February 21, 2012

Wandering around a cemetery does not sound as the ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon. But a Dutch friend of mine who was visiting Hong Kong for a few days did just that for research purposes. He wanted to take some pictures of the grave of Karl Gützlaff (1803–1851) because he had to find out why there was controversy about the contents of the epitaph.

Since he had not yet found out which cemetery to go to, he asked for my help. I did once read about the unfortunate mishaps in the life of this German missionary, some of which I shared with you on Pulse back in September 2010, but I had no idea that he had died in Hong Kong, let alone being buried here.

Now the thought of digging into sources about cemeteries was not very appealing but I could not let my friend down so I searched the internet for information. To my relief it soon led me to the ‘Find a Grave’ site which by just entering a last name generated information on the location of the grave with some snapshots. So I told my friend about it and he immediately set off for the Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley.

Afterwards he told me that the confusion over the epitaph must have been caused by the different languages inscribed on the grave which are not completely identical. Apparently the scholars who were implicated in the debate had not read all versions. So in the end, it was an afternoon well spent for my friend.

Written by: Audrey

September 22, 2010

To follow up on my last entry on Morrison, a completely different character is the controversial German missionary Karl Gützlaff (1803-1851) who claimed he was the ‘Apostle to the Chinese.’ Gützlaff had studied three years at the mission institute in Rotterdam from 1823 to 1826 and subsequently worked among the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies.

Gützlaff intent on spreading the Gospel as widely as possible ended his ties with the Netherlands Missionary Society to have more freedom. He went to China independently to set up the Chinese Union with the aim to convert China to Christianity by the Chinese themselves. Many positive reports on the activities of the Chinese Union followed, testifiying to huge numbers of converts.

At the height of his success, Gützlaff returned to Europe to hold lectures on his achievements. However, later it turned out that Gützlaff had been duped, ‘some colporteurs had actually sold their Bibles and tracts to booksellers for recycling, while all too many of the members were opium addicts.’ [see ‘The Dutch Foundation of the Gützlaff Mission in China: 1823-1851,’ in The History of the Relations between the Low Countries and China in the Qing Era (1644-1911) ]

Upon his return to China, amidst the hypocrisy and corruption, Gützlaff tried to revitalize the Chinese Union but he was in ill health and died soon after. Despite this setback, he is still regarded successful for his intentions, inspiration, and influence on later missionaries. In 1903, at the hundredth anniversary of Gützlaff’s birth, it was stressed that ‘Gützlaff’s zeal and burning love for the cause are exemplary.’ It showed that something could be done to ‘penetrate into the interior’ (of China) and an increasing number of missionaries followed to devote their lives to China.

Written by: Audrey

September 16, 2010

Yesterday I read an old article about Robert Morrison (1782-1834), the Scottish missionary who lived in China in the early nineteenth century. It is hard to believe how much hardship and difficulties he encountered and still he persisted in his attempt to spread his belief. Twenty-five years in China and he is said to have only baptized ten Chinese believers.

After landing in Macau in 1807, Morrison went on to Canton where he soon realized he was not able to survive merely as a missionary, only those in the commercial sector were given permission to stay, moreover the Chinese were highly suspicious of the English so Morrison had to pretend to be American. Somehow Morrison managed to learn Mandarin and Cantonese in such short period, and he was appointed in 1809 as translator to the East India Company, a position through which he was allowed to stay in Canton and which gave him the opportunity to interact with the local Chinese.

From the descriptions it is clear how he much effort he made to learn Chinese, how he was constantly deceived by the Chinese, how he tried to help the poor and the sick. Despite his hardships, he was able to publish quite a few books, among the most representative are his translation of the Bible into Chinese in 1811 or 1812, a Grammar of the Chinese Language in 1815 and his compilation of a Chinese dictionary from 1815 to 1823.

Although the purpose of people coming to China is now mostly different from that of those in Morrison’s time, fortunately circumstances have changed and we can meet the Chinese and learn the language in a more friendly environment. But it is thanks to those early pioneers and their publications that there is this wealth of information on China from the past which enables us to better understand the history and development of Sino-western relations. The knowledge of their difficulties back then can perhaps help solve misunderstandings we have today.

Written by: Audrey