Medhurst, Walter Henry, Dd

Medhurst, Walter Henry, DD.

an English missionary and Chinese scholar, was born in London in 1796. He first entered the missionary field of labor in 1816, when he was sent to China by the London Missionary Society to ascertain if the country was open to the Gospel, and, if so, to furnish this people with a correct version of the Scriptures in Chinese. After having labored successfully in India, on the island of Malacca, and other Asiatic countries, he was again sent to China in 1835, with the Revelation Edwin Stevens; but he did not commence active missionary work in that country until 1845, when he was joined by Lockhart, and settled at Shanghai. He had charge of the printing establishment which was owned by this society, and had up. to this time been operated at Batavia; he now removed it to Shanghai, and began the publication of sermons and tracts. In spite of the opposition of the numerous Romanists, the mission grew so rapidly that in the year 1847 34,000 copies of different works were printed, and 500 tracts were weekly distributed. This same year delegates from several stations convened in Shanghai for the revision of the New Testament in Chinese. Medhurst was engaged in this important labor until 1850, when he withdrew, and gave his whole time to the reh vision of the Old Testament. He died Jan. 24,1857, a few days after his return- to England, closing a life of valuable service spent in the interests of Christian missions. 'Medhurst founded several orphan asylums, and did much good among the Asiatics in various ways. His works of special: interest are, China, its State and Prospects, with especial Reference to the Diffusion of the Gospel (Lond. 1838, 8vo):- Dissertation on the Theology of the Chinese (8vo):-The Chinese Version of the Scriptures '(1851, 8vo):-also a Chinese Dictionary (1838, 4to), and a Japanese and English Vocabulary. See Vapereau, Dictionnaire des Conteniporains, s.v.; Allibone, Dict. of Brit. and Amer. Authors, vol. ii, s.v.