Wan Guo Gong Fa 萬國公法 [Elements of International Law] 京都崇實館, Peking, 1864

4 juan in 4 volumes. Orig wrappers, large 8vo (29.7 × 18 cm). 京都崇實館, Chong Shi Guan, Peking, 同治三年, 1864

Wanguo gongfa (萬國公法), the pioneering Chinese translation of Henry Wheaton’s Elements of International Law—the most influential international law treatise of its time—marked a turning point in China’s entry into the modern international order.

Martin’s decision to undertake the translation grew directly out of diplomatic experience. As interpreter to U.S. Minister William B. Reed during the negotiations of the Treaty of Tianjin (1858), he witnessed a clash over diplomatic protocol: the Qing plenipotentiary Qiying demanded that Reed kneel to receive documents, to which Reed replied, “I kneel only before God.” Qiying insisted, “But the Emperor is God.” For Martin, this episode revealed the Qing court’s profound unfamiliarity with modern diplomatic norms and international law—an ignorance that placed China at a severe disadvantage. Even among Westerners in China, opinions differed about whether international law should be introduced to the Qing government; some feared it might complicate Western interests. Martin, however, saw a historical necessity: China urgently needed the conceptual framework by which modern states conducted their affairs. He also viewed the project as part of a broader mission—“to help China understand God and His eternal justice.”

After arriving in Beijing, Martin gained crucial support from U.S. Minister Anson Burlingame and Robert Hart, Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs. With their encouragement—and the formal approval of the Zongli Yamen, the Qing foreign affairs office—he began work on the translation.

Martin’s success rested on his exceptional command of classical Chinese. Between 1850 and 1855, he undertook rigorous study of the Confucian canon (Shangshu, Yijing, Shijing, Chunqiu, Zhouli, Lunyu, Daxue, Zhongyong, Mengzi), along with phonology, dialects, and traditional exegesis. His mastery earned him the respect of Qing officials; Prince Gong (Yixin) famously bestowed upon him the elegant epithet “Ding Guanxi 丁冠西.”

Completed in 1863 and printed the following year with funds allocated by the Zongli Yamen, Wanguo gongfa was praised by Prince Gong and other senior statesmen. Presented to the emperor in early 1865, it quickly became a foundational text in late Qing statecraft. For the first time, Chinese officials encountered concepts such as sovereignty, rights, territorial jurisdiction, neutrality, human rights, liberty, and the equality of nations—ideas that profoundly shaped political discourse in the decades that followed.

Martin’s translation represents the true beginning of the transmission of Western international law into China. By choosing the term “公法” as a shared vocabulary bridging Chinese and Western worldviews, he framed international law as universal principles grounded in natural law, while tracing its roots to ancient Chinese notions of public law. This rhetorical and conceptual strategy greatly facilitated the acceptance and dissemination of modern international law in China.

The books are in very good condition with clean text and well-preserved wrappers. Only the case shows damage, with splits and losses.

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