Robert Hart's forty-five-year administration of China's customs service was a unique achievement. In these letters Hart speaks to us directly from a time long past in China, but a time that may seem only yesterday to a Western reader. The result is a primary source for the history of modern China and the era of foreign privilege there. Bearing sole responsibility for the Chinese Maritime Customs as its Inspector General, Hart built up an international staff of thousands, facilitated foreign trade, gave the late-Ch'ing court ...
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Robert Hart's forty-five-year administration of China's customs service was a unique achievement. In these letters Hart speaks to us directly from a time long past in China, but a time that may seem only yesterday to a Western reader. The result is a primary source for the history of modern China and the era of foreign privilege there. Bearing sole responsibility for the Chinese Maritime Customs as its Inspector General, Hart built up an international staff of thousands, facilitated foreign trade, gave the late-Ch'ing court its principal new revenues, and fostered China's modernity in administration, schools, naval development, postal service, and many other lines. Behind the scenes Hart was also a diplomat who settled the Sino-French war, changed Macao's status, got boundaries delimited with Burma and India, and mitigated the disasters of imperialism. His career at Peking, coinciding with that of the Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi, represented the constructive side of the unequal treaty system and Victorian Britain's informal empire in East Asia. The publication of the great I. G.'s weekly or fortnightly letters to his confidant and London commissioner, James Duncan Campbell, gives us an intimate, inside view of Hart's problems and methods. He appraises his employers in China's foreign office, the Tsungli Yamen, and comments pithily on the complex flow of events and personalities. He quotes the Confucian Classic but, even more, the Latin poets. His personal life is revealed-standing long hours at his writing desk, finding solace in the violin, keeping his own counsel, constantly isolated by his responsibilities. Having no confidant in Peking, he explains himself to his loyal agent in London. The Hart-Campbell letters, after five years' editing and annotation and with an informed introduction by Hart's final successor as foreign I. G., L. K. Little, thus take their place as one of the great historical treasures that bring a vanished era back to life.
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Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $35.94, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $35.94, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $39.95, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Harvard University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. 2 Volume set. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $60.00, like new condition, Sold by Chaparral Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking 2 Vols Letters of Robert Hart, to cart. $70.00, like new condition, Sold by T A Borden Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Olney, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
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Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 0674443209. Nice bright copy, minor signs of hangling, minor wear on spine head; 2 Volumes; 10.2 X 7.4 X 1.6 inches; 1668 pages.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $128.23, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The I.G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $70.00, very good condition, Sold by Mark Post Bookseller rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Francisco, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1975 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The I.G. in Peking. Letters of Robert Hart. Chinese to cart. $75.00, very good condition, Sold by Zephyr Used & Rare Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1975 by Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press.
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Two vols. Tall thick 8vo. xxvi, [4], 825, [1]; vi, [2], [827]-1625, [1] pp. Frntsps. both vols., numerous maps, plates. Green cloth, gilt lettrng, (slght shlfwr, lbl residue on frnt pstdns), w/ d.j.s. still VG/NF set. First edition of this remarkable record of China under the late Qing court of the Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi (Cixi). Hart built up an international staff of 1000s, facilitated foreign trade with China, gave the late-Qing court its new revenue, fostered China's modernizing of schools, administration, naval development, postal service, and many other lines. He settled the Sino-French war, changed Macao's status, managed to get borders drawn with Burma and India, and more.
Add this copy of The I. G. in Peking Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese to cart. $100.00, like new condition, Sold by T A Borden Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Olney, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1975 by Harvard University Press.
