Western Reports on the Taiping

Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1982, collects together a wide range of Western reportage on this major revolt in nineteenth century China. The extracts are contemporary, from eyewitnesses, and come from diplomatic and missionary reports, from books, newspapers, private journals, travel accounts and diaries. They provide a good overview of the response to this major crisis of Chinese society over a twenty-year period and the Western presence in mid-nineteenth century China.