A Prussia-born Protestant missionary and sinologist, known in Chinese as Guo Shili (later Guo Shila). Among the most active missionaries in China after Robert Morrison, he was based in Macau from 1831 for mission work, translation and Chinese-language publishing; his wife ran a school and a home for blind children in Macau. Multilingual and a sometime interpreter for the British, his life spanned religion, language and early modern Sino-Western relations.
After Robert Morrison, another missionary who made Macau his gateway — adopting Chinese dress and a Chinese name, and joining mission, translation and schooling into one.
Karl Gützlaff was a Prussia-born Protestant missionary and sinologist, the first Lutheran missionary to China.
Profile
- Chinese Name: 郭士立 (later 郭實腊)
- Western Name: Karl Gützlaff
- Born: 8 July 1803 (Pomerania, Prussia)
- Died: 9 August 1851 (Hong Kong)
- Domains: Culture · Religion · Language
- Subject type: Historical figure · Missionary · Sinologist
Background
Gützlaff was born in 1803 in Pomerania, Prussia (today in Poland). After entering missionary work he travelled east, preaching in Bangkok and Korea as one of the first Protestants to reach those regions. He then made Macau his foothold for long-term work in China.
Career
I. Based in Macau
From 1831 Gützlaff was based in Macau for mission work, Bible translation and Chinese publishing. He founded the Chinese-language periodical Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, an important early vehicle for introducing Western knowledge to Chinese readers; and his wife ran a school in Macau and took in and educated blind children — an early forerunner of special education in Macau.
II. Language, translation and an age of conflict
Multilingual, Gützlaff often wore Chinese dress and used a Chinese name, devoting himself to preaching to Chinese readers in their own language. He also served as an interpreter for the British during Sino-British negotiations and the First Opium War, and took part in Hong Kong's administration afterwards. His role spanned religion, language and early modern Sino-Western relations — a pioneer of mission and translation who was also caught up in an age of both conflict and exchange.
Key Achievements
- The first Lutheran missionary to China
- Based in Macau from 1831 for mission, translation and publishing
- Founded the Chinese-language Eastern Western Monthly Magazine
- His wife ran a Macau school and educated blind children