The Voyage to China and an Unlikely Friendship
In 1886, a remarkable journey unfolded aboard the French mail steamer Oxus as it carried a diverse group of passengers toward China. Among them were eighteen Catholic priests and nuns, seven Protestant missionaries, and one particularly observant traveler who would leave an indelible mark on Chinese history. The ship became an unlikely setting for theological debate when this Protestant missionary engaged in a frank discussion with a Jesuit priest about religious truth and denominational differences.
The Jesuit, who later revealed himself as the president of a prestigious Parisian university, initially took offense at the Protestant’s critique of Catholic literature. Yet this bold conversation, rather than creating enmity, planted the seeds for an enduring friendship that would survive theological differences. Eleven years later, their paths crossed again in Shanghai, where the former Jesuit had become a bishop. Their relationship exemplified how religious figures in China could maintain mutual respect despite profound doctrinal disagreements—a lesson that would prove crucial during the turbulent years ahead.
Medical Breakthroughs Amidst Cultural Barriers
The missionary’s wife fell seriously ill with sprue, a poorly understood tropical disease that baffled British physicians. After conventional treatments failed, her husband discovered an innovative therapy through diligent research in a newly arrived medical text. The treatment—based on complete digestive rest followed by gradual milk feedings—not only saved his wife’s life but became a model for treating similar cases throughout China.
This medical breakthrough demonstrated how Western knowledge could adapt to Chinese contexts when approached with humility and persistence. The missionary’s detailed account of the treatment, shared widely despite professional skepticism, reflected his commitment to practical service over doctrinal purity—a theme that would characterize his entire career in China.
Theological Controversies and Missionary Politics
Upon arriving in Shanxi province, the missionary faced opposition from younger colleagues who disapproved of his unconventional methods. Unlike most missionaries who dismissed Chinese religions outright, he acknowledged elements of truth in Daoism while showing how Christianity could fulfill its aspirations. This nuanced approach, documented in a pamphlet about Daoism, scandalized his more conservative peers.
The resulting conflict revealed deep divisions within missionary communities about how to engage with Chinese culture. While his colleagues demanded conformity to traditional evangelistic methods, the missionary insisted on contextualizing Christianity for Chinese audiences. This tension between innovation and orthodoxy would follow him throughout his career, ultimately leading to his departure from Shanxi.
Encounters with China’s Elite
The missionary’s relocation to Tianjin and Beijing opened doors to influential circles. His meeting with Li Hongzhang, one of China’s most powerful officials, produced a revealing exchange about Christianity’s value to national development. When Li asked what benefits Christianity could bring to China, the question inspired the missionary to write his seminal work “Historical Evidence of the Benefits of Christianity.”
His friendship with Zeng Jize, son of the famous statesman Zeng Guofan, proved particularly fruitful. As China’s former ambassador to Britain and France, Zeng appreciated Western education and arranged for the missionary’s wife to tutor his children. These connections with reform-minded officials positioned the missionary as a cultural mediator during China’s painful transition toward modernization.
Educational Reforms and Missed Opportunities
The missionary’s progressive ideas about education—particularly his proposal for a Christian college in Jinan—faced repeated rejection from his mission board. His vision emphasized comparative historical methods and practical knowledge, anticipating approaches that would later transform Chinese education. Though frustrated in Shanxi and Shandong, these educational theories eventually found expression through his writings, which influenced Chinese scholars and officials including the Hanlin academician who implemented his methods.
His pamphlet on modern education systems, distributed among Beijing officials, argued that China should invest one million taels annually in educational reform—a proposal Li Hongzhang dismissed as too expensive with too delayed returns. This shortsightedness, common among Qing officials, highlighted the challenges facing reformers during China’s Self-Strengthening Movement.
Interfaith Dialogues in Beijing
The missionary’s intellectual curiosity led to remarkable encounters with Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama’s representative in Beijing and the capital’s senior abbot. These conversations revealed surprising common ground between Christianity and Buddhism’s more developed forms, while also demonstrating the political dimensions of religious authority in late Qing China.
