George Thomas Staunton (1781‑1859) and the European Discourses on China in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Guido Abbattista Chinese Law and Justice: George Thomas Staunton (1781-1859) and the European Discourses on China in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Preface – Introduction – I. Eighteenth-Century Discourses on Chinese Law and Justice – I.1. European Views on China in the Early Modern Period – I.2. Du Halde on Chinese Justice – I.3. Views on Chinese Law and Justice after Du Halde: Admirers and Detractors – I.4. British Views on Chinese Institutions from William Temple to Adam Smith – I.5. Contributions and Opinions in the Last Thirty Years of the Eighteenth Century – II. An End-of-the-Century Turning Point – II.1. Diplomatic Evidence: Lord Macartney, George Leonard Staunton, John Barrow – II.2. French Perspectives from the Early Nineteenth Century – II.3. Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes – II.4. Popular Images of Chinese Penal Justice – III. George Thomas Staunton and the Qing Code – IV. English Reactions to the Qing Code – V. The Qing Code in Europe and the Italian and French Editions Preface I had two objectives in writing this essay. The first and most specific is to introduce the digital reprint of the Italian translation of the Ta Tsing Leu Lee (Da Qing lü li in modern transliteration), the so-called Qing ‘penal code’ (Milan, Silvestri, 1812, 3 vol- umes in-8°): something I deal with also in the General Introduction. My second objec- tive is to present the work that was translated into Italian in 1812, the Ta Tsing Leu Lee published in London in 1810, and its author George ThomasStaunton by reconstruct- ing the relevant aspects of the latter’s biography, his role in the culture and politics of early nineteenth-century Britain, his reasons for translating the Qing code into English and the set of motivations guiding the work. For a better understanding of this matter, we also need to reconstruct what served as the context for both the English and the Ital- ian edition: a long-standing European cultural discourse on China and its institutions, civilization, philosophical and literary traditions, society, economy, and religion, and above all its political, administrative and judicial systems. 1 Guido Abbattista This discourse is central to the history of European culture because of the blend of political, religious and philosophical aspects for which China – along with its “greatest and most marvellous characteristics” referred to in The Travels of Marco Polo – offered itself to Western observers as a particularly distinctive subject of analysis from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, a period when its contact with the Chris- tian West grew gradually more regular and intense, however rigorously disciplined by the rigid regulations of the Chinese imperial government. Even before the skills and general conditions could be developed for researchers to carry out close and in-depth studies, China had already been a peculiar point of reference, a mirror, a starting point from which to reflect upon forms of social, cultural, political and religious diversity due to both the quantitative “incomparability” and the undeniable alterity of the nature, essence and deep-seated characteristics of its way of life.1 The vast amount of litera- ture that exists on the protagonists, episodes, evolution and meaning of this European discourse thoroughly dissects its most important aspects, especially when it comes to religious matters and the missionary work of the Jesuits.2 My intention is obviously not to reconstruct the entire discourse. I simply wish to analyse its most salient expres- sions regarding the issue of law and justice and thus better understand the value and meaning of the first European translations of the Qing ‘penal code’. We will explore this text in greater detail later, but for now it must be stated that while it was a legal source of primary importance, it was neither a ‘code’ in the Western sense of the term, i.e. the result of filing regulations under general categories, nor a set of exclusively penal regulations.3 To provide proper historical and cultural context for the production in Europe of the first translations of the Da Qing lü li, this essay is divided into five parts, preceded by an Introduction. The first two parts trace the evolution of the eighteenth-century discourse on Chinese law and justice, considered as a specific aspect of a more general and very animated interest that made China an important subject of discussion and con- troversy in Europe during that century. I will therein seek to show how this discourse cannot simply be compressed into rigid interpretive schemas that distinguish between sympathizers and adversaries of China. The matter is more nuanced and even contra- dictory, part of an overall evolution that towards the end of the century witnessed the 1 See Adriano Prosperi’s reflections in “Lo specchio del diverso”, an introductory note to the Italian edition of Jacques Gernet, Chine et christianisme (Paris: Gallimard, 1982, It. transl. Casale Monferrato: Marietti, 1984), ix-xxiv. 2 For some bibliography to this regard, see par. I.1, 8, note 9. 3 See Marina Timoteo’s essay “Of Old and New Codes: Chinese Law in the Mirror of Western Laws” included in this volume. 2 Chinese Law and Justice waning of Enlightenment sympathies for China as both a model worthy of admiration and imitation and, especially in France, an instrument for arguments over the characteristics of ancien régime societies and institutions. The third part is expressly dedicated to the significance, importance and reception of Staunton’s translation, with respect both to the history of Western knowledge about China and to the building of imperial knowledge, considered in relation to the globalizing processes of trade, politics and di- plomacy. The fourth and fifth parts deal with the English reactions and discussions and the Italian and French translations by presenting the respective authors, characteristics and contexts in which they were organized and produced and, to some extent, their reception and influence. I have discussed the issues addressed herein at various conferences, in particular the 22nd International Congress of Historical Sciences in Jinan (August 2015) and the final conference of the PRIN 2011 project on the “The Liberty of Moderns. Long Enlighten- ment and Civilization (1750-1850): Commerce, Politics, Culture, Colonies” held in Turin in March 2016 entitled “Global Perspectives in a European ‘Long Enlighten- ment’ 1750 to 1850”. On these occasions I publicly and profitably discussed the general and more detailed questions that led me to begin the present study. I am referring in particular to the possibility of analysing European discussions about China to understand a part of the Enlightenment legacy that may well be of central importance to the history of Western culture, especially if we consider its direct influence in the nineteenth century on some of the more distinguishing aspects of liberalism, free trade and modern legal-political culture. This contribution nevertheless owes a great deal to my discussions with Michele Graziadei, Zhang Lihong and Marina Timoteo, whose advice and competence in the subject of Chinese law has greatly helped me understand issues and concepts previously unknown to me. Edoardo Tortarolo and Girolamo Imbruglia made careful reading of successive versions of this essay and did not spare extremely useful comments, of which I hope to have profited enough. Of course, I take full responsibility for whatever good or less good, inaccuracies or mistakes included, these pages contain. I am also very grateful for the patience and interest with which the students in my upper level course on global history at the University of Trieste have followed my line of reasoning about the importance of Europe-China relations during the modern era. I hope to have convinced them of the need to address this issue diligently and to open themselves to relatively unusual research perspectives. Finally, special thanks go to my translator Michelle Tarnopolsky for her remarkable skill and painstaking editing that far surpassed what is usually ex- pected from a linguistic assistant. I would like to dedicate this work to my doctoral students with whom I have shared such constructive and meaningful moments in every way throughout their studies and 3 Guido Abbattista research, and from whom I have learnt so much. Their extraordinary work, commitment and passion have reinforced my conviction, if that were even necessary, of how vital it is to support, listen to and give opportunities to those who climb the steep, slippery path hopefully leading to an academic research career, dedicating so much of their energy and lives to this journey, which often intersects with important events both joyous and painful and requires them to make difficult choices. I can only think with admiration and affection of the dedication, determination, courage and skill with which they have faced trying challenges and put themselves to the test on an international stage, often with less than adequate institutional support. The debt of gratitude that I owe to them all, and some in particular, is so large I could only ever hope to settle it in full. Turin, July 2016-June 2017 4 Chinese Law and Justice Introduction From the moment that relationships between the West and China started becoming relatively stable and constant in the mid-sixteenth century, law and justice became key components of the representations and narratives developed in China-related European travel accounts, diplomatic memoirs, historical-descriptive texts and philosophical-political treatises. Is China a state governed by stable laws or an arbitrary government? Does legal protection exist for its subjects or are they left to the despotic arbitrariness of the government and the administration? Can judicial apparatuses ensure such protection in an effective, impartial way? Evaluating the state of late Ming and Qing China’s society, the features of its institutions and the degree of its civilization means deepening our knowledge of the historical, political, economic, linguistic, cultural and religious aspects of this great country; but it also means seeking answers to these specific questions.

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