"Seeing the archives of Western missionaries’ written works about China is like discovering another Dunhuang treasure," said Mr. Su Jing, a 74-year-old scholar.
In the middle and late 15th century, with the great geographical discovery and the outward expansion of Spain and Portugal, European missionaries went to preach the gospel all over the world. During the Ming Dynasty, Jesuits took the lead in entering China, opening scientific and cultural exchanges between China and the West during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. From 1552 to Matteo Ricci's arrival in China in 1583, there were 32 Jesuits, 24 Franciscans, two Augustinians and one Dominican who tried to settle down in China but failed. It was not until 1583 when Jesuits Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci arrived in Zhaoqing as "Buddhist monks", that the history of Jesuit ministries in inland China began. Since then, Christian churches, one after another, have been sending missionaries into China.
Missionaries in different periods had a great influence on China. Among them, the documents left by missionaries in China are like a Dunhuang discovery to Chinese scholars involving not only political history, military history, but also civilian history, material civilization history, and cultural history. Unfortunately, these documents lie silently in Western libraries and have been ignored by Chinese scholars for a long time.
Su Jing, Ph.D. in the Institute of Library Research, University of London, UK, was a professor at Fu Jen University in Taiwan, and is now retired. At the age of 47, Su was the director of a library's ancient books department. He could have retired after working for another year and 10 months, but he decided to study in Britain. After getting a master's degree, he sold his house because he couldn't find a job and then went to England to study for a doctorate. When searching the archives in the library, Su came into contact with the complete missionary archives that few people studied, especially the rich records of printing and publishing, hospitals, schools and other aspects related to missionary work. These missionary-related records attracted Su Jing deeply, so he began copying materials.
For three years, he soaked in everything the library had to offer on the files of missionaries coming to China, copying 2.5 million words. After returning to China, he continued to copy documents by microfilm, reaching 4.5 million words. Subsequently, Su Jing published Casting for Engraving: Changes in Chinese Printing in the 19th Century (Zhonghua Book Company). Tencent Culture made a comment on this book: "After the book was published in mainland China, it caused a sensation. The rigorous argumentation and solid materials in the book are amazing."
Tencent Culture interviewed Su Jing for this book and invited him to review the beginning and process of the 4.5 million words he had copied. In the interview, he recalled: "When I searched the archives in the library, I didn't see Chinese scholars and I rarely saw British and American scholars. The archives of missionaries coming to China are complete, especially the records of printing and publishing, hospitals, schools, etc., because they are related to missionary work, so people can't resist the temptation of' copying them down'."
It is precisely because of these words that the stories of unknown missionaries are displayed for us and some materials have changed our original understanding of the missionaries. In the interview, Su Jing talked about some historical anecdotes which give people a different perspective, such as the following two:
1. Empress Dowager donated 1,000 grams of white silver to build the Union Medical College.
In November 1901, Scottish missionary Thomas Corkeren, who was appointed by the London Mission Society, arrived in China to set up Peking Union Medical College. After arriving in Beijing, Kekeren opened an outpatient clinic. Among the patients in the outpatient clinic was Li Lianying, who introduced them to the Empress Dowager Cixi. The London Mission Society was acknowledged by the Empress. The construction of the Union Medical College received the first donation from Cixi. After that, the College received a donation of 1600 Pounds from Li Lianying. Finally, Peking Union Medical College was officially completed in 1906, with 14 foreign teachers, and became the only church education institution recognized by the Chinese government at that time. The British Foreign Secretary and American Ambassador attended the inauguration ceremony and delivered speeches.
In 1915, the Rockefeller Foundation acquired Union Medical College. Subsequently, Rockefeller Foundation invested funds to build a new college. In September, 1917, the Rockefeller Foundation of the United States helped to establish Peking Union Medical College and opened medical foundation programmes. The affiliated hospital was Peking Union Medical College Hospital.
On this basis, it is generally believed that if Cixi had not donated the while silver, the Union Medical College could not have been opened. However, according to the archives copied by Su Jing, Cixi's donation only accounts for about 1/5 of the total donation, so it was not the major portion of the total donation.
2. Robert Morrison pioneered modern Chinese movable-type printing.
Movable-type printing is often traced back to Bi Sheng (a Chinese inventor of its kind). However, before the missionaries in China introduced modern printing, movable type printing was never popular. Robert Morrison, an English missionary, was the first Western Protestant missionary sent to Chinese mainland. 200 years ago, he hired a professional printer from England and came to China to print dictionaries with the equipment he brought. This was the first time that modern movable type printing entered China. At the same time, he also published the first English-Chinese dictionary in Chinese history. He was also the first to translate the Bible into Chinese.
To the wide neglect of missionaries’ contributions in China, Su Jing said, "Missionaries were not very appropriate in some political issues. If they had not interfered in politics too deeply and widely, we may not ignore their contributions today."
Su Jing also said that missionaries were not perfect either. "Missionaries in China made constructive contributions to modern Chinese society, but what they did was not all right. They were not perfect themselves, but could also be selfish, jealous, and prejudiced. We can't just see their good side, nor can we just see their bad side."
William Muirhead, for example, was regarded as a perfect person in his contribution of Chinese historical materials, but according to the records of missionaries in China, it was he who personally closed the London Missionary Society Press. That was an important channel to pass on Western learning to China. In the same year, Muirhead also transferred a church hospital to non-governmental organizations. It can be said that the two foundations set up by London Missionary Society in Shanghai were all ruined by him, and the means he adopted were not very glorious. It can be seen that although Muirhead made great contributions, there was also some dereliction in his deeds.
Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, the total number of missionaries in China is about 15,000. Professor Su Jing said that after reading and copying these vast missionary archives for so many years, he only read a small part of them. By contrast, the documents left by these missionaries were not only amazing in number but also varied in content, involving many aspects such as civil history, material civilization history, and cultural history.
Facing this historical material like the Dunhuang Treasures, he hoped that more scholars would continue to do this work in the future.
Original text from Christian Times.
- Translated by Charlie Li
450万字，学者苏精手抄国内缺失的来华传教士档案
“看到来华传教士关于中国的档案，犹如发现了另一个敦煌宝藏。”年已74岁的学者苏精先生说。
15世纪中后期，随着地理大发现及西、葡的对外扩张，欧洲传教士纷纷前往世界各地传教。明万历年间，耶稣会士率先入华，掀开了明清时期中西方科学与文化交流的序幕。 从1552年到利玛窦1583年到达中国，共有32名耶稣会、24名方济各会士、2名奥古斯丁会士和1名多明我会士试图在中国定居，但都未成功。直到1583年，耶稣会士罗明坚、利玛窦等始以“番僧”的身份到达肇庆，开启了耶稣会在中国内地传教的历史。此后，基督教会陆续派遣传教士进入中国。
不同时期的来华传教士都对当时的中国有着不可忽视的影响 。其中就来华传教士留下的文献，在学者看来犹如敦煌文献，不仅涉及政治史、军事史等，还有生活史、物质文明史、文化史等内容。但遗憾的是，这些文献躺在西方的图书馆中，被中国学者长期忽视。
苏精，英国伦敦大学图书馆研究所博士，曾任台湾辅仁大学教授等，目前早已退休。在他47岁时，苏精在图书馆古籍善本部担任主任，本来再工作一年零10个月就可以退休安度晚年的他毅然决然前往英国留学。拿到硕士文凭后，因找不到工作，苏精卖了房子，再去英国读博士。在图书馆查档案时，苏精接触到了少有人研究的完整来华传教士档案，特别是丰富的印刷出版、医院、学校等与传教有关方面的记载。这些与传教有关的记载深深吸引住了苏精，由此便开始了他的“手抄”之路。
整整3年，他泡在图书馆中抄来华传教士档案，抄了250万字。回国后，又利用微缩胶片，继续抄文献，如今已达450万字。随后，苏精出版了《铸以代刻：十九世纪中文印刷变局》（中华书局），腾讯文化对此书评论说：“该书在大陆出版后，引起轰动。书中论证之严谨、材料之扎实，令人叹为观止。”
腾讯文化对此书专访了苏精，邀请他回顾了自己450万字手抄史的开始和过程。在访谈中，他回忆说：“我在图书馆查档案时，没看到中国学者，也很少看到英美学者。来华传教士档案完整，特别是印刷出版、医院、学校等方面的记载，因与传教有关，所以特别丰富，让人实在无法抵挡‘将它们抄下来’的诱惑。”
正是因为这些一笔一划的文字，才让那些不为人知的传教士的故事展现在我们眼前，甚至有些材料推翻了我们原有的认知。在访谈中，苏精谈到一些历史轶事，给人带来不一样的视角，比如以下两则：
一、慈禧捐赠1万两白银建成的协和医学堂
1901年11月受伦敦会委派的苏格兰传教士托马斯·科克仁到达中国着手创办北京协和医学堂。抵达北京后科克仁便开设了门诊，门诊部的病人中有李莲英，正是通过李莲英，伦敦宣教会得到了慈禧太后的认可。医学堂的建设得到了第一笔来自慈禧的捐赠；之后，医学堂又得到了来自李莲英的1600英镑捐赠。最终，北京协和医学堂于1906年正式落成，有外国教员14人，成为当时唯一得到中国政府承认的教会教育机构。英国外相、美国大使都出席了落成典礼并致辞。
