Hopkins, Lionel Charles, 1854-1952

Dates:

Birth 1854-03-20

Death 1952-03-11

Language: English, French, Chinese, German

Biographical notes:

Lionel Charles Hopkins was born on March 20, 1854, to Manley and Catherine (Smith) Hopkins. He attended the Modern School in Winchester, and later became a Sinologist, specializing in Chinese languages. Hopkins went to Beijing in 1874 as an interpreter for the British consular service. In 1898, he was British Consul at Yantai (Chefoo), China, and in February 1902 he was appointed Consul-General for the provinces of Zhili (Chihli) and Shanxi, residing in Tianjin (Tientsin). He retired to England by 1910 and thereafter led a reclusive life. He collected Chinese oracle bones throughout his life, and donated his collection to Cambridge University, where a significant portion were discovered to be forgeries. Hopkins died in Surrey on March 11, 1952.