The Marquis Tseng

THE “DIARY OF THE MARQUIS TSENG,” first translated in 1884, frequently shows the acuteness which characterizes the intellect of the educated Chinaman. It is not intended to be satirical or hypercritical, but the standpoint from which it considers Caucasian customs is so completely extraneous that we have frequent suggestions in it of the satire which Goldsmith puts in the mouth of his imaginary Chinese philosopher in “The Citizen of the World.” Tseng, who was born in 1839, spent a good part of his life in the Chinese diplomatic service, residing at St. Petersburg, Paris, and London. His “Diary” was written while he was Chinese minister to England and France. He died April 12th, 1890.