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George Leonard Staunton (1737-1801) arrived in China in 1792 as a member of a British delegation whose objective was to improve trade and establish better diplomatic relations with the Chinese, who, at the time, restricted economic activity with foreigners to the port of Canton (Guangzhou). Although the group managed to secure an audience with the Qianlong Emperor - to whom the British envoy Lord Macartney famously refused to kowtow - their mission failed. Staunton kept detailed notes throughout his time in China, and in 1797 this two-volume account of the visit was published, and later translated into French and German. Volume 1 begins with a historical account of China's diplomatic relations with Britain and other nations, and then discusses the extensive preparations for the delegation's voyage, and the long journey itself, which took them round the Cape of Good Hope and through South-East Asia before arriving in China nine months later.

Voyages And Travels --- China --- Great Britain --- Travel --- Political Science

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The sinologist George Thomas Staunton learned Chinese as a child & accompanied his father on a trip to China in 1792 where, though the Ambassador's page, he was the only member of the delegation who could speak to the emperor in Chinese. A career in the East India Company's Canton factory followed, & he translated many texts between Chinese & English, including this penal code, published in 1810, which was its first translation into any European language. The 'Fundamental Laws' was the legal code of the Qing Dynasty, & contained more than 1,000 statutes. Staunton organised his translation of a selection of the laws into seven divisions: general, civil, fiscal, ritual (religious), military, criminal & public works. He also includes an appendix with translations of edicts regarding matters such as punishment, making this compendium an invaluable guide to the complex legal regime of the Qing Dynasty.

Law --- China --- History --- Acts, Legislative --- Enactments, Legislative --- Laws (Statutes) --- Legislative acts --- Legislative enactments --- Jurisprudence --- Legislation

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Sir George Thomas Staunton (1781-1859), Sinologist and politician, was a key figure in Anglo-Chinese relations, as had been his father. In 1798 he began working for the British East India Company in Canton (Guangzhou), where he was the only Englishman who could understand Chinese, having begun learning it as a child. By 1815, British trade with China was worth over £4 million in tea duties alone, and there was immense pressure for the Chinese to relax their restrictions. In 1816, following earlier failed missions, an embassy, including Staunton as second commissioner, was organised to seek better trading conditions and to press the emperor for the opening up of a second harbour. Chinese mistrust and British arrogance led to the failure of the embassy, with no imperial audience given. This account, privately published in 1824, is a valuable document in the understanding of the historical background to Britain's relationship with China into the twentieth century.

China --- Great Britain --- Travel --- Political Science --- History

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Emilio Gentile, an internationally renowned authority on fascism and totalitarianism, argues that politics over the past two centuries has often taken on the features of religion, claiming as its own the prerogative of defining the fundamental purpose and meaning of human life. Secular political entities such as the nation, the state, race, class, and the party became the focus of myths, rituals, and commandments and gradually became objects of faith, loyalty, and reverence. Gentile examines this "sacralization of politics," as he defines it, both historically and theoretically, seeking to identify the different ways in which political regimes as diverse as fascism, communism, and liberal democracy have ultimately depended, like religions, on faith, myths, rites, and symbols. Gentile maintains that the sacralization of politics as a modern phenomenon is distinct from the politicization of religion that has arisen from militant religious fundamentalism. Sacralized politics may be democratic, in the form of a civil religion, or it may be totalitarian, in the form of a political religion. Using this conceptual distinction, and moving from America to Europe, and from Africa to Asia, Gentile presents a unique comparative history of civil and political religions from the American and French Revolutions, through nationalism and socialism, democracy and totalitarianism, fascism and communism, up to the present day. It is also a fascinating book for understanding the sacralization of politics after 9/11.

Political psychology --- Religion and politics --- Ideology --- Religion and politics. --- Political psychology. --- Ideology --- Political aspects --- Political aspects. --- Christianity. --- Illius Magistri. --- Kultur Kampf. --- Political Religions. --- Risorgimento. --- Sacralization. --- Second World War. --- Social Contract. --- Syncretic. --- The Ruling Class. --- anthropological revolution. --- conquering society. --- crowd manipulation. --- functionalist. --- genus incredulorum credulum. --- insecure man. --- new civilization. --- numinous. --- patriotism. --- political liturgy. --- secular collective entity. --- secular religion. --- statolatry. --- totalitarian. --- tovarich. --- tremendum.