Thomas Watters was born on 9 February 1840, and died on 10 January, 1901 at

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, London, England. He was a respected

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

scholar.

Life

Thomas Watters was born on 9 February 1840 in

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

, in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Ireland. He was

home schooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

by his father, the Rev. Thomas Watters, the

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 ...

Minister in Newtownards. He entered Queen's College, Belfast in 1857 and graduated with B.A. from Queen's University in 1861 and an M.A. in 1861. He was appointed to a post in the Consular Service of China in 1863 going first to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He was then posted in 1887-1888 as Acting Consul General in Korea, in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

1891-1893 and then until April, 1895, Consul in

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

, when failing health forced him to retire after 32 years' service in the Far East.

Partial list of works

* A Guide to the Tablets in a Temple of Confucius, by T. Watters, H. M.'s Consul for Wuhu. Shanghai, China: - Printed at the American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1879, in-8, pp. xx-259. * Lao-Tzû 老子. A Study in Chinese Philosophy, by T. Watters, M. A.. Hong Kong: Printed at the "China Mail" Office, 1870, in-8, pp. 114 without the preface. A Large part of this work appeared previously in ''The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal'', Vol. I, pp. 31, 57, 82, 106, 128, 164, 209. In his brochure, M. Watters has added two chapters (VIII, Lao Tzû, and Confucius; IX, Conclusion). * "Buddhism in China." By T. Watters. (''Chinese Recorder'', II, pp. 16, 38-43, 64-8, 81-8, 117, 145-150.) * "Notes on the "''Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching'', a Buddhist Sutra in Chinese", by T. Watters. (''Journal North-China Br. B. As. Soc''., N. S., No. IX, 1874, Art. IV, p. 89.) * "Fa-Hsien and his English Translators." T. Watters. ''China Review''. 1879-1880. In several sections. * "The A-mi-t'ê ching." (1882). By T. Watters. (''China Review'', X, pp. 225–240.) * The ''Ta-yun-lun-ch'ing-yü-ching.'' (1882) 大雲輪请雨經 By T. Watters. (''China Review'', X, pp. 384–395). * "The Eighteen Lohan of Chinese Buddhist Temples." By T. Watters. (''Jour. Roy. As. Soc.'', April 1898, pp. 329–347). * "Kapilavastu in the Buddhist Books." By T. Watters. (''Ibid.'', July 1898, pp. 533–571). * "Notes on Chinese Mahometan Literature." By T. Watters. (''China Review'', I, pp. 195–199.) * "The Life and Works of Han Yü or Han Wên-kung. By T. Watters. (''Journal N. C. Br. R. As. Soc.'', for 1871 and 1872, N. S., VII, pp. 165-181). * TAO 道: “An Essay on a Word." By T. Watters. (''Chinese Recorder'', IV, pp. 1–4, 33-5, 100-2). * "Essays on the Chinese Language." By T. Watters. (''China Review'', IV, 1889, pp. 207–212, 271-8, 335-343. - V, pp. 9–13, 75-83, 145-152, 208-216.) * "Chinese Notions about Pigeons and Doves." By T. Watters. (''Journ. N. C. Br. R. As. Soc.'', IV, Dec. 1867, pp. 225 et seq.) * "Chinese Fox-Myths." By T. Watters. (''Journ. N. C. Br. R. As. Soc.'', N. S., VIII, 1873, pp. 45 et seq.) * ''Stories of Everyday Life in Modern China''. Told by (Chinese and Done into English by T. Watters, late H. M. Consul at Foochow. London, David Nutt, 1896. * ''On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India''. Thomas Watters (1904–05) London, ''Royal Asiatic Society''. Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.

Footnotes

References

* Bushell, S W. 'Thomas Watters - Obituary'. ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' (1901), republished in 'On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (629-645 AD)'. Published 1904 and 1905, 2 vols. * Cordier, Henri. "Thomas Watters - Necrologie". ''Toung Pao'', Serie II, Vol II (1901), pp 92–3. * Watters, Thomas (1904–05). ''On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India''. London, ''Royal Asiatic Society''. Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watters, Thomas 1840 births 1901 deaths English religious writers People from Newtownards Chinese–English translators 19th-century translators Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Korea British expatriates in China