Acknowledgements viii
List of Abbreviations x
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Britain and China – an overview 3
1.2 Methodological considerations 8
2 The Decline of Mythical China 16
2.1 The origin of language 17
2.2 Chinese style and British taste 21
2.3 A Chinese court at Brighton 27
3 At the China Coast 34
3.1 A diplomatic expedition 34
3.2 Chinese law and British rights 45
3.3 The unreliable interpreter 56
3.4 A barren land 64
3.5 Diplomacy and local knowledge 75
3.6 Trade and identity 81
3.7 British honour and opium 91
4 South and Southeast Asian Encounters 106
4.1 China’s neighbour 107
4.2 Chinese subjects for the empire 120
4.3 Co-operator and corruptor 130
4.4 British rule, Chinese societies 135
4.5 Educating the Chinese diaspora 141
5 Asian Networks and the British Isles 150
5.1 British Sinology
5.2 Saving China
5.3 Forces of free trade
6 Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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