Book Collection - Books About China

Alexander, Alma The Secrets of Jin-Shei 2004 (April 27) HarperCollins NY. Uncorrected proof (advance reading copy) of the first edition. Set in a mythical Chinese kingdom, a timeless story of what sustains friendship -- and what tears it apart. Fine in pictorial wrappers.

Allen, Steve Explaining China 1980 Crown NY. First edition.Signed and inscribed on the title page "To Barbara - This view from 1980 - but most of it still applies. Love, Steve Allen 1991." 8vo, 339 pages. Tight binding, slight shelf wear to dustjacket with minor tears and chips along the edges, else very good in DW.

Anonymous Ancient Chinese Fables 1982 Children's Press Shanghai. First edition. Six chapbooks in a pictorial cardboard slipcase. Contains 15 stories illustrated in full color. Price sticker on slipcase, else near fine.

Borel, Henri (translated by Meredith Ianson) Wu Wei 1903 Luzac & Co UK. First English language edition, translated from the Dutch. "A Phantasy based on the philosophy of Lao-Tse." Interesting and well-written (and translated). Very good in cloth boards.

Carus, Paul (translator) The Canon of Reason and Virtue Being Lao-tze's Tao Teh King 1945 Open Court Publishing Chicago. Reprint. One of the fundamental philosophers, Lao-tze, is presented both in Chinese and English. Good condition. The exterior paper on spine is peeling and half gone, but the spine itself is tight and pages are intact.

Chivas-Baron, Cl. Stories and Legends of Annam 1920 Andrew Melrose Ltd. UK. First edition. Translated from the French Contes et le´gendes de l'Annam, by E.M. Smith-Dampier. Near fine in very good DW.

Comber, Leon (translator) The Strange Cases of Magistrate Pao 1964 Tuttle VT. First edition. Six tales translated from the Chinese and retold by Comber. Magistrate Pao was a real eleventh century Chinese "detective, prosecuting attorney, judge and jury all in one". Fine in DW.

Daniel, Hawthorne The Seal of the White Buddha 1928 Coward-McCann NY. First edition. "Being the Tale of a New England Girl in the Year 1847 Sailing Aboard Her Uncle's Clipper Ship to Distant China and of the Mystery Adventure and Great Good Fortune Which Befell Her". Color frontispiece. Rare in dust jacket. Very good in unclipped DW.

Davis, Frank Chinese Jade 1935 Self-published UK. First edition. Privately printed by the author. 8vo (7.25in x 4.75in), (iv) + 68 pages + 19 b&w photographic plates at the rear of the book. Includes tipped in errata slip. Fine in near-fine DW.

Der Ling, Princess Old Buddha 1928 Dodd, Mead and Company NY. First edition. Recollections of China's Empress Dowager written by her former lady-in-waiting. a Manchu princess. Book has some foxing, else fine in bright orange boards, top edge trimmed and colored orange. The rare DW is well-chipped and torn, with a complete vertical tear at the spine fold repaired on the inside with tape, thus good only.

Downing, C. Toogood The Stranger in China, or, The Fan-Qui's Visit to The Celestial Empire in 1836-7 1838 Lea & Blanchard Philadelphia. First edition. Volume I of two volumes. Brown textured hardcover with black titling on paper overlay on spine, 4 3/4" x 7 5/8", 248 pages. Book is in good condition showing wear to cover, corners, edges, top & bottom of spine, some repair to spine cover, title overlay is partially deteriorated, discoloration of cover, aged pages, foxing & spotting, bound well, all pages intact.

Epstein, Charlotte Murder In China 1989 (September) Doubleday NY. First American edition. Author's first book, a "Janet Eldine" mystery set in China. Fine in DW with quarter-inch closed tear at bottom front cover, else fine.

Fielde, Adele M. Chinese Night's Entertainment 1893 Putnam NY. First edition. These forty tales were selected by the author from many that were narrated (in Swatow vernacular by persons who could not read) to her during her travels through China. 25 illustrations prepared under the direction of the author by native artists in the school of the celebrated painter, Go Leng, at Swatow. Tan hardcover with four-color picture of a dragon on the front board and silver lettering and decoration on spine. Book is in very good condition with slightly soiled cover, no dust jacket and a few little bumps. Gift inscription on front free endpaper, also dated 1893. Book is in nice tight condition.

Finney, Charles G. The Magician Out of Manchuria 1968 Donald Grant NH. First hardcover edition. Of 600 signed and numbered copies, this is unnumbered, with "publisher's copy" handwritten instead of the number. Review slip from the publisher laid in. Signed by artist Richard Salvucci on the limitation page. Fine in DW.

Finney, Charles G. The Magician Out of Manchuria 1968 Panther UK. First edition. Very good in pictorial wrappers.

Glick, Carl and Hong Sheng-Hwa Swords of Silence 1947 Whittlesey House NY. First edition. Subtitled "Chinese Secret Societies-Past and Present." Inscribed "To Morgan and Margaret, long time good friends, as ever", signed by both authors on the front free endpaper. Near fine in very good DW with 1-inch closed tear at lower right corner.

Goddard, Dwight The Buddha's Golden Path 1930 Luzac & Company UK. First edition. Warm inscription to a Dr. Harris Kennedy from the author on the half title page. Laid in is a TLS from the author to Dr. Kennedy regarding the imminent demise of ZEN magazine, of which Goddard was editor. Near fine in red cloth covers.

Gueulette, Thomas Simon (Translated by Mr. Thomas Stackhouse) Chinese Tales, or, The Wonderful Adventures of Fum-Hoam 1745 J. Hodges London. Chinese Tales, or, The Wonderful Adventures of Fum-Hoam, Related by Himself to Divert the Sultan, Upon the Celebration of Her Nuptials. Third Edition. xii + 236 pages, 12mo (4 x 6 inches). 8 plates. Nicely bound in half morocco and marbled end papers, and all edges gilt. The first English edition of Gueulette's first compilation appeared as an anonymous translation from the French in 1725. "Oriental fantasies became fashionable in the West after the success of the Arabian Nights, originally translated and published in France as Les Mille et Une Nuit (1704-17) by Antoine Galland (1646-1715). Among the many similar collections assembled in its wake were three compiled by Thomas-Simon Gueulette (1683-1766), which used the same frame device These were particularly influential in the UK and France and for a while Arabian and Oriental stories became the fashion." Clute and Grant (eds), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 734. See Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 1-36. Bleiler (1978), p. 89. Reginald 06449A. Moderate wear, slight foxing, otherwise a very good copy,.

Hearn, Lafcadio (retold by Margaret Hodges) The Voice of the Great Bell 1989 Little, Brown and Company NY. First edition thus. Beautiful pastel and watercolor illustrations by Caldecott medalist Ed Young. A Chinese Bell-maker's daughter makes a noble sacrifice, so that the casting of the Great Bell for the Emperor will be flawless. Ancient Chinese legend originally collected by Lafcadio Hearn & retold in this wonderful edition by Margaret Hodges. Fine in quarter cloth, reinforced binding and DW.

Lamb, Charles (Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman) A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig 1888 D. Lothrop Co. Boston. First edition. 5.5 x 7 inches, 48 pages. Delightful although disparaging essay about the Chinese "discovery" of roast pig, with many full-page illustrations. Cover has soil and heavy corner scuffing, with moderate scuffing on edge of covers. Some minor smudges on a few pages, most pages are nice and clean.. All edges gilt.

Larsen, Jeanne Silk Road 1989 Henry Holt NY. First edition. The author's first novel, a fantasy set in China during the T'ang dynasty. The author is a sinologist and translator of Chinese poetry. Fine in DW.

Larsen, Jeanne Bronze Mirror 1991 Henry Holt NY. First edition. "Through the nasty hells and beautiful heavens of medieval China, fires rage, waters flood and an angry ghost seeks revenge through illness and seduction". The author is a sinologist and translator of Chinese poetry. Fine in DW.

Larsen, Jeanne Manchu Palaces 1996 Henry Holt NY. First edition. The author is a sinologist and translator of Chinese poetry. Fine in DW.

Le Guin, Ursula K. Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching - A Book About the Way 1997 (September 5) Shambala MA. Uncorrected proof of the first edition of this translation. TLS from the publisher laid in. Fine in pictorial wrappers.

Li Po translated by Shigeyoshi Obata The Works of Li Po 1922 Dutton NY. First edition of this translation. Limited to 1500 copies. Bound in dark maroon leather and a beautiful patterned cloth, with raised gilt pattern, ribs and lettering. Preface states that this is the first attempt ever made to deal with any single Chinese poet exclusively in one book for English-speaking people. Biibliography; biographical notes on Li Po by Chinese authors. Each poem gives the Chinese title and many have explanatory notes. 236 pages. Condition of the boards is good; there is edge wear along spine, corner bumps, and one scrape across the back. Inside very clean. A page in front has small paper label in Chinese. Endpapers are maps. Frontiepiece protected by tissue.

Magre, Maurice translated by Eliot Fay The Kingdom of Lu 1929 Cosmopolitan NY. First American and first English-language edition. An allegorical story of Confucius and Lao-tsze. Rare in dust wrapper. Untrimmed fore-edge. Publisher's book mark advertising two other books laid in. Near fine in DW.

McHugh, Maureen F. China Mountain Zhang 1992 (March) TOR NY. Uncorrected proof of the first edition. Author's first book. 1992 Nebula finalist and 1993 Hugo finalist. Alternate-reality novel, in which China is the world's superpower and the U.S. is a subsidiary communist nation. Fine in orange printed wrappers.

Meckauer, Walter The Books of the Emperor Wu Ti 1928 Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft Berlin. First edition. (German title is "Die Bucher des Kaisers Wutai"). This novel, steeped in rich oriental fantasy, is the story of Shu Yee, a merchant in Nanking, who, having attained material success, sets his heart upon acquiring the magic books o f the Emperor Wu Ti, which hold the key to all knowledge. Jugend prize winner. Not in Blieler. 283 pp. Small octavo, illustrated boards, orange leather gilt-stamped spine. A very attractive edition in very good condition. Two small nicks to the paper covering the lower edge of the cover, spine very mildly rubbed, faint foxing to the endpapers, otherwise contents are clean and the binding is tight.

Meckauer, Walter The Books of the Emperor Wu Ti 1931 Minton, Balch & Co. NY. First American edition, and first edition in English. Translated from the German by J. J. Saville Gardner. Jugend prize winner. Not in Blieler. Near fine with slight foxing on the page edges, in clean, very good DW. Yellow cloth covers were well-protected by the jacket.

Mullowney M.D., John J. A Revelation of the Chinese Revolution 1914 Fleming H. Revell Co. NY. First edition. 142pp. "A Retrospect and Forecast, by a Chinese Compatriot." Many b&w photographic plates throughtout. Long ink inscription by author to original owner, dated October 22nd 1914, on the front free endpaper. Small sticker with original owner's name and address on the front pastedown. Mullowney organized the first Red Cross Corps in Northern China, and actually wrote (not edited) this book from firsthand accounts from former government officials under the Manchus, sympathizers with General Hwang Hsing (who worked with Sun Yat-sen), and other leaders of the Revolution against the Manchu Dynasty and Yuan Shi-kai. It is a fascinating account of the troubled times of that period, very detailed in its political account. Bottom corner is bumped, extending throughout the book. Small ding in the spine not affecting text. Frontispiece tissue partially detached, but pages are clean and tight. Very good overall.

Old, Walter Gorn The Shu King 1904 Theosophical Publishing Society London & Benares. First edition of this translation. "Being an Authentic Record of the Religion, Philosophy, Customs and Government of the Chinese From the Earliest Times." The author translated this from the ancient text and included a commentary. Chapters include What Yaou Said, the Shining of Shun, the Toils of Ta-yu, Ending of Hia, the Reformation of Tai-Kia, the Parley of Puon-Kang, a Wise Man From The Wilderness, the Ruin of Yin & Two Pointed Things. Custom bound in three-quarter dark blue morocco leather over blue cloth. Ornaments and lettering stamped in gilt. Top edge gilt, raised bands, with marbled endpapers. 7 1/2" x 5" 306 pages. Very good.

Owen, Frank The Wind That Tramps the World 1929 Lantern Press NY. "Splashes of Chinese Color." First edition. Seven stories. Fantasy Literature 3-278. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1268. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 171. Bleiler (1978), p. 152. Reginald 11080. Near fine in DW.

Oxnam, Robert B. Cinnabar 1989 St. Martin's Press NY. First edition. "A Novel of China." Issued at $19. Fine in DW.

Peh Der, Chen (introduction by Ernest Bramah) Honourable and Peculiar Ways 1932 Hamish Hamilton UK. First edition. Introduction by Ernest Bramah. Illust. by Harold W. Hailstone. "First book of Chinese impressions of England; it is instructive as well as amusing to see ourselves through Oriental eyes". Fine in very slightly frayed DW.

Quentin, A. P. A Taoist Pearl 1928 Macmillan Toronto. First edition. "The MacMillans in Canada" bookplate on front pastedown. An account of Father Siao Chi San, a Christian convert and priest. Near fine in very good DW with large chips on front cover and spine, the latter affecting text.

Roberts, Moss (ed) Chinese Fairy Tales & Fantasies 1979 Pantheon NY. First edition. Near fine in DW.

She, Lao (translated by William A. Lyell, Jr.) Cat Country 1980 Ohio State Univ Press Ohio. First English edition. "A satirical novel of China in the 1930's.". Fine in near-fine DW.

