwide. Its official name is the Society of Friends, or Society of Friends in English. His founder George Fox is Xiaobin's friend and mentor.
George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, source: Google
The reason why the Quakers were excluded was first of all because of the strange way of belief of this sect:
The church is not called a church, it is called a conference center, and there is no cross. It is actually just a spacious big room. They also do not study the Bible and have no doctrine. There was no pastor during the service, but a group of people gathered together in complete silence.
Quaker belief believes that people do not need any intermediary and can talk directly to God. When they hear a response, they can get up and talk about their feelings. The early founders often heard the replies and were so excited that their whole bodies trembled, so outsiders called them "trembling ones". Quaker (quaker) means "trembling one".
But the question is, if this is possible, what is the point of mainstream denominations building luxurious churches, playing music, preaching the Bible, and training priests?
What’s more, the King of England is the leader of the official church. If the common people talk directly to God as soon as they close their eyes and mouths, where will the king and the state religion be placed?
The Quaker way of belief is a bit like not writing a single question on the college entrance examination paper, writing 100 in the column where you found the score, and then submitting the paper directly to ask for admission. This was very unreasonable in Britain and Europe at the time, and posed a great threat to mainstream religious and secular power. Not to mention that the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church cannot tolerate them, even the Puritans who are also persecuted will persecute them.
The beaten Quaker leader, source: Wikipedia
However, the Quakers are serious about their faith. They worshiped only God and refused to submit to any secular or ecclesiastical authority. They neither address anyone with respect, nor do they want anyone to address themselves with respect, and call everyone by their first name.
No matter how tight the news was, Xiao Bin frequently attended Quaker meetings and preached Quaker beliefs everywhere. Soon he was kicked out of the house by his father, expelled from school, and finally thrown into the famous aristocratic prison - The Tower of London.
Throughout his youth, Xiao Bin was imprisoned repeatedly due to religious struggles. Xiao Bin said:
"My prison is my tomb... I have a clear conscience."
02.
Freedom, peace, and friendship: How to do it without empty talk
What Quaker philosophy is so attractive to a noble young man like Xiao Bin?
First of all, Quakers believe that since everyone is equal before God, this should be practiced in reality. There should be no hierarchy between people, no worship of power, and no use of violence.
In this way, no one can use force to force another person, and when encountering differences, people should be convinced by reason. This is the serious pursuit of freedom and peace. The greatest influence of the Quakers on Western civilization was to make people aware of the importance of "individual freedom." Their proposition that "all men are created equal" later became a universally recognized value concept in North America and appeared in the opening chapter of the Declaration of Independence.
Original copy of the United States' Declaration of Independence, source: Wikipedia
Quakers believe that people can communicate directly with God. That is to say, if the heart is sincere, the soul will be spiritual, and if the heart is not sincere, all the red tape and elaborate decorations will be in vain.
Therefore, they extremely advocate simplicity, only proceed from the heart, be honest and self-disciplined, and practice the ascetic spirit. Don't smoke or drink, just wear clean and tidy clothes. They also refused to take an oath, believing that an oath was not necessary at all. Everything only needed to be settled in one word, personal conscience came first, and there was no need to make any more contracts.
More importantly, Quakers place special emphasis on the concept of "friends".
Their name, Quakers, comes from Jesus these words:
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” . If you do what I command you, you will be my friends. From now on I will no longer call you servants, because servants do not know what their masters do; instead, I will call you friends."
Therefore, those who can accept and recognize the Quakers are extremely sincere and loyal to the people inside.
Xiao Bin, who was still in prison at the time, would not have thought that the weak Quaker Church could continue to this day and that there were numerous talents. From US Presidents Hoover and Nixon, to Joan Baez and Judi Dench in the entertainment industry. Because of the high level of trust and mutual aid within Quakerism. Its members have many success stories in business. For example, Cadbury chocolates and Clarks leather shoes.
