The years 1925-1951 marked a period of world changing political, social, and economic upheavals in China, with few provinces more affected than Fukien (Fujian), where the ambitions of the Nationalists, Communists, and freebooting warlords made life unpredictable and dangerous. Missionary observer William Angus of the Reformed Church was there with an ear for the voices of the storytellers, the verse is as vital as the Chinese people, its true subject.

The years 1925-1951 marked a period of world changing political, social, and economic upheavals in China, with few provinces more affected than Fukien (Fujian), where the ambitions of the Nationalists, Communists, and freebooting warlords made life unpredictable and dangerous. Missionary observer William Angus of the Reformed Church was there with an ear for the voices of the storytellers, the verse is as vital as the Chinese people, its true subject.