Papers of James Legge

This material is held atBodleian Library, University of Oxford

  • Reference
    • GB 161 MSS. Eng. misc. c. 863-5, d. 1252-65, e. 1377-81
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1873-1951
  • Language of Material
    • English, and Chinese.
  • Physical Description
    • 22 shelfmarks

Scope and Content

The collection consists of:

  • Papers relating to his role as Professor of Chinese, including lectures delivered, notebooks, translations, drafts of a Chinese-English phrase book and dictionary
  • Papers of Legge and his family, consisting of a copy of a 20th-century journal kept by Hannah Mary Johnston before her marriage to Legge, autobiographical notes by Legge, and miscellaneous Legge family papers.

Administrative / Biographical History

James Legge (1815-1897) was a missionary and sinologist. He was the first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University, 1876-97. Details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Access Information

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/specialcollections).

Acquisition Information

The papers were given to the Library in 1983.

Note

Collection level description created by Emily Tarrant, Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts.

Other Finding Aids

A full description is available in the Library.

Corporate Names

University of Oxford

Geographical Names

China, History