Bertram Lenox Simpson (1877–1930) was a British author who wrote about China under the pen name "B. L. Putnam Weale" (or sometimes simply "Putnam Weale"). Lenox Simpson was the son of Clare Lenox-Simpson, who had been in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service since 1861; he had a brother, Evelyn, a mining engineer who worked in China, and a sister, Esme.[1] His education was at Brighton College, after which he too joined the Service.[2] He was in China during the Boxer Rebellion and during the siege of the legations. After this, he became Brigade Interpreter for the British Expeditionary Force (he spoke 5 languages).[2]
Bertram Lenox Simpson
Born
1877
England
Died
1930
China
Nationality
British
Other names
Putnam Weale
Occupation
Journalist
Known for
Book: The Fight for the Republic in China
Lenox Simpson left the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1901, perhaps connected with zealous looting[citation needed] after the siege of the Legations in 1900. One historian calls him "the consummate treaty port jobbing hack, writing commentaries, begging for newspaper work, penning novels... and serving as Daily Telegraph correspondent in Beijing from 1911 to 1914."[citation needed] He remained in China, and began a prolific career writing about China and the Far East.[3] His 1914 novel, The Eternal Princess has the earliest reference as yet located to the apocryphal sign in Shanghai's Huangpu Park, "No Dogs or Chinese."[4] As of 1916 he was working for the political section of the office of the President of China. One researcher reports that "During the period of September 1916 to June 1917, he had written at least thirty-eight reports on foreign affairs for the Chinese government. Many of them were ... read by President Li Yuanhong."[5] His journalistic career in China included periods as editor of the Peking Leader and as chairman of the Far Eastern Times syndicate.[6]
Sir Ernest Satow refused to be introduced to Putnam Weale when he was at Peking (1900–06) 'on account of his character'.[7]
By 1930 Lenox Simpson had become thoroughly embroiled in Chinese internal politics and thus took control of customs in Tianjin on behalf of Yan Xishan.[8] He was killed in what some believed to have been an assassination. This was difficult to conclusively prove, because the killers were never caught or identified.[6]
Worksedit
His work Indiscreet Letters from Peking is widely cited as an eyewitness account of the events during the siege of the Legations in 1900, but two scholars have cast doubt on its reliability.[9]
A number of his books have recently been republished in facsimile, usually under his pen-name "Putnam Weale". There are free downloads of The Fight for the Republic in China, his best-known work. The Oxford English Dictionary cities his Why China Sees Red as an early example of use of the word term warlord, though The New York Times had used it earlier.
Manchu and Muscovite (1904)
The Re-Shaping of the far east (1905)
Indiscreet Letters from Peking: Being the Notes of an Eye-Witness, Which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—the Year of Great Tribulation. London: G. Bell, 1906.
WEALE, B.L. PUTNAM (1907). INDISCREET LETTERS FROM PEKING (YEAR 1919). Retrieved 1 April 2013.
Weale, B L Putnam (1907). Indiscreet Letters From Peking. Compiled by John Otway Percy Bland, Sir Edmund Backhouse. Dodd Mead And Company. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
Weale, Bertram Lenox Putnam, ed. (1909). Indiscreet Letters from Peking: Being the Notes of an Eyewitness, which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—the Year of Great Tribulation. Dodd, Mead. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
WEALE, B.L. PUTNAM, ed. (1922). Indiscreet Letters From Peking (China ed.). Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, Limited British Empire and Continental Copyright Excepting Scandinavian Countries by Putnam Weale from 1921. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
WEALE, B.L. PUTNAM, ed. (1922). Indiscreet Letters From Peking Being the Notes of an Eye-Witness, Which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—the Year of Great Tribulation (China ed.). Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, Limited British Empire and Continental Copyright Excepting Scandinavian Countries by Putnam Weale from 1921. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
The truce in the East and its aftermath (1907)
The coming struggle in eastern Asia (1909)
The conflict of color; being a detailed examination of racial ... (1910)
The Unknown God (1911)
The fight for the republic in China (1917)
The truth about China and Japan (1919)
The Pageant of Peking (1920)
An indiscreet chronicle from the Pacific (1922)
Why China Sees Red (1926)
Chang Tso-Lin's Struggle against the Communist Menace (1927)
China's crucifixion (1928)
The Port of Fragrance (1930)[novel]
Referencesedit
^ Robert, Hart; James Duncan Campbell (1975). The I. G. in Peking; letters of Robert Hart Chinese Maritime Customs 1868–1907 (Vol. 1). Harvard. pp. 1075, 1148. ISBN0-674-44320-9. Ed: John King Fairbank, Katherine Frost Bruner, Elizabeth McLeod Matheson.
