
Vendor |
---|
Andrew Lownie |
Original language |
English |
Original title |
A Dance with the Dragon |
Themas |
Asian history |
A Dance with the Dragon
The Vanished World of Peking's Foreign Colony
by Boyd , Julia
With its fossil hunters and philosophers, diplomats, dropouts, writers and explorers, missionaries and refugees, Peking's foreign community in the first half of the 20th century was as exotic as the city itself. Always a magnet for larger-than-life individuals, Peking attracted characters as diverse as Reginald Johnston (tutor to the last emperor), Bertrand Russell, Pierre Loti, Rabrindranath Tagore, Sven Hedin, Peter Fleming and Wallis Simpson. The last great capital to remain untouched by the modern world, Peking both entranced and horrified its foreign residents – the majority of whom lived cocooned inside the legation quarter living an extraordinary existence fuelled by martinis, polo, jazz and adultery. Ignoring the poverty outside their gates, they danced, played and squabbled among themselves, oblivious to the great political events that were unfolding around them. Others, more sensitive to Peking’s cultural riches, discovered their paradise too late when it already stood on the brink of destruction. Although few in number, Peking’s expatriates were uniquely placed to chart the political upheavals – from the Boxer Rising in 1900 to the communist victory in 1949 – that shaped modern China. Through extensive use of unpublished diaries and letters, Julia Boyd reveals the foreigners’ perceptions and reactions – their take on everyday life and the unforgettable events that occurred around them.
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