Legge family papers

Papers, 1859-1897, of James and Hannah Legge, consisting primarily of letters written by James and Hannah Legge to their family, written between October 1859 and June 1897. These include those written by Hannah Legge from Hong Kong, 1859-1865, and those written by James Legge to his step-daughter Ma...

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Date(s) of creation: 1859-1897
Level: Collection
Format: Archive           

Reference number: MS 380476
Summary: Papers, 1859-1897, of James and Hannah Legge, consisting primarily of letters written by James and Hannah Legge to their family, written between October 1859 and June 1897. These include those written by Hannah Legge from Hong Kong, 1859-1865, and those written by James Legge to his step-daughter Marian, 1866-1897 (lacking 1881-1889). Hannah Legge's letters give a vivid description of life in Hong Kong. She describes the Taiping Rebels, attitudes towards missionaries, and political and social events, in addition to giving graphic accounts of her trips to Chinese towns and provinces. His letters describe his life during his final residence in Hong Kong and upon his return to England as a University Professor. Also included in the collection are photocopied book extracts detailing missionary work in China and a pamphlet about Wang T'Ao, a scholar who helped Dr Legge in the translation of Chinese literature.
Main author: Legge; James (1815-1897); missionary and sinologist
Other authors: Legge; Hannah (d 1881); née Johnson; formerly Hannah Willetts; missionary
Extent: 1 box
Admin history: James Legge was born on 20 December 1814 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He studied at Kings College and the University of Aberdeen, and at Highbury College. He was ordained on 25 April 1839 at Trevor Chapel, Brompton. On 30 April 1839, he married Mary Isabella Morison (1816-1852). He was appointed to the London Missionary Society (LMS) in 1839, and was posted to China. He arrived at Malacca on 10 January 1840, where he served as Head of the Anglo Chinese Mission in Malacca from 1840 to 1843. In 1842, he received the diploma of D.D. from the Univers ... View more
Acquisition: Donated in 1987.
Arrangement: The letters are arranged in two main groups: letters from Hannah Legge, 1859-1865, and letters from James Legge, 1866-1897. Additional material including documents relating to Dr. Legge, Chinese missions and Chinese grammar is arranged in chronological order.
Access status: Open
User restrictions: For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance
Language: English
Chinese
Finding aids: Unpublished handlist.
Related material: The School of Oriental and African Studies also holds correspondence and papers of James Legge among the records of the London Missionary Society (Ref: CWM/LMS). There is a journal of Legges, dated 1846-47 and papers concerning his Professorship at Oxford in the Bodleian Library.
Format: Archive           
Subjects:
Access Points - Person, Corporate & Family Names:
Name Code Person, Corporate or Family Name Type of Entity
GB/SOASNAF/P521 Legge; Hannah (d 1881); n Person
GB/NNAF/P138563 Legge; James (1815-1897); missionary and sinologist Person
GB/SOASNAF/F14 Legge; family; missionaries Family
GB/SOASNAF/P526 Wang; Tao (1828-1897); translator and scholar Person
GB/SOASNAF/P495 Willetts; Marian (fl 1866-1897); step-daughter of James Legge Person
GB/NNAF/C54634 London Missionary Society Corporate
GB/SOASNAF/C186 Union Chapel; Hong Kong Corporate
Access Points - Places:
Place Code Place Name
1814991 China
7729894 Eastern Asia
1819730 Hong Kong
1821275 Macao
1733045 Malaysia
1880251 Singapore