George Leslie Mackay - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

George Leslie Mackay was the first Presbyterian missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

to northern Formosa (Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

). He served with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission

Canadian Presbyterian Mission

Canadian Presbyterian Mission was a Canadian Presbyterian Church in Canada missionary society that was involved in sending workers to countries such as China during the late Qing Dynasty...

. Mackay is among the best known Westerners to have lived in Taiwan.

Early life

Mackay was born in Zorra Township

Zorra, Ontario

Zorra is a township in Oxford County, situated in south-western Ontario, Canada. A predominantly rural municipality, Zorra was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of East Nissouri, West Zorra and North Oxford townships.-Government:...

, Oxford County

Oxford County, Ontario

Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...

, Canada West (now Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

), Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He received his theological training at Knox College

Knox College, University of Toronto

Knox College is a postgraduate theological college of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1844 as part of a schism movement in the Church of Scotland following the Disruption...

in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Princeton Seminary in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and New College, Edinburgh

New College, Edinburgh

New College was opened in 1846 as a college of the Free Church of Scotland, later of the United Free Church of Scotland, and from the 1930s has been the home of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh...

in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, all Presbyterian institutions.

Mission to Formosa

In 1871 Mackay became the first foreign missionary to be commissioned by the Canada Presbyterian Church (predecessor of both the Presbyterian Church in Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...

and the United Church of Canada

United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...

), arriving in Taiwan

Taiwan

on New Year's Eve, 31 December 1871.

After consulting with Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell

James Laidlaw Maxwell

James Laidlaw Maxwell Senior was the first Presbyterian missionary to Taiwan . He served with the English Presbyterian Mission....

Sr., a medical doctor serving as a Presbyterian Church of England missionary

Missionary

to southern Formosa

Taiwan

(1865), Mackay arrived at Tamsui, northern Formosa in 1872, which remained his home until his death in 1901. Starting with an itinerant dentistry

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

practice amongst the lowland aborigines, he later established churches, schools and a hospital practicing Western biomedicine. He learned to speak the vernacular Taiwanese fluently, and married Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ (張聰明; known as "Minnie" in the West), a Taiwanese woman.

He was described by a contemporary as
The churches he planted later became the Northern Synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

of the present Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was planted in Taiwan in the 19th century by Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell Snr of the Presbyterian Church of England and Dr George Leslie Mackay of the Presbyterian Church in Canada....

. In 1896, after the establishment of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese colonial rule of Taiwan, Mackay met with the Japan

Japan

ese Governor-General of Formosa, Maresuke Nogi

Maresuke Nogi

Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi, was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and a prominent figure in the Russo-Japanese War.- Early life :...

. Some families in Taiwan today, particularly of lowland-aboriginal Kavalan

Kavalan people

The Kavalan or Kuvalan are an indigenous people of Taiwan, part of the larger Taiwanese aborigine ethnic group. The Kavalan originally inhabited modern-day Yilan County. Most of them moved to the coastal area of Hualien County and Taitung County in the 19th century...

ancestry, trace their surname '偕' ('Kai' or 'Kay') to their family's conversion to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

by Mackay.

In Canada

Canada

Mackay was honoured during his two furloughs home by the Canadian Church. In 1880, Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....

, presented by Principal George Monro Grant

George Monro Grant

George Monro Grant, C.M.G. was a Canadian church minister, writer, and political activist. He served as principal of Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario for 25 years, from 1877 until 1902.-Early life, education:...

and Chancellor

Chancellor (education)

A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

Sandford Fleming

Sir Sandford Fleming, was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding...

. Before departing in 1881, he returned to Oxford County

Oxford County, Ontario

Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...

, where monies were raised to start Oxford College

Aletheia University

Aletheia University is a university in Tamsui, New Taipei City, Taiwan founded by George Leslie Mackay as the Tamsui Oxford College. It has close links to the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and is the oldest institution of higher learning in Taiwan.-History:Dr...

in Taiwan; a number of young people in the county were inspired to follow Mackay's example and entered into missionary service with a number of Christian denominations.

In June 1894, at the General Assembly meeting in St. John

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Mackay was elected Moderator

Moderator of the General Assembly

The Moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a presbyterian or reformed church. Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator....

of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the highest elected position in the church. He spent the following Moderatoral year travelling across Canada, as well as writing From Far Formosa: the island, its people and missions, a missionary ethnography

Ethnography

Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

and memoir of his missionary experiences (published 1895).

Legacy

Mackay's 1896 book From Far Formosa is considered an important early missionary ethnography

Ethnography

Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

of Taiwan and an important contribution to the anthropological understanding of the culture and customs of the people of Taiwan during that period. Mackay himself was as fascinated by the cultures and habitat he found as he was disapproving of native practices he viewed as idolatry. He spoke approvingly of the destruction of art and other artefacts previously regarded as sacred by his newly Christian converts. Of his rustic apartment in an aboriginal village, Mackay wrote: "To that place the cast-off machinery of idolatry was brought, and more than once I dried my clothes before fires made of idolatrous paper, idols, and ancestral tablets. Three men were employed to carry other paraphernalia of idol-worship to the museum in Tanshui" (Mackay, 1896:219). Mackay was otherwise an enthusiastic collector of cultural artefacts and specimens of local flora and fauna. Many items collected by him are today preserved at the ethnology department of the Royal Ontario Museum

Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...

(Ontario, Canada) and the Aletheia University

Aletheia University

Museum (Tamsui, Taiwan).

The Taiwanese language

Taiwanese language

Taiwanese language may refer to* Most commonly** Taiwanese Hokkien, spoken by about 70% of the population of Taiwan* Also** One of the Languages of Taiwan** One of the indigenous Formosan languages spoken in Taiwan...

first entered written form in the nineteenth century when Mackay and his colleagues adapted the Latin alphabet

Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...

to render it phonetically. The orthography

Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...

