By Tan, Bonny written on 06-Jan-2011
National Library Board Singapore

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Dr Heinrich Ludwig Emil Luering (b. 9 December 1863, Delmenhorst, Oldenburg – d. 14 October 1937, Frankfurt, Germany) was a linguistically gifted Methodist pastor. He carried out missionary work for the Methodist Church in Borneo, Singapore and Perak, and is best known for establishing the Foo Chow community in Sitiawan.

Early life
Luering was the second son of Adolf H. L. Luering, a German Methodist pastor. From boyhood, he dreamed of serving as a missionary, a secret known only to his sister. He also showed a gift for languages, acquiring the basics of Sanskrit at an early age.

He graduated from the University of Strassburg with a doctorate in natural sciences and oriental languages. His thesis explored the “materia medica” of ancient Egyptians based on papyri text that had yet to be translated, and demonstrated his gift for both modern and ancient languages. He first worked at the Methodist Publishing House in Bremen before serving as a minister in Kiel between 1886 and 1889. After three years as a pastor, he received an invitation from Bishop James Thoburn to serve as a missionary in Singapore. He departed for Singapore on 16 September 1889, the first missionary from the German Episcopal Methodist Church.

Missionary work in Borneo
He arrived in Singapore in October 1889 but soon after was sent to Dutch West Borneo in 1890, the first attempt by the Methodists to go beyond the British colonies in the region. The following year, Luering turned to British North Borneo, where he began missionary work among the Dyaks, a tribal people well known as headhunters. He acquired fluency in Malay during his posting in Borneo. Due to growing needs in Singapore, however, he returned there in December 1891.

Missionary work in Singapore
In Singapore, Luering ran a German service at the newly established Methodist Church at Coleman Street. He also pastored the Straits Chinese at the Malay Church and helped raise $1,000 through friends in Germany for their new church building, the renovated Christian Institute. Between 1892 and 1899, he also headed the Telok Ayer Methodist Church.

Over the course of his career, which spanned a number of years and several countries, it was said that Luering could preach in 25 different languages. He spoke fluent English although with a German accent. In Singapore, his ministry was mainly among the Chinese and he picked up various Chinese dialects including Cantonese, Hakka, Foochow and Hokkien. He acquired Hokkien in Amoy after he was forced to take three months’ leave to recuperate from a bout of malaria. He retained his fluency in Malay, translating hymns into the language and often speaking it when those from Malaya visited him after his return to Germany.

He resided at Ann Siang Hill with his family, having married Violet Marie in 1892. Unfortunately, his work with the Chinese made him vulnerable to assault. He was attacked in November 1897 and threatened by a Chinese mob a second time soon after because of rumours that he had translated seditious placards for the Chinese Protectorate. Mrs Luering was so traumatised by the threats that she became seriously ill.

Missionary work in Perak
In 1900, he took over William E. Horeley’s pioneering work in Ipoh, where he established a church and several schools through the patronage of tin mining magnate Foo Choo Choon. Already conversant in Cantonese and Hokkien, Luering began a new ministry at Kampar and Teluk Anson. During an earlier visit in 1898, sponsored by the Mission to Kampar, he had baptised a Sengoi (Sakai) woman and acquired the Sengoi language, making him probably the first European to speak it.

Due to his fluency in several languages, the Perak government engaged him in 1903 to help recruit and resettle Chinese from Foochow, who were needed to develop the agricultural industry as a complement to the tin mining business. Luering brought a contingent of Chinese to the Malay Peninsula, where they settled in what is now Kampong Koh in Sitiawan. Although the poor soils did not allow the settlers to grow rice and vegetables successfully, Luering helped plant 20,000 rubber trees that later became the most significant crop in Perak. With the help of Rev Ling Ching Mi, Luering also set up a church and an Anglo-Chinese school. The community became the largest settlement of Methodist Chinese in the Malay Peninsula. The experimental relocation proved to be a success for both the government and the Methodist church in establishing a foreign community in Malaya and a church within it.

Other scholarly interests
Throughout his missionary service in Southeast Asia, Luering collected invaluable Malay publications, many of which are no longer in existence. Especially important are the Jawi publications bought from local printers. His collection of books can now be found at the Library of Southeast Asian Studies of Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany. Besides excelling in the theological and linguistic fields, Luering was also learned in botany and zoology.

