Percy Cunningham Mather (; 9 December 1882 – 24 May 1933) was a pioneer

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, 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.Tho ...

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 ...

, the second

China Inland Mission OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It was founded i ...

missionary to

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

. Mather was born in

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1884, the son of a railway employee and an Irish nurse. Mather went into railway service like his father. In 1903 he was converted 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 ...

through the ministry of J. H. Doddrell of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Mather soon became a Sunday school teacher and local preacher. While his ordination was delayed, he learned about the China Inland Mission (CIM) and decided to go to China after assisting his sister financially to get an education. In 1910 Mather sailed to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, then moved up the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

river to attend the

Anqing Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...

language school. Afterward he was stationed in

Ningguo Ningguo () is a county-level city in the southeast of Anhui province, People's Republic of China, under the administration of Xuancheng City and bordering Zhejiang province to the south and east. It has a population of 380,000 and an area of . Ni ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Province. Mather was influenced by reading

Roland Allen Roland Allen (29 December 1868 – 9 June 1947) was an English missionary to China sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). Early life He was born in Bristol, England, the son of an Anglican priest; but was orphaned early in ...

's book, ''Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours?'' and then he volunteered to join George Hunter in

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

, arriving there in 1914. Until 1926 the two itinerated in Xinjiang and

Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto' ...

. When Mather joined him, Hunter had a work among all the different peoples of Central Asia. Mather joined full heartedly in the work, but his specific focus was towards the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

. Quickly he set about learning Mongol, but the only Mongol teacher he could find in the city with extra time was in the local jail. Afterward he produced a grammar, and a dictionary in Oirat Mongolian, as well as a grammar and dictionary of

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

, but they were never published, and it is unclear what became of the manuscripts. Following intensive medical studies while on furlough in 1927, Mather returned to China to concentrate on medical work as well as on translations, grammars, and dictionaries of Mongolian languages. Mather was caught up in hostilities in China during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, and was accused of political intrigue. He died on 24 May 1933 of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

, during the siege of Ürümqi, when caring for people wounded during the

Kumul Rebellion The Kumul Rebellion (, "Hami Uprising") was a rebellion of Hami, Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui people, Hui Islam in China, Chinese Muslim Gen. Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Shuren, governor of Xinjiang. The Kumul Uygh ...

led by Ma Zhongying. He was buried in Ürümqi.

Bibliography

* ''George Hunter: Apostle of Turkestan'' by

Mildred Cable Alice Mildred Cable () (21 February 1878 – 30 April 1952) was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China, serving with the China Inland Mission. Early life and career Born in Guildford. the daughter of John Cable, a prosperous drap ...

and

Francesca French Francesca Law French (; 12 December 1871 – 2 August 1960) was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China. She served with the China Inland Mission. Early career French was born in Bruges, Belgium, the second daughter of English parent ...

, (1948) * ''Percy Mather: The Making of a Pioneer'' by

Alice Mildred Cable Alice Mildred Cable () (21 February 1878 – 30 April 1952) was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China, serving with the China Inland Mission. Early life and career Born in Guildford. the daughter of John Cable, a prosperous drap ...

Francesca Law French Francesca Law French (; 12 December 1871 – 2 August 1960) was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China. She served with the China Inland Mission. Early career French was born in Bruges, Belgium, the second daughter of English parents ...

Mather, Percy (1882-1933)

SOAS Archives Information

Past auction of some Mather letters and Pictures

Bibliography

References

See also