Published in 1968 this book is in very good condition for its age;  it is clean throughout.  The jacket is in fair condition; the spine has sunned and the top edge has wear to it. About the author: After the war, Austin Coates worked for the Hong Kong government as Assistant Colonial Secretary and Magistrate in the New Territories from 1949 to 1956. As a magistrate, he gained insight on the Chinese customs and character, and he applied Chinese laws to solve many of his cases. About the book: Lovers who first met in an unlit train...three watercress beds the size of a tomato patch which could have sparked off an international propaganda campaign from Peking...the division of three cows between two women...these are some of the problems the Magistrate encountered and which he relates here, inviting us to leave behind the Hongkong seen by the tourist and enter the world, the unsuspected world, of a fascinating people.