Goodrich’s The Peking Temple of the Eastern Peak – Peking in 1927
Posted: April 8th, 2013 | 1 Comment »Anne Swain Goodrich’s The Peking Temple of the Eastern Peak is a charming description of Peking in 1927 (though this edition published later). Goodrich was a missionary in Peking. She had been born in China, and she returned after receiving her education in the United States, an education that included graduate work at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Her husband, L. Carrington Goodrich, eventually became chairman of the growing young Department of Chinese at Columbia University, which eventually became the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Goodrich was a great collector of paper gods and created one of the finest collections in the West, most purchased from the famous Peking curio store Ren he zhi dian (Unity Among Men Paper Shop). This book is actually one of a three-volume collection she completed after leaving China – the paper gods collection is now part of the CV Starr East Asian Library at Columbia.
Thanks (again) for an interesting blog.
I would be curious about your opinion on one thing.
Everyone can agree that a lot of the historical legacy of China is being, and has been, destroyed. Without dwelling into 19th Century rebellions, it appears, that the process started after Xinhai revolution and when China became republic (?) Temples were destroyed then too, years before the cultural revolution. The process continued during republican years, through Mao’s years and is sort of, finalized now, with the modernizing revolution.
The question would be:
A thought play. Would the Qing dynasty had taken better care of China’s historical legacy? Did the Qing administration persuade to keep the historical anchor, and would they have continued with this in 20th century.
Do you know if e.g. Beijings historical legacy was being destroyed already by Qing government in name of “modernization” or similar?