E-text prepared by Al Haines
[Frontispiece: EVERLASTING PEARL.
The photo was taken after her marriage to Mr. Lü.]
EVERLASTING PEARL
ONE OF CHINA'S WOMEN
BY
ANNA MAGDALENA JOHANNSEN
FOR SIXTEEN YEARS A MISSIONARY IN CHINA
WITH PREFACE BY
WALTER B. SLOAN
SECOND IMPRESSION
CHINA INLAND MISSION
LONDON, PHILADELPHIA, TORONTO, MELBOURNE AND SHANGHAI
MORGAN & SCOTT, LTD.
PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.C.
MCMXVIII
First Edition October 1913
Reprinted January 1918
Completing 5000 copies
PREFACE
Thirty-five years ago missionary work was commenced in the city ofYüshan, situated on the Kwangsin River in Kiangsi, one of the centralProvinces of China.
The conversion of "Everlasting Pearl," which is the subject of thefollowing narrative, is a part of the harvest which has been reaped inlater years by the missionaries of the China Inland Mission, who stillcontinue to carry on the work in this city and neighbourhood.
In April of last year I had the privilege of spending ten days there,and of addressing the Church on the Sundays. On the first Mondaymorning we watched, with great interest, the departure of some of thecountry Christians to their homes. The party consisted of asimple-looking company of men and women, clad in the plain bluegarments that the country people usually wear. The men were walking,but the few women, with their diminutive feet, were perched on barrows,and one of them was pointed out as being "evangelist, pastor, andBiblewoman, all rolled into one," in the district from which they allcame. This was the woman, a part of whose life-story is told in thisbook, and after reading the many striking incidents which it contains,I gladly welcome the opportunity afforded me of writing a briefintroduction.
Even as a study of human life, the story is one that is full ofinterest. It takes us far away from the ordinary beaten track rightinto the heart of China; and so intimate is the writer's acquaintancewith the habits and customs of the people, that there are few, even ofthose who know Chinese life well, who will not be able to learnsomething from reading these pages.
The Chinese are a people of strong character; and although this womanstands out as being possessed of marked ability and determination,there are other lives of which we catch a glimpse in which similarfeatures can be clearly discerned.
It is, however, as an illustration of the power of the Gospel, in theheart of one who was b