Timothy Richard's Vision: Education and Reform in China 1880-1910 (Studies in Chinese Christianity)

Pioneer missionary Timothy Richard served forty-five years in China and became a household name among educated Chinese. Largely forgotten for decades his amazing life is reintroduced in this most welcome volume. In 1880 Richard first articulated a vision for modern higher education as the basis for overall progress in China. His influence grew along with high official honors after 1891 when he became general secretary of the Christian Literature Society and continued as a leader in the Educational Association of China. By the mid-1890s many Chinese scholars and officials began to embrace his expanding vision and approach to reform. After the 1900 Boxer Uprising Richard was invited by the Chinese government to represent Protestant missions advising and mediating the settlement for the losses of life and property especially heavy in Shanxi. Following his recommendation which received Imperial approval by June 1901 the province paid a fine but it was used to found a college of Western learning in its capital city. The Imperial University of Shansi (now Shanxi University) with Chinese and Western Learning Departments and overseen by Richard and the provincial governor as joint chancellors was to serve as the model institution in a national system of modern higher education. This is a touching book. While reading it I have really felt the greatness of Timothy Richard in all that he did for China. I was inspired by his vision and mission and amazed at how vision can give meaning and purpose to life whether there is endorsement from others or not. Richards vision drove him to an unknown land where he contributed all his lifes effort to education in its highest sense leaving a significant legacy. --Wing On Lee Dean of Education Research National Institute of Education Singapore This is a much-needed book and it fills a gap in the literature. Obviously Timothy Richard was one of the most important missionaries in China who made tremendous contributions to Chinas modernization in multiple areas. . . . This book is a good start and I hope it will stimulate more research on Timothy Richard and his multiple contributions. --Fenggang Yang Director Center on Religion and Chinese Society Purdue University West Lafayette IN This remarkable book reflects much sensitive research within a wider framework of cross-cultural dialogue across generations. Eunice Johnson has addressed her theme with diligence and insight and the foreword by Ruth Hayhoe and afterword by Aisi Li add to its charm. --Mark Bray UNESCO Chair Professor in Comparative Education The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China Eunice V. Johnson began her educational career as a psychologist with South Carolinas Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Commission for the Blind and received her PhD from the University of Florida. Three life-changing years teaching English in Shanxi and Henan sparked her research on missionary contributions to education in China. Carol Lee Hamrin served in the U.S. State Department as a China specialist taught in Washington DC graduate schools and has published widely.