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The Demand for Bibles in China

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 18, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 33.

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The Demand for Bibles in China

CHINA, so long the land of mystery and the closed door, is rapidly becoming one of the largest Bible markets. In the first six months of 1909, three hundred eighty-six thousand volumes of the Scriptures, either whole or in parts, were sold in China. This does not imply a corresponding conversion to Christianity, but is rather a sign of the awakening in the people of a tremendous curiosity to learn the secret of Western power. As the Bible seems to be the great book of the West, they are learning to read it, seeking to discover, through it, the secrets of the Occident.
Prior to the Boxer uprisings, the upper classes in China would have nothing to do with the Bible, “the foreign religion-book.” Three years after the war the change began to be felt. The Rev. Walter Scott Elliott then decided to carry the campaign of Bible distribution back into Paoting-fu, known as “the city of martyrs,” because, in 1900, all the missionaries were slaughtered there, and every foreign book, whether Bible or not, was destroyed. He took with him a band of native colporteurs, and began a house-to-house canvass.
The first day Dr. Elliott took a suit case full of Bible portions, and entered the house of John, the florist. “You have never been to our chapel,” said he, “because you are too much occupied with business. So I have come to bring our Book to you.”
“How much?” said thrifty John.
“We don’t sell books; we give them,” said Dr. Elliott. “But we ask a small sum, to be sure that you value the book. And this sum is used at once to print more books, so that others may get them as cheaply.”
This argument appealed both to the Chinaman’s curiosity and to his interest in helping others. He bought a copy at once.
The same method was repeated over and over. In six days Dr. Elliott and his colporteurs distributed seven thousand copies—one to six out of every seven houses.—Selected.