My Life in China and America · Chapter
VIII: Experiences in Business explained
After leaving the Imperial Customs Service, