Dehua kiln white porcelain
The romantic voyage of the "Empress of China"
In the second half of the 18th century, after the independence of the United States, the United States established trade links with China, opening up another channel for Chinese culture to spread to the Americas.
In the colonial era before the independence of the United States, there was indirect trade between North America and China, American ginseng was shipped to China by the merchant ships of the British East India Company, and Chinese tea was also famous in the North American market across the ocean. However, at that time, Americans' understanding and impression of China was quite vague. From 1776 to 1781, the famous British explorer James Cook accompanied two American seamen, John Ledyard and John Gore, to Guangzhou on his last voyage to the Pacific. This is the earliest recorded American to come to China from the United States.
After returning to the United States from England in 1782, Rayyard published Captain Cook's Last Pacific Voyage, which provided Americans with the first account of what he saw in Guangzhou, with a particular focus on the commercial benefits that might be gained from trading there. He said that China's royal relatives and state relatives wore expensive furs from head to toe, which was extremely luxurious. A sea otter skin bought for 6p on the "northwest coast" of the United States can sell for $100 in Guangzhou. But no one believed the miracles he told at the time, and laughed at his "too many fantasies."
Although his narrative is regarded by many as overseas wonders, it must also stimulate people's curiosity to some extent. Mysterious legends about China and alluring Chinese goods are, after all, a huge attraction to Americans. As early as the 50s of the 18th century, Franklin and William Allen, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant merchant, sent the merchant ship Argo to sail the coast of Labrada, hoping to find a route to China from Canada. After three adventurous voyages in 1751, 1753, and 1754, the plan to explore the Northwest Route was unsuccessful.
At the beginning of American independence, the economic situation was very difficult. An American scholar recalled this history and said with emotion: "At that time, the United States had no resources, no capital, no business, and no friends. U.S. trade with Europe has become difficult, and the economy is in danger of collapse. "The miracle is: how can it survive? What saved it? "In a word... China Trade! ”
As a result, people began to consider the possibility of trading with China in order to get out of economic difficulties through trade with China. In December 1783, Boston merchants pooled funds to equip a merchant ship called the Harriet, loaded with ginseng and headed to China, where they met the merchant ships of the British East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope.
The following year, Philadelphia tycoons Robert Morris and Damiel Prker contacted several other businessmen to plan another voyage to China. Morris was a fairly influential figure in the United States at the time, and after the outbreak of the American Revolution, he monopolized all arms matters in Washington's army, became the director of the Treasury of the Continental Congress, and formed the first private commercial bank in North America, the Bank of North America, to raise funds. He signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States. They raised $120,000 to buy and equip the Empress of China, captained by John Green.
This very elaborate wooden sailing ship, equipped with all kinds of new sailing equipment, carries the great hopes of Morbane people and investors, as well as unlimited illusions about China. Loaded with 473 quintals of ginseng, 2,600 furs, 1,270 horses of feathers, 26 quintals of pepper, 476 quintals of lead, more than 300 quintals of cotton, and 43 crew members, the ship set sail on February 22, 1784, which coincided with President Washington's birthday.
The "Empress of China" crossed the Atlantic Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, traveled 11,300 nautical miles, lasted 188 days, arrived at the port of Huangpu in Guangzhou on August 28, and when it entered the port, the "Empress of China" fired a 13-gun salute (representing the 13 states of the United States at that time), and other merchant ships from various countries moored in the port also fired salutes.
Captain Green once wrote: "The Empress of China is honored to raise the first American flag that no one has ever raised or seen in this sea!" The date was August 28, 1784. Four months later, the "Empress of China" had all its cargo, and on December 27, 1784, it was loaded with a large amount of Chinese goods, including 2460 quintals of black tea, 562 quintals of green tea, 962 quintals of porcelain, and a large number of silk fabrics, ivory fans, dressing boxes, handicrafts, etc., and left Guangzhou and arrived in New York on May 11 of the following year, achieving the success of its maiden voyage to China.
The Empress of China "ushered in the most romantic and glamorous chapter in the history of American navigation."
The U.S. Congress highly praised the achievements of the maiden voyage to China and accorded high honor to all crew members. The New York press reported the voyage at length, calling it "a visionary and fruitful voyage" and "a milestone in the history of American business." Newspapers and periodicals in other commercial cities also reprinted it. From New England to New York and Philadelphia, "people are talking about trade with China everywhere"; "Every small coastal village, as long as there is a small sailing ship that can carry five people, plans to go to Guangzhou." For a while there was a "Chinese fever".
Due to the British blockade, it was difficult for Americans to buy goods from overseas, so there were people waiting at the docks early to snap up this long-awaited batch of Chinese goods. Even the president of Washington sent people to snap up 302 pieces of porcelain and exquisite ivory fans, some of which are still preserved in the Pennsylvania Museum and Washington House. When the Empress of China sailed to China for the second time, it received an order from President Washington for his wife before anchoring.
The first voyage of the Empress of China made a profit of more than $30,000, with a net profit of 25% of the investment. Due to the long voyage and small tonnage of the ship, the Empress of China was not very profitable, but the voyage opened up direct relations between China and the United States. Therefore, this voyage has been recorded in the annals of Sino-US exchanges because of its special significance.
Samuel Shaw (1754-1794), who served as a cargo steward on board the Empress of China, kept in his diary records of the first arriving Americans being received by China and conducting trade in Guangzhou. During the American Revolutionary War, Yamamoto served as an adjutant, captain, and artillery major, and was commended for his military merits and was called a smart, active, and brave officer by Washington. When Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, teamed up with businessmen such as Parker in New York to equip the "Empress of China" to sail to China, Parker recommended the shrewd and capable Yamamozhao as a business agent (taipan), and Yamamozhao was 29 years old at the time.
After the ship arrived in Guangzhou, Shan Maozhao fully demonstrated his ability, and in addition to understanding the trade situation between various countries and China, he also established good relations with traders, Chinese officials and merchants from various countries to sell goods brought to Guangzhou and purchase goods for the return trip for the company. The maiden voyage, the Empress of China, returned to New York on May 11, 1785, and on May 19, Yamamoto wrote a detailed report to John Jay (1745-1829), the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
He said: "We have successfully navigated the easternmost part of the earth, and it must be very gratifying for everyone who loves his country and those who are closely related to its trade." Jay forwarded the report to Congress. Jay spoke highly of Yamamo's report in the name of Congress, saying that Yamamojo's report "powerfully demonstrates that China's trade could open up a huge path to American wealth." "The government is greatly gratified by the achievements of your citizens in this business with China."
At Jay's suggestion, Congress appointed Yamamo-Zhao as the first U.S. consul in Canton in 1786, primarily responsible for commerce. He came to China for the second time in 1786 as a consul in Guangzhou for three years before returning to China, and in 1790 President Washington appointed him as the U.S. Consul in Guangzhou for a third time, returning to the United States in 1792. He came to China for the fourth time in 1794 and died soon after on his way back to the United States.
In 1847, The Sournat of Major Samael Shaw, The First American Consul at Camton, compiled and edited by Joseph Quincy, was published in Boston, Shan's hometown. The book consists of 3 parts. The first part is Yamamo's biography and his letters; The second part is a detailed diary of Shanmao Zhao's voyage to Guangzhou; The third section appends a letter from Yamamojo to United States Foreign Secretary Jay and Jay's reply.
Yamamoto wrote in his diary: "Although this is the first American ship to reach China, Chinese is very lenient to us. Initially, they could not distinguish us from the British and called us new citizens, but when we showed them a map of the United States, when we explained our population growth and territorial expansion, the merchants were very happy that we had such a large market for the goods of the Chinese Empire to sell. ”
American merchant ships sailing the oceans
Because the "Empress of China" direct trade with China played a role in breaking the embargo, its planner Morris, while reaping huge benefits from it, also became the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States federal government. The U.S. government decided that Morris would be in charge of trade with China to solve the economic difficulties of the time. meanwhile
Since 1784, important ports in the United States, such as New York, Boston, Salem, Philadelphia, Provides, etc., have direct ships sailing to Guangzhou for trade, and a trade circle with China gradually formed from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc., a large commercial port on the Atlantic coast, to Guangzhou. Many American companies have also established branches or sent agents in Guangzhou, and trade with China has developed rapidly. A large number of American merchant ships entered and left the port of Guangzhou, waiting for Chinese goods to be transported to the United States.
In 1786, Elijah Hascai Delbi, a wealthy merchant from Cyron, sent his "Great Turk," laden with ginseng and white cotton cloth, to Guangzhou via the Indian Ocean. In 1788, Boston merchants sent the 213-ton "Columbia" and the 90-ton dhow "Lady Washington" to the coast of California north through Cape Horn in South America, obtained a large number of seals and sea otter skins, and crossed the Pacific Ocean to Guangzhou. The Columbia sailed further west to the Cape of Good Hope, returning to the United States in August 1790, completing America's first circumnavigation of the world. In 1789, Boston built the largest "Massachusetts" in the United States, which could carry 600 tons, and New York also built the 600-ton "Manhattan" to trade China and the Indian Ocean.
According to statistics, 400 American merchant ships entered the port of Guangzhou in the nearly 30 years from 1784 to 1812. In the 50 years from 1784 to 1833, the total number of merchant ships reached 1,040, half the number of British ships in China, and more than four times the total number of ships from other European countries. The total number of merchant ships coming to China in the eight years from 1833 to 1841 was 231, with an average of more than 28 ships per year. Some of them have more than 40 ships. By 1792, the United States had become China's second trading partner, after Britain and ahead of the Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Sweden. In the early 19th century, Sino-US trade accounted for about 21% of China's foreign trade, ranking second only to Britain. The United States lists China as its fourth trading partner, behind trade with Britain, France and Cuba.
Historical records also record that frequent Sino-US trade produced the first millionaires in American history. Because the profits of trade with China at that time were staggering, sometimes as high as four to five hundred percent. For example, the capital of the 70-ton small ship "Hope" in China is 8,860 pounds, and the value of the cargo after returning to the United States from Guangzhou increases to 37,000 pounds; The Tuask had a capital of £7,138 and a value of £23,218 upon return. The 93-ton "Betser", which traveled between Guangzhou and New York in 1797-1798, earned a net voyage of $120,000 and the owner received $53,118. Others say that the "Empress of China" has a profit of up to 1500% in a round trip. American businessmen turned the huge wealth obtained from trade with China to the country and invested in modern industry and transportation, which played a great role in the primitive accumulation of capital in the United States.
Trade with China contributed to the prosperity of U.S. East Coast merchant ports in the early 19th century and was a major stimulus for their colonization of the Pacific coast. An interesting phenomenon is that according to an American scholar in a book on American place names, in 23 states in the United States, there are towns or villages named after Canton. The first "Guangzhou" place name in the United States appeared in 1789, which was the town of Canton in Zhufolk County in eastern Massachusetts. The city of Guangzhou in northeastern Ohio is the largest "Guangzhou" in the United States.
Excerpt from:
Title: A New History of the Overseas Communication of Chinese Culture (Volume IV)
Author: Wu Bin
Publisher: China Social Science Publishing House