Foreign Mud
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Overview
First published in 1946, Foreign Mud is a marvelous historical reconstruction of the events surrounding the illegal trade of opium in Canton during the 1830s and the ensuing Opium Wars between Britain and China. Based largely on voluminous documents written by British doctors, missionaries, merchants, and government officials, Collis's tale -- far from being a dry assemblage of dates and facts -- is a fascinating look at British imperialism. Shifting back and forth between the fiery debates in London and the confrontations on the China coast, his story recounts, in all its complexities, a moment in time when China is forced after more than two thousand years of self-contained sufficiency to open its doors to the culture, commerce, and evangelization of the West -- the casus belli: the foreign mud, or opium, the British grew and shipped from India. Interspersed with various maps, plans, and illustrations, Foreign Mud is a historical narrative readers will find provocatively entertaining.Maurice Collis (1889-1973) was born in Ireland and spent many years in Burma as an Indian Civil Servant. After being demoted for being pro-Burmese, he subsequently became a very successful writer and critic in London.
Synopsis
Based upon selected anecdotal stories written by British observers, this text reconstructs the events of the illegal opium trade in Canton in the 1830s and the war between Britain and China that followed. The volume is illustrated with b&w maps, prints, and photographs. Irish-born Collis (1889-1975) served for many years in the Indian Civil Service in Burma and later became a writer and critic in London. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR
Times Literary Supplement
[T]ells in the most human terms a story that has been greatly distorted by less accomplished writers.