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To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960 Author: Jonathan Spence Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press Original title: To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960
To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960 Author: Jonathan Spence Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press Original title: To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960
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Description
Introduction · · · · · ·
This book is about Western advisors in China. For more than three hundred years, from the 1620s to the 1950s, these people provided the Chinese with their outstanding skills, first introducing the theory of celestial motion and eventually exposing the Chinese to the wonders of air combat tactics and atomic science.
Jonathan Spence selected 16 representatives from hundreds of foreign consultants working in China. These 16 people have their own strengths - there are astronomers, soldiers, doctors, administrative experts, translators, engineers, and a professional revolutionary. Although their careers span three centuries, the life experiences they have accumulated have an amazing continuity. They have experienced similar excitement and dangers, embraced similar emotions, and endured similar setbacks. Their behavior reflects their times and also highlights the inherent basic values of China.
The sixteen Western consultants described in Jonathan Spence's book were not just greedy for monetary rewards, but had deep emotional entanglements with China and their own values. However, they failed to recognize that the Chinese viewed the relationship between each other from the perspective of a contract and retained the right to terminate the agreement between the two parties as an employer. These Western consultants have contributed their life's essence to China, but the negative traits in their personalities have also caused the Chinese to resist Westerners at different stages. Today's China seems to be strong enough. If both China and the West have a new understanding of themselves, there is at least a chance to prevent the long-standing misunderstanding from happening again.
About the Author · · · · · ·
Jonathan Spence is a world-renowned sinologist. Born in the UK in 1936, he was educated at Winchester University and Cambridge University. In 1965, he received his doctorate from Yale University in the United States and is currently a professor at Yale University. Spence is known for his research on Chinese history. He observes the long history of China from a unique perspective and introduces his observations and research results to readers in an unusual "storytelling" mode. His works are sharp, profound, unique and "good-looking". While becoming an internationally renowned sinologist, he has also become a master of writing academic bestsellers.