^ ab Burke, Edmond (1931). The annual register of world events (vol. 172). Longman's Green. p. 143.
^Robert Bickers, Britain in China: Community, Culture, and Colonialism, 1900–1949 (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press,1999), p. 34.
^Putnam Weale, The Eternal Priestess, p. 26, quoted in Robert Bickers, Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, "Shanghai's 'Dogs and Chinese Not Admitted' Sign," China Quarterly 142 (1995): 450.
^ Xu, Guoqi (2005). China and the Great War. Cambridge University Press. p. 91. ISBN978-0-521-84212-9.
^ ab French, Paul (2009). Through the looking glass: China's foreign journalists from opium wars to Mao. Hong Kong University Press. p. 82. ISBN978-962-209-982-1.
^Satow Papers PRO 30/33 11/18, Satow to Lord Reay, 12 September 1918
^ Bickers, Robert (2003). Empire Made Me; an Englishman adrift in Shanghai. Columbia University Press. p. 236. ISBN0-231-13132-1.
^Lanxi Xiang in his notes on sources says that many of the so-called diaries "are bogus ones, which were written after the events, including Indiscreet Letters From Peking – I consider them secondary, rather than primary sources." Lanxin Xiang. The Origins of the Boxer War: A Multinational Study. (London; New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), p. 363). Robert Bickers says of it that it is "No straightforward memoir" but a "stylized account" and an attack on "supine British diplomatic leadership" Britain in China: Community, Culture, and Colonialism, 1900–1949 (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 1999),(p.34).
bertram, lenox, simpson, 1877, 1930, british, author, wrote, about, china, under, name, putnam, weale, sometimes, simply, putnam, weale, lenox, simpson, clare, lenox, simpson, been, chinese, maritime, customs, service, since, 1861, brother, evelyn, mining, eng. Bertram Lenox Simpson 1877 1930 was a British author who wrote about China under the pen name B L Putnam Weale or sometimes simply Putnam Weale Lenox Simpson was the son of Clare Lenox Simpson who had been in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service since 1861 he had a brother Evelyn a mining engineer who worked in China and a sister Esme 1 His education was at Brighton College after which he too joined the Service 2 He was in China during the Boxer Rebellion and during the siege of the legations After this he became Brigade Interpreter for the British Expeditionary Force he spoke 5 languages 2 Bertram Lenox SimpsonBorn1877EnglandDied1930ChinaNationalityBritishOther namesPutnam WealeOccupationJournalistKnown forBook The Fight for the Republic in ChinaLenox Simpson left the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1901 perhaps connected with zealous looting citation needed after the siege of the Legations in 1900 One historian calls him the consummate treaty port jobbing hack writing commentaries begging for newspaper work penning novels and serving as Daily Telegraph correspondent in Beijing from 1911 to 1914 citation needed He remained in China and began a prolific career writing about China and the Far East 3 His 1914 novel The Eternal Princess has the earliest reference as yet located to the apocryphal sign in Shanghai s Huangpu Park No Dogs or Chinese 4 As of 1916 he was working for the political section of the office of the President of China One researcher reports that During the period of September 1916 to June 1917 he had written at least thirty eight reports on foreign affairs for the Chinese government Many of them were read by President Li Yuanhong 5 His journalistic career in China included periods as editor of the Peking Leader and as chairman of the Far Eastern Times syndicate 6 Sir Ernest Satow refused to be introduced to Putnam Weale when he was at Peking 1900 06 on account of his character 7 By 1930 Lenox Simpson had become thoroughly embroiled in Chinese internal politics and thus took control of customs in Tianjin on behalf of Yan Xishan 8 He was killed in what some believed to have been an assassination This was difficult to conclusively prove because the killers were never caught or identified 6 Works editHis work Indiscreet Letters from Peking is widely cited as an eyewitness account of the events during the siege of the Legations in 1900 but two scholars have cast doubt on its reliability 9 A number of his books