DETHÈVE Claude (EN)

A Historical Medical Consultation

In the early morning of October 18, 1898, in the Forbidden City of Beijing, the Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908) was visited by two Westerners: Claude Dethève (1867-1936), doctor of the French legation (diplomatic representation) in Beijing, in the company of Arnold Vissière (1858-1930), eminent sinologist and the legation’s interpreter (Gaspardone E., 1930). Following rumours and press articles reporting the Emperor as ailing, the French ambassador to Beijing, Stéphen Pichon (1857-1933), had offered the services of Dr Dethève (Vissière A., 1900, p. 117) who, exceptionally for the time, was authorised to examine the Emperor, under the watchful eye of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908). The medical examination took place in a very particular context, only a few days after the end of the events known as the Hundred Days’ Reform and the Wuxu Coup (Brun J-F., 2010; Gernet J., 2005). Dr. Dethève was one of the few Europeans to have approached and touched the “Son of Heaven,” who was otherwise treated solely by traditional Chinese doctors (Franzini S., 1995).

Whether political manoeuvre or true consultation, the diagnosis of the French doctor was chronic nephritis and the life of the Emperor was declared not to be in danger.

This unusual one-hour meeting was the subject of various diplomatic reports, as well as a detailed report from Claude to his mother (Médiathèque Roannais Agglomeration - Roanne, 2 E 456). He described the atmosphere of the consultation and also its direct consequences: as the event was widely reported by international newspapers (Daily Mail, Le Constitutionnel, 1898) and foreign legations, the career of the young French doctor enjoyed its moment of glory.

From Creuse to the Middle Kingdom

Nothing had however predestined Claude Dethève for an international military medical career. Born in 1867 in Roanne into a modest family from the department of Creuse, fatherless as of age five, he was raised by his mother and his paternal grandparents. The latter belonged to the generation of "Creuse masons" who left to earn their living on construction sites, including those of Roanne, at the beginning of the 19th century. Throughout his life, Claude Dethève maintained very strong ties with his family and lived intermittently in the Creuse.

In his youth and for his studies, he benefited from the support of a few notables from Vallières with whom his mother worked. Admitted to the École de médecine navale in 1889, he defended his thesis at the faculty of Bordeaux in 1894 (Dethève C., 1893), then joined the colonial health corps (AD 23, 1R 419).

Several ensuing missions of short duration took him to Obock (Djibouti) in East Africa and then to Madagascar, then at war (Isoavinandriana Hospital) before his appointment to Beijing in 1898 (AD 23, 1R 419).

He thereafter discovered the Middle Empire at a tumultuous moment in its history, between the Hundred Days’ Reform initiated by the Emperor and the first troubles of the terrible Boxer Rebellion which shook China until 1901.

After the imperial consultation, from November 1899, he was placed on special leave and sent to various posts over a period of six years, including in the service of the Franco-Belgian company for the construction of the Beijing-Hankou railway line.

He returned to France and married Jeanne Monteret (1872-1953), a descendant of the well-known Cancalon family from the Creuse, on November 17, 1900 (AD 42, 3E188_73).

When Claude Dethève went back to China, the country had recently experienced violent clashes with Westerners and the Empire was economically subject to the Allied powers. Testimonies from soldiers who had served there, including Pierre Loti (1850-1923), painted a grim picture of the state of the pillaged country, strewn with ruins and corpses (Loti P., 2008; Pavé F., 2008; Saillens M., 1905 Smit C., 1900). We know little about the years of Claude Dethève’s assignment to this railway line, a pharaonic construction site illustrated by an exhibition at the Musée Cernuschi (2013) and another at the Train World museum near Brussels (2021).

The holdings of several hundred postcards kept at the médiathèque Roannais Agglomération-Roanne illustrate his various missions, life within the legations, and a regular correspondence with his wife, in-laws, and mother, even if he provided few details of his activities therin. He also practiced amateur photography (Beauffet J., 2016; Henri C. and Suchel-Mercier I., 2008) and collected postcards, often picturesque. His wife joined him in China, near Beijing, where they lived for some time. It is interesting to note that the outbound segment of this trip was made by land and rail, but the return by sea. This long journey of several weeks, through dozens of countries including Russia and Siberia, certainly explains the presence of certain pieces in the spouses’ collection.

The railway line was inaugurated on November 14, 1905, and Claude Dethève left China in 1906, not without taking the Asian objects that surrounded him in his Chinese home, as evidenced by several snapshots from the time.

Post-China

After an assignment in Lorient (1907), he was sent on a mission to West Africa at the hospital in Dakar.

He returned to Asia with his wife in 1911 for a mission to the Hanoi hospital in Tonkin and came back to France the following year, ill. After some time in Toulon, he was mobilised to the front during the First World War, before demobilisation in 1919 (AD 23 1R49).

Claude Dethève spent his retirement between Riorges and Roanne, where he died on March 5, 1936 without descendants (AM Roanne, Mairie de Roanne, État civil registre de décès-1936).

Although few personal elements about Claude Dethève are known, we do know that on several occasions he received civil and military honours. A photographic portrait of him in military dress shows him wearing the extremely rare Order of the Double-Dragon of the Empire of China (probably following his consultation with the Emperor), the insignia of Officer of the Academy, and the medals of Knight of the Order of François-Joseph, Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy, and Royal Officer of the Order of Cambodia. He was named Knight of the Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur) by decree dated July 10, 1913. Popular testimonies included in his collection of objects kept at the Joseph Déchelette Museum in Roanne suggest that he was also appreciated by those he succeeded in healing during his missions. Several insignias and banderoles praise his medical skills and the good done to those around him.

In Roanne, he left behind the memory of a very discreet man, endowed with an inquisitive mind and whose "travels and readings gave his conversation a very special charm" (obituary in the Journal de Roanne, 1936, p. 3/10). He was a candidate for the Touring-Club de France, and also a member of the Société linnéenne de Lyon (a learned society of natural history) from 1926 until his death (Ramousse R., 2020), his library clearly illustrating his interest in nature and science.

His wife Jeanne survived him until 1953. Unfortunately, we know very little about Madame Dethève except that she perpetuated her mother's commitment to the Roanne branch of the Red Cross and was active in local societies of charitable works. On her death, in accordance with their testamentary wishes, the couple's works of art were bequeathed to the Joseph Déchelette museum and library of Roanne.

Composition of the Collection

While the collection of the Dethève spouses raises questions about various aspects related to the identification and origin of certain pieces, which are being studied through this research program, it is at any rate attractive in terms of its diversity and its links with history understood both broadly and individually. The collection is made up of more than 100 objects kept at the Musée Joseph Déchelette in the city of Roanne. In addition, the Médiathèque Roannais Agglomération - Roanne conserves ​​502 postcards, 271 photographs, and some 100 books by the Dethève couple. These two sets were bequeathed to the city of Roanne by Jeanne Dethève at the end of 1953.

The museum's collection has never yet been the subject of in-depth studies or a monographic exhibition, apart from a partial presentation of the collection at the museum in 2011 and 2017. The Médiathèque Roannais Agglomération - Roanne has exhibited part of the collection of photographs by the doctor in 1999 and 2008 (Henri C. and Suchel-Mercier I., 2008).

With a few rare exceptions, most of these pieces can be dated to the second half of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century.

Geographically, the works of art come from the places of the doctor's missions in Asia, although a few come from Africa and Japan (the latter of which he never visited, to our knowledge). It is also interesting to note that in the countries where he acquired objects, he was accompanied by his wife. About 2% of the collection comes from Vietnam in the form of of objects, trays, and screens, in exotic wood and decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays. We can also note the presence of 4 kilims from Inner Mongolia and a hanging, probably Uyghur. The rest of the items were created in or otherwise came from China.

The Chinese collection is striking in its variety: around 20 ceramic items, around 30 silk and woolen textile pieces (hangings, curtains, items of clothing, insignia, and banners for secular celebrations), four statuettes in terracotta, four others linked with representations of the Buddha, and about ten carved wooden figurines. Two incense burners, as well as around 30 objects of daily life - dishes, a travel tea kit, four pipes, some pieces of furniture, hair ornaments, and five pairs of shoes - complete the set. Beyond the surprise of the discovery, we can appreciate an immersive collection made in China at the beginning of the 20th century which explores everyday life as well as of the sacred, the banal as well as the exceptional, and appeals to all the senses of the observer.

A Multifaceted Collection

While in the collection of pieces gathered by Doctor Dethève we might detect the eye of an enlightened amateur interested in many aspects of Chinese culture, we do not find the coherence of a seasoned collector or the expertise of a connoisseur.

