Forty Years in South China | Page 2

came upon John when you
asked him about his work. But the story has been gloriously told in the
heavens by those who through his instrumentality have already reached
the City of Raptures. When the roll of martyrs is called before the
Throne of God, the name of John Van Nest Talmage will be called. He
worked himself to death in the cause of the world's evangelization. His
heart, his brain, his lungs, his hands, his muscles, his nerves, all
wrought for others until heart and brain, and lungs and hands, and
muscles and nerves could do no more.
He sleeps in the cemetery near Somerville, New Jersey, so near father
and mother that he will face them when he rises in the Resurrection of
the Just, and amid a crowd of kindred now slumbering on the right of
him, and on the left of him, he will feel the thrill of the Trumpet that
wakes the dead.
Allelujah! Amen!
BROOKLYN, June, 1894.

PREFACE.
The accompanying resolution of the Board of Foreign Missions of the
Reformed Church in America, November 16, 1892, explains the origin
of this volume:
"Resolved, That the Board of Foreign Missions, being firmly convinced
that a biography of the late John V. N. Talmage, D.D., for over forty
years identified with the Mission at Amoy, would be of great service to
the cause of Missions, heartily recommend to the family of Dr.
Talmage the selection of an appropriate person to prepare such a

memoir, and in case this is done, promise to render all the aid in their
power in furnishing whatever facts or records may be of service to the
author of the book."
The writer raised his pen to this task with hesitancy. He had known Dr.
Talmage only little more than a year; long enough, indeed, to revere
and love him, but not long enough to tell the story of so rich and
fruitful a life.
Dr. Talmage was a man of unconscious greatness. If he could have
been consulted it is doubtful whether a public record of him would
have ever seen the light. His life to him would have seemed too
commonplace and unworthy. He was exceedingly careful in the use of
language. He could not endure exaggeration. Nothing so commanded
his admiration as honesty and accuracy of statement. That ought to be
sufficient to guard any one who speaks of such a man against
indiscriminate eulogy.
We have endeavored as far as possible to make this memoir an
autobiography. To carry out this purpose has not been without
difficulties.
Dr. Talmage did not keep a continuous diary. He did not preserve
complete files of his correspondence as if anticipating the needs of
some possible biographer.
The author's enforced retirement from the mission field in the midst of
collecting and sifting material, has been no small drawback.
It is hoped, however, that enough has been gleaned to justify
publication. Sincerest thanks are due to those brethren who contributed
to the concluding chapter, "In Memoriam."
If these pages may more fully acquaint the Church of Christ with a
name which it should not willingly let die, and deepen interest in and
hasten by the least hair-breadth the redemption of "China's Millions,"
the author will feel abundantly rewarded.
JOHN G. FAGG.
ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY October 1, 1894.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Rev. John Van Nest Talmage Chinese Clan House Buddhist Temple,
Amoy Pagoda near Lam-sin Chinese Bride and Groom Traveling
Equipment in South China Pastor Iap and Family The Sio ke Valley

Glimpse of the Sio-ke River Scene in the Hakka Region Girl's School;
The Talmage Manse; Woman's School. (Kolongsu, opposite Amoy)
Pastor Iap

CONTENTS
I. The Ancestral Home II. Call to China and Voyage Hence III. The
City of the "Elegant Gate" Description of Amoy and Amoy Island
Ancestral Worship Infanticide Is China to be won, and how? Worship
of the Emperor IV. Light and Shade The Chiang-chiu Valley Breaking
and Burning of Idols The Chinese Boat Race and its Origin The
Chinese Beggar System Two Noble Men Summoned Hence V. At the
Foot of the Bamboos Opium Romanized Colloquial Chinese Sense of
Sin Primitive Lamps Zealous Converts The Term Question What it
Costs a Chinese to become a Christian Persecuted for Christ's Sake "He
is only a Beggar" Printing under Difficulties Carrier Pigeons VI. The
"Little Knife" Insurrection How the Chinese Fight VII. The
Blossoming Desert Si-boo's Zeal An Appeal for a Missionary VIII.
Church Union The Memorial of the Amoy Mission IX. Church Union
(continued) X. The Anti-missionary Agitation XI. The Last Two
Decades Forty continuous Years in Heathenism Chinese
Grandiloquence XII. In Memoriam Dr. Talmage--The Man and The
Missionary By Rev. W. S. Swanson, D.D. Venerable Teacher Talmage
By Pastor Iap Han Chiong Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.