author
E. C. (Elijah Coleman) Bridgman
1801–1861
A pioneering American missionary and writer, he helped introduce generations of English-language readers to China through journalism, translation, and careful observation. His work sits at the crossroads of religion, publishing, and early American sinology.
1 Audiobook
Letters to Children
by E. C. (Elijah Coleman) Bridgman
About the author
Born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, in 1801, Elijah Coleman Bridgman became the first American Protestant missionary appointed to China. He was educated at Amherst College and Andover Theological Seminary before sailing for Canton in the early 1830s under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Bridgman is remembered not only for missionary work but also for his writing and scholarship. He founded and edited The Chinese Repository, an influential English-language journal on China, and became known as an important early interpreter of Chinese society, history, and culture for American readers. His work linked religious mission, publishing, translation, and public education in a way that gave him lasting importance beyond church history.
He spent much of his adult life in China and died in Shanghai in 1861. Later accounts describe him as a careful, industrious observer whose career helped lay foundations for early American study of China.