Lecturing
Luering took his furlough in March 1905, visiting Europe over nine months and then the United States, where he lectured on missionary work in Malaya. Returning to Malaya in 1907, he became District Superintendent of Penang. He left his post on 31 August 1909 to become Professor of Theology at Martin Theological College, Frankfurt am Main, the only Methodist seminary in Central Europe at the time. He taught there for 24 years. After his retirement in 1933, he continued to lecture across continents until 1937, when he underwent a serious operation. He passed away soon after.

Family
Father: Adolf Luring (b. 1828 – d. 1896)
Mother: Katharina Elisabeth Riehmer
Wife: Violet Marie Beins (b. 1876, September 1 - d. 1949, October 9, m. 1892, September 8), eldest sister of W. M. Beins, chief clerk at the Supreme Court in Singapore.
Children: Five children

Variant names
Lüring (this is the official spelling of his surname), Leuring, Henry Leuring, Henry Luering

Published works
1894 : Puji-pujian Methodist, Singapore
1897 : A vocabulary of the Dusun language of Kimanis, in Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
1898 : A visit to a camp Sakai, in Malaysia Message   
1900 : A trip to the Malay Peninsula, in The Evangelist
1901 : The Sakai dialect of the Ulu Kampar, Perak, in Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
1903 : Notes on the formation of words in Malay and cognate languages, in Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
1903 : Sitiawan Chinese Agriculture colony, in Supplement to the Perak Government Gazette
1904 : Recruiting Chinese agriculturist, in Malay Mail



Author
Bonny Tan



References
An appreciation of Dr. Leuring [Microfilm: NL 304]. (1906, April 10). The Straits Times, p. 8.

Dedication service [Microfilm: NL 285]. (1901, February 26). The Straits Times, p. 3.

Doraisamy, T. R. (Ed.). (1988). Heralds of the Lord: Personalities in Methodism in Singapore and Malaysia (pp. 10-11). Singapore: Methodist Book Room.
(Call no.: RSING 287.0922 HER)

Dr. Luering assaulted [Microfilm: NL341]. (1897, November 5). The Straits Times, p. 2.

Dr. Luering’s colonists [Microfilm: NL 294]. (1903, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Lau, E. (2008). From mission to church: The evolution of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, 1885-1976 (pp. 20-21, 48, 36-37). Singapore: Genesis Books.
(Call no.: RSING 287.095957 LAU)

Oldham, W. F. (1907). Malaysia: Nature’s wonderland [Microfilm no.: NL7400] (pp. 45, 57-58). Cincinnati: Jenning and Graham.
(Call no.: RCLOS 287.1595 OLD-[RFL])

Shih, T. S. (2004). The Foochows of Sitiawan: A historical perspective. Perak: Persatuan Kutien Daerah Manjung.
(Call no.: RSEA 959.5004951 SHI)

Social and personal [Microfilm: NL 321]. (1909, August 24). The Straits Times, p. 6.

Southeast Asia libraries in Europe. Southeast Asia Library Group. Retrieved January 3, 2010 from http://www.sealg.org/libraries.doc

St. John’s Island [Microfilm: NL 293]. (1903, September 2). The Straits Times, p. 5.

St. John’s Island [Microfilm: NL 293]. (1903, September 8). The Straits Times, p. 5.

The late Dr. E. Leuring [Microfilm: NL 520]. (1924, July 25). The Straits Times, p. 10.

The Rev. Dr. Luering – Offered Professorship in Prussian College [Microfilm: NL 320]. (1909, June 29). The Straits Times, p. 7.

Untitled [Microfilm: NL 341]. (1897, November 6). The Straits Times, p. 2.

Untitled [Microfilm: NL 298]. (1905, March 9). The Straits Times, p. 8.

Volgt, Karl Heinz. Luring, Heinrich Ludwig Emil. Kirchenlexikon: Biographisch-Bibliographisches. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.kirchenlexikon.de/l/luering.shtml

Warnk, H. (2010). The collection of 19th century printed Malay books of Emil Luring. Sari – International Journal of the Malay World and Civilization, 28(1), pp. 99-128. Retrieved December 8, 2010 from http://www.sarionline.ukm.my/SARI%2028(1)/Sari%2028(1)%202010%205%20Warnk%5BFinal%5D.pdf
 
Well of salvation. (2006, July 20). Sitiawan Settlement Museum Blogspot. Retrieved January 5, 2010 from http://sitiawansettlementmuseum.blogspot.com/

Wesley Methodist Church, Ipoh. Retrieved January 3, 2010 from http://wmci.konghome.net/Our%20History.htm



The information in this article is valid as at 2010 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.