Twilight in the Forbidden City Paperback – September 5, 2007

It was an interesting, good book.

Johnston's book Twilight in the Forbidden City (1934) describes his experiences in Beijing and was used as a source for Bernardo Bertolucci's film dramatisation of Puyi's life The Last Emperor. He was portrayed by Peter O'Toole in the film.This book describes the last of the Manchu Dynasty whose power had been crumbling for nearly a hundred years due to foreign wars and internal revolts and China lay helpless at the feet of foreign powers.Today with rapid its economic leaps forwards and a place in the UN Security Council and its huge powerhouse of an economy - China is on its feet again. The days of the Manchu's are a distant memory and the army of courtiers and eunuchs that you that serve the emperors of the middle kingdom are long forgotten.The book is fascinating as it takes on back to a bygone age and culture. However everyone needs to read this book to understand the China that was. Only from its past can one understand the China today in its true historical perspective.The book is great if you are of Chinese heritage or if you are just thinking of visiting china or just interested in history of this ancient land and its people.

be advised this book is a reprint. It looks like they photocopied (badly) the original book and then printed from that. The text varies tremendously in readability and density. I should have noticed that the title text on the cover isn't even centered over the illustration. So just don't expect it to appear as a brand new, newly set book. It isn't

Me se gà verto un mondo, de questo livro se ne ghin parla anca nel film de Bertoluci, el Johnston el zera una cima el gà inparà el cinese così ben che podeva racontar barzelete anca ai cinesi