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Yedo and Peking

A Narrative of a Journey to the Capitals of Japan and China

Robert Fortune author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:11th Oct '12

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Yedo and Peking cover

A lively and illuminating account of Scottish botanist Robert Fortune's travels through Japan and China, first published in 1863.

Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1812–80) travelled widely in Asia in search of new plant varieties and agricultural techniques. This lively narrative, first published in 1863, focuses mainly on his journey through Japan shortly after foreign visitors were permitted entry for the first time in over two centuries.When Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1812–80) travelled to Japan in 1860, shortly after it had reopened to foreign visitors for the first time in centuries, he found the islands to be both mysterious and dangerous. This work, first published in 1863, is Fortune's spirited account of his travels, from Nagasaki to Yedo (modern-day Tokyo) and then on to Peking (Beijing). Fortune had previously spent several years in China researching tea plants and tea-growing technology, which he later introduced to the plantations of India. (His books on his experiences in China are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.) An engaging raconteur, Fortune includes here not only detailed horticultural information, but also his observations and opinions on Japan's 'strange people and their very beautiful land'. This remains for scholars and general readers an illuminating piece of travel writing, enhanced by the illustrations throughout.

ISBN: 9781108045926

Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 25mm

Weight: 560g

440 pages