Yen Chia-lin (), also known as Benjamin Yen (1890-1967), was the founder of Scouting in China. He studied at Boone University and became an ordained minister in 1916. He studied at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

and graduated with a Master's Degree in 1926. He spent the next year as a special exchange student at the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

in New York. He returned to China in 1927 and served as the chaplain at St. Hilda's School. He served on the National Board of the General Association of the Scouts of China and the China YMCA. He later traveled to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for the 1935 Boy Scout Jamboree with a group of Chinese boy scouts. The jamboree was canceled due to a polio outbreak and the scouts toured the United States. He also traveled to the Netherlands with a group of boy scouts for the 5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937. Following the birth of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, the first

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

troop was organized by Yen Chia-lin in

Wuchang Wuchang is one of 13 urban District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southea ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

on February 25, 1912 and the Scouting movement spread rapidly all over the country.

References

Scouting and Guiding in China Scouting pioneers 1890 births 1949 deaths Educators from Hubei {{China-bio-stub YMCA leaders