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Book Cover for: Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City, Adam Brookes

Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City

Adam Brookes

Paperback
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The "gripping and meticulously researched" (The Times, London) true story of the determined museum curators who saved the priceless treasures of China's Forbidden City in the years leading up to World War II and beyond.Spring 1933: The silent courtyards and palaces of Peking's Forbidden City, for centuries the home of Chinese emperors, are tense with fear and expectation. Japan's aircrafts drone overhead, its troops and tanks are only hours away. All-out war between China and Japan is coming, and the curators of the Forbidden City are faced with an impossible question: how will they protect the vast imperial art collections in their charge? A difficult and monumental decision is made: to safeguard the treasures, they will need to be evacuated. The magnificent collections contain a million pieces of art--objects that carry China's deepest and most ancient memories. Among them are irreplaceable artefacts: exquisite paintings on silk, rare Ming porcelain, and the extraordinary Stone Drums of Qin, which are adorned with 2,500-year-old inscriptions of cultural significance. For sixteen years, under the quiet leadership of museum director Ma Heng, the curators would go on to transport the imperial art collections thousands of miles across China--up rivers of white water, across mountain ranges, and through burning cities. In their search for safety the curators and their fragile, invaluable cargo journeyed through the maelstrom of violence, chaos, and starvation that was China's Second World War. Told for the first time in English and playing out across a vast historical canvas, this "compelling story of art, war, and adventure" (Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The Romanovs: 1613-1918) follows the small group of men and women who, when faced with war's onslaught on civilization, chose to resist.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Atria Books
  • Publish Date: Oct 10th, 2023
  • Pages: 384
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.30in - 5.40in - 1.20in - 0.72lb
  • EAN: 9781982149314
  • Categories: • Wars & Conflicts - World War II - General• Asia - China• History - General

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About the Author

Brookes, Adam: - Adam Brookes was born in Canada and grew up in the United Kingdom. For many years he was a journalist for BBC News, working as a correspondent in Beijing, as well as in Indonesia and the United States. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.

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What people are saying

Mentioner image for: Mike Forsythe 傅才德
Mike Forsythe 傅才德
@PekingMike
2 years

Michael Forsythe is a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times.

Just finished reading “Fragile Cargo” by @AdamBrookesWord . It’s about the monumental effort to keep the treasures of the Forbidden City out of the hands of the Japanese during WWII. Adam is a masterful writer and this book will suck you right in. Highly recommend! (1/2)

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Mentioner image for: Los Angeles Review of Books
Los Angeles Review of Books
@LAReviewofBooks
2 years

Los Angeles Review of Books

"Brookes reminds readers that national symbols are the product of human effort and historical contingency; they are not inevitable or organic or timeless." Tobie Meyer-Fong reviews Adam Brookes's "Fragile Cargo." https://t.co/gVx6PdziXJ https://t.co/kMxQEroG3z

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Mentioner image for: NightStand Reads
NightStand Reads
@nightstandreads
2 years

NightStand Reads is dedicated to bringing awareness of great books to the masses. Millions of great books go unread and we want to help change that.

#RT @LAReviewofBooks: Tobie Meyer-Fong reviews "Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China’s Forbidden City," Adam Brookes's newest on how the Qing Imperial collection became China’s national treasures. https://t.co/n5RQIxRsVo

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Praise for this book

"A fascinating and inspiring story of triumph and the tragedy of war...a story better than Monuments Men." -Wall Street Journal

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