The Autobiography of J. Hudson Taylor

J. Hudson Taylor was one of the most successful Christian missionaries in China during the 19th century - this is his story, in his own words, with his own photographs.


Choosing to focus on life as a gifted and diligent mission worker, Taylor spends only little time on his formative years. He describes his upbringing in but a few paragraphs, stating that it was his father's interest in China - a vast yet undeveloped faraway land - which inspired him to become a missionary. The education he had in medicine accompanied his Christian learning; at the time, missionaries with medical skill were both necessary and in shortage.


Over thirty drawings and photographs, plus one lengthy piece of sheet music, form part of this autobiography. The reader is immersed in the culture of rural China as it was in the mid and late 19th century, with temples and architecture contrasting deeply with the Western world. J. Hudson Taylor makes headway in the land, with many rural Chinese converting to Christianity.


The author became a much-respected figure in China, standing out among thousands of missionaries to pioneer education and aid development of the society. The legacy of Taylor and others is clear today: there are at least 31 million Christians in China, with thousands of churches spread throughout the mainland and in Hong Kong.