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Gladys May Aylward (24 February 1902 – 3 January 1970) was a British
missionary to China, whose story was told in the book The Small Woman, by , published in 1957, and made into the film , starring , in 1958. The movie was produced by , and filmed entirely in
and England.
Aylward was born to a working-class family in , , in 1902. Her parents were Thomas John Aylward and Rosina Florence Aylward (née Whiskin). Her siblings were Laurence and Violet. She worked as a
(housemaid) from her early teens, but later felt a calling to go overseas as a Christian missionary. She was accepted by the
to study a preliminary three month course for aspiring missionaries, but was not offered further training due to lack of progress in learning the Chinese language.
In 1932, having worked for Sir , she spent her life savings on a train passage to , , China. The perilous trip took her across
with the . She was detained by the Russians, but managed to evade them with local help and took a lift from a Japanese ship. She travelled across Japan with the help of the British Consul and took another ship to China.
On her arrival in , Aylward worked with an older missionary, Jeannie Lawson, to found The Inn of the Eight Happinesses (八福客栈 bāfú kèzhàn in Chinese), the name based on the eight virtues: Love, Virtue, Gentleness, Tolerance, Loyalty, Truth, Beauty, and Devotion. There, she and Mrs. Lawson not only provided hospitality for travellers, but would also share stories about a man named , in hopes of sharing . For a time she served as an assistant to the
as a "foot inspector" by touring the countryside to enforce the new law against
young Chinese girls. She met with much success in a field that had produced much resistance, including sometimes violence against the inspectors.
Aylward became a Chinese citizen in 1936 and was a revered figure among the people, taking in orphans and adopting several herself, intervening in a volatile prison riot and advocating prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need. In 1938, the region , and Aylward led over 100 orphans to safety over the mountains, despite being wounded herself. She not only led the orphans to safety, but personally cared for them and converted many of them to Christianity. She never married, but spent her entire life devoting herself to Christian work with the people of China.
She was repatriated to Britain at the beginning of World War II, and taught young children at the Basingstoke Preparatory School for several years. After some 10 years she sought to return to China, but was denied re-entry by the
and instead settled in , in 1958. There she founded the Gladys Aylward Orphanage, where she worked until her death in 1970.
A film based on her life, , was released in 1958. It drew from the book The Small Woman, by . Although she found herself a figure of international interest, thanks to the popularity of the film, and television and media interviews, Aylward was mortified by her depiction in the film and the many liberties it took.[] The tall, blonde Swedish actress
was inconsistent with Aylward's small stature, dark hair and North London accent. The struggles of Aylward and her family to effect her initial trip to China were disregarded in favour of a movie plot device of an employer "condescending to write to 'his old friend' Jeannie Lawson." Also, Aylward's dangerous, complicated travels across Russia, China and Japan were reduced to, "a few rude soldiers," after which, "Hollywood's train delivered her neatly to ." Many characters and place names were changed, even when these names had significant meaning, such as those of her adopted children and the name of the inn, named instead for the Chinese belief in the number 8 as being auspicious. For example, in real life she was given the Chinese name 艾偉德 (?i Wěi Dé- a Chinese approximation to 'Aylward' – meaning 'Virtuous One'), however in the film she was given the name 真爱 Jen-Ai,( pronounced- Zhen-Ai, meaning "true love"). Colonel Linnan was portrayed as half-European, a change which she found insulting to his real Chinese lineage, and she felt her reputation was damaged by the Hollywood-embellished love scenes in the film. Not only had she never kissed a man, but the film's ending portrayed her character leaving the orphans to re-join the colonel elsewhere, even though in reality she did not retire from working with orphans until she was 60 years old.
Aylward died on 3 January 1970, just short of her 68th birthday, and is buried in a small cemetery on the campus of Christ's College in Guandu, , Taiwan. She was known to the Chinese as 艾偉德 (?i Wěi Dé- a Chinese approximation to 'Aylward' – meaning 'Virtuous One').
An Edmonton secondary school - formerly known as Weir Hall and Huxley, when it was an all boys school, before then becoming a mixed comprehensive - was renamed, "Gladys Aylward School," in her honour (now renamed ) shortly after her death. There is a blue commemorative plaque on the house where Gladys lived near the school in Cheddington Road, London N18.
Numerous books, short stories and films have been developed about the life and work of Gladys Aylward (listed below).
Crowther, Bosley (December 14, 1958). . New York Times 2015.
