Thomas Watters (9 February 1840 – 10 January 1901) was anOriental scholar.

Thomas Watters was born on 9 February 1840 inNewtownards, inCounty Down, Ireland. He washome schooled by his father, the Rev. Thomas Watters, thePresbyterian Minister in Newtownards. He entered Queen's College, Belfast in 1857 and graduated with a B.A. from Queen's University in 1861 and an M.A. in 1861.^[1][2]

He was appointed to a post in the Consular Service of China in 1863 going first toBeijing. He was then posted in 1887-1888 as Acting Consul General in Korea, inGuangzhou 1891-1893 and then until April, 1895, Consul inFuzhou, when failing health forced him to retire after 32 years' service in the Far East.^[3][4]

• A Guide to the Tablets in a Temple of Confucius, by T. Watters, H. M.'s Consul for Wuhu. Shanghai, China: - Printed at the American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1879, in-8, pp. xx-259.
• Lao-Tzû 老子. A Study inChinese Philosophy, by T. Watters, M. A.. Hong Kong: Printed at the "China Mail" Office, 1870, in-8, pp. 114 without the preface. A Large part of this work appeared previously inThe Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, Vol. I, pp. 31, 57, 82, 106, 128, 164, 209. In his brochure, M. Watters has added two chapters (VIII, Lao Tzû, and Confucius; IX, Conclusion).
• "Buddhism in China." By T. Watters. (Chinese Recorder, II, pp. 16, 38-43, 64-8, 81-8, 117, 145-150.)
• "Notes on the "Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching, a Buddhist Sutra in Chinese", by T. Watters. (Journal North-China Br. B. As. Soc., N. S., No. IX, 1874, Art. IV, p. 89.)
• "Fa-Hsien and his English Translators." T. Watters.China Review. 1879-1880. In several sections.
• "The A-mi-t'ê ching." (1882). By T. Watters. (China Review, X, pp. 225–240.)
• TheTa-yun-lun-ch'ing-yü-ching. (1882) 大雲輪请雨經 By T. Watters. (China Review, X, pp. 384–395).
• "The Eighteen Lohan of Chinese Buddhist Temples." By T. Watters. (Jour. Roy. As. Soc., April 1898, pp. 329–347).
• "Kapilavastu in the Buddhist Books." By T. Watters. (Ibid., July 1898, pp. 533–571).
• "Notes on Chinese Mahometan Literature." By T. Watters. (China Review, I, pp. 195–199.)
• "The Life and Works of Han Yü or Han Wên-kung. By T. Watters. (Journal N. C. Br. R. As. Soc., for 1871 and 1872, N. S., VII, pp. 165-181).
• TAO 道: “An Essay on a Word." By T. Watters. (Chinese Recorder, IV, pp. 1–4, 33-5, 100-2).
• "Essays on the Chinese Language." By T. Watters. (China Review, IV, 1889, pp. 207–212, 271-8, 335-343. - V, pp. 9–13, 75-83, 145-152, 208-216.)
• "Chinese Notions about Pigeons and Doves." By T. Watters. (Journ. N. C. Br. R. As. Soc., IV, Dec. 1867, pp. 225 et seq.)
• "Chinese Fox-Myths." By T. Watters. (Journ. N. C. Br. R. As. Soc., N. S., VIII, 1873, pp. 45 et seq.)
• Stories of Everyday Life in Modern China. Told by (Chinese and Done into English by T. Watters, late H. M. Consul at Foochow. London, David Nutt, 1896.
• On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India. Thomas Watters (1904–05) London,Royal Asiatic Society.^[5] Reprint, Delhi,Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.

• Bushell, S W. 'Thomas Watters - Obituary'.Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1901), republished in 'On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (629-645 AD)'. Published 1904 and 1905, 2 vols.
• Cordier, Henri. "Thomas Watters - Necrologie".Toung Pao, Serie II, Vol II (1901), pp 92–3.
• Watters, Thomas (1904–05).On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India. London,Royal Asiatic Society. Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.

Media related toThomas Watters at Wikimedia Commons

• Works by or about Thomas Watters at theInternet Archive

• 1840 births
• 1901 deaths
• English religious writers
• People from Newtownards
• Chinese–English translators
• 19th-century translators
• Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Korea
• British expatriates in China

• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Articles with Internet Archive links