George Thomas Staunton was 12 years old when he accompanied his father Sir George Leonard Staunton and Lord Macartney on the great British Embassy to the Qianlong Emperor in 1792-1794. Several first-hand accounts of the event were published in subsequent years, and many commentaries on it right up to the present day. One publication that seems to be missing is that of the diaries of young George Staunton. They are among his papers held at Duke University, and the first of these covers the period of September 1792 to May 1793, from the time of the Embassy’s departure from England to their arrival at Cochin China (Vietnam), before proceeding up the Chinese coast eventually to  reach Peking. This diary has now been digitised to match the later diary covering the Embassy’s meeting with the Emperor and return to Canton (that can be found here: https://ianferg.nz/young-george-thomas-stauntons-diary-of-the-british-embassy-to-china-part-2-30-august-1793-1-february-1794/ ). The diaries have been made available by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library of Duke University, North Carolina. A transcription and light editing of this first diary can be read here.