Summary of Jing Tsu's Kingdom of Characters

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Wang Zhao, a Buddhist monk, was wanted for treason by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled the Qing dynasty. He wanted to go home, and so he fled to Japan and then Shandong Province in northern China. #2 The Chinese language seemed to be a major impediment to the country’s adaptation. At negotiation tables with foreigners, the Chinese were unable to find easy equivalents for loaded concepts like rights and sovereignty and were seen as barbaric and inferior by their counterparts. #3 The Chinese language was on the verge of a major change, as the old empire was about to be shaken up by decades of internal problems and turbulent encounters with other nations. #4 In 1900, China was in turmoil. An early example of what would come to be known as the Map of National Humiliation began circulating in the late nineteenth century, depicting the different foreign powers as their popular avatars, carving out their share of the country.