Sir George Thomas Staunton, 2nd Baronet, , (26 May 1781 – 10 August 1859) was a British writer, orientalist and politician.
Early life
Born at Milford House near
Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
, he was the son of Sir
George Leonard Staunton (1737–1801), first baronet, diplomatist and Orientalist. In 1792, at the age of 12, he accompanied his father, who had been appointed secretary to
Lord Macartney's
mission to China, to the Far East (1792–1794).
Prior to the trip the young George Staunton had begun to learn Chinese alongside
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for serving as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845.
Early life
Barrow was ...
and for the duration was therefore given the role of Page to Lord Macartney.
During the mission his Chinese proved good enough to engage in diplomatic banter and he received a personal gift from the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
.
In 1797 he spent two terms at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
.
In the employ of the East India Company
In 1798 was appointed a writer in the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's factory at Canton (
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
), and subsequently its chief.
During this time his knowledge of Chinese increased.
In 1805 he translated a work of Dr
George Pearson into Chinese.
Five years later, he published an English translation of a significant part of the
Chinese legal code.
In 1801 he succeeded his father to the baronetcy and in April 1803 was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.
Many people came to ask for help in both learning the Chinese dialect there and staying, including
Robert Morrison and
Thomas Manning.
In 1816 Staunton proceeded as second commissioner on a special mission to
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
with
Lord Amherst and Sir
Henry Ellis.
During the mission he landed in Hong Kong in July 1816. He walked from the shore of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
to Hong Kong Village via
Wong Chuk Hang
Wong Chuk Hang () is a neighbourhood in the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong.
History
Neolithic artifacts have been unearthed in a region called Chung Hom Wan, which is not far from Wong Chuk Han ...
. After the trip, Wong Chuk Hang was named Staunton Creek and the valley where Hong Kong Village was located was named Staunton Valley. Staunton Creek later became a large sampan slum - it and was eventually cleared and boat people moved into
Wong Chuk Hang Estate. Said village was most likely Wong Chuk Hang Lo Wai; only
Wong Chuk Hang San Wai
Wong Chuk Hang San Wai () is a village in the Wong Chuk Hang area of Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District, Hong Kong. It is located at the bottom of Shouson Hill.
Administration
For electoral purposes, Wong Chuk Hang San Wai is part ...
still exists at the bottom of
Shouson Hill. After the ceding of Hong Kong to Britain,
Staunton Street
Staunton Street () is a street in Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, Hong Kong, Elgin Street, it is the heart of the SoHo, Hong Kong, Soho entertainment ...
in
Central was named after him.
The embassy was unsuccessful - and suffered a serious ship-wreck on the return journey - and shortly afterwards Staunton decided to leave Canton permanently.
Back in Britain

George Staunton had been looking for a country home for some years before his permanent return from China and in 1818 put in a bid for
Newstead Abbey but was outbid by
Thomas Wildman.
In 1820 he purchased the Leigh estate in Hampshire
which included what was to become
Staunton Country Park
Staunton Country Park is a listed Regency era, Regency landscaped parkland and forest encompassing approximately in Hampshire, England.
An ornamental farm, ornamental lake, Folly, follies, maze, walled garden and greenhouse, glasshouses can be ...
. He lived there for part of each year and made substantial alterations to the buildings and the landscape.
Three years later he was heavily involved with the founding of the
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...
.
Their Sir George Staunton Prize is awarded annually.
Between 1818 and 1852 he was MP for several English constituencies, finally for
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
. He latterly described himself as being during his early years in parliament a liberal Tory who looked to
George Canning
George Canning (; 11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the U ...
for leadership.
He was a member of the
East India Committee, and in 1823, in conjunction with
Henry Thomas Colebrooke
Henry Thomas Colebrooke FRS FRSE FLS (15 June 1765 – 10 March 1837) was an English orientalist and botanist. He has been described as "the first great Sanskrit scholar in Europe".
Biography
Henry Thomas Colebrooke was born on 15 June ...
founded the
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...
.
From 1829 until 1856 he was a member of the
Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsored the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style.
History
Though the exact date is unknown, the Society i ...
.
He had never married and the baronetcy became extinct on his death (in London). He left his Irish estate, Clydagh House, to his eldest cousin George Staunton Lynch (who took the additional surname of Staunton) and Leigh Park and his London house (17, Devonshire Street, Marylebone) to George Staunton Lynch's younger brother, Captain Henry Cormick Lynch.
Publications
His publications include translations of ''
Great Qing Legal Code
The Great Qing Legal Code (or Great Ching Legal Code), also known as the Qing Code (Ching Code) or, in Hong Kong law, as the ''Ta Tsing Leu Lee'' (), was the legal code of the Qing empire (1644–1912). The code was based on the Ming legal code, ...
'', known as the ''Fundamental Laws of China'' (1810)
and of the ''Narrative of the Chinese Embassy to the Khan of the Tourgouth Tartars'' (1821); ''Miscellaneous Notices Relating to China and our Commercial Intercourse with that Country'' (1822); ''Notes of Proceedings and Occurrences during the British Embassy to Peking'' (1824); ''Observations on our Chinese Commerce'' (1850). For the
Hakluyt Society
The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishin ...
he edited
Juan González de Mendoza
Juan González de Mendoza, O.S.A. (1545 – 14 February 1618) was a Spanish bishop, explorer, sinologist, and writer. He was the author of one of the earliest Western histories of China. Published by him in 1585, ''Historia de las cosas más ...
's ''History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China''.
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Staunton, George Thomas
1781 births
1859 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland
English orientalists
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
People from Salisbury
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1830–1831
UK MPs 1820–1826
UK MPs 1831–1832
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1837–1841
UK MPs 1841–1847
UK MPs 1847–1852
Fellows of the Royal Society
Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge