Stanley Peregine Smith (19 March 1861 – 31 January 1931) was a British

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 ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Early life

Stanley Smith was the son of Henry Smith F.R.C.S., and his wife Alice Underwood, of 13 John Street, Berkeley Square, London. He was educated at Repton and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Stanley Smith was one of the

Cambridge Seven The Cambridge Seven were six students from Cambridge University and one from the Royal Military Academy, who in 1885, decided to become missionaries to China through the China Inland Mission. The seven were: * Charles Thomas Studd * Montagu H ...

, students from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, who in 1885 decided to become missionaries in China. He was a

Cambridge Blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

having rowed as stroke for Cambridge in the 1882

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

. He was born again in one of

D. L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

's revivals and helped found the Cambridge Christian Union, forerunner of many student Christian organizations. Following his conversion and call to mission, Smith had a soapbox in Hyde Park where he preached "not the milk and water of religion but the cream of the gospel".

Travel to China

Stanley Smith with another of the Cambridge Seven, the brilliant young cricketer

C. T. Studd Charles Thomas Studd, often known as C. T. Studd (2 December 1860 – 16 July 1931), was a British missionary, a contributor to ''The Fundamentals'', and a cricketer. As a British Anglican Christian missionary to China he was part of the C ...

started his ministry in Shan-Si Province, in northern China. He was an excellent linguist and was said to be as fluent in his preaching in Chinese as he was in English. In November 1899 the Stanley Smith family sailed from China arriving in Plymouth on 16 December, so they were not in China at the time of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

Move to Shanxi

Shortly before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Stanley Smith left the China Inland Mission after some disagreements on doctrine, but continued to have good relationships with the mission. He continued in China and opened his own work in East

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. Although in the latter years he often faced trials and disappointments, he continued with his teaching and preaching (and writing up his diary) until the night before he died, on 31 January 1931 in Tse-Chow.

Family life

Stanley Smith married a fellow missionary Sophie de Reuter from Norway on 16 September 1888.Makower, Katherine: Not a Gap Year but a Lifetime. Apologia Publications 2008 They had one son, Dr Algernon "Algie" Stanley Smith (14 February 1890 – 28 July 1978), one of the founders of the

Ruanda Mission Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. After Sophie died he married secondly Anna M Lang (born circa 1864) from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. They had three children: Henry (born 1895); Mary (born 1898); and Robert (born 1901).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Stanley P. 1861 births 1931 deaths Protestant missionaries in China Protestant writers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English Protestant missionaries British expatriates in China