Editing Jean Joseph Marie Amiot

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{{Short description|French Jesuit missionary in China, 1718–1793}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jean Joseph Marie Amiot
| image              = JosephMarieAmiot.JPG
| alt                = Refer to caption
| caption            = Painting of Amiot, anon.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1718|2|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Toulon]], [[Kingdom of France]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1793|10|8|1718|2|8|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Beijing]], [[Qing Empire]]
| occupation         = Jesuit missionary
}}

'''Jean Joseph Marie Amiot''' ({{zh |t =錢德明 |p = Qián Démíng }}; February 8, 1718{{snd}}October 8, 1793) was a French [[Jesuit]] priest who worked in [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]], during the reign of the [[Qianlong Emperor]].

Born in [[Toulon]], Amiot entered the [[novitiate]] of the Society of Jesus at the age of 19. After he was ordained in 1746, he aspired to serve in an overseas mission. Eventually, he was assigned a mission in China and left France in 1749. He arrived at Beijing in 1751 and remained there for the rest of his life.

Amiot served as an intermediary between the academics of Europe and China. His correspondence provided insight on the culture of China to the Europeans. He translated Chinese works into French. Most notably, his translation of [[Sun Tzu]]'s ''[[The Art of War]]'' is the first rendition of the work into a Western language. 

== Early life ==
Amiot was born in [[Toulon]] on February 8, 1718 to Louis Amiot, the royal notary of Toulon, and Marie-Anne Serre.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=6}} He was the eldest of ten children: five boys and five girls.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=225–226}} His brother Pierre-Jules-Roch Amiot would go on to become the lieutenant-general of the admiralty of Toulon{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=226}} and his sister, Marguerite-Claire was an [[Ursulines|Ursuline]] nun.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=228}} Amiot maintained contact with both.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=7}}

After finishing his studies in philosophy and theology at the Jesuit seminary in Toulon, Amiot entered the [[novitiate]] of the [[Society of Jesus]] in [[Avignon]] on September 27, 1737;{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=7}} he remained a novice for two years.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=7}} Afterwards, he taught at the Jesuit colleges of [[Besançon]], [[Arles]], [[Aix-en-Provence]] and finally at [[Nîmes]], where he was professor of [[rhetoric]] in the academic year of 1744–1745. He completed his theological studies at [[Dôle]] from 1745 to 1748{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=232}} and was ordained as a priest on December 22, 1746.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=232}}

== Arrival at China ==
Amiot requested [[Franz Retz]], the [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]] at that time, to serve in an overseas mission, and was eventually given a mission to China.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=233}} Earlier, in a letter to his brother, he had expressed his desire to serve in a delegation to this particular country.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=10}} He left France in 1749, accompanied by Chinese Jesuits Paul Liu and Stanislas Kang,{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=233}} who had been sent to study in France and were returning to their home country. Kang died at sea, before the party could reach China.{{sfn|Pfister|1932b|p=861}}

They arrived at [[Macau]] on July 27, 1750.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=233}} The Jesuits of Beijing announced Amiot's arrival, along with that of the Portuguese Jesuits José d'Espinha and Emmanuel de Mattos,{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=233}}{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=38}} to Emperor [[Qianlong]], who ordered that they be taken to the capital.{{sfn|Pfister|1932a|p=838}} On March 28, 1751, they left Macau for [[Guangzhou]] and arrived there five days later.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=40}} They left Canton on June 2, and reached Beijing on August 22.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=41}}

After his arrival in Beijing, he was put in charge of the children's congregation of the Holy Guardian Angels. Alongside this, he studied the Chinese language.{{sfn|Pfister|1932a|p=838}} He adopted the Chinese name Qian Deming ({{lang|zh|錢德明}}){{sfn|Pfister|1932a|p=837}} and wore [[Chinese clothing]] in order to adapt himself to the [[Chinese culture|culture of China]].{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=236}} In 1754, Amiot made a young Chinese man by the name of Yang Ya-Ko-Pe his assistant{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=236}} and instructed him in the European manner. Yang died in 1784, after working with Amiot for over thirty years.{{sfn|Pfister|1932a|p=838}}

== Suppression of the Jesuits ==
In 1762 the [[Parlement of Paris]] ordered the [[suppression of the Society of Jesus]] and the confiscation of its property.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=99}} The society was abolished in France two years later, by the order of King [[Louis XV]].{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=251}} The Jesuit mission in China survived for a while after their suppression, being protected by the Qianlong Emperor himself.{{sfn|Marin|2008|p=17}} The final blow, however, would be [[Pope Clement XIV]]'s brief, ''[[Dominus ac Redemptor]]'', issued on July 21, 1773, with which the Bishop of Rome officially ordered the suppression of the Society of Jesus. The brief reached the French Jesuits in China on September 22, 1775{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=180}} via a German [[Carmelite]] named Joseph de Sainte-Thérèse.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|pp=151,193}} The Jesuits of Beijing surrendered to it, resigned from the Society of Jesus and became secular priests.{{sfn|Marin|2008|p=17}}{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=194}} Wishing to keep the French mission alive, King [[Louis XVI]] sent them financial aid and appointed François Bourgeois as their administrator.{{sfn|Marin|2008|p=20}}{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=219}} Amiot was named as Bourgeois' replacement in the event of his absence.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=253}}

