CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Lán ê kiù-tsú Iâ-so· Ki-tok ê Sin Iok [The New Testament in Amoy vernacular]. A scarce missionary imprint: an early edition of the first New Testament in the Hokkien dialect of Xiamen and southern Fujian province. This was the copy of Daniel Davies Moore, among the first Methodist missionaries in Penang, which had an established community of Hokkien speakers.The translation was the work of four members of the English Presbyterian Mission: William Macgregor, William S. Swanson, Hugh Cowie, and James L. Maxwell. The first edition was printed in Scotland for private circulation in 1873 and the same plates were used to produce editions in 1880s and 1890s.Moore (1856-1946) "left Canada for Singapore in April 1891 as a foreign missionary. There, he was commissioned by the newly established Methodist Church in Singapore to start work in Penang for the English-speaking community... In July 1891, he started the first English service at the Penang Town Hall. The following month, the first sacramental service for eight people was conducted at the rented residence of the missionaries at Carnavon Street" (Dictionary of Christian Biography in Asia). His ownership inscription, "Davies Moore, Penang, Dec. 7th 1892", is on the first blank verso.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.