The life story of the Chinese diplomat and educational pioneer who bridged the gap between east and western cultures to affect social and political change. Yung Wing's influence is felt throughout modern history and remains a crucial part of U.S. and Chinese relations. The first edition of My Life in China and America was published in 1909. Initially written in English, Yung Wing explores his humble beginnings in a small village in his native country. He discusses the move from China to America where he received a formal education. This would lead to his history-making stint at Yale University, where he became the first Chinese person to graduate from an American institution. His professional career is full of notable feats including trailblazing business deals between the U.S. and China. Wing also spearheaded the Chinese Educational Mission, which sent more than 100 students to America to study science and engineering. My Life in China and America brings Yung Wing's incredible story to the masses. It's a real-life tale of tragedy and triumph that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit. It's a critical piece of Chinese and American history that should be taught and valued. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of My Life in China and America is both modern and readable.

LARGE PRINT EDITION.An autobiography of a groundbreaking Chinese scholar, diplomat and businessman. My Life in China and America, by Yung Wing, is a revealing self-portrait of one of modern history’s unsung heroes. Wing details his origin story littered with personal and professional obstacles. He made a lasting impact that evoked future progress.

This book, from the series Primary Sources: Historical Books of the World (Asia and Far East Collection), represents an important historical artifact on Asian history and culture. Its contents come from the legions of academic literature and research on the subject produced over the last several hundred years. Covered within is a discussion drawn from many areas of study and research on the subject. From analyses of the varied geography that encompasses the Asian continent to significant time periods spanning centuries, the book was made in an effort to preserve the work of previous generations.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA BY YUNG WING, A. B., LL. D. YALE COMMISSIONER OF THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION, ASSOCIATE CHINESE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON, EXPECTANT TAO-TAI OF KIANG SU NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY TO MY DEVOTED SONS MORRISON BROWN AND BARTLETT GOLDEN YUNG THESE REMINISCENCES ABE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PKEFACE The first five chapters of this book give an account of my early education, previous to going to America, where it was continued, first at Monson Academy, in Monson, Massachusetts, and later, at Yale College. The sixth chapter begins with my reentrance into the Chinese world, after an absence of eight years. Would it not be strange, if an Occidental education, continually exemplified by an Occi dental civilization, had not wrought upon an Oriental such a metamorphosis in his inward nature as to make him feel and act as though he were a being coming from a different world, when he confronted one so diametrically dif ferent This was precisely my case, and yet neither my patriotism nor the love of my fellow countrymen had been weakened. On the con trary, they had increased in strength from sympathy. Hence, the succeeding chapters of my book will be found to be devoted to the work ing out of my educational scheme, as an expres sion of my undying love for China, and as the iii iv PREFACE most feasible method to my mind, of reformation and regeneration for her. With the sudden ending of the Educational Commission, and the recall of the one hundred and twenty students who formed the vanguard of the pioneers of modern education in China, my educational work was brought to a close. Of the survivors of these students of1872, a few by dint of hard, persistent industry, have at last come forth to stand in the front ranks of the leading statesmen of China, and it is through them that the original Chinese Educational Commission has been revived, though in a mod ified form, so that now, Chinese students are seen flocking to America and Europe from even the distant shores of Sinim for a scientific education. November, 1909, 16 Atwood St., Hartford, Conn. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. BOYHOOD ...... 1 II. SCHOOL DAYS ..... 18 III. JOURNEY TO AMERICA AND FIRST EXPERI ENCES THERE ... 21 IV. AT MONSON ACADEMY .... 27 V. MY COLLEGE DAYS 34 VI. RETURN TO CHINA .... 42 VII. EFFORT TO FIND A POSITION ... 58 VIII. EXPERIENCES IN BUSINESS ... 