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PREFACE.first attempt to deal exhaustivel} with thehistory of the various missions in China was11The China Mission Handbook," which appearedhi .1896. The circulars which were sent out asking formaterial were signed by a committee of Shanghai missionaries, but the bulk of the editorial work fell to Dr.T. Richard. To judge by the words on the first page,itappears that the promoters hoped that it was the firstof a series to appear at regular intervals. This hope,however, was never actualized.The next important historical work dealing withChina missions was the Centenary Conference historicalvolume, entitled "ACentury of Missions in China,"which was prepared for the Conference by the writer atthe request of the Executive Committee.Since that time events have moved rapidly in China.Much progress has been made in many directions inChurch and State, but nothing in continuation of thisvolume has appeared since 1907. In this respect theCooperating Christian Missions of Japan have far outstripped us. This year sees the eighth annual issue oftheir "Christian Movement in Japan,"an invaluabledigest of the missionary work there. The stimulatingexample thus set up was not lost, and finally precipitatedaction along the line of the present Year Book. Dr. A.H. Smith, in the Chinese Recorder, had voiced thegeneral feeling when he loudly called for a ChineseAnnual.In the absence of any body corresponding to theCooperating Missions in Japan, the Christian LiteratureSociety, which happily possessed the necessary niachiu-