Smith, Madorah E. Little Foreign Devils 1923 Madorah Smith Iowa. First edition. Inscribed on the FFEP "Mrs. E. West from Mother Smith", followed by what looks like references to two passages in the bible. This book was apparently self-published. Children's story of an American child abroad. Rare. Near fine, light mustard color cloth with pasted on pictorial of two Chinese children with an American child in the middle.

Sowerby, J. G. and F. W. Bourdillon Young Maids and Old China 1888 Marcus Ward & Co London, Belfast & NY. First edition. Verse and chromolithographs. Octavo, [32 pages], Beautifully illustrated by J.G. Sowerby, with color lithographs of "young maids" in domestic scenes, blue & white pottery illustrations in text. Marcus Ward & Co., established 1867, grew to be one of the finest Victorian greeting card manufacturing houses. They went into dissolution by 1899. Gold, blue, and pink decorated paper over boards with gold cloth spine, floral printed endpapers, all edges stained light blue. Scarce. Slight foxing on the thick pages, rubbing to all corners, soiling to front and back covers, ink inscription dated 1947 on the half-title page, overall near very good.

Starrett, Vincent Oriental Encounter 1938 (September) Normandie House Chicago. First edition. Signed by the author on the dedication page. One of 249 copies on Andria paper. Printed by the Black Cat Press. The two essays are on Eunuchs and on "honeycarts," carts used to transport waste material. Pages roughly opened, else fine in orange cloth-covered boards sans DW as issued.

Swann, Nancy Lee Pan Chao: The Foremost Woman Scholar of China 1932 The Century Co. NY. First edition. The first biographical study of a Chinese woman that has been published either in Chinese or any Western language. Published for The American Historical Association. Scarce in DJ. Near fine in very good DJ.

T'ieh-yun, Liu (translated by Harold Shadick) The Travels of Lao Ts'an 1952 Cornell University Press NY. First edition of this translation, written between 1904 and 1907. Inscribed "To Tazu, with many thanks for all your help in preparing the manuscript. Harold Shadik" on the front free endpaper. Near fine in green cloth-covered boards.

Tsiang, H. T. China Red 1931 (October) Tsiang NY. First edition. Published by the author. Signed in English and Chinese by the author on the title page, and dated "jan 22, 1935." Blurb by Theodore Dreiser on preliminary sheet. Although the eccentric and innovative Chinese-American novelist's work has lately been rediscovered and celebrated, this, his first novel, has remained out of print since the author published it himself in desperation. (He printed rejections from Knopf and Jonathan Cape on the rear panel.) Rare. Pages clean and tight, card covers chipped and creased, spine all but gone, neatly "bound" in cellotape.

van Gulik, Robert Dee Goong An 1949 Toppan Printing Japan. First edition. Author's first Judge Dee book, self-published, number 852 of 1200 copies, with author's signature and Chinese seal on the limitation page. "Review Copy" written in ink on the ffep in the author's hand. Illustrated with three reproductions of original Chinese pictures, and with six plates drawn by the author after ancient Chinese models. [8], iv, xxiii, 237 pages. Publisher's pictorial boards from a polychrome woodcut by the author. A few scrapes on the bottom edge, rubbing to the spine, else fine in pictorial (wood print) covers. Rare in such beautiful condition.

van Gulik, Robert Labyrinth in Lan-Fang 1957 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First edition. "The Chinese Maze Murders." 256 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 inches. Near fine in glossy illustrated boards.

van Gulik, Robert Fantoom in Foe-lai 1958 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First edition. "The Chinese Gold Murders", Judge Dee's first three cases. 173 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 inches. Near fine in glossy illustrated boards.

van Gulik, Robert The Chinese Lake Murders 1960 Harper & Brothers NY. First American edition. Very good except for spine damage and fading.

van Gulik, Robert The Chinese Maze Murders 1960 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First Dutch edition. Very good in flexible boards.

van Gulik, Robert Nagels in Ning-tsjo 1960 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First edition. "The Chinese Nail Murders." 175 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 inches. Near fine in glossy illustrated boards.

van Gulik, Robert The Chinese Nails Murders 1961 Michael Joseph UK. First British edition (preceded only by the Dutch edition.) As described in the introduction, this was to be the fifth and last of the 'Judge Dee' books. Fine in slightly soiled DW.

van Gulik, Robert Sexual Life in Ancient China 1961 E. J. Brill Leiden, Netherlands. First edition. "A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society From Ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D." 392 pp. Quite rare in dust jacket. Near fine in very good DW with chips and tears.

van Gulik, Robert The Chinese Lake Murders 1962 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First Dutch edition. Fine in flexible boards.

van Gulik, Robert Meer van Mien-yuan 1962 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. Second printing. "The Chinese Lake Murders." 199 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 inches. Fine in glossy illustrated boards.