In this respect, it is interesting to note certain titles (Favier A., ​​1897; Raquez A., 1900) from his personal library, relating to accounts of trips to China and conveying a vision, Western at the least, if not stereotypical, of China at the end of the 19th century. It is not impossible that these works had an impact on him, as certain objects mentioned as being typical of Chinese culture (and reproduced in the plates of these books) are present in his collection. Such is the case for shoes, opium, and water pipes, small scent purses, or even fan cases. Each category is nevertheless declined in its diversity - colour, materials, use - or represents a distinct minority. Thus, we see several shoes for bound feet from the Han dynasty, but also Manchu shoes intended for various occasions (Lemahieu S. et al. 2019).

Some pieces (ceramics, furniture) are fairly common, certainly intended for Western customers of the time. They are nevertheless interesting by showing objects intended to be "typical", in particular by the choice of specifically Chinese themes (scenes of children playing, symbolic lucky animals, Buddhas, etc.).

That said, one of the specificities of the collection lies in these pieces dedicated to Claude Dethève, which reflect his work and his commitment to the local population. Doctor Servel in 1902 reminds us that “Consultations with Doctor Dethève, doctor of the Franco-Belgian railway in Chang-Hsin-Tien were very much in-demand, even inland to places that Europeans had scarcely heard about, much less visited." He also pointed out that a doctor "who has cured one’s parents or saved one’s life" could acquire from a Chinese individual "an unparalleled claim to his recognition". In this line, we see a black and red hanging with golden Chinese inscriptions in recognition of the doctor’s medical skills at the construction site of the railway line. Many other coins present auspicious motifs, usual in coins offered on the occasion of ceremonies or as thanks, which often adorned houses at that time (Favier A., ​​1897, p. 460-461).

Certain very unique objects are also remarkable, independent of their material value, due to their rarity in public collections. Here one could cite the small carved wooden figurines representing the small street vendors in China, typical of the craftsmanship of orphanages and of which we know of similar specimens only at the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs of Lyon (Henriot C ., 2014).

Finally, a few high-quality objects stand out and rival any exceptional piece, allowing the reserve due to pieces produced in this time and context (Duhem S. and Roffidal E., 2019 and Brizay B., 2013). One might cite, for example, this beautiful Bianhu-shaped porcelain gourd in shades of cobalt blue on a white background, decorated with interlacing floral motifs resting on a carved wooden base and bearing the seal of Emperor Qianlong (MBAAJD, inv. 2732).

Or this set, consisting of a tripod incense burner in gilded bronze and cloisonné enamels decorated with foliage, lotus flowers, and a “shou” motif, a symbol of longevity and adorned with two dragons (MBAAJD, inv. 2743). It is accompanied by two vases with similar motifs MBAAJD, inv. 2744.1 and 2744.2). These elements were to be accompanied by two candlesticks forming an altar garnish.

Honorary Collection of an Enlightened Amateur?

In the absence of personal writings and direct testimonies on the subject, it remains difficult to determine the motivations of Dr. Dethève and the context in which these objects were acquired. Were they mere gifts or "curiosities" brought back from his missions? Could the imperial consultation of 1898 and Claude Dethève's networks within the foreign legations have given rise to exceptional gifts or purchases? Claude Dethève's entourage in China included some aficionados of Chinese culture like Arnold Vissière (1858-1930); could he have been advised by them? There are no documents to prove it.

Several photographs and documents testify that in China and in France the couple lived surrounded by these objects, which suggests a certain attachment. The generous bequest to the museum also shows a gesture of wishing to safeguard the collection.

It seems clear that Claude Dethève had an open mind, appreciating all forms of Chinese culture, from the most anecdotal to the most refined. This constitution of a collection is therefore interesting in more ways than one, both as a witness to the daily life of a Western doctor in China at the end of the 19th century and as a reflection of a thousand-year-old fascination for a distant country forced to encounter globalisation. An interesting article from the Journal de Roanne of 1928 also informs us that during his retirement Claude Dethève gave "talks with projections" where he spoke to the people of Roanne about his trips to China and the "charm and strangeness of this mysterious country". We can consider this sharing and valuation as an ultimate testimony from an individual who in Chinese was called Duodefu and whose experience of the Celestial Empire so profoundly marked his life.