Edward Bliss
| Edward Lydston Bliss | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 10, 1865 Newburyport, Massachusetts |
| Died | January 22, 1960 (aged 94) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Medical missionary |
Edward Lydston Bliss (Chinese: 福益华, December 10, 1865 – January 22, 1960) was a medical missionary who worked in China from 1892 to 1932. Coming from a religious family, Bliss originally sought to become a minister. After giving up these aspirations, he attended Yale University and became a teacher. He then went to medical school and began his career as a physician in China. During his time in Shaowu, located in the Fujian province of China, Bliss provided general care and also performed research on the rinderpest virus. He remained in China throughout many significant political conflicts throughout the early 1900s before returning to the United States in 1932. A biography of Bliss — Beyond the Stone Arches: An American Missionary Doctor in China, 1892–1932 (2001) — was written by his son, journalist Ed Bliss.
Edward Lydston Bliss was born December 10, 1865 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was the second child of Charles Henry Bliss, a wholesale dealer for Schleicher and Sohne needles, and Emily Lydston Bliss. One of seven children, Edward Bliss had three sisters — Clara, Marian and Mary — and three brothers — George, Charles and Will. The Blisses were a religious family that attended a Congregational church twice every Sunday. Charles Bliss served as superintendent of the Sunday school, which the children attended each week after morning service, and Emily Bliss worked on the missionary committee.
Bliss's religious upbringing influenced his early ambitions. He sought to become a minister and, in his early childhood, Bliss showed signs of this ambition. As early as age four he was found standing upon a tree stump, preaching the words, "Will 'ou, oh will 'ou be dood." At age six he signed a card at Sunday school, reading, "I, the undersigned, hope I have found Jesus to be my precious Saviour, and I promise with his help to live as His loving child and faithful servant all my life." Throughout his childhood and young adulthood Bliss remained active in the ministry. He spoke frequently at Christian Endeavor meetings and at adult services. He received overwhelming positive feedback for his preaching and therefore he believed ministry was indeed his calling. However, Bliss eventually realized that preaching was not his passion and he gave it up.
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