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Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China: Enriched edition. Journey through Northern China's Cultural Landscape
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1847
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 13, 2021
A great book. Shortly after the first opium war, Robert Fortune got a contract from the Horticultural Society to go to China, make agricultural and horticultural observations, and bring back some plants that may be a commercial success. He spent three years collecting and wandering through Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu--not "northern provinces" by any means. This book is his report. It is eminently readable, with plenty of adventure, a hurricane, pirates, a near lynching in Guangzhou ganglands, visits to mandarins and their gardens etc. After his return to England, he got the EIC contract to bring tea plants and tea growers from Fujian to India. The second trip, with observations on the tea industry, is recorded in a different book of his, equally great.
Was he a thief? He certainly did not think so, and he got pretty much full cooperation from the Chinese he met. My view, he was an accomplished man at a time when two imperialist superpowers met and one of them did not survive the encounter.
Was he a thief? He certainly did not think so, and he got pretty much full cooperation from the Chinese he met. My view, he was an accomplished man at a time when two imperialist superpowers met and one of them did not survive the encounter.
November 13, 2021
Lu dans sa traduction française chez Payot : "Le vagabond des fleurs". Récit passionnant de cet explorateur en Chine, avec des moments instructifs (description de la fabrication du thé), d'autres hilarants (les cormorans !). Un narrateur très attachant et un récit qui n'a pas vieilli tant que ça, à part pour l'intolérance religieuse de l'auteur vis-à-vis du bouddhisme et du culte des ancêtres.
J'ai hâte de lire son 2e livre où il devient espion pour Sa Majesté...
J'ai hâte de lire son 2e livre où il devient espion pour Sa Majesté...
July 23, 2017
A botanist up clos and personal in 1840s China. There's also opium, pirates, and some real adventure.
January 4, 2017
A fascinating account of Robert Fortune's first travels to China in 1843-45, back when a botanist of the Horticultural Society of London could also be a gentleman adventurer able to repel pirate attacks with a gun while securing
March 11, 2016
I was reminded of reading this whilst listening to a radio program about another botanist. Read this years ago, but I remember it was fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews