Judd's China: a missionary congressman and US-China policy

Congressman Walter Henry Judd was an active player in Sino-US relations in the twentieth century. Unique for an American Congressman, he served for 10 years as a medical missionary in China. This article examines his motivation for going to China, his perceptions of Chinese culture, society, and politics, and the impact of Chinese culture on him. It demonstrates that cultural influence is not a one-way process, but reciprocal. Judd's views of China and his ardent Christian beliefs made him in turn a liberal missionary and a conservative anti-Communist congressman with a significant role in Sino-US relations. His political behavior was profoundly influenced by both ideology and the attitudes and judgments shaped by his 10 years in China.