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George Leslie Mackay 偕瑞理 or 馬偕 ''Má-kai'' (21 March 1844 – 2 June 1901) was a Canadian
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
. He was the first Presbyterian missionary to northern
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(then
Formosa), serving with the
Canadian Presbyterian Mission. Mackay is among the best known Westerners to have lived in Taiwan.
Early life
George Leslie Mackay was born on March 21, 1844, the youngest of six children to a pioneering Scottish family in
Embro,
Zorra Township,
Oxford County, Canada West (now
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
),
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. His family was part of the Zorra Pioneers, refugees from the
Sutherland Clearances in northern Scotland, who arrived in Zorra in 1830. The Zorra pioneers were Evangelical Presbyterians, for whom their church, led by lay elders, was the centre of their collective life.
Growing up on oatmeal and the Scottish Catechism in this community, Mackay acquired many of the traits and skills that contributed to his success as a missionary in Taiwan. A fervent and rational evangelical faith; a model of close-knit Christian community in which the church led by lay elders (trained clergy being a luxury then) served many functions; a strong sense of outrage at injustice and inequality, from the collective memory of the Sutherland Clearances; the ability to treat all people as his equal; a pioneer farmer's perseverance in carrying out the daily chores despite weather or illness; a strong constitution; DIY skill in all sorts of construction; and basic frontier medicine, including minor surgery and teeth extraction.
He received his
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
training at
Knox College in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
(1865-1867),
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(1870), and
New College, Edinburgh
New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, all
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
institutions. In Mackay's days Princeton and Edinburgh were important centres of advocacy and training for foreign missions.
Mission to Taiwan
In 1871, Mackay became the first foreign missionary to be commissioned by the Canada Presbyterian Church (predecessor of both the
Presbyterian Church in Canada and the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
), arriving in Taiwan on December 29, 1871.
After consulting with Dr.
James Laidlaw Maxwell
James Laidlaw Maxwell Senior (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Má Ngá-kok''; ; born 18 March 1836 in Scotland – March 1921) was the first Presbyterian missionary to Formosa ( Qing-era Taiwan). He served with the English Presbyterian Mission.
Maxwell ...
Sr., a
medical doctor serving as a
Presbyterian Church of England The Presbyterian Church of England was a late-19th century and 20th century Presbyterian denomination in England. The church's origins lay in the 1876 merger of the English congregations of the chiefly Scottish United Presbyterian Church with vario ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
to southern Formosa (1865), Mackay arrived at
Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
, northern Formosa in 1872, which remained his home until his death in 1901. Starting with an itinerant
dentistry practice amongst the
lowland aborigines,
he later established churches, schools and a hospital practicing Western biomedicine.
Mackay learned to speak
vernacular Taiwanese fluently and married "Minnie" Tiu (), a native Taiwanese woman. The marriage produced three children:
* Mary "Tan" Mackay
* Bella "Koa" Mackay
* George William Mackay
Mackay was described by
Rev. William Campbell, a contemporary missionary, as:
Accompanied by his students, who were to become pastors of the churches founded, Mackay itinerated all across northern Taiwan. They founded 60 churches. Churches planted in north Taiwan by Mackay later became part of the Northern
Synod of the present
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT; ; ) is the largest Protestant Christian denomination based in Taiwan. The PCT is a member of the World Council of Churches, and its flag features a "Burning Bush," which signifies the concept of burning y ...
.
Social impact of Mackay's mission
Revitalization Movements
Anthony Wallace developed the idea of “revitalization movement” in his study of the Handsome Lake movement in the Seneca of New York, “to denote any conscious, organized effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture. Since many revitalization movements are religious, the concept of revitalization becomes central to the analysis of the development of new religions”. He argued that “when the misery of poverty and degradation is combined with a hope of moral and material salvation, the resulting mixture is explosive.” (1969:239).
What resulted when the Kavalan people (噶瑪蘭) heard Mackay's preaching 1880s was a revitalization movement combining the egalitarian and salvific ideas of Mackay's Presbyterianism and their own resistance to the land loss, cultural collapse and humiliating poverty brought by Chinese invasion of their homeland in the 19th century.
