Nicholas Belfield Dennys (25 January 1839 – 5 December 1900) was a British civil servant and journalist in

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 studied

Chinese folklore Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phen ...

and wrote several studies on the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and culture. Dennys joined the civil department of the British Navy in 1855. After seeing action at the

Battle of Suomenlinna The Battle of Suomenlinna (also known as the Battle of Viapori or the Bombardment of Sweaborg) was fought on 9–11 August 1855 between Russian defenders and a joint United Kingdom, British/France, French fleet during the Åland War. It was a pa ...

in 1855 he received a Baltic medal and resigned from the Navy to join the Consular Service in China in 1863. Here he learned Chinese and resigned to own and take up editorship of the newspaper ''China Mail''. He edited the newspaper until 1876 while also serving as curator of the Hong Kong museum and library. In 1877 he became assistant-protector of Chinese at Singapore and

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the Straits Settlements. While in Singapore he served as honorary curator for the

Raffles Museum ms, Muzium Negara Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம் , native_name_lang = , logo = , image = 2016 Singapur, Museum Planning Area, Narodowe Muzeum Singapuru (02) ...

. He was posted magistrate in the Federated Malay States in 1889 but poor health forced him to resign. In 1900 he was operated for a tumour but died following the procedure. Dennys wrote several books including ''The Treaty Ports of China'' and the ''Folklore of China'' and is considered a pioneer of Sinological studies. He also invented an anti-fouling paint (Zocus) and a system of electrical lighting known as the Dennys-Cuff system.

References

External links

The treaty ports of China and Japan
(1867)
The folk-lore of China, and its affinities with that of the Aryan and Semitic races
(1876) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennys, Nicholas Belfield 1839 births 1900 deaths British sinologists