TIMOTHY RICHARD AND LOOKING BACKWARD, 2000-1887: THE POLOT EFFORT IN TRANSLATING AN AMERICAN NOVEL INTO CHINESE Liu Shusen(122) Timothy Richard (1845-1919), an English Baptist missionary in China, was the fir st in translating an American novel into Chinese. His Chinese version of Looking Backward, 2000-1887, a 19th century American novel by Edward Bellany, appeared in 1891 in Wanguo Gongbao (Review of the Times) published in Shanghai. This publ ication earlier than the publication in 1901 of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle To m's Cabin translated by Lin Shu and Wei Yi, which was long considered as the fir st American novel rendered into Chinese. The article discusses the historical an d cultural context of the translation, the translator's strategy, the characteri stics of the version and the influence on Chinese intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty.