Forgotten Kingdom

On the eve of Mao's revolution, brilliant linguist Peter Goullart made himself totally at home in Likiang, capital of the all-but-forgotten Nakhi Kingdom of south west China. He unpicks the complex society, which believed simultaneously in Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Animism and Shamanism. Goullart lets us in on the love affairs and rivalries of his neighbours, his meetings with ancient dowagers and handsome warriors, as well as allowing us to catch the sound of the swift mountain streams, the coarse ribaldry of the markets and the happy laughter of the wine shops.

Auteur

Peter Goullart was Russian and fled east to Shanghai with his mother to escape the Russian Revolution. Goullart immersed himself in China, its language, culture and spiritual traditions. By 1931 his knowledge of China and its languages was sufficient for him to work as a tour guide for American Express, shepherding wealthy foreigners into the nightclubs of Shanghai and around the historical monuments of China, Japan and Indo-China. It was fun, the money was good and the borrowed lifestyle as excellent, but he found his real political home in the co-operative movement, an ethical middle ground between the extremes of authoritarian communism and unbridled capitalism. This culminated in the happy experience of living in Likiang for nine years, brilliantly evoked in Forgotten Kingdom.