Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal

Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal was published in one or another form in Shanghai from 1867 to 1941, when 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 Rawlinson, it was known for its liberal theology and support for Chinese nationalism.^[1]

History

The Methodist Press in Foochow 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 Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal in 1868. Justus Doolittle, a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions joined the Rev. S.L. 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. Rev. L.N. Wheeler served from 1892 to 1908. Rev. G.F. Fitch became editor in 1908, was joined in April 1911 by the Rev. Nelson Bitton in April, 1911 (who served only briefly).^[1]

In January, 1912, the Rev. Frank J. Rawlinson became first associate editor, then in 1913 editor. 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 views and articles. Rawlinson continued until September 1937, when he was killed by a bomb dropped accidentally by a Chinese plane during the Japanese attack on Shanghai.^[2][3] The journal became The Chinese Recorder and Educational Review, but ceased publication in December, 1941.^[1]

Further reading

• Kathleen L. Lodwick. The Chinese Recorder Index: A Guide to Christian Missions in Asia, 1867-1941. (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1986). 2 vols. ISBN 0842022503. .
• John Rawlinson. The Recorder and China's Revolution: A Topical Biography of Frank Rawlinson, 1871-1937. (Notre Dame, Indiana: Cross Cultural Publications, China and the World 5, 1990). 2 vols. ISBN 9780940121133.
• Xi Lian. Ch. 2 "The Road that Bent: Frank J. Rawlinson" The Conversion of Missionaries: Liberalism in American Protestant Missions in China, 1907-1932. (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997). ISBN 027101606X. , pp. 59–93.

Availability

For a listing of the volumes 1868-1914 which have been digitalized online: Biblioteca Sinica 2.0 The Chinese Recorder (1868-1914) and Preußische Staatsbibliothek (Berlin).

A complete run is for sale by National Taiwan University Press, including the Index by Kathleen Lodwick. p. ix

Volumes available are also listed at Find It! @Harvard

• Volume 5
• Volume 6
• Volume 25

Notes

1. "Introduction," Kathleen Lodwick. The Chinese Recorder Index: A Guide to Christian Missions in Asia, 1867-1941. (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1986). 2 vols.
2. Xi Lian. Ch. 2 "The Road that Bent: Frank J. Rawlinson" The Conversion of Missionaries: Liberalism in American Protestant Missions in China, 1907-1932. (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997). ISBN 027101606X. , pp. 59-93.
3. John Rawlinson. The Recorder and China's Revolution: A Topical Biography of Frank Rawlinson, 1871-1937. (Notre Dame, Indiana: Cross Cultural Publications, China and the World 5, 1990). 2 vols. ISBN 9780940121133.