This is an example of one of the many letters Henry wrote home to his family¹. Bill is Henry’ younger brother. In the letter Henry discusses the political fighting happening in China. The 1920s were the beginning of a national revolution in China.  This revolution grew out of the May Fourth Movement which was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist movement that started as student protests. The Nationalist Party, led by Sun Yat-sen, and the Chinese Communist Party fought for power².

In this letter Henry tells Bill about the work his church is doing with refugees and about how he can hear fighting near by. This letter is one of the few in the collection in which Henry directly discusses the political and social atmosphere in China.