Isaac Titsingh (born 10 January 1745 in Amsterdam, died 2 February 1812 in Paris) ^[1]. Dutch surgeon, scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company (the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC, literally "United East India Company"). He represented the European Asia-wide trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan. He traveled to Edo twice for audiences with the Shogun and other high bakufu officials. Later, he was the Dutch and VOC Governor General in Chinsura, Bengal. Titsingh worked with his counterpart, Charles Cornwallis, who was Governor-General of the English East India Company. In 1795, Titsingh represented Dutch and VOC interests in China, where his reception at the court of the Qianlong Emperor (formerly known as Chien-lung) stood in stark contrast with rebuffs to England’s ambassador just prior to celebrations of Qianlong’s sixty year reign. In China, Titsingh effectively functioned as ambassador for his country at the same time as he represented the VOC as a trade representative. Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province North Holland Government  - Mayor Job Cohen  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Floating not submerging) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... VOC is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: A historic trade organization (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie); see Dutch East India Company A group of chemical compounds; see Volatile Organic Compounds Vehicle operating costs Voice of the customer Creative Voice file, a proprietary audio format developed by Creative... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... Tokugawa (徳川) is a surname in Japan. ... Edo (Japanese: , literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Shogun )   is a military rank and historical title in Japan. ... For the James Clavell novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. ... Hugli-Chinsura (also commonly known as Hooghly-Chinsura) is a town in West Bengal, India. ... Bengal (Bengali: বঙ্গ Bôngo, বাংলা Bangla, বঙ্গদেশ Bôngodesh or বাংলাদেশ Bangladesh), is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (December 31, 1738-October 5, British general and colonial governor. ... The British East India Company, popularly known as John Company, was founded by a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600. ... The Qianlong Emperor (born Hongli, September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China. ... The Qianlong Emperor (September 25, 1711–February 7, 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China. ...

Japan, 1779-84

Original caption: "Nagasaki and bay, Japan -- The only port open to foreign trade" (Illustrated London News. March 26, 1853)

Titsingh was the commercial Opperhoofd or Chief factor in Japan in 1779-80, 1781-83, and 1784.^[2] The singular importance of the head of the VOC in Japan during this period was enhanced by the Japanese policy of bakufu-imposed isolation. Because of earlier religious proselytizing during this period, no European or Japanese could enter or leave the Japanese archipelago on penalty of death. The sole exception to this "closed door," was the VOC "factory" or trading post on the island of Dejima in Nagasaki bay on the southern Japanese island of Kyūshū. In this highly-controlled context, the VOC traders became the sole official conduit for trade and for scientific-cultural exchanges. The VOC Opperhoofd was nominally accorded standing similar to that of a Japanese daimyo during the obligatory once-a-year visits of homage to the Shogun in Edo. In such rare opportunities, Titsingh's informal contacts with bakufu officials and Rangaku scholars in Edo may have been as important as his formal audiences with the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 544 pixels Full resolution (1354 × 921 pixel, file size: 425 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)This image from the Illustrated London News (March 26, 1853) comes from the Picture Collection of the New York Public Library. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 544 pixels Full resolution (1354 × 921 pixel, file size: 425 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)This image from the Illustrated London News (March 26, 1853) comes from the Picture Collection of the New York Public Library. ... Opperhoofd is a Dutch word (plural Opperhoofden) which literally means supreme head. The Danish counterpart Opperhoved is also treated here. ... A Factor, from the Latin he who does (parallel to agent, from Latin agens), is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, notably in the following contexts: // In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy, including several grades of Factor... For the James Clavell novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. ... Dejima, also Deshima (出島, literally protruding island) in modern Japanese, Desjima in Dutch, often latinised as Decima, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japans self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... KyÅ«shÅ« region of Japan and the current prefectures on KyÅ«shÅ« island KyÅ«shÅ« ), literally Nine Provinces, is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... Opperhoofd is a Dutch word (plural Opperhoofden) which literally means supreme head. The Danish counterpart Opperhoved is also treated here. ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... For the James Clavell novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. ... Rangaku (蘭学) or Dutch Learning was the method by which Japan kept abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641-1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunates policy of national isolation (sakoku). ... Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川 家治; 1737–1786) was the tenth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office 1760 to 1786. ...

