One of China's Scholars: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

One of China's Scholars, credited to Mrs. Howard Taylor, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of One of China's Scholars by Mrs. Howard Taylor. Read in English by MaryAnn. The first of two volumes telling the life story of Pastor Hsi, a Confucian scholar from Shanxi province in Northern China who became a Christian in the 1870s. Pastor Hsi grew up in a China now long gone, when the scholarly class to which he belonged held a leading place in society. He lived through tumultuous times of change in China, when the opium that enriched the pockets of Western countries brought widespread addiction and poverty while a multi-year drought brought famine, decimating the already weakened population. Into this scene of tragedy, two western men stepped, bringing with them food to help the poor and starving, seeds for planting when the rains returned, and news that The Supreme Ruler was not hidden behind the gates of the Temple of Heaven, reachable only by the Emperor once a year, but instead was reaching out to the people in love, seeking to reconcile them with Himself. Hsi's life had been one of searching. While trained as a Confucian, he found himself unable to reach the high ideals espoused by its maxims and regulations. He explored Taoism and Buddhism but found them filled with idols and superstitions which trapped the common people in darkness and uncertainty. Hsi knew his heart and bore his failings with inner shame, even while people honored him as a scholarly disciple of Confucius. Was there a power anywhere that could change Hsi from within? (Summary by MaryAnn)

Recording facts

• Recording title: One of China's Scholars
• Author credits: Mrs. Howard Taylor
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 21
• Listed recording duration: 5:01:51

Catalogue topics

• christian
• Confucius
• taoism
• opium
• famine
• shanxi
• buddism
• china inland mission

Track guide

1. 00 - Preface and Introductory--A Page from a Traveler's Journal — 23:18
2. 01 - Advent of the Little Scholar — 10:54
3. 02 - As Schoolboy — 15:39
4. 03 - As Student — 16:01
5. 04 - As Man of Letters — 19:39
6. 05 - The Home of his Childhood — 10:00
7. 06 - Wedding an Unknown Bride — 8:52
8. 07 - Winning a Reputation — 9:07
9. 08 - Which of the Four Faiths? — 29:10
10. 09 - The Swift Descent — 13:53
11. 10 - The Story of a Crime — 20:45
12. 11 - His Native Province — 11:49
13. 12 - Dark Days in Shan-si — 12:04
14. 13 - Light at Last — 11:24
15. 14 - First-Fruits — 8:43
16. 15 - Fishers of Men — 11:17
17. 16 - Drawing in the Net — 17:23
18. 17 - The Living Christ — 12:30
19. 18 - Stronger thann all the Power of the Enemy — 10:37
20. 19 - Called to Life of Service — 18:27
21. 20 - Appendices — 10:19

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.