Robert Morrison

Robert Morrison was a young Presbyterian minister who, supported by the London Missionary Society, became the first Protestant missionary in China, in 1807.

China remained largely isolated from the West until the late 1800s, when Britain forced the Chinese to open their ports to trade. With its large population, China was an obvious mission field. The Chinese, steeped in worshiping false gods and resistant to anything from the "outside", were unmoved by Morrison. In his 27 years as a missionary in China, there were only ten conversions. Though Morrison did not see much change himself, he paved the way for future missions to China.