Chinese Roundabout: Essays in History and Culture

by Jonathan D. Spence

“If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvelous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, not all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea, or sky are of any avail.” ―a Beijing cook , nineteenth century from Chinese Roundabout The spirit of adventure is at the heart of Jonathan Spence's widely acclaimed scholarship on the modern history of China. This vitality, fleshed out with deep research and attired in elegant style, has drawn countless readers to subjects otherwise approachable only by experts. Through eight books, from the story of the early eighteenth century Manchu bondservant Ts'ao Yin to his magisterial history, The Search for Modern China , Spence has made the excitement of intellectual discovery palpable for us all. In the course of his fruitful career Spence has written many shorter pieces as well, and the best of these are collected for the first time in Chinese Roundabout . Here the reader will meet Arcadio Huang, the Chinese linguist and Christian convert who moves from south China to Enlightenment Paris, marries a French woman, and in conversations with Montesquieu becomes the likely source for the Persian Letters. The poignant story of Huang's hard-won success and final defeat by poverty and disease illustrates the perils of crossing cultures. Spence's delight in intellectual risk animates his Shakespearean approach to the life of the great Qing emperor in "The Seven Ages of K'ang-hsi." Spence's great learning informs an authoritative essay on China's tragic experience with opium. Following the social process of addiction from the cultivation of poppies and the processing of the drug through its introduction by the British into China, its widespread distribution and consumption by Chinese, and the public struggle to suppress opium use, Spence explores issues of historical and contemporary interest. In an equally substantial piece he focuses on the cultural dimensions of food in Qing China, illuminating the marginal diet of a peasantry constantly threatened by famine as well as the grand banquets of the literati and the imperial household. In the work of 25 years, Spence has established himself as a brilliant interpreter of modern Chinese history. His books―among them the recent national bestseller The Search for Modern China ―exhibit uncommon imagination, unobtrusive learning, verve, and elegance. These same qualities animate the essays gathered here.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Essays

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Jonathan D. Spence is a historian specializing in Chinese history. His self-selected Chinese name is Shǐ Jǐngqiān (simplified Chinese: 史景迁; traditional Chinese: 史景遷), which roughly translates to "A historian who admires Sima Qian."

He has been Sterling Professor of History at Yale University since 1993. His most famous book is The Search for Modern China, which has become one of the standard texts on the last several hundred years of Chinese history.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a perfect time (another Covid lockdown) to read a collection of essays by one of the most renowned sinologists. Curling up with this book was a wonderful way to escape into my favourite world--Chinese studies. It was like opening a new box of chocolates where one immediately knows which will be tasted first and which saved to be savoured last (for me, it was the first and last sections--there are five: Crossing the Cultures, the Confucian Impulse, Sinews of Society, After the Empire, and Teachers). Almost unfathomable that a collection of pre-published essays published nearly 30 years ago would still be timely (this anthology was published in 1992), it was a delightful surprise to find the only staleness was the occasional appearance of Wade-Giles, which dredged up those awful memories of my student days having to learn both transcription systems (WG, as it was known, and Pinyin).

Spence studied under Arthur Wright, Arthur Waley, John Fairbank, and Fang Chao-ying; the first three I knew only from their work, and Fang Chao-ying not at all, so all four essays were like finding yourself seated next to one of your academic idols at a dinner party. I loved getting a peek into their lives, work and idiosyncrasies. I thought I 'knew' Wright better than Waley, but discovered the opposite to be true. If you are familiar with any of these scholars, read these essays for their stories alone.

The six tales in 'Crossing the Cultures' covered the Paris years of Arcadio Huang whom I had never heard of before but came to be fascinated by the story of his rise in Paris society as the Chinese assistant in the king's library. The name Mendes Pinto is known to all students of Chinese history as the Portuguese traveller of the mid-1500s, and having read only excerpts from his "huge, rambling manuscript" decided, after Spence's essay, that I really should try to find a copy of The Travels of Mendes Pinto edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz (Chicago, U. of Chicago Press, 1990). Incidentally, several of these essays were book reviews previously published in the New York Review of Books. Mid-way through the essay on Matteo Ricci, I realised I had read it previously, in the 1998 volume East Meets West: The Jesuits in China, 1582-1773 = 東西交流 : 耶穌会士在中國西紀1582年-1773年, but that didn't spoil a re-read at all. I had come across the name Sidney D. Gamble previously, and the essay on 'Gamble in China' introduced an individual I would have liked to have known more of earlier in my studies, a sentiment I suspect many others will share upon reading of his work and viewing a handful of his photographs reproduced in the book.

'Sinews of Society' consisted of essays on food, medicine, taxes and opium, all of which provide a good introduction to the topics and are what we like to call 'evergreen'. But actually, almost all of these essays are evergreen or at least significant portions, so do not let the publication date of 1992 deter you, but then I doubt that would stop anyone who has read Spence's major works on China. It is the fact that this book has been sitting on my bookshelf for nearly three decades unread before now that amazes me. If you have such a gem hiding on your shelves, what are you waiting for?

[James Woo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Patrick]

Another good book of Chinese history by my favorite author for that subject.

Recently acquired at the Friends of the Library bookstore for the Laguna Niguel, CA public library.