| An Authentic Account of the Embassy of the Dutch East-India Company, to the Court of the Emperor of China, in the Years 1794 and 1795: Volume 2 Contributor(s): Braam Houckgeest, André Everard Van (Author), Moreau de Saint-Méry, M. L. E. (Editor), Moreau de Saint-Méry, M. L. E. (Translator) |
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ISBN: 051199608X ISBN-13: 9780511996085 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $72.25 Product Type: Open Ebook - Other Formats Published: August 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - China |
| Dewey: 951 |
| Series: Cambridge Library Collection - History |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian - Cultural Region - Chinese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: First published in French in Philadelphia in 1797 and translated into English for the London edition of 1798 reissued here, this travelogue by Andr Everard van Braam Houckgeest (1739-1801) was received with enthusiasm by readers hungry for exotic accounts of distant lands. It vividly describes a visit to the Chinese imperial court by a delegation from the Dutch East India Company soon after the British Macartney embassy, and delivers a rare glimpse of an unfamiliar landscape and culture. Fascinated by his experiences, van Braam records that he thought it 'far better to lose a few hours rest, than to let a single remarkable object escape me'. Volume 2 includes one of the last known Western descriptions of the spectacular Summer Palace, destroyed in 1860, and a detailed list of several hundred Chinese paintings and drawings that van Braam brought back and intended to donate to the French nation. |