Arthur Twistleton Polhill-Turner

Family and Education

Arthur Twistleton Polhill-Turner (Chinese name Du Mingde, 杜明德) was born on 7 February 1862 into a wealthy landed family in Bedfordshire, England. He received a good education from an early age, first at Eton College and then at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he studied law. His prospects were bright, and he intended to become a lawyer or to take holy orders.

Conversion and Dedication

In November 1882 the American evangelist D. L. Moody came to Cambridge to preach to the students. The young Arthur was deeply moved, and his life turned to Christ. He soon set law aside and moved to Ridley Hall, Cambridge, to study theology in preparation for Christian service. In 1884–1885 he, his elder brother Cecil (Cecil Henry Polhill) and others, seven gifted Cambridge men in all, publicly announced that they were giving up comfortable prospects to serve as missionaries in China. This caused a stir in British academic circles, and they became known as the “Cambridge Seven.” It should be noted that this article is about the younger brother, Arthur. He spent his life rooted in the rural grassroots of Sichuan, unlike his elder brother Cecil, who concentrated on the Tibetan borderlands and in later life moved into the Pentecostal movement. After arriving in China the two brothers went to separate fields and seldom lived in the same place for long.

Rooted in Sichuan

On 5 February 1885 Arthur left London with the China Inland Mission and reached Shanghai on 18 March. He soon travelled west up the Yangtze into Sichuan, deep in China's interior. He first studied the language in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, and then committed himself for many years to the Sichuan countryside. In 1888 he was ordained in the Anglican Church and took charge of the church work in the Bazhong area, and in the same year he married the woman missionary Alice Drake. From 1899 he moved to Daxian (present-day Dazhou, Sichuan), and from there he travelled through villages and towns, visiting and preaching. In 1904 he oversaw the building of a Chinese-style “Gospel Hall” that could seat 500 people, which became a lasting spiritual home for the local believers.

Staying Through Turmoil

In 1900 the Boxer Uprising swept across the north and anti-missionary incidents were frequent, but in Sichuan, thanks to the protection of local officials, missionaries were largely spared, and Arthur was able to remain at his post. Humble and steadfast, he did not seek fame, and was content day after day to preach the gospel, teach believers and help the poor and weak in remote towns and villages. In all he served in China for about 43 years, far longer than his elder brother stayed at the grassroots in China. In 1902 he formally dropped the old surname “Turner.”

Retirement and Rest

Around 1928 the aged Arthur retired and returned to Britain. He died peacefully in Letchworth, England, on 21 November 1935, aged 73. Looking back on his life, there was no remarkable legend, only decades of quiet, unchanging labour bent over the soil of Sichuan. The Gospel Hall and the community of faith he planted continued into the mid-twentieth century, one of the plainest and most enduring witnesses to the self-giving spirit of the Cambridge Seven.