Silk Silver Opium: How Trade with China Changed the World

Silk Silver Opium not only tells the fascinating stories of silk and tea, porcelain, silver and opium, missionaries, mercenaries and trade, but also what became inevitable - war and humiliation. Much about China’s modern relationship with the West is the product of its past inter-reactions, conflicts, victories and humiliations. The South China Sea was the place from where the ultimately destructive European sailing ships arrived. The Ryukyu Island chain was the place from where marauding Japanese pirates preyed mercilessly on China’s east coast ports. Taiwan was where anti-Qing rebels established a stronghold in the seventeenth century. The story of imperial China’s trading relationship with the West is a powerful tale, with clear implications for the future.

Michael Pembroke was a Supreme Court Judge in Sydney, Australia, before turning his hand to writing. His books include Australia Arthur Phillip - Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy (2013), an historical biography of the first governor, that was short-listed for one of the highest awards in Australia, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards; Korea - Where the American Century Began (2018), a military and political critique of the Korean War that was nominated for a number of awards; and Play By the Rules (2020), a polemic about American leadership that was published in the United States as America in Retreat. His books have received praise from Simon Winchester, Noam Chomsky and A.C. Grayling among others. He has written for Time Magazine, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post and news publications.