Destruction of Kavalan Society
In his monumental study Statecraft and Political Economy on the Taiwan Frontier 1600–1800. anthropologist John Shepherd traces the disaster that fell on the Kavalan in the 19th century:
The fate of the aboriginal Kuvalan of the I-lan plain on Taiwan's north-east coast provides a sharp contrast to the that of the plains aborigines on the western coastal plain. Government administration was not extended to the I-lan plain before the 19th century, and the Kuvalan were not taxpaying subjects of the Ch’ing, which therefore did not recognize Kuvalan title to unclaimed land. Han migration to the isolated I-lan plain in the early 19th century began suddenly and on a large scale. This the Kuvalan did not have the chance to adapt gradually to the consequences of Han settlement ... The Kuvalan were totally unprepared for the onslaught of Chinese settlers that saw the Han population of I-lan grow to nearly 40,000 by 1810. (Despite small attempts at regulation) ... it was too little too late, for the Kuvalan were unable to adapt to such rapid change. They lacked the sophistication and institutional position necessary to see their rights enforced against unscrupulous Han. Impoverished Kuvalan, who were poor farmers, alienated their lands for ready cash. By the end of the 19th century, the Kuvalan population had declined by approximately 70% and many were migrating to Hua-lien. (358f)
Indigenous historian Chan Su-chuan 詹素娟 ,describes the “extremely difficult situation” confronting the Kavalan in the 1880s:
“The period when Mackay entered Ilan was exactly the period in the late 19th century when traditional Kavalan society was facing shocks from an external power and was undergoing large scale forced emigration ... With the changes in their social and economic life, the traditional religion of the Kavalan people also underwent huge changes. Mackay observed that the faith of the Kavalan people was “at the present time a potpourri of Confucian morality, Buddhistic idolatry, and Tauistic demonolatry”, which is to say the Taiwanese folk religion of that time. But Mackay also saw that the in fact the Kavalan people still “simultaneously” preserved their traditions “nature worship” and “relics of superstition”. Mackay wrote that the traditional religious life of the Kavalan “had no temple, idol or priest.
Mackay was angered at the plight of the Kavalan. He must have seen in their crisis a reflection of the collective memory of his own people, the Highland refugees from the Sutherland Clearances, who were burnt out of their cottages by officials clearing the land for sheep:
“There were at one time thirty-six thriving villages in the Kap-tsu-lan plain. The Chinese settlers came in, enterprising, aggressive, and not overly scrupulous, and little by little the weaker went to the wall. The Pe-po-hoan were crowded out of the cultivated land, many of their villages were scattered, and they had to begin life again in the waste jungle. And, very often, when they had succeeded in reclaiming land to grow rice and vegetables enough to supply their meager wants, the greedy Chinese would appear again, and, either by winning their confidence or by engaging them in dispute, would gain a foothold and in the end rob them of their lands. Being unable to read and being ignorant of the law, they are almost entirely at the mercy of their enemies. It sometimes makes one blood boil to see the iniquities practised upon these simple-minded creatures by Chinese officials, speculators and traders.”
He was aware of the political context of Kavalan adoption of Chinese idols:
“Originally the Pe-po-hoan were nature worshippers, like the savages in the mountains …. But all this was changed when they bowed their necks to the yoke of civilization. Their conquerors forced upon them not only the cue and their style of dress, but also the whole paraphernalia of Chinese idolatry. Whenever a tribe submits, the first thing is to shave the head in token of allegiance, and then temples, idols and tablets are introduced. …. Idolatry does not suit the average Pe-po-hoan, and it is only of necessity that he submits to even the formal observance of its rites and ceremonies. It is political rather than religious, and to the large majority it is meaningless, except as a reminder of their enslavement to an alien race”
It is in this context that the rapid, mass conversion of almost one-half of the Kavalan people in the early 1880s can be understood. It was not a colonial fraud enforced upon devout practitioners of traditional Chinese folk religion, or destruction of indigenous people's traditional religion but an indigenous revitalization movement - a collective symbolic act of resistance to the dispossession they suffered under the Chinese settlers. Mackay was clearly astounded by the response of the Kavalan to his evangelism, so different from the process of conversion in the rest of north Taiwan.
Idol burning
The removal of idols and ancestral tablets by new Christians in Taiwan was usually a discreet individual decision. A typical reference (among many in Mackay's diary) to people removing idols, is in a letter of April 11, 1884: “An old Chinaman and his wife cleansed their house of idols last Saturday when I was in the country. These idols &c. are now with my large collection.”
But in the Kavalan mission Mackay reports two instances of mass enthusiasm (another expression of a revitalization movement) expressed in communal removal and burning of Chinese household idols. The first is reported in letters of March 30 and Juen 5, 1883:
I am here about 4 days journey from Tamsui -on the east side of the Island with the Pacific dashing this shore. There are 36 villages of Pe-po-hoan (civilized aborigines) in this District. Fully one thousand (1000) have thrown away their idols and wish to be taught Christianity. .... I dried my clothes before fires made of idolatrous paper, idols &c. I employed 3 men to carry other idols back to Tamsui . I never passed through such an experience.