van Gulik, Robert The Red Pavilion 1962 Art Printing Works Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. Second edition. This edition was printed in Kuala Lampur by the author after London refused to print more than one "Judge Dee" book a year. Scarce. Slight spine lean, ownership signature on half-title page, else near fine in stiff cardboard wrappers. A beautiful copy.

van Gulik, Robert De Parel van de Keizer 1963 W. Van Hoeve Netherlands. First edition. "The Emperor's Pearl." 203 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 inches. Near fine in glossy illustrated boards.

van Gulik, Robert The Haunted Monastery 1963 Heinemann UK. First British edition (preceded only by Dutch edition). Fine in DW slightly soiled and dampstained.

van Gulik, Robert The Red Pavilion 1964 Heinemann UK. Uncorrected proof of the first British edition. Spine slanted and scuffed, covers dirty and slightly creased, else very good inprinted wrappers.

van Gulik, Robert Vier Vingers 1964 Boekenweek Rotterdam. First edition. This is the first publication in the world of this story, and the text is written in Dutch. The English edition, The Monkey and the Tiger, appeared the following year. This true first edition of Vier Vingers, Four Fingers, is a paperback, illustrated by the author and with an illustrated cover. The edition was never for sale, but was given out free, during "National Book Week," to those customers who spent a certain amount on buying new books in the Dutch book shops. A Judge Dee mystery. Near fine in pictorial wrappers.

van Gulik, Robert T'ang-Yin-Pi-Shih 1979 Hyperion NY. Reprint of the 1956 Dutch edition, a 13th century manual of jurisprudence and detection; "Parallel Cases From Under the Pear-Tree". Issued as a paperback, this copy has been bound as a hardcover. Fine in red boards sans DW as issued.

Verne, Jules (Translated by Ellen E. Frewer, Illustrated by L. Benett) Tribulations of a Chinaman 1880 (October) Dutton NY. First American illustrated edition. 1 page undated ads with prices in sterling. Original green cloth pictorially decorated in black and gilt. Although dated 1881, it was actually published in October 1880. Lee and Shepard of Boston published the first edition in English, exactly a year earlier in October 1879. Although this Dutton edition comes from the British sheets (including the ad leaf for Verne's works with prices in sterling), it was published a month earlier than Sampson Low's first British edition. Signatures a bit loose but fully attached, moderate foxing on the last 10 pages, front tissue-guard intact. Small white discolorations on front cover, corners and spine extremeties rubbed and frayed. Gold lettering still bright; an attractive book.

Werner, E. T. C. Myths and Legends of China 1934 Farrar & Rinehart NY. Part of the "Myths and Legends of the World" series. Hard to find in DJ. Very good in DW.

Wu Dingbo and Patrick D. Murphy Science Fiction from China 1989 Praeger Press NY. First edition. Fine in DW.

Wu, Yuan-Li The Economy of Communist China 1965 Pall Mall UK. First edition. Pages starting to yellow, else fine in DW.

Wylie, Alexander Notes on Chinese Literature 1902 American Presbyterian Mission Shanghai. New (second) edition, first published in 1867. The term 'literature' really means publicatons in this context. This then is a bibilography of books arranged by classics, histoy, philosophers, belles- lettres. Each classification is then again broken down into smaller subjects, with entries filed behind them. Quarter leather worn and cracked at spine, runned at corners. Otherwise very good, with unfoxed pages. Contemporaneous ownership notes and stamps on front pastdown and title page, including a Chinese 'chop' stamp in red ink.

Yutang, Lin The Little Critic 1935 Commercial Press Shanghai. First editions. "Essays, Satires and Sketches on China 1930-1935" in two volumes. The best of Lin Yutang's essays, written for his Shanghai magazine "The China Critic" from 1930 to 1935. 299 and 258 pages, measuring approximately 7" by 5". Rare in dust jackets. Both books are in very good condition, hardbound in blue cloth, with the paper dust jackets intact but for moderate chipping to extremities.

Zeitlin, Ida (Illustrations by Theodore Nadejen) Gessar-Khan: A Legend of Tibet 1927 Doran NY. First American edition and first English translation. In Peking in 1716 there appeared in the Mongolian language the legend of Gessar Khan, mythical hero of Asia. This edition is based on the original German translation, "Die Thaten Bogda Gessar Chans", St. Petersburg, 1839, of a Mongolian edition of 1836. Decorative orange and black endpapers. Quarto, 203 pp. Very good in bright DW with 2-inch square piece missing from bottom of spine, and chips and tears along all edges.

Number of items: 68
Number of authors: 47