The Robert Morrison Papers and Library (马礼逊 档案 与 图书馆) found here comprises a digital collection drawn from the personal papers and private library of Robert Morison (1782-1834). The SOAS Archives and Special Collections hold a much larger collection in paper.
Robert Morrison was the first Protestant missionary to China. Born in 1782, Robert Morrison offered his services to the London Missionary Society in 1807 and was the pioneer Protestant missionary to China. He arrived at Guangzhou [Canton] on 7th September 1807. At the end of 1808 he became Translator to the East India Company’s Factory at Canton, and secured a legal basis for residence in Canton under the auspices of the Company.
1n 1813 he completed the translation into Chinese of the New Testament, the printing of which was finished early in 1814. In 1817, on the completion of his Anglo-Chinese Dictionary, the Senate of the University of Glasgow conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1818 the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca was established by his efforts. On 25th November 1819, the version of the entire Scriptures in Chinese, made by himself and Dr. Milne, was completed. Morrison baptized the first Protestant Chinese Christian, in Tsae-Ar-Ko, 1814, and in 1825 he ordained the first Chinese pastor, Leang A-fa. Dr. Robert Morrison died at Canton on 1st August 1834.
Morrison's Papers
Papers relating to Robert Morrison include a typescript transcript of Robert Morrison's manuscript "Domestic Memoir of Mrs. Morrison", written in 1824 as a memorial to his first wife Mary after her death, and including a letter of advice, also dated 1824, to his two eldest children, Mary Rebecca and John Robert. Morrison's chronology of his life and family (1782-1823) is also found among his papers, together with a genealogy of the Morrison family. The papers include notes on Robert and Mary Morrison's parents, memoir of his life with Mary, extracts of letters between the couple (1811-1821), with observations on domestic and other affairs, including long periods when Mary remained in England with the children, and account of Mary's death and notes on her tombstone. An obituary of Morrison's second wife Eliza in 1874 has also been collected.
Morrison's Library
Morrison's private physical library is approximately 15,000 volumes, comprising more than 1,000 titles and includes works acquired by Morrison while living in Canton [Guangzhou] and Macao [Macau], China between 1807 and 1823. The library was presented to University College London in 1837 and later transferred to SOAS Library in 1922. The library collection primarily comprises 17th and 18th century woodblock editions, and is representative of the publishing output of early and mid-Qing China (c.1750s-c.1820s). It covers a broad spectrum of subjects, including Chinese history, philosophy, law, medicine, popular beliefs and institution.
Morrison was not a connoisseur of fine books, but simply wanted to build up a library of books that would be useful for the study of Chinese language, literature, history, religion and culture. He therefore bought whatever books were available and affordable, with the result that the majority of books in his collection were the output of the contemporary commercial publishing industry. The Morrison Collection is thus very broad in content, encompassing almost all subject areas. Nevertheless, there are certain strengths and weaknesses in the collection. Morrison was particularly interested in understanding as much as possible about the native religions he had to contend with, and so not surprisingly the collection has numerous Buddhist and Daoist works, many with multiple copies. Like most missionaries, Morrison was also actively involved in medical work (he had opened a dispensary in Canton, run by a local doctor), and this is reflected in the exceptional collection of medical texts in the collection, which largely represent the contents of a medical library purchased by Morrison. Other areas of particular strength in the collection include vernacular fiction, literary tales and anecdotes, examination essays, and letters.
Paucity of individual editions in areas such as early philosophy and pre-Qing prose and poetry is made up for by an impressive number of collected editions of texts, including collected editions of the "Thirteen Classics", the "Seventeen Histories", the "Ten Philosophers", as well as ten general collections of texts covering some 1,115 titles in 808 fascicles. The collection also boasts a large number of mostly voluminous reference works (together comprising some 1,279 fascicles) compiled under the auspices of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors.
In chronological terms, the collection is highly representative of the early and mid-Qing publishing output. In particular there is a concentration of books printed during the Qianlong (1736-1795) and Jiaqing (1796-1820) periods. In addition to the printed works which comprise the vast majority of the Morrison Collection, the collection includes eleven manuscript items, nine of which are not known from printed editions. Of these the most important is a 1549 transcription of ten of a set of thirteen vocabulary lists for foreign languages that are believed to have been compiled by the Interpreters Institute between about 1492 and 1549 (MS 48363).
For more information, see:
The Robert Morrison Papers and Library (马礼逊 档案 与 图书馆) found here comprises a digital collection drawn from the personal papers and private library of Robert Morison (1782-1834). The SOAS Archives and Special Collections hold a much larger collection in paper.
Robert Morrison was the first Protestant missionary to China. Born in 1782, Robert Morrison offered his services to the London Missionary Society in 1807 and was the pioneer Protestant missionary to China. He arrived at Guangzhou [Canton] on 7th September 1807. At the end of 1808 he became Translator to the East India Company’s Factory at Canton, and secured a legal basis for residence in Canton under the auspices of the Company.
1n 1813 he completed the translation into Chinese of the New Testament, the printing of which was finished early in 1814. In 1817, on the completion of his Anglo-Chinese Dictionary, the Senate of the University of Glasgow conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1818 the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca was established by his efforts. On 25th November 1819, the version of the entire Scriptures in Chinese, made by himself and Dr. Milne, was completed. Morrison baptized the first Protestant Chinese Christian, in Tsae-Ar-Ko, 1814, and in 1825 he ordained the first Chinese pastor, Leang A-fa. Dr. Robert Morrison died at Canton on 1st August 1834.
Morrison's Papers
Papers relating to Robert Morrison include a typescript transcript of Robert Morrison's manuscript "Domestic Memoir of Mrs. Morrison", written in 1824 as a memorial to his first wife Mary after her death, and including a letter of advice, also dated 1824, to his two eldest children, Mary Rebecca and John Robert. Morrison's chronology of his life and family (1782-1823) is also found among his papers, together with a genealogy of the Morrison family. The papers include notes on Robert and Mary Morrison's parents, memoir of his life with Mary, extracts of letters between the couple (1811-1821), with observations on domestic and other affairs, including long periods when Mary remained in England with the children, and account of Mary's death and notes on her tombstone. An obituary of Morrison's second wife Eliza in 1874 has also been collected.
Morrison's Library
Morrison's private physical library is approximately 15,000 volumes, comprising more than 1,000 titles and includes works acquired by Morrison while living in Canton [Guangzhou] and Macao [Macau], China between 1807 and 1823. The library was presented to University College London in 1837 and later transferred to SOAS Library in 1922. The library collection primarily comprises 17th and 18th century woodblock editions, and is representative of the publishing output of early and mid-Qing China (c.1750s-c.1820s). It covers a broad spectrum of subjects, including Chinese history, philosophy, law, medicine, popular beliefs and institution.
Morrison was not a connoisseur of fine books, but simply wanted to build up a library of books that would be useful for the study of Chinese language, literature, history, religion and culture. He therefore bought whatever books were available and affordable, with the result that the majority of books in his collection were the output of the contemporary commercial publishing industry. The Morrison Collection is thus very broad in content, encompassing almost all subject areas. Nevertheless, there are certain strengths and weaknesses in the collection. Morrison was particularly interested in understanding as much as possible about the native religions he had to contend with, and so not surprisingly the collection has numerous Buddhist and Daoist works, many with multiple copies. Like most missionaries, Morrison was also actively involved in medical work (he had opened a dispensary in Canton, run by a local doctor), and this is reflected in the exceptional collection of medical texts in the collection, which largely represent the contents of a medical library purchased by Morrison. Other areas of particular strength in the collection include vernacular fiction, literary tales and anecdotes, examination essays, and letters.
Paucity of individual editions in areas such as early philosophy and pre-Qing prose and poetry is made up for by an impressive number of collected editions of texts, including collected editions of the "Thirteen Classics", the "Seventeen Histories", the "Ten Philosophers", as well as ten general collections of texts covering some 1,115 titles in 808 fascicles. The collection also boasts a large number of mostly voluminous reference works (together comprising some 1,279 fascicles) compiled under the auspices of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors.
In chronological terms, the collection is highly representative of the early and mid-Qing publishing output. In particular there is a concentration of books printed during the Qianlong (1736-1795) and Jiaqing (1796-1820) periods. In addition to the printed works which comprise the vast majority of the Morrison Collection, the collection includes eleven manuscript items, nine of which are not known from printed editions. Of these the most important is a 1549 transcription of ten of a set of thirteen vocabulary lists for foreign languages that are believed to have been compiled by the Interpreters Institute between about 1492 and 1549 (MS 48363).
For more information, see: