﻿PLANTS 
  OF 
  CHINA 
  — 
  WALKER 
  327 
  

  

  and 
  economic 
  plants 
  which 
  were 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  Chinese 
  people 
  and 
  

   which 
  happened 
  to 
  come 
  to 
  their 
  attention. 
  Later 
  westerners 
  made 
  

   more 
  serious 
  search 
  for 
  plants 
  grown 
  in 
  Chinese 
  gardens 
  and 
  shipped 
  

   cuttings 
  and 
  seeds 
  home 
  so 
  that 
  their 
  own 
  gardens 
  and 
  greenhouses 
  

   might 
  be 
  enriched. 
  Later 
  still 
  definite 
  exploration 
  for 
  useful 
  plants 
  

   was 
  undertaken, 
  from 
  which 
  developed 
  scientific 
  botanical 
  exploration 
  

   and 
  the 
  collecting 
  of 
  herbarium 
  specimens 
  of 
  all 
  species. 
  The 
  first 
  

   westerners 
  who 
  concerned 
  themselves 
  with 
  the 
  plants 
  of 
  China 
  were 
  

   traders 
  whose 
  primary 
  interest 
  was 
  business. 
  These 
  were 
  followed 
  by 
  

   specially 
  employed 
  plant 
  explorers, 
  the 
  earliest 
  of 
  whom 
  were 
  not 
  

   highly 
  trained 
  as 
  botanists. 
  Later 
  came 
  better-qualified 
  men 
  to 
  

   gather 
  and 
  interpret 
  the 
  wealth 
  of 
  botanical 
  material 
  so 
  much 
  desired 
  

   by 
  horticulturists, 
  agriculturists, 
  and 
  scientists 
  in 
  the 
  west. 
  It 
  is 
  

   specially 
  significant 
  that 
  almost 
  all 
  the 
  European 
  countries 
  and 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  were 
  interested 
  in 
  exploring 
  for 
  China's 
  botanical 
  

   treasures, 
  for 
  the 
  open-door 
  policy 
  in 
  China 
  prevented 
  any 
  one 
  nation 
  

   from 
  excluding 
  the 
  others. 
  In 
  the 
  beginning, 
  of 
  course, 
  all 
  material 
  

   collected 
  was 
  sent 
  back 
  home, 
  so 
  that 
  today 
  the 
  important 
  scientific 
  

   collections 
  are 
  scattered 
  throughout 
  Europe 
  and 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

   Later, 
  when 
  stable 
  centers 
  were 
  established 
  in 
  or 
  near 
  China, 
  botanical 
  

   work 
  was 
  carried 
  on 
  from 
  places 
  nearer 
  the 
  collecting 
  grounds, 
  and 
  at 
  

   least 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  material 
  was 
  retained 
  in 
  the 
  country. 
  Soon 
  after 
  

   Hong 
  Kong 
  was 
  ceded 
  to 
  Great 
  Britain 
  in 
  1841, 
  the 
  Hong 
  Kong 
  

   Botanical 
  Garden 
  and 
  herbarium 
  were 
  established, 
  and 
  similar 
  

   institutions 
  in 
  various 
  places 
  were 
  started 
  as 
  opportunities 
  opened 
  

   up. 
  In 
  the 
  earlier 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  century 
  western 
  missionary 
  

   schools, 
  colleges, 
  and 
  universities 
  were 
  founded 
  and, 
  together 
  with 
  

   various 
  native 
  Chinese 
  schools 
  and 
  institutions, 
  undertook 
  botanical 
  

   work. 
  Until 
  recently 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  basic 
  or 
  purely 
  technical 
  study 
  has 
  

   been 
  done 
  in 
  Europe 
  or 
  America, 
  largely 
  because 
  the 
  institutions 
  in 
  

   China 
  lacked 
  the 
  basic 
  scientific 
  collections 
  so 
  essential 
  to 
  such 
  studies, 
  

   but 
  now 
  much 
  is 
  being 
  done 
  by 
  Chinese 
  in 
  China. 
  

  

  This 
  story 
  of 
  Chinese 
  botany 
  is 
  closely 
  bound 
  up 
  with 
  the 
  pro- 
  

   gressive 
  opening 
  up 
  of 
  China 
  to 
  western 
  penetration. 
  At 
  first 
  only 
  

   the 
  prized 
  plants 
  of 
  Chinese 
  gardens 
  in 
  the 
  few 
  coastal 
  cities 
  open 
  to 
  

   foreign 
  trade 
  were 
  known. 
  Later 
  the 
  foreigners 
  were 
  permitted 
  under 
  

   special 
  restrictions 
  to 
  explore 
  the 
  nearby 
  hills. 
  Still 
  later, 
  when 
  the 
  

   great 
  diplomatic 
  missions 
  were 
  allowed 
  to 
  travel 
  overland 
  between 
  

   Peiping 
  and 
  the 
  southern 
  ports, 
  glimpses 
  were 
  obtained 
  of 
  the 
  botani- 
  

   cal 
  wealth 
  of 
  the 
  interior. 
  Following 
  the 
  opium 
  wars, 
  1840 
  to 
  1861, 
  

   permission 
  was 
  wrested 
  from 
  the 
  reluctant 
  Chinese 
  rulers 
  to 
  penetrate 
  

   farther 
  inland 
  and 
  to 
  establish 
  consulates, 
  customs 
  stations, 
  mission 
  

   compounds, 
  and 
  other 
  centers 
  from 
  which 
  botanical 
  work 
  could 
  be 
  

   conducted. 
  Eventually 
  botanical 
  explorers 
  began 
  to 
  enter 
  the 
  back 
  

  

  