Albert Andersson (8 February 1865 – 11 March 1915) was a Swedish missionary to

Chinese Turkestan Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

(modern day Xinjiang) with the

Mission Covenant Church of Sweden The Mission Covenant Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska Missionskyrkan), founded in 1878, was a Swedish evangelical free church. It was the second-largest Protestant denomination in Sweden, after the national church, the Church of Sweden. In 2011, t ...

. He also worked in Northern China with the Fransonska Mission.

Early life

He was born in Rasberg Parish,

Skaraborg County Skaraborg County ( sv, Skaraborgs län ) was a county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg to form Västra Götaland County. The count ...

, Sweden. After studying from 1887-88 at the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden's school in

Kristinehamn Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 17,839 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt' ...

. He then preached at Sköfde, till he got an invitation from the Fransonska Mission to work in Northern China, where he went on January 12, 1893. In 1895 he married Maria Lovisa Mattsson. He returned to Sweden on October 10, 1898.

Mission in China

At this time the Swedish missionaries in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, who worked mainly with the Muslim

Uyghur people The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...

, were looking for somebody who had already been in

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions pop ...

, and who knew some Chinese to join the team and work with the Chinese people. Andersson resigned from the Fransonska Mission, and joined to

. On his way to Xinjiang he and his party were delayed for a time in Russian Turkestan because of the Boxer Rebellion. In Kashgar, in 1902 he and Maria lost their ten-month-old daughter, Mia. After three years he returned to Sweden for rest on May 24, 1906. His poor health was already noticeable on September 24, 1907, but he returned to Xinjiang, nobody thinking that this was the beginning of the end. In Kashgar, in 1910 Maria and Albert lost their six-year-old son, Göte.

Later life

In September 1911 his health forced him to return to Sweden, where after various doctors checked him out it became certain that his days were numbered. He lived, however, another 4 years, and died on March 11, 1915.

Bibliography

*J. Lundahl (editor), På obanade stigar: Tjugofem år i Ost-Turkestan. Stockholm, Svenska Missionsförbundet Förlag, 1917

External links

Mission and Change in Eastern Turkestan
(English Translation of select chapters of ''Mission och revolution i Centralasien'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Albert Swedish Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in China 1865 births 1915 deaths Christian missionaries in Central Asia Swedish expatriates in China