When Jesuit missionaries began working in China in the sixteenth-century, they realized that the practice of Christianity preceded them there, but they found very little evidence of its continued practice. As archaeological discoveries confirmed the existence of Christianity at quite an early stage, scholars became interested in the history of Christianity in China that pre-dated the modern Christian missions. This scholarly interest is what motivated A. C. Moule to gather all the necessary materials to write the present work: an attempt at a comprehensive history of Christianity in China before 1550. Moule carefully considers all of the known evidence, and frequently provides pictures and translations of these pieces of evidence. This work represented the most comprehensive survey of Christianity in China that had been published at the time, and it is still an excellent resource for scholars and students of Christianity in the Far East.