Francis James

Francis Huberty James or in Chinese: Xiu Yaochun 秀耀春 (born Francis James, 1851–1900) was a British Christian Missionary who went to China in 1876 as part of the China Inland Mission (CIM) founded by J. Hudson Taylor (1832–1905). He was influential in the early translation of the Chinese Language, wrote many manuals on the teaching/learning for elementary students of the Chinese Language and became a University of Peking professor. He was killed during the Boxer Rebellion on 20 June 1900 and is considered a Christian martyr. Early years Francis James was born in June 1851 in Upton, Berkshire. He was the third child of five born to John James (born about 1824 also in Upton, died 1897) and Sarah Mitten (born about 1818 in Robertsbridge, Sussex and died in 1889), who were married in 1847. He came from a long line of the James family all living at The Forge (Blacksmith) in the small village of Upton in Berkshire. His great-grandfather, Francis James born 1763, and his grandfather, Richard James born 1797, were both the village blacksmiths, but his father John started up the business of a grocers and bakery together with Francis’ brothers John, Joseph and Matthew. His sister, Martha, also worked in the new village store whilst her husband Richard Bellamy took over the job of blacksmith. In the early 1900s the store also became a post office in the hands of John. Francis followed suit and became a baker in the family business when was age 20. From his mother he inherited his sympathetic disposition, and from his father the tenacity of purpose and strength of will which were his chief characteristics. Little is known of his movement between 1871 and 1876 when he left England for China. Work in China and the United States James was brought to China in 1876 by the China Inland Mission (CIM) to be a missionary. James and Joshua J. Turner were the first Protestant Christian missionaries in Shanxi and begin to help out victims of the disaster and famine. James worked in Honan and in the north of the country for the following two years. He became fluent in Chinese, and taught at a university. He and two companions set out in 1876 with over 4000 Gospels and other books, as well as religious tracts. They travelled 1,700 miles in three months. On their travels in 1877-78, they found widespread famine, which killed about one third of the population of one province.