English Lessons

by Hevia, James Louis

• ISBN13: 9780822331889
• ISBN10: 0822331888
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

Inserting China into the history of nineteenth-century colonialism, English Lessons explores the ways that Euro-American imperial powers humiliated the Qing monarchy and disciplined the Qing polity in the wake of multi-power invasions of China in 1860 and 1900. Focusing on the processes by which Great Britain enacted a pedagogical project that was itself a form of colonization, James L. Hevia demonstrates how British actors instructed the Manchu-Chinese elite on "proper" behaviour in a world dominated by multiple imperial powers. Their aim was to "bring China low" and make it a willing participant in British strategic goals in Asia. These lessons not only transformed the Qing dynasty, but ultimately contributed to its destruction.Hevia analyzes British Foreign Office documents, diplomatic memoirs, auction house and museum records, nineteenth-century scholarly analyses of Chinese history and culture, campaign records, and photographs. He shows how Britain refigured its imperial project in China as a cultural endeavor by analyzing the circulation of military loot in Europe, the creation of an art history of "things Chinese," the construction of a field of knowledge about China, and the Great Game rivalry between Britain, Russia, and Qing empire in Central Asia. Each of these elements not only influenced the colonial project, but also had a significant impact on creating a national consciousness in China.

Author Biography

James L. Hevia is Associate Professor of History and International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations	xvii
1. Introduction: Imperialism, Colonialism, and China	1	(28)
PART I Opium Wars and Treaties of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce	29	(90)
2. The Arrow War, 1856-1860	31	(18)
3. Violence and the Rule of Law in China, 1856-1858	49	(25)
4. Beijing 1860: Loot, Prize, and a Solemn Act of Retribution	74	(45)
PART II Reterritorializing China, 1861-1900	119	(66)
5. Constructing a New Order	123	(33)
6. The Qing Empire in the Era of European Global Hegemony	156	(29)
PART III Making China Perfectly Equal	185	(161)
7. A Reign of Terror: Punishment and Retribution in Beijing and Its Environs	195	(46)
8. Desacralizing Qing Sovereignty, 1900-1901	241	(41)
9. Mnemonic Devices: Memorializing the West as Victim and Hero	282	(33)
10. The Return of the Repressed, Recirculations, and Chinese Patriotism	315	(31)
Postscript	346	(5)
Bibliography	351	(24)
Index	375