James Meadows
James Meadows served in Zhejiang more than half a century.
Two years after the death of William Rudland, the veteran missionary James Meadows also went to his eternal reward after 52 years in China. Meadows arrived in Zhejiang Province in 1862, and his close relationship with Hudson Taylor dated back to before the formation of the CIM.
For over half a century Meadows endured great hardship. On numerous occasions he was abused and pelted with rocks, and he survived violent riots and robbers. His first wife died soon after reaching China, and his second wife perished during an influenza epidemic in 1890.
Most of Meadows' years in Zhejiang were spent at Shaoxing, which at the time was a hub of idolatry. When he arrived in the city there were only 42 church members, but "40 years later he was able to look back and thank God that no fewer than 788 persons had confessed their faith in Christ by baptism at that one station alone."1
In his final letter written a few days before his death in September 1914, the 79-year-old veteran missionary wrote:
"Have I not had a long and full experience of His mighty love? How tenderly He has led me through this China wilderness! He is coming soon to take me to Glory. Since the breakout of the Great European War I have been longing night and day that the Lord Himself would descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. I long to hear the trump of God, and it will not be long now I hope."2
A tribute from fellow missionary Duncan Main revealed the great honor in which Meadows was held by all who knew him:
"Few have shown so noble an example of faithful service as he did, in the 52 years' hardship, toil, sickness, and suffering and long separation from the dear homeland, which during all these years he only visited twice. His large heart, perfect knowledge of the Chinese, his courage, his common sense, and his absolute loyalty to the great cause and to his mission, bound him very close to those of us who knew him best. He was truly a great missionary and a man with a very affectionate and unselfish nature."3
Footnotes:
1. "James J. Meadows: In Loving Memory of the Senior Member of the CIM," China's Millions (November 1914), p. 174.
2. "James J. Meadows: In Loving Memory," p. 175.
3. "J. J. Meadows—An Appreciation," China's Millions (December 1914), p. 191.
© This article is an extract from Paul Hattaway's book 'Zhejiang: The Jerusalem of China'. You can order this or any of The China Chronicles books and e-books from our online bookstore.