Phony Reformer: Greed, Status, and Patronage in Late Qing China (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781538112403)

This engaging translation presents an authentic period document that reflects aspects of Chinese life and society as seen through a contemporary's eyes. Portraying a "phony" reformer who rode the tide of the Qing court's post-Boxer reform initiatives to career success and personal wealth, this satire conveys the author's hope for a new, improved China, one that could stand proudly alongside Western nations and Meiji Japan in the modern world. His vivid descriptions of various situations shed light on late Qing elite behavior and Chinese foreign relations capture the clash between tradition and modernity, the old and new, as educated Chinese stood at a cultural and political crossroads.

Author: Luke S. K. Kwong
ISBN-10: 153811240X
ISBN-13: 9781538112403
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English
Published: 06/15/2018
Pages: 180
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d