Blue Plaque commemorating James Legge

james legge china

A Blue Plaque commemorating James Legge (1815 – 1897), first Professor of Chinese at Oxford, will be unveiled at 3 Keble Road, Oxford, on Wednesday 16 May at 2 pm. James Legge was a remarkable figure who left his native Aberdeenshire to spend much of his life as a missionary in Hong Kong. He became a dedicated scholar of Chinese language and literature and produced a massive translation of the Chinese classics which made them accessible to western readers and remained a standard work of reference. Soon after returning to these shores he was appointed to the newly endowed Chair of Chinese at Oxford in 1876. The plaque will be unveiled by Christopher Legge, great grandson. All welcome to attend.