The Phony Reformer (eBook, PDF)

Greed, Status, and Patronage in Late Qing China
Redaktion: Kwong, Luke S. K. / Übersetzer: Kwong, Luke S. K.

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

This engaging translation presents an authentic period document that reflects aspects of Chinese life and society as seen through a contemporary's eyes. Portraying a "phony" reformer who rode the tide of the Qing court's post-Boxer reform initiatives to career success and personal wealth, this satire conveys the author's hope for a new, improved China, one that could stand proudly alongside Western nations and Meiji Japan in the modern world. His vivid descriptions of various situations shed light on late Qing elite behavior and Chinese foreign relations capture the clash between tradition and modernity, the old and new, as educated Chinese stood at a cultural and political crossroads.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 1
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. Juni 2018
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9798216216117
• Artikelnr.: 74830964

Autorenporträt

Luke S. K. Kwong is professor emeritus of history at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. His books include A Mosaic of the Hundred Days: Personalities, Politics, and Ideas of 1898 and T'an Ssu-t'ung, 1865-1898: Life and Thought of a Reformer.

Inhaltsangabe

Preface and Acknowledgments
Translator's Introduction: A Long Vigil Before Daybreak
Notes on the Translation
Chapter 1
An anti-missionary case funnels public funds into private pockets;
Old-school folks break down prejudices to go after new measures.
Chapter 2
Promotions up official ranks and making riches are words of sound advice;
Patronage and gift-giving are shortcuts to success for which people
scramble.
Chapter 3
The job of machine procurement comes as a reward for the cash contribution;
In the name of civilization is the effort made to join the Natural Feet
Society.
Chapter 4
Mockery is what motivates the effort to study the English primer;
The social circle broadens to lead to making friends with Wilkes.
Chapter 5
The hunt for the Wealth Voucher rebels leads to a good friend's death;
The investigation into local mining rights gives rise to covetous thought.
Chapter 6
Mining shares are peddled on Fuzhou Road to attract investors;
A company is set up in Guangxin prefecture to produce camphor.
Chapter 7
New rules are drafted to forestall school education's harmful effects;
Preemptive action is the key to success in handling foreign relations.
Chapter 8
An old friend's cooperation helps resolve a Sino-foreign dispute;
A police surcharge is enforced in the name of policy innovation.
Chapter 9
An old flame cannot reignite as the nestled bird is scared away;
The heartache lingers as the male fox sets out to look for a mate.
Chapter 10
A superior's favor incurs add-on duties at the correctional center;
In search of marital bliss, a letter is sent with a marriage proposal.
Chapter 11
The dress-up embrace of Great Universality dazzles every eye;
Vengeance over a private feud goes public in the newspapers.
Chapter 12
Harsh words in heated argument cause affection and fortune to vanish;
Endurance through hardship yields fruits of fame and riches in the end.
Chapter 13
Commendation for the intendant status fulfills a long-standing career
desire;
Supervision of school affairs calls for implementation of authoritarian
rules.
Chapter 14
Deft skills in making money are applied to maximize mining profits;
Army duties become a concurrent job when no other deputy is found.
Chapter 15
Grandees play favorites with those who beseech their patronage;
Colleagues throw a banquet to celebrate his transfer and promotion.
Chapter 16
Once the mask is stripped away, the tracks of the past are fully revealed;
In a lyrical poem, warm-hearted but trite, the point of the tale is
unveiled.
Bibliography