J. (John) Macgowan

John Macgowan (1835–1922) was a Belfast-born missionary connected with the London Missionary Society who spent much of his life in China. He is especially associated with Amoy (now Xiamen), where he worked closely enough with the local language to publish A Manual of the Amoy Colloquial and an English and Chinese Dictionary of the Amoy Dialect.

Alongside missionary writing, he became a prolific author on Chinese history and culture. His books include Pictures of Southern China, Sidelights on Chinese Life, Lights and Shadows of Chinese Life, Chinese Folk-Lore, and Men and Manners of Modern China. Together, they show his gift for turning observation, storytelling, and explanation into books that were meant for general readers as well as students of China.

Macgowan is also remembered for helping to found the Natural, or Heavenly, Foot Society with his wife, an early anti-foot-binding effort in China. Because of that mix of language study, cultural writing, and reform work, his books remain interesting not just as period pieces, but as part of the long history of how China was described to Western readers.