Rudolf Alfred Bosshardt [Beijing Daily]

Bosshardt, a foreign missionary

Rudolf Alfred Bosshardt (1897 –1993) was known for his unique participation in the Long March. He was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China with the Chinese name of Bo Fuli.

Bosshardt was born of Swiss parents in Manchester, England. In 1922, he was assigned to work in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

On October 1, 1934, Bosshardt and his wife Rose Piaget and several other missionaries were captured by the Sixth Corps of the Red Army led by General Xiao Ke.

Xiao asked them to stay with the army, hoping the missionaries could help facilitate medical supplies and perhaps raise some money for the ill-equipped troops.

Rose was later released, but Bosshardt and Arnolis Hayman, a fellow missionary from New Zealand, were forced to join the Red Army on the Long March.

Bosshardt helped Xiao translate a French map of Guizhou Province into Chinese, which was considered a "good guide" for the army's military maneuvers.

"It was an unforgettable military help for me...this missionary translated the places on the map into Chinese for me. He also provided other information during the interpretation, based on which I was able to draw a clear plan about which direction the army should take," recalled Xiao in 1984.

Short of supplies, soldiers of the Red Army lived an extremely difficult life but tried their best to meet Bosshardt's needs. They fed on wild plants but provided him steamed rice and cooked vegetables. They fought vicious enemies but kept him safe and sound. When Bosshardt caught malaria, they sent a doctor for him, and asked him to ride a horse while others marched barefoot.

After 560 days of captivity, Bosshardt was released on the Easter morning of 1936.

He then spent three months on recounting his unique experience. His book, "The Restraining Hand: Captivity for Christ in China," was published in London that year while General Xiao Ke and his army were still on the march.

This is the first book on the Long March written by a foreigner who participated in the historical event. Its title was changed into "The Guiding Hand: Captivity and Answered Prayer in China" in 1973.

In a foreword to the book's Chinese edition, Xiao praised it as the most accurate account of the Long March ever written by any foreigner.