Dixon Edward Hoste
Encyclopedia
Dixon Edward Hoste (23 July 1861 – 11 May 1946) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Protestant Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and the longest lived of the Cambridge Seven
Cambridge Seven
The Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become missionaries in China; the seven were:*Charles Thomas Studd*Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp*Stanley P. Smith*Arthur T. Polhill-Turner*Dixon Edward Hoste...
and successor to James Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
as General Director of the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
, (from 1902 to 1935).
He was the son of Major General Dixon Edward Hoste (see Dixon Hoste disambiguation page). He was educated at Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, and at the age of 18 was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. In 1882 he experienced conversion under the influence of Dwight Lyman Moody.
In 1883 he became interested in the work of the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
, and was the first of the Cambridge Seven
Cambridge Seven
The Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become missionaries in China; the seven were:*Charles Thomas Studd*Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp*Stanley P. Smith*Arthur T. Polhill-Turner*Dixon Edward Hoste...
to apply to work with this mission, and after some delay was accepted, sailing for China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1885. He was sent to Küwu (presumably Quwo), to the south of Linfen
Linfen
-Administrative divisions:The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.-Pollution:...
in Southern Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
. In 1886 he was ordained as a pastor by Hudson Taylor, and moved to Hungtung (now Hongdong or Hongtong
Hongtong
Hongdong County is a county in Linfen, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China.-Pronunciation of the name:The second ideograph in the name of Hongdong County is always pronounced Pinyin: Tóng, instead of Dòng by local people, including local people who speaks standard mandarin...
) to work with Stanley Peregrine Smith who had opened an opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
refuge there at the invitation of Pastor Hsi
Xi Shengmo
Xi Sheng Mo 席勝魔 also known as Pastor Hsi, was a Chinese Christian leader.-Life:He was born Xi Liaozhi in a village near Linfen, became a Confucian scholar, and after his conversion to Christianity changed his given name to Shengmo or Conqueror of Demons...
. He worked under Xi, wore Chinese clothes, ate Chinese food, and tried to get an insight into the Chinese mind. Hoste is credited with making the Chinese churches apply the indigenous principles of self-government, self-support, and self-propagation. This threefold motto was later adopted by the Three-Self Patriotic Movement
Three-Self Patriotic Movement
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement or TSPM is a state-controlled Protestant church in the People's Republic of China...
after missionaries were expelled from China.
In 1893, he married Gertrude Broomhall, daughter of CIM General Secretary Benjamin Broomhall
Benjamin Broomhall
Benjamin Broomhall was a British advocate of foreign missions, administrator of the China Inland Mission, and author. Broomhall served as the General Secretary of the China Inland Mission ,...
and his wife Amelia, (Hudson Taylor's sister). Because of ill-health Mr Hoste visited England in 1896 and then spent some time in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before returning to China. During his appointment as General Director of the China Inland Mission he was based in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and after internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
there by the Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
from 1944 to 1945, returned to England where he died in 1946 at the Mildmay
Newington Green
Newington Green is an open space in north London which straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, the southern section of Stoke Newington with Green Lanes-Matthias Road...
Nursing Home. His wife had died in Shanghai in approximately 1943.
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Further reading
- Historical Bibliography of the China Inland Mission