A Chinese Pioneer Family : the Lins of Wu-feng, Taiwan, 1729-1895

In an absorbing account of a frontier family's rise to local eminence, from its pioneer days in eighteenth-century Taiwan through its attainment of gentry status there a century later, Johanna Meskill presents not just a family history but a social history of late imperial China as well. Originally published in 1979. The **Princeton Legacy Library** uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. In an absorbing account of a frontier family's rise to local eminence, from its pioneer days in eighteenth-century Taiwan through its attainment of gentry status there a century later, Johanna Meskill presents not just a family history but a social history of late imperial China as well. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905 Acknowledgments Contents List of Illustrations Introduction PART ONE PIONEERS ON A CHINESE FRONTIER CHAPTER 1. The Solitary Island CHAPTER 8. Reasons of State CHAPTER 3. Brave New World CHAPTER 4. The Pioneer CHAPTER 5. A New Beginning PART TWO. THE LINS AND THE CRISIS OF THE CHINESE STATE CHAPTER 6. Strongmen CHAPTER 7. The Young General CHAPTER 8. Testing Time CHAPTER 9. The Scapegoat CHAPTER 10. The Trying Years PART THREE. THE MAKING OF A TAIWANESE GENTRY FAMILY CHAPTER 11. Renewal CHAPTER 12. Pillars of the Community CHAPTER 13. At Home CHAPTER 14. Wealth and Power CHAPTER 15. Frontiersmen, Strongmen, Gentlemen Notes Bibliography Glossary Index