Kenneth W. Rea - Early Sino-Amer Relations: 1841-1912

Early Sino-Americari Relations, 1841-1912

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edited by Kenneth W. Rea

In this collection of seven essays, Sino-American relations from 1841 through 1912 are examined by one of America's foremost authorities on the topic. Relying heavily on Chinese material and concentrating on the Chinese perspective, Professor Swisher introduces new material and analyzes selected aspects of these relations in detail.

Earl Swisher, widely recognized as an authority on Chinese affairs, received a doctorate in Chinese history from Harvard University, after which he returned to teach at the University of Colorado, where he had completed his earlier studies. He retired from the university as a professor emeritus in 1971.

Kenneth W. Rea holds a doctorate in history from the University of Colorado and is currently professor of history at Louisiana Tech University.

The Collected Articles of Earl Swisher

edited by Kenneth W. Rea

First published 1977 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2018 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Swisher, Earl, 1902-1975.
Early Sino-American relations, 1841-1912.

(A Westview replica edition)
Bibliography: p.
1. United States--Foreign relations--China--Collected works.
2. China--Foreign relations--United States--Collected works.
I. Rea, Kenneth W. II. Title.
E183.8.C5S895 1977 327.73'051 77-13252

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-01812-2 (hbk)

This volume, a companion to Canton in Revolution , concentrates on Earl Swisher's pioneering research in early Sino-American relations. From 1935 until his retirement in 1971, Swisher taught history at the University of Colorado and for many years served as the director of its Asian studies program. His interest in China began when he accepted a teaching appointment at Canton Christian College (Lingnan University) in 1924. After four years in China, he returned to the United States and completed his graduate studies at the University of Colorado and Harvard University. A gifted linguist who mastered Chinese, Japanese and several other languages, Swisher made a major contribution to the study of Sino-American relations. In the 1930s and 1940s, he translated and edited documents dealing with China's early relations with the United States. This work formed the basis of his dissertation at Harvard. After further research in Peking, the documents themselves were published under the title, China's Management of the American Barbarians , a monograph which has proven to be a major source for American scholars seeking a clearer and more meaningful understanding of Chinese policy toward the United States. The following articles, some of which are now published for the first time, shed additional light on this policy.

For this volume, I am deeply indebted to Ms. Robin Swisher Turcotte for making Professor Swisher's papers available. I wish to express my appreciation to Professors Joyce Lebra, John Brewer, Wiley Hilburn and Yawsoon Sim for their encouragement and assistance. Dean Paul J. Pennington and Professor W. Y. Thompson of Louisiana Tech University, deserve my special thanks for their support of this project, as does Ms. Glenda Hammons who helped prepare the manuscript. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the patient understanding of my wife, Rebecca Rea, and my sons, Michael and Christopher.

K. W. R.

The earliest discussion of Chinese policy toward the United States to appear in the official records of China occurs in a memorial dated February 6, 1841 {the date of official reception in the Palace at Peking) . The memorial was presented by 1-li-pu, whom he succeeded as governor general of Yunnan-Kweichow. In 1839 he was transferred to Chekiang where the frontier problems involved the ocean routes and the English instead of Burma and the tribesmen.

In his memorial of 1841, I-li-pu took up the barbarian problem as it had developed in Canton and Chekiang, quoting at length a letter from the venerable and respected Juan Yuan, already seventy-eight sui (probably seventy-seven by Western computation). Juan Yuan was one of the most distinguished men in China at the time this letter was written. A native of Kiangsu province,alternately or concurrently to creative writing, to research, and to official duties of the most varied nature. He suppressed piracy on the Chekiang coasts; he undertook educational reform and promotion; he demonstrated his filial piety and his loyalty to his friends, even at the risk of imperial censure; he edited, wrote, or compiled works on ancient inscriptions, biography and anthology and prepared a new edition of a T'ang dynasty thesaurus.