Törnquist first arrived in Eastern Turkestan on 24 September 1904 and married Ellen Rosén on 15 May 1906. Their daughter, Ester Karin, died age 1, in Kashgar on 6 January 1911.
Törnquist was the longest serving missionary of the Swedish Missionary Society in Chinese Turkestan. For long periods he was the only one in the field working specifically among the Chinese. The Xinjiang missionaries from Sweden who worked among Chinese weren't very many. Most of them worked among the Uyghurs. Albert Andersson and his wife worked among the Chinese from 1903 to 1912, Carl Persson in the 1920s, Ellen Törnquist from 1905 to 1923, Sigrid Larsson during the late 1920s. John Törnquist served from 1904 to 1937.
In 1924 John Törnquist wrote the following to Mr. Nyren, the Mission Director: "Of the 35 missionaries that have been working here so far, only three men and one woman have been fluent in the Chinese language. Out of the 22 years that the Chinese Mission has been in existence, I have been the only missionary to the Chinese for ten years."
Missionary life was not easy, but Törnquist was completely devoted to serving God, he is quoted as saying in 1919 to a group of young people in Sweden: "If I were to start my life all over again, I would have no greater ambition than to be a missionary."
And in 1935, two years before his death, he writes in his diary on the way out to East Turkestan: "If God the Father suddenly spoke to me in a human voice and said, 'You have 30 years to live on earth, provided you stay in Europe. If, however, you prefer to go to Asia, you will only have ten years', I would then gladly accept the ten years and continue on my journey to the field."
Tornquist also wrote many pieces of poetry. He documented his work in photography, some of that can be found at Etnografiska museet in Sweden.[1] There are also video recordings from his time in East Turkestan at Lund university.[2]
Bibliographyedit
John Törnquist, Från Kaschgar till Jerusalem, Svenska Missionsförbundets, Förlag, Stokcholm.
John Törnquist, Genom vildmarker och sagoländer , Stockholm, 1928
John Törnquist, Kashgar, Stockholm: Svenska Missionsförbundets Förlag, 1926
John Törnquist, Missionen i Ostturkestan
Referencesedit
^"Collections Online - Törnquist". National Museums of World Culture, Sweden. 2019-08-01.
^"Films recorded by Törnquist, East Turkestan in the 1930s". ALVIN digital platform. 2019-08-01.
External linksedit
(English Translation of select chapters of Mission och revolution i Centralasien)
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john, törnquist, november, 1876, 1937, swedish, missionary, served, with, swedish, missionary, society, chinese, turkestan, present, xinjiang, missionary, east, turkestanborn17, november, 1876lima, parish, kopparberg, county, swedendied1937spouseellen, törnqui. John Tornquist 17 November 1876 1937 was a Swedish missionary He served with the Swedish Missionary Society in Chinese Turkestan present day Xinjiang John TornquistMissionary to East TurkestanBorn17 November 1876Lima Parish Kopparberg County SwedenDied1937SpouseEllen Tornquist nee Rosen Tornquist first arrived in Eastern Turkestan on 24 September 1904 and married Ellen Rosen on 15 May 1906 Their daughter Ester Karin died age 1 in Kashgar on 6 January 1911 Tornquist was the longest serving missionary of the Swedish Missionary Society in Chinese Turkestan For long periods he was the only one in the field working specifically among the Chinese The Xinjiang missionaries from Sweden who worked among Chinese weren t very many Most of them worked among the Uyghurs Albert Andersson and his wife worked among the Chinese from 1903 to 1912 Carl Persson in the 1920s Ellen Tornquist from 1905 to 1923 Sigrid Larsson during the late 1920s John Tornquist served from 1904 to 1937 In 1924 John Tornquist wrote the following to Mr Nyren the Mission Director Of the 35 missionaries that have been working here so far only three men and one woman have been fluent in the Chinese language Out of the 22 years that the Chinese Mission has been in existence I have been the only missionary to the Chinese for ten years Missionary life was not easy but Tornquist was completely devoted to serving God he is quoted as saying in 1919 to a group of young people in Sweden If I were to start my life all over again I would have no greater ambition than to be a missionary And in 1935 two years before his death he writes in his diary on the way out to East Turkestan If God the Father suddenly spoke to me in a human voice and said You have 30 years to live on earth provided you stay in Europe If however you prefer to go to Asia you will only have ten years I would then gladly accept the ten years and continue on my journey to the field Tornquist also wrote many pieces of poetry He documented his work in photography some of that can be found at Etnografiska museet in Sweden 1 There are also video recordings from his time in East Turkestan at Lund university 2 Bibliography editJohn Tornquist Fran Kaschgar till Jerusalem Svenska Missionsforbundets Forlag Stokcholm John Tornquist Genom vildmarker och sagolander Stockholm 1928 John Tornquist Kashgar Stockholm Svenska Missionsforbundets Forlag 1926 John Tornquist Missionen i OstturkestanReferences edit Collections Online Tornquist National Museums of World Culture Sweden 2019 08 01 Films recorded by Tornquist East Turkestan in the 1930s ALVIN digital platform 2019 08 01 External links editMission and Change in Eastern Turkestan English Translation of select chapters of Mission och revolution i Centralasien nbsp This biographical article about person in connection with Christianity is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp nbsp This Swedish biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Tornquist amp oldid 1079601964, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
