The Qing Empire and the Opium War: The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
First Edition. Hardcover. 9 1/4" X 6 1/4". xix, 549pp. Presents nicely in protective archival sleeved dust jacket. Light shelfwear to dust jacket, with bumping to head and tail of spine. Bound in black paper over boards with spine lettered in gilt. Gentle bumping to head and tail of spine. Binding is firm and sound. Pages are clean and unmarked. A presentable first edition of Mao Haijian's revisionist reading of the Opium War of 1839–1842.
ABOUT THIS BOOK:
The Opium War of 1839–42, the first military conflict to take place between China and the West, is a subject of enduring interest. Mao Haijian, one of the most distinguished and well-known historians working in China, presents the culmination of more than ten years of research in a revisionist reading of the conflict and its main Chinese protagonists. Mao examines the Qing participants in terms of the moral standards and intellectual norms of their own time, demonstrating that actions which have struck later observers as ridiculous can be understood as reasonable within these individuals' own context. This English-language translation of Mao's work offers a comprehensive response to the question of why the Qing Empire was so badly defeated by the British in the first Opium War - an answer that is distinctive and original within both Chinese and Western historiography, and supported by a wealth of hitherto unknown detail. (Publisher). Very Good / Very Good. Item #17571
ISBN: 9781107069879
Price: $75.00