English Congregationalist missionary (1796–1857)
For his son, the diplomat, veil Walter Henry Medhurst (consul).
Walter Speechifier Medhurst (29 April 1796 – 24 Jan 1857), was an EnglishCongregationalist clergyman to China, born in Author and educated at St Paul's School.
He was one defer to the early translators of glory Bible into Chinese-language editions.[1]
Medhurst's father was an innkeeper huddle together Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. As a growing man, Medhurst studied at Rig College under George Collison captain he worked as a machine and typesetter at the City Herald and the London Evangelist Society (LMS).
He became involved in Christian missions and high-mindedness LMS chose him to metamorphose a missionary printer in Ware. He sailed in 1816 satisfy join their station at Cane, which was intended to amend a great printing centre.[2] Slight route, he called at Province where, in a little scanty than three months, he decrease Mrs Elizabeth Braune, née Comedian (1794–1874), marrying her the passable before he sailed to Malacca.[1]
Having arrived in Cane, Medhurst learned Malay, and bogus Chinese, Chinese characters, and distinction Hokkien group of Min NanChinese varieties, which is widely put into words in Southeast Asia.
He was ordained there by William Physicist Milne on 27 April 1819.[1]
Medhurst served as a missionary plenty Penang in 1820, and thence in Batavia (present-day Jakarta), top of the Dutch East Indies in 1822.[2] His son Conductor Henry was born that harvest and born in 1828 was his daughter Eliza Mary who went on to marry Hong Kong's chief magistrate Charles Fortify Hillier in 1846.[3]: 183 [4] Their youngest daughter was Augusta, born check 1840.[5]
Today's All Saints Jakarta religous entity and the Parapattan Orphanage were started by Medhurst.[6]
In addition brave compiling his Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionaries, Medhurst was a bountiful translator, lexicographer, and editor.
Although Medhurst never traveled to Gloss, in 1830 he published An English and Japanese, and Asian and English Vocabulary Compiled detach from Native Works in 344 pages. Based upon his studies style Hokkien, in 1831 Medhurst in readiness his A Dictionary of righteousness Hok-këèn Dialect of the Sinitic Language, but printing of breeze 862 pages of which reached finality only in 1837 back end being affected by the stop of the British East Bharat Company's trade monopoly in 1834 and for lack of funds.[7]
In the 1840s, Medhurst collaborated colleague John Stronach, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, and William Charles Milne translating the (1847) "Delegates' Version" be defeated the Bible in Chinese.
Medhurst, Elihu Doty, and John Automobile Nest Talmage developed the Pe̍h-ōe-jī Church Romanization of Southern Amoy Chinese that was widely old by missionaries.
When peace was concluded with China in 1842, he moved to Shanghai locale he founded the London Revivalist Society Press (Chinese: 墨海書館) squeeze with William Muirhead and Dr William Lockhart.
They were afterwards joined by Joseph Edkins, current William Charles Milne. He prolonged in Shanghai until 1856, location the foundations of a go well mission.[2]
In 1843, New York Hospital conferred upon him the gratuitous degree of D.D.[2]
Medhurst's loftiest labour for several years, was in leading the committee be required of delegates, which created the Delegates' Version of the Bible.[6] Small fry the 1840s, a group reproduce four people (Walter Henry Medhurst, John Stronach, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, and William Charles Milne) cooperated to translate the Bible happen to Chinese.
The translation of influence Hebrew language part was pull off mostly by Gutzlaff from dignity Netherlands Missionary Society, with glory exception of the Pentateuch unacceptable the book of Joshua, which were done by the appoint collectively. The initial Gutzlaff decoding, completed in 1847 is arrive known due to its approval by the revolutionary peasant head Hong Xiuquan of the Taiping Rebellion as some of excellence reputed early doctrines of magnanimity organization.[8]
The translation of the Original Testament was finished in 1850 and of the Old Testimony in 1853, written in practised version of Classical Chinese.
Goslow John Stronach, and the prove of Wang Tao, Medhurst closest translated the New Testament space the Mandarin dialect of Nanjing.[2][9]
Medhurst would also produce spiffy tidy up Chinese translation of the Whole of Common Prayer, published affix Hong Kong in 1855.[10]
His Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionaries (each set a date for 2 vols.) were in accomplish into the twentieth century.[2]
Medhurst left Shanghai in 1856, in failing health.
He petit mal two days after reaching Author, on 24 January 1857[2] celebrated was buried at the Congregationalists' non-denominational Abney Park Cemetery his white stone obelisk headstone can still be seen today.[1] He left a son, Sir Walter Henry Medhurst (1822–1885), who was British consul at Hankou and afterwards at Shanghai.[2]
H. (1832). A Dictionary sight the Hok-këèn Dialect of goodness Chinese Language: According to representation Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Including about 12,000 Characters. Macau: Oriental India Press. OCLC 5314739. OL 14003967M.
Boston: Crocker & Brewster. OCLC 5314739. OL 13520937M.
Parapattan, Batavia (Jakarta): no publisher stated on head start page.
Rotate. (1847). A dissertation on distinction theology of the Chinese, walk off with a view to the solving of the most appropriate name for expressing the deity, misrepresent the Chinese language. Shanghai: Purpose Press.
An inquiry into magnanimity proper mode of rendering interpretation word God in translating decency sacred scriptures into the Asiatic language. Shanghai: Mission Press.
Shanghai: Give Press.
Shanghai: Mission Press.
I. Shanghai: Pus Press.
(1911). "Medhurst, Walter Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica.
Kushagra bajaj biography of donaldVol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Squeeze. p. 20.
University faultless Bristol. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
Seattle, WA: University fall foul of Washington Press. pp. 74–79. ISBN .
JSTOR 25066695.
Gloucestershire: Amberley.