Media Release Otago University Press T: +64 3 479 9094 E: [email protected] White Ghosts, Yellow Peril: China and New Zealand 1790-1950 By Stevan Eldred Grigg with Zeng Dazheng ISBN 978-1-877578-65-6, $55 Stevan Eldred-Grigg is the award-winning author of seven other history books and nine novels, including Oracles and Miracles (Penguin, 1987). His most recent history is The Great Wrong War; his most recent novel is Bangs. Few contemporary New Zealand or Australian writers have written about subjects so varied and challenging, and in such a variety of genres and styles. Zeng Dazheng was raised in Xiamen, China, and now lives in Wellington. He has studied and tutored in New Zealand politics and economics, worked as a parliamentary officer in Wellington and subsequently as a policy analyst for the Ministry of Economic Development. At present he is completing a doctoral thesis at Victoria University of Wellington; the topic is ‘Youth and social control in New Zealand political history’. China and New Zealand: the history of our relationship Stevan Eldred-Grigg’s new book, White Ghosts, Yellow Peril: China and New Zealand 1790–1950, is the first historical overview of all facets of the relationship between China and New Zealand. China is a giant on the world stage, having the largest population and one of the fastest-growing economies. Contemporary New Zealand’s relationship with China is growing and deepening, and yet how did it all begin? ‘New Zealand historians have not known how to fit China into the narrative,’ says author Stevan Eldred-Grigg. ‘There has been no detailed account of our relationship with the Chinese or their relationship with us. Awareness is still catching up with reality.’ White Ghosts, Yellow Peril brings to life the Chinese in early New Zealand and the New Zealanders who went to China travelling and working from the 1880s. The contemporary Pakeha view tends to be that Chinese immigrants had a tough time. A deeper study of what linked and divided the people of China and New Zealand shows a more complex past. ‘The book refuses to portray relationships between different groups of people as a simple morality tale of bad against good, of victims in the hands of villains. The motives of all people and all groups of people are nuanced, sometimes involving exploitation and violence, at other times compromise, communication and civility,’ says Stevan Eldred-Grigg. Understanding the history between China and New Zealand is an essential part to appreciating our connection with China today. This scholarly yet highly readable account explores all facets of the relationship: race relations, government, diplomacy, war, literature and the arts. White Ghosts, Yellow Peril provides unparalleled historical insights and will be a work of reference for years to come.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 11:39:59 +0000
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