Strangers at the Gate: Social Disorder in South China, 1839-1861 [Paperback]

Frederic Wakeman Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520212398 | ISBN-13: 978-0520212398 | Publication Date: December 30, 1997

Now available again, this pioneering work examines one of the most controversial periods in Chinese history: the relationship between the Chinese civil and military authorities and the British trading community in Guangdong province on the eve of the Taiping Rebellion, one the most calamitous events in Chinese history. Wakeman shows how prevailing rural discontent, urban riots, secret society activity, and the imbalance of class and clan affected the mechanisms of regional power and gentry control, demonstrating the progression of rebellion and the historical inevitability of revolution.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterly production and an indispensable contribution to our knowledge of China in an age of transition" -- Journal of Asian History

"Bristles with insights and interpretations. . . . It is a most significant contribution. . . . The general character is that of social history but social history that shades into economic, political, intellectual, and diplomatic history." -- Journal of Asian Studies

"Well documented with an impressive bibliography of Chinese, Japanese, and Western sources and archives from the British Foreign Office. . . . Professor Wakeman has done assiduous research and produced a remarkable book which makes a considerable contribution to the academic field." -- Political Science Quarterly

About the Author

Frederic Wakeman Jr. is Haas Professor of Asian Studies and Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of numerous books on China including The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China (California, 1985), and Policing Shanghai, 1927-1937 (California, 1994, also available in paperback).

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (December 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520212398
• ISBN-13: 978-0520212398
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decline of the Qing, September 25, 2011

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strangers at the Gate: Social Disorder in South China, 1839-1861 (Paperback)

An early and interesting book by the distinguished historian Frederic Wakeman. This is a careful study of the decline of Qing governance in Kwangtung province in the first half of 19th century, particularly the period of the 1st and 2nd Opium Wars and the Great Taiping Rebellion. Wakeman's narrative shows how the strains experienced by the Qing state, particularly the effects of European imperialism, upset the delicate balance between local gentry power and the authority of the central government. Responding to the 1st Opium War, the Imperial court authorized the expansion of local militias. These decisions and subsequent turmoil in Kwangtung province, described in considerable and interesting detail, gradually eroded the power of the central government. The power vacuum was filled by the local gentry, particularly the wealthier rural clans. In Canton and the immediately surrounding region, authority came to rest in the British and French occupiers. In addition to the direct loss of political power, the Qing also experienced loss of prestige and as the effects of European imperialism became more pronounced, Qing legitimacy suffered from Chinese ethnocentrism. The result was a progressive and self-perpetuating process of Qing incapacity.