Look Inside: b'An Adventure Begins: Hudson Taylor'

The Adventure Begins There is a saying that ‘mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun’.The sweltering heat of the Chinese sun sent most foreigners scurrying for the shade and a cool bath, but not all. ‘Foreign Devil! Foreign Devil!’ The shouts echoed down the busy Chinese street, where crowds of people spilled out from tall houses and broken down huts. Scruffy children ran from their play to see the commotion. Some stared unabashed at the strange foreigner making his way down the road. Others were frightened and hid behind the skirts of older sisters or mothers. Ornate Chinese temples and strong stalwart city walls belied the extreme poverty of the majority of these Shanghai residents. Poverty was a daily reality for many. ‘Foreign Devil!’ the cry got louder. ‘Here he comes, with his silly yellow hair and skin the colour of goats milk. Look at his eyes as bright as a flower. It’s strange to see so many colours on one person.’ Old grandmothers and young women took great delight in discussing every inch of the peculiar foreigner.‘Look at the silly buttons on his front and his back.Why does he have buttons on the front of his clothes and then buttons on the back as well?’ 11