The General History of China Containing a Geographical, Historical, Chronological, Political, and Physical Description of the Empire of China, Chinese-Tartary, Corea, and Thibet
- London: Printed by and for John Watts, 1736
London: Printed by and for John Watts, 1736. First edition in English. Near Fine. First published in French in Paris the previous year. Four volumes, octavo (120 x 192 mm). [14], 509; [12], 438; [14], 496; [14], 464 pp. Complete with nineteen plates (eleven folding), including the four frontispieces, and four folding maps. Full contemporary polished calf. Volumes one and two rebacked with original spines laid down. Some edgewear and bumping to corners. Armorial bookplate to upper pastedown of each volume. Small hole to upper flyleaf of volume one; upper flyleaf of volume four coming loose (but still holding). Archival tape repair to verso of one map. Small contemporary ink ownership signature to each title-page. A very handsome set, remarkably clean and fresh throughout. Near Fine.
Though Jean-Baptise Du Halde (1674 – 1743) never traveled to the land he described in his work, he used the accounts of Jesuit missionaries to compile an encyclopedic description of all aspects of Chinese society – from religion to language to silkworm breeding. The General History of China was "more elaborate and authentic than any other account of the empire that had appeared previously...it was an encyclopaedia of information, a rich quarry for writers who happened to be interested in Chinese affairs in the mid-eighteenth-century" (Löwendahl, Bibliotheca Asiatica). The work "served as the premier source of European knowledge of China for much of the eighteenth century" and was admired by Voltaire (Royal Collection Trust). Near Fine.
Though Jean-Baptise Du Halde (1674 – 1743) never traveled to the land he described in his work, he used the accounts of Jesuit missionaries to compile an encyclopedic description of all aspects of Chinese society – from religion to language to silkworm breeding. The General History of China was "more elaborate and authentic than any other account of the empire that had appeared previously...it was an encyclopaedia of information, a rich quarry for writers who happened to be interested in Chinese affairs in the mid-eighteenth-century" (Löwendahl, Bibliotheca Asiatica). The work "served as the premier source of European knowledge of China for much of the eighteenth century" and was admired by Voltaire (Royal Collection Trust). Near Fine.