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  3. Cambridge Library Collection - East and South-East Asian History

This series focuses on East and South-East Asia from the early modern period to the end of the Victorian era. It includes contemporary accounts of European encounters with the civilisations of China, Japan and South-East Asia from the time of the Jesuit missions and the East India companies to the Chinese revolution of 1911.

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54 results in Cambridge Library Collection - East and South-East Asian History

Page 1 of 3

Colonial Policy and Practice
  • A Comparative Study of Burma and Netherlands India
  • John Sydenham Furnivall
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
  • A noted historian of Burma and a founder of the Burma Research Society, John Sydenham Furnivall (1878–1960) supported Burmese independence and freedom from colonial rule. However, he has been considered as Eurocentric and in favour of colonialism, in part because he saw it as a necessary stage in the improvement of certain societies. Stemming from a request in 1942 by the colonial government for Furnivall's views on reconstruction, this influential study was published in 1948. Using the Dutch East Indies as a case study for comparison, Furnivall assesses the effects of the different systems of colonial rule, framed within general surveys of their colonial policies and practices. The book is driven by the goal of consolidating and stabilising Burma's plural society, focusing on the importance of the welfare of the native population. Furnivall's Netherlands India (1939) has also been reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Travels in Kamtschatka
  • During the Years 1787 and 1788
  • Volume 2
  • Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • Jean-Baptiste-Barthélemy de Lesseps (1766–1834), a French diplomat, served as an interpreter on La Pérouse's voyage around the world, which sailed from Brest in 1785. In 1787, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, he was tasked with an overland mission to get reports back to France as La Pérouse proceeded to Australia. This two-volume work, reissued here in its English translation of 1790, is a compelling account of the one-year journey from Russia to France, and a tale of endurance and resourcefulness in the face of forbidding conditions. More than a mere journal, it also relates the author's observations on the way of life in Kamchatka, its institutions and trade. Rich in detail, the work will appeal to historians and readers with an interest in transcontinental adventure. Volume 2 covers his journey from the north-eastern extremity of the Sea of Okhotsk all the way back to France.

Travels in Kamtschatka
  • During the Years 1787 and 1788
  • Volume 1
  • Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • Jean-Baptiste-Barthélemy de Lesseps (1766–1834), a French diplomat, served as an interpreter on La Pérouse's voyage around the world, which sailed from Brest in 1785. In 1787, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, he was tasked with an overland mission to get reports back to France as La Pérouse proceeded to Australia. This two-volume work, reissued here in its English translation of 1790, is a compelling account of the one-year journey from Russia to France, and a tale of endurance and resourcefulness in the face of forbidding conditions. More than a mere journal, it also relates the author's observations on the way of life in Kamchatka, its institutions and trade. Rich in detail, the work will appeal to historians and readers with an interest in transcontinental adventure. Volume 1 covers his journey from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the north-eastern extremity of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
  • Particularly in the Government of Java, 1811–1816 and of Bencoolen and its Dependencies, 1817–1824
  • Sophia Raffles
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • During his last voyage back to England, the ship of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) caught fire, consuming many of the papers from which future biographers might have worked. When he died two years later, the task of sifting through the surviving materials and recording his life and career fell to his widow Sophia (1786–1858). Her substantial biography, first published in 1830, remains an essential source of information about one of the key figures of British colonialism in the East Indies. At the centre of the book, interspersed with many of her husband's letters, is Raffles' struggle against his Dutch opponents, with whom he clashed on ideological grounds - he noted with distaste their mistreatment of the local population and their advocacy of slavery. It was this rivalry which convinced Raffles to found Singapore as a trading post. His two-volume History of Java (1817) is also reissued in this series.

Netherlands India
  • A Study of Plural Economy
  • J. S. Furnivall
  • Published online:
    07 September 2010
    Print publication:
    17 June 2010
    First published in:
    1939
  • A classic study of the subject and one of the major works in English on Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, Furnivall's magisterial history was published on the brink of the Second World War when Dutch power was waning in the archipelago. This study traces the economic and social development of Netherlands India from the arrival of the Dutch to 1939. It illustrates the geographical, economic and social features of the colony, and how Dutch and native Indonesian inhabitants co-existed within a unique, now lost, society and culture. Furnivall (1878–1960) served as a British colonial administrator in Burma for many years, and went on to become Professor of Burmese Studies at Cambridge University. The breadth and scope of this book make it an often cited and influential book in southeast Asian studies to this day.