His respectful yet probing dialogue with the senior abbot—who immediately grasped the central theological question of how one knows God’s will—convinced him that Buddhism deserved serious engagement rather than blanket condemnation. These interchanges informed his growing conviction that missionaries must understand Chinese religions on their own terms before presenting Christian alternatives.
Journalism as a Tool for Reform
The missionary’s editorship of the Chinese-language newspaper Shibao (The Times) in 1890 allowed him to promote reform ideas to a wider audience. His weekly supplements featuring comparative global statistics on population, railways, and commerce became powerful tools for demonstrating China’s relative backwardness. The newspaper’s influence extended to powerful figures like Zhang Zhidong, who requested direct deliveries to his office in Wuhan.
Through journalism, the missionary advocated for international engagement, using European royal visits as models for China’s diplomatic normalization. His articles about Japan’s rapid modernization particularly resonated with Chinese readers, earning gratitude from Japanese observers. This period marked the beginning of his lifelong commitment to using media as a vehicle for social and intellectual change.
The Tianjin Women’s Bible Class
The missionary’s wife made her own distinctive contributions through innovative educational methods. Her English language instruction for three Japanese students—using natural acquisition techniques similar to how children learn their mother tongue—produced remarkable results. When these students encountered Christian concepts in their reading, her suggestion to study the Gospel of John led to their eventual baptism—a development surprisingly supported by the Japanese minister who valued Western civilization’s Christian foundations.
Her winter Bible class for fifty Chinese women from across the country demonstrated the power of grassroots religious education. Using visual aids like a large map tracing Christianity’s global spread, she created a learning environment so harmonious that not “even the slightest conflict” arose. When these women returned home, some reportedly attracted dozens of new believers—proof of indigenous Christianity’s viral potential.
The Birth of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge
In 1891, the missionary assumed leadership of what would become the Christian Literature Society (Guangxuehui), inheriting an organization founded by Alexander Williamson to produce Chinese-language Christian literature. His ambitious seven-point plan aimed to influence China’s educated elite through journals, monograph series, essay competitions, and lecture programs—all distributed through examination centers where scholars gathered.
Under his direction, the society flourished despite limited resources. The Wanguo Gongbao (Review of the Times), edited by Young J. Allen, became essential reading for reform-minded officials. The 1893 special examination for Empress Dowager Cixi’s sixtieth birthday provided an opportunity to distribute 60,000 copies of Faber’s Civilization and other publications to candidates—a massive effort to shape China’s future leadership.
Imperial Recognition and the Anti-Foot Binding Movement
The missionary’s wife played a key role in organizing Christian women’s gift of a specially crafted New Testament to Empress Dowager Cixi—an offering that earned imperial appreciation and gifts of silk for the participants. Meanwhile, the missionary supported Archibald Little’s pioneering campaign against foot binding, producing pamphlets that converted even his Chinese assistant’s wife to the cause.
These efforts reflected the missionary couple’s dual approach: engaging both imperial authorities and grassroots movements to transform Chinese society. The eventual handover of the anti-foot binding campaign to Chinese leadership in 1906 marked a milestone in indigenous social reform—one of many ways their work planted seeds for China’s modernization.
Legacy of a Cross-Cultural Bridge-Builder
The missionary’s story encapsulates the complex interplay between religion, medicine, education, and reform in late Qing China. His willingness to challenge both Chinese traditions and missionary orthodoxies, his respect for interfaith dialogue, and his innovative use of media for social change established patterns that would influence China’s encounter with modernity. Though often frustrated by institutional inertia, his ideas about education, public health, and women’s rights gradually took root through the Chinese intellectuals and officials he influenced.
The Christian Literature Society became a lasting institution, continuing to shape Chinese thought well into the twentieth century. More importantly, the missionary’s example of cultural engagement—combining fidelity to Christian conviction with genuine appreciation for Chinese wisdom—offered an alternative to the imperialism and condescension that often characterized foreign presence in China. His life reminds us that meaningful cross-cultural exchange requires both courage to speak truth and humility to receive it.