The Black-Bearded Barbarian of Taiwan: Synopsis Our Story: Virtually unknown in his native Canada, George Leslie Mackay’s saga is a tale of faith and fearlessness, commitment and courage -- the amazing life of “The Black-Bearded Barbarian.” For the last thirty years of the 19th century, this skinny, black-bearded Canadian Christian preacher walks the mountain trails of the beautiful island of Taiwan, defiant in his mandate and his message.  Reviled by most Chinese as a barbarian devil, pelted with abuse, threats and filth, he perseveres to become the most successful missionary of his generation, marries a Taiwanese woman, campaigns against racism back in Canada, and still is revered today as the spiritual father of  thousands of  Taiwanese. He is a son of rural Ontario, the descendant of generations of poor, proud Scotsmen evicted from their farms and abandoned to starvation by their noble landlords. He grows up in an era in which Christian missionaries are media superstars and idols of devotion, self-sacrifice and courage. From earliest childhood, he yearns to bring “the blood-stained banner of Christ” to distant lands. He is still in his twenties when he sails to the China coast, one Canadian missionary among hundreds. Selecting the island of Formosa (Taiwan) for his personal parish, he sets out to learn the Taiwanese dialect, civilize the aboriginal tribes of the interior, attract converts to his alien faith, build simple stone churches and win the allegiance and respect of the island’s Chinese aristocracy. Every one of these endeavours brings him to the brink of  failure, exhaustion, and death. He demands that his followers give up the beliefs that have sustained their culture for five thousand years -- their idols, ancestral tablets and incense-clouded temples. In return, he promises them eternal life under the protection of a foreign God. After a decade of nearly fruitless wandering and preaching, Mackay takes a dramatic step that enrages his bosses back in Toronto -- and wins him a place in the hearts of the Taiwanese people that endures to this day. He marries a Taiwanese woman, proving his love for the island’s people, and his church -- and his family -- blossoms. “The Black-Bearded Barbarian” follows Mackay through this pivotal period, revealing the extraordinary courage and foresight of one of the first Canadians to embrace a foreign people, not as ignorant heathen, but as human beings worthy of friendship, respect, equality, and love. Languages: Mandarin and English