China's Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late Qing Society, 1832-1905

Series: Studies in the History of Christian Missions (SHCM)

In China's Millions veteran historian Alvyn Austin presents a compelling historical narrative of the China Inland Mission (now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship) -- the first history of the CIM by an outsider -- including 36 never-before-published illustrations and maps from the CIM/OMF archives. In the course of his sweeping survey, Austin examines a remarkable array of subjects, from the visionary, charismatic sect-leader Pastor Hsi, to the "wordless book," a missionary teaching device that fit perfectly with Chinese color cosmology, to the opium-soaked aftermath of the North China Famine of 1877-79.

Alvyn Austin, born in Calcutta to CIM missionaries, isassistant professor of history at Brock University, St.Catharines, Ontario.