The Chinese and their Rebellions: Viewed in Connection with their National Philosophy, Ethics, Legislation, and Administration

Inspired by the lectures in Munich of the German orientalist Karl Friedrich Neumann, Thomas Taylor Meadows (1815–68) devoted himself to the study of Chinese in 1841, with the aim of entering British service. He arrived in China early in 1843 and rose quickly to the post of consular interpreter at the key treaty port of Canton (Guangzhou), where he remained for several years. His Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China, and on the Chinese Language (1847) is also reissued in thi...