1st Edition
Territorializing the Chinese Nation-State Cartography, Geopolitics, and Huang Maocai's Mission to India (1878–1880)
This book is the first annotated translation of the travelogues of Huang Maocai. A trained Chinese cartographer in the service of the imperial Qing state, he was officially deputed to ascertain the Tibet-India land route and the geopolitical status of British India in the 19th century. His travelogues are the first authoritative modern Chinese texts exploring the physical and ideological connections between China and India. Unpublished for a long time, and so far, unavailable in an English translation, these texts provide meaning to many key issues that enshroud the concepts of civilization and nation.
An important contribution to the study of Sino-Indian interactions, it demonstrates Huang Maocai's keen observation of the geopolitics of the region. His vivid descriptions of Kolkata and nearby regions enlighten the Chinese perception of colonial India. This book will be an indispensable resource for students and researchers of nation, nationalism, civilization, empire, frontiers and borders, modern history, translation studies, Chinese studies, and Asian studies.
1. Introduction: Huang Maocai and the Background and Significance of his Expedition 2. Huang Maocai’s Preface to the Records of Travel to the Western Region [Xi-you ri-ji《西輶日记》] and India [ You li yin du《游历印度序] 3. A Translation of “A Trifling Record of Travel to Western Region ” [Xi-you riji《西輶日记》] 4. A Translation of “Reading Notes on India [ Yindu zhaji 印度劄记]” 5. A Translation of “My Humble Opinions [Youli chuyan 游历芻言] : The Situation in Five Indias [Wu Yindu xingshi 五印度形势]"
Biography
Kamal Sheel is Professor (Retd.) of Chinese at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
Ranjana Sheel is Professor of History at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
