Understanding culture as a whole way of life, this book touches on various aspects of Sino-foreign interactions, tracing cultural exchanges depicted in Chinese and foreign sources, with particular attention to events or anecdotes in the Tang and Qing periods.
In addition to a discussion of the Sogdians and Turks in medieval China, an investigation of the localization process of pugs and lions through different Chinese dynasties, an analysis of the incorporation of Manichaeism into Chinese culture, and the depiction of the "Kunlun slaves" in Chinese Buddhist texts, this book also examines the "caravan tea" trade between Russia and China, the Russian-American company's attempt to do business in Canton, the translation of the Three Character Classic in Russia, the "Russian case" in the Tianjin missionary incident, as well as the Dutch factory in Canton and the Dutch mission in Beijing. This book concludes with a discussion of Chinese workers in Southeast Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From Central Asia to the South China Sea to the northern border with Russia, this book reveals its great diversity, yet with an intense focus on China's interactions with the outside world.
This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese studies, medieval Central Asian studies, and those interested in world history.
1: Tributes from the Nine Surnames of the Sogdians in the Tang Period 2: Rituals and Customs of the Nine Surnames of the Sogdians in the Tang Period 3: “Seven” as a Venerated Number among the Nine Surnames of the Sogdians in the Tang Period 4: The Mu Sogdians in the Tang Period 5: Worship of Fire and Sky among the Ancient Turks 6: Legal Practice in the Turkic Khaganate 7: Local Products of the Turks 8: Tracing the History of Pugs 9: Lions in China 10: Variation of Manichaeism in the Coastal Areas in the Tang and Song Periods 11: The Kunlun Slaves in Buddhist Books of the Tang and Song Periods 12: “Caravan Tea” 13: Russian-American Company and the Canton Port 14: “Qin Huan” from the Russian Hotel 15: The Three Character Classic in Russia 16: The “Russian Case” in the Tianjin Missionary Incident 17: The Dutch Factory in Canton during the Qing Period 18: Wang Wengao’s Historical Poems about the Dutch Tribute 19: Chinese Workers in Southeast Asia before 1912
Biography
Cai Hongsheng was Professor of History at Sun Yat-sen University, China. He specialized in the history of Sino-foreign relations, particularly the research about ancient Turks and Buddhism in the Tang period, and the Canton trade in the Qing dynasty.
