Peake in China

Ernest Cromwell Peake arrived in the Hankow region of inland China in 1899, the first medical missionary to attempt to bring modern medicine to the rural Chinese. Over the next twelve years, he overcame substantial obstacles-including the intense hostility of the local population toward foreigners and Western medicine-to build a hospital and successfully deliver up-to-date medical care to thousands. In the course of that time, he also married and had a son-the celebrated writer and artist Mervyn Peake, who spent his first twelve years living with his family in Hankow.