J Dyer Ball on Macao on Kindle

Interestingly some or other has decided to republish J Dyer Ball’s early twentieth century writings on Macao (originally published about 1905).

James Dyer Ball (1847–1919) was a sinologist born in Canton. He served in the Hong Kong Civil Service for 35 years, where he held various positions as security officer and chief interpreter. He died in 1919 in Enfield, North London (where I happen to have grown up). He was prolific as a dictionary writer for Cantonese plus all sorts of books on China (his Things Chinese remains a classic) and Macao.