67 IX. MY FIRST TRIP TO THE TEA DISTRICTS 79 X. MY VISIT TO THE TAIPINGS ... 96 XI. REFLECTIONS ON THE TAIPING REBEL LION 113 XII. EXPEDITION TO THE TAIPING TEA DIS TRICT 123 XIII. MY INTERVIEWS WITH TSANG KWOH FAN 137 XIV. MY MISSION TO AMERICA TO BUY MA CHINERY . . .154 XV. MY SECOND RETURN TO CHINA . . 160 XVI. PROPOSAL OF MY EDUCATIONAL SCHEME 170 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVII. THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . . 180 XVIII. INVESTIGATION OF THE COOLIE TRAFFIC IN PERU 191 XIX. END OF THE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . 197 XX. JOURNEY TO PEKING AND DEATH OF MY WIFE 16 XXL MY RECALL TO CHINA .... 224 XXIL THE COUP DETAT OF 1898 . . . 239 APPENDIX 247 INDEX 275 MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA CHAPTER I BOYHOOD I was born on the 17th of November, 1828, in the village of Nam Ping South Screen which is about four miles southwest of the Portuguese Colony of Macao, and is situated on Pedro Island lying west of Macao, from which it is separated by a channel of half a mile wide. I was one of a familyof four children. A brother was the eldest, a sister came next, I was the third, and another brother was the fourth and the youngest of the group. I am the only survivor of them all. As early as 1834, an English lady, Mrs. Gutzlaff, wife of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, a missionary to China, came to Macao and, under the auspices of the Ladies Association in London for the promotion of female education in India and the East, immediately took up the 1

MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA BY YUNG WING, A. B., LL. D. YALE COMMISSIONER OF THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION, ASSOCIATE CHINESE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON, EXPECTANT TAO-TAI OF KIANG SU NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY TO MY DEVOTED SONS MORRISON BROWN AND BARTLETT GOLDEN YUNG THESE REMINISCENCES ABE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PKEFACE The first five chapters of this book give an account of my early education, previous to going to America, where it was continued, first at Monson Academy, in Monson, Massachusetts, and later, at Yale College. The sixth chapter begins with my reentrance into the Chinese world, after an absence of eight years. Would it not be strange, if an Occidental education, continually exemplified by an Occi dental civilization, had not wrought upon an Oriental such a metamorphosis in his inward nature as to make him feel and act as though he were a being coming from a different world, when he confronted one so diametrically dif ferent This was precisely my case, and yet neither my patriotism nor the love of my fellow countrymen had been weakened. On the con trary, they had increased in strength from sympathy. Hence, the succeeding chapters of my book will be found to be devoted to the work ing out of my educational scheme, as an expres sion of my undying love for China, and as the iii iv PREFACE most feasible method to my mind, of reformation and regeneration for her. With the sudden ending of the Educational Commission, and the recall of the one hundred and twenty students who formed the vanguard of the pioneers of modern education in China, my educational work was brought to a close. Of the survivors of these students of1872, a few by dint of hard, persistent industry, have at last come forth to stand in the front ranks of the leading statesmen of China, and it is through them that the original Chinese Educational Commission has been revived, though in a mod ified form, so that now, Chinese students are seen flocking to America and Europe from even the distant shores of Sinim for a scientific education. November, 1909, 16 Atwood St., Hartford, Conn. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. BOYHOOD ...... 1 II. SCHOOL DAYS ..... 18 III. JOURNEY TO AMERICA AND FIRST EXPERI ENCES THERE ... 21 IV. AT MONSON ACADEMY .... 27 V. MY COLLEGE DAYS 34 VI. RETURN TO CHINA .... 42 VII. EFFORT TO FIND A POSITION ... 58 VIII. EXPERIENCES IN BUSINESS ... 67 IX. MY FIRST TRIP TO THE TEA DISTRICTS 79 X. MY VISIT TO THE TAIPINGS ... 96 XI. REFLECTIONS ON THE TAIPING REBEL LION 113 XII. EXPEDITION TO THE TAIPING TEA DIS TRICT 123 XIII. MY INTERVIEWS WITH TSANG KWOH FAN 137 XIV. MY MISSION TO AMERICA TO BUY MA CHINERY . . .154 XV. MY SECOND RETURN TO CHINA . . 160 XVI. PROPOSAL OF MY EDUCATIONAL SCHEME 170 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVII. THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . . 180 XVIII. INVESTIGATION OF THE COOLIE TRAFFIC IN PERU 191 XIX. END OF THE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . 197 XX. JOURNEY TO PEKING AND DEATH OF MY WIFE 16 XXL MY RECALL TO CHINA .... 224 XXIL THE COUP DETAT OF 1898 . . . 