Griffith John

Unlikely to be known to many, a statue of a Welshman can be found standing outside of one of China's largest hospitals. However, his story is an extraordinary one that began in Swansea, led him up the Yangtze River, and resulted in him contributing to the establishment of 20 hospitals and schools in the country.

It's hard to imagine that Griffith John, born in December 1831, into a destitute family of copper workers in Swansea's Greenhill area, could have envisioned such a future. The living conditions of many in "Copperopolis" were dire, as the metalworking industry thrived, workers lived in substandard housing with inadequate sanitation.

John's mother died of cholera when he was only eight months old, and with no formal education available, he learned to read at his father's church, the Ebenezer Chapel in Swansea. It may have seemed inevitable for him to follow in his father's footsteps and work in the copper industry, but Griffith John's life took a completely different path.

As a young teenager, he began preaching at chapels in the Swansea and Neath valleys, earning the moniker of "boy preacher" and gaining local fame.

At the age of 17, his father passed away during a cholera outbreak that ravaged Swansea. In 1850, the young man was accepted into Brecon Memorial College, where he attended a talk by a visiting missionary, David Griffiths, who shared his experiences working in Madagascar. The presentation proved to be life-changing for the teenager.

The college principal recommended John to the London Missionary Society, describing him as an endearing and sociable young man who possessed remarkable intellectual abilities, far above average. He was also regarded as the most popular preacher in Welsh that the principal had ever heard.

In 1855, after undergoing two years of training with the society in London, John wedded Margaret Griffiths, the daughter of the missionary who had spoken in Brecon when John was still a student. After being ordained at Ebenezer Chapel, he and his wife embarked on a journey to Shanghai.

Over the course of six decades, the Welshman only left China three times. After traveling up the Yangtze River, Griffiths settled in Hankow (now a part of Wuhan), a metropolis housing 11 million inhabitants. However, during his time in China, he traveled thousands of miles across the vast expanse of the country, preaching the Bible in various local Chinese dialects.

Remarkably, he was able to master the nuances of the different languages and translated scriptures into them. A significant portion of his time was dedicated to establishing schools and clinics, perhaps drawing from his own childhood experiences.

John was also an outspoken opponent of the British government's complicity in the illegal opium trade. In the early 1800s, British traders shipped large quantities of opium from India to China, resulting in substantial profits for the merchants and millions of addicts in China. In the 1840s and 50s, Britain waged two wars with Chinese authorities to safeguard its drug-peddling interests. After witnessing first hand the devastation opium addiction inflicted on the Chinese, John founded clinics to help individuals overcome addiction, and he became a founding member of the Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Anti-Opium Societies.

John's wife fell ill and in 1870, they left China for a rare trip to Britain. Sadly, she died during their return voyage in Singapore in 1873. The following year, John married Jeanette Jenkins, a fellow missionary's widow. Unfortunately, his second wife also passed away in 1885. Despite these tragedies, John remained in China and continued his work, helping to establish 20 hospitals and schools in the country by the turn of the century.

As his health deteriorated, John returned to Britain in January 1912. He passed away in London in July of that year. Following a funeral attended by more than 2,000 individuals at Ebenezer Chapel, John's body was laid to rest at Bethel Chapel in Sketty.

Griffith John's grave in the grounds of Bethel Chapel on Carnglas Road

Decades after he arrived in China, the connection between Swansea and Wuhan has been officially recognized. In 2012, Swansea University's Medical School started collaborating with Wuhan Union Hospital. Four years later, Swansea Council and its Chinese counterpart signed an agreement to work together in areas such as education, culture, transport, sports, and the economy. Councillor Robert Francis-Davies acknowledged Griffith John as one of Swansea's most celebrated individuals.

Despite this, there are few tangible reminders of John's legacy in his hometown, apart from a street and residential buildings bearing his name near Dyfatty traffic lights, and a blue plaque at Ebenezer Chapel, where his spiritual journey began. Nevertheless, his statue outside one of China's largest hospitals, Wuhan's Union Hospital, which boasts more than 5,000 beds, serves as a constant reminder of his invaluable contributions to the country.

Taken from The Cambria Daily Leader, 16th July 1914