The revitalization movement in the form of communal removal of Chinese idols proceeded even without the presence of Mackay, who was amazed at what he saw happening. In a letter addressed “To the Presbyterian Church in Canada from Halifax to Manitoba” (June 5, 1883) he wrote:
I sent a telegram some time ago to say that 1000 were asking Christian instruction. I state below the mark now when I declare that upwards of 2000 (two thousand) have thrown idols away and wish to follow the Lord of Hosts. .... In a village with upwards of 200 every soul wants to be Christian – every house cleansed of idols. Another village with nearly 300 not very far away came out as a body, men, women and children and already sing our sweet hymns long in the night.”
Visit to Kavalan settlement in Hualien – September 1890
The second reference to communal idol burning is September 8–9, 1890, when Mackay, accompanied by Koa-kau and Tan-he travelled by boat to visit Kavalan people who had settled in Ka-le-oan (嘉禮宛) north of Hualien City(花蓮港). His letter to the Foreign Missionary Society (September 12) presents in detail the process of community decision making, the political symbolism of having idols, negotiating with the Chinese authorities for their consent to remove idols, and the celebratory nature of the burning, followed by a ritual celebrating the new communitas.
Mackay letter to Wardrope Oct. 16th 1890: About dark we entered Ka-le-oan (the Pin-po-hoan settlement I longed to visit for upwards of a dozen years). We found the cook , who turned out Preacher, in a small grass covered bamboo dwelling which had been erected for him. As they had been sending letters and visiting for such a long time you have only to imagine the reception accorded us. ... The room was soon packed and a large crowd stood in front of the door. Instead of continued preaching we tried to grasp the real state of affairs. Real good work was done by the Helper. Not a few had a clear idea of the Gospel message, while all were evidently wearied of idol worship. They seemed ripe for decisive action. Being told that the Military Mandarin declared that they must continue idolatry as being a token of subjection to China. I rode up to the encampment – had an interview and got a gracious reception. Whatever was said or done in the past, it was all right now. Soldiers began to praise our mission ..... There was only one opinion and the Official wished me “Peace”. I galloped back and asked all who were for the True God to clean their houses of idols and take a decided stand. – A council was held at dark in an open space, it turned out to be a boisterous one. The chiefs were declaiming aloud in their native tongue. I stepped into their midst – and asked an explanation – asked if there was difference of opinion? An answer came quickly, the five villages were unanimous to a man. Every man, woman and child wished to worship One God the Creator of all. They were noisy because giving vent to their indignation for having served idols for so long. – Another important transaction was executed – a temple for idols built by themselves at a cost of $2000 was handed over for chapel service the all retired and the tumult abated. The following was a joyous day; no one went to work – The Head men joined our party (after invitation) and ordered four boys to carry 8 baskets one on each end of a pole. Then we went from village to village and house to house until the idolatrous paraphernalia all were put into the baskets and carried to a yard near our Preaching room and temple. – There was large Pile of mock money – idols – incense sticks, flags &c &c --- a great crowd assembled and several vied with each other in kindling it – many showed their contempt for the dirty, dusty, greasy old idols and all were jubilant over the work. ... Nearly five hundred idolaters cleaned their houses of idols in our presence.
Other results of Mackay's Kavalan Mission
Similar to other indigenous groups in northern Taiwan, the Kavalan has a patronymic name system, rather than surnames. When they came under Chinese rule they were assigned Chinese names and surnames. By the mid-1880s some Kavalan had adopted Mackay's Taiwanese surname “Kai” 偕 as their own. This surname is still common among Kavalan people today.
In 1882 “Oxford College” (for men) was opened in Tamsui and a year later the Girls School. Soon both schools had Kavalan students. In 1884 John Jamieson reported in a letter to the Foreign Mission Committee (June 30, 1884) that “The girls have made excellent progress during their four months of study. Most of them can read the Colloquial language as well as write a fair hand. ... Most of the students have left for their homes and Dr. Mackay will accompany the girls on their homeward journey. “
National Treasure
At the girls’ school Kai Ah-hun was matron and instructor in traditional weaving and sewing. She was married to a Kavalan pastor. Her work was outstanding, so much so that Mackay brought an entire Kavalan bridal assemblage made by her to Canada in 1893. We know this because he had a photograph of her taken wearing the very clothes that are now in the Royal Ontario Museum. The Kavalan bridal attire is the only complete set of Kavalan clothes in the world, rightfully considered a national treasure of Taiwan.
