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Tharp (Robert and Eva) Collection
OCH.RNT
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Robert and Eva Tharp Collection
Creator:
Tharp, Robert and Eva
Identifier/Call Number: OCH.RNT
Extent:
1.79 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1902-2004
Abstract: Robert and Eva Tharp were both born in
China to missionary parents, and both took on missionary work in China individually and
after they married in 1938. After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, Robert was imprisoned by
the Japanese, and after his release 8 months later the Tharps moved to India where they
worked as liaisons between Chinese and Indian citizens and for the British government. They
returned to China to continue their mission work, but were forced to flee to America in the
wake of the Communist takeover in 1949. In the United States, Robert worked as a Chinese
instructor for the Defense Language Institute and the Yale Institute for Far Eastern
Languages. The Tharps also opened Chinese restaurants in the Monterey area in the 1970s, and
were active in the Chinese community in the area. In 1994, Eva published Robert's
autobiographical work,
They Called Us White Chinese. The
collection consists of items related to both Robert and Eva's family and experiences in
China, their careers in the United States, and the publication of
They
Called Us White Chinese
.
Language of Material: English,
Chinese
Robert Tharp was born in 1913 to British missionary parents in the Jehol Province of
Manchuria. Evangeline (Eva) Kok was born in 1914 in Yunnan, China, to Dutch missionary
parents. In 1918, the family moved to Peking (Beijing), where her father served as the First
Chancellor of the Netherlands Legation in China. Eva attended the Peking American School,
graduating in 1931. She then attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and returned to
China to perform mission work after graduating in 1936.
Starting in 1934, Tharp did full-time missionary work in China, with Eva joining him after
they married in 1938. After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, when Japan gained control of
Manchuris, Tharp was jailed for nearly eight months while Eva was placed on house arrest.
After his release the Tharps worked in New Delhi, India, as a liaison between Chinese and
Indian citizens, and then for the British Ministry of Information monitoring Chinese
transmissions and writing counter-propaganda. The Tharps returned to China as missionaries
after the war; but fled in 1949 as communist forces advanced across the country. Their
escape took over a month, after which they were able to travel to San Francisco,
California.
In the U.S., the Tharps were almost deported, as they were unable to clear up issues of
citizenship, but on the day of their deportation Tharp received a position at the Army
Language School, now called the Defense Language Institute. He taught Chinese there for
three years, before accepting a position on the faculty at the Yale Institute of Far Eastern
Language, where Eva received a teaching position as well.
The Tharps eventually returned to the San Francisco area, where Eva opened a popular
takeout restaurant, Eva's Jyaudz Factory, and in 1976 Robert opened the first Mandarin
Chinese restaurant in Monterey, the Old Peking. Robert Tharp also wrote an autobiographical
novel about his and Eva's experiences in China,
They Called Us White
Chinese,
which was published in 1994 by Eva after Robert passed away in 1993. Eva
continued to correspond with friends and former students until she became ill in January of
2004, and passed in August of that year.
The
Robert and Eva Tharp
Collection
consists of items related to both Robert and Eva's family and
experiences in China, their careers in the United States, and the publication of
They Called Us White Chinese. The collection is divided into five
series:
Family and Personal Materials (1924-2002),
Friends and Colleagues (1943-2000),
Mission Work
and Professional Employment
(circa 1930-1989),
They Called Us
White Chinese
(circa 1920-2004), and
Publications
(1902-1996).
Series I,
Family and Personal Materials, consists of ephemera.
photographs, articles, personal narratives, mendicant chants, correspondence and
genealogical information written by or related to the Tharps and their family members. Also
included are the Tharp's passports, driver's licenses, and applications for United States
visas and citizenship.
Series II,
Friends and Colleagues, consists of correspondence
and articles written by or about Tharp family friends and colleagues, usually discussing
their experiences in China.
Series III,
Mission Work and Professional Employment, consists
of materials related to both Robert and Eva's various mean of employment and their mission
work. This includes the Inland China Mission, Robert's work in shipping cases and importing
cars into China, his work as a Chinese professor, and Eva's Jyuadz Factory.
Series IV,
They Called Us White Chinese, consists of
photographs used in the book, and correspondence sent to Eva by readers ordering additional
copies, talking about the book, and sharing their own stories of living in China.
Series V,
Publications, consists of advertisements for books by
other Old China Hands, as well as articles and books collected by the Tharps related to
China and the Peking American School.
Series I: Family and Personal Materials, 1924-2002
Series II: Friends and Colleagues, 1943-2000
Series III: Mission Work and Professional Employment, circa 1930-1989
Series IV: They Called Us White Chinese, circa 1920-2004
Series V: Publications, 1902-1996
This collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Tim Kaufler (Intern), 2013
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents
Photographs