Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t22.3

v2.c10.s2.t22.3

The book ‘Chin Darpan’ (Chinese Mirror) was based on his trip to China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1899. He was sent there as part of the British Indian Army to join the Joint International Expeditionary Force. He wrote a regular column for the Hindi newspaper ‘Bharat Mitra’ between June-December 1900. This introduced China to readers in Hindi by writing unbiased, informative and comprehensible pieces on the life, conduct, religion, crafts and trade of the Chinese. These were later collated and made into a book. Published by Sukh Sancharak Press in Mathura in 1901, it was dedicated to his businessman mentor in Agra. Its first print ran into 1000 copies. The preface of the book is dated October 1, 1901 and is written while the author was in Shanhaiguan, Hebei province, China. He writes that after the defeat of the Boxers. He used all his free time to collect materials for this book, gathered as much information as possible, and presented it in very simple language for his barely literate readers including women and children.