Among the ten Plains Indigenous groups (Ping-pu 平埔) who occupied the entire western half of Taiwan, only the Kavalan have continued as an organized community, still using their own language, in their exilic home on the northern coast of Hualien County. In the last decade a group of women weavers (the leader is surnamed Kai 偕) have been reviving traditional weaving. They hope to visit the Mackay Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum to study the textiles that came from Kai Ah-hun in 1893.
While the mission among the Kavalan was only one part of Mackay's 30-year life in Taiwan, it illustrates the unintended yet long lasting impact of Mackay's work, and helps explain why even after 150 years he is so celebrated in Taiwan's history.
In 1896, after the 1895 establishment of
Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, Mackay met with the
Japanese
Governor-General of Formosa,
Maresuke Nogi
Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi (December 25, 1849September 13, 1912), was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from Chin ...
. Some families in Taiwan today, particularly of lowland-aboriginal
Kavalan ancestry, trace their surname '偕' ('Kai' or 'Kay') to their family's conversion to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
by Mackay.
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Mackay was honoured during his two furloughs home by the Canadian Church. In 1880,
Queen's College in
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...
awarded him an honorary
Doctor of Divinity, presented by
Principal George Monro Grant
George Monro Grant (December 22, 1835 – May 10, 1902) was a Canadian church minister, writer, and political activist. He served as principal of Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario, for 25 years, from 1877 until 1902.
Early life, education
Gr ...
and
Chancellor Sandford Fleming
Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, ...
. Before departing in 1881, he returned to
Oxford County, where monies were raised to start Oxford College in Taiwan, which would be the basis for two later educational institutions,
Aletheia University and
Taiwan Seminary
Taiwan Seminary or Taiwan Theological College and Seminary or Taiwan Graduate School of Theology, also known as 'Taishen' (, Taiwanese: ''Tâi-oân Sîn-ha̍k-ī'') is a private Presbyterian educational institution in Taipei, Taiwan. It constitu ...
. A number of young people in the county were inspired to follow Mackay's example and entered into missionary service with a number of Christian denominations.
In June 1894, at the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
meeting in
St. John,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Mackay was elected
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the highest elected position in the church. He spent the following Moderatoral year travelling across Canada, as well as writing ''From Far Formosa: the island, its people and missions'', a missionary
ethnography and memoir of his missionary experiences.
In 1894 he spoke out against the
head tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...
imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada. As moderator of the Presbyterian church, he broke precedent to speak in favor of a resolution opposing this tax, saying it was unjust and racist.
Although Mackay suffered from
meningitis and
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
in his lifetime, he would die of
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
on 2 June 1901 in Tamsui. He was interred in Tamsui, Taiwan, in a small cemetery in the eastern corner of the Tamkang Middle School campus. His son was interred adjacent to him.
Legacy
In Taiwan's modern
democratic period Mackay's life has been celebrated by advocates of a distinctive Taiwanese identity and
historical understanding separate from colonial narratives brought by Japan and China. The system of
phonetic
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
romanisation
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
he and his collaborators developed for writing Taiwan's Hokkien language is still in use.
Mackay's ''From Far Formosa'' is considered an important early missionary
ethnography of Taiwan. It provides a valuable source document for understanding the
culture and customs of the people of Taiwan during Mackay's lifetime.
As part of his teaching Mackay created a museum in his Tamsui home. Its collections of items from both Chinese and Indigenous cultures of Taiwan, and specimens of geology, flora and fauna was constantly replentished by donations from local people. Many items collected by Mackay are today housed at the
Royal Ontario Museum (Ontario, Canada) and the
Aletheia University Museum (Tamsui, Taiwan). James Rohrer, missionary historian, states that Mackay, "allowed himself to truly encounter and to be transformed by the people he sought to serve."
Community
Mackay's Oxford College (牛津學堂) is today known as
Aletheia University. The major private
Christian hospital in downtown
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
is named
Mackay Memorial Hospital, built in 1912 to replace the smaller Mackay Hospital he started in Tamsui in 1882. Many artefacts collected by Mackay today form part of the collections at the
Royal Ontario Museum (Ontario, Canada) and
Aletheia University (Tamsui, Taiwan).
Visual art and media
On 30 June 2004, a large bust statue of Mackay was dedicated outside the
Oxford County offices in
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 40,902 according to the 2016 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, at the head of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately 128 km from ...
. The delegation from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in attendance included representatives from
Aletheia University and the
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT; ; ) is the largest Protestant Christian denomination based in Taiwan. The PCT is a member of the World Council of Churches, and its flag features a "Burning Bush," which signifies the concept of burning y ...
. The event was also attended by representatives of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada, the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
, local, regional, and national Canadian dignitaries, and a number of Mackay descendants from across North America. One of his grandchildren is
Dr. John Ross Mackay.
