Encountering China: The Evolution of Timothy Richard’s Missionary Thought (1870–1891)
Ebook
Overview
Welsh Baptist missionary to China Timothy Richard (1845-1919) was once widely regarded as “one of the greatest missionaries whom any branch of the Church, whether Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, or Protestant, has sent to China.” Today, few have heard of Richard and his remarkable lifetime of ministry in China. As the first critical examination of Richard’s missionary identity, this groundbreaking historical study traces the narrative of Richard’s early life in Wales and his formative first two decades of service in China. Richard’s adaptations to the common evangelistic techniques of his day, his interest in learning from grassroots Chinese sectarian religions, his integration of evangelism and famine relief during the North China Famine (1876-79), his strategic decision to evangelize Chinese elites, and his complicated relationships with Hudson Taylor and other China missionaries are all explored through the writings and personal letters of Richard and his contemporaries. The resulting portrait represents a significant revision to existing interpretations of this influential China missionary, emphasizing his deep empathy for the people of China and his abiding evangelical identity. Readable and relevant, Encountering China provides a new generation with an introduction to this lost legend of China mission.
“Encountering China takes the forty-five year missionary
career of Timothy Richard in the late nineteenth century as the
focus for this book. It is a fascinating and readable study of a
crucial period in Protestant, Evangelical China mission. . . This
book is must reading for anyone contemplating work in China or
elsewhere today. The roots of contemporary balanced ministry are
clearly found in the work and life of Timothy Richard.”
—Michael Pocock, Dallas Theological Seminary
“Kaiser’s work is a major contribution to the study of Timothy
Richard, a towering figure in modern mission history of China. It
gives us a much more nuanced narrative and interpretation of
Richard’s famous missiological adjustment, and points to the
complex dynamics of Protestant missionary movement in the
nineteenth-century China. The future scholarship of China mission
history would benefit from this outstanding work.”
—Kevin Xiyi Yao, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary
“Andrew Kaiser’s Encountering China contributes to
mission reflection today by walking the reader carefully through
the development of Timothy Richard’s thought.”
—Thomas Harvey, Oxford Center for Mission Studies, St. Philips and
St. James Church
“Kaiser’s well-researched study of China missionary Timothy Richard
challenges the conservative/liberal dichotomy frequently used to
categorize missionaries, and deftly places Richard’s evolution as a
missionary within late-Qing Chinese as well as Victorian Protestant
contexts. His exploration of the nature of missionary adaptation in
response to cross-cultural encounters results in fascinating
discoveries, among them Richard’s willingness to borrow practices
from Chinese religious sectarians to spread the gospel, and his use
of Fulfillment Theology to support his call for more accommodating
methods of evangelism in China.”
—Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley, Professor of History, San Diego State
University
- Title: Encountering China: The Evolution of Timothy Richard’s Missionary Thought (1870–1891)
- Author: Andrew T. Kaiser
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532664151, 9781532664137, 9781532664144, 153266415X, 1532664133, 1532664141
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532664151
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T14:50:11Z
Andrew T. Kaiser is the author of The Rushing On of the
Purposes of God: Christian Missions in Shanxi since 1876. He
and his family have been living in Shanxi since 1997, serving the
people of the province through professional work and public benefit
projects.