Latham, pp4-6
. . 44: 118. 2006.
. Gladys Aylward, The Little Woman.
, p. 197
Cast Script. British Film Institute.
, p. 198
, p. 201
Hero Tales by Dave & Neta Jackson
These Are My People by Mildred T. Howard
The Archive of Gladys Aylward is held at the , London.
Aylward, Gladys, , School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London
Aylward, Gladys (1980), Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman,  
Burgess, A (1957), The Small Woman (New Impression ed.), Pan Books,  
Hunter, C (1971), Gladys Aylward: Her Personal Story, Coverdale House Publishers,  
Latham, R. O. (1952), Gladys Aylward, One of the Undefeated: The Story of Gladys Aylward, Edinburgh House Press ( )
Thompson, P (1971), London Sparrow: The Story of Gladys Aylward, Word Books,  
Benge, J Benge, Geoff (1998), Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime,  
Purves, Carol (2005), Chinese Whispers: The Gladys Aylward Story,  
Jackson, D Jackson, Neta (1994), Flight of the Fugitives: Gladys Aylward,  
Wellman, Sam (1998). Gladys Aylward: Missionary in China. Barbour.
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) – feature film
Gladys Aylward, the Small Woman with a Great God (2008) – documentary
: The Gladys Aylward Story (2008) – animated DVD for children ages 8–12
Protestant missions to China
: Hidden categories:还原尘封的历史碎片——关于格里蒂丝·艾伟德（Gladys Aylward）
我的图书馆
还原尘封的历史碎片——关于格里蒂丝·艾伟德（Gladys Aylward）
作者 吕胜春&
（本文持续更新中，更新内容在文章末尾）&
过斯皮尔伯格的《辛德勒名单》，看过特里·乔治的《卢旺达饭店》，那些故事远在欧洲和非洲。但却没有没有看过马克·罗布森（Mark
Robson）和英格丽·褒曼（Ingrid
Bergman）的那部《六福客栈》，不了解那个从日军屠刀下拯救了许多中国人的小妇人格里蒂丝·艾伟德（Gladys Aylward）。
好在博友刘利民和王钦华都先后记述了这一事实，主要内容他们的博文里已很详细，今天发动强大的互联网搜索引擎，寻找并拼贴更多的历史碎片。这一段历史，就曾发生在我们身边，发生在那个民族危亡、战火纷飞的年代。
博友说的好，这是人性光辉的楷模。
有趣的巧合是：上传图片的时候看到原始EXIF信息，那一组墓园照片拍摄于日早晨7：20，拍摄者Chris Nelson的照相机和我的相机一样都是柯达DX6490，呵呵。
========================================&
一组格里蒂丝·艾伟德（Gladys Aylward）的真实照片。
Gladys Aylward
日生于英格兰埃德蒙顿，日病故于中国台北，享年68岁。
这是格里蒂丝·艾伟德1970年1月在台北。↑
Circa 1970 - 01 Jan 1970 (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images）
这是1966年，她参观英国威尔士的一所学校时的合影。↑
一个细节：她的身高只有1.50米，是个名副其实的“small woman”
（Gladys Aylward visits Ysgol y Grango）
原文链接：
这张照片背景不详。↑
=============================================
这是格里蒂丝·艾伟德在台北的安息之所。墓园位于台北县淡水镇“Christ's College”&的校园内，拍摄者Chris Nelson。&
照片上刻着蒋介石手书“弘道遗爱”四个字，左侧是墓志铭，右侧似乎是汉字，但看不清楚，稍后我会联系这位拍照者，把中文的也发上来！
这是她的墓志铭，全文如下：
MISS GLADYS AYLWARD, MISSIONARY ()
Born on the Twenty-Fourth of February Nineteen Hundred and Two in London, England.
came to China in Nineteen Hundred and Thirty to preach the Gospel in
response to the Lord's call, And became a citizen of the Republic of
China in Nineteen Hundred and Forty one.
She was laid to rest in the Lord at Taipei, Taiwan, on the Second Day of January, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy.
