William Rudland
William Rudland.
Much transition took place with the passing of key pioneer missionaries. Many who had arrived in the 1860s and 1870s died or retired after several decades of sacrificial labor. One saint who graduated to the side of Jesus was William Rudland, who was one of the famous Lammermuir Party (named after the vessel that carried this group to China with Hudson Taylor in 1866).
In 1870 Rudland settled at Taizhou in southern Zhejiang, which was to be his home for the next 41 years until his death from a malignant tumor in January 1912. During those many years, Rudland firmly believed that the Chinese Christians held the key to evangelizing their nation. He desired to serve and encourage them to complete the Great Commission, but was careful not to take the lead in any matter the Chinese believers should have initiated themselves.
Although other members of the Lammermuir Party became more famous in the annals of China missions, Rudland was a quiet, unassuming servant who faithfully plodded along for his Master. He helped translate the Bible into the Taizhou dialect, and by 1898, after almost three decades in Zhejiang, Rudland reported that "31 stations and out-stations have been opened in the district of Taizhou, and 1,808 converts baptized."1
Footnotes:
1. "In Memoriam—W. D. Rudland," China's Millions (March 1912), p. 44.
© 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.