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An Embassy from the East-India Company

An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces... (Dutch: Het Gezandtschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie...) is a book written by the Dutch explorer Johan Nieuhof in 1665, providing a somewhat embellished account of the first Dutch embassy to visit China in 1655, 1656, and 1657. It was promptly translated into French, Latin, and German by the original publisher and then translated into English with some additions by John Ogilby in two editions in 1669 and 1673. Ogilby's translations included the Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell's written rebuttal of the Dutch claims and aims, as well as a partial translation of Athanasius Kircher's recently published China Illustrata, based on other Jesuit accounts. Nieuhof's original account and its translations served as a major influence in the rise of chinoiserie in the early eighteenth century.[1]

An Embassy from
the East-India Company
of the United Provinces...
AuthorJohan Nieuhof
Original titleHet Gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie aan den Grooten Tartarischen Cham, den Tegenwoordigen Keizer van China...
TranslatorJohn Ogilby
IllustratorJohan Nieuhof
LanguageDutch
SubjectChina
GenreTravel literature
Published1665 (Dutch & French)

1666 (German)
1668 (Latin)

1669 & 1673 (English)
Publication placeNetherlands

Context

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The main map of China from the 1665 Dutch edition, detailing the route of the VOC embassy north from Guangzhou along the North, Gan, and Yangtze Rivers and thence along the Grand Canal to Beijing

The book details the two year travel of the first Dutch embassy to visit China, from 1655 to 1657. The empire had begun accepting visitors after the start of the Qing dynasty, and the Dutch embassy visited with the goal of entering a trade deal on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).[2] The Dutch were promised an audience with the Chinese emperor. As the embassy's steward, Nieuhof was tasked with keeping an account of the travels of the embassy. In addition to keeping the logbook for the journey, Nieuhof also drew several impressions of landscapes, cities, and people, which were to be used as a visual supplementation of the account for the VOC.[3]

After returning from China, Nieuhof gifted his notes and illustrations to his brother Hendrik Nieuhof, who collaborated with the Dutch publisher and engraver Jacob van Meurs. Nieuhof left shortly thereafter, leaving the entire publication process in the hands of the publisher. Van Meurs turned Nieuhof's notes into a story, and the illustrations into copper engravings for printing. In 1665, almost ten years after the embassy visit to China, the first edition of Het Gezantschap in Dutch was published.[4]

Despite its claim of being true to life, it has been indicated by Falkenburg and Blussé that this was not the case. The research of Falkenburg and Blussé compare the difference between the illustrations from An Embassy of the Dutch East-India Company Nieuhof's with Nieuhof's original sketches drawn during his time in China, which were rediscovered in the private collection of Roland Bonaparte in 1976 after being lost for four centuries. The published version of the travel account added illustrations (from 68 sketches in Nieuhof's notes to 149 illustrations in the published version) and changed sceneries to seem more exotic by adding exotic plants, pagodas and people with umbrella's. The written text was also edited, embellishing the travels.[5]

Content

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The frontispiece of the 1693 reprint of the Dutch edition, depicting a prisoner in the cangue (Chinese pillory) before the Qing emperor Shunzhi beneath his ceremonial parasol.

The book consists of the notes and illustrations that Nieuhof made in his position as a steward on Pieter de Goyer and Jacob de Keizer's embassy to the emperor of China. These notes and illustrations were left in the care of his brother Hendrik, "so as they not fall prey to rugged seas and hollow waves". This manuscript was eventually bundled and published to form this book, containing a written account of the embassy as well as 149 illustrations.[6]

The book is split into two parts, the first of which details the journey of the embassy from Batavia to Beijing led by Pieter de Goyer and Jacob de Keizer to the emperor of China. This part also contains descriptions and depictions of all that the embassy came to pass on its trip. This part contains 69 cityscapes drawn from the perspective of the ship, 20 detailed illustrations of architectural structures, and 9 illustrations of Chinese people and culture.[7]

In addition to the illustrations, the first part provides a written account of the experiences of the Dutch in China, discussing their encounters with the Chinese and "Tartars", their experiences in the empire, and commercial interests such as trading, wages, and exotic merchandise.[7]

The second part of the book serves as a general description of the empire of China. It provides information on the language, craftsmanship, culture, customs, fashion, religion and the natural world. The written account is supplemented with illustrations of the people, animals, and plants of China. This part contains 13 depictions of Chinese people from all classes, 13 etches of Chinese flora and fauna, depictions of Buddhist temples and deities, as well as several architectural structures.[7]

In total, the account contains 149 illustrations, an unusually high number for 17th century books. Printing images was still far more expensive than written text, as it required copper etchings to be created and carefully printed in the books. Most travel accounts produced in this time would feature only a handful of images.[8]

Publication history

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Ji'an as approached by river, from the 1665 French edition

The book was first published in Dutch by the Amsterdam-based publisher and engraver Jacob van Meurs in 1665.[7] After its initial publication, the book was translated into multiple languages.[8]

  • French, published in 1665[9]
  • German, published in 1666[10]
  • Latin, published in 1668[11]
  • English, published in 1669[12] and 1673[13]

The initial titles were extremely long. The Dutch title is conventionally abbreviated to Het Gezantschap or Het Gezantschap aan den grooten Tartarische Cham and the English title to An Embassy from the East-India Company.[3] The German and Latin titles distinguished the entourage as a legation, rather than a full embassy.