（译文大致如此：日生于英格兰伦敦，1930年响应上帝的号召来到中国传播福音，1941年入籍为一名中华民国公民，1970年元月的第二天，她在台湾省台北市长眠于上帝的怀抱中）
&"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, but if it dies it bears much fruit." - John 12:24
（一粒麦子如果不落在地里死了,仍只是一粒; 如果死了,才结出许多子粒来。----约翰福音 12章24节）
=======================================
她的故乡英国埃德蒙顿，有一所1972年以她名字重新命名的学校：
The Gladys Aylward SchoolWindmill Road，Edmonton，London
这是日，一个叫做Claire的孩子看到她的图书后手绘的封面，画得有点离谱，但不失童趣，呵呵。
=======================================
以下是关于她的一些和中国孩子在一起的图片（引自国外网站，恕不注明）。
上面的照片里面是她曾帮助过的中国孩子们。
=======================================&
当年关于电影《六福客栈》拍摄的一段波折。
《跨世纪台湾电影实录》精选：1958年的台湾电影大事〈2月〉
2月7日 ：美国20世纪福斯电影公司致电有关单位，取消来台拍摄新片《六福客栈》计划。
缠足争议未获共识　《六福客栈》易地拍摄
美国20世纪福斯电影公司今日致电中央电影公司等有关单位，声明取消来台拍摄马克．罗勃逊执导、英格丽．褒曼主演的《六福客栈》。《六》片人员於去年
12月间来台展开筹备工作，原本极为顺利，后因剧中涉及民初妇女缠足等情节，有损我GUO形象，经“行政院新闻局”与福斯电影公司代表多次协调未果，终於
造成此一双方都不乐见的结局。
《六福客栈》原名《小妇人》、《八福客栈》，系根据艾伦．柏格斯（Alan Burgess）的长篇小说《小妇人》（The Little
Woman）改编，描述英国女传教士艾伟德（Gladys
Aylward）一生在中国传教的故事。艾伟德於1930年自俄国前往中国山西省阳城县传教，因热爱中国文化而入籍中国，抗战胜利後返回伦敦，近几年又来
台传教。小说《小妇人》即是作者艾伦．柏格斯根据艾伟德的口述撰写而成，由福斯电影公司於去年筹划搬上银幕，并预定今年2月来台湾拍摄外景。
但这项原本为各方看好的“中美合作计划”，日前因剧本出现中国妇女缠足、民初官员着满服、孔庙中出现和尚等情节，引起“新闻局”及社会各界的争议，认为
剧情有悖史实。为澄清外界疑虑，《六福客栈》助理导演劳勃．麦克诺曾於1月12日假台北圆山饭店召开中外记者说明会，强调将一本求真求实的精神修改剧本，
并於1月16日与艾伟德一同宴请山西籍民意代表及中国国民党台湾省党部主任委员郭澄等人，听取对於《六福客栈》的拍摄意见。
另一方面，“新闻局”等有关单位经过会商研究後，亦於1月18日向福斯电影公司提出「建议修正」与「必须修正」共45点意见，并於1月30日由各相关局
处人员针对该公司的回覆进行讨论，惟讨论结果双方均不愿透露。今日，福斯电影公司正式致电有关单位取消来台拍摄《六福客栈》的计划，也终止了中、美电影界
原本有可能展开的第一次合作。
==============================================&
以下是关于她的各类出版物&（原图片引自各大图书网站，主要是亚马逊还有一些拉丁语系国家的图书网站）
相关链接：
王钦华：《闻名世界的六福客栈》&
&&&&&&&&& 《拂去历史的尘埃》
刘利民：《艾伟德：伟大的小妇人》
牛龙飞：《上帝来过阳城》
&&&&&&&&&&&& 《》
&&&& 《二探“六福客栈”》
李军雷：《
谢红俭：《》
11月更新内容：
1、11月12日拍照者已回复我的邮件，在他的照片档案里，没有拍到右侧墓志铭的近照。（I just checked my photo archive, and unfortunately I didn't take aclose-up picture of the Chinese side of her grave.&&&&&&&&&& Sorry,Chris）
2、博友已经找到了一个艾伟德在台湾收养的孤儿（伯大尼育幼院）的线索，也许下一步的突破口在那里。我已给他留言并发邮件。
&&&&&& 回复是：張成大 | IP地址: 61.218.62.* | , 17:27 &&&&&& 真抱歉我的出生日期是1957年11月，您來函詢問艾偉德在陽城收養100孤兒的事，以我的年歲和出生地實難辦到，幫不上忙請見諒。
3、艾伟德著《小妇人》一书的中译版，可在线阅读。
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小妇人——Gladys Aylward艾伟德的故事3
和听友一起分享世间关于美善的美文，~~~~~
和听友一起分享世间关于美善的美文，~~~~~
00:00/02:09Gladys Aylward, Missionary To China
Gladys Aylward was born in London in 1904 (or a few years earlier). She
worked for several years as a parlormaid, and then attended a revival
meeting at which the preacher spoke of dedicating one's life to the
service of God. Gladys responded to the message, and soon after became
convinced that she was called to preach the Gospel in China. At the age
of 26, she became a probationer at the China Inland Mission Center in
London, but was failed to pass the examinations. She worked at other jobs
and saved her money. Then she heard of a 73-year-old missionary, Mrs.
