Gaubil, Antony

, one of the French missionaries in China, whose knowledge of that country was carried to a wonderful extent by an active spirit of inquiry, was born at Caillac, in 1708, and in 1721 was sent by the Jesuits, to which order he belonged, to China, where he resided thirty -eight years. He acted as interpreter at the court of Pekin; and his knowledge of the sciences and History of China were matter of astonishment to the Chinese themselves. He sent many curious memoirs on the subject to Europe, besides which, he published a good history of Gengiskhan, in 4to, 1739; and after his death appeared a translation of the “Chou King,” in 1771, a work held in the utmost veneration by the Chinese. Gaubil died at Pekin July 24, 1759. His eulogium may be found in the 31st volume of the “Lettres curieuses et edifiantes.” ²