China, the Land of Contradictions

# CHINA: THE LAND OF CONTRADICTIONS

This 1900 Street & Smith historical narrative by A. D. Hall surveys China comprehensively in fourteen chapters. The work covers geography (the Flowery Empire's vast territory spanning from Russia to the Pacific, dominated by the Yellow River and Yangtze delta plains); Chinese history and Tartar dynastic rule; governmental structures; customs and social practices; internal trade and foreign commerce; literature, science, and arts; religions and superstitions; missionary endeavors; the condition of women; cuisine; American interests in the Orient; the Boxer movement; the Empress Dowager's role; and prognostications for China's future. The narrative emphasizes China's historical isolation from Western contact until the 1861 Treaty of Tientsin, describes its abundant natural resources (jade, coal, tea, silk), and examines how the empire traditionally regarded foreign nations with contempt as uncivilized "barbarians."