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Missionary Database

Arthur Henderson Smith

明恩溥  ·  1845 – 1932  ·  American

← Back to Missionaries Updated 2026-10-28

💬 Famous Quotes

"Surely if anything is to be learned from the teachings of history, if the saying of Tertullian that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church is a law of unwasting and perennial energy, and if the promises of God are still secure, a religion which has done so much for China, and the heralds of which have suffered so much from the Chinese, has a great work yet to do in the regeneration of that Empire."

📋 Basic Information

明恩溥 Arthur Henderson Smith portrait
👤 Gender
Male
🏴 Nationality
American
✝️ Religion
Christianity
⛪ Denomination
Congregationalist
🏛️ Order / Mission
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
🌍 Mission Region
China
🏯 Historical Era
Late Qing – early Republic
1845
Born
Vernon, Connecticut, United States
1872
Mission Began
Age 27
1932
Passed Away
Age 87
California, United States
🏷️ Tags
missionary

📖 Biography

Arthur Henderson Smith (Chinese name Ming Enpu 明恩溥; 18 July 1845 – 31 August 1932) was an American Congregationalist missionary to China. He was born in Connecticut and graduated from Beloit College in 1867.

Work in China

In 1872 (the 11th year of Tongzhi) Smith was sent to China by the American Board (Congregationalist). He lived in Tianjin, Shandong and elsewhere, and also served as a correspondent for the North-China Daily News of Shanghai. In 1880 (the 6th year of Guangxu) he established mission work at Pangzhuang in En County, northwestern Shandong. In 1905 (the 31st year of Guangxu) he resigned his post and stayed on in Tongzhou to write. In 1926 he returned to the United States.

He lived in China for 54 years, knew well the lives of ordinary people, loved China, and was among the first to suggest to President Theodore Roosevelt that the United States return China’s Boxer Indemnity.

Writings

He wrote a number of books about China, including Chinese Characteristics (first published in Shanghai in 1890; revised edition, New York, 1894), Village Life in China: A Study in Sociology and China and America To-day. Lu Xun (鲁迅) earnestly recommended Chinese Characteristics to his fellow Chinese.

📚 Major Works

Chinese Characteristics 1894 Internet Archive
A study of the traits of the Chinese national character. It was translated into Japanese and Chinese and was the most widely influential English-language book through which Westerners came to know China in the early 20th century. First published in Shanghai in 1890, with a revised edition in New York in 1894; Chinese translations are mostly titled Zhongguoren de Suzhi (中国人的素质).
Village Life in China: A Study in Sociology 1899 Internet Archive
A sociological work examining in depth the social structure and customs of rural China.
China in Convulsion 1901 Internet Archive
A two-volume work, the most detailed English-language historical record of the Boxer movement and the siege of Beijing.
Rex Christus: An Outline Study of China 1903 Internet Archive
A wide-ranging work on several topics in Chinese religion, culture and mission work. Original title Rex Christus: An Outline Study of China; this is the first edition, New York: Macmillan, 1903.
The Uplift of China 1907 Internet Archive
A work on China’s process of modernisation and its prospects for development. Original title The Uplift of China.
Lun She Baoxun [Precious Counsels on the Tongue] 识典古籍
Counsels on the right use of speech. Shidian Guji holds the 1915 edition, from the Harvard-Yenching Library.

📚 References & Sources

📖 Wikipedia (ZH)