The Flight of an Empress Told by Wu Yung Whose Other Name is Yu Ch'uan
London: Faber and Faber LTD, (1937). Early Reprint. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. 8vo. Pp. [6], 7-294. Frontis. portrait of Tz'u Hsi (Cixi). One map. Bound in yellow cloth with blue lettering stamped on spine. Corners bumped; rear hinge starting; foxing to endpapers. In the price-clipped dust jacket, printed with brown and red lettering. Dust jacket a bit soiled, and with spine darkened. Item #6454 The Yale edition (1936) is preferred, due to the addition of Thomas Handforth line drawings, and two photos of Huai-Lai by Harold Loucks. That said, any edition with the dust jacket is increasingly difficult to locate. Dust jacket is now housed in a removable, clear archival sleeve.
Second printing of the British edition, worn but presentable. An account of the flight of the Empress Dowager (Cixi; Tz'u Hsi) and her immediate court during the Boxer Rebellion and the Chinese Revolution, as documented by Wu Yung, who was a magistrate of sorts at Huai-lai, a city north of Peking. He was 70 at the time this book was published. Fascinating insight into the world of the Empress Dowager, with intrigue concerning the greed of eunuchs, the requirements of her court, how two court ministers were required to commit suicide, and other sordid facts.
Price: $50.00