Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff – författare

The Prussian-born Protestant missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-51) sought to spread Christianity in the Far East. A gifted linguist, he sailed to Siam and worked on a translation of the Bible into Thai. The British missionary Robert Morrison had fired his interest in China, and Gützlaff later focused his evangelising efforts there, learning several dialects and distributing translated literature. The present work, featuring an introductory chapter by fellow missionary William Ellis on Chinese attitudes to foreign influence, was first published in 1834. Gützlaff had left Siam in 1831 in a Chinese junk trading along the coast of China. The next year, as an interpreter aboard an East India Company vessel, he also visited Korea and Okinawa. The third voyage recounted here describes the places and peoples encountered from Canton to Manchuria. Also reissued in this series are Gützlaff's Sketch of Chinese History (1834) and China Opened (1838).

Remarkable yet controversial, the Prussian-born Protestant missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-51) sought to spread Christianity in the Far East. A gifted linguist, he sailed to Siam and worked on translating the Bible into Thai. The British missionary Robert Morrison had fired his interest in China, and Gützlaff later focused his evangelising efforts there, learning several dialects and distributing translated literature. Furthermore, he served as an interpreter for the East India Company. Also reissued in this series are his Journal of Three Voyages along the Coast of China (1834) and A Sketch of Chinese History (1834). Edited down into two substantial volumes by the Congregational minister Andrew Reed (1787-1862), the present work was published in 1838. It aimed to generate support for the missionary cause by giving Anglophone readers deeper insight into an unfamiliar civilisation. Volume 1 addresses geography and topography, before moving onto history, language and culture.

Remarkable yet controversial, the Prussian-born Protestant missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-51) sought to spread Christianity in the Far East. A gifted linguist, he sailed to Siam and worked on translating the Bible into Thai. The British missionary Robert Morrison had fired his interest in China, and Gützlaff later focused his evangelising efforts there, learning several dialects and distributing translated literature. Furthermore, he served as an interpreter for the East India Company. Also reissued in this series are his Journal of Three Voyages along the Coast of China (1834) and A Sketch of Chinese History (1834). Edited down into two substantial volumes by the Congregational minister Andrew Reed (1787-1862), the present work was published in 1838. It aimed to generate support for the missionary cause by giving Anglophone readers deeper insight into an unfamiliar civilisation. Volume 2 addresses arts and sciences, religion, and government at all levels.

Remarkable yet controversial, the Prussian-born Protestant missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-51) sought to spread Christianity in the Far East. A gifted linguist, he sailed to Siam and worked on translating the Bible into Thai. The British missionary Robert Morrison had fired his interest in China, and Gützlaff later focused his evangelising efforts there, learning several dialects and distributing translated literature. He also worked for the East India Company, notably serving as an interpreter during negotiations for the Treaty of Nanking. Also reissued in this series are his Journal of Three Voyages along the Coast of China (1834) and China Opened (1838). The present work, published in two volumes in 1834, aimed to diminish Anglophone ignorance of China's vast history. Volume 1 surveys contemporary Chinese geography, government and culture before tracing Chinese history from mythological times to the end of the Ming dynasty in 1644.