1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910957668003321

Autore

Clark George B. <1926->

Titolo

Treading softly : U.S. Marines in China, 1819-1949 / / George B. Clark

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Westport, Conn., : Praeger, 2001

ISBN

9780313073823

0313073821

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (240 p.)

Disciplina

359.9/6/0973

Soggetti

China History, Military 19th century

China History, Military

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [187]-193) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Intro -- Maps -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 The Beginnings, 1819-1899 -- 2 The Boxer Rebellion -- 3 Early Twentieth Century, 1905-1929 -- 4 The China Marines, 1930-1941 -- 5 Back to China, 1945-1949 -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Boxer Rebellion -- Appendix B: Boxer Rebellion, Reports -- Appendix C: Third Brigade -- Appendix D: Billets of the Second Brigade (1937) -- Appendix E: A Brief Chronological History of the Peking Guard (1905-1934) -- Bibliography -- Index -- Photo essay follows p. 82.

Sommario/riassunto

From the mid-19th century to the early Cold War, the United States has a long history with China, and that interaction has not always been positive or productive. This brief history of foreign intervention in China, viewed through the experiences of the United States Marines, examines how the occupying powers dealt with a fellow sovereign nation. In many cases this involved the partition or outright absorption of Chinese territory through naked aggression. Clark contends that, considering the past two centuries, the Chinese have good reason to distrust all foreigners, and he urges the pursuit of a badly needed rapprochement. This is, however, also the story of the evolution of the Marine Corps as a separate service. Although an occupying force, the Marines did make considerable efforts to earn the friendship of the Chinese people. Always on the brink of extinction due to budgetary cuts and the enmity of the army and navy, the Marines managed to



perform an onerous and difficult duty in a foreign land. With a resurgent China constantly testing the United States, a fellow Pacific Rim nation, every policymaker should be well aware of the often difficult history that we share and the mistakes that have been made in the past.