The Chinese Reader's Manual

by William Frederick Mayers

Reprint of 1874 edition. Published by: American Presbyterian Mission Press. Shanghai, China. 1924. 

Hardback is overall in VERY GOOD condition.

• Blind stamped brown cloth covers exhibit minor signs of commensurate age and wear. 
• Boards are gently rubbed and stained with minor wear to the bottom edges. 
• Corners are gently bumped and rubbed. 
• Spine has gilt-stamped lettering and design detail and exhibits softened ends with slits to the head and rubbing to the tail. Please see photos. 
• Binding is secure overall though shaken throughout a portion of the textblock including the Preface (iii-iv), Introduction (vi-xvi), pp. 1-15 and Index (pp. 440-443). Please see photos. 
• Endpapers and feps are gently age-toned. 
• Interior is gently age-toned with areas exhibiting mild foxing and light creases to the top corners. Please see photos. 
• Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks. 
• Textblock exhibits mild play. 
• Text block edges are age-toned, scuffed and lightly stained. 
• Book may exhibit additional minor signs of age or wear.
• JS20180917

444 pages. 6" by 8.75".

A handbook of biographical, historical, mythological, and general literary reference.
Features an Index of Proper Names with brief biographical information, Numerical Categories, detailed Chronological Tables of Chinese Dynasties and an Index of Chinese Characters which includes the original hanzi and their pinyin, which appears in the Wade-Giles romanization. 

About the author:
After spending some years as a journalist in New York, Mayers in 1859 went to China as a student-interpreter, accompanying Lord Elgin to Beijing. and, after serving as interpreter to the allied commission charged with the government of Canton, was appointed interpreter to the consulate there. He encountered Gustaaf Schlegel there in 1861. In 1864 he was at Shanghai, assisting with Harry Smith Parkes the Bakufu officials Moriyama Takichirō and Yamaguchi Shichijirō.

Mayers filled consular posts at Chinese ports until 1872, when he was made Chinese secretary of legation at Peking. In the same year he visited England, and in August read a paper on the Pathays of Yünan before the geographical section of the British Association at Brighton.

In 1861 Mayers became fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; he was also a member of the Royal Asiatic Society. He died on 24 March 1878 at Shanghai of typhus fever, and was survived by his wife.

AS IS! Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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