In this Orient Explorer Collection, the authors have found inspiration in their travels in the Far East. The books in this series have been selected for their cultural importance and the understanding they offer of the authors’ views of the world. The collection is published in collaboration with the Guangxi Normal University Press, particularly Professor Li Guoqing, who preserved and scanned the original pages from each book. The books have all been previously published and are reproductions of the originals, including the authors’ typos and print artifacts. Because the font size varies in the original books, we have done our best to format the pages in a way that makes them easy to read while preserving the original structure. However, despite our best efforts, there are some pages that may appear slightly blurry or show errant marks, etc. Many of the pages from the original texts also show the signature lettering used to bind the books at their first publication. Some books place footnotes at the bottom of the page, others at the end of the chapter. These discrepancies between titles have not been changed, and the pages of these books are true to their original form. The first theme in the Orient Explorer Collection is “Women Writers”, a series of seven books with women authors. The books also tend to focus on issues affecting women in the Orient, particularly China. As these books are all in the public domain, it is our goal to not only bring more awareness to the books themselves but to present them in a new way.

Each book presents a nuanced perspective of China and the Chinese, from the imperial court to the countryside, from various viewpoints, including that of a young missionary teacher, that of a merchant’s wife, and others. The writing itself also contributes to these varied perspectives, with some books being written as travelogues, while others take on the feeling of a diary. One book is even a work of fiction and is written as an amalgamation of true stories from multiple people. Even with such differing tones and styles, there are still many common themes and throughlines between the books over bound feet, class disparities, travel as a woman in Asia, etc. While some books take a more pragmatic, fact-focused view, others are full of opinions and the emotional experiences of the authors. In all cases, it is important to remember that the names and words used to describe what the authors considered “foreign” may no longer be considered appropriate or politically correct. The writing is, however, indicative of the times and reflects the broader sentiments felt in the Western cultures of the authors.

Opposite to this, the hostile feelings of some of the local people towards foreigners in China are also pronounced in each book, something that should not come as a surprise considering the books were all written shortly before, during, and just after the Boxer Rebellion, when many foreigners and missionaries in China were expelled, attacked, or executed. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw considerable change across the Orient, and these female travellers saw such change happening in real time. Notably, the books are not presented in their order of original publication but are instead meant to highlight the shifting viewpoints, from artist to author to doctor to missionary, and then from missionary to social campaigner to travel historian.