author
W. A. P. (William Alexander Parsons) Martin
1827–1916
A pioneering American missionary-scholar in China, he became known for translating major Western works into Chinese and helping introduce international law to a new audience. His long career also took him into diplomacy, education, and writing at a time of major change in Qing China.
1 Audiobook
The Awakening of China
by W. A. P. (William Alexander Parsons) Martin
About the author
Born in Indiana in 1827, he studied at Indiana State University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary before leaving for China in 1850 as a Presbyterian missionary. Over the decades he worked in places including Ningbo and Beijing, and he became widely known in China by the name Ding Weiliang.
Alongside missionary work, he built a reputation as a translator, teacher, and interpreter between China and the West. He is especially remembered for translating Henry Wheaton's Elements of International Law into Chinese, a work that helped introduce important ideas of modern diplomacy and law to late Qing readers.
His career eventually extended beyond the mission field into government and education. He served as an interpreter in treaty negotiations, taught for many years at the Tongwen Guan in Beijing, and later wrote extensively about China for English-language readers. He died in 1916 after spending much of his life helping ideas move across languages and cultures.