1865 After the American Civil War, the domestic economy began to develop rapidly. By 1900, the industrial output value of the United States has accounted for about 30% of the world, while that of Britain only accounts for 20%, Germany accounts for 17% and France accounts for 7%. Pennsylvania was the main industrial base in the eastern United States at that time, and scranton, located in the northeast of Pennsylvania, was a famous anthracite producing area and industrial and mining city. Henry W. Luce spent his childhood and adolescence in a colorful industrial, mining, mechanical and commercial environment. Living in such an environment, scientific and technological thoughts have had a far-reaching impact on Henry W. Luce. In contrast, China at that time was basically a complete feudal agricultural society, and people still lived a lifestyle that had been followed for thousands of years, so did Jiaodong Peninsula.

1888 in the spring, American colleges and universities are filled with an atmosphere of openness and going global. Because of the rapid economic development, Americans are aware of their own strength. As a rising imperialism, the United States is no longer satisfied with being partial. But at this time, the colonies in the world have been completely carved up by the old imperialism, so the United States put forward the slogans of "open door" and "benefit sharing" and actively expanded its activities abroad. The economy is represented by businessmen, and the culture is mainly reflected by missionaries. Therefore, from the background of the whole era, Henry W. Luce's missionary activities in China were wrapped by the cultural expansion of the United States at that time. However, the understanding of missionaries must not be limited to religious purposes. On the one hand, from the perspective of world cultural exchange, they are also disseminators of scientific and technological culture and humanities. In a sense, they are not only tools for imperialism to invade and control China, but also pioneers in spreading advanced science and technology, and a bridge for cultural exchanges and people's friendship between China and foreign countries. This is a very contradictory phenomenon and must be analyzed in detail.