初谈宋尚节
（接上文）
厦门
- 厦门传教史略考
- 宋尚节在厦门
- 我的厦门之旅
约翰·凡·涅斯特·打马字
约翰·凡·涅斯特·打马字（John Van Nest Talmage, 1819年8月18日－1892年8月19日）是赴中国福建厦门的基督教新教宣教士，由美国改革宗教会（Reformed Church in America）于1847年至1890年差派。正如人们形容雅俾理博士（Dr. Abeel）那样，也可用来形容打马字博士：“他生命中‘最美的冠冕’就是‘他的谦卑’。” [1] 约翰·G·法格（John G. Fagg）在《中国南方四十年：打马字传》（Forty Years in South China: A Biography of the Rev. John Van Nest Talmage）序言中写道：“打马字博士无法忍受夸张之词。没有什么比诚实与陈述的准确更令他敬佩。这一点足以提醒任何谈论他的人，应避免不加分辨的颂扬。”[2]
打马字于1819年8月18日出生在美国纽约州萨默维尔（Somerville, New York）的一座农舍里，父母是大卫·打马字（David Talmage）与凯瑟琳·范·内斯特（Catharine Van Nest）。他于1842年毕业于罗格斯大学（Rutgers University），1867年获荣誉神学博士学位。他深深感受到上帝呼召他前往中国宣教。当他怀着忐忑的心情向母亲表明要去中国传道的决定时，原以为会震惊全家、遭到反对，没想到母亲却对他说：“我早已在神面前暗暗祷告此事，我怎能反对呢？” [3] 母亲因儿子愿为福音之故赴华感到欣慰与骄傲。1845年，他毕业于新布伦瑞克神学院（New Brunswick Theological Seminary），1846年在荷兰归正教会（Dutch Reformed Church）被按立为牧师。1847年，他乘船前往中国厦门宣教，航程历时四个月。
基督信仰的目的之一，是为人的盼望提供理性的根据。主命令我们“查考圣经”，这不仅需要“聆听的耳”，也需要“阅读的眼”。在当时的闽南地区，约一百名男子中或许只有一人识字，而女性识字者更是千中无一。因而圣经翻译的事业在当时是极具远见的工作。早期宣教士为圣经翻译奠定了基础，对他们自身而言，这项翻译事工也是一次大胆的尝试。打马字从早年起便投入文字事工，直至生命的最后一刻。他采用罗马字系统（Romanized system）从事翻译。当中国信徒看到罗马字母取代了他们所尊崇的汉字时，既惊讶又好奇。[4] 然而，打马字克服了一切障碍，发展出一种以白话罗马字拼写的系统，使文盲的信徒也能阅读圣经与宗教书籍。他翻译了约翰·班扬的《天路历程》（The Pilgrim’s Progress），并先后译出《路加福音》、《加拉太书》、《以弗所书》、《腓立比书》以及《约翰书信》、《彼得书信》。1852年，他出版了《唐话翻字初学》（Tn̂g-oē Hoan-jī Chho͘-ha̍k），这是一本关于白话字（Pe̍h-oē-jī）的早期著作。白话字又称“教会罗马字”，是一种用于书写闽南语（特别是台语与厦门话）的拼音系统。1885年，他出版《厦门土语英华字典》（Chinese-English Dictionary: A Dictionary of Amoy Vernacular and English），1894年出版《厦门方言新字典》（New Dictionary in the Amoy Dialect）。这些译作不仅使老少皆能读写，也成为远超前人思想启蒙的重要力量，对推动文教事业产生深远影响。
在众多宣教士中，打马字比其他同工更早意识到：他们所建立的中国教会，不应只是自己宗派的延续，而应在本地的土壤上独立生长。1856年9月17日，打马字致函改革宗教会的宗议会，信中简述了福建宣教的历史：
“福建的宣教工作由已故的雅俾理博士（Rev. David Abeel, D.D.）于1842年2月24
日开始……美国圣公会的布恩牧师（Mr. Boone）在厦门停留不久……美国长老会
宣教士麦克布赖德牧师（Rev. T. L. McBryde）于1842年6月开始在厦门的宣
教……库明医生（W. H. Cumming, M.D.），虽非隶属任何差会的医疗宣教士，于
