One of my favorite websites is the Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, which posts short biographical sketches of famous Chinese Christians throughout history. Even though it focuses on Chinese Christians, they also include biographies of notable Western Christians.
They recently posted a biographical sketch of Mildred Cable, an OMF missionary who travelled extensively in western and northwestern China in the 1920’s:
“When the Trio asked themselves what China needed next, they felt led to leave their settled mission station for areas which were more remote and unevangelized. They were inspired by a report they heard on the absence of Christian witness for 1,000 miles along the Silk Road from Gansu province to Xinjiang province. On June 11, 1923, the Trio set out for Gansu. When they arrived in Zhangye, their first destination, they had been traveling for nine months and had covered 800 miles.”
Mildred was a prolific writer, chronicling not just her missionary work, but her travels as well. A number of her books (co-authored by her colleague Fransesca French) are considered ‘classics’ because of their descriptions of life in western and northwestern China in the first half to the twentieth century.
These include the following:
The Gobi Desert – The adventures of three women travelling across the Gobi Desert in the 1920s
Through Jade gate and Central Asia;: An account of journeys in Knsu, Tukestan and the Gobi Desert
For anyone interested in northwest China, both of these books are ‘must-reads.’
Image source: Scotwise
Thanks Joanne. I’ll check these out. Blessings!
Awesome! I wrote a paper for one of my grad classes on “The Trio”. It’s good to know that someone else knows of them, and unfortunate that many others do not. But, hopefully now more will! ^_^
It’s very useful for me! Thanks a lot!