{"id":1397,"date":"2026-04-20T18:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/?post_type=exhibit&#038;p=1397"},"modified":"2026-04-24T22:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T22:25:47","slug":"historical-context","status":"publish","type":"exhibit","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/exhibits\/john-m-foster-1877\/historical-context\/","title":{"rendered":"Historical Context"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1003\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/0ad656b0-b00d-45ba-a755-323ee63b5321.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/0ad656b0-b00d-45ba-a755-323ee63b5321.png 1003w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/0ad656b0-b00d-45ba-a755-323ee63b5321-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/0ad656b0-b00d-45ba-a755-323ee63b5321-768x504.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1003px) 100vw, 1003px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Official documents reflecting diplomatic and cross-cultural interactions between the United States and Qing China, situating missionary work within broader political and international contexts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Foster worked in China during a time of major change and conflict. Several key events shaped the environment around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sino-Japanese War (1894\u20131895):<\/strong><br>China was defeated by Japan, which weakened the country and increased foreign influence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boxer Rebellion (1899\u20131901):<\/strong> <br>A violent uprising against foreigners and missionaries, showing the dangers missionaries faced.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1911 Revolution:<\/strong><br>Ended the Qing Dynasty and created a new republic, changing China\u2019s political system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>May Fourth Movement (1919):<\/strong><br>Student-led protests against foreign influence, increasing nationalism and criticism of missionaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"414\" height=\"529\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182323-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182323-1.png 414w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182323-1-235x300.png 235w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"543\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182502.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2181\" style=\"width:326px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182502.png 400w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-182502-221x300.png 221w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"475\" height=\"607\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/83dd40c2-367c-40be-b684-2ddfa7ed2187.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1817 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/83dd40c2-367c-40be-b684-2ddfa7ed2187.png 475w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/83dd40c2-367c-40be-b684-2ddfa7ed2187-235x300.png 235w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Printed Chinese publication reflecting the local cultural and textual environment in which missionaries worked, highlighting cross-cultural interactions<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"568\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/5a18ad71-4d3d-4acd-abdb-7ebcbad45e3b.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/5a18ad71-4d3d-4acd-abdb-7ebcbad45e3b.png 568w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/5a18ad71-4d3d-4acd-abdb-7ebcbad45e3b-240x300.png 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">List of missionaries in the South China mission, placing Foster within a broader network of American religious workers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"331\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/e2e1c2fa-d721-4e4b-ad74-9856562decbb.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1834\" style=\"width:311px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/e2e1c2fa-d721-4e4b-ad74-9856562decbb.png 331w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/files\/2026\/04\/e2e1c2fa-d721-4e4b-ad74-9856562decbb-217x300.png 217w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foster worked in China during a time of major change and conflict. Several key events shaped the environment around him. Printed Chinese publication reflecting the local cultural and textual environment in which missionaries worked, highlighting cross-cultural interactions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":346,"menu_order":6,"template":"","institution":[],"place":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibit\/1397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibit"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/exhibit"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibit\/1397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2182,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibit\/1397\/revisions\/2182"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibit\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=1397"},{"taxonomy":"place","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colby-and-china-ea333\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/place?post=1397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}