In Search of Old Peking, Arlington, L. C.; Lewisohn, William. Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987. 8vo up to 9½” tall. 382pp. with folding maps, black and white illustrations, index. Green boards, charted endpapers. Moderate toning and otherwise contents are in fine condition.
Written in 1935 by L.C. Arlington, an American who had served in the Customs and Postal Administrations since his arrival in China in 1879, and William Lewisohn, A British Army officer turned journalist, this book is a labor of love, the result of the authors’ determination to record the delights, both great and small, of the city that had captured their imaginations, even as it was beginning its decline. The descriptions of buildings and monuments, gardens public spaces are set in the wider context of Chinese history, and are enhanced by lively anecdotes of Chinese life. In addition, a wealth of photographs, linecuts, and maps further bring to life the Forbidden City at the height of its glory. the Legation Quarters, Forbidden City, Altar of Heaven, the many side streets, restaurants, gates, the Summer Palace, Western Quarter Chapters provide intimate details of the neighbourhoods, by quarter (Legation, Forbidden City, Tartar City, Chinese City) and within these, section by section. Later chapters detail the Summer Palace, the Jade Fountain, temples in the Western Hills and elsewhere, the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall etc. While many other works describe life in Peking during the first half of the 20th century, none else come close to describing its riches and charm in such loving detail. The reprint edition includes an insightful introduction by Geremie Barme, damning in its indictment of the Communist destruction of the grand Imperial city that was Peking.
