This collection contains two different items: a letter (and its envelope) sent from Rong Lin to Sir William Chalmers Burns, and a photograph portraying a Chinese carpenter and Christian convert named Chu Ting Yü.

1. The photograph is a portrait of Chu Ting Yü, carpenter and convert to Christianity. He knew Rev. William Chalmers Burns and allegedly made his coffin when Burns died in 1868. Photograph 13 x 9 cm. mounted on card 17 x 11 cm, and dated 18 September 1889.

2. Letter from Rong Lin sends a greeting since he last saw Burns in July (approximately 1864). Rong Lin heard in October that Burns had settled in the new city and found a place to live but still no space for preaching. Rong Lin expresses his gratefulness as a Christian that Burns is introducing Christianity to 盛京三省 Shengjing Sansheng (Northeast China / Manchuria). He humbly seeks more instructions from Burns on religious matters. There is no direct indication of date from the letter; according to Burns’ biography this letter could be from between 1864 and 1868.

Transcription of Rong Lin's letter, written in traditional Chinese (the original Chinese text reads from right to left vertically):

耶穌聖教徒榮霖謹候
賓先生福安、自七月在丁先生處相別、弟未能親送、心實不安、惟有常在天父前、求主賜先生平安、于九月初二、在艾先生處月會、聞先生來信云、一路平安、並船工相待一切甚好、弟聞讀不勝喜悅、奈所言尚無住處安穩、弟甚以為憂、惟有懇求默禱、由主意思、必能有定、忽于十月初一、禮拜時候、柏先生將先生來信、念給眾人聽、方知先生有定住處、尚缺講書之所、弟聞之始*放心、弟想盛京三省地方、從古並未有偶像、庙宇、等事、自入中土、人都遠離真道、棄侍天父、今先生在此、正是返本歸元、令此處旗民、得聞福音真理、足見天父大恩、無地不施、我們應同心謝主、賜弟根本家鄉有光、弟或拜三、或早晚、替先生禱告、求主恩典、願先生平安健壯、以立此處教會、並求三省全地、早蒙聖靈感化、得受赦罪之道、實有盼望、又蒙承問、弟在京惟有勉力講書、然人仍無悔改成信、實在可勸的人甚少、或弟內心污穢、未有感動之處、也未可知、惟有求先生替弟禱告或先生在京時、看弟有不合道理處、亦求指教、令我悔改得救、總盼救主成就、教會重興、是所望也、柏富先生，裨富太太均都平安以暨閣院人口均好請先生放心此啟並請
先生平安 並問同住教友平安

English translation:

Greetings from a Christian Rong Lin
I hope all is well with you¹. Since we parted at Mr Ding's place in July, I regret not seeing you off in person. It makes me worry. The only thing I could do was to pray to the heavenly Father and beg our lord to grant you safety. On 2 September, I was at Mr Ai's place for the monthly meeting. There I heard you wrote a letter saying your journey has been safe and that the staff on the boat treat you well. I cannot be happier to hear that. However, you said you still have not found a long-term place to live, and I am very concerned about that. I could only pray silently for you. Our lord has his way, and there will be some outcome for you. On 1 October, during the worship, Mr Bai read your letter to us. At that time, I learned that you have found a home to settle in and are still looking for a place to preach. I finally feel relieved. I think Shengjing Sansheng (Manchuria region) has had no idol worship or religious temples since ancient times. From when it joined the middle kingdom, people drifted further from the true way and abandoned their opportunity to serve the heavenly Father. Now that you are here, reveal the true path to people and inform them about the Gospel. This tells us that the heavenly Father's kindness is given to all regardless of their region. We shall be grateful to our lord together, bringing light to my home region. Every Wednesday morning and evening, I pray for you; I beg for blessings from our lord. I hope you are safe and sound and successful with the mission here. And I hope all regions in the three provinces would be reformed by the Holy Spirit and acknowledge the way to gain forgiveness for their sin. I indeed hope for this to happen. In Peking, what I could do was preach as much as I could. However, there are few willing to convert. Indeed there are not many people I can persuade. Perhaps I am not pure enough to touch their heart; I don't know. I could only ask you to pray for me or to instruct me if you see me not doing things properly when you are in Peking. In this way, I could be improved and saved. I always hope for more achievement of our lord, the revival of the church. Mr Bai Fu and Miss Bi Fu are both well. And those in the courtyard (here, the author is referring to an institution or architecture, it is unclear what he means precisely) are all well. Please feel assured. I hope you and the brother who lives with you are safe and well.

¹ (referred to as Mr Bin, Burns' Chinese name is Bin Huilian)