Hudson Taylor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Hudson Taylor
Taylor in 1893 with a handwritten note and signature
Religion	Christianity
Church	Protestant
Alma mater	London Hospital Medical College
Personal
Born	(1832-05-21)21 May 1832 Barnsley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Died	3 June 1905(1905-06-03) (aged 73) Changsha, Hunan, China
Spouse	Maria Jane Taylor (née Dyer); Jennie Taylor (née Faulding)
Parents	James Taylor Amelia Hudson

James Hudson Taylor (born May 21, 1832 – died June 3, 1905) was a very important and influential British Christian missionary. He is famous for founding the China Inland Mission (CIM). This organization helped spread Christianity in China. Taylor spent 51 years of his life either visiting or living in China.

The CIM, which he started in 1865, grew to be the largest missionary group in China. By 1910, it had over 800 missionaries. They also created 125 schools and helped more than 20,000 Chinese people become Christians. The mission set up over 300 work centers across all 18 provinces of China. They also had more than 499 local Chinese helpers.

Taylor was unique because he embraced Chinese culture. He even wore traditional Chinese clothes, which was unusual for missionaries then. Under his leadership, the CIM welcomed people from all Protestant Christian groups. This included working-class individuals, single women, and people from many different countries. A historian named Ruth Tucker said that Taylor had a wider vision and a more organized plan for spreading his message than almost any other missionary since the Apostle Paul.

Taylor learned to speak several Chinese languages. These included Mandarin, Chaozhou, and the Wu dialects of Shanghai and Ningbo. He knew the Ningbo dialect so well that he helped translate parts of the New Testament into it.

Early Life and His Calling

Hudson Taylor at age 21

Hudson Taylor worked and lived simply in Hull.

James Hudson Taylor was born on May 21, 1832, in Barnsley, England. His father, James Taylor, was a chemist and a Methodist preacher. His mother was Amelia Hudson. Hudson Taylor was a small and often sick child. His father taught him about China and inspired him to share his faith there.

When he was younger, Hudson Taylor had doubts about his parents' Christian beliefs. But at 17, he had a strong religious experience. A year later, he felt called by God to become a Christian missionary in China.

In 1851, he started working with a doctor in Hull. He also studied many languages, including Chinese, Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. He chose to live a very simple life, giving away most of his money to the poor. He spent his free time helping people in poor areas as a medical missionary.

Later, in 1852, Taylor began studying medicine in London. He wanted to be fully prepared for his work in China. At this time, many people in England were becoming interested in China. This was partly due to the Taiping Rebellion and exciting reports from other missionaries. Because of this interest, the Chinese Evangelisation Society (CES) was formed. Hudson Taylor became their first missionary, and they helped pay for his medical training.

First Journey to China

Hudson Taylor traveled by boat, sharing Bibles in China.

Hudson Taylor left England on September 19, 1853, even before finishing his medical studies. He arrived in Shanghai, China, on March 1, 1854. Right away, he faced a civil war happening nearby.

Taylor often struggled financially because the money promised by the CES didn't always arrive. He decided to dress like the Chinese people, shaving his head and growing a pigtail. This surprised and even shocked other foreigners in Shanghai. He learned a lot about Chinese customs from experienced missionaries like Joseph Edkins. He also traveled with William Chalmers Burns to preach in the countryside. During these trips, he was robbed twice and lost his medical supplies. In 1857, he left the CES and became an independent missionary in Ningbo. There, he helped his first Chinese person convert to Christianity.

In 1858, Taylor married Maria Dyer. Maria was an orphan and worked at a girls' school in Ningbo. Despite some initial disapproval from Maria's guardian, they married on January 20, 1858. Hudson and Maria had nine children during their 12 years of marriage. Four of their children lived to adulthood.

Both Hudson and Maria faced health challenges. In 1860, they returned to England with their daughter, Grace, and a young Chinese man named Wang Laijun. Wang Laijun helped them continue their work of translating the Bible.

Founding the China Inland Mission (CIM)

Hudson Taylor faced dangers during the civil war in Shanghai.

