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The Opium War of 1839-1842, the first military conflict to take place between China and the West, is a subject of enduring interest. Mao Haijian, one of the most distinguished and well-known historians working in China, presents the culmination of more than ten years of research in a revisionist reading of the conflict and its main Chinese protagonists. Mao examines the Qing participants in terms of the moral standards and intellectual norms of their own time, demonstrating that actions which have struck later observers as ridiculous can be understood as reasonable within these individuals' own context. This English-language translation of Mao's work offers a comprehensive response to the question of why the Qing Empire was so badly defeated by the British in the first Opium War, an answer that is distinctive and original within both Chinese and Western historiography, and supported by a wealth of hitherto unknown detail.
1. Qing military power -- 2. The unexpected war -- 3. From "suppression" to "conciliation," and back -- 4. The "battle" of Guangzhou -- 5. The collapse of the southeastern ramparts -- 6. The resurgence of the idea of "conciliation" -- 7. "Equal" and "unequal" -- 8. The testimony of history -- Character list.
Mao Haijian, East China Normal University and Macao University ; with an introduction by Julia Lovell ; English text edited by Joseph Lawson ; translated by Joseph Lawson, Craig Smith and Peter Lavelle.
"Originally published by SDX Joint Publishing as The Collapse of the Celestial Empire in 2005 [with title Tianchao de bengkui]"--Title page verso.
Includes bibliographical references and index.