Peeking into the First Dutch Embassies: Min-Yue Literati’s Eyewitness Accounts and Knowledge Networks

Abstract In the early Qing period, Han-Chinese literati from the empire’s southeast were keen observers of Sino-foreign relations. With the arrival of the first Dutch embassies in coastal regions during the 1650s and 1660s, Min (Fujian)-Yue (Guangdong) literati proactively engaged in observing and writing the Dutch envoys. They boarded Dutch embassy ships, vividly depicting what they heard and saw onboard, and shared their firsthand accounts with a broader audience through historical-literary writings. Previous scholarly narratives, which have relied on Dutch sources, have presented a one-sided view of the Dutch as sole observers peeking into the new Qing empire. This article, however, offers a contrasting perspective, demonstrating that early Qing coastal literati collaborated with one another to create collective knowledge of the Dutch newcomers through the medium of tribute embassies. By tapping into a set of understudied non-imperial eyewitness accounts, this article provides a bilateral perspective – a mutual observation involving both Dutch envoys and Chinese literati – thereby shedding light on Sino-Dutch private encounters at the empire’s maritime frontier. Moreover, by teasing out the transtextuality of this intricately woven body of poetry-prose literary writings, this study illustrates the co-production and circulation of maritime knowledge within the literati’s networks, highlighting the interconnectedness of the Min-Yue region.