Johan Alfred Rinell

Johan Alfred Rinell (originally Johansson) born November 27, 1866, in the Rinna parish in Östergötland, Sweden and died July 3, 1941, in Qingdao (Tsingtao), China was a Swedish missionary to China sent by the Baptist Union of Sweden (Svenska Baptistsamfundet). In China his mission work included philanthropy, disaster relief, postal work, and education.[1]

Johan Alfred Rinell
circa 1893
BornNovember 27, 1866
Östergötland, Sweden
DiedJuly 3, 1941(1941-07-03) (aged 74)
Qingdao (Tsingtao), China
Resting placeInternational Cemetery Qingdao (destroyed in 1966 during China's Cultural Revolution)
EducationBethel Seminary (Stockholm)(Swedish: Betelseminariet)
Occupation(s)Missionary, author, postmaster
Known forPhilanthropy

Early days in Sweden and Norway

Johan Alfred, as he was known, graduated from Stockholm's Bethel Seminary in 1891. During his time at seminary Rinell was encouraged toward mission work by the British missionary John Hudson Taylor who was lecturing at the seminary. After a short period of time as a pastor in Fredrikshald in Norway, where Rinell married the Hedvig Jansson, the couple sailed for China in 1893 and arrived in China in 1894.[2]

Journey to China

On Thursday, November 9, 1893, Johan Alfred and Hedvig set sail on the ship Torsten from Göteborg, Sweden, bound for London, England. For three and a half months they studied English, which would be more useful than Swedish during their travels and in their future in China.

On Friday, March 2, they made their way to the Port of Tilbury where their ship, the Victoria, was docked.

The ship lifted anchor at 3:30 pm on a beautiful sunny day and sailed toward the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. On board were about 200 people including some other missionaries. Over the course of several weeks they sailed by way of Gibraltar, Malta, Brindisi, Egypt, Aden, Columbo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and ended their journey on Friday, April 22 at the port town of Chefoo. Their ocean travel by sea with a few short stops in between lasted 52 days (one month and 21 days).

Early days in China

From Chefoo the Rinells traveled 300 kilometers southeast to Kiaochow. The women each rode a "Shen-tse", a large basket suspended by a mule in front and one behind. Each of the men rode a baggage-laden mule or walked to give the mules a break.

They settled in the town of Jiaozhou (simplified Chinese: 胶州; traditional Chinese: 膠州; pinyin: Jiāozhōu) in Shandong province where they performed mission-related work for over 55 years.

Johan Alfred and Hedvig had been in China only five months when together with other missionaries fled Jiaozhou due to the war between China and Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Their lives were threatened enroute by villagers who thought these foreigners were invading Japanese.

After arriving at the coast they were rescued by the American gunboat USS Charleston and brought to the port town of Chefoo and safety.

They fled Jiaozhou again in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. While fleeing the German custom house in Mato in which they were staying was set on fire. No one was hurt during their flight and all made it to Chefoo safely. Though they and their party escaped injury it was not the same for many others. During the Boxer Rebellion 136 Protestant missionaries including 53 children were killed, 2,000 Chinese Protestants, 47 Catholic priests and nuns, 30,000 Chinese Catholics, and 200 to 400 Russian Orthodox Christians were estimated to have been killed. Of the approximately 230 Westerners killed during the Boxer Rebellion, about 56 were Swedish men, women and children, about a quarter of the Westerners who died.[3] [4]

Last days

Johan Alfred died in Qingdao and was buried in the International Cemetery of that city in 1941. A stone memorial was raised by the Chinese Christians of Jiaozhou commemorating his work. The International Cemetery was destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Unveiling of Memorial to Johan Alfred Rinell in Jiaozhou, China, 1941

Written works

Books

  • Rinell, Johan Alfred and Johan H. Swordson. Boxare-upproret och förföljelserna mot de kristna i Kina 1900–1901 [Boxer Rebellion and the persecution of Christians in China 1900–1901]. Stockholm, 1902. SELIBR 8235304
  • Rinell, Johan Alfred. Missionsproblemet: ett maningsord till det Svenska baptist samfundet [The Missions Problem: a word of advice to the Swedish Baptist community]. Östersund: Missionsbokhandeln, 1910. SELIBR 1616936
  • Rinell, Johan Alfred.Missionsuppdraget och vi [The Mission Mandate and Us]. Stockholm: B.-M:s bokförlag, 1932. SELIBR 1366888
  • Rinell, Johan Alfred. De svenska baptisternas Kinamission åren 1890–1905 [The Swedish Baptists' China mission 1890–1905]. Stockholm: Westerberg, 1906. SELIBR 1616935
  • Rinell, Johan Alfred. Svenska baptistmissionen i Kina – ett 40-årsminne [Swedish baptist mission in China – a 40-year remembrance]. Stockholm B.-M:s Bokförlags A.-B, 1931. SELIBR 8219154

Articles

  • Rinell, Johan Alfred and Johan H. Swordson. Missionsbilder Från Kina [Mission pictures from China]. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1906.
  • Rinell, Johan Alfred. “T'ai-shan — Kinas heligaste berg” [China's most holy mountain]. Betlehem: Kristlic Kalender för 1929, Published in 1928, pages 45–49. Stockholm: B.M:s Bokförlags A.-B.
  • Rinell Johan Alfred. "Upplevelser och minnen från ett 43-årigt arbete som kinamissionär" [Experiences and memories from a 43-year work as a missionary to China]. Betlehem: Kristlic Kalender för 1929. Stockholm: Ernst Westerbergs Boktryckeri A.-B.

References
  1. Hermansson, A. R. (2019). East of the mountains: Fifty-five years with bible and school bag in China. (M. L. Jonell, Trans.). Watermark Publishers. ISBN 978-1-938984-26-6, page 19. [Note: the book is also published in Swedish under the title of Öster om bergen: Femtiofem år med Bibel och skolväska i Kina. Ekerö, Sverige: Narin förlag. ISBN 978-91-983699-5-3].
  2. Jakobsson Byström, Jakob och Fredrik Emanuel Hedvall (1926). ' 'Betelseminariet 1866-1926; porträtt och kortfattade biografiska uppgifter över lärare och elever samt ledamöter av styrelseutskottet, utg. till sextioårsjubileet den 7 juni 1926 [Bethel Seminary 1866-1926: portraits and brief biographical information about teachers and students and members of the board committee, published for the sixtieth anniversary on 7 June 1926] (PDF) (in Swedish), page 70.
  3. Nyberg, K. (n.d.). The Boxer Rebellion and the Chinese Swedes. The shifts of time. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://kennethnyberg.org/boxarupproret-och-kinasvenskarna/
  4. See also: Rinell, Johan Alfred and Johan H. Swordson. Boxare-upproret och förföljelserna mot de kristna i Kina 1900–1901 [Boxer Rebellion and the persecution of Christians in China 1900–1901]. Stockholm: Baptistmissionens Förlagsexpedition, 1902.


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