A visit of Christian missionaries at Mount Wutai: Mongol Buddhism from a cross-cultural perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT James Gilmour (1842–1891) was a Scottish missionary of London Missionary Society who carried out his mission assiduously among Mongols and Han-Chinese north of the Great Wall from 1870 until 1891. He was among the most well-known missionaries of his time, in part because of the exoticism of Mongolia, but also because he failed to convert even one Mongol during his lifetime. Thwarting his missionary ambition was precisely Mongolian Buddhism that Mongols followed ardently and which Gilmour persistently sought to understand. In 1872, Gilmour and his fellow missionary John Edkins travelled to Mount Wutai, the most sacred place for Mongol Buddhists. This article draws on the essay that Gilmour wrote after this journey, titled ‘Wu T’ai Shan.’ The essay contains his detailed observations of pilgrims, lamas and monasteries at Mount Wutai, and his reflection on Mongol Buddhism in general. Overall, Gilmour is critical, if not condemnatory towards Mongol Buddhism, especially towards lamas. This judgement, as we will see, though reflective of certain historical facts, is cloaked with his prejudices as a Christian missionary. Gilmour’s writing is a rare account of the historic moment when Christianity met Mongol Buddhism, which is all the more valuable considering the lack of similar records in the Chinese and Mongol language.