Reading Tea Leaves discussion

Please use this thread to discuss chapters 1-5

The prologue reminds me how much I enjoyed reading "The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316196681/.... I most often think of the opium wars in terms of Britain and China but it's interesting to note how these impacted US relations as well.

Though "When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0871406896/... might be the better companion to the present volume. I'm not sure as it's still on my to be read stack.

What amazed me was how Robert Fortune managed to stay under disguise in spite of not looking like a Chinese and not speaking proper Chinese.
The fidelity (or paid fidelity) of his Chinese guides was also one of the reasons of his success.

Xavier wrote: "The fidelity (or paid fidelity) of his Chinese guides wa..."
How faithful they were seems debatable. They were certainly looking out for their own interests and willing to help Fortune as long as their needs and his coincided. I haven't read Fortune's accounts (are they still available?) so it's hard to tell how much of that relationship is fictionalized. It certainly adds a bit of fun to the read.

Hillel wrote: "They were certainly looking out for their own interests"

Which are not that obvious.