Thomas Francis Wade
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Francis Wade, GCMG
, KCB
(25 August 1818 – 31 July 1895), was a British diplomat and Sinologist who produced a syllabary in 1859 that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles
romanization
for Mandarin Chinese by Herbert Giles
in 1892. Thomas' Chinese name was Wei Tuoma (威妥瑪).
, he was the son of Major Wade of the Black Watch
, by his wife Anne Smythe (daughter of William Smythe) of Barbavilla, County Westmeath
, Ireland
. He was educated at the Cape, in Mauritius, at Harrow
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
. In 1838, his father purchased for him a commission in the 81st Foot. Exchanging (1839) into the 42nd Highlanders, he served with his regiment in the Ionian Islands
, devoting his leisure to the congenial study of Italian and modern Greek.
On receiving his commission as lieutenant in 1841 he exchanged into the 98th Foot, then under orders for Qing China
, and landed in Hong Kong
in June 1842. The scene of the First Opium War
had at that time been transferred to the Yangtze River
, and Wade was ordered there with his regiment. There he took part in the attack on Zhenjiang
and in the advance on Nanking
.
In 1845, he was appointed interpreter in Cantonese to the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, and in 1846 assistant Chinese secretary to the superintendent of trade, Sir John Francis Davis
. In 1852 he was appointed vice-consul at Shanghai
. The Taiping Rebellion
had so disorganized the administration in the neighborhood of Shanghai that it was considered advisable to put the collection of the foreign customs duties into commission, a committee of three, of whom Wade was the chief, being entrusted with the administration of the customs. This formed the beginning of the imperial maritime customs service.
In 1855, Wade was appointed Chinese secretary to Sir John Bowring
, who had succeeded Sir J. Davis at Hong Kong. On the declaration of the Second Opium War
in 1857, he was attached to Lord Elgin
's staff as Chinese secretary, and with the assistance of Horatio Nelson Lay
he conducted the negotiations which led up to the Treaty of Tientsin
(1858). In the following year he accompanied Sir Frederick Bruce
in his attempt to exchange the ratification of the treaty, and was present at Taku
when the force attending the mission was attacked and driven back from the Pei Ho
(Hai River).
On Lord Elgin's return to China in 1860, he resumed his former post of Chinese secretary, and was mainly instrumental in arranging for the advance of the special envoys and the British and French forces to Tientsin (Tianjin), and subsequently towards Peking. For the purpose of arranging for a camping ground in the neighborhood of Tongzhou
he accompanied Mr (afterwards Sir) Harry Parkes
on his first visit to that city.
As early as 1866, Wade urged Chinese officials to discontinue their method of execution known as "slicing", which was made notorious via tales (perhaps exaggerated or inaccurate) of the death by a thousand cuts.
Wade was knighted in 1875, and participated in the Chefoo Convention
(1876).
After retiring from working over forty years in the British embassies in China, he returned to England in 1883, and donated 4,304 volumes of Chinese literature
to the Cambridge University Library
's Oriental Collection three years later. In 1888, he was elected the first Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge
. He held the position as a professor until his death in Cambridge
at 77. He served as president of the Royal Asiatic Society
fron 1887 to 1890.
Wade was married to Amelia Herschel (1841-1926), daughter of John Herschel
, the astronomer.
In these books, Wade produced an outstandingly innovative system of transliteration
of the Chinese pronunciation into the Latin alphabet (i.e., "romanization
"), based on the pronunciation conventions of the Beijing
dialect.
Wade's system was later substantially modified by Herbert Giles
(Giles succeeded Wade as professor of Chinese at Cambridge University), into the "Wade system as modified by Giles": the system now more generally known as the Wade-Giles
system.
Attribution
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(25 August 1818 – 31 July 1895), was a British diplomat and Sinologist who produced a syllabary in 1859 that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
for Mandarin Chinese by Herbert Giles
Herbert Giles
Herbert Allen Giles was a British diplomat and sinologist, educated at Charterhouse. He modified a Mandarin Chinese Romanization system earlier established by Thomas Wade, resulting in the widely known Wade-Giles Chinese transliteration system...
in 1892. Thomas' Chinese name was Wei Tuoma (威妥瑪).
Life
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he was the son of Major Wade of the Black Watch
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
, by his wife Anne Smythe (daughter of William Smythe) of Barbavilla, County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He was educated at the Cape, in Mauritius, at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. In 1838, his father purchased for him a commission in the 81st Foot. Exchanging (1839) into the 42nd Highlanders, he served with his regiment in the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
, devoting his leisure to the congenial study of Italian and modern Greek.
On receiving his commission as lieutenant in 1841 he exchanged into the 98th Foot, then under orders for Qing China
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, and landed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in June 1842. The scene of the First Opium War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
had at that time been transferred to the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
, and Wade was ordered there with his regiment. There he took part in the attack on Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
and in the advance on Nanking
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
.
In 1845, he was appointed interpreter in Cantonese to the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, and in 1846 assistant Chinese secretary to the superintendent of trade, Sir John Francis Davis
John Francis Davis
Sir John Francis Davis, 1st Baronet KCB was a British diplomat, Sinologist, and the 2nd Governor of Hong Kong. He was the son of Samuel Davis and nephew to William Thomas Mercer .-Early career:John Davis was appointed writer in East India Company's factory at Canton in 1813...
