James R. Adam
Anshun Mission
Scottish Missionary James R. Adam was leading the China Inland Mission’s work in the city of Anshun, in the Guizhou (Kweishau) Province of China. The revival began as Adam visited with and developed relationships with Miao leaders in 250 villages throughout the region. By becoming proficient in several Miao languages, many believed he was the fulfillment of an ancient legend, about one who would bring back their lost written language.
That legend came to life when the British and Foreign Bible Society sent the first portions of the New Testament to Guizhou Province. News of this literature spread, and soon people would walk 6-8 days to get a view of these books.
Initial News of the Movement
In the China Inland Mission’s annual report, in the 1906 China’s Millions, we read some of this movement’s beginning:
Sixty-one Miao (aborigines) were baptized in the presence of between 1,000 and 2,000 of their fellow tribesmen. For a considerable time a great spiritual movement has been in progress among these interesting aborigines, many of whom have been coming to services at An-shuen once a month for more than two years.
Revival at Anshun
The movement among the Miao people in the Anshun region spread to other tribes in the area. James Adam wrote of his contact with one of those tribes:
To reach their district a river has to be crossed. For a long time no Miao would take me over that river, as they said the Chinese would kill them if they did so. At last, however, I found that the Flowery Miao Evangelist had a relative who had married into the Water Tribe. Through this man and his wife I secured an introduction to the tribe over the river.
In the beginning of 1907, Adam wrote:
The work quickly spread from village to village, and ere [before] long we had people from scores of villages attending the services at An-shuen Fu [Anshun]. Later we built a chapel and opened an out-station at Ten-ten [Dengdeng]. The Miao gave the site—trees for pillars, and stone for building, also money and free labour… Now there are at Ten-ten [Dengdeng] about one hundred church members, and two or three hundred people attending the services on Sundays.
Miao men hunting wild pigs with bows and arrows
Burning of Witchcraft Items
After a Miao schoolteacher was given a copy of the Gospel of Luke and a hymnal, he thoroughly studied them on his own, then began teaching them to his students, and eventually the entire village gathered to hear the gospel story.
James Adam was told that the following morning there would be a large fire started, with its purpose to be for burning items involved with witchcraft:
… their drums used in sacrifice and sorcerer’s wands and other instruments and charms were thrown into the fire. One woman standing by said, “Why should I wear this necklace [it was a charm], I now trust the living GOD. The sorcerer told me to wear this, I shall trust his lies no longer,” and she threw it into the fire. All the other women followed her example.
Revival Spreads to the A-Hmao Tribe
Upon James Adam’s encounter with the A-Hmao people, a powerful people movement began!
When an elderly man heard and received the gospel message, Adam recorded him as saying:
It is not good for us to keep such good news to ourselves. Let us go and tell our kinsmen at Lan-long-ch’iao. This old man at once went up there and told the people about the LORD JESUS CHRIST … The people from that village came down in great numbers to An-shuen to see us, at first several times a month and later regularly once a month.
Some of the women who walked for 8 days to meet with missionaries in Anshun
Anshun was a 6-8-day trek, requiring these people to traverse rivers and steep mountains to come to learn more about the Bible. And because the A-Hmao were despised, and not welcome in the local hotels, they stayed at the home of James Adam.
Our house was just crowded out with them. One night I went round and counted my guests. We had over 300 sleeping in the house. Still they came from more and more distant places. This continued for months.
During Adam’s conversations with the people, he asked if they were familiar with the town of Zhaotong in Yunnan Province. They said it was only a 2-3-day journey for them, compared to the 6-8 days to visit Adam at Anshun.
Samuel Pollard
Missionary in Zhaotong
Adam encouraged them to make a visit to Zhaotong, and speak with the Scottish Methodist missionary, Samuel Pollard.
The group of A-Hmao followed Adam’s recommendation, and soon Pollard was inundated with guests. This relationship enhanced the spread of the gospel among them, with more than 1,000 being baptized, leading to a church being built 23 miles from Zhaotong.
