by monkeystealspeach
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by monkeystealspeach
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Mercenary Mandarin is the account of an eccentric Victorian adventurer, William Mesny. During his time in China, he worked as a smuggler and gun runner, got imprisoned by the Taiping Rebels, and eventually landed himself a job as a general for the Qing Emperor, charged with overthrowing a Miao Rebellion in the mountains of Southwest China.
This book, written by a friend of mine, David Leffman (who has guestwritten on this site), is an excellent window into China a hundred years ago. If you are interested in China in the pre-modern era, this book is a must read. For other similar books on China, check out my list of must-reads here.
After the positive feedback I received from my list of top books on Martial Arts, I thought I’d also do a list of some my favourite reads about China; books which have a focus on either travel in the China, or life through the eyes […]
In my last post on Tai Chi MMA, I discussed my opinions on the fight between MMA guy Xu Xiao Dong and Tai Chi guy Wei Lei. The video has gained a huge amount of attention on Chinese social media, with people asking the question “what is the value […]
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(I’ve since written a more in depth article on my thoughts about the situation here) Here in China everybody is talking about this MMA vs Tai Chi fight. Basically Xu Xiao Dong is the father of MMA in China. Although he hasn’t actually had any […]
When coming to China to train Kung Fu, many people are unsure how to act when meeting a master. China is a heirarchical society, and if you are meeting a master for the first time there are certain things that should be considered. Don’t get too […]
I’ve celebrated Chinese New Year more than a few times in Asia, whether it was with the remote Dong people in the mountains of Guizhou, venerating the Jade Emperor with ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, or watching a rock band in Singapore. However there’s one particular […]
