Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59

An 1859 account, by his private secretary, of Elgin's diplomatic mission to Japan and China, and trading concessions he established.

Laurence Oliphant (Author)

9781108045834, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 April 2012

554 pages, 30 b/w illus. 15 colour illus. 3 maps
21.6 x 14 x 3.1 cm, 0.7 kg

In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829–88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811–63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 2 deals with the negotiation of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Yedo, the legalisation of the Chinese opium trade and combat with Chinese insurgents at Nankin. The work is a mixture of travel narrative - Oliphant had previously written about his travels in Nepal and in the Crimea (also reissued in this series) - and political analysis. It provides both an informative account of the war from a privileged vantage point and a window upon Oliphant's own colourful career.

1. First view of Japan
2. Missionary success of Xavier
3. A surfeit of sensations
4. Residence of the American Consul
5. Official visitors
6. Residence of British mission
7. Constitution of government
8. A riding party
9. A Japanese funeral
10. Population of Yedo
11. Settling-day
12. Future prospects
13. Effects of the Chinese climate
14. All the ships aground
15. Renewal of the action
16. A battle between rebels and imperialists
17. A foraging expedition
18. First impressions of Han-kow
19. First appearance of strangers
20. Exploration of a lake
21. The Yang-tse-Kiang commercially considered
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]