1915年，洛克菲勒基金会收购协和医学堂。随后，洛克菲勒基金会投入资金进行新校建设。1917年9月由美国洛克菲勒基金会帮助建立北京协和医学院，开办医学预科，附属医院为北京协和医院。
在此基础上大家普遍认为，如不是慈禧捐了1万两白银，协和医学堂是不可能开办起来的。但从苏精抄写的档案看，慈禧捐款只占全部捐款的1/5左右，未必是决定性力量。
二、马礼逊，开创了现代中文活字印刷
说起活字印刷，我们往往追溯到毕昇，但在来华传教士引进现代印刷术之前，活字印刷始终没能成为主流。英国传教士——罗伯特·马礼逊是西方派到中国大陆的第一位基督新教传教士。２００年前，他从英国找到专业印刷工，带着机械，来中国印刷字典。这是现代活字印刷首次进入中国。同时也出版了中国历史上第一部英汉字典——《华英字典》。他还第一个把《圣经》译成中文.
对于国内普遍存在的忽视传教士贡献的状态，苏精说到；“传教士在涉及政治的一些问题中，表现并不十分妥当，如果不是他们陷入政治太深、太广，今天我们可能也就不会忽略他们的贡献。”
苏精也说到，传教士也不是完人，“来华传教士对近代中国社会有建设性的功劳，但他们做的事也不全对。他们自己也并非完人，也有自私、嫉妒、偏见等。我们不能只看到他们好的一面，也不能只看到他们坏的一面。”
比如慕维廉，在中文史料中，他被认为是一个完人，但据来华传教士的档案记载，正是他亲手关闭了墨海书馆。那是传递西学的重要渠道。此外，慕维廉还在同一年，将教会医院转手给民间机构。可以说，伦敦会在上海的两大基业全被他断送了，而他采取的手段不太光彩。可见，虽然慕维廉做出了很大贡献，但也有失职之处。
从清末算起，来华传教总数在1.5万人左右。关于这些浩瀚的传教士档案苏精教授表示，他连读带抄这么多年，只看了其中很少的一部分，与之相比，这些传教士士留下的文献数量不仅惊人，而且内容多样，涉及到生活史、物质文明史、文化史等多方面内容。
面对这一仿佛“敦煌宝藏”一样的史料，他希望今后能有更多学者继续做这个工作。
450万字，学者苏精手抄国内缺失的来华传教士档案
"Seeing the archives of Western missionaries’ written works about China is like discovering another Dunhuang treasure," said Mr. Su Jing, a 74-year-old scholar.
In the middle and late 15th century, with the great geographical discovery and the outward expansion of Spain and Portugal, European missionaries went to preach the gospel all over the world. During the Ming Dynasty, Jesuits took the lead in entering China, opening scientific and cultural exchanges between China and the West during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. From 1552 to Matteo Ricci's arrival in China in 1583, there were 32 Jesuits, 24 Franciscans, two Augustinians and one Dominican who tried to settle down in China but failed. It was not until 1583 when Jesuits Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci arrived in Zhaoqing as "Buddhist monks", that the history of Jesuit ministries in inland China began. Since then, Christian churches, one after another, have been sending missionaries into China.
Missionaries in different periods had a great influence on China. Among them, the documents left by missionaries in China are like a Dunhuang discovery to Chinese scholars involving not only political history, military history, but also civilian history, material civilization history, and cultural history. Unfortunately, these documents lie silently in Western libraries and have been ignored by Chinese scholars for a long time.
Su Jing, Ph.D. in the Institute of Library Research, University of London, UK, was a professor at Fu Jen University in Taiwan, and is now retired. At the age of 47, Su was the director of a library's ancient books department. He could have retired after working for another year and 10 months, but he decided to study in Britain. After getting a master's degree, he sold his house because he couldn't find a job and then went to England to study for a doctorate. When searching the archives in the library, Su came into contact with the complete missionary archives that few people studied, especially the rich records of printing and publishing, hospitals, schools and other aspects related to missionary work. These missionary-related records attracted Su Jing deeply, so he began copying materials.