239 APPENDIX 247 INDEX 275 MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA CHAPTER I BOYHOOD I was born on the 17th of November, 1828, in the village of Nam Ping South Screen which is about four miles southwest of the Portuguese Colony of Macao, and is situated on Pedro Island lying west of Macao, from which it is separated by a channel of half a mile wide. I was one of a familyof four children. A brother was the eldest, a sister came next, I was the third, and another brother was the fourth and the youngest of the group. I am the only survivor of them all. As early as 1834, an English lady, Mrs. Gutzlaff, wife of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, a missionary to China, came to Macao and, under the auspices of the Ladies Association in London for the promotion of female education in India and the East, immediately took up the 1

MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA BY YUNG WING, A. B., LL. D. YALE COMMISSIONER OF THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION, ASSOCIATE CHINESE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON, EXPECTANT TAO-TAI OF KIANG SU NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY TO MY DEVOTED SONS MORRISON BROWN AND BARTLETT GOLDEN YUNG THESE REMINISCENCES ABE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PKEFACE The first five chapters of this book give an account of my early education, previous to going to America, where it was continued, first at Monson Academy, in Monson, Massachusetts, and later, at Yale College. The sixth chapter begins with my reentrance into the Chinese world, after an absence of eight years. Would it not be strange, if an Occidental education, continually exemplified by an Occi dental civilization, had not wrought upon an Oriental such a metamorphosis in his inward nature as to make him feel and act as though he were a being coming from a different world, when he confronted one so diametrically dif ferent This was precisely my case, and yet neither my patriotism nor the love of my fellow countrymen had been weakened. On the con trary, they had increased in strength from sympathy. Hence, the succeeding chapters of my book will be found to be devoted to the work ing out of my educational scheme, as an expres sion of my undying love for China, and as the iii iv PREFACE most feasible method to my mind, of reformation and regeneration for her. With the sudden ending of the Educational Commission, and the recall of the one hundred and twenty students who formed the vanguard of the pioneers of modern education in China, my educational work was brought to a close. Of the survivors of these students of1872, a few by dint of hard, persistent industry, have at last come forth to stand in the front ranks of the leading statesmen of China, and it is through them that the original Chinese Educational Commission has been revived, though in a mod ified form, so that now, Chinese students are seen flocking to America and Europe from even the distant shores of Sinim for a scientific education. November, 1909, 16 Atwood St., Hartford, Conn. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. BOYHOOD ...... 1 II. SCHOOL DAYS ..... 18 III. JOURNEY TO AMERICA AND FIRST EXPERI ENCES THERE ... 21 IV. AT MONSON ACADEMY .... 27 V. MY COLLEGE DAYS 34 VI. RETURN TO CHINA .... 42 VII. EFFORT TO FIND A POSITION ... 58 VIII. EXPERIENCES IN BUSINESS ... 67 IX. MY FIRST TRIP TO THE TEA DISTRICTS 79 X. MY VISIT TO THE TAIPINGS ... 96 XI. REFLECTIONS ON THE TAIPING REBEL LION 113 XII. EXPEDITION TO THE TAIPING TEA DIS TRICT 123 XIII. MY INTERVIEWS WITH TSANG KWOH FAN 137 XIV. MY MISSION TO AMERICA TO BUY MA CHINERY . . .154 XV. MY SECOND RETURN TO CHINA . . 160 XVI. PROPOSAL OF MY EDUCATIONAL SCHEME 170 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVII. THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . . 180 XVIII. INVESTIGATION OF THE COOLIE TRAFFIC IN PERU 191 XIX. END OF THE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . 197 XX. JOURNEY TO PEKING AND DEATH OF MY WIFE 16 XXL MY RECALL TO CHINA .... 224 XXIL THE COUP DETAT OF 1898 . . . 239 APPENDIX 247 INDEX 275 MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA CHAPTER I BOYHOOD I was born on the 17th of November, 1828, in the village of Nam Ping South Screen which is about four miles southwest of the Portuguese Colony of Macao, and is situated on Pedro Island lying west of Macao, from which it is separated by a channel of half a mile wide. I was one of a familyof four children. A brother was the eldest, a sister came next, I was the third, and another brother was the fourth and the youngest of the group. I am the only survivor of them all. As early as 1834, an English lady, Mrs. Gutzlaff, wife of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, a missionary to China, came to Macao and, under the auspices of the Ladies Association in London for the promotion of female education in India and the East, immediately took up the 1

MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA BY YUNG WING, A. B., LL. D. YALE COMMISSIONER OF THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION, ASSOCIATE CHINESE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON, EXPECTANT TAO-TAI OF KIANG SU NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY TO MY DEVOTED SONS MORRISON BROWN AND BARTLETT GOLDEN YUNG THESE REMINISCENCES ABE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PKEFACE The first five chapters of this book give an account of my early education, previous to going to America, where it was continued, first at Monson Academy, in Monson, Massachusetts, and later, at Yale College. The sixth chapter begins with my reentrance into the Chinese world, after an absence of eight years. Would it not be strange, if an Occidental education, continually exemplified by an Occi dental civilization, had not wrought upon an Oriental such a metamorphosis in his inward nature as to make him feel and act as though he were a being coming from a different world, when he confronted one so diametrically dif ferent This was precisely my case, and yet neither my patriotism nor the love of my fellow countrymen had been weakened. On the con trary, they had increased in strength from sympathy. Hence, the succeeding chapters of my book will be found to be devoted to the work ing out of my educational scheme, as an expres sion of my undying love for China, and as the iii iv PREFACE most feasible method to my mind, of reformation and regeneration for her. With the sudden ending of the Educational Commission, and the recall of the one hundred and twenty students who formed the vanguard of the pioneers of modern education in China, my educational work was brought to a close. Of the survivors of these students of1872, a few by dint of hard, persistent industry, have at last come forth to stand in the front ranks of the leading statesmen of China, and it is through them that the original Chinese Educational Commission has been revived, though in a mod ified form, so that now, Chinese students are seen flocking to America and Europe from even the distant shores of Sinim for a scientific education. November, 1909, 16 Atwood St., Hartford, Conn. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. BOYHOOD ...... 1 II. SCHOOL DAYS ..... 18 III. JOURNEY TO AMERICA AND FIRST EXPERI ENCES THERE ... 21 IV. AT MONSON ACADEMY .... 27 V. MY COLLEGE DAYS 34 VI. RETURN TO CHINA .... 42 VII. EFFORT TO FIND A POSITION ... 58 VIII. EXPERIENCES IN BUSINESS ... 67 IX. MY FIRST TRIP TO THE TEA DISTRICTS 79 X. MY VISIT TO THE TAIPINGS ... 96 XI. REFLECTIONS ON THE TAIPING REBEL LION 113 XII. EXPEDITION TO THE TAIPING TEA DIS TRICT 123 XIII. MY INTERVIEWS WITH TSANG KWOH FAN 137 XIV. MY MISSION TO AMERICA TO BUY MA CHINERY . . .154 XV. MY SECOND RETURN TO CHINA . . 160 XVI. PROPOSAL OF MY EDUCATIONAL SCHEME 170 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVII. THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . . 180 XVIII. INVESTIGATION OF THE COOLIE TRAFFIC IN PERU 191 XIX. END OF THE EDUCATIONAL MISSION . 197 XX. JOURNEY TO PEKING AND DEATH OF MY WIFE 16 XXL MY RECALL TO CHINA .... 224 XXIL THE COUP DETAT OF 1898 . . . 239 APPENDIX 247 INDEX 275 MY LIFE IN CHINA AND AMERICA CHAPTER I BOYHOOD I was born on the 17th of November, 1828, in the village of Nam Ping South Screen which is about four miles southwest of the Portuguese Colony of Macao, and is situated on Pedro Island lying west of Macao, from which it is separated by a channel of half a mile wide. I was one of a familyof four children. A brother was the eldest, a sister came next, I was the third, and another brother was the fourth and the youngest of the group. I am the only survivor of them all. As early as 1834, an English lady, Mrs. Gutzlaff, wife of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, a missionary to China, came to Macao and, under the auspices of the Ladies Association in London for the promotion of female education in India and the East, immediately took up the 1

This book, first published in 1909, in the autobiography of a man who witnessed and played a key role in 19th century China. Remarkably, the book was written in English - Yung Wing, born in 1828, was the first Chinese person ever to graduate from a major US college. He then returned to his own world, seeing it now with outsiders' eyes. He brokered the purchase of China's first arms factory from the US, and proposed widespread financial and social changes, which were the inspiration for the changes China went through in the 20th century. This is a unique and highly readable book.