Empire careers

This is the first book-length study of the 11,000 foreign nationals who worked for the Chinese Customs Service between 1854 and1949, exploring how their lives and careers were shaped by imperial ideologies, networks and structures. In doing so it highlights the vast range of people – British and non-British, elite and non-elite – for whom the empire world spoke of opportunity. Empire careers considers the professional triumphs and tribulations of the foreign staff, their social activities, their