Guide to the Robert and Eva Tharp Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
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
Biographical Information:
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Arrangement of Materials:
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
Conditions Governing Access:
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing 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.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Tim Kaufler (Intern), 2013
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents
Photographs
Series I: Personal and Family Materials, 1924-2002
Box 1, Folder 1
Eva Tharp (Evangeline Kok) Family Genealogy and Remembrances,
c.a 1992
Box 1, Folder 2
Edwin Tharp Materials,
1953
Box 1, Folder 3
The Tharp's Account of Leaving China,
ca. 1949
Box 1, Folder 4
Mendicant Chants written by Robert Tharp for Friends,
1982-1992
Box 1, Folder 5
Peking American School Reunions and Information,
1986-1989
Box 1, Folder 6
National Security Agency Certificate to Robert Tharp
Box 1, Folder 7
News Articles on Robert Tharp,
ca. 1942-1993
Box 1, Folder 8
Letters from Perry Link about Donating Xiehouyu to Princeton
University,
1994
Box 1, Folder 9
Jerry and Paul Kok Materials,
1997-2002
Box 1, Folder 10
The Tharp's Untied States Immigration Visa Applications,
1947 October 20
Box 1, Folder 11
Robert Tharp's United States Citizenship Application and Recommendation
Letters,
1953
Box 1, Folder 12
Edwin Tharp and Margaret Ruth Tharp's British Passports,
1936-1949
Box 1, Folder 13
Evangeline Tharp's British Passports,
1938-1960
Box 1, Folder 14
Robert Tharp's British Passports,
1941-1955
Box 1, Folder 15
Robert Tharp's British India Driving License,
1943
Box 3, Folder 1
Personal and Family Photographs,
1924-1992
Box 3, Folder 3
Slides of China and the United States,
ca. 1930-1964
Box 4, Item 2
Three Metal Film Canisters
Series II: Friends and Colleagues, 1943-2000
Box 1, Folder 16
Letter and News Article about Ewald Cheer
Box 1, Folder 17
Article on Reverend Leslie and Mary Fairfield,
1985 August 31
Box 1, Folder 18
Letter and Articles about Daniel Kelly,
1981
Box 1, Folder 19
Autobiographical Letter by Yen-Chih Lee,
1984
Box 1, Folder 20
Damaris Peck Reynolds Letters,
1991-2000
Box 1, Folder 21
Correspondence from Jane Pratt Sheeks about the Peking American
School,
1988-1992
Box 1, Folder 22
"William Ekvall Simpson: A Brief, Bright Flame" by Ray H. Smith
Box 1, Folder 23
Letter from Geoffrey Turnal in India,
1943
Series III: Mission Work and Professional Employment, circa
1930-1989
Box 2, Folder 1
Calling Card of Mr. S.L. Burdett to Introduce Robert Tharp to Col. Yuan
Chuanthan
Box 2, Folder 2
China Inland Mission Documents,
1939-1948
Box 2, Folder 3
Missionary Documents (In Chinese),
1938-1947
Box 2, Folder 4
Robert Tharp's Business Cards
Box 2, Folder 5
Case Shipping Documents,
1947-1948
Box 2, Folder 6
Ford Motors and Car Importing Documents,
1948
Box 2, Folder 7
News Article on Institute of Far Eastern Languages,
1962
Box 2, Folder 8
"Report on Intensive Chinese Language Program at the Institute of Far Eastern
Languages" by Robert Tharp
Box 2, Folder 9
Chinese Language Sound Chart Tool
Box 2, Folder 11
Poem about Robert Tharp written by a Student at Yale
Box 2, Folder 13
Eva Tharp's Jyuadz Factory,
1989
Box 3, Folder 4
Photographs of Mission Work; Chinese Christians,
ca. 1930-ca. 1948
Box 3, Folder 5
Photographs of Eva's Jyaudz Factory,
1977-1982
Series IV:
They Called Us White Chinese, ca.
1920-2004
Box 2, Folder 14
Correspondence from Gilbert Tharp to Robert Tharp,
1990-1993
Box 2, Folder 15
Correspondence,
1994-1996
Box 2, Folder 16
Correspondence,
January-March 1997
Box 2, Folder 17
Correspondence,
April-May 1997
Box 2, Folder 18
Correspondence,
1998-2004
Box 3, Folder 6
Photographs used in
They Called Us White
Chinese
,
ca. 1920-1964
Series V: Publications, 1902-1996
Box 2, Folder 19
Advertisements for Books about Old China Hands,
1996
Box 2, Folder 20
Asia Magazine,
April 1937
Box 2, Folder 21
"East of the Barrier or Side Lights on the Manchuria Mission," by Rev. J.
Miller Graham,
1902
Box 2, Folder 22
"The Lost Tribe of China" - about Li Tzu-Cheng
Box 2, Folder 23
Miss Moore: A Memoir by F.H. Kim
Krenz,
1997
