1900 - Alexander Hoddle

July 9, 1900

Taiyuan, Shanxi

Alexander Hoddle.

Alexander Hoddle was the fourth son of William Hoddle, a leading officer of the Bank of England. For a short time Alexander also worked for the bank, before he left it all behind and immigrated to Canada, where he came into contact with a group of Quaker Christians. Their influence caused Hoddle to think beyond his own desires, and to fulfil the needs of others. After returning to England, Hoddle settled in Newcastle and became the Secretary of the local YMCA. Much of his work involved sharing the gospel with sailors, and he became particularly burdened for the plight of the Chinese sailors who visited the port.

After hearing a missionary plead the case for more labourers in China, Hoddle joined the China Inland Mission in 1887. After serving for a time in Hebei Province, Hoddle resigned from the CIM and became an independent missionary. He put all his energy into the work at Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, where he spent his days preaching and teaching, as well as managing the only Christian bookshop in the city. Having grown up in luxury, Hoddle was reduced to teaching English to Chinese students in order to provide for his daily needs. One report said of him, “He was truly a self-denying man, giving himself heart and soul to Christ for the salvation of the Chinese, many of whom were much attached to him.”[1]

At the start of 1900 a well-known missionary invited Hoddle to move to Tianjin where a well-paid teaching job awaited him. Although this appointment would have eased his financial burdens, after prayer Hoddle replied, “I cannot see my way to accept it. God has hitherto so graciously provided for my needs, that, so far as I can see, He wants me to remain here in Taiyuan for the present at least.”[2] A few months later Hoddle travelled to the coast, where friends urged him to return home to England for a rest. He had spent ten years in China without a break. Hoddle first decided to spend the summer in Shanxi, and arrived back in Taiyuan at the end of May.

On July 9th Alexander Hoddle was one of 46 missionaries and their children remorselessly butchered by the Boxers at Taiyuan. He finally entered into the rest that his friends desired, safe in a place with no more tears or suffering.