Release date: Oct. 10, 2007

Exhibit Traces Graduate's Impact on 19th Century China

Young John Allen in 1854. (Courtesy Emory University Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library)

Contact:Lea McLees: 404-727-0211, lmclees@emory.edu
Contact:Elaine Justice: 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu

Selections from the archives of a Georgian who became one of the most influential foreigners in 19th century China will be displayed starting Oct. 12 in Emory University's Woodruff Library.

The work of Emory College graduate Young John Allen (1836–1907), a missionary, journalist, translator, publisher and educator, is the subject of "China on My Mind: Young John Allen's Journey from Emory to Shanghai." The display of letters, journals, photographs, rare books, writings and artifacts celebrates Allen's achievements as a mediator between East and West. It also recalls Emory's long-standing ties to China, Japan and Korea, says Eric Reinders, associate professor of religion and one of the exhibition's curators.

"The first international students at Emory, T. H. Yun from Korea and T. K. Tsoong from China, arrived at Oxford in 1892 after studying with Allen at the Anglo-Chinese College in Shanghai," says Reinders. "Currently, there is a lot of interest in this collection among Chinese scholars, which just goes to show that even today, Allen is the basis of internationalization at Emory."

Little known in his native Georgia today, Allen graduated from Emory College in 1858 and married a fellow Georgian, Mary Houston, the following day. The next year the couple departed for missionary service in China, representing the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Shortly after the Allens arrived in Shanghai, the U.S. Civil War began. For the next five years the Methodist Church was unable to send any funds to its missionaries in China. As a result,

Allen sought work in a variety of secular professions. Though he continued to preach, he gained his most lasting fame through other endeavors. Allen edited various newspapers, among them the Wanguo gongbao (A Review of the Times), the single most influential news magazine in 19th-century China, says Joachim Kurtz, assistant professor of Chinese.

"Allen's writings helped to inspire Chinese scholars and officials calling for social and political reforms," Kurtz says. "He helped to communicate Western concepts of economics, international relations, natural science and gender equality to an increasingly receptive Chinese reading public."

Allen also founded and supported educational institutions, such as the Anglo-Chinese College in Shanghai and Suzhou University. After 47 years in Shanghai, he died there 100 years ago, in 1907.

Allen's personal papers, housed in Emory's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL), are one of the richest collections documenting the life and works of any individual China missionary held in the United States, according to Reinders. The 36-box assemblage includes diaries, letters, photographs, missionary lists, clippings and subject files, sermons, essays, printed works and personal possessions. The initial donation of 10 boxes was received before 1966, with major additions arriving in 1966 and 1994.

The exhibition was curated by Kurtz and Reinders in collaboration with Andrew P. Addington, Yen C. Chiu, Phylicia S. Wu and Naomi Nelson, assistant director of MARBL.

Exhibition sponsors include Emory's MARBL, East Asian Studies Program, Scholarly Inquiry and Research at Emory Program, the Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures, the Department of Religion, the Transforming Community Project and the Woodruff Library.

The exhibition is free and open to the public between Oct. 12, 2007 and Jan. 15, 2008 on the second floor of the Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, Ga. 30322. For more information, call 404-727-6887 or e-mail marbl@emory.edu.

The Emory University Libraries in Atlanta and Oxford, Ga., are dedicated to fostering courageous inquiry among students and scholars at Emory University and around the world. The nine libraries' holdings include more than 3.1 million print and electronic volumes, 40,000-plus electronic journals, and internationally renowned special collections. Visit the libraries online.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Emory is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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