- Thomas Barclay
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Infobox Person
name = Thomas Barclay
caption = Missionary and Linguist
birth_date =November 21 ,1849
birth_place =
death_date =October 5 ,1935
death_place = Tainan,Taiwan ,Empire of Japan
nationality = flag|Scotland|name=Scottish
residence = flag|Scotland
flag|Qing Dynasty|name=Qing Dynasty Taiwan
flag|Empire of Japan|name=Taiwan, Empire of Japan
alma_mater =University of Glasgow University of Leipzig
title = M.A.Thomas Barclay (Traditional Chinese: 巴克禮;
Southern Min : Pa-khek-lé) (21 November 1849 -5 October 1935 ) was a Britishmissionary to Formosa (Taiwan) from 1875 until his death. His ministry in South Taiwan has been compared to the work done in North Taiwan byGeorge Leslie Mackay . He foundedTainan Theological College and Seminary in 1876. [cite web|url=http://www.ttcs.org.tw/~en/Introduction.htm|title=Introduction|publisher=Tainan Theological College and Seminary|accessdate=2008-07-27]From Scotland to the Far East
Barclay received his education at the
University of Glasgow , after which he studiedDivinity at the prestigiousUniversity of Leipzig before heading to Asia as a missionary. After a year spent in Amoy learning the language underCarstairs Douglas , Barclay moved to the then capital ofTaiwan , Tainan (then known as Taiwan-Fu), where he was to spend the rest of his life in service to the church and the people of that city. He was responsible for introducing the first newsletter in theTaiwanese language , the Tâi-ôan Hú-Siâⁿ Kàu-Hōe Pò (Tainan Church News), which was printed using thePeh-oe-ji romanisation.cite web|url=http://203.64.42.21/giankiu/GTH/2002/TOLMJ/giteng/lunbun%5CK2-kloeter.pdf|title=The History of Peh-Oe-Ji|author=Henning Klöter|accessdate=2008-07-27|format=PDF]Written Works
Barclay was also responsible for overseeing the translation of the Bible from English in to Taiwanese, first the
New Testament in 1916 and then theOld Testament in 1932. Both volumes are still in print today, and have a reputation for elegance and accuracy, although due to both the passage of time and the fact that the church dialect is rather removed from everyday speech, the prose can sound strange to modern ears.His other major contribution to the study of the language was an appendix to
Carstairs Douglas ' "Amoy-English Dictionary" - in essence "completing" the work, which up until then had lacked a character index to accompany the romanised entries.Averting Disaster During the Japanese Takeover
In 1895 the ailing
Qing Dynasty ceded the island of Taiwan to Japan and relinquished all claim to it. In the resulting power vacuum before Japanese troops arrived to take over control, a fledgling resistance movement sprang up and a Republic of Taiwan (loyal to the departed Qing) was declared. The Japanese treated any such resistance harshly and looked set to make an example of Tainan as the former capital. With forces from both sides arrayed to fight, Barclay emerged from the city to mediate with the Japanese, persuading the defenders to surrender and the invaders against taking punitive measures. [cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions|year=1998|author=Gerald H. Anderson]Death and Memorials
Barclay is buried alongside several other missionaries in the Presbyterian section of a public cemetery in the southern part of
Tainan City . His congregation raised up a church in his honour - the Barclay Memorial Church, which still bears his name today. To honor his contributions to the city, in 2004, the Tainan City Government renamed the Park No.18 (十八號公園) the Barclay Memorial Park (巴克禮紀念公園). [cite web|url=http://www.tncg.gov.tw/office_02.asp?id={A63DE7A1-0F4A-4675-90F8-26FDE5734914}&Lang=E|title=Tainan City's Barclay Memorial Park Won the FIABCI Prix d'Excellence Award 2007|publisher=Tainan City Government|accessdate=2008-07-27]Gallery
References
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