Twilight in the Forbidden City
  • Reginald F. Johnston
  • Published online:
    05 September 2013
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1934
  • British academic and diplomat Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874–1938) published Twilight in the Forbidden City in 1934. The work is a memoir of Johnston's time in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, at the court of the Qing Dynasty, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi (1906–1967), last emperor of China. Johnston was one of only two foreigners who were permitted to enter the imperial palace, and so his account provides a unique Western perspective on the epochal events of the period. The work has a preface by the emperor Puyi and includes detailed descriptions of palace rituals, including Puyi's wedding ceremony; translations of key documents; Johnston's perspective on the revolution of 1911 and the 1917 restoration; his observations on Chinese society as a whole; and eye-witness accounts of the political intrigues of the palace. The memoir was dramatised in Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic masterpiece, The Last Emperor.

A Diplomat in Japan
  • The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution of Japan When the Ports Were Opened and the Monarchy Restored
  • Ernest Satow
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1921
  • A brilliant linguist, Sir Ernest Satow (1843–1929) was recruited into the British consular service as a student interpreter in 1861. The following year he arrived in Japan, where he witnessed the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji restoration of imperial rule. Drafted in the 1880s while he was consul-general in Bangkok, this 1921 account is based on the voluminous diaries Satow kept whilst in Japan between 1862 and 1869. As an interpreter he was present at many of the meetings between the diplomatic and military representatives of the Great Powers and of the Shogunate. Satow gives his opinions of the various officials he met, and describes the rising tensions that led to conflict between the Shogunate and the Emperor, civil war, and the reassertion of the Emperor's power. Satow's classic Guide to Diplomatic Practice (1917) is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Relations de voyages et textes géographiques arabes, persans et turks relatifs a l'Extrême-Orient du VIIIe au XVIIIe siècles
  • Traduits, revus et annotés
  • Volume 2
  • Gabriel Ferrand
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1914
  • Gabriel Ferrand (1864–1935) travelled widely as a French diplomat and pursued scholarly passions as a polyglot orientalist. He served as consul to Madagascar and published several works about the island, noting the Arab influence that preceded the arrival of Europeans. A member of the Société Asiatique, and editor of its journal from 1920 until his death, Ferrand sought in particular to make Arabic geographical and nautical writings more accessible to fellow scholars and students. Forming part of that project, this work appeared in two volumes in 1913–14. It presents annotated French translations of mainly Arabic texts relating to the Far East. Brief biographical notes on the authors are given for the benefit of non-specialists. Volume 2 contains texts from the thirteenth century onwards, and includes a section of translated extracts from Chinese, Japanese, Tamil, Kawi and Malay texts.

Relations de voyages et textes géographiques arabes, persans et turks relatifs a l'Extrême-Orient du VIIIe au XVIIIe siècles
  • Traduits, revus et annotés
  • Gabriel Ferrand
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1913
  • Gabriel Ferrand (1864–1935) travelled widely as a French diplomat and pursued scholarly passions as a polyglot orientalist. He served as consul to Madagascar and published several works about the island, noting the Arab influence that preceded the arrival of Europeans. A member of the Société Asiatique, and editor of its journal from 1920 until his death, Ferrand sought in particular to make Arabic geographical and nautical writings more accessible to fellow scholars and students. Forming part of that project, this work appeared in two volumes in 1913–14. It presents annotated French translations of mainly Arabic texts relating to the Far East. Brief biographical notes on the authors are given for the benefit of non-specialists. Volume 1 contains the preliminary matter explaining Ferrand's approach to transcription and translation. This is followed by texts up to the thirteenth century, including extracts from the ninth-century author Sulaiman al-Tajir.

Lion and Dragon in Northern China
  • Reginald F. Johnston
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1910
  • Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874–1938) was a colonial administrator and scholar with a lifelong fascination with China who was appointed tutor to the young Puyi (1906–1967), who became emperor at the age of two. Johnston was highly favoured by the emperor, receiving several imperial titles and residing in the Forbidden City. His account of his time as Puyi's tutor, Twilight in the Forbidden City, also reissued in this series, was dramatised in the film The Last Emperor. Previously, Johnston had served in a variety of colonial service positions, including three years as commissioner of the British-held territory of Weihaiwai. This book, first published in 1910, is Johnston's examination of Weihaiwei, which he considered to be a microcosm of Chinese life. Writing with obvious affection, Johnston outlines the history, culture, festivals and local folklore of Weihaiwei and explores what the future could hold for the city.

Hertslet's China Treaties
  • Treaties, etc., between Great Britain and China in Force on the 1st January, 1908
  • Volume 2
  • Compiled by Edward Hertslet
  • Edited by Godfrey E. P. Hertslet
  • Assisted by Edward Parkes
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1908
  • The first edition of this work, which outlines China's treaty engagements with various foreign powers, was published by Sir Edward Hertslet (1824–1902) in 1896. The two-volume third edition reissued here was published by his son Godfrey in 1908, and took account of new treaties in the intervening twelve years relevant to the Chinese sphere of influence. The work is remarkably inclusive, and cross-refers between similar treaties with China and different Western powers, as well as containing ancillary material such as a ground-plan of the foreign legation district in Beijing, and British government documents relevant to the various treaties. This edition is of particular interest for students of international law and diplomacy, as it covers the regulations governing relations between China and Britain in the year in which the last imperial Chinese ruler ascended the throne. Volume 2 contains relevant British documents including Acts of Parliament and Orders in Council.

Hertslet's China Treaties
  • Treaties, etc., between Great Britain and China in Force on the 1st January, 1908
  • Volume 1
  • Compiled by Edward Hertslet
  • Edited by Godfrey E. P. Hertslet
  • Assisted by Edward Parkes
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1908
  • The first edition of this work, which outlines China's treaty engagements with various foreign powers, was published by Sir Edward Hertslet (1824–1902) in 1896. The two-volume third edition reissued here was published by his son Godfrey in 1908, and took account of new treaties in the intervening twelve years which were relevant to the Chinese sphere of influence. The work is remarkably inclusive, and cross-refers with similar treaties between China and different Western powers, as well as containing ancillary material such as a ground-plan of the foreign legation district in Beijing, and British government documents relevant to the various treaties. This edition is of particular interest for students of international law and diplomacy, as it covers the regulations governing relations between China and Britain in the year in which the last imperial Chinese ruler ascended the throne. Volume 1 contains the treaties.

Li Hung-Chang
  • His Life and Times
  • Alicia E. Neve Little
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 December 2010
    First published in:
    1903
  • Alicia Little (1845–1926) was a prolific writer who moved to China after her marriage to missionary Archibald Little (1838–1907) in 1866. She published many accounts of Chinese culture and society before founding the successful campaign against foot-binding in 1895. This volume, first published in 1903, contains her biography of the eminent Chinese statesman Li Hung–Chang (1823–1901). Li was a towering figure in late nineteenth century Chinese political life, exerting a profound influence over Chinese foreign policy and relations and overseeing China's development of western style industrialism until his dramatic fall from power following China's defeat in the 1894 Sino-Japanese War. Using contemporary newspaper accounts, eyewitness descriptions, and interviews with his contemporaries, Little describes Li's life chronologically, describing his rise to prominence following the Taiping Rebellion in 1851. This volume was the first extensive account of Li's life to be published in English.

Corea or Cho-sen
  • The Land of the Morning Calm
  • A. Henry Savage Landor
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1895
  • Born and educated in Florence, Arnold Henry Savage Landor (1867–1925) abandoned his art studies in Paris in favour of adventurous expeditions across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society from 1892, Landor was also made a member of the Royal Institution in 1897. Dismissive of specialist equipment, he embarked on extraordinary trips that often required considerable courage and endurance. Another of his publications, Alone with the Hairy Ainu (1893), is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. The present work, first published in 1895, is an absorbing account of the geography, people and culture of Korea. While Landor's grasp of the forces of change at work in the country may be partial, the work nevertheless demonstrates a valuable understanding of Korean culture and customs not found in earlier accounts. Many fine illustrations by Landor himself increase the book's appeal.

Problems of the Far East
  • Japan, Korea, China
  • George Nathaniel Curzon
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    02 July 2015
    First published in:
    1894
  • Following his election to Parliament and extensive travels through Asia, George Nathaniel Curzon (1859–1925) published in 1894 this consideration of the present state of Japan, Korea and China within a changing international landscape. Later viceroy of India, Curzon was fascinated by the rich cultural heritage of the Far East, yet he remained a staunch supporter of British imperialism. He explains that the book's purpose is to delve deeper into political, social and economic conditions, rather than present a travel narrative of 'temples, tea-houses and bric-à-brac'. After devoting a substantial section to each country, Curzon closes with 'The Prospect', exploring what he envisages for the future of the whole region. The favourable reception of this title and his 1892 work, Persia and the Persian Question (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection), highlighted Curzon's diligently acquired knowledge of Asian affairs and how they affected Britain's imperial interests.