India, 1785-92

In 1785, Titsingh was appointed Director of the VOC trading post at Chinsura in Bengal. Chinsura is up-river from Calcutta on the Hooghly River, an arm of the Ganges. He seems to have savored the intellectual life of the European community. Titsingh was described as “the Mandarin of Chinsura” (see Mandarin (bureaucrat) and scholar-bureaucrat) by William Jones, the philologist and Bengal jurist.^[3] Hugli-Chinsura (also commonly known as Hooghly-Chinsura) is a town in West Bengal, India. ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ... The Hooghly River (alternatively spelled Hoogli or Hugli) is a distributary of the Ganges River in India. ... Early morning on the Ganges The River Ganges (Ganga in Indian languages) (Devanagiri गंगा) is a major river in northern India. ... Mandarin has a number of meanings: mandarin, a bureaucrat of Imperial China, and in the United Kingdom and Canada, by analogy, any government bureaucrat Mandarin, a group of dialects of spoken Chinese, or more specifically, its standardized dialect, Standard Mandarin Mandarin Airlines, a subsidiary of China Airlines mandarin duck, Aix... A Mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China. ... Scholar-bureaucrats or scholar-officials were civil servants appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day governance during the Qing Dynasty. ... William Jones is a common name, especially in Wales, and there have been several well-known individuals of this name, including: // Academics and authors William Jones (historian) (1860–1932) Sir William Jones (mathematician) (~1675–1749), father of Sir William Jones (philologist) Sir William Jones (philologist) (1746–1794) son of Sir...

Batavia, 1792-93

Titsingh’s return to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) led to new positions as Ontvanger-Generaal (Treasurer) and later as Commisaris ter Zee (Maritime Commissioner). Look up Batavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jakarta (also Djakarta or DKI Jakarta), formerly known as Sunda Kelapa, Jayakarta and Batavia is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. ...

China, 1794-95

The only known contemporary image of Titsingh is in van Braam book about Titsingh embassy to the Qianlong Emperor's Court. Titsingh is the seated European wearing a hat.

Titsingh was appointed Dutch Ambassador to the court of the Emperor of China for the celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of the reign of the Emperor Qianlong ^[4] In Peking, the Titsingh delegation included Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest^[5] and Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes,^[6] whose complementary accounts of this embassy to the Chinese court were published in the U.S. and Europe. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Illustration depicting A.E. van Braam Houckgeest as he assists in the Titsingh embassy to the Qianlong Emperors Court -- 1795 Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (born 1 November 1739 in Werkhoven, died 8 July 1801 in Amsterdam) Dutch-American merchant who is mostly known for his participation in the... Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes (1759-1845) was a French merchant-trader, ambassador and scholar. ...

Titsingh's gruelling, mid-winter trek from Canton to Peking allowed him to see parts of inland China which had never before been accessible to Europeans. His party arrived in Peking in time for New Year's celebrations. By Chinese standards, Titsingh and his delegation were received with uncommon respect and honors in the Forbidden City, and later in the Yuangmingyuan (the Summer Palace). Unlike the unsuccessful British embassy of the previous year under Lord George Macartney, Titsingh made every effort to conform with the demands of the complex Imperial court etiquette -- including kowtowing to the Emperor. Neither the Chinese nor the Europeans could have known that this would be the last appearance by any European ambassador at the Imperial court until after the Opium Wars of the next century.^[7] ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about the Chinese imperial palace in Beijing. ... The Summer Palace in Beijing. ... Were you looking for: George Macartney, consul-general, British consul-general in Kashgar or George_Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Opium Wars (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), or the Anglo-Chinese Wars were two wars fought in the mid-1800s that were the climax of a long dispute between China and Britain. ...

