Guo Shili

Guo Shili (1803-1851), whose original name was Karl Friedrich Gutzlaff, was one of the earliest famous priests from Germany to China.

He was born in a dressmaker's family in Prussia are of Germany. When he was only 4 years old his mother died. Longing for doing missionary work abroad, he entered a seminary at the age of 18. In 1826 he became a priest in Holland.

In 1827, he got to Southeast Asia and began to learn Chinese southern dialects and Malay, and missionize among overseas Chinese. In 1831, he arrived in China to continue with his missionary work.

His main theological works include God's Doxies and so on. In addition, his books and letters aroused western people's interest in China. He often went to European countries to deliver speeches there in order to call for more and more priests to missionize in China. He died from illness in Hong Kong in 1851.