Singular listlessness: A short history of Chinese books and British scholars

by Timothy Hugh Barrett

Paperback

About the author

See also T.H. Barrett

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting read, particularly looking at the development, or lack thereof, of Sinological studies in the UK, and the growth of Chinese collections in UK universities. It was a rather brief overview, given originally as a paper at a conference at the British Library, but as such is interesting, conversational and informative. It was rather depressing to see the state of affairs in the UK past and present. It really made me realise the great difference between studies here and in the states. It made me think that I’m probably doing the right thing career wise going into librarianship rather than attempting an academic career as there doesn’t seem to be that much support for Chinese historians, particularly early modern Chinese historians, within the UK. It also brought up the fact that I probably should have had more support during and after my degree than I got. I think there are people, myself included, who would be happy to be the next generation of scholars, but we just didn’t get the support or encouragement to manage that. The footnotes were particularly helpful will have to try and track down my own copy of it at some point.