:''Sir George Macartney should not be confused with his kinsman
George Macartney, an earlier British statesman.''
Sir George McCartney () (19 January 1867 –19 May 1945), generally recorded as Macartney, was the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
consul-general
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
in
Kashgar at the end of the 19th century. He was succeeded by
Percy T. Etherton. Macartney arrived in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
in 1890 as interpreter for the
Younghusband expedition. He remained there until 1918. Macartney first proposed the
Macartney-MacDonald Line as the boundary between China and India in
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
.
Macartney was born at
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
and was half-Chinese while his godfather was Chinese politician
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...
. His father,
Halliday Macartney, was a member of the same family as
George Macartney, the 18th century British ambassador to China, and his mother was a near relative of
Lar Wang, one of the leaders of the
Taiping
__NOTOC__
Taiping, Tai-p’ing, or Tai Ping most often refers to:
Chinese history
* Princess Taiping (died 713), Tang dynasty princess
* Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), civil war in southern China
** Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), the re ...
rebellion.
Macartney married Catherine Borland in 1898. In Kashgar his wife,
Catherine, Lady Macartney, assisted the
archaeologists who found the library at
Dunhuang. The Macartneys had three children.
[Skrine (1973), p. vii]
The Macartneys retired to Jersey in the Channel Islands, where they were trapped by the German occupation during World War II. Macartney died on
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...
, just a few days after the German surrender.
References
Bibliography
*
*Lady Macartney, ''An English Lady in Chinese Turkestan''. London: Ernest Benn, 1931.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macartney, George
1867 births
1945 deaths
British explorers
Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Explorers of Central Asia
History of Xinjiang
British people of Chinese descent
British consuls