MEDHURST (Walter Henry).
China: Its State and Prospects, with especial Reference to the spread of the Gospel: containing Allusions to the Antiquity, Extent, Population, Civilization, Literature, and Religion of the Chinese.
MEDHURST ON CHINA
Medhurst (1796-1857) is amongst the most famous English missionaries in China during the early 19th century and one the first translators of the Bible into Chinese. He was initially sent to Malacca on behalf of the London Missionary Society in 1816 in order to set up a printing centre. He worked as a missionary in Penang and Batavia, before making his first trip up the Chinese coast in 1835.
The first part of the book is a general introduction to China with particular emphasis on the possibilities for missionary activities. The second part describes his journey from Canton to Shandong peninsula (Wei-hai-wei) and back down to Canton via Shanghai. He emphasises his dislike of the Opium trade. Medhurst was without doubt one of the most knowledgable of the Western sinologists in the first half of the 19th century.
The beautiful colour frontispiece shows Medhurst together with Zhu Delang, a Chinese convert who became his friend, teacher and assistant. Lust 61; Cordier 74.
