The Collision of Two Civilizations: The British Expedition to China 1792-4

A comprehensive and engaging account by Alain Peyrefitte, chronicling the momentous British expedition to China led by Lord Macartney from 1792 to 1794. This significant historical work explores the cultural clash and diplomatic intricacies between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty, detailing the ambitions, misunderstandings, and ultimate failure of Macartney's mission to establish trade and diplomatic relations. Contents include: Journey to China [Departure; Lords of Human Kind; When China Was the Rage in Europe; Protected by the British Fleet; Whiff of China]; Another Planet [Macao; Skirting Canton; Strange Beings; Rounding Up Pilots; Renown of the English Name; Tribute; Tis New to Thee; Gifts; Journey Upriver; Lesson in the Kowtow; Residing in a Temple; City of Wood; Gathering Clouds; Passing Through Peking; Garden of Perfect Brightness; Meeting Missionaries; Palace of Discovery; Distraught Scholar; Science of Government; Gilded Prison; Europeans Turned Chinese; Sovereign Under the Influence; Emperor's Vermilion Brush; Jehol Is Not the Place for Business]; In the Shadow of the Emperor [Toward the Great Wall; In Tartar Lands; Crisis of Ritual; Victory; To Each His Own Truth; Aftershock; Morning of the Big Day; At Emperor's Feet; Paradise of 10000 Trees; Emperor of Tartars; Party Continues; Court Secrets; Atmosphere Darkens; Back in Peking; Shipwreck; Scroll of Paper Enthroned; Suzerain's Letter to His Vassal; Message in a Bottle; We Quitted Like Vagrants]; Real Mission Begins [Responding to a Delay; Learned Grand Councillor; Celestial Correspondence; Works & Days; Sabotage Barbarian Vessels; Emperor Upon His Guard Against the Slightest Appearance of Innovation; Unrivaled Postal System; Couple of English Frigates Could Reduce Their Coasts to Famine; Qianlong's Wrath; Rooster Sacrificed; Paradise Suzhou; Brides for Sale; Glimmers in the Gloom; Mollifying Them While Conceding Them Nothing]; New Developments, Fresh Hopes [Patriarch's Testament; Deep South; Keeping Hope Alive; Passage Over Land; Stroke of Luck for Our Country; Corporal Punishment; Pleasures & Frustrations of Tourism; Match of Progress; Descent Toward Canton; Where the Barbarian Devils Were Hated; Canton; Encounters; Extern Brothers & Felonious Merchants; Rearguard Actions; Tomorrow China; More Prosperous Chinese; Request for a Military Alliance; Oceans at War]; After Macartney or a Spiral of Misfortune. Bound in hardcover, this copy is in Near Fine condition, presenting a clean and robust volume, suitable for any serious collector or student of history.

• Author: Peyrefitte, Alain
• Publisher: Harvill
• Year: 1993
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Near Fine
• ISBN: 9780002726771