No Foreign Bones in China: Memoirs of Imperialism and Its Ending [Paperback]

Peter Stursberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 1998 | ISBN-10: 088864387X | ISBN-13: 978-0888643872 | Edition: First Edition

No Foreign Bones in China tells a story of China through the eyes of a British colonial family. Through the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, two world wars, and the rise of Mao, the Shaws were witness to the turbulent birth of modern China. Captain Samuel Lewis Shaw, a merchant seaman, arrived in China in the 1830s. After a long and colourful career, he settled in the port of Foochow, married a Japanese woman, and started a family. The Shaw children grew up in Pagoda Anchorage, the heart of the Chinese tea trade, and expected to spend their lives in this beautiful place. But a few years later, they were forced to leave. In a dramatic display of pro-Chinese nationalism, foreigners were expelled from the country—even to the bones lying in their graves. Told with emotion and insight, No Foreign Bones in China explores cultural history in lavish detail. In re-creating the story of his family, Peter Stursberg reveals history as it was lived and made.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Stursberg is a well-known writer and journalist whose work has spanned more than six decades. As a CBC war correspondent, he covered the Canadian troops in Sicily during the Second World War and was the only Canadian journalist to enter both Rome and Berlin with the Western Allies. He is the author of more than a dozen books. He lives in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Alberta Press; First Edition edition (April 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088864387X
• ISBN-13: 978-0888643872
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,552,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, September 11, 2010

By 

A Reader III - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Foreign Bones in China: Memoirs of Imperialism and Its Ending (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewers that Mr. Stursberg's telling of his unique family history and all that was happening in China during this period is a fascinating read. The book is full of interesting detail. My own appreciation for the book is greatly amplified by the fact that my grandparents, my mother, an aunt and two uncles were on one of the boats out of China with Mr. Stursberg's father in 1927 as a result of the "Northern Campaign".

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening, personal, and memorable look at a great land, August 11, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Foreign Bones in China: Memoirs of Imperialism and Its Ending (Paperback)

No Foreign Bones In China: Memoirs Of Imperialism And Its Ending is a fascinating narrative of life in China as seen through the eyes of a British colonial family, the Shaws. This was a family who witnessed the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, two world wars, and the rise of Mao. Yet eventually in a fervent and chaotic climate of fanatical Chinese nationalism, the Shaws were expelled (as were so many other foreigners). This rejection by the Chinese authorities even extended to the bones of westerners in their graves. An eye-opening, personal, and memorable look at a great land and its people, No Foreign Bones In China is compelling, informative, and highly recommended reading for students of 20th Century Chinese history.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Cultural History, July 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: No Foreign Bones in China: Memoirs of Imperialism and Its Ending (Paperback)

"Author Peter Stursberg is a Canadian journalist, writer and war correspondent who has turned his talents to giving us a slice of cultural history through recounting the story of his own family. China fascinates us now just as it did in the Victorian era, and the detail and insight Stursberg provides in this family memoir bring the sights and sounds of pre-Communist China vividly to life. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and it is a pleasure to find a family with such an engrossing history given life again in capable hands." Mary Denis Garrett, The Advocate