The British tried to entice China to open its door to Western trade by sending Lord Macartney to visit Emperor Qian Long in 1792- 94.…
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Tag: History of China
Omens and the Ming emperor – Tale of Two Melons: Emperor and Subject in Ming China
This 141-page book is an evocative book about the relationship between the Ming emperor and his subjects, the ambiguity of omens and the long memory…
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A history – Ancient Sichuan and the Unification of China
Sichuan or Szechwan as it is known under the Wades – Giles system means ” four streams” This term for the province was not used…
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Magnificent survey – Chinese Architecture
This 2019 book published by Princeton University Press is a magnificent history of Chinese architecture from the earliest periods of Chinese history to the present.…
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Provocative – When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order
This excellent book published in 2009 and updated in 2012 argues that a modernising and modernised China will retain her essential Chineseness. Jacques contends that…
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A historical record – Heaven is High, the Emperor Far Away: Merchants and Mandarins in Old Canton
I read this book for my sojourn to Canton, Zhuhai via Macau from 2 to 6 Nov 2019. The city of Canton is nowadays seen…
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A myth – Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China
As of May 2009, this is still the latest substantial biography on the Empress Dowager. Sterling Seagrave in this very thoroughly researched biography of the…
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The Soong Sisters – Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China
The US is called mei guo – the Beautiful Country — by the Chinese long before the current trade war and the hostile relationship arising…
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Pre-World War 2 – Old Shanghai: Gangsters in Paradise
This is a wonderful history of Shanghai told through interlocking portraits of several Chinese who played prominent roles in Shanghai history from 1900 to 1946.…
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Average – Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary
This book published in 2007 is the most recent English language biography on Zhou En Lai after Eldest Son by Han Su Yin published in…
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