The Yellow Peril
Dr Fu Manchu & The Rise of Chinaphobia
Published on 6. October 2014
Book
Hardback
360 pages
978-0-500-25207-9 (ISBN)
Description
A hundred years ago, a character made his first appearance in the world of literature who was to enter the bloodstream of 20th-century popular culture: the evil genius called Dr Fu Manchu, described at the beginning of the first story in which he appeared as 'the yellow peril incarnate in one man'. Why did the idea that the Chinese were a threat to Western civilization develop at precisely the time when that country was in chaos, divided against itself, victim of successive famines and utterly incapable of being a 'peril' to anyone even if it had wanted to be? Here, Sir Christopher Frayling assembles an astonishing diversity of evidence to show how deeply ingrained Chinaphobia became in the West - so acutely relevant again in the new era of Chinese superpower. Along the way he talks to Edward Said, to the last Governor of Hong Kong, to Sax Rohmer's widow, to movie stars and a host of others; he journeys through the opium dens of the 19th century with Charles Dickens; takes us to the heart of popular culture in the music hall, pulp literature and the mass-market press; and shows how film amplifies our assumptions, demonstrating throughout how we neglect the history of popular culture at our own peril if we want to understand our deepest desires and fears.
Reviews / Votes
'Christopher Frayling brilliantly chronicles a shameful history of racism, and warns against the assumption that it no longer exists' - Guardian 'A wise, intellectually curious study of the west's anxieties about the "yellow peril", it is a testament to the author's cunning in selecting such an unexpectedly fertile subject - a cunning worthy of even Fu Manchu' - New Statesman 'Dismantling popular Sinophobia has become a pressing diplomatic task, as Frayling reminds us in this scintillating book' - The Times 'Exhaustive and fascinating ... thorough and fluently written' - Times Literary Supplement 'A fascinating exploration of a surprisingly long-lived phenomenon, combining a wealth of arresting detail with a big theme that has relevance today' - Jonathan Fenby, author of 'The Seventy Wonders of China'More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
23 Illustrations, black and white; 37 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
800 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-500-25207-9 (9780500252079)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sir Christopher Frayling is perhaps the most wide-ranging cultural historian of our times: the author of numerous publications on subjects ranging from vampires to Westerns; the writer and presenter of successful television series, whether on advertising, the Middle Ages or Tutankhamun. He is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and was Rector of the Royal College of Art, London, from 1996 to 2009, where he remains Professor Emeritus of Cultural History. His many public appointments have included Chairman of Arts Council England; Chairman of the Design Council; and the longest-serving Trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Content
Introduction * 1. The Setting of the Sun * 2. Sax and the Single Chinaman * 3. Charles Dickens and Princess Puffer * 4. At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal * 5. 'A Little Amusement...' * 6. 'The Yellow Peril Incarnate in One Man' * 7. 'The World Shall Hear from Me Again'