During my earlier years, in the company of my husband, Dr. Williamson, I made several journeys through the province of Cheh-kiang, and resided in some of the cities in the interior of that province. At that time I gave my impressions of the women of China in a series of articles, entitled ‘Our Sisters in China.’ These appeared in the ‘Leisure Hour’ for 1863.

In 1864, removing to the province of Shan-tung, which had been recently opened to foreigners, I occupied myself for some years in tentative work in Chefoo and the neighbourhood. After becoming familiar with the language of that district, and also with the habits and etiquette of the women of that province, I made four long journeys, two of which are briefly described in the following pages.

The first journey was undertaken in the autumn of 1873, viâ Weihien, Tsi-nan-foo, Tai Shan, and the cities of Confucius and Mencius, returning by Mung, Yiu hien, and Tsingchow-foo; the second in 1875 to Weihien, Tsi-nan-foo, and back; the third in 1881 from Chefoo to Peking, as narrated; the fourth in the spring of 1882, partly on the ‘Old Highways,’ and partly on the byways and bridle-paths of the eastern portion of Shan-tung.

The object of these journeys was first to carry Gospel truth to as many of the women of China as I could reach, and secondly, to familiarise them with Western women, and so to render the visits of those who followed me more easy.