In November 2006, a Canadian television documentary titled ''The Black Bearded Barbarian of Taiwan'' was aired. It was broadcast in both
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and English on
OMNI 2 as part of their ''Signature Series''.
Performance art
Opera
Composer
Gordon S.W. Chin and librettist
Joyce Chiou set out in 2002 to create an opera whose subject was drawn from Taiwan's history. In 2008 Taiwan's government invested in the project: the world's first-ever
Taiwanese grand opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
, ''Mackay: The Black-Bearded Bible Man''. Chin's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
drew inspiration from the events of the missionary's life and took more than five years to produce. Over a hundred singers and production crew were engaged for the project from Europe, Asia, and North America.
''Mackay: The Black-Bearded Bible Man'' had its world premier on 27 November 2008 at Taiwan's
National Theater and ran through 30 November. The large cast featured
Thomas Meglioranza
Thomas Meglioranza (born October 7, 1970, New York, New York) is an American operatic baritone.
Biography
Meglioranza was born to an American father of Italian Americans, Italian and Polish Americans, Polish descent and a Thai people, Thai mother. ...
(
baritone) as George Mackay, Chen Mei-Lin (
soprano) as Mackay's wife Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ, and Choi Seung-Jin (
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
) as
Giâm Chheng-hoâ, Mackay's first disciple and follower in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.
Chien Wen-Pin, a native of Taipei, conducted the
National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan).
Lukas Hemleb
Lukas Hemleb (born 1960 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) is a German director of plays and operas, scenic designer, and librettist.
Career
Born Lukas Hemmleb in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, he was in Berlin assistant of Peter Stein, Klaus Michae ...
directed the stage production.
Musical theatre
"Kai the Barbarian: the George Leslie Mackay Story", a
musical theatre piece by William Butt, was performed March 21–31, 2018 at Thistle Theatre in Embro, Ontario, Canada. The stage director was Edward Daranyi and music director was Daniel Van Winden. Embro, hometown of the author, is located in Zorra Township where George Mackay was born and raised. Cast and crew consisted of local volunteers working alongside professionals from Stratford, Ontario.
George William Mackay
George William Mackay (born 22 January 1882 – 20 July 1963) was a Canadian missionary in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, son of George Leslie Mackay, and father of
J. Ross Mackay.
Mackay's Chinese name is 偕叡廉; it is from his father's first name 偕.
He was born in
Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
, Taiwan and grew up there until 13. He then returned to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
with his father. He graduated from
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
with a master's degree in Education Management. In 1948 he received an honorary doctorate in theology from
Knox College.
He served as President of the Tamkang Junior High School, which he subsequently merged with Tamsui Girls School. After his father's death, he changed Tamsui Girls School from a junior high school to a kindergarten.
Mackay may have died in Canada or possibly in Taiwan, where he may have been buried in
Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
at the Mackay family's tomb next to Tamkang Junior High.
[ The tomb may have since been removed.
Memorials include:
*Memorial Park
*Memorial Church]
See also
* J. Ross Mackay (born 1915), his grandson
* Thomas Barclay, English Presbyterian missionary to Taiwan
* James Mellon Menzies, Canadian Presbyterian missionary to Qing China
* Mackay Memorial Hospital
* Mackay Medical College
* Mackay Medicine, Nursing and Management College
* Aletheia University
References
Published works
*
*
External links
First Taiwanese Opera "Mackay: The Black Bearded Bible Man"''
in the website of National Theater and Concert Hall
The National Theater () and National Concert Hall () are twin performing arts venues at Liberty Square in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, the landmarks stand on the south and north sides of the square with Chiang Kai-s ...
, Taipei
* Full text of
The Black-Bearded Barbarian: the life of George Leslie Mackay of Formosa
' by Marian Keith, from Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
*
Reverend George Leslie Mackay, 1844-1901
from Ontario Heritage Trust
Aletheia University
official website
*
Aborigines Saved Yet Again: Settler Nationalism and Hero Narratives in a 2001 Exhibition of Taiwan Aboriginal Artefacts
by Mark Munsterhjelm, MA Thesis, Indigenous Governance Program, University of Victoria, Canada.
*
Tourism Oxford, (Oxford County, Ontario, Canada) Colourful Characters; Rev. George Leslie Mackay 1844-1901.
*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, George Leslie
1844 births
1901 deaths
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
Alumni of New College, Edinburgh
Deaths from esophageal cancer
Canadian Presbyterian ministers
Presbyterian missionaries in Taiwan
Canadian Presbyterian missionaries
Deaths from cancer in Taiwan
Canadian expatriates in Taiwan
People from Oxford County, Ontario