Overview

It was a long journey-in more ways than mere geography-from a childhood in Northern Ireland to becoming the most influential foreigner in 19th-century China. This historical novel follows the life of Robert Hart, whose career in China spanned more than half a century during the turbulent last decades of the Qing dynasty. As the Qing government's Inspector General of the Maritime Customs Service, Hart was involved in many major events of late Imperial China. While negotiating his way through civil dissent and foreign conflicts, he played an instrumental role in the country's modernization. A rare foreigner who learned the language and developed a deep interest in and sensitivity to the culture, Hart had a passion for his adopted country but continually struggled in his dual role as British subject and employee of the Chinese government. Hart's personal life was not without its own challenges as he grappled with his relationship with his Chinese lover and the children he had with her, as well as his British wife and their family together. Long periods of conflict, loneliness and doubt lurked behind the professional triumphs for which he became world-renowned. Based on exhaustive historical research, the story is enlivened by dialogue and plot elements suggested by the author's deep knowledge of Hart and the country and times in which he lived. The reader will be rewarded with insight into this pivotal period in Chinese history through the lens of the life of one fascinating individual.

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9781602202382

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Born in 1947, Zhao Changtian is an award-winning author in numerous genres and a leader in the Chinese literary community, serving as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Writers' Association, vice president of the Shanghai Literature Development Fund, president of the Shanghai Writing Association, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Writers' Association, which he joined in 1985. He is also chief editor of Mengya magazine and a part-time professor at East China Normal University. Some of Zhao Changtian's most famous works include the story collections Exterior Image, Gate of Heaven, A Nostalgic Journey; the novels Dream of Sangharama, Destiny, Not a Confession, The Accident; the essay collections Transition Years, Mid-autumn, Autumn Waters on a Clear Day, Contemplating the World with Six Eyes, City that Never Ages, Looking Up; and the biography Lonely Foreigner. Not a Confession received an award at the third Shanghai Grand Awards for Excellent Novels and Novellas. Zhao Changtian has also written the film scripts Look Life in the Face and Seeking Maria. The former won second prize at the fifth Xia Yan Film Writing Awards, while the film itself won a prestigious national Huabiao Film Award, also known as the Stele Award.

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