Michael LAZICH

Photograph of E. C. Bridgman.
China’s first history of the United States was written by an American missionary named E. C. Bridgman who believed that if he could impress his Chinese audience with American accomplishments, the Chinese would be more amenable to Western ideas and diplomatic practices.
Elijah Coleman (E. C.) Bridgman was a man of firsts. He was the first Evangelical Protestant missionary to China; the first Chinese expert in