158:, translating works from Chinese to English, as Morrison could not read or speak Chinese. Backhouse fed Morrison what he said was insider information about the Manchu court, but there is no evidence of him having any significant ties with anyone of prominence. At this time, he had already learned several languages, including Russian, Japanese and Chinese. He spent most of the rest of his life in Peking, in the employment of various companies and individuals, who made use of his language skills and alleged connections to the Chinese imperial court for the negotiation of business deals. None of these deals was ever successful.
338:, calls Backhouse a "fraudster", and declares that he "may indeed in his memoirs have been the chronicler of, for example, male brothel life in late-imperial Peking, and there may be many small truths in those manuscripts that fill out the picture of his life, but we know now that not a word he ever said or wrote can be trusted."
341:
Derek
Sandhaus, however, notes that Trevor-Roper did not consult specialists in Chinese affairs, and seems to have read only enough of the text to have been disgusted by its homosexuality. While conceding that Backhouse fabricated or imagined many of these assignations, Sandhaus finds that others are
209:
Backhouse's life was led in alternate periods of total reclusion and alienation from his
Western origins, and work for Western companies and governments. In 1939, the Austrian Embassy offered him refuge, and he made the acquaintance of the Swiss consul, Richard Hoeppli, whom he impressed with tales
22:
342:
plausible or independently confirmed and he reasons that
Backhouse spoke Chinese, Manchu, and Mongolian, the languages of the imperial household, and his account of the atmosphere and customs of the Empress Dowager's court may be more reliable than Trevor-Roper allowed.
190:
of the early 15th century. The
Library describes the gift: "The acquisition of the Backhouse collection, one of the finest and most generous gifts in the Library's history, between 1913 and 1922, greatly enriched the Bodleian's Chinese collections."
127:
When reflecting on his childhood he wrote that "I was born of wealthy parents who had everything they wanted and were miserable ... I heard not a kind word nor received a grudging dole of sympathy". Backhouse attended
206:, a British shipbuilder. Neither company received any confirmation from the court. When they tried to contact Backhouse, he had left the country. After he returned to Peking in 1922 he refused to speak about the deals.
136:. While at Oxford he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1894, and although he returned to the university in 1895, he never completed his degree, instead fleeing the country due to the massive debts he had accumulated.
239:
victory that would destroy Great
Britain. Backhouse died in the Hospital St Michel in Peking in 1944 aged 70, unmarried, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his nephew John Edmund Backhouse, son of
67:
with few equals", who had also duped the
British government, Oxford University, the American Bank Note Company and John Brown & Company. Derek Sandhaus, the editor of Backhouse's memoirs
809:
184:
of several of the manuscripts was later cast into serious doubt. Nevertheless, he donated over 17,000 items, some of which "were a real treasure", including half a dozen volumes of the rare
180:, hoping to receive a professorship in return. This endeavour was ultimately unsuccessful. He delivered a total of eight tons of manuscripts to the Bodleian between 1913 and 1923. The
198:, managing an arms deal between Chinese sources and the UK. In 1916 he presented himself as a representative of the Imperial Court and negotiated two fraudulent deals with the
1098:
378:
329:
Trevor-Roper described the diary as "pornographic", considered its claims, and eventually declared its contents to be figments of
Backhouse's fertile imagination.
1043:
730:
564:
1053:
235:, with whom Britain was at war from 1941. By then Backhouse's political views were fascist and he became a Japanese collaborator who wished fervently for an
1073:
1038:
998:
993:
1008:
1003:
176:. With these books he established his reputation as an oriental scholar. In 1913, Backhouse began to donate a great many Chinese manuscripts to the
334:
1113:
210:
of his sexual adventures and homosexual life in old
Beijing. Hoeppli persuaded him to write his memoirs, which were consulted by Trevor-Roper.
1103:
726:
605:
295:
in 1924, who studied the matter further and changed his mind in 1940. In 1991, Lo Hui-min published a definitive proof of its fraudulence.
853:
823:
697:
452:
433:
252:
805:
677:
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302:
received the manuscript of
Backhouse's memoirs, in which Backhouse boasted of having had affairs with prominent people, including
1083:
898:
595:
1058:
772:
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891:
1108:
1048:
1028:
86:
1033:
863:
572:
284:), which Backhouse claimed to have found in the house of its recently deceased author when he occupied it after the
937:
199:
858:
546:
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1023:
946:
921:
98:
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1093:
827:
203:
291:
The authenticity of the diary has been questioned by scholars, notably
Morrison, but initially defended by
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1063:
353:
173:
155:
133:
988:
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315:
186:
106:
953:
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129:
21:
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404:
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244:
60:
901:
article by Robert Bickers, 'Backhouse, Sir Edmund Trelawny, second baronet (1873â1944)' 2004
1018:
177:
64:
48:(1644â1912). Since his death, however, it has been established that the major source of his
33:
925:
323:
285:
232:
195:
116:
522:
217:
110:
93:; his relatives included many churchmen and scholars. In 1918, he inherited the family
693:
371:
977:
721:(Leiden: Brill, 1924; rpr. Arlington, Va.: University Publications of America, 1976;
719:
The Diary of His Excellency Ching-Shan: Being a Chinese Account of the Boxer Troubles
307:
303:
102:
74:
41:
903:
Backhouse, Sir Edmund Trelawny, second baronet (1873â1944), Sinologist and fraudster
917:
China under the Empress Dowager: Being the History of the Life and Times of Tzu Hsi
359:
China Under the Empress Dowager: Being the History of the Life and Times of TzĆ Hsi
228:
45:
387:
357:
841:
380:
Annals & memoirs of the court of Peking: (from the 16th to the 20th century)
319:
311:
236:
902:
533:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., January 2008, accessed 4 May 2011
526:
181:
90:
37:
150:
915:
145:
94:
53:
405:"Secret Annals of the Manchu Court 1. The Story of the Precious Pearl"
277:
194:
He also worked as a secret agent for the British legation during the
251:. Apparently regardless of his loyalties he was commemorated by the
798:
DĂ©cadence Mandchoue: the China Memoirs of Edmund Trelawny Backhouse
747:
DĂ©cadence Mandchoue: The China Memoirs of Edmund Trelawny Backhouse
20:
16:
British oriental scholar, linguist, and confidence man (1873â1944)
547:"Hugh Trevor-Roper on Sir Edmund Backhouse | Camp Catatonia"
164:
40:, and linguist whose books exerted a powerful influence on the
270:
was based on the diary of the high court official Ching-shan (
506:
Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China
527:"Backhouse, Sir Edmund Trelawny, second baronet (1873â1944)"
731:
Hui-min Lo, "The Ching-shan Diary: A Clue to its Forgery,"
672:. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 105.
77:
but contain plausible recollections of scenes and details.
846:
Hermit of Peking, The Hidden Life of Sir Edmund Backhouse
783:. Retrieved 18 October 2017; unavailable 5 February 2020.
220:, while the memoir dealing with his early life in Europe
749:(Chicago: Earnshaw Books, 2011), Introduction, xvâxxiv.
263:
There are two major accusations levelled at Backhouse.
247:
in 1942 and was buried at Chala Catholic Cemetery near
148:
where he soon began collaborating with the influential
694:"Casualty Details: Backhouse, Sir Edmund Trelawny"
255:
among its list of British civilian war dead in China.
814:
Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, Dr Reinhard Hoeppli, ed.,
541:
539:
377:Backhouse, Edmund; Bland, John Otway Percy (1914).
838:A Hidden Life - The Enigma of Sir Edmund Backhouse
796:Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, Derek Sandhaus, ed.,
318:of China. Backhouse also claimed to have visited
224:was finally published in 2017 by Alchemie Books.
32:(20 October 1873 â 8 January 1944) was a British
745:Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, Derek Sandhaus, ed.,
403:Backhouse, Sir Edmund; Bland, J. O. P. (1913).
565:"History and scope of the Chinese collections"
479:, New York: Alfred Knopf, 1976 pages 348â352.
271:
8:
628:
211:
68:
859:"Hugh Trevor Roper on Sir Edmund Backhouse"
933:
872:. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008
30:Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, 2nd Baronet
1099:British collaborators with Imperial Japan
870:"Sir Edmund Trelawney Backhouse, baronet"
504:Seagrave, Sterling, and Seagrave, Peggy.
170:Annals and Memoirs of the Court of Peking
73:, argues that they are also an undoubted
659:, New York: Alfred Knopf, pages 295â296.
773:Pomp and porn during the Qing Dynasty:
670:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
531:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
468:
335:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
883:
518:
516:
514:
259:Accusations of forgery and fabrication
1044:People educated at Winchester College
7:
919:, by J. O. P. Bland and E. Backhouse
56:, most likely by Backhouse himself.
1054:Academic staff of Peking University
840:(Published in the US, and in later
386:. London: Heinemann. Archived from
99:Sir Jonathan Backhouse, 1st Baronet
864:Leigh Rayment's list of baronets
698:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
411:. Atlantic Monthly Co. p. 629
253:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
113:from 1938 to 1939. Backhouse told
14:
1074:Linguists from the United Kingdom
800:(Hong Kong: Earnshaw Books, 2011
161:In 1910, he published a history,
1039:Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
999:20th-century English LGBT people
994:19th-century English LGBT people
938:Baronetage of the United Kingdom
899:Dictionary of National Biography
777:by Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse
758:Backhouse, Derek Sandhaus, ed.,
627:Backhouse, Derek Sandhaus, ed.,
508:. New York: Knopf, 1992. p. 282.
216:was not published until 2011 by
44:view of the last decades of the
1009:20th-century English memoirists
1004:20th-century English historians
372:China under the empress dowager
268:China Under the Empress Dowager
172:, both with British journalist
50:China Under the Empress Dowager
424:Backhouse, Sir Edmund (2011).
298:In 1973 the British historian
227:Peking, during that period of
1:
1114:British people of World War I
597:Colonialism and homosexuality
428:. Hong Kong: Earnshaw Books.
1104:English expatriates in China
495:(Funk & Wagnalls, 1936).
958:(of Uplands, County Durham)
655:Trevor-Roper, Hugh (1976),
594:Aldrich, Robert F. (2003).
266:His claim that much of his
105:. His youngest brother was
63:, unmasked Backhouse as "a
1135:
443:Backhouse, Edmund (2022).
200:American Bank Note Company
85:Backhouse was born into a
964:
951:
947:Jonathan Edmund Backhouse
943:
936:
890:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
642:Backhouse, Hoeppli, ed.,
600:. Routledge. p. 86.
272:
120:: "My name is pronounced
924:4 September 2009 at the
493:What's the Name, Please?
409:The Atlantic, Volume 112
204:John Brown & Company
1084:British LGBT scientists
844:editions in the UK, as
332:Robert Bickers, in the
310:, an Ottoman princess,
288:of 1900, is contested.
144:In 1899, he arrived in
1059:People from Darlington
905:, accessed 4 Jan 2007.
629:
243:. He had converted to
212:
156:George Ernest Morrison
134:Merton College, Oxford
69:
26:
1119:Confidence tricksters
818:(Alchemy Books, 2017
314:, and especially the
24:
657:The Hermit of Peking
477:The Hermit of Peking
316:Empress Dowager Cixi
1109:Historians of China
1049:British sinologists
1029:English gay writers
775:Decadence Mandchoue
760:DĂ©cadence Mandchoue
630:DĂ©cadence Mandchoue
475:Trevor-Roper, Hugh
426:DĂ©cadence Mandchoue
352:Backhouse, Edmund;
322:and acted opposite
213:DĂ©cadence Mandchoue
187:Yongle Encyclopedia
107:Sir Roger Backhouse
70:DĂ©cadence Mandchoue
1034:Backhouse baronets
735:, 1 (1991), 98â124
733:East Asian History
575:on 23 January 2013
489:Charles Earle Funk
447:. Alchemie Books.
293:J. J. L. Duyvendak
231:, was occupied by
130:Winchester College
27:
972:
971:
965:Succeeded by
834:Hugh Trevor-Roper
781:Asia Times Online
727:978-0-89093-074-8
607:978-0-415-19615-4
551:campcatatonia.org
300:Hugh Trevor-Roper
245:Roman Catholicism
97:from his father,
61:Hugh Trevor-Roper
25:Backhouse in 1943
1126:
1079:English fascists
1024:Backhouse family
944:Preceded by
934:
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619:
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614:
591:
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584:
582:
580:
571:. Archived from
569:Bodleian Library
561:
555:
554:
543:
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520:
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496:
486:
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473:
458:
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420:
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275:
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215:
178:Bodleian Library
163:China Under the
101:, a director of
72:
59:His biographer,
34:oriental scholar
1134:
1133:
1129:
1128:
1127:
1125:
1124:
1123:
1069:LGBT Christians
1014:English Quakers
974:
973:
968:
961:
956:
949:
931:
926:Wayback Machine
912:
882:
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868:
854:978-190601101-7
793:
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667:
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646:, Introduction.
641:
637:
633:, Introduction.
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393:
391:
390:on 28 June 2014
383:
376:
364:
362:
354:Bland, J. O. P.
351:
348:
324:Sarah Bernhardt
261:
241:Roger Backhouse
196:First World War
165:Empress Dowager
142:
117:Literary Digest
83:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1132:
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1116:
1111:
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1101:
1096:
1094:Gay scientists
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1036:
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1026:
1021:
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976:
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967:John Backhouse
966:
963:
950:
945:
941:
940:
929:
928:
911:
910:External links
908:
907:
906:
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824:978-1974652730
812:
810:Amazon Preview
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523:Robert Bickers
510:
497:
481:
467:
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461:
460:
459:
454:978-0648801993
453:
440:
435:978-9881944511
434:
421:
400:
374:
347:
344:
286:Boxer Uprising
260:
257:
233:Imperial Japan
218:Earnshaw Books
174:J. O. P. Bland
154:correspondent
141:
138:
111:First Sea Lord
82:
79:
65:confidence man
15:
13:
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2:
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1089:Gay academics
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1085:
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1064:LGBT nobility
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829:
828:The Dead Past
825:
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816:The Dead Past
813:
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806:988-19445-1-1
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679:0-19-861353-9
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652:
649:
645:
644:The Dead Past
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621:
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445:The Dead Past
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321:
317:
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308:Paul Verlaine
305:
304:Lord Rosebery
301:
296:
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283:
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222:The Dead Past
219:
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207:
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189:
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179:
175:
171:
168:and in 1914,
167:
166:
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139:
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135:
131:
125:
123:
119:
118:
112:
108:
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103:Barclays Bank
100:
96:
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88:
80:
78:
76:
75:confabulation
71:
66:
62:
57:
55:
51:
47:
43:
39:
35:
31:
23:
19:
959:
952:
930:
916:
874:. Retrieved
845:
837:
815:
797:
774:
771:Kent Ewing,
767:
759:
754:
746:
741:
732:
718:
713:
701:. Retrieved
688:
669:
664:
656:
651:
643:
638:
623:
611:. Retrieved
596:
589:
577:. Retrieved
573:the original
568:
559:
550:
530:
505:
500:
492:
484:
476:
471:
444:
425:
413:. Retrieved
408:
392:. Retrieved
388:the original
379:
363:. Retrieved
358:
340:
333:
331:
328:
297:
290:
281:
267:
265:
262:
229:World War II
226:
221:
208:
193:
185:
169:
162:
160:
149:
143:
126:
121:
114:
84:
58:
49:
46:Qing dynasty
29:
28:
18:
989:1944 deaths
984:1873 births
717:Duyvendak,
613:6 September
415:1 September
320:Leo Tolstoy
312:Oscar Wilde
978:Categories
962:1918â1944
791:References
703:29 January
579:27 January
182:provenance
109:, who was
91:Darlington
89:family in
81:Early life
38:Sinologist
848:) (1976)
249:Pingzemen
95:baronetcy
922:Archived
886:cite web
876:13 March
356:(1910).
282:JÇngshĂ n
1019:Forgers
954:Baronet
762:, ibid.
394:1 April
365:1 April
122:back'us
54:forgery
42:Western
852:
822:
804:
725:
676:
604:
451:
432:
278:pinyin
146:Peking
87:Quaker
842:Eland
463:Notes
384:(PDF)
346:Works
151:Times
140:China
52:is a
892:link
878:2018
850:ISBN
832:Sir
820:ISBN
802:ISBN
723:ISBN
705:2018
674:ISBN
615:2011
602:ISBN
581:2013
449:ISBN
430:ISBN
417:2014
396:2013
367:2013
237:Axis
202:and
132:and
115:The
729:);
124:".
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884:{{
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276:;
273:æŻć
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438:.
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398:.
369:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
