Tracing the contours of the unequal treaties in imperial China, 1840-1911 -- Implementing and contesting international law: the unequal treaties and the foreign ministry of the Beijing government, 1912-1928 -- Disseminating the rhetoric of Bupingdeng Tiaoyue 不平等條約, 1923-1927 -- Redeeming a century of national ignominy: nationalism and party rivalry over the unequal treaties, 1928-1947 -- Universalizing international law and the Chinese study of the unequal treaties: the paradox of equality and inequality -- Conclusion: defining and redefining the past.

"This study, based on primary sources, looks at the linguistic development and polemical uses of the expression Unequal Treaties, which refers to the treaties China signed between 1842 and 1946. Although this expression has occupied a central position in both Chinese collective memory and Chinese and English historiographies, this is the first book to offer an in-depth examination of China's encounters with the outside world as manifested in the rhetoric of the Unequal Treaties."--Jacket.