Gleanings from Fifty Years in China

Published posthumously in 1910, this collection of essays provides a fascinating account of the Western experience of nineteenth-century China.

Archibald John Little (Author), Alicia Little (Edited by)

9781108014083, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 June 2010

384 pages, 17 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm, 0.49 kg

This series of essays by Archibald Little, a well-known Victorian expert on China, was published posthumously in 1910. Little, who first arrived in China as a tea taster for a German company, spent half a century living in Western China, and his affection for the Far East is evident in the romanticised tone of his work. Little's writings not only describe his life and travels in China, but also contain shrewd observations about the country's natural resources and commercial potential. The book is divided into four parts: 'Trade and Politics', 'Travel', 'Drama and Legend' and 'Religion and Philosophy', and the essays cover an eclectic range of topics, from 'How to register your trade mark' to a close analysis of traditional Chinese drama. Writing with an unmistakable sense of humour, Little exhibits a profound understanding of and empathy with the people of his adopted country.

Foreword
Editorial note
Part I. Trade and Politics: 1. Western China, its products and trade
2. British trade with China
3. Ex oriente lux
4. Two cities, London and Peking
5. The value of Tibet to England
6. The partition of China
7. How to register your trade mark
Part II. Travel: 8. The romance of Chinese travel
9. A new road
10. A Chinese sulphur bath
11. The new rapid and the arrival of the first steamer in Chungking
12. The dangers of the Upper Yangtse
13. Szechuan revisited
14. Yachting in the Chusan Archipelago
15. Retrospect of events in China
Part III. Drama and Legend: 16. The Chinese drama
17. Borrowing boots
18. Plot and counterplot
19. The rat's plaint
Part IV. Religion and Philosophy: 20. In a Buddhist monastery
21. Missionaries
22. Confucianism.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]