FLEMING (George). Travels on Horseback in Mantchu Tartary: Being a Summer's Ride Beyond the Great Wall of China.1863

London: Hurst and Blackett, First edition, large 8vo, xvi, 579, [3]pp., coloured frontispiece, fold-out map, numerous illustrs., in the text, small neat library stamp to blank margin of frontis., and title, rebound in quarter calf, blind-stamp library call number to spine, overall a very good copy. First edition of this enchanting account of the travels of George Fleming (1833-1901) in the far north of China. Fleming began his epic journey in Tien-tsin, where he was stationed as an army doctor at a British military garrison; there he was granted special permission to travel almost 700 miles as far as Moukden and to Manchu Tartary, the birth place of the Manchu dynasty. Flemings route took him through many regions that had been inaccessible to western travellers until the Treaty of Tien-tsin (1858-1859). His vivid account describes the people and customs he met; the landscape; the climate; the language and dialects; the agricultural practices of the various regions; and the struggles and hardships he faced during his journey. Flemings work is a monument of Victorian travel literature and an important source in understanding Victorian perceptions of China and of Chinese culture.