Herbert Giles was in the diplomatic service in China from 1867 to 1893. His frank observations on Chinese culture and people form the basis of these short essays, published in 1876. On his retirement, he returned to England and served as the Chair of Chinese at Cambridge for 35 years.
Chapters
1 Preface 2 min 2 Death of an Emperor 14 min 3 The Position of Women 6 min 4 Etiquette 6 min 5 Etiquette No. II 5 min 6 Literature 6 min 7 Educational Literature 5 min 8 Dentistry 7 min 9 Medical Science 7 min 10 Medical Science No. II 6 min 11 Loan Societies 5 min 12 Guilds 7 min 13 Pawnbrokers 7 min 14 Postal Service 6 min 15 Slang 8 min 16 Fortune-Telling 6 min 17 Games and Gambling 7 min 18 Jurisprudence 5 min 19 Jurisprudence No. II 9 min 20 Buddhist Priests 5 min 21 Respect for the Written Character 6 min 22 Superstition 6 min 23 Natural Phenomena 5 min 24 Celebration of the New Year 8 min 25 The Feast of Lanterns 5 min 26 Opium Smoking 10 min 27 Thieving 7 min 28 Lying 9 min 29 Suicide 6 min 30 Torture 15 min 31 Feng-Shui 6 min 32 Money 7 min 33 A Dinner-Party 7 min 34 Female Children 6 min 35 Travel 5 min 36 Predestination 5 min 37 Journalism 7 min 38 Funerals 5 min 39 Inquests 20 min 40 Inquests No. II 7 min 41 Christianity 6 min 42 Anti-Christian Lyrics 8 min 43 Conclusion 2 min