Return to Europe, 1796-1812

Mary Camper-Titsingh with her grand-daughter, Meriah Druliner, at Père Lachaise -- July 13, 1996

Titsingh retired and died in Paris (February 2, 1812). He is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery. His gravestone reads: "Ici repose Isaac Titsingh. Ancien conseiller des Indes hollandaises. Ambassadeur à la Chine et au Japon. Mort à Paris le 2 Février 1812, agé de 68 ans." [Here lies Isaac Titsingh, formerly a councillor of the Dutch East India Company, Ambassador to China and to Japan. Dead at Paris the 2nd of February 1812, aged 68 years.] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 402 × 599 pixels Full resolution (593 × 883 pixel, file size: 174 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Mary Camper-Titsingh and her grand-daughter at Isaac Titsinghs grave site in Pére Lachaise -- July 13, 1996. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 402 × 599 pixels Full resolution (593 × 883 pixel, file size: 174 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Mary Camper-Titsingh and her grand-daughter at Isaac Titsinghs grave site in Pére Lachaise -- July 13, 1996. ... Looking down the hill at the Père-Lachaise cemetery The cimetière du Père-Lachaise (pronounced pierre la-sh-ez) is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris (there are larger cemeteries in Paris suburbs). ...

Legacy

Titsingh's text attempts to present the Japanese in the context of their own narratives. This Title Page is from the 1822 English version of the French original which was published two years earlier.

Titsingh’s experiences and scholarly research in Japan was the genesis for posthumously published books, most notably: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixels Full resolution (984 × 1375 pixel, file size: 176 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is courtesy the New York Public Librarys Rare Book Collection. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixels Full resolution (984 × 1375 pixel, file size: 176 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is courtesy the New York Public Librarys Rare Book Collection. ...

• Titsingh, Mémoires et Anecdotes sur la Dynastie régnante des Djogouns, Souverains du Japon, avec la description des fêtes et cérémonies observées aux différentes époques de l'année à la Cour de ces Princes, et un appendice contenant des détails sur la poésie des Japonais, leur manière de diviser l'année, etc.; Ouvrage orné de Planches gravées et coloriées, tiré des Originaux Japonais par M. Titsingh; publié avec des Notes et Eclaircissemens Par M. Abel Rémusat. Paris (Nepveu), 1820.

• Titsingh, Illustrations of Japan; consisting of Private Memoirs and Anecdotes of the reigning dynasty of The Djogouns, or Sovereigns of Japan; a description of the Feasts and Ceremonies observed throughout the year at their Court; and of the Ceremonies customary at Marriages and Funerals: to which are subjoined, observations on the legal suicide of the Japanese, remarks on their their poetry, an explanation of their mode of reckoning time, particulars respecting the Dosia powder, the preface of a work by Confoutzee on filial piety, &c. &c. by M. Titsingh formerly Chief Agent to the Dutch East India Company at Nangasaki. Translated from the French, by Frederic Shoberl with coloured plates, faithfully copied from Japanese original designs. London (Ackermann), 1822.

Cover of Iu-kiao-li, ou les deux cousines Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (September 5, 1788 - June 4, 1832) was a French sinologist. ...

References

• de Guignes, C.-L.-J. (1808). Voyage a Pékin, Manille et l'Ile de France. Paris.
• Duyvendak, J.J.L. (1937). "The Last Dutch Embassy to the Chinese Court (1794-1795)." T'oung Pao 33:1-137.
• Jones, W. (1835). Memoirs of the life, writings and correspondence of Sir William Jones, by Lord Teignmouth. London.
• Leguin, F. (2002). Isaac Titsingh (1745-1812): een passie voor Japan, leven en werk van de grondlegger van de Europese Japanologie [Isaac Titsingh (1745-1812): A passion for Japan, Life and Work of the Founder of Japanology in Europe]. Leiden.
• Nederland's Patriciaat, Vol. 13 (1923). Den Haag.
• O'Neil, Patricia O. (1995). Missed Opportunities: Late 18th Century Chinese Relations with England and the Netherlands. (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington).
• Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822. London. [1]
• van Braam Houckgeest, A.E. (1797). Voyage de l'ambassade de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales hollandaises vers l'empereur de la Chine, dans les années 1794 et 1795 Philadelphia; _____. (1798). An authentic account of the embassy of the Dutch East-India Company, to the court of the emperor of China, in the years 1794 and 1795. London.

See also

• Foreign relations of imperial China