Moses Clark White (;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Huáidé'';

Foochow Romanized Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Mindong linguistic and cultural region. Fuzhou's population was 8 ...

: ''Huài-dáik''; July 24, 1819 – October 24, 1900) was both an American Methodist pioneer missionary in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Life

Moses Clark White was born in Paris, Oneida County, New York on July 24, 1819. White matriculated at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

in 1842 and graduated in 1845. After graduation from Wesleyan, he spent two years in

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

studying

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and sometimes preached in the nearby town of

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

. On March 13, 1847, White married Jane Isabel Atwater of Homer, who came from Cortland County, New York and was then a teacher in the Sabbath School in Rochester, N.Y. MC White 1849

In September 1847 Moses White and Jane, along with Judson Dwight Collins, arrived in

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, beginning their missionary work there. Jane, however, fell sick shortly afterwards and finally died of consumption on May 25, 1848, at the age of 26. In 1851, White was married a second time to Mary Seely, who came from Onondaga, New York and also went to Fuzhou as a missionary. During his seven years in Fuzhou, Moses White conducted a school for the secular and religious instruction of the Fuzhounese people, and after mastering the local

Fuzhou dialect The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken mainly in the Mindong region of Eastern Fujian ...

, he translated the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, which was the first Christian document ever published in that vernacular. At the same time, White also served as a doctor, studying and treating the toxic effects of

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. Due to his poor health, Moses White was forced to leave Fuzhou in 1853 for

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

(his wife Mary also left one year earlier) where he resumed medical studies at

and began a medical practice which he continued until the end of his life. He received an M.D. degree from Yale in 1854. In July 1856, he published in '' Methodist Quarterly Review'' his summarizing treatise on

'' The Chinese Language Spoken at Fuh Chau''. White died on October 24, 1900.

References

Guide to the Moses Clark White Collection, 1845 - 1900

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Moses Clark 1819 births 1900 deaths Wesleyan University alumni American Methodist missionaries Methodist writers Methodist missionaries in China Christian missionaries in Fujian Christian medical missionaries American expatriates in China American missionary educators