Treaty of Wangxia
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World's biggest library grows with China
In stunning detail, watercolor posters detail conflict between China, Japan in Library of Congress display On Sept 16, two days before the 85th anniversary of the "September 18 Incident", which marked the beginning of Japanese troops' invasion of northeast China, the Library of Congress website published a blog written by Yuwu Song, Chinese reference librarian with the Asian Division at the library. The blog, Posters on the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45 at the Asian Division, Library of Congress, presented rarely seen watercolor posters originally created during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Massacres and atrocities were common. The casualties from this devastating war, lasting from 1937 to 1945, numbered 35 million, according to President Xi Jinping in a speech he gave at the commemoration of 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing last year. The posters shown by Song's blog brought the brutality of war into today's light. World's biggest library grows with China Die with the Enemy, a hand-drawn poster depicts a Chinese pilot deliberately diving into a Japanese bomber, a scenario that could happen if a Chinese plane was hit or ran out of fuel. Provided to China Daily The hand-drawn Die with the Enemy depicts a Chinese pilot deliberately diving into a Japanese bomber, a scenario that would happen if a Chinese plane was hit or ran out of fuel. Another poster, New Dragon Dance Parade: Total War with International Assistance, illustrates a Japanese militarist getting bitten by a dog and chased by dragon dancers, with recognizable characters in the crowd looking on - such as Uncle Sam, Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill - symbolizing the international alliance against Japan. World's biggest library grows with China One of the rarely seen hand-drawn watercolor posters originally created during the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Thunder, shows a group of fighter jets flying over China and the South China Sea with an eagle in the background, which could exemplify speed and power. The posters are part of 6000 items pertaining to the war collected and preserved by the Library of Congress' Chinese collection. Providei to China Daily The poster was donated to the Library of Congress by the family of Nelson Trusler Johnson (1887-1954), the US ambassador to the Republic of China from 1935 to 1941, according to the blog. Evidence from a Chinese Air Force recruiting poster suggests that some of the posters were transferred to the Library on October 17, 1944, and were possibly brought back by Flying Tigers crews or other American military staff as souvenirs of the Chinese Air Force. World's biggest library grows with China The Year of 1943 delineates a buglike Japanese plane running up against a stone wall, a symbol of fortified Chinese defense, and Strive for the Control of the Sky and Get the Enemy Out of Our Territory, outlining a large hand reaching down to seize a downed enemy plane with the Japanese pilot bailing out, are part of 6,000 items pertaining to the war collected and preserved by the Library of Congress' Chinese collection. Provided To China Daily According to Song, the library's Chinese collection contains more than 6,000 items pertaining to the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45. "These posters first came to light in the summer of 2009 when librarians at the Asian Division accidentally ran into some old WWII newspapers and Chinese Air Force propaganda materials in the Chinese book stacks," Song wrote on the blog. The watercolor posters shown in Song's blog are among the many unique Chinese materials in the library's Asian collection. World's biggest library grows with China This untitled print shows Chinese foot soldiers running after the fleeing enemy while shielded by Chinese warplanes. The posters are part of 6,000 items pertaining to the war collected and preserved by the Library of Congress' Chinese collection. Provided To China Daily And they're just the tip of the iceberg of the more than one million China-related items housed in the library today. Officially established in 1928 and followed by reorganizations and name-changes over the years, the Asian Division at the Library of Congress, or Asian Reading Room, now holds the largest Chinese collection outside of the Chinese mainland. Chi Wang, former head of the library's Chinese section at LC, witnessed the growth of the Chinese collection from 300,000 to 1,000,000 in his 48 years career before retiring in October 2004. In 1973, shortly after President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, proposed and arranged then premier Zhou Enlai and US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, officials from the National Library of China visited the Library of Congress, which started the rapid growth of the Chinese collection, according to Chi Wang. World's biggest library grows with China New Dragon Dance Parade: Total War with International Assistance is a poster illustrating a Japanese militarist being bitten by a dog and chased by dragon dancers, with recognizable characters in the crowds looking on - such as Uncle Sam (United States), Charles de Gaulle (France) and Winston Churchill (Great Britain) - to symbolize the international alliance against Japan. Provided to China Daily As of the end of the 2015 fiscal year, the Chinese collection consisted of 1,178,304 monographic volumes, 20,000 rolls of microfilm that cover 800 entries of monographs, 500 periodicals, and over 200 newspapers, along within major full-text electronic databases and resources made available to patrons in the Asian Division Reading Room. And the collection continues to grow rapidly, gaining in stature as a national asset in the US as well as one of the principal contemporary China collections in the world. "Part of our uniqueness is that some of our collection cannot be found anywhere else in the world, not even in China (the Chinese mainland)," said Jeffery Wang, reference librarian at the Asian division, who is from Taiwan and has been working as a Chinese collection specialist at the library for 12 years. "The Asian division here served as a shelter for some of the rare books." World's biggest library grows with China The Asian Division Reading Room of the Library of Congress is now one of the largest Chinese collection outside of China with more than 11 million volumes of books and over 2 million journal issues. The Chinese collection began to develop when Emperor Tongzhi gave 10 works in 933 volumes to the library in 1869. Yuan Yuan / For China Daily "We have more than 5,000 titles of the rare books, books that were published before 1796," Wang said. "We also have ancient versions of various chorography, which attracted those who want to study Chinese local history." The Asian division also holds 10 percent of the existing codices of the one-time world's largest encyclopedia, Chinese Ming Dynasty's Emperor Yung Lo's Great Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia, compiled for the emperor by some 2,000 scholars between 1403 and 1407, was the earliest and largest in the history of China. The original was completely destroyed during the final days of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but fortunately a manuscript copy, made between 1562 and 1567, survived. However, largely destroyed by fire in 1900, only a few hundred of the original 22,000 volumes survived. With 41 volumes collected, the library now has the largest holding of the encyclopedia outside of China. The British Library and the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford hold 24 and 19 volumes respectively, according to David Helliwell, curator of the Chinese collections at the Bodleian Library. Along with Chinese-language materials, the collection also houses several thousand volumes in Manchu, Naxi and other minority languages. Established in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The library is not only a research library that officially serves the Congress but also functions as the national library of the US. The library's Chinese collection was started in 1869 when Qing Dynasty Emperor Tongzhi gave the library 10 works in 933 volumes of Chinese books. By 1912, the collection had grown to 16,900 volumes through acquisitions, donations and gifts from notable diplomats, such as Caleb Cushing and William Rockhill, and gifts from the Chinese government at the conclusion of the Louisiana Exposition of 198 works (in 1965 volumes) in 1904. "Caleb Cushing, also known as Gu Sheng, represented the US government in signing the Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia in 1844, the first diplomatic agreement between China and the US," Jeffery Wang said. "He donated not only Chinese books but also books in languages of the Manchus and the Moslems." "Another noticeable donor was William Rockhill, who as a US representative signed the Beijing Treaty after the end of Boxer Rebellion in 1901," Jeffery Wang said. "He was very fond of and interested in China, and he collected a significant amount of books." These early acquisitions paved the way for the growth of the Chinese collection. Today, nearly 70 percent of newly acquired materials are purchased through book venders in China, according to Jeffery Wang. The Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress is elegant and spacious. Sunlight streams through the half-closed blinds onto the dark-wooden reading table. The smell of books, newspapers and periodicals from the wooden shelves create a fantasy come true for book lovers. "There were barely any readers when I started in 1958," Chi Wang said. "Then thousands of readers coming every year by the time I left, which was in 2004." "The Chinese collection takes an active role for research on the study of China," said Jeffery Wang. "Chinese materials have been extensively used by US government agencies, research and educational institutions, academic scholars and the reading public as well," Jeffery Wang said. "We take an active role in the development of the library's resources for research in Chinese studies," Wang added. "Also, our Congressional Research Service is dedicated to serving Congress, collecting and translating needed materials for them. It's our responsibility to partner with and assist them." "When staff from the offices of Congressman or Senators need to write reports about China-related topics, they sometimes turn to us," Wang said. "And we help CRS with translation as well." Researchers who want to conduct studies at the division need to be established scholars from formal academic institutions. They also need to provide a report explaining their studies and prepare detailed plans and a list of required books. "The majority of general public who come to the Asian Reading Room are Chinese or Chinese Americans," Wang said. "In a lot of the cases, they read modern and contemporary books, such as Sanmao's novels." Although books from the library cannot be checked out, readers are always welcomed to go to the reading rooms to read. "I think learning Chinese is the first step to being able to dig into Chinese culture," Wang said. "We may not teach the readers a whole lot about Chinese culture, but we do interest them sometimes. Some of them might start learning Chinese from there." Yuan Yuan contributed to this story. leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com
The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844
The Treaty of Wangxia (Wang-hsia) was the first formal treaty signed between the United States and China in 1844. It served as an American counterpart to the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing that ended the First Opium War in 1842. The Signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 The Opium War and these treaties were emblematic of an era in which Western powers tried to gain unfettered access to Chinese products and markets for European and U.S. trade. Western traders, including those from the United States, had long sought a variety of Chinese products (including furniture, silk and tea), but found there were few products that China wanted from the West. American trade with China began as early as 1784, relying on North American exports such as furs, sandalwood, and ginseng, but American interest in Chinese products soon outstripped the Chinese appetite for these American exports. The British had already discovered a great market in southern China for smuggled opium, and American traders soon also turned to opium to supplement their exports to China. Beyond the health problems related to opium addiction, the increasing opium trade with the Western powers meant that for the first time, China imported more goods than it exported. Settling this financial problem eventually led to the First Opium War between Great Britain and China, from 1839 to 1842. After defeating the Chinese in a series of naval conflicts, the British were in a position to make a large number of demands from the weaker Qing Government of China, in the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing. Not to be outdone, U.S. negotiators sought to conclude a similar treaty with the Chinese, to guarantee the United States many of the favorable terms awarded the British. The Chinese readily agreed in an effort to keep all foreigners on the same footing. U.S. President John Tyler chose Massachusetts Congressman Caleb Cushing as his representative in treaty negotiations with the Chinese. Cushing and his counterparts reached the terms of the treaty quickly and signed it at Wangxia, a suburb of the Portuguese port city of Macau, in 1844. The Treaty of Wangxia replicated many of the key terms of the Treaty of Nanjing. Most importantly, it established five treaty ports as open for Chinese-Western trade (Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai). These treaty ports became key crossroads for Western and Chinese culture, as they were the first locations where foreigners and foreign trading operations could own land in China. Massachusetts Congressman Caleb Cushing The U.S. treaty was somewhat longer than the British version, as it included major points from the Treaty of Nanjing, but also added some issues of particular interest to the United States. Article 17 protected the interests of American missionaries in China (several had acted as translators during the negotiation process). Article 18 allowed Americans living or working in China to employ tutors to help them learn Chinese, a practice formerly forbidden by the Chinese Government. Unlike Great Britain, the United States agreed that anyone involved in the opium trade or the smuggling of contraband would be prosecuted under Chinese law, but, with that exception, the treaty allowed for other Americans in China to be afforded the benefits of extraterritoriality. This meant that any American accused of committing a crime in China would not be subject to the jurisdiction of the local law, but would instead be tried and, if necessary, punished by American officials in China. Due to the most-favored-nation clause in all of the western powers’ treaties with the Chinese Government, any special consideration given one power could ultimately be claimed by them all. In the 1850s, the United States and the European powers grew increasingly dissatisfied with both the terms of their treaties with China, and the Qing Government’s failure to adhere to them. The British forced the issue by attacking the Chinese port cities of Guangzhou and Tianjin in the Second Opium War (1857–1858). Under the most-favored-nation clause, all of the foreign powers operating in China were permitted to seek the same concessions of China that Great Britain achieved by force. As a result, France, Russia, and the United States all signed treaties with China at Tianjin in quick succession in 1858. The agreements reached between the Western powers and China following the Opium Wars came to be known as the “unequal treaties” because in practice they gave foreigners privileged status and extracted concessions from the Chinese. Ironically, the Qing Government had fully supported the clauses on extraterritoriality and most-favored nation status in the first treaties in order to keep the foreigners in line. This treaty system also marked a new direction for Chinese contact with the outside world. For years, the Chinese had conducted their foreign policy through the tribute system, in which foreign powers wishing to trade with China were required first to bring a tribute to the emperor, acknowledging the superiority of Chinese culture and the ultimate authority of the Chinese ruler. Unlike China’s neighbors, the European powers ultimately refused to make these acknowledgements in order to trade, and they demanded instead that China adhere to Western diplomatic practices, such as the creation of treaties. Although the unequal treaties and the use of the most-favored-nation clause were effective in creating and maintaining open trade with China, both were also important factors in building animosity and resentment toward Western imperialism. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1830–1860: Diplomacy and Westward Expansion Indian Treaties and the Removal Act of 1830 The Amistad Case, 1839 The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844 Webster-Ashburton Treaty, 1842 The Oregon Territory, 1846 The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845–1848 Founding of Liberia, 1847 United States Maritime Expansion across the Pacific during the 19th Century Gadsden Purchase, 1853–1854 The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853 The Opening to China Part II: the Second Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Tianjin, 1857–1859 Territorial Expansion, Filibustering, and U.S. Interest in Central America and
Renewing the Sectional Struggle 1848-1854
The Popular Sovereignty Panacea Popular Sovereignty: the idea that the people of a territory should determine their territory's status of slavery. It was popular with politicians because it was a compromise between the abolitionists and the slaveholders. At the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore, the Democrats chose General Lewis Cass, a veteran of the war of 1812, as their candidate for presidency. Cass was not against slavery; he supported popular sovereignty. Political Triumphs for General Taylor The Whigs, who met in Philadelphia, chose Zachary Taylor as their candidate for presidency. Taylor did not have an official stance on slavery, but he did own many slaves. Henry Clay had not been chosen because he had too many enemies. The Free Soil Party was created by antislavery men of the North who didn't trust Cass or Taylor. They supported federal aid for internal improvements. They argued that with slavery, wage labor would wither away and with it, the chance for the American worker to own property. Zachary Taylor won the election of 1848 (sworn into office in 1849). "Californy Gold" In 1848, gold was discovered in California. The influx of people associated with the California gold rush brought violence and disease that overwhelmed the small Californian government. Needing protection, the Californians bypassed the territorial stage of a state, drafted their own Constitution (excluding slavery) in 1849, and applied to Congress for admission into the Union. The southerners objected to California's admission as a free state because it would be upset the balance of free and slave states in the Senate. Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman: an illiterate runaway slave who helped rescue hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, a network of anti-slavery homes that passed slaves from the slave states to Canada. By 1850, southerners started to demand stricter fugitive-slave laws. (The old fugitive-slave law passed by Congress in 1793 was very weak.) Twilight of the Senatorial Giants The congressional debate of 1850 was called to address the admission of California to the Union and threats of secession by southerners. Known as the "immortal trio," Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster spoke at the debate. Henry Clay, the "Great Compromiser," proposed a series of compromises. He suggested that the North enact a stricter fugitive-slave law. John Calhoun, the "Great Nullifier," proposed to return runaway slaves, give the South its rights as a minority, and restore the political balance. His ultimate plan was for America to have two presidents, one from the South and one from the North, each yielding one veto. Daniel Webster called for people to make concessions and support Clay's proposals, for the sake of maintaining the Union (Seventh of March Speech). He was against slavery, but he viewed the collapse of the Union as worse. Deadlock and Danger on Capital Hill William H. Seward: senator of New York; opposed slavery and because of this, he opposed Clay's proposals; argued that God's moral law was higher than the Constitution. President Zachary Taylor opposed slavery and seemed ready to veto any compromise between the North and South that went through Congress. Breaking the Congressional Logjam In 1850, President Taylor died suddenly and Vice President Millard Fillmore took the presidency. President Fillmore signed a series of compromises contained within the Compromise of 1850. In regards to slavery, California was admitted as a free state, but the territories of New Mexico and Utah were open to popular sovereignty. Additionally, slave trade was outlawed in the District of Columbia, but a stricter fugitive-slave law was enacted. During this time period, a second Era of Good Feelings came about. Talk of secession subsided and the Northerners and Southerners were determined that the compromises would end the issue of slavery. Balancing the Compromise Scales Because the Compromise of 1850 allowed California and the New Mexico/Utah territories to be free, the Senate became unbalanced in favor of the North. The Fugitive-Slave Law of 1850, the Bloodhound Bill, said that fleeing slaves could not testify on their own behalf and they were denied a jury trial. Northerners who aided slaves trying to escape were subject to fines and jail time. This law was the South's only real gain from the compromise. Some historians argue that the Compromise of 1850 strengthened the Northerner's desire to keep the Union together. Defeat and Doom for the Whigs In the Democratic Convention of 1852 in Baltimore, the Democrats chose Franklin Pierce as their candidate for president. He supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. Meeting in Baltimore, the Whigs chose Winfield Scott as their candidate for president. He also supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. The votes for the Whig party were split between Northern Whigs, who hated the party's platform (support of Fugitive Slave Law) but accepted the candidate, and Southern Whigs, who supported the platform but not the candidate (they doubted his support of the Fugitive Slave Law). Franklin Pierce won the election of 1852. The election of 1852 marked the end of the Whig party. It died on the issue of the Fugitive Slave Law. Expansionist Stirrings South of the Border The victory of the Mexican War stimulated the spirit of Manifest Destiny. Americans started to take an interest in Central America. A canal route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that ran through Central America would be vitally important to America. The Americans and New Granada agreed to a treaty in 1848 that guaranteed America's right to use the isthmus in return for America's pledge to allow any other country to also use the isthmus. The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 said that neither America nor Britain would fortify or secure exclusive control over any isthmian waterway. Because the Compromise of 1850 prohibited slavery in the land gained in the Mexican War, southern Americans sought new territory to expand slavery. These people were known as "slavocrats." One slavocrat, William Walker, installed himself as the President of Nicaragua in July 1856. He legalized slavery, but was overthrown by surrounding Central American countries and killed in 1860. Southerners wanted to annex Cuba and turn it into a set of slave states. This would restore the balance in the Senate. President Polk offered $100 million to buy Cuba from Spain, but Spain refused. In 1850-1851, two expeditions of Southern men descended upon Cuba, with the hopes of taking it over. Both expeditions were defeated. Spanish officials in Cuba seized an American ship, the Black Warrior, in 1854. This accelerated President Pierce's interest in taking Cuba from Spain, either by force or by purchasing it. The secretary of state instructed the American ministers in Spain, England, and France to prepare confidential recommendations for the acquisition of Cuba. This document was known as the Ostend Manifesto. It stated that if Spain didn't allow America to buy Cuba for $120 million, then America would attack Cuba on grounds that Spain's continued ownership of Cuba endangered American interests. The document eventually leaked out and the Northerners foiled the President's slave-driven plan. The Allure of Asia Opium War: fought between Britain and China over the rights of British traders to trade opium in China; Britain won in 1842, gaining control of Hong Kong. Treaty of Wanghia: the first diplomatic agreement between America and China; signed in 1844; expanded trade between the two countries. Treaty of Kanagawa: opened up a small amount of trade between America and Japan; signed in 1854; it was Japan's first real interaction with the Western world in over 200 years. Pacific Railroad Promoters and the Gadsden Purchase After California and Oregon were acquired, the transcontinental railroad was proposed. The open question was: Where to put the railroad's terminus? In the North or the South? Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had James Gadsden buy an area of Mexico from Santa Anna through which the railroad would pass. Gadsden negotiated a treaty in 1853 and the Gadsden Purchase area was ceded to the United States for $10 million. Southerners argued that the railroad should run through Texas and the New Mexico territory because Texas was already a state and the New Mexico territory was a formally organized territory (it had federal troops to provide protection from Indians). The proposed Northern railroad route ran through the Nebraska territory, which was not protected by troops. The Northerners proposed plans for organizing this territory. Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Scheme Stephen A. Douglas: senator who tried to break the North-South deadlock over westward expansion; proposed the Territory of Nebraska to be sliced into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. Their status on slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. Kansas would be presumed to be a slave state, while Nebraska would be a free state. This Kansas-Nebraska Act conflicted with the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which forbade slavery in the proposed Nebraska Territory. Douglas was forced to propose the repealing of the Missouri Compromise. President Pierce fully supported the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Congress Legislates a Civil War The Kansas-Nebraska Act wrecked two compromises: the Compromise of 1820 was repealed by the act; the Compromise of 1850 was henceforth rejected by Northerners. The blunder of the Kansas-Nebraska Act hurt the Democratic Party. The Republican Party was formed in the Mid-West and it was morally against slavery. The party included Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, and other foes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Southerners hated the Republican Party.
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 The Treaty of Wanghia was negotiated by Caleb Cushing who was sent by President Tyler to secure the same rights for the United States that European nations had received from the Chinese.
2 Cushing is known for negotiating the 1844 Treaty of Wanghia, the first treaty between the United States and China Qing dynasty.
3 Webster rejected the pleas by the independent Republic of Texas that it join the United States, and helped prepare the Cushing mission to China, which concluded the Treaty of Wanghia (1844), opening several Chinese ports to American trade.