Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t12: Huang Maocai
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t12
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Huang Maocai
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Huang Maocai (1843-1890) was a Chinese scholar and officer of late Qing Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Haobo, and was a native of Gaoxian county, Jiangxi province. He was the first person dispatched by the Government to India in Chinese modern history.
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He became a student when he was 16-years-old. He had extensive knowledge and was diligent in pursuing studies with excellent understanding of mathematics, maps, various instruments and many other statecraft theories. In his early years, he devoted himself into various kinds of chorography such as ‘*Records and Maps of the World*’ and ‘*The*
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Huang Maocai ‘Western Diary’
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*Historical Geography of the World*’, obtaining extensive understanding in history and geography of China and foreign countries. The Opium War (1840-1842) awakened him that the national strength of Qing had waned gradually, which also inspired him to explore the way to save the country based on foreign technology. He left for Shanghai in 1866 and made thorough investigation in foreign settlements, thus acquiring comprehensive information about Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria, Holland, Portugal, Japan and many other countries. Later, he compiled his experience into one of his book ‘*Hu You Cuo Ji*’ which helped him receive praise and appreciation from Xu Gengshen, a local officer of Jiangxi province. At that time, Ding Baozhen, a government-general of Sichuan province submitted petition to the Emperor Guangxu and called for the central government to dispatch intellectuals who were skillful at maps and measuring and calculating to the foreign countries for a better understanding of their locations and borders, to India for more information about its geography and customs which could be helpful for taking preventive measures to bolster frontier defense in southwest of China. At the recommendation of Xu, Emperor Guangxu authorised Huang Maocai as the final appropriate delegate to visit India. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued passport, and envoy of English embassy granted entrance visa to him. On July 7, 1878, a group of six people set forward to India from Chengdu. They were obstructed by a few Tibetans at Batang along the route “Tibet-Sikkim (India)” provided by Ding Baozhen, and later, were forced to change the route to “Yunnan-Burma-India”. The group passed Zhongdian County (Shangri-La), Lijiang, Dali and Baoshan, then crossed the border at Tengchong and after climbing the Savage Mountain they set foot in Burma. They changed their boat into big ship upon reaching the seaport of Rangoon after a journey along Irrawaddy River. Six days later they arrived in Calcutta on March 26, 1879. It took nine months from the beginning.
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Huang Maocai visited English officers in Calcutta after arriving in India. He travelled through Darjeeling, Assam and other areas in northeast India in June and July of 1879. In Assam he saw the tea seedling transported from China and Chinese businessmen. In August, the group began heading for west along river Ganges and visited many northern cities like Allahabad, Agra and Delhi, and later travelled towards southwest in Bombay. On September 13, 1879, they ended their travel in India, and left for China by boat in Bangladesh, during their journey back they visited many countries in Southeast Asia. On November 3, they landed in Hong Kong. Based on his investigation and the collected materials, he finished, after returning, four books: volume I of *Full View of Ancient India* (*Wu Yin Du Quan Tu*), volume I of *The Route from Sichuan to Tibet*, volume I of *The Route from Yunnan to Burma*, volume I of *The Map of Tibet Hui Bu*, which showed clearly the overall situation at the border of India and China. Huang, later, came up with the solution to the English aggression, fulfilling the mission given by Ding Baozhen. Huang also wrote *Four De Yi Zhai Books* consisted of *Xi You Journal*, *India Reading Notes*, *Xi Jiao Water Way* and *Travel Essay*. The book is a detailed record of the Indian geographical terrain, natural products and customs, administrative division, location of cities, social life, army organisation, judiciary system, financial policy, transportation and other aspects in the second half of the 19ᵗʰ century. New things created under the western countries' influence were also mentioned such as the train, telegraph, tap water, museum and zoo. The book enriches Chinese people's knowledge about India, refreshes and modifies the existing information concerning India in the classics of geography and terrain written before, thus being honoured as the indispensable book in the study of boundary affairs.
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After returning from India, Huang Maocai was appointed as magistrate of Pingyi and Mile County in Yunnan province. Four years later, he required to go back to Beijing, the capital of Qing Dynasty, to work as an assistant at Hui Dian Pavilion and inspector at School of Combined Learning. Finally, he died of disease in Shanghai in 1890.
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(*Jia Yan*)