The Yangtze Valley and Beyond: An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and Among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory [Paperback]

Isabella L. Bird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1987 | ISBN-10: 0807070173 | ISBN-13: 978-0807070178

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Published in 1899, this is the account of Mrs. J. F. Bishop's journey through central China (1896-1897). The Geographical Journal heralded the work as 'undoubtedly one of the most important contributions to English literature on that country'; it remains a key source for nineteenth-century British perceptions of China. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 547 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Pr (June 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807070173
• ISBN-13: 978-0807070178
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,710,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lone woman traveler in China, January 26, 2005

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Yangtze Valley and Beyond: An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and Among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory (Paperback)

Intrepid is the adjective that best applies to Isabella Bird. She was one of the best known travel writers of the Victorian era. She suffered from an odd probably psychosomatic disease that made her an invalid at home in Scotland -- but plant her down in China, Colorado, or Japan and give her a difficult and dangerous road to travel and she is as hardy as a bristlecone pine.

This book is about a journey Ms. Bird made about 1897 from the mouth of the Yangtze River to the Sichuan basin and the borders of Tibet. She did most of it as a solo female, accompanied only by Chinese bearers and servants, and traveling by mule, boat, foot, sedan chair, and about every other means of transport. She was more than 60 years old at the time and suffered from rheumatism.

Ms. Bird is a demon for detail and she comments on a vast range of topics during the course of her travels -- and she seems to know what she is talking about, unlike many travel writers whose accounts are embroidered and exaggerated. With Bird you have confidence that she's telling you the truth, quaint though some of her views may be.

The most interesting part of the book, in my opinion, are Ms. Bird's difficulties with Chinese officials and the public. She was beaned in the head with a rock on one occasion, which caused a "brain disturbance" that lasted a year; Chinese frequently refused to sell her food or give her shelter and officials tried to intimidate and discourage her at every opportunity. But Isabella Bird was undaunted, crossing 11,000 feet passes, weathering snowstorms, hunger, and hardship and recording her experiences in amazing detail. The book is nearly 600 pages long.

Isabella Bird's travel books are travel classics. Read this or any of her books to get a tale of exotic adventures in foreign lands -- and to wonder why this respectable female was so addicted to tramping around the world.

Smallchief