Bernard Llewellyn

A charming, easy collection of essays on some of China's most famous historical personalities. The facts that I know, are all here (that Yang Guifei had three sisters and a brother she brought to court), nicknames, favourite haunts. There are other details that were/are new to me that I wondered about--there are no footnotes nor references nor bibliography to check their authenticity. This latter is probably the book's biggest shortfall to me. On the other hand, the book definitely draws readers into China's marvelous, rich history peopled with some very memorable and colourful characters.
I've owned this book for decades and only picked it up and re-read it while doing some research on some of China's more famous concubines. This book is long out-of-print, but if you're lucky enough to stumble across a copy in a used bookshop or library, and you're interested in China in a non-academic context, definitely pick up this book and turn the first page. Chances are you won't shut it until you've finished it.
The author was born in Brentwood, Essex in 1919 and was a graduate of the London School of Economics. He wrote three books, to my knowledge on Asia, which he said "reflected his special interests in the peoples and problems of the Far East." At the time of publication, he was on his fourth trip to Asia, engaged in relief work in the Republic of Korea. He was not the first nor last to be bitten by a China bug.… (altro)