558. The Empress of China Sailed to China on February 22, 1784

Embodying Americans' hope to break through the British blockade and revitalize the depressed postwar economy, the Empress of China, the first American commercial ship after its independence, left New York for Canton (Guangzhou), China, on February 22, 1784. Before the Empress of China left the East River Harbor of New York, George Washington duly signed the sea letter, guiding the purpose of the Empress of China's voyage.

There was a great deal of uncertainty in the newly founded country. After the war for independence was over, the nation's fiscal system was on the brink of chaos. Many small farmers, the broad base of the new nation, were being thrown into jail for debt and many others were forced to lose their farms. The Congress, established under the Articles of Confederation, was attempting to bring order out of the turmoil. In Massachusetts, an agrarian revolt spread quickly.

In the meantime, Britain, which lost the war militarily, was seeking to defeat the Americans economically. It strengthened its economic pressure on individual states to compel them, one by one, to return to "Mother England". Britain closed all traditional trade partners to the new nation, and American merchants could no longer trade with Spain, Africa and West Indies. In the aftermath of the victory of the American revolutionary war, France, Holland and other European countries were willing to use the US as their market, but not anxious to take American wares in exchange.

Given the situation, commerce became "the lifeblood of America's recovery from its economic slump". New trade partners had to be discovered, new trade routes had to be opened and new connections had to be established. Otherwise, political independence wouldn't last long. It was in this critical situation that the first American voyage to China started.

557. Benjamin Franklin Published Confucius' Work in 1737

Probably, Benjamin Franklin was the first founding father, who published Confucian work in 1737.  I will show my readers the picture of his publication of Confucius work below. His publication of Confucius work helped spread Confucian moral philosophy in North American colonies. It also laid foundation for the Confucius' fever among the main founders of the United States  in the eve of the American Revolution.

556. Thomas Jefferson: A Modern Prometheus Cites Dr. Dave Wang's Work

 

In Thomas Jefferson: A Modern Prometheus, Dr. Wilson Jeremiah Moses studies the Jeffersonian influence. It is well known that Jefferson's legacy is a field that scholars have long debated on.  In this new book, Dr. Moses provides his readers with "vigorous and insightful commentary" on Jefferson. I have no desire to make any comments on his assessment on Jefferson, but reveal the fact that Dr. Moses cites Dr. Dave Wang's article, Ideas From the East: The Founding Fathers and Chinese Wisdom.

 

From Dr. Dave Wang's academic publications we have found that Jefferson borrowed from Chinese civilization in his efforts to build a new nation out of British colonies in North America during the founding years of the United States. I am sure that my readers have learned that the efforts to learn from Chinese civilization and use its positive elements was also found in other founding fathers like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

 

555. Four Nations and Three Continents:worldwide Attention to Dr. Wang's Research

With the snapshot below I will show you that Dr. Dave Wang's study of Chinese cultural influence on the founding fathers of the United States has earned worldwide attention.
The item is that Valparaiso University invited Dr. Dave Wang to deliver speech on Chinese cultural impact on Benjamin Franklin in November  2009.  The Second is that a Korea scholar in 2017 cited Dr. Dave Wang's paper on Confucius and Benjamin Franklin. The third is that Association for Asian Studies, Magazine, Education About Asia, volume 16, no. 2, 2011 published Dr. Dave Wang's article, The US Founders and China. The fourth shows that the Italia National Center for American Studies invited Dr. Dave Wang to deliver his speech on Franklin's efforts to use Confucius moral philosophy to improve his virtue. This was in October 2006. The fifth is that Japanese magazine published Dr. Dave Wang's article, From Confucius to  the Great Wall of China: Chinese Cultural Influence on Colonial North America. The last one tells that a book, titled Power and Restraint: A Shared Vision for the US China Relations cited Dr. Dave Wang' s paper, Benjamin Franklin and China. It has included three continents, Asia, Europe and  North America and four countries, including, the United States, South Korea, Italy and Japan.

554. Impact of Dr. Dave Wang's Study of the Founders and China



The following snapshot is from Google.com. From it my readers will be able to have basic ideas on how Dr. Dave Wang' publication had an impact on academic fields of the US Founders and China.

The first article, Benjamin Franklin and China was published in 2007. The second one, How China Helped to Shape American Culture, 2012. The third one, Confucius In the American Founding , 2014. The fourth one, From Confucius to the Great Wall, 2010. The last one shows that the Johns Hopkins University has adopt Dr. Dave Wang' s paper as teaching text in its philosophy course, number 150.22.

 

 

553. Benjamin Franklin looked upon China as a model for the moral and scientific development

According to its homepage The Canadian Patriot " is both a geopolitical journal and a platform for a broader discussion about Canada’s role as a sovereign participant within this harmony of nations which is now emerging. As Canada increasingly becomes a part of the New Silk Road process and paradigm of brotherhood for all mankind, the Canadian Patriot will also help historians shed light upon the suppressed history which every Canadian has a right to know, with the faith that with a greater understanding of our past, we may not repeat its mistakes as we prepare for our future."
On October 29, 2019, it published the editorial in the title, The Transcontinental Railway and America’s Forgotten Bond with China. In this article, Dr. Dave Wang's paper was cited. His paper titled “Benjamin Franklin and Chinese Civilization” published by an Italian website , Resetdoc.org’s Dialogue on Civilizations, on Sept. 15, 2007.

552. Business Leaders Interested in the Connection between Confucius and the Founders

It is not a new story that Dr. Dave Wang's research on the influence of Chinese culture on the founders of the United States has gone far beyond academic circle. In 2010 a news reporter told the true story that a business man created more than 200 traditional tea stores. He cited Dr. Dave Wang's paper of examining Chinese tea and the tea trade in North America around the founding of the United States. However you will be surprised this time by Jon Nadler, who has focused on the precious metals market and its physical investment products, talked about Dr. Dave Wang's study of the founders connection to Confucianism, particularly Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
According to his own brief biography, Jon had a management degree awarded by the University or California at Los Angles.  Individual investors and institutional firms . He introduced himself this way "Nadler publishes gold market commentaries that are quoted on a daily basis by leading global financial media houses like Associated Press, Market Watch, CNBC, BBC UK Radio, Forbes.com, TheStreet.com, The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Bloomberg, Resource Investor, China Television, and Reuters. This makes him the most frequently quoted precious metals analyst on the Internet." 

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