Peking, Pechili province, China: a mission school. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.

  • Thomson, J. (John), 1837-1921.
Date:
1869
Reference:
19696i
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About this work

Description

A large group of poorly-dressed children and adults sitting eating in the sunny courtyard of a mission school. Modern education did not begin in China until 1905. Although in Beijing, as well as in some coastal areas, there were already a number of privately run missionary schools, with a few exceptions (for instance, those run by Jesuits), the majority of these were at elementary level and devoted entirely to instruction in religion and the Chinese classics. This situation only began to change after 1877. During the Protestant general conference that year, it was agreed that China s mission schools were to provide a secular education, although text-books with secular contents did not appear until as late as 1890. This change made it possible for a number of ordinary Chinese to receive a Western secular education

Publication/Creation

1869

Physical description

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion : stereograph

Lettering

Mission school, Peking Bears Thomson's negative number: "722"

Notes

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

References note

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. 44 (reproduced)

Reference

Wellcome Collection 19696i

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  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    By appointmentManual request

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