Edward Harper Parker (3 July 1849 – 1926) was an English barrister and sinologist who wrote a number of books on the First and Second Opium Wars and other Chinese topics.
He was educated at the Royal Institution School, Liverpool, and became a barrister of the Middle Temple.
He intended to engage in the tea trade, studied Chinese, and from 1869 to 1871, in the character of student interpreter, he traveled in Mongolia, and afterwards served at the British consulates in Wenzhou, Fuzan, and Shanghai, and traveled in Oceania, Eastern Asia, and North America.
But his greatest contribution historically may turn out to be an unusual outlook on colloquial Chinese language.
Chinese historical linguistics, as practiced both natively and among Westerners, did not begin taking these words seriously until almost the present day.