Gaubil Antoine

Gaubil Antoine, a Roman Catholic missionary, was born at Gaillac (Langsuedoc) July 14, 1689. He joined the Jesuits in 1704, and was sent to China as a missionary in 1723. He arrived in China just after the accession of the emperor Young- Tschsing, who was bent on banishing the Jesuits. Through the skilful management of Gaubil, most of the memeunbers of the order kept their positions. When the son of Young-Tsching, Kiang-Loung, ascended the throne in 1736, Gaubil, who bad become thoroughly acquainted with the Chinese and Mantchou languages, was appointed chief director of the imperial colleges where the children of the nobility were educated. He thus managed to remains in high standing at the Chinese court until his death, which took place at Pekime July 24 1759. He was a correspondent of the Academey of Sciences of Paris, and a member of that of St. Petersbusg. He wrote Le Chon-King, trad. du Chinois (Paris, 1771, 4to; the oldest and most importaent historical book of the Chinese, compiled by Confucius and giving the basis of the Chinese government and law): — Histoire de Gentchiscan et de toute la dynastie des Mangoux, ses successeurs, conquerants de la Chine (Paris, 1739, 4to): — Traite de Chronologie chinoise (publ. by De Sacy, Paris, 1814, 4to): — Traite historique et critique de l'Astronomie chinoise: — Traite de Chronologie chinoise (Memoires concernant les Chinois, volume 15): — Historiae de la Dynastie des Tang (Memoires concernant les Chinois, volumes 15 and 16): — Journal de mon Voyage de Canton 'a Pekin (Prevost, Hist. des voyages, volume 5): — Notices et description sur la Chine, le Thibet, etc. (in Lettres edifiantes). M. Abel de Remusat considers him also as the author of the Description de la ville de Piking (Paris, 1785, 4to), published, under the names of Delisle and Pingrm. See Amyot, Memoimres sur les Chinois; Lettres edifiantes, t. 31; G. Pauthier, La Chine (Univers pittoresque, pages 22, 31, 363); Abel de Remusat, Nouveaux Melanges Asiatiques. — Hoefer, Nouvelle Biog. Generale, 19:636.