John Richard Wolfe
Wolfe, about 1904
Born	1832 Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
Died	2 December 1915 Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Nationality	Irish
Education	Church Missionary Society College, Islington
Occupation	Missionary
Spouse	Mary Ann Maclehose ​ ​ (m. 1864; died 1913)​
Children	6
Parent	Richard Wolfe & Susan Croston

John Richard Wolfe (1832-1915) was an Irish missionary serving with the Church Missionary Society in Fuzhou, China from 1862 to 1915.

Biography

Wolfe was born in 1832 near Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland, which at that time was part of Great Britain.

He entered the Church Missionary Society College, Islington, London in 1857. In 1861 he was ordained a deacon at St Paul's Cathedral and in December of that year he sailed for Hong Kong from where he was assigned as a missionary minister to Fuzhou, Fujian. He was ordained a priest at St John's Cathedral, Hong Kong, in 1863. Chuanshi （川石岛） Lesson plan In the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1866), British Consul Xing Cha Li and missionary Hu John wanted to purchase land to build a church and a "summer resort" on the island of the Minjiangkou Fortress. However, the purchase of land in Jiadeng (Langqi) was initially opposed by the masses. In the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign (1868), the believer Lin Zhenxin was used to lure Chen Daosong, a resident of Chuanshi Island, to privately and permanently lease the Chen family commons to the British Church for construction and sign a lease. The islanders rose up in protest upon learning of it. In 1869, Chen Daosong, a resident of Chuanshi Township, illegally sold the public land on the island to British missionaries. Wang Youshu, a jinshi from his hometown, used Chuanshi Island to control the entrance of the Minjiang River to the sea, which was within the scope of the Wuhu Mountain Fortress. How could he have been infected by outsiders? He joined forces with the villagers to request the government to stop him. The English missionary unexpectedly took Wang Youshu to the province, led a warship to land, broke into his house, vandalized and killed Wang Guangtian, a member of the Wang Youshu clan, and intimidated the villagers not to obstruct him The islanders protested one after another, and Hu John and the British soldiers fled from Kawasaki Island amidst angry shouts from the crowd. The British Consul insisted on building a building in Chuanshi, so he put pressure on the Fujian authorities of the Qing court and threatened to fire back if there was any obstruction, as well as "compensating" military expenses. At the same time, he sent someone to threaten Wang Youshu's house in Tingtou, spread gunpowder around the king's house, and coerced Wang's younger brother and nephew into making a contract. He claimed that whoever obstructed the purchase of land would be Wang's responsibility, and demanded that Wang compensate 10000 taels of silver. Under pressure from the British Consul, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Ying Gui, ordered the Commerce Bureau to increase the price and buy back the Chuanshishan land as official property, which was then leased to the British Church, in order to please the British and avoid conflicts. Bian Baodi resigned in anger to express his feelings. The people of Kawasaki Island saw that the government was weak and incompetent, unable to protect the local area. On the one hand, they continued to argue and proposed a just demand for punishment and compensation to the British Consul; On the one hand, they unite against each other, organize group exercises, arm themselves, set up sentries, be on guard day and night, and contact the surrounding villagers to defend their homeland to the death. The British consul discovered the truth on the island and dared not venture on it. Governor Ying Gui was also afraid of provoking a popular uprising and found it difficult to recover the situation, so he had to try to shift the blame. Later, the magistrate was sent to intervene. Conflict with local islanders during church construction Upon learning of this, British Consul Xing Cha Li ordered British ships stationed at the mouth of the Minjiang River to land and demonstrate, and killed more than ten islanders who led the rebellion

End of event

Under the resolute resistance of the people, British missionary John Hu finally handed over the lease to the people of Chuanshi in the fifth year of the Guangxu reign (1879). The "Chuanshi Teaching Case", which lasted for ten years, ended with the victory of the people.

Wolfe spent the rest of his life in Fuzhou until his death in 1915. He is described as "the chief instrument in the remarkable ingathering in the Fuh-kien Province."^[1] He was made Archdeacon of Fuzhou in 1887 and Vice-President of the CMS in 1910. He was the first and only Vice-President not to be a Bishop.^[2]

After his death, the Synod in Fuzhou, with both Chinese and European members decided to commemorate his life and work by building a cathedral in his memory. Christ Church Cathedral (Cangxia Church) was opened in 1927. The duilian (Antithetical_couplet) running down the left hand side of the entrance translates as "With the ancient moon shining upon modern men we commemorate Archdeacon Wolfe who ministered here." Wolfe's name in Chinese sounded very like ancient moon and this became the nickname of one who was also known as 'The Fukien Moses'. He is still remembered by name in Fukien by many present day congregations.

Wolfe translated a number of works into the local dialect including the Book of Common Prayer, several catechisms, the Gospel of St Matthew, and the Book of Joshua. He was responsible for the building of a number of churches and schools in Fuzhou and other centres across Fukien.^[3]

In 1864 Wolfe married Mary Ann Maclehose in Hong Kong. She predeceased him in 1913. Of their family of three boys and three girls, the girls Minnie, Annie and Amy all became missionaries^[4] and served in Fuzhou. His son Charles received medical training and worked in hospitals in the city.

References

Further reading

• J. R. Wolfe, Annual Letters and other correspondence in the Archives of the Church Missionary Society, Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham.