BORROW had at last found work that was thoroughly congenial to him. It was not in his nature to exist outside his occupations, and his whole personality became bound up in the mission upon which he was engaged. Not content with preparing the way for printing the New Testament in Manchu, he set himself the problem of how it was to be distributed when printed. He foresaw serious obstacles to its introduction into China, on account of the suspicion with which was regarded any and everything European. With a modest disclaimer that his suggestion arose “from a plenitude of self-conceit and a disposition to offer advice upon all matters, however far they may be above my understanding,” he proceeds to deal with the difficulties of distribution with great clearness.
To send the printed books to Canton, to be distributed by English missionaries, he thought would be productive of very little good, nor would it achieve the object of the Society, to distribute copies at seaports along the coasts, because it was unlikely that there would be many Tartars or people there who understood Manchu. There was a further obstacle in the suspicion in which the Chinese held all things English. On the other hand, he tells Mr Jowett,
“there is a most admirable opening for the work on the Russian side of the Chinese Empire. About five thousand miles from St Petersburg, on the frontiers of Chinese Tartary, and only nine hundred miles distant from Pekin, the seat of the Tartar Monarchy, stands the town of Kiakhta, { 121a} which properly belongs to Russia, but the inhabitants of which are a medley of Tartary, Chinese, and Russ (_sic_). As far as this town a Russian or foreigner is permitted to advance, but his further progress is forbidden, and if he make the attempt he is liable to be taken up as a spy or deserter, and sent back under guard. This town is the emporium of Chinese and Russian trade. Chinese caravans are continually arriving and returning, bringing and carrying away articles of merchandise. There are likewise a Chinese and a Tartar Mandarin, also a school where Chinese and Tartar are taught, and where Chinese and Tartar children along with Russian are educated.” { 121b}
The advantages of such a town as a base of operations were obvious. Borrow was convinced that he could dispose “of any quantity of Testaments to the Chinese merchants who arrive thither from Pekin and other places, and who would be glad to purchase them on speculation.” { 121c}