Nineteenth century China: five imperialist perspectives

Materials from the past that wrongly anticipate the future, or present information or judgments that are later proved misleading or erroneous, are sometimes overlooked in reconstructing the past. Yet such documents are as legimiate, and perhaps as important, as those that are vindicated by events or...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Basu, Dilip K.
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Ann Arbor Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan 1972, 1972
Series:Michigan papers in Chinese studies
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: JSTOR Open Access Books - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:Materials from the past that wrongly anticipate the future, or present information or judgments that are later proved misleading or erroneous, are sometimes overlooked in reconstructing the past. Yet such documents are as legimiate, and perhaps as important, as those that are vindicated by events or continue to share perspectives with later generations. Materials from the past that wrongly anticipate the future, or present information or judgments that are later proved misleading or erroneous, are sometimes overlooked in reconstructing the past. Yet such documents are as legitimate, and perhaps as important, as those that are vindicated by events or continue to share perspectives with later generations. The first two texts in Nineteenth-Century China exemplify the imperialist mind's eagerness to explore the world, to get a picture of all of its parts, and as rapidly as possible to "open" all areas to the benificent influence of the West, notably through an expanded commerce that would enrich its Western masters. Samuel Ball's "Observations" (1817) show how much detailed information was available to Westerners and what the mercantile British were after, and an anonymous dissertation (1838) provides an example of the dream of the China as El Dorado: an immense population of eager traders, hard workers, and willing buyers. The third text (1845) is an early foreshadowing by a colonial official, R. M. Martin, of Western imperial arguments, rationalizations, and attitudes that would become common fifty years later. The fourth selection consists of an exchange of correspondence in 1847 about British access to and use of land in the vicinity of Canton. A short statement of purpose (1848) from the Morrison Education Society, demonstrating a missionary enterprise combining Christian evangelism and English education, concludes the book. -- publisher's website
Item Description:Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Physical Description:v, 82 p.
ISBN:0472127411
0472901362
9780892640133