Subsequently, Amiot turned his attention to writing. He maintained contact with [[Henri Bertin]], the foreign minister of France. His correspondences were published from 1776 to 1791 in the {{lang|fr|Mémoires concernant l’histoire, les sciences, les arts, les mœurs et les usages des Chinois}}.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=254}} He also corresponded with other European Academies, including brief contacts with the [[Imperial Academy of Sciences]] and the [[Royal Society]].{{sfn|Hermans|2019|pp=245–246}}

== Later life and death ==
After the death of Bourgeois in 1792, Amiot started visiting the tombs of his Jesuit companions, where he prayed and meditated; he also carved the Jesuits' epitaphs on their tombs.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=424}} News about the upheaval of the [[French Revolution]] distressed him to the point that his physical and mental health declined, and thus he had to stop visiting the tombs by September 1792.{{sfn|Rochemonteix|1915|p=426}}

In 1792, Britain sent [[Macartney Embassy|a diplomatic mission]] to China, led by [[George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney|George Macartney]]. The goals of the delegation were to open new trading ports with the country and establish a permanent mission there.{{sfn|Peyrefitte|1992|p=158}} Macartney had wished to meet Amiot in Beijing.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=54}} However, he was too ill to meet the diplomat and instead sent him a portrait of himself and a letter,{{sfn|Peyrefitte|1992|p=158}} which was delivered on October 3, 1793. He gave his advice to Macartney and suggested that he leave China.{{sfn|Peyrefitte|1992|p=295}}

On October 8, 1793, the news of [[Execution of Louis XVI|King Louis XVI's execution]] reached Amiot, who celebrated [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] for the deceased monarch. He died on the same night of October 8, or on the following day, October 9, 1793.{{sfn|Pfister|1932a|pp=842}}

== Works ==
[[File:ChineseartAmiot.jpg|thumb|alt=Musicians playing Chinese instruments|A page from ''Mémoires concernant l'histoire, les sciences et les arts des Chinois'', 1780.]]
In 1772 Amiot's translation of [[Sun Tzu]]'s ''[[The Art of War]]'' was published. It includes a translation of the [[Yongzheng Emperor]]'s ''Ten Precepts''. Amiot was the first person to translate ''The Art of War'' in the West. The next translation of the work in a Western language would not be made until Everard Ferguson Calthrop published his English rendition in 1905.{{sfn|Dobson|2013|p=91}}

Amiot could speak in [[Manchu language|Manchu]], the language of the emperor.{{sfn|Davin|1961|p=383}} He wrote a Manchu-French dictionary, which was published from 1789 to 1790 with the help of Bertin;{{sfn|Davin|1961|p=388}} Prince Hongwu, a member of the Qing imperial family, praised the dictionary.{{sfn|Statman|2017|p=101}} He also wrote a Manchu grammar, which was never published.{{sfn|Davin|1961|p=388}}

Amiot carried out scientific observations and experiments while working in China. For example, he made a record of the weather in Beijing, which was published by [[Charles Messier]] in 1774.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=244}} He also tried to build a [[hot air balloon]], but was discouraged by Prince Hongwu, for fear of the danger of flying and disseminating the discovery.{{sfn|Statman|2017|p=108}}

== Music ==
Amiot could play the [[harpsichord]] and the [[flute]]. He tried to win over Chinese listeners by playing pieces by French baroque composers, including [[Jean-Philippe Rameau|Rameau]]'s ''Les sauvages'' and ''Les cyclopes''. These attempts, however, were not successful;{{sfn|Irvine|2020|pp=38–39}} when he asked the Chinese musicians for their opinions, they remarked that "your music was not made for our ears, nor our ears for your music".{{sfn|Lindorff|2004|p=411}} Lester Hu, assistant professor of musicology at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] has doubted the veracity of this story.{{sfn|Hu|2021}}

Amiot sent his translation of [[Li Guangdi]]'s ''Guyue Jingzhuan'' ({{lang|zh|古樂經傳}}), a treatise on Chinese music, to Paris in 1754;{{sfn|Irvine|2020|p=33}} he later acknowledged that it contained errors and was incomplete.{{sfn|Davin|1961|p=389}} Jean-Philippe Rameau referenced the work in his 1760 treatise, {{lang|fr|Code de musique pratique}}, though Rameau's idea of harmony in Chinese music was erroneous.{{sfn|Irvine|2020|pp=33–34}} Amiot's own work on Chinese music, {{lang|fr|Mémoire sur la musique des Chinois}} was published twice by [[Pierre-Joseph Roussier]] in 1779 and 1780.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=258}} The author's supplements to the work were not published until 1997.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=259}} He also sent collections of Chinese music and instruments to France.{{sfn|Hermans|2019|p=260}} In 1777, he sent a [[Sheng (instrument)|Sheng]], thus contributing to the development of the [[harmonica]] in Europe.{{sfn|Chen|Deng|Dong|Liu|2022|p=237}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
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{{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amiot, Jean Joseph Marie}}
[[Category:1718 births]]
[[Category:1793 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century French Jesuits]]
[[Category:French sinologists]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries in China]]
[[Category:French missionaries in China]]
[[Category:Manchurologists]]
[[Category:People from Toulon]]
[[Category:French expatriates in China]]
[[Category:French missionary linguists]]
[[Category:Qianlong Emperor]]