Empire careers : working for the Chinese customs service, 1854-1949
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Empire careers : working for the Chinese customs service, 1854-1949
(Studies in imperialism / general editor, John M. MacKenzie)
Manchester University Press, 2013
- : hardback
Available at 3 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-222) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This is the first book-length study of the 11,000 foreign nationals who worked for the Chinese Customs Service between 1854 and1949, exploring how their lives and careers were shaped by imperial ideologies, networks and structures. In doing so it highlights the vast range of people - British and non-British, elite and non-elite - for whom the empire world spoke of opportunity. Empire careers considers the professional triumphs and tribulations of the foreign staff, their social activities, their private and family lives, and how all of these factors were influenced by the changing political context in China and abroad. Contrary to the common assumption that China was merely an 'outpost' of empire, exploration of the Customs' cosmopolitan personnel encourages us to see China as a place where multiple imperial trajectories converged, overlapped and competed.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of imperial history and the political history of modern China. -- .
Table of Contents
General Editor's introduction
1. Introduction: The Customs, China, and the empire world
2. The Customs mindset: Ethos, ideologies and knowledge about China
3. 'We want men and not encyclopaedias': Joining the Customs Service
4. 'That chaotic and Gilbertian Service': Working life in the Customs
5. Private lives, public reputations: The off-duty world of the Customs staff
6. Leaving the Service: Home, identity, and post-Customs lives
7. Conclusion
Select bibliography
Index -- .
by "Nielsen BookData"