Hunter Corbett - China Mission

China Mission

After a six-month voyage around the Cape of Good Hope and shipwreck off the China coast, they finally arrived at Yantai (Chefoo) in the middle of winter, 1863. After several years in Dengzhou (P'eng-lai, or Tengchow), they established a permanent residence at Yantai and began evangelistic work. Along with colleagues Calvin Wilson Mateer and John Neius, Corbett developed the methodology that would plant the gospel in the soil of northern China and make Shandong the strongest Presbyterian mission in China. Wide itineration throughout the countryside, rather than concentrated efforts in the cities, was the main feature of the Shandong plan. Corbett was described as an "Indefatigable Itinerator," and he traveled over the whole province by horse, mule cart, and foot. Added to his travel difficulties were incidents in which he was reviled and stoned. In 1886 Washington and Jefferson College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

Corbett believed in using unconventional methods. He rented a theater and converted the back rooms into a museum stocked with objects of interest from around the world. After a service, the museum doors would be opened. In 1900, about 72,000 people listened to his preaching and visited the museum. A crowning achievement was the organization and development of Shandong Presbytery. By the year of Corbett's death, there were 343 organized churches and chapels throughout the province, with more than 15,000 communicant members. In 1906 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly, the central governing body of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America or reformed church.

Hunter Corbett ministered in China for 56 years. He died in Yantai, China on 7 January 1920.