He was the Chief of Custom in China

P.C.Hansson skriver i sin bok : "Femogtyve år i Midtens rike -erindringer" : " Omdisputert av sine landsmenn der ute. Men Kinesere og Sir Robert Hart som var utpregede menneskekjennere, satte stor pris på ham.

http://gis.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/cmcs/collections-at-academia-sinica/the-diaries-of-sir-robert-hart http://digitalcollections.qub.ac.uk/digital-image-gallery/hart/
http://digitalcollections.qub.ac.uk/site/hart-diaries/diaries/show_vol.php?v=31
http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofHistoryandAnthropology/OurResearch/HistoryProjects/SirRobertHartProject/
http://www.sacu.org/hart.html
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1349719/affairs-our-hart
http://ilookchina.net/tag/robert-hart/
http://archive.org/stream/militaryorderofd00mili/militaryorderofd00mili_djvu.txt