Honolulu：University Press of Hawaii for the Biographical Research Center
Abstract:
Under the leadership of the Irishman Robert Hart (Inspector General from 1863 to 1911), the Chinese Maritime Customs Service functioned as a semiindependent monopolistic organization, and continually expanded its involvement in various sectors of the Chinese government and society. This paper aims to discuss the manner in which the CMCS told its story through life writing and other publications, and promoted its interests on the basis of Hart’s personal history and his successors’ determination to ground their authority in his stewardship.
