Jean-Baptiste Du Halde
Jean-Baptiste Du Halde (* 1. February 1674 in Paris ; † 18th August 1743 ) was a French Jesuit , geographer and sinologist , in particular by the 1735 published four-volume work Description de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise ( Description China and Chinese Tartary ) became known.
Live and act
Jean-Baptiste Du Halde graduated from the Jesuit college, Collège Louis-le-Grand , became a member of the Societas Jesu on September 8, 1692, and took the four vows on February 2, 1708. He worked in Paris throughout his life, never traveled, never went to China and spoke no Chinese. He was temporarily secretary to Michel Le Tellier , the confessor of King Louis XIV , and from 1729 confessor of Louis I de Bourbon, duc d'Orléans , the son of the regent of France, Philippe II. De Bourbon, duc d'Orléans .
From 1711 until the end of his life, he continued the publications of the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses , a regular edition of edifying and informative letters from Jesuit missionaries mainly from China, in which various aspects of this country, which was largely unknown in Europe, were published by Charles Le Gobien SJ were.
He finally summarized the information obtained from the letters of the missionaries in the four-volume work Description de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise to a comprehensive description of this country, supplemented by numerous maps , the Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville on the basis of the maps of the Jesuit missionaries around Jean-Baptiste Régis , in particular the first comprehensive and reliable map of China at all. The description of China was published in a slightly modified new edition in The Hague in 1736 and shortly thereafter translated into English (London, 1739), German (Rostock, 1747–1756) and Russian (St. Petersburg, 1774–1777). The Description de la Chine remained the standard work on China used throughout Europe. The map of Tibet , based on the observations of two lamas instructed by the Jesuits , was the only reasonably reliable map of this inaccessible land until the end of the 19th century.
The following description of Du Halde has come down to us from Voltaire :
«Jésuite; quoiqu'il ne soit point sorti de Paris, et qu'il n'ait point su le chinois, a donné sur les Mémoires de ses confrères la plus ample et la meilleure description de l'empire de la Chine qu'on ait dans le moons. »
"Jesuit; although he never left Paris and could not speak any Chinese, based on the communications of his friars gave the most extensive and best description of the Empire of China there is in the world. "
Works
- Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, écrites des missions étrangères par quelques missionnaires de la Compagnie de Jésus. Volume IX-XXVI. Paris, 1709-1743.
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Description geographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise.
- PG Lemercier, Paris 1735, Volume I (digitized version) Volume II (digitized version)
- Henri Scheuleer, Den Haag 1736, Volume I - Internet Archive , Volume II - Internet Archive , Volume II - Internet Archive , Volume IV - Internet Archive
- The General History of China: Containing A Geographical, Historical, Chronological, Political and Physical Description of the Empire of China, Chinese-Tartary, Corea and Thibet, Including an Extract and Particular Accaount of their Customs, Manners, Ceremonies, Religion, Arts and Sciences. John Watts, London 1736 Volume I 1736 (digitized version) Volume II 1736 (digitized version) Volume III 1736 (2nd edition 1739 (digitized version) ) Volume IV 1736 (2nd edition 1739 (digitized version) )
- Detailed description of the Chinese Empire and the great tartarey. Johann Christian Koppe, Rostock 1747–1756 Volume I 1747 (digitized version) Volume II 1748 (digitized version) Volume III 1749 (digitized version) Volume IV 1749 (digitized version) Additions 1756 (digitized version)
Web links
- Description of the empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise. 1736 ( archive.org ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Régine Jomand-Baudry: Jean-Baptiste Du Halde (1674-1743). In: Dictionnaire des journalistes (1600–1789). Retrieved September 28, 2012 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | You Halde, Jean-Baptiste |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French Jesuit and geographer, author of the "Description de la Chine" |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 1, 1674 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 18, 1743 |
| Place of death | Paris |