124 Kenneth S. Latoiirette, 



curiosities brought from the empire as a business venture 

 attracted wide attention.*^ 



During these years of gradually increasing knowledge, the 

 opinion of China had been largely one of respect and admiration. 

 This other world, with its ancient civilization, almost as remote 

 from ordinary American life as the planet Mars, inspired some- 

 thing of awe and even of envy. In the salutatory of the first vol- 

 ume of the American Philosophical Society the hope had been 

 expressed that America would in the .fulness of time come to 

 possess much likeness to China in wealth, industry, and resources, 

 for "could we be so fortunate as to introduce the industry of 

 the Chinese, their arts of living, and improvements in hus- 

 bandry .... America might become in time as populous 

 as China. "**^ Jefferson had held up her non-intercoiirse with 

 foreign nations as ideal,**'' and as late as 1840, admiration for the 

 nation had been expressed in a prominent magazine : "The 

 industry and ingenuity of the Chinese in all that relates to the 

 conveniences of life are remarkable : the origin among them of 

 several arts of comparatively recent date in Europe, is lost in the 

 night of time."'**' With the Opium War, however, a sudden 

 revulsion of feeling took place, and from being respected and 

 admired, China's utter collapse before the British arms and her 

 unwillingness to receive western intercourse and ideals led to a 

 feeling of contempt. There was a failure to recognize the true 

 import of her history and her real progress, and contrasting their 

 old ideas of her greatness with their sudden discovery of her 

 weakness, the impression spread through America and Europe, 

 that China was decadent, dying, fallen greatly from her glorious 

 past.''^ 



\\ ith the so-called Opium War there began in America a new 



®' Niles Reg., 55:391, Feb. 16, 1839, mentions it as being in Philadelphia, 

 and Nathan Dunn, Descriptive Catalogue of the Chinese Collection at 

 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1839, shows a fairly complete exhibit of the 

 manners, dress, costumes, and life of the Chinese. 



"^ Obei-holtzer, Robert Morris, p. 223. 



^^ Thos. Jefferson to Hogendorp, Oct. 13, 1785. Writings of Thomas 

 Jefferson, Andrew A. Lipscomb, ed. in chief, Washington, 1904, 5 : 183. 



"" Hunt's Merc. Mag., 2 : 82. 



"^ Letters of Cushing in Sen. Doc. 58 and 67, 28 Cong., 2 Sess., passim. 

 These are an illustration of this feeling of contempt. 



