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Myself a Mandarin: Memoirs of a Special Magistrate
Unexpectedly appointed magistrate in a country district in Hongkong, the author found himself plunged into a Chinese world about which he knew next to nothing an had to learn as fast as possible.
This he does, taking the reader with him through the errors, puzzles, and bafflements of sixteen cases which came into his court.
Whether he is dealing with cows, watercress beds, squatters, dragons, quarrelling wives, or a Buddhist abbot, the author brings his reader into each case as if the reader were the actual judge, and at a given moment the solution comes to the reader as it came to the magistrate.
Austin Coates has lived the greater part of his life in the East, since 1944, when war service brought him to India. Born in London in 1922, son of the composer Eric Coates, he combined the early part of his writing career with work as a colonial administrator, diplomat, and adviser on Chinese affairs. He left government service in 1962, and has since resided mainly in Hongkong.
This he does, taking the reader with him through the errors, puzzles, and bafflements of sixteen cases which came into his court.
Whether he is dealing with cows, watercress beds, squatters, dragons, quarrelling wives, or a Buddhist abbot, the author brings his reader into each case as if the reader were the actual judge, and at a given moment the solution comes to the reader as it came to the magistrate.
Austin Coates has lived the greater part of his life in the East, since 1944, when war service brought him to India. Born in London in 1922, son of the composer Eric Coates, he combined the early part of his writing career with work as a colonial administrator, diplomat, and adviser on Chinese affairs. He left government service in 1962, and has since resided mainly in Hongkong.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 15, 2009
Really enjoyed this. Well-written, insightful and witty. Uses vignettes from his post-war experience as a New Territories magistrate to provide a look at rural Chinese/Hong Kong-Chinese thinking, customs and mores.
March 19, 2022
Disgusting as a narrative, but educational as a primary source.
The book centers around the author's description of working as a magistrate in a district in rural British Hong Kong. By his own admission, he knew absolutely nothing about the law before going there and never learned, and he had never been to China.
Accordingly, he makes some absolutely awful decisions. For example, he forces a woman to stay with her abusive husband because he thinks that this is somehow a Chinese way of doing things. At one point, he even intimidates a lawyer out of hearing a case by British Common Law (as opposed to Chinese Traditional Law, a right that all Hong Kongers had but seldom exercised). He does this because he doesn't know the Common Law. For that matter, he doesn't know any traditional law either, but he figures that it's more "informal" and easier to intuit. He then resolves the case through corruption, revoking the defendant's wife's shop license in order to force him to comply. Coates considers this a job well done, by traditional Chinese methods.
You will not learn anything about the culture of China from this book, beyond perhaps what stereotypes were common for them in the 1950s. The author has a Sherlock Holmes-like attitude of superiority towards every case. He uses his *elite* powers of inference to "solve" incomplete cases. These inferences often rely on his sense that Chinese people are inherently dishonest and will not tell him anything. By his own account, he is correct in every single case. The repeated drawn-out sequences in which Coates describes his brilliant "solving" of cases are horribly self-indulgent, and I can only expect that he was actually wrong in many of them.
However, I would not go so far as to tell you as to not read this book. Yes, the author is despicably arrogant by modern standards. But I found the insight into the thoughts of British colonial officials to be interesting. If you have heard of colonial abuse and are on this website, chances are nobody you know has experienced it first hand. This book is a brilliant primary source on just how typical officials saw their subjects.
The book centers around the author's description of working as a magistrate in a district in rural British Hong Kong. By his own admission, he knew absolutely nothing about the law before going there and never learned, and he had never been to China.
Accordingly, he makes some absolutely awful decisions. For example, he forces a woman to stay with her abusive husband because he thinks that this is somehow a Chinese way of doing things. At one point, he even intimidates a lawyer out of hearing a case by British Common Law (as opposed to Chinese Traditional Law, a right that all Hong Kongers had but seldom exercised). He does this because he doesn't know the Common Law. For that matter, he doesn't know any traditional law either, but he figures that it's more "informal" and easier to intuit. He then resolves the case through corruption, revoking the defendant's wife's shop license in order to force him to comply. Coates considers this a job well done, by traditional Chinese methods.
