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Silk Silver Opium

The Trade with China that Changed History

By: Michael Pembroke

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Paperback | 1 July 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
384 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 15.5 x 3

Paperback

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Silk Silver Opium not only tells the fascinating stories of silk and tea, porcelain, silver and opium, missionaries, mercenaries and trade, but also what became inevitable – war and humiliation.

Much about China's modern relationship with the West is the product of its past inter-reactions, conflicts, victories and humiliations. The South China Sea was the place from where the ultimately destructive European sailing ships arrived. The Ryukyu Island chain was the place from where marauding Japanese pirates preyed mercilessly on China's east coast ports. Taiwan was where anti-Qing rebels established a stronghold in the seventeenth century. The story of imperial China's trading relationship with the West is a powerful tale, with clear implications for the future.

About the Author

Michael Pembroke grew up in England, Australia and Singapore and completed his education at the University of Cambridge. His books include Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy , short-listed for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards; Korea: Where the American Century Began, short-listed for the Queensland Literary Awards and the NSW Premier's History Awards; Play By the Rules, a polemic about American leadership that was published in the United States as America in Retreat and Trees of History and Romance, a paean to trees and poetry. His books have received praise from Simon Winchester, Noam Chomsky and A.C. Grayling among others. Pembroke studied French and Indian history at university intending to become a diplomat but afterwards succumbed to the law and rose to become a judge. He has written for Time Magazine, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post and Australian news publications.

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