Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) was a British Christian missionary and the founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM), one of the most influential missionary organizations of the 19th century. Born in Barnsley, England, Taylor was raised in a devout Methodist family. At 17, after a personal religious awakening, he committed himself to missionary work in China. In 1854, Taylor arrived in Shanghai amid political upheaval. Disillusioned with the inefficiency and cultural arrogance of Western missions, he chose a radical path: adopting Chinese dress and customs to better connect with locals. His approach was controversial but effective. In 1865, he founded the China Inland Mission with a goal to bring Christianity to China’s interior provinces. CIM accepted missionaries from multiple denominations, emphasized cultural adaptation, and depended on faith-based funding, refusing traditional fundraising. Taylor faced enormous challenges—illness, personal loss, financial strain—but persisted. Under his leadership, CIM grew rapidly, sending hundreds of missionaries across China. Hudson Taylor died in 1905 in Changsha, China. By then, CIM had 825 missionaries, hundreds of Chinese workers, and thousands of converts. His model of cross-cultural mission work reshaped global missionary practices.