''Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal'' was published in one or another form in Shanghai from 1867 to 1941, after which it was closed by
Japanese authorities. The ''Journal'' was the leading outlet for the English language missionary community in China, with a number of Chinese readers as well. In the 1920s and 1930s, under the editorship of
Frank J. Rawlinson, it was known for its liberal theology and support for Chinese nationalism.
History
The Methodist Press in
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
first published a journal called ''The Missionary Recorder: A Repository of Intelligence from Eastern Missions, and Medium of General Information'' in 1867, shortly after it became legal for foreigners to live in China and for missionaries to proselytize there. This journal was short-lived, however, lasting only a year. The Methodist Press followed it with the ''Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal'' in 1868.
Justus Doolittle Justus Doolittle (; Pinyin: ''Lú Gōngmíng''; Foochow Romanized: ''Lù Gŭng-mìng''; June 23, 1824, Rutland, New York - June 15, 1880, Clinton, New York) was an American Board missionary to China.
Life
Justus Doolittle was born in Rutland, New ...
, a missionary of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, joined the Rev.
Stephen Livingstone Baldwin of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission in the editorship, but this journal stopped publication in May 1872 after the publication of Volume 4.
The Presbyterian Press in Shanghai took up bi-monthly publication in January 1874, initiating a sixty-seven year run, becoming monthly in 1886.
Alexander Wylie, Agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, served as editor from 1874 until 1877, upon which Baldwin resumed his helm as editor until 1879. The Rev.
Andrew P. Happer
Andrew P. Happer (1818–1894) was a nineteenth-century American Presbyterian missionary who is known for his educational, medical, and religious endeavours in South China. Happer's missionary service lasted from 1844 to 1891, and during this ti ...
assumed the role from 1880 until the decline of his health in 1884. The Rev. Dr.
Luther Halsey Gulick Sr.
Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. (June 10, 1828 – April 8, 1891) was a missionary to the Hawaiian Kingdom , and several other places. Although educated in medicine, in later life he became a newspaper editor while several of his children became active i ...
succeeded Happer as editor from 1885 until his own retirement due to health issues in 1889.
Rev.
Lucius Nathan Wheeler, who first started the journal under its original name in 1867, served as editor from 1891 until his sudden death in 1893. Rev. G.F. Fitch became editor in 1908 and was joined in April 1911 by the Rev.
Nelson Bitton in April 1911 (who served only briefly).
In January 1912 the Rev.
Frank J. Rawlinson became first associate editor, then editor in 1913. In the late 1910s, Rawlinson became so involved with theologically liberal causes and support of Chinese nationalism that he was forced to resign from his mission; instead, he joined the more liberal American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. During the 1920s ''The Chinese Recorder'' welcomed a wide range of views but was particularly known for its commentaries and translations of Chinese writings. Rawlinson continued until September 1937, when he was killed by a bomb dropped accidentally by a Chinese plane during the Japanese attack on Shanghai.
By 1939 the journal became known as ''The Chinese Recorder and Educational Review'', but ceased publication in December 1941.
Availability
A complete run is for sale by
National Taiwan University Press, including the Index by
Kathleen Lodwick
Kathleen L. Lodwick (born 1944, died 2022) was an American educator and historian of missions to China.
Biography
Lodwick holds a Ph.D. in Chinese history from the University of Arizona and is a professor of history at Pennsylvania State Univers ...
. A subscription-based version is also made available through the
HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...
.
As many of the volumes are now out of copyright, a listing of the volumes 1-45 (1868-1914) has been digitized and made available online through
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
and the
Berlin State Library.
Lodwick's two-volume index to the entire run includes names, places, and topics.
Notes
{{Protestant missions to China
1868 establishments in China
1941 disestablishments in China
Bi-monthly magazines published in China
Magazines published in China
Monthly magazines published in China
History of Christianity in China
Christian magazines
Defunct magazines published in China
English-language magazines
Magazines established in 1868
Magazines disestablished in 1941
Magazines published in Shanghai
Protestantism in China