Hudson Taylor was once searched by a thief at night.

The Taylor family stayed in England for nearly six years. During this time, Hudson Taylor finished his medical training and became a minister. He also translated the New Testament into the Ningbo dialect of Chinese. He wrote a book called China's Spiritual Need and Claims. Most importantly, he traveled across Britain, speaking in churches. He wanted to gather support for missionary work in China.

On June 25, 1865, while on Brighton beach, Taylor felt a strong calling. He decided to create a new missionary society. Its goal was to reach the "unreached" inland areas of China. Soon after, he founded the China Inland Mission (CIM) with William Thomas Berger. He started the CIM's bank account with 10 pounds of his own money.

Taylor set up special rules for the CIM, which were different from other missionary groups in China. The CIM would not ask for money. Instead, it would "rely on God alone" for its needs. The mission would focus on China's inland provinces, where few Protestant missionaries had gone before. CIM missionaries would live like the Chinese people, dressing and eating as they did. This helped them connect better with the local communities. The mission welcomed members from all Protestant groups. They chose people based on their faith and dedication, not their background or education. Single women and people from all social classes were also invited to join. Finally, the CIM would be managed from China by a General Director (Hudson Taylor himself). This was different from other missions that were controlled from their home countries.

Returning to China with the Lammermuir Party

The Lammermuir Party included 16 missionaries and the Taylors' four children.

Hudson and his first wife Maria, around the 1860s.

In late 1865, Taylor sent the first two CIM missionaries to China. On May 26, 1866, he led a group called the "Lammermuir Party" onto a ship. This group included Hudson and Maria Taylor, their four children, and 16 other missionaries, including nine single women. After a four-month journey, which included two typhoons, they arrived in Shanghai on September 30, 1866. This was the largest group of missionaries ever to arrive in China at one time.

However, problems started even on the ship and continued in China. Taylor insisted that all missionaries wear Chinese clothing, including the men shaving their foreheads and wearing a pigtail. Other Europeans in Shanghai made fun of them, calling them the "Pigtail Tribe." There were also rumors that it was not proper for young unmarried women to live in the same house as Taylor. Some respected missionaries even advised Taylor to close down the CIM.

In 1868, Taylor and his CIM team were accused of causing a riot in Yangzhou. Their mission building was attacked, robbed, and burned during the Yangzhou riot. This event caused international anger, and the British Navy even got involved. Some people criticized the CIM and Taylor for almost starting a war. Taylor never asked for military help, but British officials questioned why missionaries were being sent to inland China.

Taylor also faced personal sadness. Two of his children died, and he sent his three surviving children back to England with a missionary named Emily Blatchley. On July 23, 1870, his wife, Maria, also passed away.

Challenges and New Beginnings

Hudson Taylor married Jennie Faulding in 1871.

In the late 1860s, travel to China became easier. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the use of steamships cut the journey time from England to China from over four months to less than two.

After Maria's death, and due to his own health problems, Taylor returned to England in August 1871. He also needed to reorganize the CIM's office there. On the voyage, he was accompanied by CIM missionary Jennie Faulding. They fell in love and married on November 28, 1871, in London. In late 1872, the couple returned to China. They had four children together, two of whom lived to adulthood.

In June 1874, Taylor injured his spine and was unable to move for six months. He and Jennie returned to England. Even from his bed, he managed CIM business, wrote articles, and recruited new missionaries. At this point, the CIM faced many difficulties. Of the 53 missionaries sent to China, only 22 remained. Many had died or left the mission.

Despite these challenges, Taylor bravely asked for 18 new workers to join the mission. When he recovered, Jennie stayed in England with their children. In 1876, Taylor returned to China with 18 new missionaries. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law, Benjamin Broomhall, took over as the General Secretary of the China Inland Mission in England.

CIM's Approach to Mission Work

Taylor's first idea was to set up a mission station in an inland city, far from the foreign influences of Shanghai and Ningbo. From there, workers would travel on foot to surrounding areas. They would share their faith, give out religious pamphlets, and look for new converts and local leaders. His first attempt to do this in Hangzhou didn't work out.

