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A long-standing European fascination with Asia, from the Middle East to China and Japan, came more sharply into focus during the early modern period, as voyages of exploration gave rise to commercial enterprises such as the East India companies and their attendant colonial activities. This series is a collaborative venture between the Cambridge Library Collection and the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, founded in 1823. The series reissues works from the Royal Asiatic Society's extensive library of rare books and sponsored publications that shed light on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European responses to the cultures of the Middle East and Asia. The selection covers Asian languages, literature, religions, philosophy, historiography, law, mathematics and science, as studied and translated by Europeans and presented for Western readers.

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103 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Perspectives from the Royal Asiatic Society

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Christianity Contrasted with Hindu Philosophy
  • An Essay, in Five Books, Sanskrit and English
  • James R. Ballantyne
  • Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    21 February 2013
    First published in:
    1859
  • While living in India for sixteen years, James Robert Ballantyne (1813–64) taught oriental languages to Indian pupils and became fascinated by Hindu philosophy, seeking to harmonise it with the Western tradition. He produced grammars of Hindi, Sanskrit and Persian, translations of Indian linguistics, and a science primer in English and Sanskrit (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). Intended for the Tyro missionary and published in 1859, this work offers a summary of Hinduism (covering the Nyaya, Sankhya and Vedanta schools) and argues for the truth of Christianity, while acknowledging certain shared ideas. It contains a facing Sanskrit translation (with redactions of parts considered to be of no importance to 'those whom the missionary has to teach'). A valuable primary source for scholars of orientalism, this work helps to illuminate the religious dimensions of British imperialism.

A Grammar of the Bengal Language
  • Nathaniel Brassey Halhed
  • Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    21 February 2013
    First published in:
    1778
  • The language of Bangladesh, West Bengal and parts of Tripura and Assam, Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language originating from Sanskrit. With over 230 million speakers, it is the sixth most spoken language in the world today. Published in 1778, this was one of the first grammars of Bengali ever compiled. The English orientalist Nathaniel Brassey Halhed (1751–1830) prepared the work during his employment with the East India Company, in order to facilitate communication between his colleagues and the weaving districts of Bengal. It provides detailed and descriptive accounts of all aspects of the language, from its alphabet to its systems of agreement, case and tense, as well as its numerals, verbs and word order. The work was considered to be groundbreaking because Halhed made the first steps towards identifying the Indo-European language family, making it of lasting relevance to language typologists today.

An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians
  • Written in Egypt during the Years 1833, –34, and –35, Partly from Notes Made during a Former Visit to that Country in the Years 1825, –26, –27 and –28
  • Volume 1
  • Edward William Lane
  • Published online:
    05 January 2014
    Print publication:
    21 February 2013
    First published in:
    1836
  • Edward William Lane (1801–76) published this work in two volumes in 1836. Resident in the country for many years, and fluent in Arabic, he devoted his life's study to Egypt. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Institut de France, Lane translated One Thousand and One Nights and selections from the Koran. His major work was an Arabic–English lexicon; a monumental undertaking, he was working on the sixth volume when he died. Volume 1 of Modern Egyptians offers detailed accounts of climate, housing, education and domestic life. It also looks at the country's systems of religion, law and government, and examines language, literature, sciences and magic. A bestseller in its own day, this well-illustrated work remains a key text for students of nineteenth-century Egypt and the Arab world.

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