Hudson Taylor
From Freepedia
Image:Hudson Taylor.jpg James Hudson Taylor (May 21, 1832 – June 3,1905), Christian missionary to China in the Methodist tradition, and founder of the China Inland Mission (renamed as Overseas Missionary Fellowship, OMF International [1] in 1964 and based on Singapore), served there for 51 years, bringing over 800 missionaries to the country and personally baptizing an estimated 50,000 converts. He was famous for his commitment to cultural sensitivity, wearing Chinese dress even though this was rare among missionaries of that time.
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Youth and Early Work
Taylor grew up in a Christian home in England, but as a young man he moved away from the beliefs of his parents. At 17, upon reading a evangelistic pamphlet, he became a Christian, and in December of 1849, he committed himself to going to China as a missionary. About this time, he began studying the languages of Mandarin, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. In 1851, he moved to a poor neighborhood and began preparing himself for a life of faith and service, devoting himself to the poor and having faith that God would provide for his needs. In 1852 he began studying medicine in London, in preparation for working in China.
After leaving England on September 19, 1853, before completing his medical studies, Taylor arrived in Shanghai, China, on March 1, 1854, after a nearly disastrous voyage aboard the Dumfries. He was immediately faced with civil war, throwing his first year in China into turmoil. He began regular preaching tours in 1855, and was often poorly received by the people, even though he brought with him medical supplies and skills. After working together with a Scottish evangelist, William Burns, for seven months, Taylor found that all his medical supplies, being stored in Shanghai, had been destroyed by a fire. Furthermore, in October 1856, he was robbed of nearly everything he owned.
Family and China Inland Mission
In 1857, upon receiving a letter from George Müller, Taylor decided to resign from the mission board which sent him, the Chinese Evangelization Society, and instead work independently. In 1859, he married Maria Dryer, a helper of the reputed first female missionary to China, Mary Ann Aldersey. Their first child, Grace, was born the same year. Because of health problems, Taylor decided to return to England for a furlough, where his second child was born, Herbert, in 1861. Taylor used his time in England to continue his work, translating the Ningpo New Testament, enrolling in a medical course, and writing a book on the spiritual needs of China. More children were born in 1862 (Bertie), in 1863 (Freddie), and in 1864 (Samuel).
On June 25, 1865, Taylor decided to begin to look for more volunteers to return with him to China, informally founding the China Inland Mission. In less than one year, he had accepted 24 missionaries and raised $13,000. On May 26,1866, after over five years of working in England, Taylor and family returned to China with their new missions team. Conflicts within the team limited their effectiveness, but when Taylor's daughter Grace died in 1867, the team united and sorted out their discord. But problems continued in 1868, when their mission compound in Yangchow was attacked, looted and burned. Even so, they returned to Yangchow later that year, impressing the natives with their perseverance and making many converts.
1868 brought another child (Charles) into the Taylor family, and in 1870, Taylor and his wife made the difficult decision to send their older three surviving children (Bertie, Freddie, and Maria - Samuel died earlier that year) home to England. That same year, Noel was born, though he died of throat problems two weeks later. Taylor's wife Maria died several days later, with the official cause of death being cholera. Her death shook Taylor deeply, and in 1871, his own health began deteriorating further, leading to his return to England later that year to recuperate and take care of business items. While there, he remarried, and returned to China with his new wife in late 1872. Two years later, the Taylors were forced to return once again to England because of the death of their children's caretaker. His wife remained with the children, and in 1876 Taylor returned to China.
It was at this time that Hudson's evangelical work in England profoundly affected various members of the famous cricketing Studd family, resulting in three of the brothers converting and becoming deeply religious themselves; one of them, Charles Studd (the famous England Ashes cricketer) himself became a missionary to China along with fellow Cambridge Universtity converts, known as the Cambridge Seven.
From 1876-1878 Taylor traveled throughout inland China, opening missions stations. This was made possible by the September 13, 1876 signing of the Chefoo Convention, a settlement between Britain and China that made it possible for mission work to occur in inland China. In 1878, Taylor's wife returned to China and began working to promote female missionary activity in China. By 1881 there were 100 missionaries in Taylor's young missions organization. In 1883 Taylor returned to England to recruit more missionaries and raise more money, and returned to China, working now with a total of 225 missionaries and 59 churches. In 1887 their numbers increased by another 102, and in 1888, Taylor brought 14 missionaries from the United States.
Retirement
Image:Hudson Taylor-2-.jpg Due to health issues, Taylor remained in Switzerland, semi-retired. News of the Boxer Rebellion and the resulting disruption of missionary work in 1900 distressed him, even though it lead to further interest in missions in the area and additional growth of his China Inland Mission. In 1900, D E Hoste was appointed the Acting General Director, and in 1902, Taylor resigned. His wife died in 1904, and in 1905, with only several months to live, Taylor returned to China. There he visited Yangchow and Chinkiang and other cities, before dying suddenly while reading at home in Changsha. He was buried with his first wife Maria in Chinkiang, China, near the Yangtze River.
Legacy
Descendants of James Hudson Taylor continue his full-time ministry today in Chinese communities in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Rev. James Hudson Taylor III (戴紹曾牧師) and his son Rev. James Hudson Taylor IV (戴繼宗牧師) are now based in Hong Kong providing full-time Chinese ministries. Rev. James Hudson Taylor IV married a Taiwanese woman, Ms. Kuo Yue-Min (柯悅敏), the first Chinese member of Hudson Taylor family in 150 years.
See also
Catholic missionaries in China
Protestant missionaries in China
- Robert Morrison
- William Milne
- William Burns
- Hudson Taylor
- Timothy Richard
- Young John Allen
- Jonathan Goforth
