Huang arcade

Arcade Huang (zh-Hans 黄嘉略, Hanyu pinyin Huáng Jiālüè , born with Xinghua, today Putian, in the Fujian, the November 15th 1679, dead on October 1st 1716 with Paris) is a convert Chinese, brought to Paris by the Foreign missions, he carries out a work pioneer on the Chinese Langue in the years 1715.

Its principal work, undertaken with the assistance of the young person Nicolas Fréret, being the first Lexicon Chinese French, the first Grammar of Chinese and diffusion in France of the system of the two hundred and fourteen keys of Kangxi, system necessary to the development of its lexicon. But its early death in 1716 prevents it from finishing its work, and Etienne Fourmont, which receives the task to classify its papers, allots all the merit of their publication. Only the insistence of Nicolas Fréret then the redécouverte of the Mémoires of Huang Arcade have made it possible to establish the share of work - pioneer and fundamental - who was owe him, and which made it possible the Linguiste S French to approach the Chinese language more seriously.

Origins

According to Etienne Fourmont, here the Généalogie of Huang Arcade such as it left it to us itself:

“Paul Hoange, of the mount of the Eagle, wire of Kian-khin (Kiam-kim) Hoange, imperial assistant of the provinces of Nâne-kin (Nân-kim) and of Sings (Year-tùm), and lord of the mount of the Eagle, was born in the town of Hin-hoed (Him-hoa), in the province of Fò-kién (Fo-kién), the February 12th 1638; was baptized by the reverend father Jésuite Antoine de Govea, Portuguese, and was married in 1670 with Miss Apollonie the Willow, named in language of the country Léou-his-yâm (Leù-his-yam), girl of Mr. Yâm, was called Lou-ooue (Lu-ve), lord doctor of Leôu-his (Leû-his) and governor of the town of Couan-sine (Quàm-sin), in the province of Kiam-if. Hoange arcade, interprets of king de France, wire of Paul Hoange, was born in the same city from Hin-Hoed, the November 15th 1679, and was baptized the November 21st of the same year, by the reverend father Spanish Jacobin Arcade of… of nation. As of sound Mariage it had had a little girl who is still alive, it had added (with its genealogy) Marie-Claude Hoange, of the mount of the Eagle, girl of Mr Hoange, interprets of the king, etc; she was born the March 4th 1715. ”

Education of Chinese well-read man under the protection of the French missionaries

The missionary S French see in Arcade the possibility of making of it a “Chinese well-read man Christian”, with the service of the evangelization of China. In this time pionnière of the Years 1690, then Years 1700, it becomes urgent to present to Rome examples of perfectly christianized Chinese, and fascinating party in the Querelle of the Rites. European Christendom is impassioned for this question: the rites towards the ancestors, fundamental in the Chinese spirit, are civic rites, therefore tolerable, or religious, therefore Hérétique S and to prohibit. Such a prohibition, preached by the hard line, meant to return of face in conflict with the Chinese thousand-year-old beliefs and the powerful ones of China.

Travel towards the Occident

In this tournament of ideas, Arcade was to support the position of its benefactors before the Court of Rome.

The February 17th 1702, under the protection of Mr. de Rosalie, Arcade embarks on a boat of the English Compagnie of the Eastern Indies in order to join the Europe. It benefits from the captain of ship Mr. Petit, bilingual English - French, to still improve its French during the seven months of voyage. About September or October 1702, Mr. de Rosalie and Arcade leave the England for France in order to go to Rome.

But, about to be ordered priest in Rome and to face the Pope to expose his perfectly Christian Chinese reality, Arcade to him Huang moves back, doubt, and declines ordination. Mr. de Rosalie prefers to return it to Paris in order to continue his education, and to await a better answer.

Installation in Paris

Always according to its memories, Arcade settles in Paris in 1704 or 1705 at the house of the Foreign missions. There, its guards continue his religious and cultural formation, with for official project bringing back it to China to hold a Apostolat. But Arcade prefers to turn to the civil life. It settles thus definitively in Paris as “Interprète Chinese of the Sun king” and begins work under the direction and protection of the abbot Bignon.

