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This series focuses on East and South-East Asia from the early modern period to the end of the Victorian era. It includes contemporary accounts of European encounters with the civilisations of China, Japan and South-East Asia from the time of the Jesuit missions and the East India companies to the Chinese revolution of 1911.

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54 results in Cambridge Library Collection - East and South-East Asian History

Page 2 of 3

Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
  • Particularly in the Government of Java, 1811–1816 and of Bencoolen and its Dependencies, 1817–1824
  • Sophia Raffles
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • During his last voyage back to England, the ship of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) caught fire, consuming many of the papers from which future biographers might have worked. When he died two years later, the task of sifting through the surviving materials and recording his life and career fell to his widow Sophia (1786–1858). Her substantial biography, first published in 1830, remains an essential source of information about one of the key figures of British colonialism in the East Indies. At the centre of the book, interspersed with many of her husband's letters, is Raffles' struggle against his Dutch opponents, with whom he clashed on ideological grounds - he noted with distaste their mistreatment of the local population and their advocacy of slavery. It was this rivalry which convinced Raffles to found Singapore as a trading post. His two-volume History of Java (1817) is also reissued in this series.

Japan in Art and Industry
  • With a Glance at Japanese Manners and Customs
  • Félix Elie Régamey
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    13 June 2013
    First published in:
    1893
  • Ending centuries of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to the world in the late nineteenth century, revealing a rich and sophisticated culture. Largely unknown until then, it proved an object of fascination to the West, and the delicacy of its art inspired such figures as Van Gogh, Manet, Whistler and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. French painter Félix Elie Régamey (1844–1907) was one of the few Europeans who had travelled to Japan, and his deep respect and understanding of the country's art and customs soon established him as an expert. Appearing first in French in 1891, his observations were published in this English translation in 1893. Offering an artist's perspective on Japan and its mores, it also contains 100 illustrations drawn by the author using Japanese techniques. Readers will find much of interest in this valuable contribution to the study of Japanese culture.

The Closing Events of the Campaign in China
  • The Operations in the Yang-Tze-Kiang, and Treaty of Nanking
  • Granville Gower Loch
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
    First published in:
    1843
  • This 1843 work by naval officer Granville Gower Loch (1813–53) is based on his journal of the capture of Chinkiang (Zhenjiang) in July 1842, the last major battle of the First Opium War. Covering not only military and diplomatic activity, the work also contains Loch's colourful descriptions of the region's landscape, architecture, commerce, people and customs. Having been promoted to captain in August 1841, Loch had gone to China as a volunteer and aide-de-camp to General Sir Hugh Gough (1779–1869). Following service in the West Indies, he was killed on a mission in Burma during the Second Anglo-Burmese War. A monument was erected to his memory in St Paul's Cathedral. One of his brothers, Henry Brougham Loch (1827–1900), also later served under Gough and his Personal Narrative of Occurrences during Lord Elgin's Second Embassy to China (1869) has been reissued in this series.

Personal Narrative of Occurrences during Lord Elgin's Second Embassy to China, 1860
  • Henry Brougham Loch
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    27 June 2013
    First published in:
    1869
  • In 1860, James Bruce (1811–63), the eighth Earl of Elgin, embarked upon a second embassy to China which aimed to obtain ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin and finally conclude the Second Opium War on terms favourable to the British. Accompanying Elgin as his private secretary was the enterprising army officer Henry Brougham Loch (1827–1900). Originally published in 1869, Loch's first-hand account of the mission reflects sustained concern over Britain's strained trading relationship with China in the nineteenth century. Notwithstanding his views regarding the need for European influence to shape China's future success in government, his clearly written narrative illuminates contemporary diplomacy and the events surrounding the Convention of Peking in October 1860. Prior to this outcome, Loch had been captured, imprisoned and brutally tortured by Chinese officials. His chapters detailing this experience and his eventual release are especially noteworthy.

Travels in Kamtschatka
  • During the Years 1787 and 1788
  • Volume 2
  • Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • Jean-Baptiste-Barthélemy de Lesseps (1766–1834), a French diplomat, served as an interpreter on La Pérouse's voyage around the world, which sailed from Brest in 1785. In 1787, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, he was tasked with an overland mission to get reports back to France as La Pérouse proceeded to Australia. This two-volume work, reissued here in its English translation of 1790, is a compelling account of the one-year journey from Russia to France, and a tale of endurance and resourcefulness in the face of forbidding conditions. More than a mere journal, it also relates the author's observations on the way of life in Kamchatka, its institutions and trade. Rich in detail, the work will appeal to historians and readers with an interest in transcontinental adventure. Volume 2 covers his journey from the north-eastern extremity of the Sea of Okhotsk all the way back to France.

Travels in Kamtschatka
  • During the Years 1787 and 1788
  • Volume 1
  • Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • Jean-Baptiste-Barthélemy de Lesseps (1766–1834), a French diplomat, served as an interpreter on La Pérouse's voyage around the world, which sailed from Brest in 1785. In 1787, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, he was tasked with an overland mission to get reports back to France as La Pérouse proceeded to Australia. This two-volume work, reissued here in its English translation of 1790, is a compelling account of the one-year journey from Russia to France, and a tale of endurance and resourcefulness in the face of forbidding conditions. More than a mere journal, it also relates the author's observations on the way of life in Kamchatka, its institutions and trade. Rich in detail, the work will appeal to historians and readers with an interest in transcontinental adventure. Volume 1 covers his journey from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the north-eastern extremity of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59
  • Volume 2
  • Laurence Oliphant
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1859
  • In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829–88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811–63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 2 deals with the negotiation of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Yedo, the legalisation of the Chinese opium trade and combat with Chinese insurgents at Nankin. The work is a mixture of travel narrative - Oliphant had previously written about his travels in Nepal and in the Crimea (also reissued in this series) - and political analysis. It provides both an informative account of the war from a privileged vantage point and a window upon Oliphant's own colourful career.

Journal of an Embassy from the Governor General of India to the Court of Ava, in the Year 1827
  • John Crawfurd
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1829
  • After studying medicine at Edinburgh, John Crawfurd (1783–1868) joined the medical service of the East India Company. While posted at Penang, he studied the Malay language and culture and became an expert in Eastern affairs. His talent was recognised by the British Government, which entrusted to him both administrative and diplomatic responsibilities. He was sent as an envoy on many missions, most notably to the Court of Siam (Thailand) where his efforts led to a possibility of opening up the diplomatic relations between the two countries, troubled since the seventeenth century. In 1827, he was sent on his last diplomatic assignment in the service of the East India Company, to the Court of Ava (then the capital of present-day Myanmar (Burma)). This 1829 work describes his experiences at Ava, and provided a reference source for subsequent missions. The appendix contains several relevant official communiqués.

Hertslet's China Treaties
  • Treaties, etc., between Great Britain and China in Force on the 1st January, 1908
  • Volume 2
  • Compiled by Edward Hertslet
  • Edited by Godfrey E. P. Hertslet
  • Assisted by Edward Parkes
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1908
  • The first edition of this work, which outlines China's treaty engagements with various foreign powers, was published by Sir Edward Hertslet (1824–1902) in 1896. The two-volume third edition reissued here was published by his son Godfrey in 1908, and took account of new treaties in the intervening twelve years relevant to the Chinese sphere of influence. The work is remarkably inclusive, and cross-refers between similar treaties with China and different Western powers, as well as containing ancillary material such as a ground-plan of the foreign legation district in Beijing, and British government documents relevant to the various treaties. This edition is of particular interest for students of international law and diplomacy, as it covers the regulations governing relations between China and Britain in the year in which the last imperial Chinese ruler ascended the throne. Volume 2 contains relevant British documents including Acts of Parliament and Orders in Council.

Miscellaneous Notices Relating to China, and our Commercial Intercourse with that Country, including a Few Translations from the Chinese Language
  • George Thomas Staunton
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    12 July 2012
    First published in:
    1822
  • The sinologist George Thomas Staunton (1781–1859) learned Chinese as a child and accompanied his father on a trip to China in 1792 where, though the Ambassador's page, he was the only member of the delegation who could speak to the Emperor in Chinese. A career in the East India Company's Canton factory followed, and he translated many texts between Chinese and English. Upon his return to Britain in 1817, he spent many years as a Tory MP and often spoke about China and its trade with Britain. He also continued to write about these issues, and this collection of translations and essays, published in 1822, reflects Staunton's varied interests - ranging from a translation of the Chinese history, Tung-wha-loo to his own writings on the Company's trade disputes with the Emperor - making this work a unique and valuable source of information on British cultural, economic, and diplomatic relations with China in the early nineteenth-century.

Ta Tsing Leu Lee; Being the Fundamental Laws, and a Selection from the Supplementary Statutes, of the Penal Code of China
  • Edited and translated by George Thomas Staunton
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1810
  • The sinologist George Thomas Staunton (1781–1859) learned Chinese as a child and accompanied his father on a trip to China in 1792 where, though the Ambassador's page, he was the only member of the delegation who could speak to the emperor in Chinese. A career in the East India Company's Canton factory followed, and he translated many texts between Chinese and English, including this penal code, published in 1810, which was its first translation into any European language. The 'Fundamental Laws' was the legal code of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), and contained more than 1,000 statutes. Staunton organised his translation of a selection of the laws into seven divisions: general, civil, fiscal, ritual (religious), military, criminal and public works. He also includes an appendix with translations of edicts regarding matters such as punishment, making this compendium an invaluable guide to the complex legal regime of the Qing Dynasty.

Hertslet's China Treaties
  • Treaties, etc., between Great Britain and China in Force on the 1st January, 1908
  • Volume 1
  • Compiled by Edward Hertslet
  • Edited by Godfrey E. P. Hertslet
  • Assisted by Edward Parkes
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1908
  • The first edition of this work, which outlines China's treaty engagements with various foreign powers, was published by Sir Edward Hertslet (1824–1902) in 1896. The two-volume third edition reissued here was published by his son Godfrey in 1908, and took account of new treaties in the intervening twelve years which were relevant to the Chinese sphere of influence. The work is remarkably inclusive, and cross-refers with similar treaties between China and different Western powers, as well as containing ancillary material such as a ground-plan of the foreign legation district in Beijing, and British government documents relevant to the various treaties. This edition is of particular interest for students of international law and diplomacy, as it covers the regulations governing relations between China and Britain in the year in which the last imperial Chinese ruler ascended the throne. Volume 1 contains the treaties.

Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59
  • Volume 1
  • Laurence Oliphant
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1859
  • In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829–88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat, and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811–63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 1 deals with the events of the Second Opium War, from the 'Arrow Incident', discussed in retrospect, to the Treaty of Tientsin, as well as an early diversion to India to suppress the Mutiny. The work is a mixture of travel narrative - Oliphant had previously written about his travels in the Crimea (also reissued in this series) - and political analysis. It provides both an informative account of the war from a privileged vantage point and a window upon Oliphant's colourful career.

Twilight in the Forbidden City
  • Reginald F. Johnston
  • Published online:
    05 September 2013
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1934
  • British academic and diplomat Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874–1938) published Twilight in the Forbidden City in 1934. The work is a memoir of Johnston's time in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, at the court of the Qing Dynasty, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi (1906–1967), last emperor of China. Johnston was one of only two foreigners who were permitted to enter the imperial palace, and so his account provides a unique Western perspective on the epochal events of the period. The work has a preface by the emperor Puyi and includes detailed descriptions of palace rituals, including Puyi's wedding ceremony; translations of key documents; Johnston's perspective on the revolution of 1911 and the 1917 restoration; his observations on Chinese society as a whole; and eye-witness accounts of the political intrigues of the palace. The memoir was dramatised in Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic masterpiece, The Last Emperor.

The Present Position and Prospects of the British Trade with China
  • Together with an Outline of Some Leading Occurrences in its Past History
  • James Matheson
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    09 August 2012
    First published in:
    1836
  • James Matheson (1796–1878) became a leading taipan, with significant influence and power in Hong Kong. When this pamphlet was published, in 1836, he was still trading from Canton (Guangzhou) and, following the abolition of the East India Company's monopoly on trade with China, appealed to the British government to pressure the Chinese to lift the severe restrictions on trading. He suggests that despite the efforts of the merchants, China refuses to acknowledge the law of nations, to trade fairly, and as such has 'long since surrendered her rights and is no longer in a position to enforce them'. Matheson's personal appeal to the Duke of Wellington was rebuffed, but his business partner, William Jardine, later persuaded Lord Palmerston to adopt a tougher approach, which ultimately led to the First Opium War. This is a powerful and provocative text: a defence of both free trade and an aggressive foreign policy.

Journals Kept by Mr. Gully and Capt. Denham during a Captivity in China in the Year 1842
  • Robert Gully, Denham
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    02 August 2012
    First published in:
    1844
  • Published in 1844, this extraordinary book consists of the diaries of Robert Gully and Captain Denham, the Commander of the merchant vessel Ann, who were imprisoned in China in 1842, and notes exchanged between the two men (who were held captive in separate places). After some months of imprisonment, Gully was murdered, but Denham survived and was eventually released. The book, edited by 'a barrister', was designed to inform the British public of 'matters of which hitherto they have had slender but doubtful accounts', and to apply political and diplomatic pressure on the Chinese government, whose official account of the incident denied any wrong-doing by its representatives. Gully had distinguished himself in the taking of Ningpo during the Opium War of 1841–2, and later boarded the Ann to return to Macao. The vessel was subsequently wrecked off Formosa (Taiwan), where events related in the book occurred.

Barrow's Travels in China
  • An Investigation into the Origin and Authenticity of the ‘Facts and Observations' Related in a Work Entitled ‘Travels in China by John Barrow, F.R.S.'
  • William Jardine Proudfoot
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    12 July 2012
    First published in:
    1861
  • William Jardine Proudfoot (c.1804–1887) published his critique of Sir John Barrow's Travels in China (1804; also reissued in this series) with the agenda of exposing the latter as unreliable and unjust. Barrow had accompanied Lord Macartney on the first British mission to the Chinese Imperial Court (1792–4), in a party that also included the official astronomer, Dr James Dinwiddie, Proudfoot's grandfather. Comparing Barrow's account to that found in other records, Proudfoot concludes that the earlier work was 'a great humbug', ascribing to Barrow the 'powerful motive' of self-promotion. In a work full of vitriol against its subject, Proudfoot's concern is to honour the memory of the mission's members, whom he felt Barrow belittled and vilified, and also to point out factual inaccuracies, accusing him of seeking amusement rather than truth in his anecdotes. Read alongside Barrow's work, it makes for an interesting, scornful, and often entertaining counter.

The Treaty Ports of China and Japan
  • A Complete Guide to the Open Ports of those Countries, together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong and Macao
  • Compiled by Nicholas Belfield Dennys
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1867
  • As trade between the East and the West grew in the mid-nineteenth century, increasing numbers of Westerners travelled to China and Japan, and in 1867 this guide to the key port cities such as Hong Kong and Nagasaki was published in both Hong Kong and London. Its editor, Nicholas Belfield Dennys (?1813–99) claimed it was the first such comprehensive handbook printed for public distribution. Intended for visitors and new residents, the guide was originally typeset in China, allowing place names and other words to be printed in Chinese characters. The specially commissioned maps were also engraved in China. The book includes physical descriptions and brief histories of over twenty cities, details of schools and libraries, population statistics and much practical information, as well as a list of other publications on China and Japan. It is a valuable historical source on East Asia during a period of rapid change.

Ti-ping tien-kwoh
  • The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution, Including a Narrative of the Author's Personal Adventures
  • Volume 1
  • Augustus F. Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    23 August 2012
    First published in:
    1866
  • Published in 1866, this two-volume work is a passionate account of the momentous Taiping Rebellion of 1850–64, which spread across southern China, involving the death of around 20 million people. An English officer and supporter of the rebels, Augustus Frederick Lindley (1840–73) actively fought for them and believed devotedly in their cause. Led by Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, they rose up against the ruling Qing dynasty in an attempt to force social, commercial and religious reforms, but were eventually brutally crushed with the aid of British and French forces. Prior to his death at the age of only thirty-three, Lindley produced this accomplished work of historical exposition and anti-imperialism. Volume 1 examines Chinese society and the tyrannical imperial rule; the origin, outbreak, incidents and atrocities of the conflict; and Lindley's own role and experiences as trainer, advisor and soldier.

Ti-ping tien-kwoh
  • The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution, Including a Narrative of the Author's Personal Adventures
  • Volume 2
  • Augustus F. Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    16 August 2012
    First published in:
    1866
  • Published in 1866, this two-volume work is a passionate account of the momentous Taiping Rebellion of 1850–64, which spread across southern China, involving the death of around 20 million people. An English officer and supporter of the rebels, Augustus Frederick Lindley (1840–73) actively fought for them and believed devotedly in their cause. Led by Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, they rose up against the ruling Qing dynasty in an attempt to force social, commercial and religious reforms, but were eventually brutally crushed with the aid of British and French forces. Prior to his death at the age of only thirty-three, Lindley produced this accomplished work of historical exposition and anti-imperialism. Volume 2 focuses particularly on the actions and character of General Charles Gordon, whose forces were responsible for many atrocities, but who enjoyed great popularity in Britain. It also details the effects of the British government's Chinese policy.

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