The Pretended Embassy of Shah Jahan to China in 1656
Summary
In this critical note, Luciano Petech debunks the notion that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan sent an embassy to the Chinese court in 1656. He observes that the story originates from Johann Neuhof’s account of the first Dutch embassy to the Manchu emperor, where Neuhof claimed that a ‘Grand Mogol’ envoy arrived in Peking on 3 August 1656 and participated in court ceremonies. Petech points out that Mughal chronicles are silent on any such mission and that the Mughals traditionally avoided sending embassies to infidel rulers. Consulting Chinese imperial records (Ta‑ch’ing‑li‑chao‑shih‑lu), he finds no reference to an embassy from India but notes that on 2 October 1656 the emperor received envoys from Turfan in Eastern Turkestan, an event that Neuhof also recorded. By comparing the list of gifts carried by the supposed ‘Grand Mogol’ with those presented by the Turfan envoys, Petech demonstrates that Neuhof misidentified the delegation. He concludes that the so‑called Mughal embassy was actually a commercial mission from Turfan and that European travellers’ reports can distort Asian diplomatic history when not cross‑checked with indigenous sources. The article thus corrects a persistent historical error and highlights the importance of using multiple sources to verify historical claims.
Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.
Conclusion
Petech’s investigation shows that there was no Mughal embassy to China in 1656; the purported mission was a delegation from Turfan misreported by European travellers. His work underscores the need to corroborate travel narratives with local sources and serves as a cautionary tale about accepting early modern European accounts at face value.