China
An Epic Novel
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher
£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
China
Narrated by:
Andrew Wincott, Daniel Loh York, Zheng Xi Yong
Buy Now for £23.80
-
Narrated by:
-
Andrew Wincott
-
Daniel Loh York
-
Zheng Xi Yong
The internationally bestselling author portrays the great clash of East and West in his new epic: China
China in the nineteenth century: a proud and ancient empire forbidden to foreigners. The West desires Chinese tea above all other things but lacks the silver to buy it. Instead, western adventurers resort to smuggling opium in exchange.
The Qing Emperor will not allow his people to sink into addiction. Viceroy Lin is sent to the epicentre of the opium trade, Canton, to stop it. The Opium Wars begin - heralding a period of bloody military defeats, reparations, and one-sided treaties which will become known as the Century of Humiliation.
From Hong Kong to Beijing to the Great Wall, from the exotic wonders of the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City, to squalid village huts, the dramatic struggle rages across the Celestial Kingdom. This is the story of the Chinese people, high and low, and the Westerners who came to exploit the riches of their ancient land and culture.
We meet a young village wife struggling with the rigid traditions of her people, Manchu empresses and warriors, powerful eunuchs, fanatical Taiping and Boxer Rebels, savvy Chinese pirates, artists, concubines, scoundrels and heroes, well-intentioned missionaries and the rapacious merchants, diplomats and soldiers of the West. Fortunes will rise and fall, loves will be gained and lost.
This is an unforgettable tale told from both sides of the divide. The clash of worldviews, of culture and heritage, is shown in a kaleidoscope of jaw-dropping set pieces. China is a feat of the imagination that will enthral, instruct and excite, and show us how things once were, and how the turmoil of the nineteenth century led to modern China's revolution and rebirth.
(P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2020 Edward Rutherfurd
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Critic reviews
takes an entertaining, educational journey through China's rich and complex history, geography, art, and diverse cultures during a tumultuous epoch
The unparallelled master of the historical saga returns, this time, with an eye on China. Beginning with the First Opium War in 1839 and continuing through the present day, Rutherfurd tells a sweeping tale that brings to life a nation's history, traditions and the people who lived through it as if by magic
A spectacularly glorious epic! . . . This barnstormer of a book can take its rightful place as a true historical epic
Bravo; this is a big, complex and utterly involving portrait of 19th-century China
It's a bravura performance, fizzing with incident, excitement and energy
Rich in detail, it'll give all readers pause for thought
Amassing historical touch
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Historical fiction
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Outstanding
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating and informative
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.