China Oral History Project. Records

AR-04-R0287

The Archives of the Episcopal Church

Fonds

China Oral History Project. Records

• 1978-1992 (Creation)

4.5 cu.ft. (12 boxes)

The China Oral History Project began as the brainchild of the Reverend Leslie Lindsey Fairfield, who served in the Episcopal Missionary District of Shanghai from 1935 to 1940. His goal was to document the experiences of the missionaries in China so as to not lose that important chapter in the history of the Church’s missionary work. In 1977, he approached Archivist V. Nelle Bellamy, with the prospect of initiating an oral history project, which would target some 60 former China missionaries. Fairfield set the project in motion in 1981, when he enlisted William Moss, former President of the National Oral History Association, as a volunteer interviewer. In 1984, a steering committee was formed. By the project's end, it had identified 85 missionaries and/or missionary couples. Of that number, eleven were deceased by the time the interviewing got underway. The three interviewers conducted a total of 56 interviews over the course of the project. One missionary couple, the Fairfields, gave two of the 56 interviews. Nineteen potential interviews were abandoned due to funding issues.

Audio cassette tapes, typescripts, correspondence, financial documents, and grant proposals comprise the records of the China Oral History Project.

Included are 125 audio cassettes that represent 54 of the 56 total interviews conducted (there are no recordings available for two of the interviewees). In addition, a typescript of his/her transcribed interview is available. The average interview runs from three to four hours and focuses primarily on each interviewee's experiences as a missionary in China. Of particular interest are the missionaries' accounts of the Japanese occupation of China during the Second World War and the Communist Revolution which followed.

Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.

The Archives is able to respond to limited requests for reproductions subject to copyright restrictions, internal policy, and the condition of the source documents.

• English

• Overseas Department. China Mission Records
• Overseas Department. China Mission Records

• China Mission
• Missionaries
• Oral histories

• China

• Bellamy, V. Nelle (Subject)
• Fairfield, Leslie Lindsey (Subject)

• Audio recordings