Maximilian August Scipio von Brandt (born 8 October 1835 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

; died 24 August 1920 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

expert and

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

Biography

Max von Brandt was the son of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n general and military author Heinrich von Brandt. He was baptized as

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and attended the French College in Berlin. At first he became a Prussian officer before taking part in the

Eulenburg Expedition The Eulenburg expedition was a diplomatic mission conducted by Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg on behalf of Prussia and the German Customs Union in 1859–1862. Its aim was to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with China, Japan and Siam. ...

of 1860/61 to East Asia leading to the signage of a Japanese-Prussian trade-treaty on January, 24th. Afterwards, Max von Brandt was consul and later general consul of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

, and from 1872, German "Ministerresident" in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. From 1875 to 1893 he then was imperial envoy in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and, in 1882/1883, concluded a trade- and amicability-treaty with

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, where he intensely studied the culture and history of East Asia. Due to his detailed knowledge of Asia, his impressive personality as well as his pleasantness, von Brandt was highly esteemed in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where he became

doyen A doyen or doyenne (from the French language, French word ''wikt:doyen#French, doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning ...

of the

diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps () is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ambassadors, high commis ...

for many years.

Japan post

Max von Brandt spent most of his diplomatic career serving in East Asia, where he was first a part of the Prussian mission in 1860. Two years later, he became the Prussian consul at

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

. In his early years in the region, he was mostly dismissed due to his low rank as a consul. Brandt, therefore, acquired a tendency to assert himself in order to coordinate the German policy with the other representatives of treaty powers in East Asia. It was said that, in order to do this, he often outlined ambitious colonial projects to assert his own influence. There were several recorded documents that offer insights into Brandt's activities in Japan. For example, he started cultivating German assets, whom he sent to serve as military advisers to emerging Japanese groups after learning of the successes of a German sergeant called Carl Koppen. Koppen built a reputation for transforming a band of

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

into a modern army in

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

. Brandt played an important political role in Japan during the 1860s, alongside fellow Western diplomats

Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek Jhr. Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek (born ''Dirk de Graeff''; named also ''Van Polsbroek'' or ''Polsbroek'') (Amsterdam, 28 August 1833 – 27 June 1916, The Hague) was a Dutch aristocrat, merchant and diplomat. Between 1863 and 1868 he was Dutch C ...

Townsend Harris Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the Harris Treaty between the US and Japan and is credited as the dip ...

Rutherford Alcock Sir John Rutherford Alcock, KCB (25 May 1809''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812''2 November 1897) was the first British diplomatic representative to live in Japan. Early life Alcock was born in St ...

and Gustave Duchesne, Prince de Bellecourt. Although these men were bound by personal friendship, national rivalries and differences in dealing with the Japanese led to conflict and antagonism. However, the chaotic and ungovernable circumstances of the first few years forced them to cooperate.Consuls and the Institutions of Global Capitalism, 1783–1914; by Ferry de Goey, p 75 (2015)
He solidified his position in Japan by successfully transitioning the focus of the German policy in the country. Initially, there was the ambition of creating a German colonial outpost in

Ezo is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the people and the lands to the northeast of the Japanese island of Honshu. This included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 1869, Nu ...

(

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

), Japan. However, due to the consolidation of Japan under the Meiji emperor, Brandt promoted the expansion of German commercial and cultural presence in the country.

