Isabella Bird
May 12th 2008 14:26
Isabella Bird's Travel Books
Back into the 1980s Virago Press brought out a series of reprint so fbooks by famous women travellers.
The Yangtze Valley and Beyond is a repirint of a book first published in 1899 and then reprinted in 1985. Isabella Bird was one of those Victorian female adventurers who suddenly in middle age escpaed from genteel spinster or widowhood by travelling near and far. Her first book described a trip to America and she also visited the Far East, writing about Japan and Korea and other places. This book is one of ten she wrote and did the photographs for herself!
She travelled upstream by steamer from Shanghai to the Yangtze gorges and then switched to Chinese boats and then ventured into western Sichuan with one Chinese interpreter and a team of bearers.
Reading reprints of this kind of !9th century writing brings one insights into how much attitudes towards China have changed. She deplored bigoted European and Chinese male officials but liked many aspects of Confucianism and Buddhism yet seemed to regard most Taoist practices and rituals as demonism.
An interesting read for history students!
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