| Title | : | The Last Embassy: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and the Forgotten History of Western Encounters with China |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0691177112 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780691177113 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 424 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 2021 |
George Macartney's disastrous 1793 mission to China plays a central role in the prevailing narrative of modern Sino-European relations. Summarily dismissed by the Qing court, Macartney failed in nearly all of his objectives, perhaps setting the stage for the Opium Wars of the nineteenth century and the mistrust that still marks the relationship today. But not all European encounters with China were disastrous. The Last Embassy tells the story of the Dutch mission of 1795, bringing to light a dramatic but little-known episode that transforms our understanding of the history of China and the West.
Drawing on a wealth of archival material, Tonio Andrade paints a panoramic and multifaceted portrait of an age marked by intrigues and war. China was on the brink of rebellion. In Europe, French armies were invading Holland. Enduring a harrowing voyage, the Dutch mission was to be the last European diplomatic delegation ever received in the traditional Chinese court. Andrade shows how, in contrast to the British emissaries, the Dutch were men with deep knowledge of Asia who respected regional diplomatic norms and were committed to understanding China on its own terms.
Beautifully illustrated with sketches and paintings by Chinese and European artists, The Last Embassy suggests that the Qing court, often mischaracterized as arrogant and narrow-minded, was in fact open, flexible, curious, and cosmopolitan.
The Last Embassy: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and the Forgotten History of Western Encounters with China Reviews
-
It was very enjoyable to read about the Dutch envoy to the Qing court in 1795. The book is well written and interesting both for sinologists as well as readers with little prior knowledge about 18th century China or Batavia.
This book is a reevaluation of the Dutch envoy which went down in history as a failure. Often history is told by the last men standing, in this case the British, who had sent a failed mission two years prior led by Lord Macartney and wanted to make the kowtowing Dutch one seem even worse. Tonio Andrade based his research on the diaries of the participants, and other documents in Dutch and Chinese that were missed by earlier scholars. He convincingly demonstrates that it is unjust to paint the Dutch mission as a failure, just because it didn’t lead to economic gain. This was mainly due to the collapse of the East Indies Company and the Netherlands being overrun by Napoleon’s armies that happened during the mission, which meant there was no commercial follow up possible. On their return to Europe the participants reports were not widely published and translated either, or misreported leading to further misunderstandings about the success of the trip.
Drawing from the personal observations of four members of the trip, in letters home as well as in diaries, Andrade could include many authentic details of what life was like in China. He provides day to day descriptions of the arduous 1500-mile trip over land from Canton to Beijing in the middle of winter, which is rushed so that the envoy arrives in time for the celebration of the 60th year reign anniversary of Qing dynasty emperor Qianlong. There are many details about the lodging, food, entertainment, scheming in the Dutch group as well as on the part of the Mandarins that accompany them on their trip up and down the country, that help pace the book. On their way back the envoy takes the more leisurely Grand Canal Route and stops off at many sights that are tourist attractions to this day.
What was considered most scandalous by contemporaries was the Dutch willingness to kowtow for the emperor. Andrade argues that the Dutch, with their diplomatic experience in Japan where they held a unique post at Deshima, understood that in Asia the role of diplomacy is not just about bargaining, gaining concessions, and signing treaties. Chinese diplomacy was “aimed at the maintenance of a regime of communications and interaction which both sides viewed as legitimate”. Arcade concludes that: “The Dutch visitors were greeted so warmly in the forbidden city and the imperial pleasure gardens, not just because their kowtows reinforced imperial order but also because it was fun to include these exotic outsiders in the holiday festivities”. -
"This book is designed to provide both an immersive narrative and a historical argument", reads the note on the first page. Mission accomplished on both counts. The book takes you along on the Dutch East India Company's last embassy to the Chinese court, as the company itself was going bankrupt and the Dutch Republic back in Europe was on the verge of being invaded by the French. The unprecedentedly rich sources, and the wonderful writing (the whole book is in the present tense, unusual for a work of history but works like a charm), really bring alive not only its protagonists, but also the setting of late 18th-century China. It reads like a novel, but then also makes an extremely valid and insightful point about western perceptions of the Chinese Empire leading up to the Opium Wars. Andrade's earlier book about the fall of Dutch Formosa,
Lost Colony: The Untold Story of China's First Great Victory over the West, was already an impressive combination of scholarship and great reading. In this new book, he has outdone himself. -
Professor Andrade knows how to write a quality scholarly-trade crossover and this by far is his best work yet. Lost Colony was a masterpiece, but Last Embassy is a touching story with a memorable cast of characters such as Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest, Isaac Titsingh, and the Qianlong Emperor. Last Embassy is an exciting journey from start to finish!
-
Andrade is a master of his craft, as he paints a picture of pre Opium Wars China that is unheard of in recent literature. The book conveniently came out at a time when US-China tensions are again at levels comparable to the 1990s; with the same mistakes of Macartney being repeated once again. The US shows unwillingness to conform with Chinese demands, shows zealous pride in Western superior values and alienates the Chinese by considering them as irrational and hostile.
The book brilliantly shows how a meagre Dutch mission, contrary to popular belief, was able to conduct a successful diplomatic embassy, and leave a positive impression at the Chinese court. The Last Embassy is a practical class in personal diplomacy, with its vibrant storytelling of encounters between the Dutch mission and the Chinese officials; highlighting the important role of establishing personal relationship in conduct of grand diplomacy. -
I wish more academic research was presented in such an engaging narrative. I liked the amount of detail and it even made me laugh when one of the traveler's porters ran away and locals subsequently stole his hat. It was interesting to read about the way the narrative was changed in the following decades to make the mission seem like an embarrassing failure.
-
despite the subject being about something so niche, this is legitimately one of the funniest books i've ever read
-
What was it like to be among the only westerners to visit the Qianlong emperor in his private palace? Traveling through the Chinese countryside, viewing sites never seen before by non-Chinese, this is the account of a forgotten "embassy" (diplomatic mission) by some Dutch diplomats.
Written in an easy-to-read style, this is as close to a page-turner as you can get for an academic book. The author has gone to exhaustive lengths to map out each portion of a unique voyage to Beijing by a Dutch mission in 1795. Ultimately the audience is China scholars, so although I enjoyed it for its meticulous details, it will remain to somebody else to write a shorter account for non-Chinese experts.
