Social Life of the Chinese

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This is the most complete and detailed account of the traditional domestic and daily life of the Chinese in the mid-nineteenth century. Writing in the 1860s, Doolittle concentrates on social and religious customs, revealing the people through their practices and material culture which he observed for over fourteen years. Colorful, exotic and compelling, this is a more telling portrait than any history or encyclopedia, an innovative tour de force of popular culture, and a classic ahead of its time. Agricultural and household matters, betrothal and marriage, the treatment of disease, popular gods and goddesses, punishments and celebrations, annual customs and festivals, superstitions, business customs, charitable practices, vegetarians, charms and omens, fortune-telling, opium and opium smoking are among the subjects dealt with, accompanied by charming engravings. Doolittle lived midway between Shanghai and Canton, the origin of the overseas Chinese diaspora. The world he describes here may have vanished in mainland China but it endures in Chinatowns and Chinese homes around the world.