The Fan-qui of China ─ Everyday Life in 19th Century China

Charles Downing provides one of the first detailed descriptions of life in China by a western visitor. In particular his three volumes provide a unique portrait of how the indigenous Chinese population viewed foreigners working and living in their country-the Fan-qui of the title. The author's profession of surgeon gave him far greater access to the everyday lives of people, who allowed him into their houses more readily, and felt more able to discuss the affairs of the day with him, than they did with missionaries. The result is an unusually intimate account of the lives of both Chinese and Fan-qui, and of the relations between them, both commercial and social. Among the wide range of topics included are commerce, culture, agriculture, religion, medicine, smuggling, shipping and navigation, together with unique information on attitudes to, and business restrictions upon, the English, Americans, Mohammedans, Russians, French and Malays who made up the Fan-qui population. Written at a time that marked the beginnings of free trade, and which saw an increase in smuggling and a start to the oppression of Christianity, The Fan-qui in China is a remarkably intimate and authoritative account of a key period in China's history. With a new introduction by Peter Perdue, Professor of History at Yale University, these rare volumes will be welcomed by all those interested in the history, commerce and culture of China and its relations with other countries.

Charles Toogood Downing was a surgeon. He went to China in the 1830s, where he practised his profession amongst both the Chinese and non-Chinese population, gaining an unparalleled insight into the personal and professional dealings of both the Chinese and non-Chinese population.