An Economist Best Book of 2018 A spellbinding narrative of the high-stakes mission that changed the course of America, China, and global politics—and a rich p

An epic history of the clashes of cultures between Jesuit missionaries in China.

It was one of the great encounters of world history: highly educated European priests confronting Chinese culture for the first time in the modern era. This “

Banner-carrying Salvation Army marchers, stone-silent Quakers, jumpy Midwestern revivalists, and Prayer-book Anglicans all made up the mixed multitude sent to t

The Chinese Educational Mission was one of the earliest efforts at educational modernization in China. As part of the Self-Strengthening Movement, the Qing gove