1842年6月抵厦门，1847年初离开……伦敦会宣教士斯托拿克（J. Stronach）与杨
威廉（William Young）于1844年7月开始厦门宣教……首批信徒由波尔曼牧师
（Mr. Pohlman）于1846年4月施洗，两位年长弟兄受洗……下一批信徒由伦敦会的
A.斯托拿克（Mr. A. Stronach牧师于1848年3月施洗……” [5]
这是考虑中国本地教会独立的起点。1863年，在改革宗教会的大会上，打马字草拟了一份关于中国教会自立的提案，但未获通过，理由是中国信徒尚需有符合圣经标准的信仰规范。翌年，他再次提案，强调宣教士应摒弃成见，在圣灵的引导与眷顾下，建立自治、自养的本地华人教会，以最有效地推进神国度的扩展。此次提案得到积极回应。[6] 会议通过如下决议：
在异教徒中建立的教会，应依照我们宗派惯行的规章组织；指示厦门的同工在教会数量足以维持永久性组织时，向奥尔巴尼长老会申请成立一个“中会”（Classis，即教会治理机构）。[7] 具体实施包括：地方教会应行使自主管理权；各教会应设立大会，选举长老与执事，长老会有权处理教会事务。此决议对闽南教会联合运动（Minnan Church Unity Movement）产生重大影响，结出丰硕成果。1856年4月14日，打马字牧师主持的全体男会友大会，选举出由中国人组成的“长老执事会”（4位长老/4位执事）来管理教务，形成闽南教会的自治模式，为日后各地建立的堂会所遵循，奠定了闽南教会自立发展的基础。[8]
打马字对中国教会成长的贡献深远，他被列为极具影响力的宣教士之一。腓力·威尔逊·皮彻（Rev. Philip Wilson Pitcher）在其著作中指出：就福建的宣教工作而言，若雅俾理、杜弟（Duty）、波尔曼（Pohlman）奠定了坚实的正统根基，那么打马字博士则以智慧、坚毅和稳固的精神在其上建造……他的奉献、智慧与爱，在今日我们所见的教会建筑——圆顶与塔尖、墙壁与柱廊、檐角与拱券、圣坛与中殿上——都写下了不可磨灭的印记。当主接他回天家时，“若他的工作不是根基上的大石，必然是上层建筑的坚柱之一。” [9] 钱伯斯（Chambers）也评价说：“在众多宣教士中，无论雅俾理或汤普森，都未曾超越打马字博士在任何天赋或后天素质上所表现出的卓越，他实为‘十字架的宣教士’中最杰出者之一。” [10] （未完待续）
[1] Philip P. W. Wilson, Fifty Years in Amoy, Or, A History of The Amoy Mission, China (Los Angeles: HardPress Publishing, 1893). It is cited by Sue Brown & Dr. Bill, “Rev. John Van Nest Talmage,” https://www.amoymagic.com/AM_Talmage.htm, accessed on December 7, 2022.
[2] John Gerardus Fagg, Forty Years in South China: A Biography of the Rev. John Van Nest Talmage (New York: The Board of Publication,1894), 8.
[3] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 45.
[4] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 103-104.
[5] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 170-177.
[6] Talbot W. Chambers, “In Memoriam: The Rev. J. V. N. Talmage, D.D.,” Forty Years in South China, 285-286.
[7] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 187-188.
[8] 戴弟兄：《三一堂八十年》（Trinity Church 1934-2014）（厦门：厦门市基督教三一堂，2014），15.
