A Residence Among The Chinese: Inland, On The Coast, And At Sea (1857)

A Residence Among The Chinese: Inland, On The Coast, And At Sea is a travelogue written by Scottish botanist and explorer, Robert Fortune. The book was first published in 1857 and is an account of the author's travels in China during the mid-19th century. Fortune's journey took him from the coastal cities of Shanghai and Ningbo to the interior provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang. He also spent time at sea, traveling along the coast of China. The book provides a detailed description of the people, culture, customs, and traditions of the Chinese people. Fortune also writes about his experiences with Chinese medicine, religion, and agriculture. One of the main focuses of the book is on the tea trade in China. Fortune was commissioned by the British East India Company to travel to China and collect tea plants and seeds for cultivation in India. He was successful in his mission and played a major role in establishing the tea trade between China and India. Overall, A Residence Among The Chinese is an insightful and informative account of China during the mid-19th century. It provides a unique perspective on the country and its people during a time of great change and transformation.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

The botanist Robert Fortune (1813-80) first went to China as a plant collector for the Royal Horticultural Society, but returned not long after as an employee of the East India Company, in search of tea samples. This entertaining account, first published in 1857, describes his third expedition there.