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Edkins journeyed to China in 1848 under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, settling in Shànghǎi [[上海]] where he worked with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Henry_Medhurst Walter Henry Medhurst], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lockhart_%28surgeon%29 William Lockhart], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Wylie_%28missionary%29 Alexander Wylie]. His early work involved translations of medical, scientific and Christian texts. In [[1857]] he helped to found the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and began to contribute articles on Chinese religion to its journal.<ref>''The Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' was published from [[1859]] to [[1948]].</ref> | Edkins journeyed to China in 1848 under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, settling in Shànghǎi [[上海]] where he worked with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Henry_Medhurst Walter Henry Medhurst], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lockhart_%28surgeon%29 William Lockhart], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Wylie_%28missionary%29 Alexander Wylie]. His early work involved translations of medical, scientific and Christian texts. In [[1857]] he helped to found the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and began to contribute articles on Chinese religion to its journal.<ref>''The Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' was published from [[1859]] to [[1948]].</ref> | ||
| - | His major work on Chinese Buddhism was written in the [[1870s]], and first published in [[ | + | His major work on Chinese Buddhism was written in the [[1870s]], and first published in [[1880]] in London as ''Chinese Buddhism: a volume of sketches, historical, descriptive, and critical''. Chapters six to eight focus on the history of Buddhism in China, chapter fifteen deals exclusively with Mount Pǔtuó [[普陀山]], and other chapters address Buddhist festivals, literature, and popular cults in China. Although his aim in writing this book was to understand Buddhist religious culture in order to help Christian mission efforts, his observations are interesting for their reflection of the state of Euro-American Buddhist studies during his time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Edkins read Chinese quite well, and even published several works on the language. He was thus able to access contemporary Chinese Buddhist texts and ideas in ways that other scholars could not.<ref>See Hurvitz's review of the reprint edition. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', Vol. 89, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1969), pp. 650-651.</ref> |
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* ''Introduction to the Study of the Chinese Characters.'' 1876. | * ''Introduction to the Study of the Chinese Characters.'' 1876. | ||
* ''Catalogue of Chinese Works in the Bodleian Library.'' 1876. | * ''Catalogue of Chinese Works in the Bodleian Library.'' 1876. | ||
| - | * ''Chinese Buddhism: a Volume of Sketches, Historical, Descriptive, and Critical'' | + | * ''Chinese Buddhism: a Volume of Sketches, Historical, Descriptive, and Critical'' (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd., 1880; Second Edition, Revised, 1893).<ref>Available online at Google Books [http://books.google.com/books?id=g6UvAAAAYAAJ]. A plain text version is available at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/cbu/index.htm sacred-texts.com].</ref> |
* ''The Evolution of the Chinese Language, as exemplifying the origin and growth of human speech.'' 1888. | * ''The Evolution of the Chinese Language, as exemplifying the origin and growth of human speech.'' 1888. | ||
* ''The Evolution of the Hebrew Language.'' 1889. | * ''The Evolution of the Hebrew Language.'' 1889. | ||
Revision as of 22:30, 26 February 2010
Joseph Edkins; Aì Yuēsè 艾約瑟 (1823 - 1905)
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Joseph Edkins; Aì Yuēsè 艾約瑟 (1823 - 1905)
Joseph Edkins was an English missionary who spent 57 years living and working in China. He is known for his studies of Chinese religion, including Chinese Buddhism, published in 1880.
Biography
Edkins journeyed to China in 1848 under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, settling in Shànghǎi 上海 where he worked with Walter Henry Medhurst, William Lockhart, and Alexander Wylie. His early work involved translations of medical, scientific and Christian texts. In 1857 he helped to found the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and began to contribute articles on Chinese religion to its journal.[1]
His major work on Chinese Buddhism was written in the 1870s, and first published in 1880 in London as Chinese Buddhism: a volume of sketches, historical, descriptive, and critical. Chapters six to eight focus on the history of Buddhism in China, chapter fifteen deals exclusively with Mount Pǔtuó 普陀山, and other chapters address Buddhist festivals, literature, and popular cults in China. Although his aim in writing this book was to understand Buddhist religious culture in order to help Christian mission efforts, his observations are interesting for their reflection of the state of Euro-American Buddhist studies during his time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Edkins read Chinese quite well, and even published several works on the language. He was thus able to access contemporary Chinese Buddhist texts and ideas in ways that other scholars could not.[2]
Important Works[3]
- The Jews at K'ao Fuug Foo. 1851.
- Chinese and Foreign Concord Alminack. 1852.
- Grammar of the Shanghai Dialect. 1853.
- Grammar of the Mandarin Dialect. 1857.
- Progressive Lessons in the Chinese Spoken Language. 1862.
- Narrative of a Visit to Nanking. 1863. 8 vols.
- Description of Peking. Supplement to Dr. Williamson's Travels in North China and Manchuria.
- The Miao-tsi Tribes. Foochow. 1870.
- China's Place in Philology: an attempt to show that the languages of Europe and Asia have a common origin. 1871.
- Introduction to the Study of the Chinese Characters. 1876.
- Catalogue of Chinese Works in the Bodleian Library. 1876.
- Chinese Buddhism: a Volume of Sketches, Historical, Descriptive, and Critical (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd., 1880; Second Edition, Revised, 1893).[4]
- The Evolution of the Chinese Language, as exemplifying the origin and growth of human speech. 1888.
- The Evolution of the Hebrew Language. 1889.
- Studies in Genesis.
Notes
- ↑ The Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was published from 1859 to 1948.
- ↑ See Hurvitz's review of the reprint edition. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 89, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1969), pp. 650-651.
- ↑ This list is drawn from Bushell, 270.
- ↑ Available online at Google Books [1]. A plain text version is available at sacred-texts.com.
References:
- S. W. Bushell, "Rev. Joseph Edkins, D.D." The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (January 1906): 269-271.