The most famous example is Quaker Oatmeal. The advertisement at that time was "The quality of Quaker Oatmeal is as honest and reliable as Quaker members." Their brand image is that of a silly old man wearing a Quaker robe. In addition, Quakers were prominent in banking, shipping, steel, railroads and other fields.
The image of the uncle on Quaker cereal, picture source: Wikipedia
What’s even more valuable is that in the hundreds of years after its founding, the Quakers adhered to their ideals, advocated equality for all people, adhered to transnational pacifism, refused to participate in violence and war, and naturally refused to be drafted into the army.
Of course they were not idle either. During World War I and and World War II , Quaker ambulance teams saved lives and healed the wounded on various battlefields in Europe. During World War II, they also dispatched vehicles and drivers to cooperate with the Red Cross Society of China to deliver medicines to the Chinese Expeditionary Force along the Burma Highway.
In China, the Quakers also participated in the establishment of West China Union University, which specializes in cultivating medical talents who can save lives and heal the wounded, which is the predecessor of the current Sichuan University Medical Center.
Fred Rowntree, a famous British architectural designer and Quaker at that time, designed the entire West China Concord building complex that combines Chinese and Western styles. Among them, the Huaxiba Old Bell Tower has become a cultural landmark in Chengdu.
Huaxiba Old Bell Tower, Source: Wikipedia
Due to the outstanding contributions made by the Quakers to peace, in 1947, the British and American Quakers as a whole were awarded the Nobel Prize . These qualities have a great attraction for Xiao Bin, from which we can also get a glimpse of his temperament and ambitions.
03.
From idea to reality: the motivation for the birth of a city
However, in 1670, Xiao Bin was still in prison, but his father was already seriously ill. When his father was dying, he understood his son's pursuit and wrote to Charles II and his brother Duke of York Tuogu, asking them to take care of his son. The king also thanked the old guest for his loyalty and promised not to embarrass the young guest too much.
Old Bin left with peace of mind and left all his property to Xiao Bin. In fact, the king did not hate Xiao Bin, but he was forced to lock him up due to the needs of law and custom to convince the public.
Old Sir William Byng, Source: Wikipedia
In the end, Little Byng asked the king to obtain a piece of land in North America, a distant place he had never been to before. He was willing to take his fellow travelers to that remote and desolate land to seek freedom of belief. There is no need to pay back the huge sum of money the king owes their family.
King Charles II gave Xiaobin 120,000 square kilometers of land south of New York, and also gave him a particularly loose charter, allowing a high degree of autonomy in the territory. Xiao Bin only needs to pay tribute to two beaver skins and 1/5 of the gold harvested from the territory every year.
This land was originally under the control of the prince's brother, the Duke of York. Duke not only delivered it immediately, but also lent him the land and the estuary in today's Delaware. Land, self-government, and transportation provided the most fundamental foundation for the establishment and prosperity of Philadelphia in the future.
At that time, the forests on the east coast of the North American continent were very dense. It is said that squirrels in the Appalachian Mountains can jump from tree branches to the East Coast to bask in the sun without touching their feet.
Xiao Bin wants to name this land "Dalinzi", which is written in Latin as Sylvania.The king said, you have to add another word, add your father's last name, Bin, and call it Pennsylvania! The scope of
includes today's two states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. With this piece of land almost as big as the whole of England, Xiao Bin became the largest landowner in the world besides the royal family.
Little William Bean finally crossed the ocean in 1682, when he was 38 years old, and brought his retainers and church members to the distant backyard of his home. In this vast land, there was only one small town, inhabited by 500 Europeans.
The middle-aged William Bean, picture source: Wikipedia
His experiences and beliefs in the first half of his life destined that what appeared on the land of Pennsylvania would not be another kingdom. In fact, before he set out, he formulated an outline of government for the Pennsylvania colony that blended reflections on British politics with Quaker ideals.
In his ideal, he wants to build a city that has never been seen before in the history of the earth: everyone enjoys justice and freedom, everyone treats each other equally and peacefully, and simplicity and cleanliness are beneficial to the body and mind.
An important social experiment in the history of human civilization will take place here.
