Griffith John

Griffith John
Christian missionary to China
Born	(1831-12-14)14 December 1831 Swansea, U.K.
Died	25 July 1912(1912-07-25) (aged 80) London, U.K.

Griffith John (Chinese: 楊格非; pinyin: Yáng Géfēi; 14 December 1831 – 25 July 1912) was a Welsh Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society (LMS), a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.

Griffith John was born on 14 December 1831 at Swansea, in south Wales. He was brought up a Christian in the Congregational tradition, and in 1840 at the age of eight was admitted to full membership of Ebenezer Congregational church, Swansea. When only fourteen he delivered his first sermon at a prayer meeting; at sixteen he became a regular preacher and was known as "boy preacher." He was subsequently trained at the Brecon Congregational Memorial College for the ministry, and then at the Bedford Academy.

In 1853 he offered his services to the London Missionary Society and after two years' training was ordained in 1855 at Ebenezer, Swansea. That same year he married his first wife, Margaret Jane, a daughter of the Christian missionary, David Griffiths. After he was ordained, he wanted to serve in Madagascar but was instead persuaded by the London Missionary Society to go to China. The newly wed couple made the voyage to Shanghai arriving in September 1855. Griffith John would serve in China for 55 years, chiefly in Hubei and Hunan.

John made extensive missionary journeys into the interior of China, sometimes traveling over 5,000km. He was among the first to begin Christian missionary work in the provinces of Hubei (Hupeh), Hunan, and Sichuan (Szechwan). He set up schools, hospitals and training colleges, with a permanent base at Hankou (now part of Wuhan city) in Hubei. In 1861 he went from Shanghai through the provinces of central China, and he later claimed that with his colleagues he had established over 100 mission stations in Hubei and Hunan. In July of that year he had moved to Hankou, which remained his base until his final departure from China in 1912 - although in 1863 he was in neighbouring Wuchang District (now part of Wuhan city), and in 1867 Hanyang District (also now part of Wuhan city).