This book explores the history of the English language in China from the arrival of the first English-speaking traders in the early seventeenth century to the present. Kingsley Bolton brings together and examines a substantial body of historical, linguistic and sociolinguistic research on the description and analysis of English in Hong Kong and China. He uses early wordlists, satirical cartoons and data from journals and memoirs, as well as more conventional sources, to uncover the forgotten history of English in China and to show how contemporary Hong Kong English has its historical roots in Chinese pidgin English. The book also considers the varying status of English in mainland China over time, and recent developments since 1997. With its interdisciplinary perspective, the book will appeal not only to linguists, but to all those working in the fields of Asian studies and English studies, including those concerned with cultural and literary studies.

著名语言学家，多年从事英语文学、语言与全球化、社会语言学的研究。曾任斯德哥尔摩大学英语系主任并在香港大学英语系任教二十多年。现为香港城市大学英语系主任、首席教授。主要著作有《世界英语和中国英语》、《中国式英语——一部社会语言学史》、《亚洲英语》等。