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Language: English
Robert Fortune (1812–1880), a Scottish botanist, travelled to the Far East four times. During the two Opium Wars, he came to China's coastal cities to seek plant specimens, and to Huangshan and Wuyi Mountain to find good tea. He hoped to open up a trade route in mainland China. The author of this book visited Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Tianjin and other places over the course of 10 years, and carefully investigated Fu Jun's coastal areas in China during the two Opium Wars to write this biography.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 From Childhood to Manhood in Scotland
1.1 The World at War
1.2 Life in the Scottish Borders
1.3 Employment in the Scottish Capital
Chapter 2 Early Professional Career
2.1 The Move to London
2.2 Preparing for the Trip to China
Chapter 3 Fortune' s First Visit to China
3.1 Fortune's First Year in the Flowery Land
3.2 Fortune's Second Year in China: New People, Places and Experiences
3.3 A Short Trip to the Philippines
3.4 Back in China: Encounters with Mandarins, Locals and Pirates
3.5 The Results of Fortune's Forays in the Flowery Land
Chapter 4 Chelsea Interlude
4.1 Curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden
4.2 Preparing for Service in the East India Company
Chapter 5 In the Service of the East India Company
5.1 The Outward Journey
5.2 An Illegal Journey in Search of Green Tea
5.3 More Teas and Temples
5.4 A Secret Journey to the Black Tea District of Fujian
5.5 Preparing for India
5.6 Tour of Inspection in Northern India
5.7 Home for a Year
5.8 Searching for Tea in Troubled Times
5.9 A Jaunt with Friends
5.10 A Visit to the Silk District
5.11 Taking Leave of China
5.12 Second Tour of Inspection in Northorn India
Chapter 6 Intermezzo: Moving Up in the World
6.1 Back to London
6.2 Working on the Book
Chapter 7 Working for the Americans
7.1 The History of Tea in the USA
7.2 Fortune Employed and Dismissed
7.3 Other Plants Introduced to the States by Fortune
Chapter 8 Two Trips to Japan
8.1 The Race for Japan' s Botanical Riches
8.2 Fortune Travels North
8.3 Fortune's Second Season in Japan
Chapter 9 A Final Farewell to China
9.1 En Route to the Chinese Capital
9.2 Excursions In and Around Beijing
Chapter 10 Out of the Limelight
10.1 Life in London
10.2 The Emergence of Modern Japan
10.3 China's Continuing Contentions
10.4 Prizing the Chinese Interior Open
10.5 Decline and Death
10.6 Fortune' s Personality
Chapter 11 Epilogue
Index to Place Names
Index to Persons, Firms and Vessels
Index to Plants and Animals
Illustration Credits
David Kay Ferguson was born in New Zealand, but grew up in Scotland. He studied Geology at St.Andrews University and Plant Systematics at the University of Liverpool before going on to specialize in Palaeobotany at the State University of Utrecht. In the course of this work, he realized just how many Eastern Asiatic plants once grew in Europe. Between 1969 and 1980 he worked periodically with Lucien A.Lauener on Chinese plants at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. He first visited China in person in 1986, and has since fallen under the spell of this fascinating country. He currently collaborates with various Chinese universities and botanical/palaeobotanical institutes. From 1992 until 2010 he was Professor of Palaeobotany at the University of Vienna. During this time he developed the idea of writing a biography about Robert Fortune (1812 – 1880), one of the first professional plantsmen to introduce ornamental plants from the Far East into Europe. Since 2007 the author has travelled widely, visiting as many of Fortune's haunts as possible, in order to gain an insight into the plant hunter's experiences.
