Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization
Books / Paperback
Books › History › Asia › China
ISBN: 0393342301 / Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, June 2012
Describes the experiences of a group of boys from China who were sent to New England's finest schools to learn the ways of the West and return home to help modernize the Empire at the end of the nineteenth century.
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In 1872, China—ravaged by poverty, population growth, and aggressive European armies—sent 120 boys to America to learn the secrets of Western innovation. They studied at New England’s finest schools and were driven by a desire for progress and reform. When anti-Chinese fervor forced them back home, the young men had to overcome a suspicious imperial court and a country deeply resistant to change in technology and culture. Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable story, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the fascinating tale of a nation’s endeavor to become a world power.
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