"Du Halde" redirects here. For the French soldier, see Pierre du Halde. For the surname, see Duhalde.
Jean-Baptiste Du Halde (Chinese: 杜赫德, Pinyin: Dù Hèdé; 1 February 1674 – 18 August 1743) was a French Jesuit historian specializing in China. He did not travel to China, but collected seventeen Jesuit missionaries' reports and provided an encyclopedic survey of the history, culture and society of China and "Chinese Tartary," that is, Manchuria.
Voltaire said of Du Halde's work: "Although it is developed out of Paris, and he hath not known the Chinese, [he] gave on the basis of the memoirs of his colleagues, the widest and the best description the empire of China has had worldwide."[1]
Du Halde entered the Society of Jesus in 1692 and became professor at the College of Paris succeeding Charles Le Gobien. From 1711 to 1743 he oversaw the publication of Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses, written from Foreign Missions, by Jesuitmissionaries in China, published in 34 volumes ranges between 1703 and 1776. He wrote prefaces for volumes IX to XXVI. He was also Secretary of Michel Le Tellier and confessor to the son of the regent in 1729.
Du Halde is also the author of writings in Latin as well as a treatise entitled Le Sage chrétien, ou les Principes de la vraie sagesse, pour se conduire chrétiennement dans le monde (The Christian Sage, or the principles of true wisdom, to lead a Christian in the world), published in 1724.
Description of Chinaedit
Description de la Chine, by Jean-Baptiste Du Halde, 1736.
Drawn from the Jesuit Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses and unpublished reports containing translations of Chinese texts of various origins, Du Halde's Geographical, Historical, Chronological, Political, and Physical Description of the Empire of China and Chinese Tartary appeared in Paris in four volumes in 1735; it was reprinted in the Netherlands the next year[2] and translated into English as The General History of China two years after that.[3] Besides a very detailed geographical description based on work by the Jesuits, the book gave encyclopedic coverage of all aspects of Chinese civilization: the emperors and the government; the military and police institutions; the nobility; agriculture and handicrafts; the "genius," "glory", and appearance of Chinese religion, ethics and ceremonies; science and medicine; money and commerce; the language and writing system; the production of porcelain and silkworm breeding. Its understandings of Chinese religion and philosophy were informed by the translations published in 1711 at Prague by the Jesuit François Noël, whose lack of the earlier Christian interpolations in the Chinese text had caused them to be banned in the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire. There is also an abstract of the explorations of Vitus Bering, which was the first European description of Alaska. The book was very quickly added to all academic libraries and has translated into most European languages.
It had a significant impact on European society in the 18th century, including a decades-long English interest in China and Chinese thought. The philosophers of the Enlightenment drew on it for their thoughts and controversies about religions, cultures and customs, while European manufacturers discovered the secrets of Chinese geography and the first map of the Korea by Jean-Baptiste Régis and 42 maps of Chinese provinces by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville.
^Le Siècle de Louis XIV, Catalogue de la plupart des écrivains français qui ont paru dans le Siècle de Louis XIV, pour servir à l’histoire littéraire de ce temps, 1751.
Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste (1735), Description Geographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise [A Geographical, Historical, Chronological, Political, and Physical Description of the Empire of China and of Chinese Tartary], Paris: P.-G. le Mercier. (in French) – Vol. I, II, III, & IV
Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste (1736), Description Géographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise [A Geographical, Historical, Chronological, Political, and Physical Description of the Empire of China and Chinese Tartary], The Hague: H. Scheurleer. (in French) – Vols. I, II, III, & IV
Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste (1741), Brookes, Richard (ed.), The General History of China, 3rd ed., London: J. Watts – Vols. I, II, III, & IV
Isabelle Landry-Deron, La Preuve par la Chine : la Description de J.-B. Du Halde, jésuite, 1735, Éditions de l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris, 2002.
