John Chalmers

Early Years and Calling

John Chalmers (湛约翰) was born on October 24, 1825, in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He studied at the University of Aberdeen, where he earned a Master of Arts degree, and then entered Cheshunt College near London to be equipped for overseas mission. As a young man he had a solid training in the classics and mathematics as well as a desire to spread the gospel, laying the foundation for a life in China given both to preaching and to scholarship.

Coming to China as a Co-worker

In 1852 Chalmers was sent by the London Missionary Society and, with his new wife Helen Morison, travelled to South China, arriving in British-ruled Hong Kong to join the mission work there. This was during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty. He quickly devoted himself to learning Cantonese, and worked alongside the noted sinologist James Legge at the London Missionary Society press, helping with publishing; at the same time he taught at the Anglo-Chinese College, where he was responsible for mathematics. The college also had the task of training Chinese pastors, so Chalmers took part in raising up leaders for the local church.

Cantonese and Sinology

In 1859 he moved to Guangzhou to continue his mission and literary work, serving for many years in both Guangdong and Hong Kong. Besides pastoral care and preaching, he put a great deal of energy into the study of Chinese, aiming to give Western missionaries practical language tools. In 1859 he published An English and Cantonese Pocket-Dictionary, which brought the word "Cantonese" into general use; earlier he had written A Chinese Phonetic Vocabulary, and in his later years he wrote An Account of the Structure of Chinese Characters, leaving pioneering work in early studies of Cantonese and of Chinese characters.

Translating Laozi

As a sinologist of deep learning, Chalmers also studied Chinese philosophy closely. In 1868 he published in London The Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality of "The Old Philosopher," Lau-tsze, an English translation of the Tao Te Ching and one of the earliest English translations of this classic. He regarded translating and introducing Laozi's thought as part of bringing the gospel to the Chinese, hoping that by understanding the Chinese mind he could better proclaim the truth of Christ, in keeping with James Legge's work of translating and annotating the Chinese classics.

Last Years and Death

In 1897 his wife of many years died. After a short stay in Britain, Chalmers returned to the Far East in 1899, and on November 22 of that year he died peacefully while visiting his son, who was living in Chemulpo (now Incheon), Korea, at the age of 74.

Looking Back

Chalmers's life spanned the three callings of preaching, education and sinology. With a humble and persevering spirit he brought together care for the gospel and respect for the Chinese language and culture, leaving a deep and warm mark on the modern encounter between Chinese and Western cultures.