For three years, he soaked in everything the library had to offer on the files of missionaries coming to China, copying 2.5 million words. After returning to China, he continued to copy documents by microfilm, reaching 4.5 million words. Subsequently, Su Jing published Casting for Engraving: Changes in Chinese Printing in the 19th Century (Zhonghua Book Company). Tencent Culture made a comment on this book: "After the book was published in mainland China, it caused a sensation. The rigorous argumentation and solid materials in the book are amazing."
Tencent Culture interviewed Su Jing for this book and invited him to review the beginning and process of the 4.5 million words he had copied. In the interview, he recalled: "When I searched the archives in the library, I didn't see Chinese scholars and I rarely saw British and American scholars. The archives of missionaries coming to China are complete, especially the records of printing and publishing, hospitals, schools, etc., because they are related to missionary work, so people can't resist the temptation of' copying them down'."
It is precisely because of these words that the stories of unknown missionaries are displayed for us and some materials have changed our original understanding of the missionaries. In the interview, Su Jing talked about some historical anecdotes which give people a different perspective, such as the following two:
1. Empress Dowager donated 1,000 grams of white silver to build the Union Medical College.
In November 1901, Scottish missionary Thomas Corkeren, who was appointed by the London Mission Society, arrived in China to set up Peking Union Medical College. After arriving in Beijing, Kekeren opened an outpatient clinic. Among the patients in the outpatient clinic was Li Lianying, who introduced them to the Empress Dowager Cixi. The London Mission Society was acknowledged by the Empress. The construction of the Union Medical College received the first donation from Cixi. After that, the College received a donation of 1600 Pounds from Li Lianying. Finally, Peking Union Medical College was officially completed in 1906, with 14 foreign teachers, and became the only church education institution recognized by the Chinese government at that time. The British Foreign Secretary and American Ambassador attended the inauguration ceremony and delivered speeches.
In 1915, the Rockefeller Foundation acquired Union Medical College. Subsequently, Rockefeller Foundation invested funds to build a new college. In September, 1917, the Rockefeller Foundation of the United States helped to establish Peking Union Medical College and opened medical foundation programmes. The affiliated hospital was Peking Union Medical College Hospital.
On this basis, it is generally believed that if Cixi had not donated the while silver, the Union Medical College could not have been opened. However, according to the archives copied by Su Jing, Cixi's donation only accounts for about 1/5 of the total donation, so it was not the major portion of the total donation.
2. Robert Morrison pioneered modern Chinese movable-type printing.
Movable-type printing is often traced back to Bi Sheng (a Chinese inventor of its kind). However, before the missionaries in China introduced modern printing, movable type printing was never popular. Robert Morrison, an English missionary, was the first Western Protestant missionary sent to Chinese mainland. 200 years ago, he hired a professional printer from England and came to China to print dictionaries with the equipment he brought. This was the first time that modern movable type printing entered China. At the same time, he also published the first English-Chinese dictionary in Chinese history. He was also the first to translate the Bible into Chinese.
To the wide neglect of missionaries’ contributions in China, Su Jing said, "Missionaries were not very appropriate in some political issues. If they had not interfered in politics too deeply and widely, we may not ignore their contributions today."
Su Jing also said that missionaries were not perfect either. "Missionaries in China made constructive contributions to modern Chinese society, but what they did was not all right. They were not perfect themselves, but could also be selfish, jealous, and prejudiced. We can't just see their good side, nor can we just see their bad side."
William Muirhead, for example, was regarded as a perfect person in his contribution of Chinese historical materials, but according to the records of missionaries in China, it was he who personally closed the London Missionary Society Press. That was an important channel to pass on Western learning to China. In the same year, Muirhead also transferred a church hospital to non-governmental organizations. It can be said that the two foundations set up by London Missionary Society in Shanghai were all ruined by him, and the means he adopted were not very glorious. It can be seen that although Muirhead made great contributions, there was also some dereliction in his deeds.
Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, the total number of missionaries in China is about 15,000. Professor Su Jing said that after reading and copying these vast missionary archives for so many years, he only read a small part of them. By contrast, the documents left by these missionaries were not only amazing in number but also varied in content, involving many aspects such as civil history, material civilization history, and cultural history.
Facing this historical material like the Dunhuang Treasures, he hoped that more scholars would continue to do this work in the future.
Original text from Christian Times.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Scholar Su Jing Handcopies 4.5-Million-Word Archives of Western Missionaries to China
