Janus: Papers of Sir Harry Parkes

Manuscripts/MS Parkes contains:
<-- See earlier
3	Despatches to Parkes
4	Despatches from Parkes: China
5	Despatches concerning Parkes: China
6	Despatches from Parkes: Japan
7	China: Despatches, memoranda and minutes
8	China: Miscellaneous documents
9	China: Pamphlets and newspapers
10	China: Railways, telegraphs and mines
11	Hong Kong: Papers re government and trade
12	Straits Settlements: Financial reports
13	Japan: Papers re business and government
See later -->

More information

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Papers of Sir Harry Parkes

Title	China: Miscellaneous documents
Reference	MS Parkes 8
Covering Dates	circa 1380-circa 1876
Extent and Medium	1 bundle

Content and context

Miscellaneous documents concerning China.

Manuscripts/MS Parkes 8 contains:

Chinese banknote. A Chinese banknote ('Circulating precious paper of the Great Ming Dynasty') for 1,000 cash dating from the reign of the Emperor Hung-Wu (1368-1398), issued in Peking by the Ministry of Finance.
1 sheet.

circa 1380

Chinese new year's greeting. A copy of a Chinese new year's greeting from Shan-te (a Manchu general) (Canton?), dated the 14th day of the 1st moon of the 55th year of Chien lung (1790).
1 sheet.

1790

Memorial re Hwang-chuh-ke murders. A draft English translation by Charles Gutzlaff, 2 March 1848, of an undated memorial from Keying [Ch'i-ying] [to the Emperor Tao-Kuang] concerning the murder of British subjects by Chinese villagers at Hwang-chuh-ke, labelled in pencil 'Hwang Chuh Ke Murders'.
4 bifolios (tied together).

1848

Imperial edict against the British. An undated copy of a Chinese imperial edict dating from between March and August 1850. An English note at the top of the document reads 'Enclosed in Mr Alcock's letter Aug. 9 1850' [this letter is not among the Parkes Papers]. The text begins 'Fêng shang yü kuo chia she kuan ko yu chuan ssu...' The following is a brief summary of the contents:. The [British] barbarians were permitted by Our late Father out of his compassion for humanity to engage in trade, but instead of peacefully going about their business, they have come to Tientsin and brazenly communicated with the Grand Secretary [Mu-chang-a]. They have been doing the same wherever they go: in Canton, Fukien, Chekiang, Kiangsu, Shantung, Tientsin and along the coast. The Grand Secretary must ignore them. The Governor-General of Kuang-tung and Kuang-hsi [Kwangtung and Kwangsi], Hsü Kuang-chin, knows how to handle these barbarians with their devil's entrails (kuei yü tsang fu) [dirty tricks]; in future Hsü Kuang-chin's methods must be used to deal with them.
1 sheet.

1850

Memorial re Humphrey Marshall. A memorial (in Chinese) from Ch'en Ming (to the Emperor Hsien-Feng ?) concerning Humphrey Marshall, his request for an audience with the Emperor, and his activities in the vicinity of Ch'ang-chou and K'un-shanc. The document has been labelled in Parkes' hand 'a letter from the sovereign of one state to another'.
3 sheets.

circa 1853

Eulogies to Yeh Ming-ch'en. Copies of Chinese eulogies by L[ ] Ch'un-yang in praise of Yeh Ming-ch'en (1855?). The document is labelled in Parkes' hand 'Scrolls from Yeh's Yamun'.
1 bifolio.

circa 1855

Memorandum on Treaty of Nanking violations. An undated and possibly incomplete memorandum by Charles Winchester concerning violations of the Treaty of Nanking by China, listing incidents and correspondence between 24 October 1843 and 5 July 1856, mostly 1844-1848, 20 folios and 1 bifolio. There is also a covering sheet labelled 'Memo by Winchester to illustrate violations of Treaty by China' and 'Old state of things at Canton', including other notes in Parkes' hand.
20 folios + 2 bifolios.

circa 1856

Statement of silver receipts and disbursements. An undated statement (in Chinese) of receipts and disbursements of silver in Canton for the seventh year of the reign of the Emperor Hsien-Feng [1856-1857], issued by the Treasury of Canton province, 3 sheets. The documents are in an envelope labelled in Parkes' hand 'Revenue of K[wang]tung' and 'Obtained in Chang Chowsze' (?).
3 sheets + 1 envelope.

circa 1857

Memorial re Yeh Ming-ch'en and Canton. A draft of a Chinese memorial from members of the Canton gentry denouncing the conduct of Yeh Ming-ch'en at the fall of Canton to British and French forces, 3 sheets, dated the 3rd moon of the 8th year of Hsien-Feng (1858), and labelled in Parkes' hand 'Memorial of Kwangtung Gentry on capture of Canton'. There is also a fair copy of the memorial, 3 sheets (glued together); another fair copy, 8 sheets (tied together), labelled in Parkes' hand 'Memorial of Kwangtung Gentry on capture of Canton', and bearing the name of Liang T'ung-hsin in Chinese in a Western hand, possibly Parkes' (Liang was the Mayor of Peking from 1857-1858 and was asked to present the memorial in Peking on behalf of the gentry); and an envelope labelled in Parkes' hand 'Memorial of Canton Gentry &c. Denouncing Yeh on fall of Canton. Jan 1858.'.
1 envelope.

1858

Memorial re Chinese military operations. A copy of a memorial (in Chinese) from Po-kuei to Lo, Lung and Soo, Imperial Commissioners at Fayuen, concerning military operations undertaken by Chinese forces against the British and French, dated [Canton] the 8th year of Hsien-fung (1858).
1 sheet.

1858

Correspondence between Shih K'o-fa and Dorgon. 'Ta Ch'ing She Chêng Wang yü Ta Ming Shih Ko-pu lai wang shu': a copy of an exchange of letters (in Chinese) between Dorgon and Shih K'o-fa, undated, but probably dating from the period of Parkes' service. Dorgon's letter is dated the 6th moon of the year chia shên (4 July-1 August 1644); Shih K'o-fa's letter is dated the 5th day of the 9th moon of the first year of Huang-kuang's reign (23 October 1644).
1 sheet.

circa 1860

General orders to the China Expeditionary Force. A copy of 'General Orders' issued by Frederick Stephenson, Deputy Adjutant General, Hong Kong, to Sir James Hope Grant's Expeditionary Force bound for North China, 28 April 1860, labelled 'Major Pownall' [Walter Pownall].
1 folio.

1860

Envelope to James Bruce. An envelope from I-hsin [Peking] to James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, dated the 6th day of the 9th month of the 10th year of Hsien-Feng (20 October 1860). The address is in Chinese, and the seals in Chinese and Manchu.
1 envelope.

20 Oct. 1860

Envelope to James Bruce. An envelope from I-hsin [Peking] to 'the Great British Imperial Commissioner...' (James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine), dated the 8th day of the 9th month of the 10th year of Hsien-Feng (22 October 1860). The address is in Chinese, and the seals in Chinese and Manchu. A note has been added in English: 'For H.E. The Earl of Elgin Forwarded from North Gate at 1/4 to 7 A.M. Oct 22. 1880'.
1 envelope; Fair condition, but one part of the envelope has become disconnected..

22 Oct. 1860

Envelope to James Bruce. An envelope from I-hsin [Peking] to James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, dated the 9th day of the 9th month of the 10th year (23 October 1860). The address is in Chinese, and the seals in Chinese and Manchu.
1 envelope.

23 Oct. 1860

List of coffins of Peking captives. An undated list (in Chinese) of the coffins of seven people who died of illness [members of Parkes' party captured before Peking in September 1860], giving the dates of their deaths. The names include Thomas William Bowlby, Lieutenant Anderson and Private Phipps, and possibly Luke Brabazon Brabazon and two Sikhs. Five entries are in a Chinese hand, and two in a Western hand, possibly Parkes'.
1 folio.

circa 1860

Poem re battle of Pa-li-ch'iao. An undated poem (in Chinese) concerning the defeat of Chinese forces by the French at Pa-li-ch'iao on 21 September 1860, with an envelope addressed by J.(?) Morgan to Parkes in Shanghai (c. 1864?), labelled 'Tientsin Ballad' in Parkes' hand.
1 sheet + 1 envelope.

circa 1860-circa 1864

Memorandum re Kwangtung insurgents. A copy of a memorandum by William Mayers concerning the movements of insurgents in Kwangtung during 1861, dated Canton, 28 August 1861.
5 bifolios (tied together).

1861

Shameen Works and New Road accounts. A sheet containing copies of a 'General Account of Shameen Works' and 'New Road Account', signed by Parkes and 'de Tanouarn', Allied Commissioners, Canton, 20 October 1861, and certified by Alexander Gray, 1 bifolio. There is also a version of the document in Chinese, 1 sheet, and an undated account of sums received and due (in English), 1861, 1 folio.
1 folio, 1 bifolio + 1 sheet.

1861

Letter and memorandum of William Mayers. A letter from William Mayers, Canton, to Parkes, 8 May 1864, with a memorandum by Mayers concerning cash coinage, Canton, 8 May 1864.
2 bifolios.

8 May 1864

Letter from Thomas Wade. A copy of a letter from Thomas Wade, Peking, to Sir Arthur Kennedy in four different hands, 25 January 1875.
4 bifolios (tied together).

25 Jan. 1875

Letters from John Dunn and Samuel Halliday Macartney. A letter from John George Dunn, Yokohama, to Parkes, 20 June [1876], 1 bifolio, with two letters from Samuel Halliday Macartney, Nanking, to Dunn, Nanking, 7 May 1876, 6 bifolios, and 14 June 1876, 2 bifolios, and an envelope addressed by Parkes to Dunn.
9 bifolios + 1 envelope.

7 May 1876–20 June 1876

O.H.M.S. envelope. The O.H.M.S. envelope which formerly contained documents from Parkes 8, undated, labelled on the reverse 'Miscellaneous Chinese Documents'.
1 envelope.