The Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which was led by British
staff, is often seen as one of the key agents of Western
imperialism in China, the customs revenue being one of the major
sources of Chinese government income but a source much of which was
pledged to Western banks as the collateral for, and interests
payments on, massive loans. This book, however, based on extensive
original research, considers the lower level staff of the Chinese
Maritime Customs Service, and shows how the Chinese government,
struggling to master Western expertise in many areas, pursued a
deliberate policy of encouraging lower level staff to learn from
their Western superiors with a view to eventually supplanting them,
a policy which was successfully carried out. The book thereby
demonstrates that Chinese engagement with Western imperialists was
in fact an essential part of Chinese national state-building, and
that what looked like a key branch of Chinese government delegated
to foreigners was in fact very much under Chinese government
control.
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