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John Livingston Nevius (4 March 1829 – 19 October 1893) was, for forty years, a pioneering American Protestant missionary in China, appointed by the American Presbyterian Mission; his missionary ideas were also very important in the spread of the church in Korea. He wrote several books on the themes of Chinese religions, customs and social life, and missionary work. ==Biography== Nevius was born on a farm halfway between the villages of Lodi and Ovid in the "Lake country" of western New York state. It was an idyllic country location surrounded by fields and meadows with a nearby spring of pure water, and Lake Seneca, "gleaming through the trees", only 2 miles distant; he was the son of Benjamin Nevius, of Dutch descent, and his wife Mary Denton. He was educated at the college in Ovid, then at Union College in Schenectady, then, from 1850, at Princeton as a prospective minister in the Presbyterian Church.〔Creegan, 1903, pp. 200-212.〕 In 1853, Nevius married Helen Coan and, on June 15 of that year, the couple set off, as missionaries, on an arduous 6-month sea voyage to Ningpo, in the Che-Kiang province of China, arriving in the spring of 1854. He and his wife immediately set about learning the language, and Nevius's subsequent interest in the phenomenon of spirit possession was sparked off by conversations about the supernatural with his language tutor, Mr. Tu; the Chinese had a strong belief in the reality and power of the spirit world that was part of an animistic tradition going back thousands of years (see Chinese folk religion).〔〔Nevius, ''Demon Possession'', 1894, p. IV & 9.〕 The Revd. and Mrs. Nevius were soon travelling and preaching, as well as setting up missions and schools, studying and writing. In 1861 the couple moved to Shantung province, where most of their Chinese missionary work would be undertaken. They spent some time in Tung Chow and dispensed medicine to the locals during the 1862 cholera epidemic there. John also trained missionaries and helped to establish the country's first Synod which took place in Shanghai in 1870, while Mrs. Nevius set up a boarding school for girls.〔 In 1871, they moved to Cheefoo and built a house there called "Nan Lou". In 1873, John embarked on a taxing 600-mile missionary tour by foot, finding rest and sustenance at whatever establishments he could find along the way. In 1877, there was a famine in the province of Shantung (the "Great North China Famine"), and he played a pivotal role in raising funds, setting up a food distribution centre and organising a relief corps from quarters at Kao-Yai. Famine struck again in 1889, and Nevius's abilities were, once more, called upon.〔 Nevius continued with his missionary work to country areas until 1887, travelling thousands of miles, often under arduous conditions of terrain, weather etc. In 1890, he travelled to Korea and, although he stayed for only 2 weeks, his "Nevius Plan" (see below) was subsequently adopted and led to rapid growth of the church there.〔David L. Larsen. ''he Company of the Preachers'' (Kregel Publications, 1998) p. 523.〕 He died suddenly, at home, in October 1893, and was buried in the cemetery at Chefoo.〔 Nevius was the author of several books covering the subjects of Chinese religions, spiritual practices and social and political life, spirit possession and missionary work; his wife also wrote an exhaustive biography (see bibliography). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Livingstone Nevius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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