External linksedit
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Travel Exhibit Du Halde
January 01, 1970
jean, baptiste, halde, halde, redirects, here, french, soldier, pierre, halde, surname, duhalde, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challen. Du Halde redirects here For the French soldier see Pierre du Halde For the surname see Duhalde This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jean Baptiste Du Halde news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jean Baptiste Du Halde Chinese 杜赫德 Pinyin Du Hede 1 February 1674 18 August 1743 was a French Jesuit historian specializing in China He did not travel to China but collected seventeen Jesuit missionaries reports and provided an encyclopedic survey of the history culture and society of China and Chinese Tartary that is Manchuria Jean Baptiste Du HaldeBorn 1674 02 01 February 1 1674Paris FranceDiedAugust 18 1743 1743 08 18 aged 69 Paris FranceCitizenshipFrenchScientific careerFieldsHistory Part of the 1712 letter from Francois Xavier d Entrecolles re published by Jean Baptiste du Halde in 1735 Voltaire said of Du Halde s work Although it is developed out of Paris and he hath not known the Chinese he gave on the basis of the memoirs of his colleagues the widest and the best description the empire of China has had worldwide 1 Contents 1 Career 2 Description of China 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 Sources 5 External linksCareer editDu Halde entered the Society of Jesus in 1692 and became professor at the College of Paris succeeding Charles Le Gobien From 1711 to 1743 he oversaw the publication of Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses written from Foreign Missions by Jesuit missionaries in China published in 34 volumes ranges between 1703 and 1776 He wrote prefaces for volumes IX to XXVI He was also Secretary of Michel Le Tellier and confessor to the son of the regent in 1729 Du Halde is also the author of writings in Latin as well as a treatise entitled Le Sage chretien ou les Principes de la vraie sagesse pour se conduire chretiennement dans le monde The Christian Sage or the principles of true wisdom to lead a Christian in the world published in 1724 Description of China edit nbsp Description de la Chine by Jean Baptiste Du Halde 1736 Drawn from the Jesuit Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses and unpublished reports containing translations of Chinese texts of various origins Du Halde s Geographical Historical Chronological Political and Physical Description of the Empire of China and Chinese Tartary appeared in Paris in four volumes in 1735 it was reprinted in the Netherlands the next year 2 and translated into English as The General History of China two years after that 3 Besides a very detailed geographical description based on work by the Jesuits the book gave encyclopedic coverage of all aspects of Chinese civilization the emperors and the government the military and police institutions the nobility agriculture and handicrafts the genius glory and appearance of Chinese religion ethics and ceremonies science and medicine money and commerce the language and writing system the production of porcelain and silkworm breeding Its understandings of Chinese religion and philosophy were informed by the translations published in 1711 at Prague by the Jesuit Francois Noel whose lack of the earlier Christian interpolations in the Chinese text had caused them to be banned in the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire There is also an abstract of the explorations of Vitus Bering which was the first European description of Alaska The book was very quickly added to all academic libraries and has translated into most European languages It had a significant impact on European society in the 18th century including a decades long English interest in China and Chinese thought The philosophers of the Enlightenment drew on it for their thoughts and controversies about religions cultures and customs while European manufacturers discovered the secrets of Chinese geography and the first map of the Korea by Jean Baptiste Regis and 42 maps of Chinese provinces by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d Anville See also editPortals nbsp Biography nbsp Catholicism nbsp China Jesuit China missionsReferences editCitations edit Le Siecle de Louis XIV Catalogue de la plupart des ecrivains francais qui ont paru dans le Siecle de Louis XIV pour servir a l histoire litteraire de ce temps 1751 Du Halde 1736 Du Halde 1741 Sources edit Du Halde Jean Baptiste 1735 Description Geographique Historique Chronologique Politique et Physique de l Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise A Geographical Historical Chronological Political and Physical Description of the Empire of China and of Chinese Tartary Paris P G le Mercier in French Vol I II III amp IV Du Halde Jean Baptiste 1736 Description Geographique Historique Chronologique Politique et Physique de l Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise A Geographical Historical Chronological Political and Physical Description of the Empire of China and Chinese Tartary The Hague H Scheurleer in French Vols I II III amp IV Du Halde Jean Baptiste 1741 Brookes Richard ed The General History of China 3rd ed London J Watts Vols I II III amp IV Isabelle Landry Deron La Preuve par la Chine la Description de J B Du Halde jesuite 1735 Editions de l Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales Paris 2002 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article fr Auteur Jean Baptiste Du Halde nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean Baptiste Du Halde Travel Exhibit Du Halde Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Baptiste Du Halde amp oldid 1212666961 Description of China, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
