[inkyoto]

There is also a history book «Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age» by Stephen R. Platt who goes into events preceding the First Opium War (Macartney's mission to Qing's China in 1793) eventually leading up to the cession of Hong Kong island and the fall of the Qing. Whilst it is a history book, the way the events are narrated and how the story is presented make the book read as it were a fiction story (it is not). A great read all around.