Scope and content
Papers, 1902-1998, of the Parsons family, comprising three volumes of typescript copies
of letters (1902-1926) written by the Rev and Mrs Parsons from Yunnan, China, the
subjects including family matters and mission activities, descriptions of local people
and culture, and references to the Miao language; unpublished Hua Miao-English dictionary
and phrase book written by P Kenneth and R Keith Parsons, 1998; publications using
'Reformed' Pollard script, 1951-1994, including text books and school primer (some
photocopies), collected by them.
Record creators history
The Reverend Harry Parsons was born on 26 November 1878 in Barnstable and entered
the Ministry of the Bible Christian Church in 1899. He served in China from 1902 to
1926. He married Edith Bryant on 24 April 1906 in Yunnanfu. In 1907 the Bible Christian
Church united with other sections of Methodism to form the United Methodist Church.
He died on 8 July 1952.
Edith Annie Kate Bryant was born on 13 December 1876 near Tiverton. She and Harry
Parsons were engaged in 1899 and the Bible Christian Church subsequently accepted
her as a lay missionary. She sailed for China in 1904. The Parsons had three children,
Elsie, born in Chaotung [Zhaotong] in 1910 and the twins, (Richard) Keith and (Philip)
Kenneth, born in Chaotung [Zhaotong] on 17 September 1916.
Both Philip Kenneth Parsons and Richard Keith Parsons became ordained ministers of
the Methodist Church, who served at home and overseas. Philip Kenneth served in the
Hupeh Central China District, 1940-1946, South West China District, 1946-1950, and
later in Kenya, 1953-1965. Richard Keith served in Hupeh District, China, 1942-1950,
and later as Educational Secretary, United Christian Council, Sierra Leone District,
1953-1958.
From c1904, the Reverend and Mrs Parsons and Reverend Samuel Pollard (also a missionary
in Yunnan with the United Methodist Church) went to live among the Hua Miao tribe
at Shimenkan, 25 miles east of Chaotung [Zhaotong]. They learnt the Hua Miao language
and used a simple phonetic script to reduce it to writing. Philip Kenneth and Richard
Keith Parsons continued this work with the Hua Miao language. In 1949, they were approached
by Mr Wang Ming-ji regarding the possibility of their compiling a Hua Miao-English
Dictionary. Wang Ming-ji had already done a considerable amount of work in grouping
Miao words written in the Pollard script, and the Parsons translated and annotated
these words and phrases.
Source of acquisition
Donated in May and November 1998.
System of arrangement
The letters are arranged in chronological order within the volumes. The dictionary
is written in 26 sections, with an introduction.
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Rights to access and re-use digital objects:
Unknown
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library
in the first instance
Other finding aids
Related material
The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist
Missionary Society which includes correspondence for the Hupeh District, China (MMS/China/Correspondence/Hupeh/FBN
9 & Boxes 1294-1295) and the South West China District (MMS/China/Correspondence/S
W China/Box 1292) for the period Keith and Kenneth Parsons served there. Furthermore,
the synod minutes for both the Hupeh District and South West China District will record
the work the brothers, and their colleagues, were involved with (MMS/China/Synod Minutes/FBN
6 & Boxes 1287 & 1288).
Minutes are extant for the Bible Christian Missionary Society for 1861-1873, 1882-1891
and 1903-1909 (MMS/Home/Minutes/Bible Christian/FBN 8) and for the United Methodist
Missionary Society there are the minutes of the Foreign Missions Committee, 1908-1933
(MMS/Home/Minutes/ UMMS/FBN 6), and a South West China Minute Book, 1905-1932 .
Within the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society (MMS) are the papers of Samuel
Pollard (MMS/Special Series/Biographical/China/FBN 29-30) who worked amongst the Miao
and the papers of Clement Noble Mylne who worked amongst the Nosu (MMS/Special Series/Biographical/China/Box
643A). In addition, further Pollard papers are available (MS 380690) as well as the
research papers of Frederick Howard Taylor on the tribes of south-west China, including
notes on the life of Samuel Pollard (CIM/PP Box 11 File 124).
Linguistic notes and sources can be found on the online Hua Miao Archive ( http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/research/projects/306).
Extent
3 boxes
Keywords
Subjects:
Asian cultures
Asian languages
Children of missionaries
Childrens books
Chinese (cultural identity)
Chinese (language)
Clergy
Colloquial language
Dialects
Dictionaries
Disappearing languages
Ethnic groups
Guides
Hua Hmong dialect
Language minorities
Language policy
Languages
Laity
Lexicography
Methodism
Methodists
Missionaries
Missionary work
Protestantism
Protestants
Transliteration
Vocabularies
Wives of missionaries
Women
Writing systems
Travel abroad
Geographic names:
China, Asia
Eastern Asia
Kunming, Yunnan, China, Asia
Yunnan, China, Asia
Personal names:Parsons; Edith Annie Kate (b 1876); missionary Parsons; Harry (1878-1952); missionary Parsons; Philip Kenneth (1916-2005); ordained missionary Parsons; Richard Keith (1916-2015); ordained missionary
Pollard; Samuel (1864-1915); ordained missionary, linguistWang; Ming-ji (fl 1949); scholar of the Hua Miao language
Family names:Parsons; family; missionaries
Language of the material
English Large Flowery Miao
Record creator
Parsons; family; missionaries
Parsons; Edith Annie Kate (1875-1965); missionary; née Bryant
Parsons; Harry (1878-1952); ordained missionary
Parsons; Philip Kenneth (1916-2005); ordained missionary
Parsons; Richard Keith (1916-2015); ordained missionary
Content provider
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archives, University of London