120. Early American China Trade

Throught this link you will learn importance of the China Trade after the Revolution, the backgrounds of China trade, trading strategies, commodities of the trade and ships of the trade. You fill find out that one of the contributing causes of colonial unrest was the exclusion of Americans from what was seen in the colonies as a very lucrative China trade.

With the volume of foreign trade relatively small during the early years of the Republic, trade with China played a significant role. By the 1830’s, trade routes were well established between the United States and China, and the names of ports in the Eastern hemisphere, once exotic and mysterious, were becoming increasingly familiar to Americans as places of importance to the United States’ economy.

119. The First Porcelain Company in Colonial North America

The colonists worked hard to rid of their dependency on Britain for Chinese products, such as Chinese porcelain ware. One reason is that the porcelain ware were heavily taxed under the Townsend Acts of 1767. The other reason is that the colonists wanted to pursue something different from Britain. They wanted to strengthen their own identity by developing the products with foreign characteristics. Gousse Bonin & George Anthony Morris established the "American China Manufactory", on the site of what is now the Navy Yard. Read more about this company through this link.

118. Thomas H. Perkins, a Millionaire, made by the China Trade

Thomas Handasyd Perkins was a Boston Merchant, who played a significant role in the China Trade. Perkins was one of the first
Boston merchants to engage in this trade. In 1789 he sailed on the Astrea to Canton. Its cargo included ginseng, cheese, lard, wine, and iron. On the trip back it carried tea and cotton cloth. As the trade developed, his ships went first to the coast of the Pacific Northwest to trade for furs from the native American Indians, and then to China to exchange the skins for Chinese goods. The China trade made Perkins a millionaire. More stories about Perkins in the China Trade through this link.

117. China Trade and the Connecticut Valley

Dr. Wang's essay, Ginseng, the herb that Helped the United State Entered International Commerce, examines the role which the herb played in the Americans effort to open the China Trade. Through reading this essay, New England and the China Trade you will find the historical fact that the residents of the Connecticut River valley became rich by digging Ginseng and providing them to the China Trade.
American Ginseng exports to China in February 2003 totaled 39 tons -- not much more than the Empress of China carried 218 years ago, but considerably more than the zero total for February 2000. More information through this link.

116. China Trade in New England, 1800s

From October 30, 2004 through March 6, 2005 Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut State had an exhibition, China Trade in New England: A Connecticut Captain’s Journey. The Exhibit was over, however, the information concerning the exhibit stays. Through this introduction to the exhibition you can learn something about the comercial ties between China and the region.

115. George and Martha Washington's Chinese Porcelain Ware

Washington's Cincinnati set was plainly Chinese. The set was brought back from China by Samuel Shaw in his first trip to China, the Empress of China in 1784. It is the well-known dull white, hard paste of Canton manufacture, with a border of common-place Oriental design in deep blue under the glaze. Some of the pieces have (all, perhaps, had originally) a narrow rim of gilt on the outer edge, and a narrow line of gilt within the border. You can read more about Washington's porcelain ware through this link.

114. George Washington's Teas

You might know that George Washington was a tea lover. According to his step grandfather, Washington would drink three cups of tea without cream before he started his breakfast. However, you might not know what kinds of teas Washington liked to drink. Through this link you will find out George Washington's favored tea.

113. Bill Clinton on Chinese Civilization

China has played an important role in our history. In 1784, shortly after America's independence, the first American merchant ship landed in China. The Chinese officials knew we were not European, so they simply called us the "new people." And though we were unfamiliar, the Chinese allowed us to trade freely with them. So one of the oldest societies on Earth, China, extended the hand of friendship to the world's youngest nation.

Remarks at a state dinner honoring President Jiang
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 3, 1997
more of his speech available through this link

112. China and the Colonists' Choice of Landing

China' s influence on North American started the first day when the colonists stepped on the American soil in Virginia in 1606. They were instructed by Virginia Company to land on the place when they could easily sailed to "other sea" (Pacific Ocean).

111. Massachussets and the Early US-China Trade

The Governor of Massachusetts, one of the states that initiated the early China trade, talked about the significance of the trade to the development of the United States. Through reading of the speech, you will be able to learn the history of the trade and its meaning today.

110. Ginseng Trade War between US and Korea

In the early period of US-China trade, Ginseng became the main commercial goods that United States merchants shipped to China from North America. The inflow of huge amount Ginseng into Chinese market caused the depreciation of Ginseng's price. The Korean, who had exported Ginseng to China, waged a war against American Ginseng. Through this link you could read the research, examining the influence of American Ginseng on Korean's Ginseng trade with China.

109. Explore Early US-China Trade

This is the link through which you can learn more knowledge about the content and scale of the early trade between China and the United States. You also could enjoy the antiques that remind you of the flourishing days of the trade and the old Chinese system that dominated the trade.

108. How to Teach US-China Trade

Yale University started a project for public schools in order to help them in their efforts to teach students understanding China. Here you can find a detailed teaching plan showing how to teach US-China Trade.Through this teaching plan, you also learn how the US-China trade was started? By whom? The most important question for you might be why China? Why China Trade? Hopefully, you will find answers to the questions from reading the plan. If not, probably you have to read more items in this weblog.

107. Printed Materials on Early American Trade with China

With the trade volume is getting large day by day, the demand for understanding the history of US trade with China is increasing in both the United States and China. Through this link one can find printed materials in the study of early trade between China and the United States.

106. Benjamin Franklin, Geoege Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Chinese Civiliation

Some friends recommended me the abstract that Dr. Wang's presentation in the Third World Conference of American Studies, held by the International Association for American Studies, in September 2007 in Lisbon. You can access it through this link.

105. U.S.-China World Through Its Writers

This article examines briefly the history of Chinese American literature from current to the first day when the Chinese stepped on the soil of North America. According to the author, in the time when increasing globalized commerce and Olympiad competition between the United States and China, "literature may appear as the odd one in the race." However, the literature--writing of the Chinese of America will provide us with the insights through which we can look into "the shifts of Sino-American relations in the past, and inform American and Chinese readers in the present."