335. George Washington's Vision on the Trade between the United States and China

In 1789, when George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States, he fully stated the significance of the China trade to his still-young country. He told the Marquis de Lafayette that the national revenues had been considerably more productive than had been imagined they would be because of the China trade. He then listed some examples: "A single vessel just arrived in this port pays $30,000 to government. Two vessels fitted out for the fur trade to the northwest coast of America have succeeded well. The whole outfits of vessels and cargoes cost but $7,000. One is returning home loaded with India produce, the other going back to the coast of America; and they have deposited $100,000 of their profits in China."

Since 1784, the value of American trade with China increased greatly. In 1790, it was estimated that trade with China accounted for about one seventh of US imported goods. By 1792, the value of the American trade with China had surpassed that of Holland, France and Denmark, and was second only to Great Britain, which had had established commercial relations with China for over 100 years. In 1840, American business with China amounted to nearly US$75 million, a sum greater than the total debt of the American Revolution.

334. Well-known Authors Cite Dr. Dave Wang’s Publications

It is well-known that Dr. Dave Wang’s research in the field of Chinese cultural influences in the colonial period and the founding era of the United States has gained momentum in academic circles. Recently I have found that Dr. Wang’s publications have been widely cited by some prestigious authors. In the following, I will give the authors, the titles of their works, and the titles of Dr. Wang’s works that were cited. 01. Sarah Schneewind, University of California, San Diego, Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and King Wu’s First Great Announcement, Journal of American –East Asian Relations, 19,(2012 )75-91.

01. In her paper, Dr. Sara Schneewind cited Dr. Dave Wang. Paper, All Posterity Would Remember My Legacy: Thomas Jefferson and a Legendary Chinese Prince, Huaren E Magazine, September , 2008.

02. Lindsay Stafford, First US-China Trade Ship Carried 30 Tons of American Ginseng: Helped Establish American Identity and Roots of International Trade, HebalEgram: Volume 9, Number 5, May 2012, Dr. Lindsay Stafford cited Dr. Dave Wang’ paper, Ginseng: the herb that helped the United States to enter International Commerce, World Huren Federation Website.

03. Richard Rosecrance and Gu Guoliang, ed., Power and Restraint: A Shared Vision for the U.S-China Relationship, published by Public Affairs, 2009. The two authors cited Dr. Dave Wang’s paper, Benjamin Franklin and China: A Survey of Benjamin Franklin’s Efforts at Drawing Positive Elements from Chinese Civilization during the Formative Age of the United States, Essays and Articles for the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Website, http://www.benfranlin300.org/eassays.htm.

04. Ann Lee, What the U.S. Can Learn from China: An Open-Minded Guide to Treating Our Greatest Competitor as Our Greatest Teacher, published by Berrett-Koehler Publisher, Jan 9, 2012. Dr. Ann Lee cited Dr. Dave Wang’s paper, How China Helped Shape American Culture: The founding fathers and Chinese Civilization, Virginia Review of Asian Studies, 2010.

05. Patrick Mentis, Peaceful War: How the Chinese Dream and the American Destiny Created a Pacific New World Order, published Dr. Patrick Mentis cited Dr. Dave Wang’s paper, Thomas Jefferson’s Incorporating Positive Elements from Chinese Civilization, Virginia Review of Asian Studies, accessed January 26, 2013.

333. George Washington's Tea Culture

We don’t know when George Washington started to drink tea. However, we know that his first recorded order for tea dates to December of 1757, when he wrote to England seeking "6 lb. best Hyson Tea" and "6 lb. best Green Ditto.". From Dr. Dave Wang’s paper CHINESE CIVILIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES: TEA, GINSENG, PORCELAIN WARE AND SILK IN COLONIAL AMERICA, Virginia Review of Asian Studies, one can find the photo, George Washington’s teapot and tea cups in his Valley Forge Headquarters. (Courtesy of Valley Forge National Historical Park.)

