Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China after the Wreck of the Kite

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China after the Wreck of the Kite
Authors and Contributors      By (author) John Lee Scott
SeriesCambridge Library Collection - Travel and Exploration in Asia
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:156
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreAsian and Middle Eastern history
ISBN/Barcode 9781108013802
ClassificationsDewey:951.033
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 4 Plates, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 10 June 2010
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China after the Wreck of the Kite (1841) is an autobiographical account, written by the merchant sailor John Lee Scott, of his 'shipwreck and subsequent imprisonment in the Celestial Empire' in 1840, during the First Anglo-Chinese or so-called 'Opium' War. In eight chapters, Scott describes leaving South Shields in the Kite, 'a beautiful brig of 281 tons' for Singapore in order to 'carry stores to the British fleet destined for China'. Scott recounts how the Kite was capsized on its way to deliver supplies to the British fleet based around Chusan, and how he and other crew members, after being washed up on the island of Ningpo, were captured by the Chinese and held prisoner for five months. Scott's Narrative provides an interesting insight into British perceptions of the Chinese during the Anglo-Chinese conflicts of the nineteenth century.