East sails West : the voyage of the Keying, 1846-1855 / Stephen Davies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davies, Stephen, 1945- author.

Contributor:

Class of 1932 Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Voyages and travels--History--19th century.

Voyages and travels.

Junks--China--History--19th century.

Junks.

History.

China.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 334 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps, portrait ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press, [2014]

Summary:

In December 1846, the Keying, a Chinese junk purchased by British investors, set sail from Hong Kong for London. Named after the Chinese Imperial Commissioner who had signed away Hong Kong to the British, manned by a Chinese and European crew, and carrying a traveling exhibition of Chinese items, the Keying had a troubled voyage. After quarrels on the way and a diversion to New York, culminating in a legal dispute over arrears of wages for Chinese members of the crew, it finally reached London in 1848, where it went on exhibition on the River Thames until 1853. It was then auctioned off, towed to Liverpool, and finally broken up. In this account of the ship, the crew and the voyage, Stephen Davies tells a story of missed opportunities, with an erratic course, overambitious aims, and achievements born of lucky breaks -- a microcosm, in fact, of early Hong Kong and of the relations between China and the West.

Contents:

List of illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction : views from different seas

Part 1. The voyage of the Keying

Origins, purchase and commissioning

The ship's name

The crew and the voyage to New York

The troubled stay in New York

The final leg : towards journey's end

Journey's end : the London stay

The endgame

Part 2. The ship itself : type, build, performance

What kind of vessel was the Keying?

A re-appraisal of the Keying's likely shape

The Keying's dimensions and shape

How fast could she go?

Part 3. The scrapyard of history

Voyage over

Appendix. The images of the Keying

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [307]-322) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1932 Fund.

ISBN:

9789888208203

9888208209

OCLC:

861648909

Publisher Number:

99967280887