Missionary Work in Late Qing China and the John Fryer Papers: Some Considerations from an Almost Secular Perspective

Abstract

The John Fryer Papers, bequeathed by the English translator John Fryer (1839—1928) to the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, are a notable yet underestimated archive for information, from a variety of perspectives, on the Xixue Dongjian and in a broader sense, the circumstances of late Qing China. This article focuses on one of the aspects that, for personal and historical reasons related to Fryer, has been neglected more in relation to the man himself: his contribution to the description of the missionary history and cultural interactions between the West and China. Fryer indeed supplies his acute insider perspective on the relevant situation in late Qing China within different folders of the Papers. In this article, the descriptions, analyses, and suggestions for the missionary work put forward by Fryer are presented and examined. John Fryer did indeed set off for China to become a missionary, but he soon abandoned this purpose; nevertheless, his ties with the missionary milieu of the Jiangnan area remained solid throughout his time in China. The purpose of the article is to provide new information and a fresh perspective on the history of missions and Xixue Dongjian in late Qing China, also casting a brighter light on John Fryer's role.