Jeannie Lawson, who was looking for a younger woman to carry on her work.
Gladys wrote to Mrs. Lawson and was accepted if she could get to China.
She did not have enough money for the ship fare, but did have enough for
the train fare, and so in October of 1930 she set out from London with
her passport, her Bible, her tickets, and two pounds ninepence, to travel
to China by the Trans-Siberian Railway, despite the fact that China and
the Soviet Union were engaged in an undeclared war. She arrived in
Vladivostok and sailed from there to Japan and from Japan to Tientsin,
and thence by train, then bus, then mule, to the inland city of Yangchen,
in the mountainous province of Shansi, a little south of Peking
(Beijing). Most of the residents had seen no Europeans other than Mrs.
Lawson and now Miss Aylward. They distrusted them as foreigners, and were
not disposed to listen to them.
Yangchen was an overnight stop for mule caravans that carried coal, raw
cotton, pots, and iron goods on six-week or three-month journeys. It
occurred to the two women that their most effective way of preaching
would be to set up an inn. The building in which they lived had once been
an inn, and with a bit of repair work could be used as one again. They
laid in a supply of food for mules and men, and when next a caravan came
past, Gladys dashed out, grabbed the rein of the lead mule, and turned it
into their courtyard. It went willingly, knowing by experience that
turning into a courtyard meant food and water and rest for the night. The
other mules followed, and the muleteers had no choice. They were given
good food and warm beds at the standard price, and their mules were well
cared for, and there was free entertainment in the evening--the inkeepers
told stories about a man named Jesus. After the first few weeks, Gladys
did not need to kidnap customers -- they turned in at the inn by
preference. Some became Christians, and many of them (both Christians and
non-Christians) remembered the stories, and retold them more or less
accurately to other muleteers at other stops along the caravan trails.
Gladys practiced her Chinese for hours each day, and was becoming fluent
and comfortable with it. Then Mrs. Lawson suffered a severe fall, and
died a few days later. Gladys Aylward was left to run the mission alone,
with the aid of one Chinese Christian, Yang, the cook.
A few weeks after the death of Mrs. Lawson, Miss Aylward met the Mandarin
of Yangchen. He arrived in a sedan chair, with an impressive escort, and
told her that the government had decreed an end to the practice of
footbinding. (Note: Among the upper and middle classes, it had for
centuries been the custom that a woman's foot should be wrapped tightly
in bandages from infancy, to prevent it from growing. Thus grown women
had extremely tiny feet, on which they could walk only with slow,
tottering steps, which were thought to be extremely graceful.) The
government needed a foot-inspector, a woman (so that she could invade the
women's quarters without scandal), with her own feet unbound (so that she
could travel), who would patrol the district enforcing the decree. It was
soon clear to them both that Gladys was the only possible candidate for
the job, and she accepted, realizing that it would give her undreamed-of
opportunities to spread the Gospel.
During her second year in Yangchen, Gladys was summoned by the Mandarin.
A riot had broken out in the men's prison. She arrived and found that the
convicts were rampaging in the prison courtyard, and several of them had
been killed. The soldiers were afraid to intervene. The warden of the
prison said to Gladys, "Go into the yard and stop the rioting." She said,
"How can I do that?" The warden said, "You have been preaching that those
who trust in Christ have nothing to fear." She walked into the courtyard
and shouted: "Quiet! I cannot hear when everyone is shouting at once.
Choose one or two spokesmen, and let me talk with them." The men quieted
down and chose a spokesman. Gladys talked with him, and then came out and
told the warden: "You have these men cooped up in crowded conditions with
absolutely nothing to do. No wonder they are so edgy that a small dispute
sets off a riot. You must give them work. Also, I am told that you do not
supply food for them, so that they have only what their relatives send
them. No wonder they fight over food. We will set up looms so that they
can weave cloth and earn enough money to buy their own food." This was
done. There was no money for sweeping reforms, but a few friends of the
warden donated old looms, and a grindstone so that the men could work
grinding grain. The people began to call Gladys Aylward "Ai-weh-deh,"
which means "Virtuous One." It was her name from then on.
