Brief Biography of James L. Maxwell

Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell was the first missionary in the history of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. A Scotsman, Maxwell was born on March 18, 1836, and graduated from the University of Edinburgh with honors. He then went on to study in Berlin and Paris, finally becoming a doctor at Birmingham General Hospital in England. While he was at the Birmingham Hospital, some patients of his prayed for his faith. Afterwards his spiritual life greatly improved, and he decided to become a missionary. (At that time he was an elder at the Broadway Church in Birmingham). In 1864 he went to Amoy in southern China to learn Southern Min (a language similar to Taiwanese), to prepare himself for medical mission in Formosa (Taiwan). On May 28, 1865, the thirty-year-old Maxwell, Carstairs Douglas, Alexander Wylie, and three of Maxwell's assistants - Tân Chú-lo, Ng Ka-ti and Go Bûn-chui - departed for Taiwan on the ship 'The Meat'. They arrived at Ki-āu, in Tâ”-káu (now Kaohsiung). Three days later, they went to Tainan by sea. Landing on An-pêng, they went inland to the old capital city of Tainan. For a short time the group were the guests of Neil Mcphail, the only British merchant in Tainan at the time. On June 16, Maxwell was offered a house rented by Mr. William Maxwell, a customs officer at Tá"-káu, at Khòa"-sai Street just outside the western city wall. They used the house as a chapel and clinic, the first one in Taiwan, named Khòa"-Sai Street Clinic. The chapel was in the front and clinic at the back. (Today this house is located at 43 Jin-ài Street.) The day the chapelclinic opened was a Monday, and it is to be remembered as the day that Protestant evangelism started in Taiwan.

After the chapel was opened, Maxwell began preaching and giving out tracts. In a very short time he became very busy, as fame spread about his ability as a doctor, especially a doctor who would treat people for free. In less than ten days the number of his patients swelled to an average of fifty people a day. The mission was viewed as successful, and one person, Ko Tióng, decided to become a Christian.

But not long after Maxwell began evangelizing, a rumor was started that foreign doctors kill and gouge out the eyes and take out the brains of their servants to make opium, so the villagers were incited to violence against him. The chapel was about to be torn down, so Maxwell had to leave. He went to Ki-āu, after only twenty-three days at Khoa'-sai Street in Tainan. Ki-au was a treaty port and British citizens there could enjoy the protection of the British consulate.

In mid-July, 1865, Maxwell and Rev. Carstairs Douglas rented a two-story house at Ki-au for residence and a chapel/ clinic Downstairs was the chapel and clinic and upstairs the bedroom and living room. Rev. Douglas began conducting services on July 16. This was the day Protestant mission began in Ki-au.

After three months, Rev. Carstairs Douglas went back to his base in Amoy, leaving Maxwell alone in Taiwan. This made Maxwell feel lonely and discouraged, especially since a cholera epidemic was raging at the time. But after a while, Maxwell picked up his spirits and founded another preaching post at Sa -tè-chhù.

In mid-November, 1865, after learning about the Pepohoan aboriginal people in the course of treating his patients, Maxwell thought the Pepohoan might be more receptive to the Gospel because they were less suspicious of foreigners. So, accompanied by his friend W. A. Pickering, Maxwell made an expedition to a Pepohoan village to learn more about these people. They went to the Siraya tribe in the south, where what they saw made a deep impression on them which was to determine the course of Christian mission in Taiwan.

In April 1866, Maxwell's faithful assistant Go Bûn-chúi returned after two months' recuperation in his native Tingsoa', bringing much joy to Maxwell.

In June, things started to get better: the preaching post at Sa-te-chhu showed progress, and the number of worshippers increased at Ki-au (to forty), so Maxwell rented a larger pers place for the chapel and requested help from missionaries at

Amoy.

Then on July 23, the first Protestant baptism took place: Rev. W. S. Swanson came from Amoy to baptize four believers in Ki-au-Tân Chê, Tân Chheng-hó, Tân Úi and Ko Tiong. Later in September, Maxwell opened a hospital opposite the church. This hospital could house eight patients.

In mid-March 1868, after handing over the responsibility of the mission work at Ki-áu to Rev. Hugh Ritchie and medical work to Dr. Patrick Manson, Maxwell left Taiwan temporarily to get married to his fiancee Mary Anne Goodall in Hong Kong.

Arriving with two assistants and his new wife at Tainan on December 26, 1868, Maxwell soon rented a house owned by the Kho family and opened a mission center there, consisting of a clinic and a chapel. His patients increased daily, due to his established fame as a physician and his excellent Taiwanese. Some patients come from as far as Bák-sa, Poahbé, Giâm-chêng, Hoan-a-chhân and Ka-poa-sóa (all in present-day Tainan County).

On June 27, 1869 Rev. Hugh Ritchie led the first baptism since Maxwell's return, baptizing seven. The most notable one of the group was Ko lâu, an opium den proprietor, who became a student of Dr. Maxwell and later a doctor in his own right. He witnessed greatly for Christ as a church elder.

In August, another church was established: the Têng-akha Church, located next to the famous City God Temple in Tainan. This was the predecessor of Thài-pêng-kéng (Max

well Memorial) Church Maxwell put his assistant Go Bûnchui in charge here.

On September 5, Rev Hugh Ritchie baptized several early leaders of the Taiwanese church: Li Pà, Chiu Po-ha, Tio Chiok-siông. Ông An-sia and two Pepohoan sisters who assisted Mrs. Maxwell in the clinic, and held a communion service with them. These people were instrumental in spreading the Gospel in the early years of Protestant Christianity in Taiwan.

On March 19, 1871, Mrs. Maxwell, now two months pregnant, left alone for England. Maxwell was not able to find someone to replace him in medical work at the time and so could not accompany her. She had a rough, three-months-long journey.

In autumn 1871, after dividing up his medical and mission work into three parts (the Sirayas in the south, Hoannyas in the center and Pazehs in the north) and entrusting them to Rev. Hugh Ritchie and Dr. Matthew Dickson, Maxwell concluded the first part of his mission in Taiwan and went home to England for some much needed rest. It had been a memorable period in his life.

Arriving in England in November, Maxwell soon began working again. This time, he was working on translation. He wanted to finish translating the Bible into Romanized Taiwanese and bring the printed copies back to Taiwan when he returned, but was forced to rest for three months due to a bone disease caused by exhaustion. He finally finished a New Testament in Romanization in October 1873.

On December 23, 1883, Dr. and Mrs. Maxwell came back to Taiwan for the second time for further evangelical work They were filled with happiness at the sight of people whom they had touched. Unfortunately, the Sino-French War broke out in 1884 and all the missionary family members were evacuated to Amoy. James Maxwell, Peter Anderson and William Thow remained in Tainan. On October 20, 1884, Maxwell went to Amoy to see his sick wife. Six months later, they traveled home to England due to Mrs. Maxwell's illness. That was the end of Maxwell's missionary career in Taiwan.

On March 6, 1921, Dr. James L. Maxwell departed this world in his hometown of Bromley, aged 85. The first moderator of the English Presbyterian Church, Reverend Thomas Barclay, conducted the memorial service. He was buried next to his wife, who had died three years before on January 23, 1918, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Plaistow. The life of James Maxwell had been like Paul's in II Timothy 4:7: "I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith."

Sin-lâu Hospital