Description

Book Synopsis
By the late nineteenth century, twenty-nine Chinese ports were open for foreign trade. Often run by foreign commissioners and no longer subject to the stringent local laws, these ports levied one of the smallest import taxes in the world, and Chinese commerce therefore exploded. Originally published in 1900, this account by William Barclay Parsons (1859â1932) investigates the ensuing surge of economic and industrial development in the eastern provinces. Including an introduction to China's history and the structure of its civil service, the book analyses the corrupt but ingenious world of customs officials, the importance of American cotton interests, and export statistics which reveal the multimillion-dollar smuggling operations that slipped around official embargoes. Set against a backdrop of electric lights and western labels in even the most closed of cities, this book offers a fascinating glimpse into the early stages of today's global market.

Table of Contents
1. China; 2. American concession; 3. Hu-nan, the closed province of China; 4. My Chinese impressions; 5. Commerce and commercial relations; 6. Finances of China; 7. Chinese construction; 8. Inland communication; 9. Railways; 10. The Yellow Peril; 11. China in the twentieth century.

An American Engineer in China Cambridge Library Collection Technology

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    A Paperback by William Barclay Parsons

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      View other formats and editions of An American Engineer in China Cambridge Library Collection Technology by William Barclay Parsons

      Publisher: Cambridge University Press
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 6/28/2012 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9781108052764, 978-1108052764
      ISBN10: 1108052762
      Also in:
      Political structure and processes

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      By the late nineteenth century, twenty-nine Chinese ports were open for foreign trade. Often run by foreign commissioners and no longer subject to the stringent local laws, these ports levied one of the smallest import taxes in the world, and Chinese commerce therefore exploded. Originally published in 1900, this account by William Barclay Parsons (1859â1932) investigates the ensuing surge of economic and industrial development in the eastern provinces. Including an introduction to China's history and the structure of its civil service, the book analyses the corrupt but ingenious world of customs officials, the importance of American cotton interests, and export statistics which reveal the multimillion-dollar smuggling operations that slipped around official embargoes. Set against a backdrop of electric lights and western labels in even the most closed of cities, this book offers a fascinating glimpse into the early stages of today's global market.

      Table of Contents
      1. China; 2. American concession; 3. Hu-nan, the closed province of China; 4. My Chinese impressions; 5. Commerce and commercial relations; 6. Finances of China; 7. Chinese construction; 8. Inland communication; 9. Railways; 10. The Yellow Peril; 11. China in the twentieth century.

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