Jean Joseph Marie Amiot (sometimes Amyot; ; February 1718October 9, 1793) was a French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

, during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

Life

Joseph Marie Amiot was born at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1737 and was sent in 1750 as a missionary to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He soon won the confidence of the

and spent the remainder of his life at

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He was a correspondent of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

, official translator of Western languages for the Qianlong Emperor, and the spiritual leader of the French mission in Peking. He died in Peking in 1793, two days after the departure of the British

Macartney Embassy The Macartney Embassy (), also called the Macartney Mission, was the first British diplomatic mission to China, which took place in 1793. It is named for its leader, George Macartney, Great Britain's first envoy to China. The goals of the missi ...

. He could not meet Lord Macartney, but exhorted him to patience in two letters, explaining that "this world is the reverse of our own". He used a

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are often a ...

(''Qian De-Ming'' ) while he was in China.

Works

Amiot made good use of the advantages which his situation afforded, and his works did more than any before to make known to the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

the thought and life of the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. His

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

dictionary ''Dictionnaire tartare-mantchou-français'' (Paris, 1789) was a work of great value, the language having been previously quite unknown in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 1772 he translated ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'', one of the most influential war strategy and tactics treatises in military history, written around the 6th century

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

and attributed to General Sun Tzu, into French. The first successful translation to English would not be achieved before another 138 years, in 1910. His other writings are to be found chiefly in the ''Mémoires concernant l'histoire, les sciences et les arts des Chinois'' (15 volumes, Paris, 1776–1791). The ''Vie de

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

'', the twelfth volume of that collection, was more complete and accurate than any predecessors. Amiot tried to impress mandarins in Beijing with

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera an ...

's harpsichord piece ''Les sauvages'',Thomas Christensen, "Rameau and Musical Thought in the Enlightenment", Cambridge University Press, 1993. . Page 295
On Google Books
/ref> a suite that was later reworked as part of Rameau's opera-ballet ''

Les Indes galantes (French: "The Amorous Indies") is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. It takes the form of an ''opéra-ballet'' with a prologue and (in its final form) four ''entrées'' (acts). Following an allegorical prologue, ...

''. Amiot was the first European to comment on the

Chinese yo-yo The diabolo ( ; commonly misspelled ''diablo'') is a juggling or circus prop consisting of an axle () and two cups (hourglass/egg timer shaped) or discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object is spun using a string attached to two hand s ...

.Duckett, M. W.; ed. (1861).
Diable
,
Dictionnaire de la conversation et de la lecture inventaire raisonné des notions générales les plus indispensables à tous par une société de savants et de gens de lettres sous la direction de M. W. Duckett
' Dictionary ... under the direction of M. W. Duckett" Volume 7, p.531-2. 2nd edition. F. Didot. Amiot was the first European to ship free-reeded instruments from Asia to Europe. The introduction of the sheng was to set off an era of experimentation in free-reeded instruments that would ultimately lead to the invention of the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

."Indes galantes, Les (The Gallant Indies,"
Naxos.com website (accessed 9 March 2010)

Life

Works

See also

References

Citation

Sources

Further reading