, called pe̍h-oē-jī (POJ), meaning "vernacular writing", was used by the Presbyterian missionaries and became standard in the indigenous Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

. The first printed newspaper on the island was a church bulletin in Taiwanese. The Presbyterians continued to use Taiwanese in their services and communications even in years when pressure from first Japanese and then Chinese authorities was intense in suppressing public use of the language.

Although Mackay had suffered from meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

and malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

, he eventually died of throat cancer

Esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...

on June 2, 1901. He was buried near Oxford College (牛津學堂; now Aletheia University

Aletheia University

) in Tamsui, Taiwan; more specifically, his grave is in a small cemetery in the eastern corner of the Tamkang Middle School campus, where his own son was buried next to him. The major private Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

hospital in downtown Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

is named Mackay Memorial Hospital

Mackay Memorial Hospital

Mackay Memorial Hospital , established on December 26, 1912, is a private Christian hospital located in down-town Taipei. The hospital is mostly associated with the Revd Dr George Leslie Mackay DD, the first modern missionary to northern Taiwan. The hospital is deeply rooted in the Presbyterian...

, built in 1912 to replace the smaller Mackay Hospital he started in Tamsui in 1882. In recent years Mackay's life has been celebrated by advocates of a Taiwanese identity and historical understanding

Taiwanese localization movement

Taiwanization , also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China...

that stands distinct from the narratives brought to the island by Japan and China.

On June 30, 2004, a large bust statue of George Leslie Mackay was dedicated outside the Oxford County

Oxford County, Ontario

Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...

offices in Woodstock, Ontario

Woodstock, Ontario

Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...

. The delegation from Taiwan

Taiwan

in attendance included representatives from the Aletheia University

Aletheia University

and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

. The event was also attended by representatives of the Presbyterian Church in Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

, the United Church of Canada

United Church of Canada

, local, regional, and national Canadian dignitaries, and a number of Mackay descendants from across North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. One of his grandchildren is Dr. John Ross Mackay.

In November 2006, a Canadian Television documentary was aired titled The Black Bearded Barbarian of Taiwan. It was broadcast in both Mandarin and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

on OMNI 2

CJMT-TV

CJMT-DT is a Canadian television station, which broadcasts multicultural programming in Toronto, Ontario. As one of the Omni Television stations owned by Rogers Media, it uses the on-air brand OMNI.2, and is a sister station to CFMT ....

as part of their Signature Series.

Opera production in Taiwan

In 2008 Taiwan's government invested in the production of the world's first-ever Taiwanese/English-language opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

based on Mackay's life. Over a hundred opera singers and production crew from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, and the USA were brought for on the project. Mackay: The Black Bearded Bible Man had its world premier on 27 November 2008, at Taiwan's National Theater

National Theater and Concert Hall

The National Theater and National Concert Hall are twin performing arts venues in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, they are Taiwan's primary national performing arts venues. The landmarks stand, respectively, on the south and north sides of Liberty Square in front of the...

and ran until 30 November.

Mackay: The Black Bearded Bible Man took more than five years to produce. Taiwanese composer Gordon S.W. Chin

Gordon S.W. Chin

Gordon Shi-Wen Chin, a Taiwanese composer and conductor, is a member of the faculty of National Taiwan Normal University. He earned his doctoral degree at the Eastman School of Music under Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler...

and librettist Joyce Chiou set out in 2002 to create an opera whose subject was drawn from Taiwanese lore and employed local settings. The large cast featured Thomas Meglioranza

Thomas Meglioranza

Thomas Meglioranza is an American operatic baritone.Meglioranza was born to an American father of Italian-Polish descent and a Thai mother. Meglioranza grew up in the northern New Jersey towns of Teaneck and Wayne. He began taking voice lessons at Grinnell College, and earned a MM from the Eastman...

(baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

) as George Mackay, Chen Mei-Lin (soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

) as Mackay's wife Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ, and Choi Seung-Jin (tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

) as Giâm Chheng-hoâ, Mackay's first disciple and follower in Taiwan

Taiwan

. Chien Wen-Pin, a native of Taipei, conducted the National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan)

National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan)

The National Symphony Orchestra , also known as Philharmonia Taiwan outside Taiwan, is one of the leading orchestras in Asia. Since 1987, the orchestra has its residence in the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.- Subscription Concert Series :...

. Lukas Hemleb directed the stage production.

External links

First Taiwanese Opera "Mackay: The Black Bearded Bible Man", in the website of National Theater and Concert Hall
National Theater and Concert Hall
The National Theater and National Concert Hall are twin performing arts venues in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, they are Taiwan's primary national performing arts venues. The landmarks stand, respectively, on the south and north sides of Liberty Square in front of the...

, Taipei
MacKay and Taiwan, in the website of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Canada
Full text of The Black-Bearded Barbarian: the life of George Leslie Mackay of Formosa by Marian Keith, from Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
Aletheia University official website
"Aborigines Saved Yet Again: Settler Nationalism and Hero Narratives in a 2001 Exhibition of Taiwan Aboriginal Artefacts" by Mark Munsterhjelm, MA Thesis, Indigenous Governance Program, University of Victoria, Canada.
"Tourism Oxford, (Oxford County, Ontario, Canada) Colourful Characters; Rev. George Leslie Mackay 1844-1901."
"Oxford County Public Library; Oxford County, Ontario Canada -- Reverend George Leslie Mackay 1844-1901"
"Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"
"To Taiwan With The Gospel - George Leslie Mackay"

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early life

Mission to Formosa

Legacy

Opera production in Taiwan

See also

External links