尊敬的先生:在我居住于上海的这两年期间,出于工作的需要几乎每天都要经过这座城市,有时多达两次,这使我有机会经常同当地人和外国人打交道,所获得的信息也许是您的读者所喜闻乐见的。上海在作为贸易市场和“福音”传播地方面有着得天独厚的优势,它所应受到的关注其实远不止目前这些。主要原因在于它的中心位置,经过上海同广大富饶的农耕区建立联系很方便,并且农耕区的人敦厚老实、热衷于做生意。每个到上海的人,只要他对中华帝国的地理稍有了解,就会被这些优势所吸引。如果中国政府准许外国人自由通行,另外,在上海 Dear Sir: During the two years I lived in Shanghai, I went through the city almost daily for work, sometimes twice as often, giving me a chance to deal with locals and foreigners frequently. The information you get may be what your readers love. Shanghai enjoys a unique advantage in spreading its territory as a trading market and “the Gospel” and it should receive much more attention now than it is now. The main reason is that its central location makes it easy to establish contacts with the vast and fertile farming areas in Shanghai and the people in the farming areas are honest and enthusiastic about doing business. Everyone who comes to Shanghai will be drawn to these advantages if he has a little knowledge of the geography of the Chinese empire. If the Chinese government allows foreigners free passage, the other, in Shanghai