Soon after, she saw a woman begging by the road, accompanied by a child
covered with sores and obviously suffering severe malnutrition. She
satisfied herself that the woman was not the child's mother, but had
kidnapped the child and was using it as an aid to her begging. She bought
the child for ninepence--a girl about five years old. A year later,
"Ninepence" came in with an abandoned boy in tow, saying, "I will eat
less, so that he can have something." Thus Ai-weh-deh acquired a second
orphan, "Less." And so her family began to grow.... She was a regular and
welcome visitor at the palace of the Mandarin, who found her religion
ridiculous, but her conversation stimulating. In 1936, she officially
became a Chinese citizen. She lived frugally and dressed like the people
around her (as did the missionaries who arrived a few years after in in
the neighboring town of Tsechow, David and Jean Davis and their young son
Murray, of Wales), and this was a major factor in making her preaching
effective.
Then the war came. In the spring of 1938, Japanese planes bombed the city
of Yangcheng, killing many and causing the survivors to flee into the
mountains. Five days later, the Japanese Army occupied Yangcheng, then
left, then came again, then left. The Mandarin gathered the survivors and
told them to retreat into the mountains for the duration. He also
announced that he was impressed by the life of Ai-weh-deh and wished to
make her faith his own. There remained the question of the convicts at
the jail. The traditional policy favored beheading them all lest they
escape. The Mandarin asked Ai-weh-deh for advice, and a plan was made for
relatives and friends of the convicts to post a bond guaranteeing their
good behavior. Every man was eventually released on bond. As the war
continued Gladys often found herself behind Japanese lines, and often
passed on information, when she had it, to the armies of China, her
adopted country. She met and became friends with "General Ley," a Roman
Catholic priest from Europe who had teken up arms when the Japanese
invaded, and now headed a guerilla force. Finally he sent her a message.
The Japanese are coming in full force. We are retreating. Come with us."
Angry, she scrawled a Chinese note, Chi Tao Tu Pu Twai,
"Christians never retreat!" He sent back a copy of a Japanese handbill
offering $100 each for the capture, dead or alive, of (1) the Mandarin,
(2) a prominent merchant, and (3) Ai-weh-deh. She determined to flee to
the government orphanage at Sian, bringing with her the children she had
accumulated, about 100 in number. (An additional 100 had gone ahead
earlier with a colleague.) With the children in tow, she walked for
twelve days. Some nights they found shelter with friendly hosts. Some
nights they spent unprotected on the mountainsides. On the twelfth day,
they arrived at the Yellow River, with no way to cross it. All boat
traffic had stopped, and all civilian boats had been seized to keep them
out of the hands of the Japanese. The children wanted to know, "Why don't
we cross?" She said, "There are no boats." They said, "God can do
anything. Ask Him to get us across." They all knelt and prayed. Then they
sang. A Chinese officer with a patrol heard the singing and rode up. He
heard their story and said, "I think I can get you a boat." They crossed,
and after a few more difficulties Ai-weh-deh delivered her charges into
competent hands at Sian, and then promptly collapsed with typhus fever
and sank into delirium for several days.
As her health gradually improved, she started a Christian church in Sian,
and worked elsewhere, including a settlement for lepers in Szechuan, near
the borders of Tibet. Her health was permanently impaired by injuries
received during the war, and in 1947 she returned to England for a badly
needed operation. She remained in England, preaching there.
In 1957, Alan Burgess wrote a book about her, The Small Woman. It
was condensed in The Reader's Digest, and made into a movie called
Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman. When
Newsweek magazine reviewed the movie, and summarized the plot, a reader,
supposing the story to be fiction, wrote in to say, "In order for a movie
to be good, the story should be believable!" Miss Gladys Aylward, the
Small Woman, Ai-weh-deh, died 3 January 1970.
PRAYER (traditional language):
Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant
Gladys Aylward, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to
the people of China. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and
every land heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom, that thy
Church may make proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior
Jesus C who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
PRAYER (contemporary language):
Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant
Gladys Aylward, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the
people of China. Raise up in this and every land heralds and
evangelists of your kingdom, that your Church may make proclaim
the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus C who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
Unless otherwise indicated, this biographical sketch was written by
and any comments about its content should be directed to him.
has more information.