This is a biography, published in 1906, of an English missionary named Griffith John who arrived in China in 1855 and spent half a century trying to guide the Chinese heathens towards the Light.
Given here is an excerpt which refers to Shanghai.
... SHANGHAI, which was to be the centre of Mr. John's labours for the next five years, was one of the five ports opened by the Treaty of Nanking for foreign trade and residence, the other four being Canton, Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpo. It was splendidly situated to become a great centre of trade; for the small river on whose banks it was founded is a tributary of the mighty Yang-tse-kiang, joining the great river just as it enters the sea, and affording anchorage and shelter for a large fleet of ships.
The native city, with a population of 300,000, is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the river at Woosung, and the foreign concessions which constitute the modern city of Shanghai are outside the city wall, and stretch in ever-growing extent down the west bank of the river. At the present time it is the latest and handsomest European settlement in the farther East. Well drained, well lighted, well policed, with its long stretch of stately buildings facing the bund or river front, its streets of substantial houses, its suburban bungalows and gardens, its large and handsome shops and extensive warehouses, it is a striking example of the energy and enterprise of the European.
A dismal stretch of flat, swampy country, only a few feet above the level of the ocean, has, in the course of comparatively few years, been transformed into a stately city, which has become the commercial capital of China, and by far the most important centre of communication between China and the world. It has a population nearly double that of the native city whose name it bears, of whom fully 10,000 are Europeans and Americans.
Shanghai is, in fact, the most striking object-lesson of the great and vital change in the relations between China and the rest of the world which began with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. Before that time the foreigner was kept at arm's length and treated as a barbarian; the foreign trader was restricted to the precincts of the factories at Canton, and was unable to carry on any business with the people, or to make any representation to the Government, save through the syndicate of native merchants; foreign governments were treated as vassals and inferiors who could not be recognised as having any claim to respect. Shanghai stands for the Open Door, for perfect freedom of intercourse, for absolute equality of political status.
From the missionary standpoint also, Shanghai has from its commencement occupied a position of exceptional importance. It is the natural port of arrival to which all lines of steamers bring their passengers for the greater part of China, and it is the centre from which it is most easy to reach the vast interior of the country. At the time when Griffith John was sent out there was a group of men of remarkable ability and exceptional spiritual power representing missions in Shanghai. The London Missionary Society, which commenced work as soon as the new port was opened in I843, had as its representatives Dr. Medhurst, Dr. William Lockhart, Mr. Muirhead, and Mr. Wylie. The Church Missionary Society, whose mission was opened in 1844 by McClatchie, was represented by Rev. J. S. Burdon, who was conspicuous for his devoted and intrepid evangelistic tours. Bishop Boone commenced the American Episcopal Mission in I845.
Among other workers there were two whose names have become household words among those who are acquainted with missionary history. Dr. Hudson Taylor went out to China a few months before Griffith John as an agent of the China Evangelisation Society, and early devoted himself to evangelistic work in the region round Shanghai; and William C. Burns, the saintly and perfervid Scottish evangelistic missionary, was still in Shanghai for six months after the young Welsh missionary arrived.
The field was therefore an exceptionally interesting and important one, and the associations in work were of the most stimulating kind.
A voyage to China in 1855 was a very different matter from one in 1906. The Suez Canal was not opened until twelve years later, so that all communication with the East had to be made by the long sea passage round the Cape, except for the mails and for those passengers who could afford the heavy expense and the discomfort of the land transit from Alexandria to Suez. To-day the ordinary passenger reaches Shanghai by a great ocean steamer of from 8000 to 10,000 tons in thirty-eight days, after a voyage the monotony of which is relieved by the excitement of touching at port after port, and throughout which, thanks to the application of modern science, fresh meat, milk, and vegetables, and an abundance of fresh water are supplied without stint.
It was far otherwise in 1855. The sailing vessels in which the journey was made were small; the opportunity of breaking the journey by calling at a port was very rare; the provision was plain - it lacked variety; fresh meat and vegetables were not always to be had, and the supply of fresh water was limited. The time occupied varied from four to five months, and to those who had no resources for work or amusement the voyage became intensely monotonous. On the other hand, the long period of quiet without distractions presented compensations to the student which the modern traveller sometimes longs for. The experiences of the young missionaries are fully described in a letter to Mr. Jacob:-
'SHANGHAI, October 4, I855.
