James Summers
| James Summers | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 June 1828 Richfield, Kent |
| Died | 1 February 1891 (aged 62) Tsukiji, Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Educator, O-yatoi gaikokujin |
James Summers (5 June 1828 – 1 February 1891) was a British scholar of English literature, hired by the Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to establish an English language curriculum at the Kaisei Gakuin (the forerunner of Tokyo Imperial University in 1873).
James A. Summers was born in Richfield, Kent. His father was a sculptor of limited means, and could only provide him with a primary school education. Summers studied foreign languages and classical literature on his own, and obtained a teaching position at St. Paul's College in Hong Kong in 1848 with hopes of becoming a diplomat in the future. His stay in Hong Kong was eventful – he was arrested by the Portuguese authorities in Macao in 1849 for refusing to remove his hat during a Catholic religious procession. The Portuguese refused to accede to the British government’s request for his release, and he was only returned after the British threatened military action. Summers was forced to resign his post, and returned to England in 1851.
In 1852, Summers became professor of Chinese language of King's College London in the University of London at the age of 25, despite his lack of a formal education. In 1853 he published a first book on the Chinese language, and the following year translated the Bible into Shanghai dialect (using the Latin alphabet). His services and lectures were in great demand by diplomats, missionaries and merchants intending to travel to China. One of his students was Ernest M. Satow, who came to Japan as an interpreter in the early part of the Meiji period and later became the British Consul.
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