Instead, he began sending missionaries to villages and towns that other missionary groups had not yet reached. The idea was that as locals got used to the CIM missionaries, more opportunities to share Christianity would appear. Chinese converts would then carry the message to new places, and permanent missions could be established. This work was often done quietly, without involving British officials in port cities, to avoid problems.

Initially, CIM missionaries often found people to be "cold, indifferent, and uncaring." The Chinese people were sometimes described as "proud, crude, and annoying." The Christian message often seemed to fall on "stony ground."

The Chefoo Convention, signed by Britain and China in 1876, made it legal for missionaries and other foreigners to travel into inland China. The CIM quickly took advantage of this new rule. The travels of James Cameron show how CIM missionaries worked. Between 1876 and 1882, Cameron traveled thousands of miles across almost every province of China. He usually traveled with Chinese Christians and sometimes other missionaries. He preached in villages and towns and sold Bibles and pamphlets. On one eight-month trip, he sold 20,000 Bibles and spoke to tens of thousands of people. He traveled simply, with a mule, a bedroll, and only what he needed.

Growing Influence and Success

Taylor's children.

Hudson Taylor about 1885.

Hudson Taylor's work in England deeply influenced members of the famous cricketing Studd family. Three of the brothers became very religious and decided to become missionaries to China. They were part of a group known as the Cambridge Seven, who were also converts from Cambridge University.

From 1876 to 1878, Taylor traveled throughout inland China, opening many mission stations. In 1878, Jennie returned to China and began working to encourage more women to become missionaries. Their son, Ernest Hamilton Taylor, joined the China Inland Mission in 1898 and served as a missionary for much of his life. By 1881, the CIM had grown to 100 missionaries.

Taylor returned to England in 1883 to recruit more missionaries. He came back to China with a total of 225 missionaries and 59 churches. In 1887, another 102 missionaries joined, known as The Hundred missionaries. In 1888, Taylor brought 14 missionaries from the United States. In the U.S., he spoke at many places, including the Niagara Bible Conference, where he became friends with Cyrus Scofield. He also spoke at Dwight L. Moody's church in Chicago. Moody then actively supported the China Inland Mission in North America.

In 1897, Hudson and Maria's only surviving daughter, Maria, died in Wenzhou. She left behind four young children and her missionary husband, John Joseph Coulthard. During her short life, she had helped many Chinese women become Christians.

The Boxer Crisis

News of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and the problems it caused for missionary work deeply saddened Taylor. However, this event also led to more interest in missions and further growth for his China Inland Mission. The CIM suffered more than any other mission in China. Despite this, Taylor refused to accept money for the loss of property or lives. He wanted to show the "meekness and gentleness of Christ." Some people criticized him for this, but the British Foreign Office praised him. Their minister in Beijing even donated £200 to the CIM, expressing his "admiration" and sympathy. The Chinese people were also touched by Taylor's actions.

Final Years and Legacy

Because of health issues, Taylor stayed in Switzerland and semi-retired with his wife. In 1900, Dixon Edward Hoste became the Acting General Director of the CIM. Taylor formally resigned in 1902. Jennie died of cancer in 1904 in Switzerland. In 1905, Taylor returned to China for the eleventh and final time. He visited Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, and other cities before he died in 1905 while reading at home in Changsha. He was buried next to his first wife, Maria, in Zhenjiang, in a small English Cemetery near the Yangtze River.

In the 1960s, industrial buildings were built over the small cemetery, and the grave markers were destroyed. However, Hudson Taylor's marker was kept in a local museum for many years. His great-grandson, James Hudson Taylor III, found the marker. He helped a local Chinese church place it within their building in 1999.

His tombstone reads:

Sacred

to the memory

of

the Rev.

J. Hudson Taylor,

the revered founder

of

the China Inland Mission.

Born 21 May 1832,

Died 3 June 1905

"A MAN IN CHRIST" 2 Cor. XII:2

This monument is erected

by the missionaries of the China Inland Mission,

as a mark of their heartfelt esteem and love.

