Böcker av Charles Welsh Mason

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

Set in Peking during the late 19th century, The SG is a love story between a British diplomat and a Chinese girl. Against the backdrop of political upheaval and cultural misunderstandings, their relationship is tested as they navigate their vastly different worlds. This novel provides a unique perspective on the complex history of China and its relationship with the West.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In this old China tale like no other, Englishman Charles Mason tells of his doomed attempt to overthrow the Qing dynasty.Lawrence of Arabia famously wrote that, "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men," for they may act upon their dreams. Such a man was young Charles Mason, who, in the late 1880s, secured a job with China's British-run Imperial Maritime Customs Service at a river port. Here the glamor and adventure of exotic China met the reality of tedious paperwork, alcoholism, petty squabbles, and sordid sexual encounters. It was a test of character, and one which Mason would fail. From the boredom, and his connections with a secret society, a fantasy emerged of setting himself up as the "King of China." In 1891 he secured men and arms to launch his revolt. Mason was a much better writer than he was a revolutionary, and in mesmerising, melodramatic prose of sometimes borderline sanity, he recounts the failed insurrection from inspiration to his dramatic trial and the aftermath. The Chinese Confessions was originally published in 1924. In this reissue, vital background and biographical information is given in an introduction by David Leffman, a travel writer and the author of The Mercenary Mandarin, a biography of the British adventurer William Mesny.