Blind in China collection

Creator:

Perkins School for the Blind

Date Range:

1837-1947

Call Number:

AG60

Abstract:

The collection primarily contains newspaper clippings and magazine articles. There are a few pamphlets, as well as a newsletter and a group letter with updates about the Sun Laap School for the Blind. Many items highlight missionary work in China, particularly the education of the blind. A small amount of material is related to Miss A. T. Mills and her deafblind pupil, Wang Fung-Ying. Nineteenth-century material includes an article about Dr. Peter Parker who established the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton, in 1835. 

Extent:

0.2 linear feet

Language:

English, some Dutch

Processed by:

Jennifer Hale, 2014; Biographical/Historical note added by Susanna Coit, 2022

Processing Note:

This collection was processed with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access, Washington, D.C., 2012-2015.

Biographical/Historical note:

Wang Fung-Ying, a student with deafblindness, attended the Chefoo School for the Deaf under the tutelage Mrs. A.T. Mills, who established the school in 1907.

Dr. Peter Parker was an American medical missionary who studied theology and medicine at Yale University. In 1835, he opened the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton, now Guangzhou, with the purpose of providing medical treatment, and to work as an evangelist and introduce the local Chinese people to Christianity. Although he originally planned to work as a doctor only part-time, he committed himself to being a doctor full-time, effectively ending his missionary work.

Mary Grace Knap Burtt, a Perkins student and teacher, opened a school of her own in China for girls who were blind, the Sun Laap School for the Blind.

Sources of information:

Canton Hospital, Canton, China. (1920). Retrieved from Trinity College Digital Repository

Coit, Susanna. “Unwavering dedication: The story of Mary Grace Knap Burtt.” Perkins Archives Blog, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown MA. May 10, 2019.

Smith, Nellie K. A Chinese Helen Keller. Women’s Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, New York, NY. 1916. Available on the Internet Archive.

Restrictions:

None

Copyright:

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG60 Clippings and other Materials Related to the Blind in China. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

Collection primarily contains newspaper clippings and magazine articles. There are a few pamphlets, as well as a newsletter and a group letter with updates about the Sun Laap School for the Blind. Many items highlight missionary work in China, particularly the education of the blind. A small amount of material is related to A. T. Mills and her deafblind pupil, Wang Fung-Ying. Nineteenth century material includes an article about Dr. Peter Parker who established the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton, in 1835. 

Arrangement:

1 series, 1 box

Container List:

Box 1: Clippings, pamphlets, newsletter, and correspondence, 1945-1951

B1:F1: Ophthalmic hospital at Canton clipping, 1837

B1:F2: Chinese blind clippings, 1843-1896

B1:F3: Two Blind Chinese youth clipping, 1845

B1:F4: Sun Laap School for the Blind newsletter and correspondence, 1935, 1947

B1:F5: Chinese blind clippings, 1901-1947

Provenance:

Unknown

Subject headings:

• Perkins School for the Blind–History
• Perkins School for the Blind
• People who are blind–China