Currently in possession of 宣德堂(镇江市) as of July 2016 and buried under a cover. Supposed to have a memorial built here according to church officials.

Hidden under church crawlspace

In 2013, the land where the cemetery was located was redeveloped. The demolition of old industrial buildings revealed that the Taylors' tombs were still intact. On August 28, the graves were carefully dug up and moved to a local church. They were then reburied in a memorial garden.

Hudson Taylor's Lasting Impact

Hudson Taylor's idea of "faith missions" has had a huge impact on evangelical churches even today. This means sending missionaries without promises of money, relying instead on prayer for God's provision. After his death, the China Inland Mission became the largest Protestant mission agency in the world. Biographies of Hudson Taylor have inspired many Christians to follow his example of service and sacrifice. Famous examples include missionary to India Amy Carmichael, Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell, and international evangelists Billy Graham and Luis Palau.

Descendants of James Hudson Taylor have continued his ministry into the 21st century in Chinese communities in East Asia. James Hudson Taylor III (1929–2009) worked in Hong Kong. His son, James Hudson Taylor IV 戴繼宗, married Yeh Min Ke (the first Taiwanese member of the Taylor family) and is involved in ministries in Taiwan. James H. Taylor V has also continued the family legacy.

Chinese tourists have started visiting his hometown of Barnsley to see where their hero grew up. The town has even created a trail to guide visitors to important landmarks.

His Beliefs

Taylor grew up in the Methodist tradition. Later in his life, he became close to groups like the "Open Brethren" and was a member of the Westbourne Grove Church.

Born into a religious Methodist home, his parents' strong faith and prayers for China planted the idea of foreign missions in him from a young age. Being often sick as a child made Taylor feel that his life was not his own. From an early age, he expressed a "genuine desire for holiness."

Key Moments in His Life

• Born May 21, 1832, in Barnsley, England.
• Became a Christian in June 1849.
• Began medical studies in May 1850, hoping to go to China.
• Sailed for China on September 19, 1853, arriving March 1, 1854.
• Married Maria Jane Dyer on January 20, 1858, in Ningbo.
• Returned to England in July 1860 due to poor health.
• Founded the China Inland Mission (CIM) on June 25, 1865, in Brighton.
• Sailed back to China with the "Lammermuir Party" on May 26, 1866.
• His first wife, Maria, died on July 23, 1870, in Zhenjiang.
• Married Jane Elizabeth Faulding on November 28, 1871, in London.
• Injured his spine in May 1874, leading to six months of paralysis.
• Published an appeal for 18 new workers in January 1875.
• Returned to China in September 1876.
• His daughter Maria died on September 28, 1897, in Wenzhou.
• Retired as Director of the China Inland Mission in November 1902.
• His second wife, Jennie, died on July 31, 1904, in Switzerland.
• Made his eleventh and final trip to China in March 1905.
• Died on June 3, 1905, in Changsha, China.
• Buried on June 9, 1905, in Zhenjiang.
• His remains were re-buried at a local church in Zhenjiang after August 28, 2013.

His Writings

• China's Spiritual Need and Claims (1865)
• China & the Chinese an address to the Young (1865)
• China's Millions
• A Retrospect (1894)
• After Thirty Years (1895)
• Separation and Service|Separation and Service (1898)
• A Ribband of Blue And Other Bible Studies (1899)

Archives

Original letters and writings by James Hudson Taylor are kept in the China Inland Mission collection. This collection is at the Archives of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Honours

Taylor House at the YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College was named in honor of Taylor. The college was founded by the YMCA of Hong Kong.

See also

In Spanish: Hudson Taylor (misionero) para niños

• William Taylor — 19th-century missionary to San Francisco, Australia, Chile, and Africa; Reverend, then Bishop
• Alexander Murdoch Mackay — 19th century missionary in central Africa; advisor to African explorer Henry Morton Stanley
• Robert Moffat — 19th-century missionary in South Africa, translated the Bible into the native language
• Herbert Hudson Taylor
• Hudson Taylor II
• Hudson Taylor III
• Hudson Taylor IV