have recently been republished in facsimile usually under his pen name Putnam Weale There are free downloads of The Fight for the Republic in China his best known work The Oxford English Dictionary cities his Why China Sees Red as an early example of use of the word term warlord though The New York Times had used it earlier Manchu and Muscovite 1904 The Re Shaping of the far east 1905 Indiscreet Letters from Peking Being the Notes of an Eye Witness Which Set Forth in Some Detail from Day to Day the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900 the Year of Great Tribulation London G Bell 1906 WEALE B L PUTNAM 1907 INDISCREET LETTERS FROM PEKING YEAR 1919 Retrieved 1 April 2013 Weale B L Putnam 1907 Indiscreet Letters From Peking Compiled by John Otway Percy Bland Sir Edmund Backhouse Dodd Mead And Company Retrieved 1 April 2013 Weale Bertram Lenox Putnam ed 1909 Indiscreet Letters from Peking Being the Notes of an Eyewitness which Set Forth in Some Detail from Day to Day the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900 the Year of Great Tribulation Dodd Mead Retrieved 1 April 2013 WEALE B L PUTNAM ed 1922 Indiscreet Letters From Peking China ed Shanghai Kelly and Walsh Limited British Empire and Continental Copyright Excepting Scandinavian Countries by Putnam Weale from 1921 Retrieved 1 April 2013 WEALE B L PUTNAM ed 1922 Indiscreet Letters From Peking Being the Notes of an Eye Witness Which Set Forth in Some Detail from Day to Day the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900 the Year of Great Tribulation China ed Shanghai Kelly and Walsh Limited British Empire and Continental Copyright Excepting Scandinavian Countries by Putnam Weale from 1921 Retrieved 1 April 2013 The truce in the East and its aftermath 1907 The coming struggle in eastern Asia 1909 The conflict of color being a detailed examination of racial 1910 The Unknown God 1911 The fight for the republic in China 1917 The truth about China and Japan 1919 The Pageant of Peking 1920 An indiscreet chronicle from the Pacific 1922 Why China Sees Red 1926 Chang Tso Lin s Struggle against the Communist Menace 1927 China s crucifixion 1928 The Port of Fragrance 1930 novel References edit Robert Hart James Duncan Campbell 1975 The I G in Peking letters of Robert Hart Chinese Maritime Customs 1868 1907 Vol 1 Harvard pp 1075 1148 ISBN 0 674 44320 9 Ed John King Fairbank Katherine Frost Bruner Elizabeth McLeod Matheson a b Burke Edmond 1931 The annual register of world events vol 172 Longman s Green p 143 Robert Bickers Britain in China Community Culture and Colonialism 1900 1949 Manchester New York Manchester University Press 1999 p 34 Putnam Weale The Eternal Priestess p 26 quoted in Robert Bickers Jeffrey N Wasserstrom Shanghai s Dogs and Chinese Not Admitted Sign China Quarterly 142 1995 450 Xu Guoqi 2005 China and the Great War Cambridge University Press p 91 ISBN 978 0 521 84212 9 a b French Paul 2009 Through the looking glass China s foreign journalists from opium wars to Mao Hong Kong University Press p 82 ISBN 978 962 209 982 1 Satow Papers PRO 30 33 11 18 Satow to Lord Reay 12 September 1918 Bickers Robert 2003 Empire Made Me an Englishman adrift in Shanghai Columbia University Press p 236 ISBN 0 231 13132 1 Lanxi Xiang in his notes on sources says that many of the so called diaries are bogus ones which were written after the events including Indiscreet Letters From Peking I consider them secondary rather than primary sources Lanxin Xiang The Origins of the Boxer War A Multinational Study London New York RoutledgeCurzon 2003 p 363 Robert Bickers says of it that it is No straightforward memoir but a stylized account and an attack on supine British diplomatic leadership Britain in China Community Culture and Colonialism 1900 1949 Manchester New York Manchester University Press 1999 p 34 External links editWorks by Bertram Lenox Simpson at Project Gutenberg Works by Bertram Lenox Putnam Weale at Project Gutenberg The Fight for the Republic of China Free download at Guttenburg Works by or about Bertram Lenox Putnam Weale at Internet Archive Works by or about Bertram Lenox Simpson at Internet Archive List of books by Bertram Lenox Simpson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bertram Lenox Simpson amp oldid 1176664619, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
