Full Description
The Welsh Baptist missionary, Timothy Richard, served for over forty years in China from 1870 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 honours, 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, 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.
Contents
Foreword by Ruth Hayhoe
Note on Romanization
List of Abbreviations
1 Reintroducing a Pioneer Missionary
2 Becoming a Practical Reformer, 1865-85
3 Refining the Reformer, 1885-91
4 Shaping China's Reform Movements, 1891-1910
5 Fulfilling the Vision: The Imperial University of Shansi, 1901-10
6 Giving Honor Where Honor is Due
Epilogue
Afterword by Aisi Li
Illustrations
Author's Biographical Sketch and Acknowledgments
Contributors
Appendices
1 Chronology of Timothy Richard's Life
2 Compilation of Works in Chinese by Timothy Richard
Sources of Illustrations
Bibliography
Index
