Excerpt from An American Diplomat in China International action as seen from Peking during this period did not have many reassuring qualities. In most cases it was based upon a desire to lose no technical ad vantage of position; to yield not a whit, no matter what general benefit might result through mutual concessions. Each one was jealously guarding his position in which he had advanced step by step. Some were willing to make common cause with others in things that would not always commend themselves to a sense of equity, in order that they might take Still another step forward. During the major part of this period one power employed every device of intrigue, intimidation, corruption, and force in order to gain a position for itself in flagrant disregard of the rights of the Chinese people itself, and in oblivion of the rights of others. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.