Alexander Wylie
Encyclopedia
Alexander Wylie (April 6, 1815 - February 10, 1887), British
Protestant Christian
missionary
to China. He is known for his translation work and scholarship during the late Qing Dynasty
.
He was born in London
, and went to school at Drumlithie, Kincardineshire
, and at Chelsea
.
While apprenticed to a cabinet-maker he picked up a Chinese
grammar written in Latin, and after mastering the latter tongue made such good progress with the former, that in 1846 James Legge
engaged him to superintend the London Missionary Society
's press at Shanghai
. In this position he acquired a wide knowledge of Chinese religion and civilization, and especially of their mathematics
, so that he was able to show that Sir George Horner
's method
(1819) of solving equations of all orders had been known to the Chinese mathematicians of the 14th century in his paper Jottings on the Science of the Chinese.
He made several journeys into the interior, notably in 1858 with Lord Elgin
on a British Navy gunboat up the Yangtze
and to Nanking, where he served as one member of delegate of three to meet with officials of the Taiping
, and in 1868 with Griffith John
to the capital of Szechuen and the source of the Han
. He completed the distribution of the 1 million Chinese New Testaments provided by the British and Foreign Bible Society
's special fund of 1855. From 1863 he was an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society
. He was succeeded by Samuel Dyer, Junior, the son of Samuel Dyer
and brother-in-law of Hudson Taylor
. He settled in London in 1877.
In Chinese he translated books on arithmetic
, calculus
(Loomis
), algebra
(De Morgan
's), mechanics
, astronomy
(Herschel
's), in colloboration with Li Shanlan,and The Marine Steam Engine (TJ Main and T Brown), as well as translations of the Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Mark. In English his chief works were Jottings on the Science of the Chinese,published in 1853, Shanghai, a collection of articles published under the title Chinese Researches by Alexander Wylie (Shanghai, 1897).Memorials of Protestant Missionaries (1867), Notes on Chinese Literature (Shanghai, 1867), He also published an article on the Nestorian Tablet
in Xian.
While in China, Alexander Wylie amassed a large collection of Chinese antique books. In 1882, he sold his collection of about 20,000 Chinese titles to the Oxford Library. His collection is now housed in the Bodleian Library
as Alexander Wylie Collection.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Protestant 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...
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 China. He is known for his translation work and scholarship during the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
.
He was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and went to school at Drumlithie, Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
, and at Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
.
While apprenticed to a cabinet-maker he picked up a Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
grammar written in Latin, and after mastering the latter tongue made such good progress with the former, that in 1846 James Legge
James Legge
James Legge was a noted Scottish sinologist, a Scottish Congregationalist, representative of the London Missionary Society in Malacca and Hong Kong , and first professor of Chinese at Oxford University...
engaged him to superintend the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
's press at Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. In this position he acquired a wide knowledge of Chinese religion and civilization, and especially of their mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, so that he was able to show that Sir George Horner
William George Horner
William George Horner was a British mathematician and schoolmaster. The invention of the zoetrope, in 1834 and under a different name , has been attributed to him.-Life:...
's method
Horner scheme
In numerical analysis, the Horner scheme , named after William George Horner, is an algorithm for the efficient evaluation of polynomials in monomial form. Horner's method describes a manual process by which one may approximate the roots of a polynomial equation...
(1819) of solving equations of all orders had been known to the Chinese mathematicians of the 14th century in his paper Jottings on the Science of the Chinese.
He made several journeys into the interior, notably in 1858 with Lord Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
on a British Navy gunboat up the Yangtze
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and to Nanking, where he served as one member of delegate of three to meet with officials of the Taiping
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was an oppositional state in China from 1851 to 1864, established by Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Rebellion...
, and in 1868 with Griffith John
Griffith John
Griffith John was a British Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society , a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.-Biography:Griffith John was born on 14 December...
to the capital of Szechuen and the source of the Han
Han River (Hanshui)
The Han River is a left tributary of the Yangtze River with a length of 1532 km. Historically it was referred to as Hànshuǐ and the name is still occasionally used today....
. He completed the distribution of the 1 million Chinese New Testaments provided by the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
's special fund of 1855. From 1863 he was an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
. He was succeeded by Samuel Dyer, Junior, the son of Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer 台約爾 , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China in the Congregationalist tradition, who worked among the Chinese in Malaysia. He arrived in Penang in 1827. Dyer, his wife Maria, and their family lived in Malacca and then finally in Singapore...
and brother-in-law of Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
. He settled in London in 1877.
In Chinese he translated books on arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
, calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
(Loomis
Elias Loomis
- Life and work :Loomis was born in Willington, Connecticut in 1811. He graduated at Yale College in 1830, was a tutor there for three years , and then spent the next year in scientific investigation in Paris. On his return, Loomis was appointed professor of mathematics in the Western Reserve...
), algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
(De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan was a British mathematician and logician. He formulated De Morgan's laws and introduced the term mathematical induction, making its idea rigorous. The crater De Morgan on the Moon is named after him....
's), mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
(Herschel
William Herschel
Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19...
's), in colloboration with Li Shanlan,and The Marine Steam Engine (TJ Main and T Brown), as well as translations of the Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Mark. In English his chief works were Jottings on the Science of the Chinese,published in 1853, Shanghai, a collection of articles published under the title Chinese Researches by Alexander Wylie (Shanghai, 1897).Memorials of Protestant Missionaries (1867), Notes on Chinese Literature (Shanghai, 1867), He also published an article on the Nestorian Tablet
Nestorian Stele
The Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...
in Xian.
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
as Alexander Wylie Collection.
See also
- List of London Missionary Society missionaries in China