Hart (right) with his son and grandson in London in 1909. [Photo/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES, QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST]

The library of the university, which now has the diaries and correspondence by Hart, was one of the main sources for O'Neill's book.

Three years after graduating, Hart was selected by British foreign secretary to work in China, and then began the most marvelous journey of his life.

In 1854, Hart was sent to Ningbo, Zhejiang province, where he hired a Chinese teacher and studied the Confucian classics, including Analects, Mencius and The Book of Songs (Shi Jing).

"Nothing but hard , hard study will conquer the Chinese language, literature and its difficulties; but I am determined to become its master," Hart writes in his journal.

He was appointed inspector-general for the Imperial Maritime Custom Service of the Qing government in 1863.