You will not learn anything about the culture of China from this book, beyond perhaps what stereotypes were common for them in the 1950s. The author has a Sherlock Holmes-like attitude of superiority towards every case. He uses his *elite* powers of inference to "solve" incomplete cases. These inferences often rely on his sense that Chinese people are inherently dishonest and will not tell him anything. By his own account, he is correct in every single case. The repeated drawn-out sequences in which Coates describes his brilliant "solving" of cases are horribly self-indulgent, and I can only expect that he was actually wrong in many of them.
However, I would not go so far as to tell you as to not read this book. Yes, the author is despicably arrogant by modern standards. But I found the insight into the thoughts of British colonial officials to be interesting. If you have heard of colonial abuse and are on this website, chances are nobody you know has experienced it first hand. This book is a brilliant primary source on just how typical officials saw their subjects.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2023
Tips for people who want to read this book
This book is a memoir of an officer in Hong Kong after WW2 and just after Communist party win the mainland revolution war …
Hong Kong at that time was under Britain rules ..
some Communist comrade eyed for it
Life of people in Hong Kong had Agriculture / Rural / Urban / European
So it was a complicate job in complicate city
This book is a memoir of an officer in Hong Kong after WW2 and just after Communist party win the mainland revolution war …
Hong Kong at that time was under Britain rules ..
some Communist comrade eyed for it
Life of people in Hong Kong had Agriculture / Rural / Urban / European
So it was a complicate job in complicate city
February 25, 2019
Loved it. A fascinating insight into life in Hong Kong in the 1950s.
May 26, 2024
Adding to my list although I read it in 1991. Beautifully written. Book was borrowed. On my list of book I want in my collection.
May 24, 2025
Austin Codes präsentiert interessante Konflikte aus dem ländlicheren Hongkong kurz nach 1949 – interessante juristische oder moralische Konflikte und Einblicke in ungewöhnliche Denkweisen. Er schreibt leicht lesbar, sogar gut und elegant, ist jedoch zeitweise selbstgefällig und paternalistisch.
Mehr unter https://hansblog.de/kritik-hongkong-m...
Mehr unter https://hansblog.de/kritik-hongkong-m...
November 30, 2014
Myself A Mandarin covers the life of Austin Coates, who was born in London in 1922. In his adulthood, Coates served in the government and at the age of twenty-six, he was directed by the British government to proceed to Hong Kong. It was early 1949. Unexpectedly appointed as a magistrate in a country district in Hong Kong, Coates found himself in a wilderness. He knew nothing about China and understood not the mindset of the people, how they live, think, or interact. He was so new to the custom and therefore, he persevered as a magistrate. There are sixteen cases written in the book. Each case always teaches or shows the author new lesson. Coates slowly gained insight on the Chinese customs and character in order to apply Chinese laws to solve many of his cases.
As an ESL, it was challenging to read this book. It took me quite sometimes to understand what the author was trying to say. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating book. Readers should keep in mind that each chapter in the book is a brand new case with different ideas and theme that the author wants to portray. However, the overall theme or idea of the book is still one. There are 16 different cases but together, the author wants reader to understand the contrast of the mindset of the Westerners, their way of living, think, or interact from that of the Chinese people.
As you read this book, instead of the author being a magistrate, you will find yourself being as one.
As an ESL, it was challenging to read this book. It took me quite sometimes to understand what the author was trying to say. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating book. Readers should keep in mind that each chapter in the book is a brand new case with different ideas and theme that the author wants to portray. However, the overall theme or idea of the book is still one. There are 16 different cases but together, the author wants reader to understand the contrast of the mindset of the Westerners, their way of living, think, or interact from that of the Chinese people.
As you read this book, instead of the author being a magistrate, you will find yourself being as one.
April 5, 2008
Interesting view of Chinese culture from a Westerner in the 1960s. I enjoyed the author's stories.
June 13, 2010
One of the books I borrowed for my Hong Kong visit.
Like the others, this one is from a British perspective.
Like the others, this one is from a British perspective.
March 6, 2013
Best book I have found to explain Chinese interactions with Westerners. Easy enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews