Journey Through the Chinese Empire: The Most Legendary Adventures in the Qing Dynasty (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: (French) Guibert
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This is a richly legendary account of the adventures of a foreign missionary in the Qing Empire. As a French missionary closely attuned to secular society, Guibert (1813—1860), a renowned sinologist proficient in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and a smattering of Tibetan, was well-versed in classical Chinese literature. In the mid-19th century, he traveled and resided in places such as Macau, Guangzhou, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Sichuan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, accumulating extraordinary social experience. He interacted with the Qing emperor, high-ranking officials, and local officials at all levels, while also engaging with the common people at the grassroots. He conducted direct and meticulous observations of the political, economic, educational, cultural, and literary aspects of Chinese society at the time, vividly documenting them in his masterpiece, Journey to the Chinese Empire. He excelled at portraying the official behaviors and psychological states of officials at all levels of the Qing dynasty, as well as depicting and recording the customs, traditions, and social conditions of both the Han and ethnic minority populations. It is no exaggeration to say that this also provides invaluable historical material for the filming of films and television series. Guibert possessed sharp political insight, predicting the impending downfall of the Qing dynasty through the signs of corruption in the ruling government. What is even more remarkable is that the author often adopted the perspective of a European but sometimes that of a Chinese, offering vivid and compelling comparisons of Sino-Western cultures, customs, and traditions. If Nobel laureate Pearl S. Buck successfully stood in the shoes of the Chinese people and culture in her novels, delivering brilliant comparisons of Sino-American cultures, then Guibert, by employing the Chinese perspective to compare the differences between Sino-Western cultures and basing his observations on the recording of Chinese culture, customs, traditions, and social conditions, provided us with numerous examples and unique research findings on Sino-Western cultural comparisons. This is a vivid and engaging travelogue, as well as an expose of the Qing dynasty's officialdom as witnessed by a Westerner. Journey to the Chinese Empire was translated into multiple languages and became a bestseller worldwide, particularly popular among Western readers. It is believed that this first-ever Chinese translation will also be equally beloved by a broad readership in China.