author
Arthur H. Smith
1845–1932
An American missionary and writer, he spent more than five decades in China and became widely known for books that tried to explain Chinese society to Western readers. His work captures both close observation and the strong opinions of a foreign observer living through a time of major change.
1 Audiobook
Village Life in China: A Study in Sociology
by Arthur H. Smith
About the author
Born in Connecticut in 1845, he graduated from Beloit College and later went to China as a missionary with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He remained there for 54 years, becoming deeply involved in village and urban life and writing from long firsthand experience.
He is best remembered for books such as Chinese Characteristics, Village Life in China, and The Uplift of China. These works introduced many English-language readers to everyday life in China and were widely read in their time.
Smith died in 1932. Today, his books are often read both as vivid historical accounts and as examples of how Western writers of his era interpreted China through their own cultural assumptions.