Opening China: Karl F.A. Gützlaff and Sino-Western Relations, 1827-1852

by Jessie Gregory Lutz, Robert Frykenburg (Foreword by)

Overview

Western evangelists have long been fascinated by China, a vast mission field with a unique language and culture. One of the most intrigued was also one of the most intriguing: Karl F. A. Gützlaff (1803–1851). In this erudite study Jessie Gregory Lutz chronicles Gützlaff's life from his youth in Germany to his conversion and subsequent turn to missions to his turbulent time in Asia. Lutz also includes a substantial bibliography consisting of (1) archival sources, (2) selected books, pamphlets, tracts, and translations by Gützlaff, and (3) books, periodicals, and articles. This is truly an important reference for any student of the history of China or missions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802831804
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Series:	Studies in the History of Christian Missions (SHCM)
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jessie Gregory Lutz is professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Robert Eric Frykenberg     xi
Preface     xv
Abbreviations     xviii
The Changing Context of Sino-Western Relations and Protestant Missions, 1807-1851     1
The Changing Context of Sino-Western Relations during the Nineteenth Century     4
Strains of Protestantism     5
Conversion: Its Significance and Meaning     7
A Note on Sources     9
Youth in a Turbulent Germany and an Expanding West     11
Gutzlaff's Germany in Transition, Politics, Protestantism     11
Gutzlaff's Early Years, 1803-1821     18
Training at Berlin Mission Institute and Conversion     22
Rotterdam: Completion of Formal Mission Training and Ordination     31
Independent Missionary     36
The Great Challenge     36
Gutzlaff and Medhurst's Methodology in Java     38
Gutzlaff Becomes an Independent Missionary     40
Work among the Chinese and Thai in Southeast Asia, 1828-1831     42
Gutzlaff's Legacy in Southeast Asia     50
Juggling Coastal Evangelism and Secular Employment     54
Mary Wanstall Gutzlaff and Parochial Education     60
The Multiple Roles of Nineteenth-Century Missionaries     66
Gutzlaff's Coastal Journeys: Lord Amherst     69
Gutzlaff's Coastal Journeys: Opium Ships     77
Gutzlaff's Tea Explorations     83
Repercussions for Sino-Western Relations     85
Gutzlaff as Chinese Interpreter for the British Superintendent of Trade     90
The Morrison Expedition to Japan, July-August 1837     92
Western Perceptions of the Opium War, 1840-1842     96
Gutzlaff and the Prosecution of the Opium War     99
The Significance of Gutzlaff's Role     104
Chinese Secretary in Hong Kong     110
Gutzlaff's Relations with the Chinese     116
The West Learns about China: Karl Gutzlaff's Western-Language Writings     123
Missionaries as Purveyors of Information about China to the West: Images and Orientalism     123
Popularizer of China Missions and Image-Maker     127
China Missionaries Learn about China     138
Scholarly and Semi-scholarly Works     143
Translating Christianity for China     152
The Centrality of the Bible in Protestantism     152
Translating the Bible     154
Gutzlaff and Biblical Translation     157
The Delegates' Bible and the Term Question     162
Evangelism via Christian Tracts; Christianity as Presented in Gutzlaff's Tracts     165
New Horizons     178
Expanding Perceptions of Mission Methodology     180
Gutzlaff's Dong-Xi and Portrayal of the West for the Chinese     182
The Chinese Audience     200
The Geographies of Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan, and Xu Jiyu     202
The Significance of the New Geographies     211
Karl Gutzlaff and the Chinese Union     215
The Nature of Conversion     215
The Founding of the Chinese Union     220
Expansion     225
The European Tour     229
Negative Reactions against Gutzlaff and the Chinese Union     236
The Complexities of the Chinese Union Crisis     246
An Outsider among Missionaries     257
Karl Gutzlaff, Chinese Christians, and the Chinese Heterodox Communities     259
Precipitating Factors: Internal Decline     260
Enabling Factors: Chinese Heterodox Societies and Chinese Christians     263
The Taipings and Protestant Missionaries     264
Taiping Visitors     271
Taiping and Triad Relations     275
Chinese Christians and Triads     278
Gutzlaff, the Chinese Union, and Heterodox Societies     282
Legacies      290
Karl Gutzlaff: "Parson and Pirate, Charlatan and Genius"?     294
Origins of German Protestant Missions in China     295
The Hakka Church and Indigenization     300
Chinese Assistants and Indigenization     303
Legacies of the Chinese Union     307
Divergent Strains of Christianity: Confessional, Denominational Missions and Evangelical, Nondenominational Missions     310
Gutzlaff's Civil Career and the Imperialism Question     313
Gutzlaff's Chinese-Language Writings: Durable Legacies?     319
Gutzlaff's China Mission and the West     321
Conclusion     330
Bibliography     333
Archival Sources     333
Selected Books, Pamphlets, Tracts, and Translations by Gutzlaff     334
Books, Periodicals, and Articles     339
Index     359

Editorial Reviews

Daniel Bays
— Calvin College
"In this fine book, a worthy addition to a distinguished series, Jessie Lutz gives us the most insightful portrait yet of the enigmatic Karl Gützlaff — genius, entrepreneur, salesman, charlatan, and missionary extraordinaire — who with his indefatigable energy participated in every issue that arose during his twenty years in China. As a bonus, Lutz weaves the remarkable personal story of Gützlaff together with very astute discussion and analysis of many aspects of early Sino-Western relations between 1830 and 1860: trade and opium, China and the West's limited knowledge of each other, early Bible translations and the importance of language skills, foreign links with Chinese society, and dynamics of the foreign community itself. Opening China contains the accumulated wisdom of one of our very best and most respected China scholars."

Catholic Historical Review
“Here is a subtle, thorough, balanced, and scholarly assessment of an unusually energetic, gifted, and controversial China missionary. . . . The specialist and the generally interested will find much here to fascinate and provoke.”
 
Lutheran Quarterly
“This is clearly the most comprehensive work available on Gützlaff. . . . Fills a significant gap in mission historiography.”
 
Mission Studies
“Opening China is authoritative and full of insights, and it is highly readable from beginning to end. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in Chinese mission history and the early development of Sino-Western interactions.”
 
Church History
“Lutz’s compelling study of Gützlaff and his checkered contribution to the shaping of Sino-Western relations adds immensely to our understanding of the complex religious and political dynamics of this pivotal era.”
 

From the Publisher