Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Giles
Herbert Allen
1845-1935
Sinologist
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Herbert Allen Giles was a British diplomat and sinologist who was the professor of Chinese at Cambridge University for 35 years. Giles was educated at Charterhouse School before becoming a British diplomat in China from 1867-1892. He modified a Mandarin Chinese romanisation system established by Thomas Wade, resulting in the widely known Wade–Giles Chinese romanisation system. Among his many works were translations of the Analects of Confucius, the Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching), the Chuang Tzu, and, in 1892, A Chinese-English Dictionary.