[9] Wilson, Fifty Years in Amoy, Or, A History of The Amoy Mission, China. It is cited by Brown, “Rev. John Van Nest Talmage.”
[10] Chambers, “In Memoriam, 287.
Xiamen
- A Brief Study of the History of Missions in Xiamen
- John Sung in Xiamen
- My Trip to Xiamen
- John Van Nest Talmage (1819 – 1892)
John Van Nest Talmage (18 August 1819 – 19 August 1892), was a Protestant Christian missionary to Amoy, Fujian. He was sent by the Reformed Church in America from 1847 to 1890. As it was said of Dr. Abeel, so it could be said of Dr. Talmage: “‘The crowning beauty’ of this man’s life was ‘his humility.’” [1] John G. Fagg mentions in the preface of Forty Years in South China: A Biography of the Rev. John Van Nest Talmage: “Dr. Talmage could not endure exaggeration. Nothing so commanded his admiration as honesty and accuracy of statement. That ought to be sufficient to guard anyone who speaks of such as man against indiscriminate eulogy.” [2]
Talmage was born on August 18 of 1819 in a New Jersey farmhouse at Somerville, New York, United States. Son of David and Catharine (Van Nest) Talmage. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1842. Later he received honorary Doctor of Divinity in1867. He deeply felt God called him to go to China for mission work. When he told the decision of going to China for mission to his mother with trepidation, he thought it would shock the whole family and receive objection. Unexpectedly, his mother said to him: I have already prayed in secret before God for this matter, “how can I object?” [3] The mother was joyful and proud that her son could determine to go to China for the gospel’s sake. He graduated from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1845. After he was ordained to ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church, 1846, he sailed for Amoy China as missionary, 1847 after a four months’ voyage.
Protestant Christianity attempts to provide a reason for people’s hope of faith. The Lord commands us to “search the Scripture.” This requires not only listening ears, but also reading eyes. At that time in southern Fujian, maybe only 1 out of 100 men could read, and maybe 1 out of 1,000 women could possibly read. The Bible translation project was an advanced and forward-looking undertaking at that time. The early missionaries laid the groundwork for the effort to prepare the Bible translation. For the missionaries themselves, the translation work they did was a bold experiment. Talmage began his literary ministry very early until the last moment of his life. He did his translation work using the Romanized system. When Chinese believers saw that the Romanized letters replaced their highly venerated Chinese characters, they were even more skeptical with curiosity. [4] However, Talmage cleared all obstacles, he developed Romanized form of writing vernacular so that the illiterate Christians could read the Bible and other religious literature. He has translated John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Next, he translated the Gospel of Luke, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and the letters of John and Peter. In 1852, Talmage published Tn̂g-oē Hoan-jī Chho͘-ha̍k, an early book on Pe̍h-oē-jī, also sometimes known as the Church Romanization, is an orthography used to write variants of Southern Min Chinese, particularly Taiwanese and Amoy Hokkien. In 1885, he published Chinese-English Dictionary: A dictionary of Amoy Vernacular and English. In 1894, he published New Dictionary in the Amoy Dialect. These translations not only realized the possibility of reading and writing for young and old, but also functioned as an enlightenment that far exceeded that of the older generation. It has a positive effect on getting people to do more with literature.
Among many missionaries, Talmage realized earlier than other brethren that the Chinese church they started should not be a continuation of their denomination. The Chinese church should have its own independent existence and grow on the soil planted by missionaries. On September 17 of 1856, the letter Talmage wrote was sent to the Synod of the Reformed Church. It states a brief mission history of Fujian in China:
“It was commenced by the late Rev. David Abeel, D.D. on the 24th of February,
1842… Mr. Boone, of the Episcopal Church of the United States, was at Amoy but a
short time… The mission of the American Presbyterian Board at Amoy was
commenced by Rev. T.L. McBryde, in June, 1842…W. H. Cumming, M.D., a medical
missionary, but not connected with any missionary society, arrived at Amoy, June,
1842, and left Amoy in the early of 1847. The London Missionary Society was
commenced by Rev. Messrs. J. Stronach and William Young, in July, 1844… The first
converts received into the Christian Church at Amoy were two old men, baptized by
Mr. Pohlman in April, 1846. The next converts received were two men baptized by Mr.
