Justus Doolittle

Justus Doolittle (; Pinyin: Lú Gōngmíng; Foochow Romanized: Lù Gŭng-mìng; June 23, 1824, Rutland, New York – June 15, 1880, Clinton, New York) was an American Board missionary to China.

Life Justus Doolittle was born in Rutland, New York on June 23, 1824. In 1846 he graduated from Hamilton College, and in 1849 from Auburn Theological Seminary. Having deliberately chosen China as his field of labor, he sailed for Fuzhou with his soon after graduation, and arrived there in 1850. In February, 1864, he left China for a visit to the United States on account of his health. In 1872 he entered the service of the Presbyterian Board at Shanghai, but was soon compelled to return home disabled. On June 15, 1880, he died in Clinton, New York.

Doolittle was most famous for his Social Life of the Chinese, a thorough and valuable work on the details of Chinese life. He also had a significant collection of Chinese coins, which was sold in June 1881.

In 1870-71 he accompanied the photographer John Thomson. Thomson's photographs of this journey were published as Foochow and the River Min (1873), a total of 46 copies.

Doolittle kept a journal, "Diary; covering his life as a foreign missionary in Foochow, China, until the year 1873", now in the Hamilton College Archives and available in Hamilton College's Digital Collections.

Publications

Doolittle published prolifically in a wide range of journals, including Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, of which he was briefly an editor.

Fuzhou dialect Book titleFoochow RomanizedEnglish titleYear 勸戒鴉片論 Kuóng Gái Ă-piéng Lâung Exhortation to Abandon Opium 1853 鄉訓 Hiŏng Hóng Village Sermons 1853 神十誡其註釋 Sìng Sĕk-gái gì Cuó-sék Commentary on the Ten Commandments 1853 悔罪信耶穌論 Huói Cô̤i Séng Ià-sŭ Lâung Repentance and Faith 1854 天文問答 Tiĕng-ùng Ông-dák Catechism of Astronomy 1854 約翰福音 Iók-hâng Hók-ĭng John's Gospel 1854 媽祖婆論 Mā-cū-bò̤ Lâung Discourse on Ma-tsoo-po 1855 守禮拜日論 Siū Lā̤-bái-nĭk Lâung Discourse on Keeping the Sabbath 1855 天律明説 Tiĕng Lŭk Mìng Suók Exposition of the Decalogue 1855 寒食清明論 Hàng-sĭk Chĭng-mìng Lâung Discourse on the Feast of the Tombs 1855 鐘錶匠論 Cŭ ̤ng-biēu-chióng Lâung Story of a Watchmaker 1855 賭博明論 Dū-báuk Mìng Lâung Discourse on Gambling 1856 中外問答 Dŭ ̤ng Nguôi Ông-dák Dialogue between a Native and a Foreigner 1856 耶穌教小引 Ià-sŭ-gáu Siēu-īng Introduction to Christianity 1856 生意人事廣益法 Sĕng-é Ìng-sê̤u ̤ Guōng-iáh Huák Laws of Trade 1857 西洋中華通書 Să̤-iòng Dŭ ̤ng-huà Tŭng-cŭ ̤ European Chinese Almanac 1857 辯鬼神論 Biêng Gūi-sìng Lâung Disquisition on Heathen Gods 1858 辯性論 Biêng Séng Lâung Disquisition on Human Nature 1858 辯譭謗 Biêng Hūi-báung Disquisition on Slander 1858 華人貧窶之故 Huà-ìng Bìng-lé̤u ̤ cĭ Gó Causes of Poverty among the Chinese 1858 祈禱式文 Gì-dō̤ Sék-ùng Forms of Prayer 1858 棄主臨死畏刑信主臨死慰樂 Ké Cuō Lìng Sū ̤ Ói HìngSéng Cuō Lìng Sū ̤ Ói Lŏk Fear of the Wicked on the Approach of DeathJoy of the Believer on the Approach of Death 1858 辯孝論 Biêng Háu Lâung Disquisition on Filial Piety 1858 異端辯論 Discussion of False Doctrines 1858

English Book titleYearInformation Social Life of the Chinese (2 vols.) 1865 This consists chiefly of the republication of a long series of articles by Doolittle, containing a vast amount of original information, on subjects connected with China, most of which were published in the China Mail, under the title "Jottings on the Chinese." A Vocabulary and Hand-book of the Chinese Language 1872 Romanized in Mandarin Chinese

Works