Ernst Johann Eitel or alternatively Ernest John Eitel (13 February 1838 – 10 November 1908) was a German-born
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
who became a notable missionary in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and civil servant in
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...
, where he served as
Inspector of Schools
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...
from 1879 to 1896.
Early life in Germany
Eitel was born in
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. Eitel studied initially at the Theological Seminary, Schönthal. In 1860, he graduated from the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...
with Master of Arts (and Doctor of Philosophy in 1871). He was appointed vicar of the state
Evangelical-Lutheran Church at Mossingen for the next 12 months.
Canton and Hong Kong
Adopting the Chinese name 歐德理 (), he came to Lilang,
Xin'an district in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
under the
Basel Mission
The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...
. Facing refusal of permission to marry an ex-Catholic, he transferred to the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
at
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ente ...
in April 1865 and took charge of the
Boluo Mission and the
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
villages outside
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ente ...
. The next year, he married
Mary Anne Winifred Eaton
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
of the
Female Education Society and Lady Superintendent of the
Diocesan Native Female Training School Diocesan Native Female Training School (DNFTS, ) was a school under the Anglican Church of Hong Kong in the 19th century, founded in 1860 and closed down in 1868. Its premises now belong to today's Bonham Road Government Primary School(). In 1869, ...
.
In January 1870 he moved to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
while still having charge of the Boluo Mission. In 1875, he became Director of Chinese Studies. In 1878, he was appointed Supervisor of Interpreters and Translator to the Supreme Court though he resigned this post in 1882 after censure for accepting private payment for translation work he was required to do anyway. He had resigned from the London Missionary Society in April 1879.
From March 1879 to 1896, Eitel served as
Inspector of Schools
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...
of the Hong Kong Government. He was particularly vigorous in promoting education for girls and pursued a policy of private education over government-run schooling. He also served as Private Secretary to Governor Sir
John Pope Hennessy
Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong and the fifteenth Governor of Mauritius.
Early life
John Pope Hennes ...
for about two years from 1880 to 1881, again resigning under a cloud, the Governor accusing him of having exceeded his authority.
Eitel left Hong Kong in 1896 to begin a new life as Pastor of St Stephen's Lutheran Church, Pirie Street,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, in 1897. The next year, he was appointed part-time lecturer in German at the University of Adelaide, a post he held until he died.
A Cantonese Dictionary
Eitel published his
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
dictionary, ''Chinese Dictionary in the Cantonese Dialect'' in 1877. This expanded the work of
James Legge
James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator
who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the Londo ...
on the ''
Kangxi Dictionary
The ''Kangxi Dictionary'' ( (Compendium of standard characters from the Kangxi period), published in 1716, was the most authoritative dictionary of Chinese characters from the 18th century through the early 20th. The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing ...
''.
Eitel used his own system of
Cantonese Romanization which was a minor refinement of the work of
Elijah Bridgman in his pioneering 'Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect' of 1841 and
Samuel Williams' glossary dictionary ''Tonic Dictionary of the Chinese Language in the Canton Dialect'' written in 1856.
His publication was intended to standardize the pronunciation of Cantonese by students in Hong Kong.
His work was criticised by
Wong Shik-ling in his book ''
'' on the basis that it inherited inaccuracies from former works.
Publications
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References
External links
Bibliography*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eitel, Ernst Johann
German Lutheran missionaries
German lexicographers
Lutheran missionaries in China
German expatriates in China
German linguists
1838 births
1908 deaths
Cantonese language
German male non-fiction writers
Hong Kong civil servants
Historians of Hong Kong
19th-century Lutherans
Missionary linguists
19th-century lexicographers