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Manly Civilization in China: Harry R. Caldwell, the ‘Blue Tiger’, and the American Museum of Natural History

Abstract This article examines the transplantation of America's ‘manly’ civilization to 1920s Fujian, China, through the experiences of Harry R. Caldwell (1876–1970), a Methodist missionary whose hunting was central to his social evangelism. With his rifle, Caldwell protected Chinese villagers from man-eating tigers, taught them how to hunt tigers effectively, and enabled them to reconceptualize their relationships with tigers and nature. By engaging the American Museum of Natural History in his specimen collection and hunt for the mythical ‘Blue Tiger’, Caldwell introduced an economy of natural expeditions to the villagers who were hired to support the hunt. This article argues that Caldwell's experiences as both a missionary and a hunter in Fujian was an extension, or negotiation, of his rugged masculinity, which was fostered in his Tennessee home town. He identified as both a Christian and a hunter, and he did not see these parts of himself as distinct. A comparison between Caldwell and his contemporary, the British naturalist Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885–1954), accentuates America's rugged masculinity by suggesting different national approaches to hunting and the growing professionalization of the naturalist.