Due to the imperialist Western powers in the 19th century, Westerners from various occupations entered China and left various writings. Among them, missionaries who had to preach directly to the lower class, women, and children needed to have high Chinese command and professional knowledge of Chinese culture. Accordingly, they compiled Chinese language textbooks, dictionaries, and literary translations. They basically translated Chinese classics such as 『Qianziwen』, 『Sanzijing』, 『Daxue』, 『Xiaojing』 as a stepping stone to understand Chinese culture. And also published books titled “China(Chinese) Story(Stories)” and “China(Chinese) Tales.” This is a record consisting of their experiences while staying in China.
The subject of this study, 『Tales from the Middle Kingdom』, was written by Canadian missionaries George Christopher Willis and Anna Francis Willis. They stayed in China for more than 40 years and worked in ministry. The book was published in their opening The Christian book room. This book divided into “Chinese Child”, “Chinese Thief”, “Chinese City”, and “Chinese Text”, recording the author's experiences or religious views related to these topics. And there were about 30 Chinese photographs and illustrations. Taken together, the author has a variety of stories on various topics. But in the end, he tried to criticize Chinese evil practices and religious views that violate human dignity and show the reason and justification of Christian ministry by describing events related to abandonment, child trafficking, murder, and idol worship.
Other missionaries' “Chinese Story” books, 『Cross and Crown: Stories of the Chinese Martyrs』, 『China in Legend and Story』, and 『Chinese stories for boys and girls』, also dealt with the themes of “Women,” “Children,” “Murder,” and “idol worship” in common. This book covers topics such as Chinese children, women, male preference, gap between rich and poor, school life, leisure life, and idol worship. In this way, the stories contained in the book “Chinese Story” by missionaries add religious colors to the authors' experiences in China. They are records based on “facts” that contain vivid information about the social situation at the time that the translation of Chinese classics could not show, which intrigued readers, and their successful ministry experiences became a great “reference book” for other missionaries. And ultimately, readers were aimed at transforming themselves into Christians.
As such, the book “Chinese Story” published by Western missionaries in the 19th and early 20th centuries is a record and a story for missionary work that shows various aspects of Chinese society at the time. In the future, it is hoped that through an in-depth analysis of the records of modern and contemporary missionaries, Chinese society and history will be viewed macroscopically, and the process of establishing the beginning of Chinese studies will be studied more closely.