Chester Holcombe

The Real Chinaman Chester Holcombe

A very detailed examination (originally published in 1895) through Western eyes of Chinese culture, government, policies, public opinion, society, Chinese home life, superstitions, economics, laws, courts of law, philosophies, government, international events, foreign commerce and military actions, opium legislation and cultural interfaces, the Boxer Rebellion, Chinese character evaluations, officials and ordinary people, literature and knowledge, politics, missionary efforts, the Chinese military, diplomacy, etiquette, ancient to modern Chinese history, current reforms, and the Chinese financial system.

Chester Holcombe was for many years Interpreter, Secretary of Legation, and Acting Minister of the United States at Peking.