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JOHN FRYER'S EARLY YEARS IN CHINA: I. Diary of His Voyage to Hong Kong
FRED DAGENAIS*
John Fryer (1839-1928) is perhaps best known as a translator of English language books on science and technology into Chinese. During a period of three decades as head of the translation department at the Kiangnan Arsenal (1867-1896), Fryer worked to translate and publish over 100 works. Fryer's translations were well-received by Chinese intellectuals, often reprinted, and were widely distributed. His translations, along with the translations of others, thus made available the then state-of-the-art Western science and technology to late Ch'ing reformers and intellectuals.
During adolescence Fryer was caught up in the religious fervour of the mid-nineteenth century and the enthusiasm for things Chinese. He began his career as a pupil teacher at St. James' School in Bristol and completed his education at Highbury Training College in London. His principal at Highbury, the Reverend (later Bishop) Charles R. Alford, recruited him to serve as headmaster of St. Paul's College in Hong Kong, a school for Chinese boys sponsored by the Church Missionary Society. He worked as headmaster of St. Paul's from 1861 until 1863, when he went to Peking to become a "professor" at the T’ung-wen Kuan, or Government sponsored "Interpreter's College". While in Peking Fryer continued his association with the Church Missionary Society under the guidance of the Reverend (Later Bishop) James Shaw Burdon. In 1865 he was asked by the Church Missionary Society to become superintendent of the Anglo-Chinese School in Shanghai, where he worked until 1868, when he joined the arsenal at Kiangnan.
Fryer sailed for Hong Kong on March 10, 1861. He reached Victoria on July 30th, after a voyage of 142 days, including a brief stop in Batavia, seven days before his 22nd birthday. The voyage was not unlike voyages
* Centre for Chinese Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Editor's Note. It is hoped to publish a series of accounts of Hong Kong and its environs written by John Fryer in this and the next issues of the Journal. They have been edited by Dr. Dagenais, who is preparing a full edition of Fryer's papers. A portrait of Fryer is at Plate 22. A few minor editorial changes to Fryer's text have been made to remove possible ambiguities and to conform with current usage.