'You see that we have reached our destination safely. We arrived in Shanghai on the 24th ultimo after a voyage of 127 days. We sailed from Gravesend on the 21st of May. On the whole the passage was very pleasant.
'As you know, a voyage to Shanghai is one of the longest and most dangerous, and the China Sea is particularly dangerous in the months of September and October. We have passed through the regions of hurricanes, typhoons, monsoons (the breaking up of which is generally accompanied by most terrific storms), and through the region of shoals and pirates. We learnt on our arrival that a typhoon occurred only about 150 miles south of us while we were lying at anchor on the night of the 21st Ultimo. We also heard of ships being lost and others taken by pirates, but we have been graciously preserved. Nothing was permitted to injure us, either in person or property.
'Nothing occurred to impede our progress. We had not so much as a full gale in any part of our voyage. The ship is not one of the easiest in the water, the least breeze would make her roll and pitch most furiously. The sea was rather rough when we were doubling the Cape; we spent a few sleepless nights at that time, and also on one or two other occasions. But the sea was worth seeing, especially in the morning after a boisterous night; the sight of the waves was grand, some rushing and swelling into large mountains, then breaking into a broad white foam, others rising and subsiding majestically, others running along as if they were going to bury the ship and all. Sometimes they struck against the side of the ship until she danced again. Then we who had not been accustomed to such tossings frequently found ourselves reeling from one side of the cabin to the other, and at other times lying on the carpet, having been thrown off our couch. Such occurrences were by no means pleasant, but we had no reason to complain. They were a mere nothing in comparison to the many blessings we enjoyed, and of course the blessings were more highly appreciated after such occasional interference or breaking in upon our comforts. We were detained also by calms and headwinds, especially in the China Sea. Had this not been the case we should have been in Shanghai from ten to twenty days sooner. We both had to pay tribute to old Father Neptune rather often at first and occasionally throughout the voyage.
'Our health has been very good; both Mrs. John and myself look much stronger than when we left England. We saw some fish, though not so many as I expected to see. Several large whales passed us one morning; they were worth seeing. If you want to have an idea of them just read Job's description of the leviathan. With the exception of flying-fish and porpoises, which are plentiful enough, we saw no other kind. But I will tell you what would be worth your coming from Wales to the southern hemisphere to witness, and that is the beautiful sunset of a fine evening. I have not witnessed anything worthy of being compared with it in point of sublime grandeur. Many a time did I sit on the poop watching with intense interest this magnificent scene. You have seen nothing like it in the northern hemisphere. The beautifully clear sky together with the appearance of new constellations one night after the other has made the voyage very pleasant to me.
'The life on the ocean wave is not the most favourable for hard study. Yet I managed to do a little in that way. I read nearly the whole series of the Congregational Lectures, so that I have a pretty good stock of theology in my brains, Henry Rogers' Essays in three volumes, Macaulay's Essays in two volumes, Barnes' Notes on the Revelation, Herschel on Astronomy, Mitchell on Astronomy, a large volume on the steam-engine, Carpenter's Physiology, books on chemistry, electricity, magnetism, mechanics, and other branches of science. Several other books of a lighter character I read. I read some portions of my Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament, studied some of the higher branches of mathematics. So my time, as you perceive, was not altogether spent in vain. I believe I know a little more now than when I saw you last. All this will be of some use in future. I have brought out with me a chemical apparatus, an electrical machine, a microscope, and a stereoscope, so that I might in future give the Chinese some idea of these things. A missionary need not forget the civilisation of the people among whom he labours.
'Well, we got to Shanghai at last in health and strength. We were received by the brethren here very kindly and respectfully. We are staying for the present with Dr. Medhurst, waiting for our house, which is being repaired and cleaned. It will be all ready for us in the course of a week or so. The missionaries here are all kind, affable, hard-working men, especially those connected with our Society. There are in all from twenty-five to thirty missionaries, belonging to the various denominations, both American and European, in Shanghai. We have two chapels in the city, in which two or three sermons are preached every day to audiences varying from 50 to 200; indeed, you might preach all day from 6 o'clock in the morning till night, and you would have plenty of hearers. The country all around here is open for missionary operations. A missionary may penetrate into the country two or three hundred miles in every direction without being molested; a wide door is opening in China for the preaching of the Gospel.
'The city of Shanghai is one of the filthiest in this world. I have seen nothing to be compared to it in dirt and filth, it surpasses everything. Of course, the Chinese are notorious for their filth; they are in great need of sanitary measures - happily we live outside the city.'
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