The Green Edge of Asia by Pyke, Richard;

Short description:

First published in 1937, The Green Edge of Asia is a vivid and intimate account of the life in the Far East. He is as informative as he is descriptive and gives the reader much food for thought in his account of the gradual penetration of Western ideas and culture into the almost medieval and feudal civilization of China and Japan.

Long description:

First published in 1937, The Green Edge of Asia is a vivid and intimate account of the life in the Far East. The author’s writing is subtly evocative, and in a few words, he conjures up a complete picture of the Monastery of Secluded Light with its blue-robed pilgrims, of a sordid street in Shanghai, or of the exquisite Japanese countryside. He is as informative as he is descriptive though and gives the reader much food for thought in his account of the gradual penetration of Western ideas and culture into the almost medieval and feudal civilization of China and Japan.

Review of the first publication:

‘In these sketches of things seen, felt and heard, we get more genuine information, more intelligent appraisement, than in a library-full of conscientious wanderings.’

— Sunday Times

Table of Contents:

1. Japanese Overture  2. The Inn  3. Mibu  4. Whose Town?  5. Soochow  6. The Monastery of Secluded Light  7. Chinese Night’s Entertainment  8. Sports of the East  9. Ohkaydess!   10. Double Lives  11. China, How Long?  12. Lingua Anglicana Orientalis: Vars. Sinens. et Japon.