Some quick research and it seems the building itself is now a Grade II listed building, (read....important historically but impossible to change anything if you now reside there). The organisation was founded in 1865 by Hudson Taylor, whose ambition was to convert the Chinese (in China) to Christianity. He achieved 18,000 converts to his cause.
What I found particularly interesting was that he was fluent in several Chinese dialects. I wonder how unusual this was for the time.
3 comments:
I suppose once you've mastered one dialect the others come quite easily? I gather from people I know who speak several languages that once they've got one or two 'under their belts' so to speak, new languages are easier to learn. It's all about the 'tune' of a language.
Hudson Taylor was unusual for his time. he adopted Chinese dress, food etc, and lived among the people as opposed to the normal Western approach which was to just dominate the Chinese. He was very famous and his mission was still in China until thrown out by Mao Tse Tung in 1953. I knew a man who worked there for many year, also fluent in Han. They loved China.
I was going to say that learning the language took a lot of work but, I see from Adullamite's comment that there was a lot of love in there too.
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