The Western Tide: Guomai Classics

The Westward Tide is Jiang Menglin’s autobiographical work, covering nearly all the major events in China from 1842 to 1941. The first half recounts what the author had “heard firsthand,” while the second half describes what he had “experienced firsthand.” During the War of Resistance, Jiang made use of the “spare time” he had while sheltering from air raids to write this “autobiography” in a bare room without lights, tables, or chairs, using only a pencil and a hard-cover notebook he carried with him. He regarded the book as “a little like an autobiography, a little like a memoir, and a little like modern history.” It offers the author’s insights into society and human life, while also reflecting the upheaval of a society caught in the clash between Chinese and Western cultures.

After its English edition was published, the book attracted wide attention and was designated an important reference work by Harvard University’s Far Eastern Institute. Jiang later translated it into Chinese. When it was published in Taiwan, nearly every young person there owned a copy, and it was hailed as a “textbook for life.”