"Robert Morrison: Translator in China"

This biography was a cheap pick-up at a local bookstore at my hometown. Three dollars was certainly worth it to be introduced for the first time to Robert Morrison, the first protestant missionary to China. The book checks in at just over 100 pages and it a brief summary of Morrison's life and work. It is put out by Ambassador Intl. in their "By Faith" biography series, which also highlights John Wycliffe, Mary Slessor, and David Livingstone.

One of the things that struck me from the life of Morrison, as well as the lives of most missionaries of those times, was the forsaking of all things for the work set before them. When they left their family and friends behind, they knew it would likely be the last time they saw them this side of paradise. The constant battles of illness (himself and family), his loneliness, and his generally being misunderstood by his friends shows how Christ was the ever sustaining presence in his life.
My favorite quote from Morrison was, when someone asked if he really expected to have any sort of spiritual impact on the Chinese, he replied, “No sir, but I expect God will!”

It is hard to complain about such a cheap book, but there were some frustrations. The book is not one I would call "well-written". Indeed, the author is never named (which frustrates me in itself). Many of the places in China written about in the book are the old English names (For example, Guangzhou is referred to as Canton). Therefore, any reference to Chinese cities has to be looked up to find where it actually is. The confusing thing is that the book is a recent work.

To illustrate the above points, take the opening sentences. "Robert Morrison was born on January 5, 1782, either at the little village of Wingates or at Morpeth, ten miles northwest. Both places are in Northumberland and while some accounts give Wingates and some Morpeth...."
Northumberland? Wingates? Morpeth? I don't even know what country these places are in (though later on in the book the context would reveal them to be Scotland), but this is the kind of frustration that occurs with this book.

But like I said, three dollars. It has introduced me to a great man of the faith who I wish to know more about and is a fair introduction to his life.