Career in China
From 1830, Morrison acted as translator for English merchants in Canton, China. In 1832-4, he accompanied American merchant and diplomat Edmund Roberts to Siam and Cochin China as his personal secretary and translator. Morrison also compiled a Chinese Commercial Guide to provide information on British trade in China and contributed to Karl Gützlaff's Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, a publication aimed at improving Sino-western understanding.
John Morrison succeeded his father in 1834 and was appointed Chinese Secretary to the British East India Company on behalf of the British government. He was then involved in diplomacy during the Opium War from 1839–1842, which resulted in the Treaty of Nanking. When the Government of Hong Kong formed after the treaty, Morrison became a member of the Legislative and Executive Councils, and the first Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong under the leadership of Sir Henry Pottinger.
Read more about this topic: John Robert Morrison
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