George E. Metcalf
Encyclopedia
George Edgar ‘Eddie’ Metcalf, Chinese name 王懷仁 Wáng Huáirén, (1879-1956) was a British Protestant missionary serving in China with the China Inland Mission
and credited with the first translation of the New Testament for the Eastern Lisu/Lipo minority.
, 3 March 1879, the third son of four brothers, born to Samuel and Emma Metcalf. He was converted in his late teens through the ministry of Revd Dr Luke Wiseman, a biographer of Charles Wesley. He trained as a tailor and had his own bespoke tailor’s shop in Oxford.
on 23 October. After a period of language study he travelled on foot, boat and horseback the length of China to Yunnan Province where he joined Arthur G. Nicholls
of Sapushan and Gladstone Porteous
of Sayingpan, working with a number of minority tribes in the province. The men adapted the Miao
script developed by Samuel Pollard to translate portions of the Bible.
Eddie finally settled in Taku (Taogu) with the Eastern Lisu, establishing a church and Bible College. On 19 January 1921 he married Elizabeth Mary Donnelly, an Australian missionary from Adelaide
. Elizabeth was born on 19 January 1891 and arrived in China on 28 November 1917. The couple had two children, Ruth (b. 24 June 1924, d. 18 January 2010), and Stephen (b. 23 October, 1927), both of whom became missionaries with OMF International, Ruth Metcalf to Thailand, Stephen Metcalf
to Japan. In 1951 Eddie and Elizabeth were forced to leave China with the exodus of missionaries following the Communist victory over the Nationalist government. He did not live to know of the hardships of the Cultural Revolution
which included the death in 1973 of his convert Pastor Wang Zhiming
, whose statue is among those of the Ten 20th Century Martyrs on the West Gate of Westminster Abbey
.
, with the help of the Hong Kong Bible Society
.
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
and credited with the first translation of the New Testament for the Eastern Lisu/Lipo minority.
UK
Eddie was born in Warstone Lane, BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 3 March 1879, the third son of four brothers, born to Samuel and Emma Metcalf. He was converted in his late teens through the ministry of Revd Dr Luke Wiseman, a biographer of Charles Wesley. He trained as a tailor and had his own bespoke tailor’s shop in Oxford.
China
Eddie joined the China Inland Mission in 1906, arriving in ShanghaiShanghai
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...
on 23 October. After a period of language study he travelled on foot, boat and horseback the length of China to Yunnan Province where he joined Arthur G. Nicholls
Arthur G. Nicholls
Dr. Arthur G. Nicholls, , was an Australian medical missionary of British nationality to the Miao people of Yunnan Province in China....
of Sapushan and Gladstone Porteous
Gladstone Porteous
Gladstone Charles Fletcher Porteous, Chinese name 张尔昌 Zhāng Ěrchāng was an Australian missionary to China who served with the China Inland Mission from 1904 and became Superintendent of the work in East Yunnan...
of Sayingpan, working with a number of minority tribes in the province. The men adapted the Miao
Miao people
The Miao or ม้ง ; ) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho Xiong...
script developed by Samuel Pollard to translate portions of the Bible.
Eddie finally settled in Taku (Taogu) with the Eastern Lisu, establishing a church and Bible College. On 19 January 1921 he married Elizabeth Mary Donnelly, an Australian missionary from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. Elizabeth was born on 19 January 1891 and arrived in China on 28 November 1917. The couple had two children, Ruth (b. 24 June 1924, d. 18 January 2010), and Stephen (b. 23 October, 1927), both of whom became missionaries with OMF International, Ruth Metcalf to Thailand, Stephen Metcalf
Stephen A. Metcalf
Stephen Arnold Metcalf is a Protestant missionary to Japan, the son of George Edgar Metcalf and Elizabeth Mary Metcalf, China Inland Mission missionaries to the Eastern Lisu/Lipo minority of Yunnan Province. He was born in Kunming, China, on 23 October 1927.-China:Metcalf was educated at Chefoo...
to Japan. In 1951 Eddie and Elizabeth were forced to leave China with the exodus of missionaries following the Communist victory over the Nationalist government. He did not live to know of the hardships of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
which included the death in 1973 of his convert Pastor Wang Zhiming
Wang Zhiming
Wang Zhiming was a Miao pastor little known outside his home in Wuding County, Yunnan, China at the time of his execution on December 29, 1973. Since then, he has received two unique honors. In 1981, he became the only Christian martyr of the Cultural Revolution to have a monument erected at his...
, whose statue is among those of the Ten 20th Century Martyrs on the West Gate of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
New Testament Translation
Eddie had recently completed his Eastern Lisu New Testament and carried his hand-written copy out to Hong Kong. A second copy was left with the Eastern Lisu Church. This copy was lost in the subsequent suppression of the church by the Communist government. Eddie’s copy was published, but copies sent to Yunnan Province were never received. In 1999 Ruth Metcalf carried Eddie’s copy to Yunnan and presented it to the Religious Affairs Bureau in Wuding. More recently this copy was used in the preparation and publishing of a modern version of the New Testament in Eastern Lisu (lpo), a dialect of the Lisu languageLisu language
Lisu is a tonal Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Yunnan , northern Burma , and Thailand and a small part of India. It is the language of the Lisu minority. Lisu has many dialects that originate from the country in which they live. Hua Lisu, Pai Lisu, and Lu Shi Lisu dialects are spoken in China...
, with the help of the Hong Kong Bible Society
Bible society
A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life...
.
Australia
On retirement Eddie and Elizabeth settled in Australia. George Edgar Metcalf died in Melbourne on 15 January 1956. Elizabeth Mary (Donnelly) Metcalf died in Melbourne on 25 August 1966.Further reading
- Ronald Clements. In Japan the Crickets Cry. Monarch Books. 2010. ISBN 9781854249708