One of the earliest Chinese books printed in Singapore

[Gützlaff, Karl Friedrich August; pseud.:] Aihanze. Quan ren ju yue [The Perfect Man's Model].

€ 4,500.00

First edition of a religious tract by the Lutheran missionary Karl Gützlaff (1803-51), who wrote under the Christian pen-name of Aihanze: one of the earliest Chinese books to be printed in Singapore. It comprises five parts dealing respectively with morality in Holy Scripture, Christian ethics, the Saviour, theory of prayer and explanations of the law, and the doctrine of Christ. An early attempt to integrate Jesus within the concept of the Confucian ideal, this publication focuses on the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of Jesus's teachings from the Gospel of Matthew, followed by an exposition of the passages.

This is the earliest Singapore-printed Chinese book of which the National Library of Singapore owns a copy. Gützlaff, a controversial figure, was a Protestant missionary to Batavia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China; he made trips along the Chinese coast and nearby areas to preach and distribute tracts, in violation of contemporary Chinese laws. Gützlaff was a talented linguist and quickly acquired Chinese, Hakka, and Malay; he also had some knowledge of Thai, Japanese, and the language of the Cambodians, skills which enabled him to serve the British government on several diplomatic missions. In order to raise funds for his missionary work, Gützlaff also worked as a translator for a British company selling opium to the Chinese, attracting criticism from other missionaries.

Published by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Singapore, for distribution throughout Chinese-speaking Asia. The Mission Press was established in Singapore in 1823; in its early years it published mainly works in English. Very rare: only two known library copies (at the National Library of Singapore and U.C. San Diego).