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Discover the remarkable career of Prosper Giquel, a French visionary who bridged the gap between East and West. This scholarly monograph details his pivotal role in China’s late 19th-century Self-Strengthening Movement and industrial modernization
Transferring Technology to China explores an extraordinary chapter in global history where the world was dominated by aggressive Western colonization. At the center of this narrative is Prosper Giquel, a man who sought to create a more equal and healthier relationship between his homeland of France and his adopted home, China.
During the late 19th century, China embarked on the “Self-Strengthening Movement,” a period of desperate industrial and military modernization. This book provides a meticulous account of Giquel’s career as he assisted the Chinese government in adopting Western technology, particularly in naval and industrial sectors. It highlights how Giquel’s efforts allowed France to play a vital role in the modernization of the Middle Kingdom.
More than just a technical manual, this work examines the diplomatic and cultural nuances of 19th-century Sino-Western relations. While originally published in the mid-1980s, the legacy of Giquel’s career has grown significantly as more has been learned about his influence through the efforts of French sinologists and Giquel’s own descendants.
For readers of Steven Leibo’s historical fiction (written under the pen name Li Bo), this monograph serves as the factual bedrock for the Sino-American Tales. Giquel’s real-life experiences and his journals from the Chinese Civil War of 1864 provided the primary inspiration for the characters and events depicted in novels like Tienkuo: The Heavenly Kingdom.
Title: Transferring Technology to China: Prosper Giquel and the Self-Strengthening Movement
Series: China Research Monograph
Publisher: University of California Institute of East Asian Studies
Publication Date: January 1, 1985
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0912966762
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