Revival at Kopu
Adam reported on the revival that was occurring at the city of Kopu:
Deep interest was manifested in the Gospel, the audiences on three successive Sundays being about 900, 1,000, and 1,300 respectively. An early morning prayer meeting was held, at which nearly 500 women were present, a number of whom lifted up their voices in public prayer to God.
Location where the revival occurred, as well as showing the various Miao tribes. Yunnan Province top left; Guizhou Province to the right.
Guizhou Province highlighted
Persecution Failed
As the mass movement started, tribal chiefs and witchdoctors became jealous, and fearing their loss of influence:
Had many of them [Miao believers] cast into prison, beaten, and fined. They also threatened to deprive them of their land all who continued to read our books, or join themselves to us.
The persecution soon ended as the opposition was severely outnumbered by the numbers of people turning to Christ. Many of the meetings were attended by 2,000 – 3,000 people, with hundreds of baptisms regularly occurring.
The zeal of these new believers was described by James Adam like this:
They go out two by two visiting the villages far and near, preaching, singing and praying. Often when visiting these villages one’s [my] heart has been delighted at the eager way in which the people seek to learn and gain the most benefit from the visit, even if it is only for one night. They will sit up listening till one or two o’clock in the morning. Frequently I have retired at that hour and at daylight have awoke to find them still learning to read texts of Scripture or some hymn of praise, or perhaps giving earnest heed to one of the Christians, as he taught them to sing a hymn tune that they did not know.
Miao girls
At one village, as the gospel message was being shared, Adam recalled the transfixed attention given by the people:
A great hush and silence fell upon the crowd . . . Many in the great congregation were weeping, and I myself could not keep back the tears . . . Next day 240 communicants sat round the Lord’s table breaking bread and drinking the cup, thus showing the Lord’s death till He comes. It was a glorious scene and my heart overflowed with praise to God at the sight of so many who recently were devil worshippers and sunken in immorality and sin, but who are now among His blood-washed ones.
Evangelist Tsen and his wife and child
Skepticism of an Authentic Revival
As with all genuine revivals, this one was greeted with tremendous skepticism, as the reports sounded too good to be true.
Leaders of mission agencies sent people to investigate the revival’s authenticity, and to ensure that those being baptized knew basic Bible doctrines.
Curtis Waters, one of those assigned to give interviews of the new believers, to verify the genuineness of their faith, wrote the following:
Laughter and tears were very near each other as we listened to some of their replies and recognized the grace and power of God manifested in these people . . . Many came in and sat down trembling all over, wondering what questions they would be asked and whether they would be able to answer.
Being totally satisfied with the new Christians’ answers to doctrinal questions, they deemed them qualified for baptism:
We had eight days’ baptisms as follows: 201, 131, 152, 95, 108, 142, 128 and 12: 969 in all.
The work is unquestionably of the Holy Spirit. The utter impossibility of any man teaching all these people attests to it… These people, with an unquestioning faith simply accept the gospel teaching, and it is real to them.
Village band for festive occasions
Powerful Decade
At the start of the decade the entire province could only boast of 70 evangelical believers, and by 1904 the number had grown to 123.
Upon James Adam’s return from furlough in Britain in 1909, he wrote from the village of Kopu:
On the Lord’s Day several thousand A-Hmao attended the services, and about 900 sat around the table of the Lord… Connected with Kopu are 217 villages and hamlets; a Christian population of 7,000; and 2,000 communicants.
By 1911, the Anshun Mission was serving 3,504 church members, 19 evangelists, 192 local leaders, 3 female Bible teachers, and 13 schools.
Sources
► A Harvest Tour Amongst the Miao Tribes by J. R. Adam
► A Modern Pentecost by China Inland Mission
► Aboriginal Tribes in South-west China by E. Amundsen in China’s Millions (1906)
► Beginning Medical Missionary Work in Kweichow by E. S. Fish
► China’s Christian Millions by Tony Lambert
► God at Work in West China by Samuel Pollard
► Grave of James R. Adam by www.findagrave.com
► Guizhou by Paul Hattaway
► More Work Among the Tribes People by Carl G. Gowman
► Our Shanghai Letter by James Stark
► Samuel Pollard by Wikipedia
► Tokens of God’s Working by J. R. Adam
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