The Famine in China, Illustrations by a Native Artist, with a translation of the Chinese Text, issued by the China Famine Relief Fund. London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1878.

This booklet, issued by the China Famine Relief Fund (CFRF), re-published a Chinese text (translated by The Rev. Jas Legge, Professor of Chinese at Oxford University) entitled “Pictures Illustrating the Terrible Famine in Honan that Might Draw Tears from Iron.”

The preface, written by the CFRF, states:

“The pictures and accompanying explanations which are given in the following pages, are of purely native origin. The little Chinese book from which they are taken, was composed solely for the purpose of appealing to the compassion of benevolent persons amongst the Chinese, for help. It has been thought, however, that the re-publication of the book in England…might help to carry home to English hearts a sense of the dire distress from which these unhappy people are now suffering, and call for from benevolent persons in this country also, a practical expression of sympathy.” (p. 9).

A quote from the Spectator, reprinted in the CFRF pamphlet, reveals how the Chinese images and texts were viewed:

“We have from received form China a grotesque but pathetic little picture book painting the horrors undergone in the famine district; the stripping of the trees of barks as well as leaves, the eating of the thatch off the houses, the feeding on the dead, the selling of boys and girls into slavery, each rough print accompanied by an explanation of its drift in Chinese…It brings home what famine means, at once vividly and with that pathos, which is all the deeper for its quaint and grotesque character.” (p. 10).

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