Work on the Chinese language

Helped from the young person Nicolas Fréret (1688 - 1749), there would have begun difficult work pioneer from a dictionary Chinese-French, a Chinese grammar and a presentation of the two hundred and fourteen keys of the Dictionnaire of characters of Kangxi but would have remained discrete on the advance of its work on the Chinese language. It confirms Fréret in its fight against the widespread idea of filiation between Hebrew characters and Chinese. Some academicians of time, such Mr. Fourmont, affirm that the primitive Chinese were descendants of Noah, that they were thus originating in Egypt and the the Middle East, and that the Chinese language was an evolution of the Hebrew old. This thesis is completely excluded by Arcade Huang. He hesitates all the same to affirm his opinion publicly, insofar as to contradict this Hebraic theory in the passing any connection with the biblical world denies and Christian, but this theory then has the many ones and influential followers.

In these discussions and this work, they are joined by thirty year the Joseph-Nicolas Delisle (1683 - 1745), friend of Fréret, and which will give a more cultural turn and geographical with their work and discussions. The brother of Deslisle, Guillaume Delisle, being already a famous geographer. Deslisle encourages in particular Arcade Huang to read the most known and popular European writings treating Chinese Empire. Huang is surprised ethnocentrée approach of the texts, reducing the merits of the Chinese people and underlining the civilizing role of the European people. He also denounces the caricatural turn which the edifying Lettres take and quantity of works, by ignorance of the actual facts or with an interested aim to surprise the public reader and purchaser.

The arrival of Etienne Fourmont like third apprentice chamboule the team. The power is on badly with this pupil imposed by the Bignon abbot. One day, Fourmont is surprised recopying work that Arcade Huang undertook with Fréret.

Discusses after its death

After the death of Huang Arcade on October 1st 1716, Mr. Fourmont is officially charged to classify papers of the late one. It submits a very negative report/ratio on the contents of these documents and will not cease any more criticizing the work of Huang Arcade, which was however its professor. Continuing its work on the languages of Europe and Asia (and thus of Chinese), it grants all the merit of the diffusion of the two hundred and fourteen keys in France, then publishes finally a lexicon French-Chinese and a grammar of Chinese, without mentioning work of Huang Arcade which it continues to disparage publicly.

On his side, Nicolas Fréret, also academician, and especially friend and first pupil of Huang Arcade, undertake a report on work and the role of Arcade in the diffusion of knowledge on China in France. Documents safeguarded by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, second student of Arcade, also made it possible to make known the role of this Chinese become prone of king de France.

Since, other enquiring historians questioned themselves on its role which one can quote Danielle Elisseeff and its compilation of the Mémoire of Huang Arcade.

See too

Mr. the White - missionary in China, adopts Arcade Huang, then apostolic vicar of the province of Yunnan.
Mr. de Rosalie or M^gr Artus de Lionne - missionary in China, bishop of Rosalie, and thus called “Mr. Rosalie”.
Nicolas Fréret (1688-1749) - first student, French academician.
Joseph-Nicolas Delisle - second student, brother of the geographer Guillaume Delisle.
Abbot Bignon - protective and patron of Huang Arcade.
Etienne Fourmont (1683-1745) - third student, linguist French, denounced by A. Huang and NR. Fréret for the appropriation of their work.

Others:

Louis XIV of France - King on which Arcade depends, patron of Huang Arcade.
Emperor Kangxi - the Chinese Emperor during the life of Arcade Huang, it frequently makes mention of it.
Michel Sin or Michel Chin-fo-tsoung - first Chinese introduced in France, 1684 (September 15th, 1684: presented to Louis XIV). Passes more from time to Oxford, work with.
Tchoung-ya-san, Tchang-ya-kin and Kiang-hiao: three other Chinese who pass to Europe before 1829. Simple merchants, they did not offer any profit of knowledge (according to Abel Remusat)

Sources

Danielle Elisseeff, Me Arcade, interprête of the Sun king , Arthaud edition, Paris, 1985, ISBN 2-7003-0474-8. (Primary source for this article, 189 pages)
the part “family tree” comes from a note relative to “Arcadius Hoang”, written by Etienne Fourmont (1683-1745).

References

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