A. Stronach, of the London Missionary Society, in March, 1848…”[5]
It was the time to consider the independence of the local Chinese church. At the General Synod in 1863, he drafted a proposal for self-government of the Church in China. The proposal was rejected. The reason was that the Chinese converts needed to have standards and norms of belief that conform to the Bible. In the second year, he proposed again and emphasized that missionaries should eliminate their past prejudices, and under the teaching and providence of the Holy Spirit, establish an autonomous and self-supporting local Chinese church in order to most effectively advance God’s kingdom on earth. The proposal was received positively.[6] The following resolutions were recommended: Resolved, 1. The formation of churches among the converts from heathenism was organized according to the established usages of our branch of Zion. 2. That the brethren at Amoy be directed to apply to the Particular Synod of Albany to organize them into a Classis, meaning a governing body in some Reformed churches, so soon as they shall have formed churches enough to render the permanency of such organization reasonably certain.[7] The specific practices included: the local church shall exercise self-government; each church shall establish a General assembly, and appoint elders and deacons. The Elders Council has the right to decide the church business. The resolutions had a big effect on Minnan Church Unity Movement and gained a fruitful result. On April 14, 1856, under the leadership of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, a general assembly of all male church members was convened. During this meeting, a “Board of Elders and Deacons,” composed entirely of Chinese believers (four elders and four deacons), was elected to oversee church affairs. This marked the establishment of a self-governing model for the Minnan Church, which later became the pattern for congregations established in other regions and laid the foundation for the self-supporting and self-developing Chinese church in southern Fujian. [8]
His other contribution was for the growth of Chinese church. Talmage has been listed as a noteworthy missionary. Rev. Philip Wilson Pitcher mentions in his book that concerning the missions work in Fujian, if Abeel, Duty, and Pohlman laid a solid and deep foundation on a sound orthodoxy, Dr. Talmage also built on it with saga, firmness, and solidity… his devotion, wisdom and love wrote indelible words on the domes and steeples, on the walls and columns, on the cornices and capitals, on the chancel and nave of the structure we see today. When he was taken up by the Lord, “if his work was not one of the great stones in the foundations, surely it was one of the strong pillars of the super-structure.” [9] Chambers comments on him by saying: “But I think that none of them, neither Abeel nor Thompson, surpassed Dr. Talmage in any of the qualities, natural or acquired, which go to make an accomplished missionary of the cross.” [10]
(To be continued)
[1] Philip P. W. Wilson, Fifty Years in Amoy, Or, A History of The Amoy Mission, China (Los Angeles: HardPress Publishing, 1893). It is cited by Sue Brown & Dr. Bill, “Rev. John Van Nest Talmage,” https://www.amoymagic.com/AM_Talmage.htm, accessed on December 7, 2022.
[2] John Gerardus Fagg, Forty Years in South China: A Biography of the Rev. John Van Nest Talmage (New York: The Board of Publication,1894), 8.
[3] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 45.
[4] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 103-104.
[5] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 170-177.
[6] Talbot W. Chambers, “In Memoriam: The Rev. J. V. N. Talmage, D.D.,” Forty Years in South China, 285-286.
[7] Fagg, Forty Years in South China, 187-188.
[8] Brother Dai, Trinity Church 1934-2014 (Xiamen: Xiamen Trinty Church, 2014), 15.
[9] Wilson, Fifty Years in Amoy, Or, A History of The Amoy Mission, China. It is cited by Brown, “Rev. John Van Nest Talmage.”
[10] Chambers, “In Memoriam, 287.