This book is about coal. The 19th century, as the first age of industrialization, has rightfully been called the age of coal. Coal fired the steam engines and fuelled steel production. It was the only means to feed the dramatically rising hunger for energy. What was true for Great Britain, France and Germany also had its impact on China. Though Chinese had used coal for centuries, the developing industries demanded a systematic development of mines. Chinese coal mines not only were in rising domestic demand, but quickly became an object of desire for the European powers in the scramble for concessions after China's defeat in the 1894–95 war against Japan. And with the railroads, mining concessions became a symbol for Chinese struggle against “imperialistic oppression” in the course of the nationalistic revolution in the 20th century.

This book is about geology. As Shellen Wu convincingly demonstrates, knowledge and understanding of coal as a natural source, its discovery and its use, are at least as important as the object itself. The starting point on the journey through knowledge production on China in the young field of geology was Ferdinand von Richthofen. He travelled through China from 1868 to 1872 and not only produced “the first geological depiction of China in the West” (p. 35), but his accounts also went far beyond the knowledge existent in China – and considerably influenced the development of the field in China. Richthofen has often been accused of having paved the way for imperialist efforts to “encroach on Chinese mineral resources.” True, his surveys went along with the expansion of Western powers into the Chinese interior and certainly contributed to the late 19th century's scramble for China. But ironically, Richthofen's work also contributed to the modernization of China, the development of a Chinese consciousness for the country's mineral resources and thus ultimately even the rights-recovery movement.

While Richthofen and other Western pioneers brought knowledge on the treasures beneath China’ soil to the West, this knowledge was brought back to China through the centres of the self-strengthening movement like the Jiangnan Arsenal or the Tongwenguan. Wu dedicates a whole chapter on the knowledge transfer from West to East. She ties together the use of existing Chinese sources and early missionary efforts with the painful translation processes of Western science into Chinese. Major difficulties were the creation of new terms, limited understanding of complex academic content and also the lack of exchange and cooperation, which limited the impact and also the understanding of Western science. But it wouldn't do justice to these works to just “dismiss them as terrible translations” (p. 94), as they successfully introduced the idea of “science as the source of Western wealth and power” (p. 95).

But for China's early industry and mining enterprises ideas were not sufficient, the country needed engineers. China was not unattractive for young professionals, as throughout the late-Qing era it offered “highly competitive wages for technically skilled experts” (p. 98). The first generation of foreign engineers came from Britain and France, but Germany became increasingly important. German mining was probably the most advanced in Europe and its mining academies the oldest. In addition, Bismarck decided to exploit China's need for engineers to further German interests there, and sent a group of engineers to be placed in influential positions in Chinese undertakings. This plan worked to a large extent, as German specialists became close advisors to Zhang Zhidong and held prominent positions in the Hanyang Ironworks and the Pingxiang Mining complex. However, at the same time an increasing number of young Chinese were educated in China and the West and in the course of the 20th century, “the late Qing effort to foster a class of engineers capable of running the country's industries succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams” (p. 127).

At the same time as China's politicians and intellectuals were becoming aware of the importance of coal for the development of their country, China suffered defeat against Japan. During the years after the war, one Western power after another took control of China's mineral treasures: China's coal was to fuel foreign empires – and the warships that exerted power on the Chinese coast and along Chinese rivers. But already in the course of the “New Policy” and under the impact of rising nationalism, a broad movement worked to reclaim mining rights and to prepare modern mining laws to secure mineral treasures for the “Chinese nation,” ironically with the active participation of the German advisors who were to aid German imperialism.

This book is about Chinese modernization. Wu analyses the mechanisms at work in the remarkable transformations of China during the late Qing and early Republican period and greatly contributes to a better understanding of this era. The author also re-balances the importance of stages in the Chinese reform process. While most attention normally is directed at the years prior to the Xinzheng revolution of 1911, Wu impressively demonstrates the importance of the changes begun by the self-strengthening movement.

Wu has not only made excellent use of the existing literature. She also dug up many hitherto unused sources, particularly archival material from China and Germany. Although the use of relevant archival sources regardless of origin and language should be the academic standard, this is not always the case with scholars from English-speaking countries. Students will need a solid base of understanding of the late-Qing period to fully appreciate the results of Wu's research, but the book is well suited for any advanced student or scholars interested in expanding their insight into the early phases of Chinese modernization.