A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong [Hardcover]

Frank Welsh (Author), Gordon Wise (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

A sweeping history of Hong Kong, Britain's last colony, documents court intrigues of London and Peking, the heyday of the British Empire, economic development, its role as a refuge from mainland Chinese communism, and the 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this deeply researched but sterile history of the British crown colony, Welsh describes how Hong Kong became a trading and commercial center after its inception during the 1839-1842 Opium War and gives a straightforward account of the British entrepreneurs and their accumulation of wealth. The narrative is focused almost entirely on British rather than Chinese interests. Welsh chronicles periodic scandals involving the opium trade, prostitution, gambling and corruption that often led to quarrels between colonial governors, civil servants, goverment departments and the community. He describes conditions in the colony during the WW II Japanese military occupation and the postwar effect of Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Welsh predicts that the handover of Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997 will be accomplished without a serious hitch. "To any British government," he concludes, "Hong Kong will remain a peripheral concern." A former international banker, Welsh is the author of Building a Trireme. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Scholarly, understated, massive history of the Crown Colony, from Britisher and former international banker Welsh. Hong Kong has been a source of embarrassment to both Britain and China from the outset. British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston sacked the envoy who negotiated the island's cession- -and, ever since, the colony has irritated Whitehall with scandals over drugs, prostitution, corruption, and, now, this dreary hand- over business. On China's end, it's the principle of the thing, a scar symbolic of a great wound. Here, Welsh covers events large and small. In 1854, he tells us, Hong Kong Governor Sir John Bowring precipitated a second Anglo-Chinese war, and, through his efforts, China was opened up to European travelers, missionaries, and traders. In 1894, plague struck, causing Governor Sir William Robinson to observe that the Chinese died ``like sheep,'' since they were ``educated to unsanitary habits...accustomed from infancy to herd together''--but Hong Kong survived to see the British accept a 99-year lease in 1898. The 1960's were the golden years of economic freedom, but, even though the populace prospered, hundreds of thousands suffered wretched temporary living conditions--such as sleeping in cardboard boxes near the Star Ferry terminal and even in wire cages at Mongkok. The events of 1972--when Hong Kong's future was decided by Britain and China--are still shrouded in a secrecy that Welsh doesn't dispel, stating only that some feel that if Britain hadn't approached China, China would have let matters lie because Hong Kong was too valuable a trading partner to lose. Welsh doesn't bring history to life so much as recite details, and even the fascinating characters and events that stipple his pages don't add much color. (For a livelier look at the island- colony, see Gerald Segal's The Fate of Hong Kong, p. 921.) (Sixteen pages of b&w illustrations--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha America; 1st Ed. edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568360029
• ISBN-13: 978-1568360027
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,146,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Worth the Time, August 3, 2002

By 

"stephen_haack" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong (Hardcover)

Although a little 'dry' at times, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Frank Welsh's analysis of the development of this incredible city, its history and culture is fantastic. What caught my attention was in the Introduction when he remarked that Hong Kong was never a British colony but a Chinese colony administered by the British. From there on, he had my attention.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent one-volume history of Hong Kong., September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong (Hardcover)

Opening with an explanation of trade in China and ending with speculation about the handover of Hong Kong to China, Welsh does an excellent job of providing the reader with a moving story about the evolution of Hong Kong. From fishing villages to financial capital, Welsh provides not only a political history, but also the economic and social details that make this a compelling work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A spirited history, January 22, 2004

By 

Paul Wiseman (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong (Paperback)

Frank Welsh has written a magnificent history of Hong Kong: His account of nearly two centuries of British rule is comprehensive, spirited, fair and funny. Welsh obviously enjoyed writing this book, and his energy and enthusiasm are contagious. I loved his concise, blunt and often hilarious assessments of the rogues, eccentrics, incompetents and occasional heroes who governed or otherwise played major roles in Hong Kong: Gov. John Bowring "possessed almost every gift but that of common sense.'' "It might have been possible to find a man more unsuited to be a Colonial Governor than John Pope Hennessey,'' Welsh writes, "but it would not have been easy.'' Welsh admits that he writes from an Anglo perspective, and he is sympathetic to Hong Kong's British colonial rulers. But he is not blind to their snobbish, condescending and sometimes plainly racist attitudes toward the ethnic Chinese they ruled. To this reader, Welsh's argument that the Opium War wasn't really about opium isn't convincing, but his defense of the so-called "unequal treaties" between China and Britain is. Welsh sometimes wades too far into the minutiae of diplomacy and politics, and he too readily assumes the reader's familiarity with 18th century British history and personalities. But these are quibbles; in fact, the weaknesses are the flipside of one of the book's great strengths: It strives to put events in Hong Kong in a broader historical perspective, explaining the political backdrop in Britain or mainland China. One of Welsh's recurring themes struck this reader as particularly timely: the shameful degree to which Hong Kong's business elites, be they British or Chinese, put their narrow interest in profit above the public interest. In the 19th century, Hong Kong moneymen, worried about losing tenants and facing higher costs, opposed efforts to improve public sanitation and fight disease by tearing down squalid, congested tenement buildings. Today, they argue alongside the communist leadership in Beijing against any expansion of democracy in Hong Kong - fearful no doubt that a democratically accountable government might look twice at their privileges and dodgy business practices. Overall, this is a fine book and belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the history of Hong Kong or indeed of Great Britain.