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6 reviews for:
The Gate to China: A New History of the People's Republic and Hong Kong
Michael Sheridan
3.93 AVERAGE
6 reviews for:
The Gate to China: A New History of the People's Republic and Hong Kong
Michael Sheridan
3.93 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
I may be boosting this a bit more than I should out of nostalgia but I really enjoyed this history of the relationship between Hong Kong and China. Chinese history is a large thing that is difficult to penetrate and study but the lens of Hong Kong provides the perfect entry point to understanding the modern Chinese state and how it got to where it is and how many western countries deceived themselves into thinking it would change. Having a knowledge of the city itself helped as I didn’t need to reference a map to understand locations, but I would recommend this to anyone wanting to better understand Modern China. It’s also the first history book I’ve read where I actually witnessed some of the events which is kinda wild. Did a mix of audio and actual text, probably would have been better to just read the physical book but I still understand the broad strokes.
informative
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
An insightful and sublime book about the history of Hong Kong, as a gate to China that tracks its establishment as a Colony of the British Empire following the Opium Wars to the history of the negotiations and events that led up to the transfer of sovereignty from British hands back to the People's Republic of China. Sheridan masterfully does this by providing private documents of politicians, extracts from news media and also tracks China as it rose towards being more globalised through its economy supported by the reforms made by Deng Xiaoping from the 1980s onwards. This was equally fascinating, comprehensive, informative yet at the same time poignant, bittersweet to the legacies of both Hong Kong following the handover and the end to British rule specifically the attempts of political reforms for universal suffrage under the last governor Chris Patten.
Sheridan's lines on the 2019-20 protests stayed with me in particular, which was this : "in any case, Hong Kongers were tougher than they were sometimes given credit for. The oldest generation had endured hardship and war, the middle-aged had kept steady heads through decades of uncertainty and the youngsters wanted a decent future. The other truth was that most people really loved their home; its islands and seas, its sunsets and summer downpours, the sizzle of fresh food at the roadside and the din of family banquets, loyalties to school, clan, church and temple, the chance to hustle and the lightly taxed rewards of work, all conducted to a soundtrack of quick witted chatter on the airwaves and a cacophony of entertainment from all over Asia. It was worth a fight."
Five stars! Would highly recommend if you are interested in history, politics or social issues!
Sheridan's lines on the 2019-20 protests stayed with me in particular, which was this : "in any case, Hong Kongers were tougher than they were sometimes given credit for. The oldest generation had endured hardship and war, the middle-aged had kept steady heads through decades of uncertainty and the youngsters wanted a decent future. The other truth was that most people really loved their home; its islands and seas, its sunsets and summer downpours, the sizzle of fresh food at the roadside and the din of family banquets, loyalties to school, clan, church and temple, the chance to hustle and the lightly taxed rewards of work, all conducted to a soundtrack of quick witted chatter on the airwaves and a cacophony of entertainment from all over Asia. It was worth a fight."
Five stars! Would highly recommend if you are interested in history, politics or social issues!
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced