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“...ROBERT MORRISON
MARSHALL BROOMHALL
EDITORIAL SECRETARY, CHINA INLAND MISSION
AUTHOR OF
Iilam in Chinn, Pioneer Work in Hunan,
In Quest of God, Faith and Facto, etc.
us ipxiT^KTwv fopAiOV T<0CHINA INLAND MISSION
LONDON, PHILADELPHIA, TORONTO
MELBOURNE and SHANGHAI
1924...”
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“...are
millions of Chinese Moslems for whom practically
nothing has been done; and there is yet unlimited
scope for fellowship and camaraderie with the
Chinese leaders in the older and more developed
stations. May this story of the labours of an un-
daunted master-builder stir the Christian Church
anew to fresh effort to complete the enterprise and
to “ bring forth the headstone with shoutings,
crying, Grace, grace unto it.”
MARSHALL BROOMHALL
China Inland Mission, London
January lftth, 1924...”
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“...CONTENTS
PAGH
Author’s Preface ...... ix
Table of Dates . . . . . . xv
CHAP.
I. The Great Closed Land ... 1
II. A Great Tradition and a Little
Child ...... 6
III. The Hidden Man of the Heart . 14
IV. High Employ......................22
V. The Call of China .... 27
VI. The Voyage . . . . . 85
VII. Old Canton ..... 41
VIII. Facing Life’s Task .... 51
IX. Some Momentous Decisions . . 60
X. Overlapping Extraordinary . . 69
XI. A Colleague at Last ... 74
XII. The Ultra-Ganges Mission . . 81
XIII. Dismissed but Indispensable . . 86
XIV. Lonely and in Constant Appre-
hension ...... 98
XV. An Iona in the East . . .110
xiii...”
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“...Entered the Missionary
Academy at Gospor
1805 Settled in London for the study of medicine, astronomy and Chinese
Battle of Trafalgar
1807 Sailed for China. Reached Canton September 1th
1808 Rented the French Factory in Canton
1809 Married to Miss Mary Morton at Macao. Appointed Chinese
Translator to East India Company's Factory
1810 Printed one thousand copies of the Acts of the Apostles in Chinese
1811 Translated St Luke’s Gospel. Completed Chinese Grammar
1812 Chinese Edict forbidding the printing of books in Chinese on the
Christian religion
1813 Mr and Mrs WiUiain Milne reached Macao
Morrison completed translation of the New Testament
1814 Tour of the Malay Archipelago by Milne
Morrison’s first convert, Tsae A-ko, baptized
1815 Mrs Morrison and children sailed for England
Mr and Mrs Milne sailed for Malacca to commence the Ultra-
Ganges Mission
Battle of Waterloo...”
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“...The Great Closed Land
5
annexed ; Burma had been defeated and become
tributary; and even Nepal, separated from China
by the almost impassable Tibetan Alps and
Himalayas, had been invaded by Chinese troops, and
the warlike Gurkhas compelled to acknowledge the
sovereignty of China.
Such was the situation in that great closed land
towards the end of the eighteenth century. If the
brief glory of Kublai Khan the Mongol be excepted,
China’s sway had never been so extensive and
complete, yet was she more determined than ever
to bar her doors against the barbarians from afar.
For merchant or missionary to stand outside and
knock at those closed gates was humiliating and at
times exasperating. Hitherto no Protestant mission-
ary had attempted it. But the day for advance had
dawned, and it is the purport of these pages to tell
the story of the man who heard and responded to a
call which demanded dauntless resolution and eternal
patience....”
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“...views . . . But I think
something more than wrhat you propose is needful to be
done.
If I were as young as you are I know of no station in
England I should consider a bar to my setting out for
Macao or Canton as a missionary of our Society, to devote
the rest of my days to the propagation of the Gospel in
China. I recommend this subject, my dear Sir, to your
serious consideration.
Whether Dr Moseley could have gone himself or
not we do not know, but he certainly did not abate
his interest or activities. Although disappointed in
the inability of three societies to proceed with his
proposal, he was gladdened by the London Mission-
ary Society’s resolve to look out for a suitable person...”
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“...The Call of China
3i
or persons to proceed to China,1 and was soon brought
into touch with the man upon whom their choice fell.
Morrison’s solid gifts and persevering industry as
a student at Gosport almost immediately impressed
Dr Bogue with his fitness for the proposed mission
to China. A few months later, despite his love for
Africa, we find Morrison writing to a friend urging
him to become his colleague in this service :
I wish I could persuade you to accompany me. Take
into account the three hundred and fifty millions of
souls in China who have not the means of knowing
Jesus Christ as Saviour. Think seriously of your
obligations to Jesus. Pray the matter over before God
and send me, as soon as is proper, the result.
A month later he wrote again :
The undertaking is arduous, my brother, and I
seriously entreat you to count the cost. Many among
the Chinese are highly refined and well informed ; they
will not be beneath us but superior. The Romish
missionaries will be our bitterest foes...”
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“...breadth of Morrison’s outlook is remark-
able. Not only does he ask the directors of his own
Society to keep him informed of the progress of the
missionary enterprise in other parts of the world,
but he is dreaming and scheming and advising for
the development of missions in Asia, somewhat
after the manner of the famous pioneers at Serampore.
I wonder [he writes home] that you have not sent a
missionary to Prince of Wales Island. Do think of it.
Make it as it was once called, a stepping stone to China....”
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“...Cochin China ? There would
not be the same national and political objections to them
as there are to the English. . . . Christianity is in its
spirit the religion of the world. It buries national
prejudices, and the more it is understood, believed and
loved, the more rapidly will it unite all men in each
country, and the men of each country as brethren.
He rejoiced to hear from home that Mr Adoniram
Judson, with other American students, was devoting
himself to missionary work in the East; and when
he received a copy of the sermon preached by Henry
Martyn at Calcutta—in which great sermon Martyn
had stated “ Asia must be our care ”—Morrison
actually obtained subscriptions from the English
residents at Macao to the amount of two hundred
and eighty-five dollars, which he forwarded to the
treasurer of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society.
Through these early years there had been gradu-
ally maturing in his mind that thought which
ultimately led to the formation of the Ultra-Ganges
Mission, to...”
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“...82
Robert Morrison
Although Morrison could delay decision as to his
future sphere, prompt action was necessary for
Milne. It was therefore decided, early in 1814, that
Milne should make a tour through the chief Chinese
settlements in the Malay Archipelago to distribute
the New Testament among the Chinese settlers, and
secure a residence for the whole or part of the China
Mission. Morrison had already completed the trans-
lation of the New Testament, concerning which he
makes the following reference in his diary on the
last day of 1813 :
I bless the Lord that this year the New Testament
has been completed in Chinese and is now nearly all
printed. Oh, that it may be the means of great good.
Lord, own it as Thine own Word.
For the purposes of Milne’s journey two thousand
copies of the New Testament, ten thousand tracts,
and five thousand copies of a Catechism were printed.
Concerning this work Morrison wrote, “ We are
often concerned lest a disclosure should prevent the
accomplishment of our...”
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“...The Ultra-Ganges Mission
83
the very outset he was nearly captured by a Chinese
war junk; at Batavia the vessel in which he had
sailed sank in the Roads a few hours after he landed ;
and he did not escape attacks of fever and ague.
But he received the most handsome assistance and
encouragement from the Honourable Sir Stamford
Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Java, who not only
granted him all possible facilities, but furnished him
with letters of introduction to British officers and
native princes. At Malacca also Colonel Farquhar,
the Resident, showed himself a warm friend to all
his undertakings.
It was during Milne’s absence that Morrison had
the great joy of baptizing his first convert, the first-
fruits of Protestant Missions in China. This convert
was a man named Tsae A-ko, who had been brought
into contact with Morrison during his first year in
China and later had been employed in putting
the New Testament through the press. This joyous
event must be recorded in Morrison’s own language...”
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“...the directors of the Society at home,
and may be epitomized as follows :
I. That the present state of China is such as renders
printing, and several other labours connected with our
mission, very difficult; and even personal residence
uncertain. It is desirable, therefore, to obtain a station
under some European Protestant government, near to
China, where the chief seat of our Chinese Mission may
be fixed.
II. That on Mr Milne’s arrival at Malacca, an attempt
be made to obtain, by grant or by purchase, a plot of
ground, which shall be the property of the Mission.
III. That the establishment of a Chinese Free School
be attempted as early as possible....”
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“...his un-
divided attention to translation, the second member of
the Mission shall engage in translating some parts of the
Old Testament—thus uniting their labours till the whole
version be completed.
It is not within the scope of this biography to
follow in detail the developments of this Ultra-
Ganges Mission, which fulfilled a most useful function
until the opening of China brought this preparatory
effort to its natural close. In Malacca, Java and
Amboyna, in Penang and Singapore, valuable work
was accomplished by such men as Medhurst, Legge,
S. Dyer (father of the first Mrs Hudson Taylor), and
others, some of whom were spared to render long
and great service to the cause of God in China when
that country was opened to the Gospel....”
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“... of the man who devised the
scheme, as the following extracts from the College
deed reveal:
Anglo-Chinese College Deed
I, Robert Morrison, D.D. of the University of Glasgow,
having been sent to China in the year of our Lord 1807,
by a Society of Christians meeting in London and com-
posed of members of various British Churches, for the
purpose of learning the Chinese language, rendering the
Sacred Scriptures into the said tongue, and composing
an English-Chinese Dictionary, with the ulterior view
of the diffusion of the Christian religion in China and the
extra-Ganges nations; and having in the year 1818
nearly brought these several works to a conclusion, my
mind was led to pray to God for direction and to meditate
on what further means could be used to bring about the
final object of my mission.
The Divine Providence having increased my personal
property in a small degree, I determined to appropriate
£1000 sterling to found a College to be called the Anglo-
Chinese College, the object...”
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“...he
promised £100 a year for five years. In addition, the
East India Company in China made an annual grant
of $1200 towards the expenses, which sum was
continued by the British Government when the
Company’s Charter ceased.
Among the magazines issued from the College
press was a quarterly journal entitled The Indo-
Chinese Gleaner, which Morrison and Milne under-
took at their own charges. This publication gained
considerable celebrity among the savants of Europe.
There were also issued a Chinese monthly magazine;
Prdmare’s Notitia Linguoe Sinicce, the manuscript of
which was presented to the College by Viscount
Kingsborough with £1500 to defray the cost of
printing; Mr Collie’s translation of the Confucian
Four Books ; the whole of the Sacred Scriptures, and
many other smaller works, including tracts. From
the same press was issued in 1820 A Retrospect of
the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China,...”
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“...you in His Father’s house. Oh
repine not at the afflictions which you may be called to endure in
this land, wherein ye are strangers and pilgrims. Be not im-
patient ; be not like the Buddhist of China, and the pleasure-
sated, wearied profligate of Europe, to call your existence a
curse. Rather up and be active to do all the good possible here.
Opportunities to do and to suffer for Jesus will soon be over.
Work, therefore, while it is day, and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God, when ye shall attain to your eternal abode in Heaven.—
Robert Morrison.
From all the care and thought joyfully expended by
Morrison in the study of the Scriptures for the
purposes of translation, it was impossible but that
he himself should have reaped much personal profit.
Though he laboured with the needs of China before
him, his own soul must have been refreshed as he
meditated upon the consolations of the Scriptures.
And at no time in his life did he stand more in need
of that comfort which the Word of God...”
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“...com-
munity, headed with the words “As we have there-
fore opportunity let us do good unto all men.”
After referring to “ the claim which this pagan nation
has upon our benevolent exertions,” he proceeded:
I would that a little church of praying people were
found in Canton, and that all real praying Christians
who may hereafter visit it should join themselves to it.
To give perpetuity to these desires and views I have
written these lines, which will remain on record among
the papers of our China Mission, and in token of your
acquiescence in the tenor and spirit of the sentiments
expressed I request your signature thereto.
Six persons added their signatures to Morrison’s,
of whom special reference may be made to D. W. C.
Olyphant, a magnanimous American merchant who
most generously assisted missions for many years.
This address was followed by another entitled “ A
*...”
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“...Morrison.
Twelve days after the great fire, Morrison, sitting
in his improvised home in a Chinese warehouse,
wrote a brief review entitled The First Fifteen Years
of the China Mission. His purpose in this sketch
was to answer the question sometimes put to him
by friend or critic : “ And pray, what have you
done in these fifteen years to promote the diffusion
of Christianity ? ” He felt an answer necessary “ to
disarm the hostile cavils of some, to reanimate the
desponding hearts of others, and to excite gratitude
to God our Saviour for what He has wrought.”
The end designed [wrote Morrison] by the Missionary
Society is to preach the Gospel to the heathen and convert
the natives from Satan to God. To effect this end a
knowledge of languages is an indispensable means. . . .
When the Missionary Society commenced the Chinese
Mission, England was behind all the rest of the European
nations in the knowledge of Chinese and had no help
for acquiring that language. But ... at this day
she has better...”
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“...assistance, consisting
in books and teachers and perfect freedom and leisure
to acquire speedily a knowledge of the Chinese language,
their literature, religion and philosophy. . • . Since the
Anglo-Chinese College plan preceded the Scramporc
College and the Episcopal Mission College at Calcutta, there
is reason to believe that our zeal . . . provoked others.
The Honourable Company’s press at Macao has em-
boldened the new Portuguese Government of that settle-
ment to establish a press and they venture to print and
publish Chinese news. The diffusion of knowledge is
favourable to true Christianity. . . .
When the London Missionary Society’s servant first
arrived in China, Englishmen had no minister of religion
here. . . . But now in China, where Lord Macartney
would not venture to take a chaplain in his embassy,
Divine service is regularly performed on the Sabbath
day by a person sanctioned by all the British
authorities. . . .
There are a few natives on whose conscience Divine
truth has made an...”
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“...to his brother that he had spent half or
more than half of his little property in aid of the
College and Mission, and in consequence might have
to abandon his hoped-for visit to England.
Some of his letters written and speeches delivered
at this time reveal his single-eyed devotion to the
evangelization of China, his breadth of vision and
sympathy, his sanity of judgment, his freedom
from narrow prejudice, and, what is perhaps more
remarkable, his early recognition of the need of
unmarried women workers if China’s needs were to
be met. Speaking at Singapore at a meeting
convened to consider the establishment of the
institution referred to above, he said :
China I have taken as my province and to it I purpose
resolutely to adhere. . . . The Malayan College to which
now we shall resign the Malayan division of the work,
is a great acquisition to the general cause ; and I rejoice
that China and the Archipelago are to be associated
like twin brothers, having no other strife or rivalry but
the...”
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