The French, German, and Latin versions of the book were all published by Van Meurs. These versions are not merely translated, their contents were heavily edited as well. Depending on the translation, the book focuses more heavily on certain aspects (for example religion), whilst leaving other parts out, depending on the culture and biases of the intended audiences. The publications were heavily edited, geared towards commercial interests of the publisher.[8] The anonymous introduction added to the Latin edition, relating details from the travels of Marco Polo, was probably composed by Jacob Golius.[14]

The English translation was the only one not published by Van Meurs, and was instead published by John Ogilby. This version also includes excerpts from Athanasius Kircher's China Illustrata, a work chiefly compiled from accounts by the Jesuit China Mission, as well as an epistle of "John Adams", the Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell, opposing the aims of the Dutch mission.

Reception

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Etching of Chinese googhelaars ("magicians") from the 1665 Dutch edition[7]

Travel literature had become a significant public interest in the 17th century. With the global trade enterprises, and the increase in knowledge of the non-western world, these works became a way for the people at home to feel like they were traveling the world. This was paired with an increase in literacy and a larger middle class, resulting from the economical flourishing of Western countries, and the printing of books becoming cheaper because of advancements in the technology of the printing press.[3] For these reasons, as well as the novelty of the subject and the illustrations in the book, Het Gezantschap was very successful, and became one most popular travel books on China in the 17th century.[15]

 
Delftware porcelain plate decorated with a version of the googhelaars image from Nieuhof's work

Within the genre of travel writing, Het Gezantschap was an especially sought-after book. With information on China being sparse because of its previous inaccessibility, Nieuhof's travel account provided information on a new culture and land. The book is generally considered the first visual account of China created by a Western authoritative figure. Prior accounts of China had been supplemented with visual reference material after the fact, and often featured mythological and fantastical creatures. Nieuhof's travel account claimed to be "true to life" (na het leven).[3] Though this claim has been proven false, the sketches made by Nieuhof still featured elements drawn directly from observation.[16]

After the publication of the book, Van Meurs went on to publish another book about China. Together with the author Olfert Dapper, he published Gedenkwaerdig bedryf der Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Maetschappye, op de kuste en in het Keizerrijk van Taising of Sina.[17] The lithographies used to print the illustrations in An Embassy from the East-India Company were re-used in Dapper's account. A number of other works on China also re-used imagery from Nieuhof's travel account.[18]

Two months after giving his notes to his brother Hendrik, Nieuhof left on another journey for the VOC. He traveled to the Dutch East Indies, on another diplomatic mission. After this, he remained most of his life abroad, in the East Indies, Ceylon, and Batavia. Nieuhof never visited China again in his life, but two other books with his notes and sketches were published after his death. One about Brazil,[19] where he had worked for 9 years before the embassy visit to China, and another about the Dutch East Indies.[20]

Chinoiserie

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As it provided the first realistic visual representation of China, Nieuhof's travel account is considered one of the biggest influence on Western chinoiserie. Depictions of China were copied from the book and incorporated in Delftware porcelain, tapestries, wallpapers and paintings.[1] This artistic movement was especially famous in France and Great Britain, but had gained popularity all over Western-Europe.[21]

Impressions copied from Het Gezantschap can be found on many Chinoiserie works from the 1660s onwards, with artists often combining multiple cityscapes, characters and scenes from different illustrations.[22]

Editions

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The Forbidden City in Beijing, as depicted in the 1665 French edition.
 
Nanjing's Porcelain Pagoda, as depicted in the 1665 French edition.
 
Nieuhof's presentation of Chinese characters, presenting their development from ancient ideograms (1–12) and I Ching trigrams (a–d), the supposed subtleness of distinctions between them (a–g), and a mangled presentation of a character in Chinese cursive (M). 1665 French ed.
 
Manchu women and tents, as depicted in the 1665 French edition.

References

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An additional illustration in the China Illustrata appendix of John Ogilby's 1669 English edition, displaying severed heads on a Buddhist altar while a mandarin kowtows to a Thai-style idol of the Buddha or a bodhisattva.
 
Depiction of Chinese idols from the 1668 Latin edition, conflating the Taoist Sanxing and Buddhist figures to produce a trinity of Longevity, the Heavenly King, and "Pleasure" with both flanking gods depicted as forms of the Maitreya Buddha or his incarnation Budai.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b Morena, Francesco (2009). Chinoiserie: the evolution of the Oriental style in Italy from the 14th to the 19th century. Eve Leckey. Firenze: Centro Di. pp. 88–110. ISBN 978-88-7038-451-2. OCLC 191245151.
  2. ^ Spence, Jonathan (2000). Het grote continent van de Khan: China in de westerse verbeelding. Guus Houtzager. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij. ISBN 90-234-3907-4. OCLC 67506878.
  3. ^ a b c d Pos, A. (2010-02-11). Het Paviljoen van Porselein. Soesterberg: Aspekt. ISBN 978-90-5911-829-4. OCLC 742994729.
  4. ^ Tweelinge eener dragt: woord en beeld in de Nederlanden, 1500-1750. K. J. S. Bostoen, Elmer Kolfin, P. J. Smith. Hilversum: Verloren. 2001. pp. 223–243. ISBN 90-6550-661-6. OCLC 52858688.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ Ulrichs, Friederike (2003). Johan Nieuhofs Blick auf China (1655-1657): die Kupferstiche in seinem Chinabuch und ihre Wirkung auf den Verleger Jacob van Meurs. Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-04708-9. OCLC 586905319.
  6. ^ Sun (2013).
  7. ^ a b c d e Nieuhof (1665).
  8. ^ a b c Meersbergen, Guido van (2010-07-01). "De uitgeversstrategie van Jacob van Meurs belicht: de Amsterdamse en "Antwerpse" edities van Johan Nieuhofs 'Gezantschap' (1665-1666)". De Zeventiende Eeuw: Cultuur in de Nederlanden in Interdisciplinair Perspectief: Tijdschrift van de Werkgroep Zeventiende Eeuw.
  9. ^ Carpentier (1665).
  10. ^ Die Gesantschaft (1666).
  11. ^ Horn (1668).
  12. ^ Ogilby (1669).
  13. ^ Ogilby (1673).
  14. ^ Weststeijn (2012).
  15. ^ Adams, Percy (1978). "Travel Literature of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Review of Recent Approaches". Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 20 (3): 489. ISSN 0040-4691. JSTOR 40754548.
  16. ^ Morena, Francesco (2009). Chinoiserie: the evolution of the Oriental style in Italy from the 14th to the 19th century. Eve Leckey. Firenze: Centro Di Edizione. p. 143. ISBN 978-88-7038-451-2. OCLC 191245151.
  17. ^ Dapper, Olfert (1670). Gedenkwaerdig bedryf der Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Maetschappye, op de kuste en in het Keizerrijk van Taising of Sina: behelzende het 2e gezandschap aen den Onder-Koning Singlamong ... Vervolgt met een verhael van het voorgevallen des jaers 1663 en 1664 op de kuste van Sina ... en het 3e gezandschap aan Konchy, Tartarsche Keizer van Sina en Oost Tartarye ... beneffens een beschryving van geheel Sina. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Van Meurs. ISBN 9781363019465.
  18. ^ Odell, Dawn (2012). "The soul of transactions: Illustration and Johan Nieuhofs Travels in China". Zeventiende Eeuw. 3 (17): 225–242 – via Academia.edu.
  19. ^ Nieuhof, Johan (1682). "Joan Nieuhofs Gedenkwaerdige zee en lantreize door de voornaemste landschappen van West en Oostindien". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  20. ^ Nieuhof, Johan (1682). "Joan Nieuhofs Zee en lant-reize, door verscheide gewesten van Oostindien: behelzende veele zeltzaame en wonderlijke voorvallen en geschiedenissen. Beneffens een beschrijving van lantschappen, steden, dieren, gewassen, draghten, zeden en godsdienst der inwoonders en inzonderheit een wijtloopig verhael der stad Batavia ." lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  21. ^ Honour, Hugh (1973). Chinoiserie: the vision of Cathay. John Murray. OCLC 882747428.
  22. ^ Nieuhof, Johannes (1987). Johan Nieuhofs beelden van een chinareis, 1655-1657. Léonard Blussé, R. Falkenburg. Middelburg: Stichting VOC publicaties. ISBN 90-70174-31-6. OCLC 25340091.

Bibliography

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  • Blussé, L.; et al. (1987), Johan Nieuwhofs Beelden van een Chinareis, 1655–1657 (in Dutch), Middelburg{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  • Sun Jing (2013), The Illusion of Verisimilitude: Johan Nieuhof's Images of China (PDF), Leiden: Leiden University.
  • Ulrichs, F. (2003), "Johan Nieuhofs Blick auf China (1655–1657): Die Kuperstiche in Seinem Chinabuch und ihre Wirkung auf den Verleger Jacob van Meurs", Sinologica Coloniensia (in German), vol. 21, Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz Verlag, ISBN 3-447-04708-9.
  • Weststeijn, Thijs (2012), "The Middle Kingdom in the Low Countries: Sinology in the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands", The Making of the Humanities, vol. II: From Early Modern to Modern Disciplines, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, pp. 209–242, ISBN 978-90-8964-455-8.

See also

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