Canada shared a rich, multi-faceted history with China long before
it recognized the People's Republic of China in 1970. John Meehan
brings to light the activities of early Canadian missionaries, business
people, government officials, and adventurers in Shanghai, the gateway
to China and an important cultural contact zone. These
sojourners' experiences - which unfolded against a
backdrop of war and revolution and Canada's own evolution from
colony to nation - reflected Canada's deepening
relationship with China and the troubling asymmetries that underpinned
it. Although Canadians, like other foreigners, had left Shanghai by the
early 1950s, their lives and activities foreshadowed more recent
Canadian initiatives in China.