Publisher's Synopsis
Step back in time to Beijing as it was in the 1920's as Juliet Bredon guides the reader to a magnificent time of the past. The more one studies this fascinating city, old, proud and secretive, the more one realises the tantalizing difficulties of learning, even from the Chinese themselves, anything but the merest outline of its history and monuments, many of which are in existence today. Who can forget the soft enchantment of Buddhist temples, the green peace of tombs haunted by fearless things, "doves that flutter down at call, fishes rising to be fed?" Having lived in Peking Juliet can truly say that the more intimately the scenes of Peking become known, the more deeply they are engraved on the affections. From the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace, the Ming tombs, the Western Hills, and the Great Wall, Juliet Bredon provides a fascinating guide to the Peking of 1931, with a fascinating history told of this once walled city.