. In 1852 he was appointed vice-consul at Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. The Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
had so disorganized the administration in the neighborhood of Shanghai that it was considered advisable to put the collection of the foreign customs duties into commission, a committee of three, of whom Wade was the chief, being entrusted with the administration of the customs. This formed the beginning of the imperial maritime customs service.
In 1855, Wade was appointed Chinese secretary to Sir John Bowring
John Bowring
Sir John Bowring, KCB was an English political economist, traveller, miscellaneous writer, polyglot, and the 4th Governor of Hong Kong.- Early life :...
, who had succeeded Sir J. Davis at Hong Kong. On the declaration of the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
in 1857, he was attached to Lord Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
's staff as Chinese secretary, and with the assistance of Horatio Nelson Lay
Horatio Nelson Lay
Horatio Nelson Lay , was a British diplomat, noted for his role in the ill-fated "Lay-Osborn Flotilla" during the Taiping Rebellion.-Early life:...
he conducted the negotiations which led up to the Treaty of Tientsin
Treaty of Tientsin
Several documents known as the "Treaty of Tien-tsin" were signed in Tianjin in June 1858, ending the first part of the Second Opium War . The Second French Empire, United Kingdom, Russian Empire, and the United States were the parties involved...
(1858). In the following year he accompanied Sir Frederick Bruce
Frederick Wright-Bruce
Sir Frederick Wright-Bruce, GCB was a British diplomat.Frederick Bruce was the youngest of the three sons of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and his second wife Elizabeth, youngest daughter of James Townshend Oswald of Dunnikier, Fife. He was born at Bromhall, Fife, on 14 April 1814, and on 9 Feb...
in his attempt to exchange the ratification of the treaty, and was present at Taku
Taku Forts
The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...
when the force attending the mission was attacked and driven back from the Pei Ho
Hai River
The Hai River , previously called Bai He , is a river in the People's Republic of China which flows through Beijing and Tianjin before emptying into the Yellow Sea at the Bohai Gulf.The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five rivers, the Southern Canal, Ziya...
(Hai River).
On Lord Elgin's return to China in 1860, he resumed his former post of Chinese secretary, and was mainly instrumental in arranging for the advance of the special envoys and the British and French forces to Tientsin (Tianjin), and subsequently towards Peking. For the purpose of arranging for a camping ground in the neighborhood of Tongzhou
Tongzhou District
Tongzhou District is a district of Beijing, the capital of People's Republic of China. It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the Chinese capital...
he accompanied Mr (afterwards Sir) Harry Parkes
Harry Smith Parkes
Sir Harry Smith Parkes was a 19th century British diplomat who worked mainly in China and Japan...
on his first visit to that city.
As early as 1866, Wade urged Chinese officials to discontinue their method of execution known as "slicing", which was made notorious via tales (perhaps exaggerated or inaccurate) of the death by a thousand cuts.
Wade was knighted in 1875, and participated in the Chefoo Convention
Chefoo Convention
The Chefoo Convention was an "unequal treaty" between the Qing and British Empires, which was signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Chefoo on 21 August 1876...
(1876).
After retiring from working over forty years in the British embassies in China, he returned to England in 1883, and donated 4,304 volumes of Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
to the Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library
The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library...
's Oriental Collection three years later. In 1888, he was elected the first Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He held the position as a professor until his death in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
at 77. He served as president of the Royal Asiatic Society
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...
fron 1887 to 1890.
Wade was married to Amelia Herschel (1841-1926), daughter of John Herschel
John Herschel
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
, the astronomer.
Works
In addition to diplomatic duties, Wade published books teaching or advancing non-Chinese's knowledge in the language:- The Peking Syllabary; being a collection of the characters representing the dialect of Peking; arranged after a new orthography in syllabic classes, according to the four tones. Designed to accompany the Hsin Ching Lu, or Book of Experiments, (Hong Kong), 1859.
- 語言自邇集 Yü-yen tzu-erh chi: a progressive course designed to assist the student of colloquial Chinese, London, 1867.
- 文件自集 Wen-chien tzu-erh chi: a series of papers selected as specimens of documentary Chinese, London, 1867.
- 漢字習寫法 Han-tzu hsi-hsieh fa: a set of writing exercises, designed to accompany the colloquial series of the tzu-erh chi, London, 1867.
In these books, Wade produced an outstandingly innovative system of transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
of the Chinese pronunciation into the Latin alphabet (i.e., "romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
"), based on the pronunciation conventions of the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
dialect.
Wade's system was later substantially modified by Herbert Giles
Herbert Giles
Herbert Allen Giles was a British diplomat and sinologist, educated at Charterhouse. He modified a Mandarin Chinese Romanization system earlier established by Thomas Wade, resulting in the widely known Wade-Giles Chinese transliteration system...
(Giles succeeded Wade as professor of Chinese at Cambridge University), into the "Wade system as modified by Giles": the system now more generally known as the Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
system.
External links
Attribution