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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: September 13, 2019 at 1:49:42 PM EDT > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Asia]: Whewell on Yang and Sheel and Sheel, > 'Thirteen Months in China: A Subaltern Indian and the Colonial World' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Anand A. Yang, Kamal Sheel, Ranjana Sheel. Thirteen Months in China: > A Subaltern Indian and the Colonial World. New Delhi Oxford > University Press, 2017. ix + 326 pp. $49.95 (cloth), ISBN > 978-0-19-947646-6. > > Reviewed by Emily Whewell (Max Planck Institute) > Published on H-Asia (September, 2019) > Commissioned by Sumit Guha > > _Thirteen Months in China _is an annotated translation of Gadadhar > Singh's 1902 self-published book, _Ch__ῑn Me Terah M__ᾱs_, a > British Indian soldier's perspective and experience in China during > the Boxer Uprising. The Boxer Uprising at the turn of the twentieth > century was a key moment in Sino-foreign relations. The rebellion > ended with the suppression of the anti-foreign Boxers and the > liberation of the foreign legations by a military force comprising of > eight foreign nations. This "International Expedition" included > British forces, with the majority of British soldiers belonging to > Indian regiments. The uprising's suppression also came at a cost to > lives, homes, and livelihoods. Singh's account gives an insight into > how one Indian man understood his engagement with China. > > The eyewitness account is a fascinating insight into the event and a > description of China precisely because it is the voice of a somewhat > ordinary Indian man. There have been many Western accounts of the > Boxer Uprising and its suppression, as well as other key moments in > modern Chinese history. Whether these were from missionaries, > merchants, or government officials, they have provided a number of > foreign perspectives. Yet Indian voices pale in comparison. From > policemen to soldiers and merchants, Indians were a key part of the > British presence in China. This text therefore adds another "on the > ground" perspective, but one that appears to differ from other > foreign accounts. For example, there appears to be a fuller detailing > of atrocities--something that is often glossed over by other Western > military accounts and which provides more insight into the potential > nature and extent of the violence in the course of the military > campaign. > > Anand Yang provides an interesting and illuminating introduction. > Singh's _Ch__ῑn Me Terah M__ᾱs_, as Yang reminds the > nonspecialized reader, is often considered one of the first Hindi > book-length overseas travel narratives. However, the text is not > simply important because Singh was a pioneer. Aside from an account > of the military campaign against the Boxers, Singh wrote the text > intending it to be a commentary reflecting upon colonialism and what > India could learn from China's predicament. The text is also > important given the status of Singh. Yang proclaims that it is a > "text written by a subaltern, about subaltern experiences, and > intended for fellow subalterns and the emerging reading public" (p. > 9). Certainly, Singh was an ordinary solider, although one would > imagine that proficiency in English and his desire to write his > experiences for an audience made Singh perhaps a little different > from other "subalterns." > > The text itself has been translated by Anand Yang, Kamal Sheel, and > Ranjana Sheel. The first, slim part begins with his journey in June > 1900 from Calcutta to China and the second focuses on war campaigns. > The campaign starts from Dagu up toward the capital, ending with the > liberation of the Foreign Legation. It is a fascinating narrative of > the events, yet the last part, titled "miscellaneous accounts" is > arguably even more intriguing. His account turns to a brief history > of the foreign campaign suppressing the Boxers and a general history > of China from the mid-nineteenth century until 1900. This is followed > by descriptions of China, its people, and its customs. A large part > is dedicated to region and religious customs. It is here that Singh > draws many comparisons of India and China and proposes his ideas of > how "Hindustan" should learn certain lessons from China's > predicament. > > The text has been translated in a way that appears to capture much of > Singh's voice. In one instance, for example, he describes the > potential of being crushed by a military force as being "made into > chutney," bringing little flavors of Indian cultural expressions that > light up his story in interesting ways (p. 80). The translators have > been careful to keep in many original words, phrases, and > idiosyncrasies, with English translations in parenthesis. It might > have been interesting to have dedicated a little more in the > introduction to the translation process, other than the general style > and tone and specific points in footnotes. Given that the work is > largely a translation of a text, an added section on the > particularities of the approach to translation could have added more > to the understanding of the original text. > > Nevertheless, the translation of the text provides not only a rare > glimpse of an Indian soldier's account of a key event in modern > Chinese history. It is also an account of an Indian solider seeing > India through China, and China through the eyes of India when many > Indians were considering key political, social, religious, and > cultural practices through the understanding of nationalism and > colonialism. The publication of the text is also timely, as it adds > to a growing scholarly interest in Sino-Indian relations, and how > Indians in China understood their colonial world. As such, it will be > an insightful text for to those who are interested in the ideas of > reform and nationalism in the early twentieth century in India, those > interested in a different perspective of the Boxer suppression, and, > of course, those interested in the connection between India and > China. Although Singh's text was not widely read at the time, and > certainly not by English-speakers, one hopes it can be now. > > Citation: Emily Whewell. Review of Yang, Anand A.; Sheel, Kamal; > Sheel, Ranjana, _Thirteen Months in China: A Subaltern Indian and the > Colonial World_. H-Asia, H-Net Reviews. September, 2019. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=53231 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