Works

* ''Sprache und Schrift der Chinesen'', Breslau, o.J. (ca. 1883) (41 Seiten). * ''Aus dem Land des Zopfes - Plaudereien eines alten Chinesen'', Leipzig 1884 (132 Seiten), 2. Aufl. 1898 (195 Seiten). * ''Sittenbilder aus China - Mädchen und Frauen - Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis des chinesischen Volkes'', Stuttgart 1895 (87 Seiten), 2. Aufl. 1900. * ''Die Zukunft Ostasiens - Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und zum Verständnis der ostasiatischen Frage'', Stuttgart 1895 (80 Seiten), 2. Aufl. 1903. * ''Drei Jahre ostasiatische Politik 1894-97'', Stuttgart 1897 (263 Seiten). * ''Ostasiatische Fragen - China, Japan, Korea - Altes und Neues'', Berlin 1897 (359 Seiten). * ''Colonien- und Flottenfrage (Vortrag)'', Berlin 1897 (23 Seiten). * ''Die politische und commerzielle Entwicklung Ostasiens während der jüngsten Zeit'' (Vortrag), Leipzig 1898 (24 Seiten). * ''Die chinesische Philosophie und der Staats-Confucianismus'', Stuttgart 1898 (121 Seiten). * ''China und seine Handelsbeziehungen zum Ausland mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der deutschen'' (= ''Schriften der Centralstelle zur Vorbereitung von Handelsverträgen'' 5), Berlin 1899. * ''Industrielle und Eisenbahn-Unternehmungen in China'' (= ''Verhandlungen der Deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft'' 3/4), Berlin 1899. * ''Zeitfragen - die Krisis in Südafrika - China - Commerzielles und Politisches - Colonialfragen'', Berlin 1900 (394 Seiten). * ''33 Jahre in Ostasien - Erinnerungen eines deutschen Diplomaten'', Leipzig 1901 (319 Seiten). * ''Fremde Früchte - Sienkiewicz/Hearn/Kipling/Gorki'', Stuttgart 1904. * ''Die englische Kolonialpolitik und Kolonialverwaltung'', Halle a. S. 1906. * ''George Bogle und Thomas Manning: Aus dem Lande der lebenden Buddhas. Die Erzählungen von der Mission George Bogle's nach Tibet und Thomas Manning's Reise nach Lhasa (1774 und 1812).'' Aus dem Englischen des Mr. Clements R. Markham. Übersetzt und bearbeitet von Wirkl. Geh. Rat Max von Brandt. Hamburg 1909. * ''Der Chinese in der Öffentlichkeit und der Familie - Wie er sich selbst sieht und schildert - In 82 Zeichnungen nach chinesischen Originalen'', Berlin, ca. 1910. * ''China, Japan und Korea'' in: ''Weltgeschichte'' (Hans Ferdinand Helmolt, Hrsg.), Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig/Wien 1913, Band I. * ''China und Japan jetzt und später'', Leipzig 1914. * ''Japan'', Braunschweig 1920.

Literature

* George Alexander Lensen: ''Balance of Intrigue: International Rivalry in Korea and Manchuria 1884 - 1899'', Florida University Press, Tallahassee 1982, Vol. I & II, . * Rolf-Harald Wippich: „Max von Brandt und die Gründung der OAG (Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens) - Die erste deutsche wissenschaftliche Vereinigung in Ostasien", in: ''Studien des Instituts für Kultur der deutschsprachigen Länder'', 1993, Nr. 11, S. 64-77 * Rolf-Harald Wippich: ''„Strich mit Mütze" - Max von Brandt und Japan - Diplomat, Publizist, Propagandist'', Tokyo 1995, . * Rolf-Harald Wippich: ''Japan als Kolonie? Max von Brandts Hokkaido-Projekt 1865/67'', Hamburg 1997, . * Richard Szippel: ''Max v. Brandt and German Imperialism in East Asia in the Late Nineteenth Century'' (Doktorarbeit, Universität Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA), August 1989, 332 Seiten (University Microfilm International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, Bestell-Nr. 8923270). * Richard Szippel, „End of the Century: Japan through German Eyes - Max von Brandt and Japan, 1894 - 1914", ''German History'' 9, 309 - 326, October 1991. * Richard von Szippel, „Japanese and American Expansion in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century: German Perspective from Writings of Max von Brandt", ''Nanzan Review of American Studies'' 15, 33 - 53 (1993). * Richard Szippel: „A German View of the Boxer Rebellion in China at the Turn of the Century: Max von Brandt and German Interests in China at the Turn of the Century", ''Academia - Humanities and Social Studies'' (Nanzan University) 58, 47 - 76, September 1993. * Richard Szippel: „Max von Brandt's View of America at the Turn of the Century", ''Nanzan Review of American Studies'' 17, 59 - 80 (1995). * Hans-Alexander Kneider: „Deutsch-koreanische Beziehungen - Von den Anfängen bis zum Jahre 1910", in: ''Korea 1996 - Politik, Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft'' (Patrick Köllner, Hrsg.), Hamburg 1996, S. 19 - 49
Auszug
* Richaed Szippel: „The Cross and the Flag - Christian Missions in Late Nineteenth-Century China from the Perspectiv of the German Diplomat Max von Brandt", ''Mission Studies'' (International Association for Mission Studies) XIV, 175 - 202, October 1997. * Aya Puster, „Max von Brandt no hajimeteno Nippon taizai" (Der erste Japan-Aufenthalt von Max von Brandt), in: ''Ronja Nihon no yogaku'' (Studien über die europäische Wissenschaft in Japan), Osaka 1998. * Masako Hiyama: „Max von Brandt (1835-1920)". In: ''Brückenbauer. Pioniere des japanisch-deutschen Kulturaustausches.'' iudicium, Berlin 2005.

References

External links