Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Yates, M. T (Matthew Tyson), 1819-1888
- Abstract:
- Matthew Tyson Yates, a Southern Baptist preacher and distributor of Chinese language Christian literature in Shanghai and other regions, wrote this essay on Chinese ancestral worship.
- Extent:
- 0.25 linear feet and 0.25 linear feet; 1 box
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Item description, MRL 6: Matthew Tyson Yates papers, 1878, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection contains an essay on Chinese ancestral worship, written by Yates and published in Shanghai by the American Presbyterian Mission Press in 1878. Understanding ancestor worship and other aspects of Chinese religion was important for missionaries who needed to communicate their beliefs in relation to traditional practices, and this essay was presented at the first General Conference of Protestant Missionaries in China, held in Shanghai from May 10 to 24, 1877. The event attracted nearly 150 attendees, representing nearly all of the mission stations and organizations then in China. Yates also chaired the editorial committee that produced a volume of the conference proceedings.
- Biographical / Historical:
Matthew Tyson (M.T.) Yates was born in Wake County, North Carolina in 1819. He was baptized in 1836, and graduated from Wake Forest College in 1846. In September of that year he married Eliza E. Moring, and in October was ordained into the Southern Baptist Convention in Raleigh, NC. In April of the following year he and his wife left for China, and reached Shanghai in September of 1847. Yates quickly acquired a singular skill in Chinese, and for the rest of his life was engaged in preaching and distributing Christian literature in Shanghai and the surrounding region. In 1872 Yates was awarded an honorary D.D. by Wake Forest College. Near the end of his life Yates suffered from illness, and he died on March 17, 1888 after suffering a series of strokes.
- Acquisition information:
- Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
- Processing information:
Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and a box. The finding aid was created by Gregory Adam Scott in 2010, updated by Brigette Kamsler in 2014-2015 as part of the Henry Luce Foundation grant, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in one series in original order.
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Item description, MRL 6: Matthew Tyson Yates papers, 1878, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
- CONTACT:
-
(212) 851-5606burke@library.columbia.edu