Periodization, Functions and Impacts: Nineteenth-Century Chinese Periodicals by Protestant Missionaries

The 19th century witnessed an upsurge of periodicals in China, among which the Chinese newspapers and periodicals by Protestant missionaries were of profound impact. This paper begins with a chronological division of Protestant missionary Chinese periodicals, highlighting the most memorable and influential titles, and analyzes the three-phase development of initiation, development and transformation within the broader sociohistorical context. Additionally, the study explores their evolutionary instrumental functions in terms of content and readership, ranging from the handmaid of religion, the bridge of eastern–western cultures to the carrier of diverse knowledge and the manipulator of politics. This shows that the knowledge selected and translated by Protestant missionaries functioned as a dynamic tool in adaptation to historicized requirements. Ultimately, the study argues that these periodicals served as an enlightener of Chinese minds, a promoter of Chinese press and a facilitator of China’s sociopolitical revolution, advancing religious communication, knowledge dissemination and political reform in China during the contemporary and subsequent eras.