Japan in Art and Industry
  • With a Glance at Japanese Manners and Customs
  • Félix Elie Régamey
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    13 June 2013
    First published in:
    1893
  • Ending centuries of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to the world in the late nineteenth century, revealing a rich and sophisticated culture. Largely unknown until then, it proved an object of fascination to the West, and the delicacy of its art inspired such figures as Van Gogh, Manet, Whistler and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. French painter Félix Elie Régamey (1844–1907) was one of the few Europeans who had travelled to Japan, and his deep respect and understanding of the country's art and customs soon established him as an expert. Appearing first in French in 1891, his observations were published in this English translation in 1893. Offering an artist's perspective on Japan and its mores, it also contains 100 illustrations drawn by the author using Japanese techniques. Readers will find much of interest in this valuable contribution to the study of Japanese culture.

Japanese Girls and Women
  • Alice Mabel Bacon
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    21 May 2015
    First published in:
    1891
  • After spending a year in Tokyo, American teacher Alice Mabel Bacon (1858–1918) became the first author to usher Western readers into the graceful, paper-walled realm of the Japanese woman. An intimate friend of several Japanese ladies, Bacon was privy to a domestic world which remained closed to male visitors. This 1891 work begins with birth and childhood, including the colourful, kimono-like dress of infants, their ornate dolls, and their education in handwriting, flower painting and etiquette. Trained for a lifetime of service to her husband and his parents, the Japanese woman was praised for her loyalty and obedience. But new Western influences, especially on education, were challenging the old ways. Bacon evocatively depicts Japanese women unsettled by their modern education, yet saddled with traditional cultural expectations. With its insight into Japan's class system, cultural history and moral framework, this book remains an essential complement to any study of Japanese social history.

Le Royaume du Cambodge
  • Volume 1
  • Jean Moura
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    21 May 2015
    First published in:
    1883
  • In 1868, Jean Moura took up the post of Administrator of the French protectorate of Cambodia, established the previous year by invitation of the country's rulers who wanted freedom from Thai control. Apart from a short break in 1870, Moura stayed in his post at Phnom Penh until 1879. The foreword describes Moura's determined efforts to find out about every aspect of Cambodian history and culture, and explains how on his return to France he prepared this two-volume, illustrated reference work. Published in 1883, it was announced as the first serious study of Cambodia, indispensable to those wishing to seek their fortune in this most beautiful of French colonies. Volume 1 begins by describing Cambodia's geography, geology, natural resources and agriculture. Moura then discusses topics including exports and trade, the layout and architecture of towns, religion, administration and law, language, literature and education, and the customs of Cambodia's different ethnic groups.

Le Royaume du Cambodge
  • Volume 2
  • Jean Moura
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    21 May 2015
    First published in:
    1883
  • In 1868, Jean Moura took up the post of Administrator of the French protectorate of Cambodia, established the previous year by invitation of the country's rulers who wanted freedom from Thai control. Apart from a short break in 1870, Moura stayed in his post at Phnom Penh until 1879. The foreword describes Moura's determined efforts to find out about every aspect of Cambodian history and culture, and explains how on his return to France he prepared this two-volume, illustrated reference work. Published in 1883, it was announced as the first serious study of Cambodia, indispensable to those wishing to seek their fortune in this most beautiful of French colonies. Volume 2 focuses on the royal chronicles of Cambodia, and on the country's ancient sites and antiquities, their architecture and decoration, before discussing contemporary architecture, visual arts, poetry, music and drama. The book ends with an appendix of recently deciphered Cambodian inscriptions.

Japan
  • Its Architecture, Art, and Art Manufactures
  • Christopher Dresser
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    21 May 2015
    First published in:
    1882
  • Educated at the Government School of Design (predecessor of the Royal College of Art), Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) became arguably the first industrial designer, identified by his name on his work. He was an early proponent of oriental art: as a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement, he promoted Japonism in art and decoration. In 1876–7 he toured Japan at the Japanese government's invitation, investigating local manufacturing and design. This beautifully illustrated 1882 work is the result. The first half is a travelogue of Dresser's time in Japan, written with a designer's eye for the architecture and decoration around him. The second half, covering the various ways in which design and decoration were used in the manufacturing industries, includes consideration of architectural motifs, the importance of symbols, lacquerware, ceramics, metalware, and fabric production. This remains an invaluable resource for the student of Japanese art and design.

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