James Mellon Menzies

James Mellon Menzies (明義士) (23 February 1885 – 16 March 1957) was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary, archaeologist, professor, and author. He was the first Western scholar to study Shang dynasty Oracle bone script, the earliest form of Chinese writing. In the years following his death, he was considered a leading authority on the Shang dynasty.

Early life and education Menzies was born in Clinton, Huron County, Ontario, Canada, on 23 February 1885, to David Redpath Menzies and his wife, Jane McGee, a family of Presbyterian farmers. His grandparents, Robert Menzies and Catherine Redpath, emigrated from Chapel Hill, Logie Almond, Perthshire, Scotland in 1832. He attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a degree of civil engineering in 1907. He was a land surveyor before joining the ministry.

Travels and career

Henan 1914–1917 Menzies moved to Anyang, Henan Province in 1914. He used his engineering skills to build wells and homes for locals. Several boys living on the bend of the Huan River found broken pieces of oracle bone, which led Menzies to believe Anyang held the site of the Shang capital, in opposition to scholars like Frank H. Chalfant who suggested Weihui as the site. The People's Republic of China had denounced him and his work at Cheeloo University as cultural imperialism for political purposes. These combined with his wife Annie's deteriorating condition due to cancer and a broken hip to Menzies's stress. He suffered a second heart attack and died on 16 March 1957.

Personal life Menzies was married to Annie Belle Sedgwick, a church nurse who was sent to Kaifeng, Henan province, China in 1910. They married in the local Church in 23 February 1911. Menzies's son Arthur Menzies, who was born in China, served as a Canadian diplomat, with posts in Australia, Belgium, China, Cuba, Japan, and Malaysia.

James Menzies' Oracle Bone Collection

Menzies published one of the first books on oracle bone script Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Yin Ruins There is a museum dedicated to James Menzies in Anyang and conferences about his studies are held across China. An extinct species of water buffalo whose antlers were used in oracle bones was excavated in Anyang and given the scientific name Elaphurus menziesanus in his honour.