My friend, Jeffrey Bingham Mead, the President of Hawaii Historical Education Council, send me Tea, a paper by Mary V. Thompson, Research Historian, Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. Mary finds that Washington drank tea throughout his life. She presents us a vivid picture of how Washington enjoyed Chinese tea. She explored the kinds of Chinese tea Washingtons drank and also teapots and cups very intersecting, Mary told us that even Washington’s slaves have tea ware. Possibly George allowed his slaves to enjoy tea. It needs more research to find out if the slaves really enjoyed tea. A reader will find from her paper two beautiful photos showing you Washington’s teapot and tea bowl imported from China. Thank Mary, who presents us a Washington tea culture. Enjoy Mary's paper based on her 37 years of research now.

332. Dr. Patrick Mentis and Dr. Dave Wang's Study of US Founders and China

In his new book, Peaceful War; How the Chinese Dream and the American Destiny Create a Pacific New World Order, Dr. Partick Mendis told his readers, "Among his many proverbial statements, Dr. Dave Wang, an American scholar on Sino-US. relations at St. Johns University in New York, identified Franklin's thirteen virtues as derived from "the Morals of Confucius," the first English-language translation for the Analects by Confucius. (See his book, page 50.)

Who is Dr. Patrick Mendis? In case you don't know who he is, I quoted from the wikipedia in the following: "Patrick Mendis is an educator, diplomat, author, and executive in government service in the United States. He taught MBA/MPA as well as international trade and American foreign policy courses at the University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, and Yale University before joining the U.S. Department of State, where he served under Secretary Madeleine Albright and General Colin Powell.

For his leadership, Mendis was honored with the State Department's Meritorious Honor Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award. Secretary Hillary Clinton has appointed Professor Mendis as a commissioner to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO." More information on him is available from this link.

331. A Lecture on Chinese Culture in North America in Japan

This is the brief report on my speech in one of Japan's main universities three years ago. The reason I post it again is that one of the main Asian study Journals in Japan the published my speech manuscript. I just find it on the web and list here for your reference.

You can find and print it from this link. 2010年6月19日（土）AJフォーラム19 "From Confucius to the Great Wall: Chinese Cultural Influence on Colonial North America"「孔子から長城まで：独立前の北米への中国文化の影響」を行いました。 日時：2010年6月19日(土）　15:00～17:00 講師：Dr. Dave Wang (クイーンズ図書館ホリス地区館長、セント・ジョーンズ大学非常勤講師、吉林師範大学客員教授) Date 19th, June, 2010 SAT 15:00～17:00 Lecturer Dr. Dave Wang (Manager, Queens Library at Hollis, Adjunct Professor, St. Johns University, Guest Professor, Jilin Normal University) 当日は教員、学生など約20名の方にご参加いただきました。 どうもありがとうございました。 Staff and students, about 20, had attended the forum. Thank you very much. 講演内容PDF

330. Chinese Tea was Popular in Colonial North America

Since the early 1700's, tea had been used as a social beverage in the colonies. Judge Samuel Sewall had a good record of Boston life in the turn of the 17th century. The guests enjoyed tea in a meeting at the residence of Madam Winthrope, he wrote on April 15, 1709.

According to Peter Kalm, who toured North America in the mid-18th century, tea had not only replaced milk as a breakfast beverage, but also was drunk in the afternoon. From the letter that Ms. Alice Addertoungue wrote to Benjamin Franklin in 1732, we can tell that tea was widely used in social gatherings. Alice told Franklin, “The first Day of this Separation (with her mother—writer) we both drank Tea at the same Time, but she with her Visitors in the Parlor.”

During the tea hour, social and economic affairs were discussed. Interestingly, since teatime provided an ideal opportunity to get acquainted, young men and women enjoyed it very much. Tea had become the excuse for many a social gathering. Being invited to drink tea became a special thing for the colonists. Benjamin Franklin wrote a note showing his appreciation for Mr. Fisher’s “Company to drink Tea at 5 o’clock this afternoon, June 4, 1745.”