As the 1800s unfold, the stage becomes more crowded and Mr Bickers sometimes appears to wander in the detail.

ECONOMIST: Why China has a long memory

He bickers in Spanish with a janitor who insists the marks aren't his fault, all the while hectoring Lance for a raise.

FORBES: God is his business planner

In his history of the foreign scramble for China, Robert Bickers of Bristol University looks mainly at the story of west European and, to a lesser extent, American interaction with the country.

ECONOMIST: Why China has a long memory