Early protestant historiography and the travel of some European “National Characters” to China: Karl F. A. Gützlaff’s Gujin wanguo gangjian 古今萬國綱鑑 (1838)
In 1834 a group of missionaries and merchants working along the Chinese coast founded the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China (SDUKC). Based in Canton, it was intended as a means for providing China with the scientific knowledge that had made possible the progress and power of the Western nations. The Society planned to publish books in eight subject areas: history; geography; natural history; medicine; mechanics and mechanical arts; natural philosophy; natural theology; and belles lettres.