MOULE, Henry William.

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Diaries of his service with the Church Missionary Society in Hangzhou, China. Seventeen volumes of journals kept by a dedicated servant of the Church Missionary Society, whose time in China encompasses the Boxer Uprising, the collapse of imperial rule, and the beginnings of the Warlord Era. He is a dedicated diarist, religiously recording his daily activities, describing the local impact of broader events, and painting a picture of life far removed from the Shanghai-centred experience of many of his expatriate contemporaries.Reverend Henry William Moule (1871-1953) was born in Hangzhou to Bishop George Evans Moule, the first Anglican Bishop of Mid-China. After attending Cambridge University, he was posted back to Hangzhou in 1896, joining his father. He served in China until 1922, also holding postings in the Ningbo region. On his return to England, he became vicar of Damerham, Hampshire.The collection opens with the diary for 1897, his description and sketch map of a Confucian temple on the first pages typical of his energetic eye for detail. Throughout his service, he records his daily routines, theological studies, and missionary activities, as well as copious reading and excursions for leisure, some of them with his father. In the early years, he also notes time spent studying Chinese - a gruelling regimen often involving over 2 hours per day. In August 1897, he experiences his first proper thunderstorm, noting the destruction to official buildings and tablets. The follow

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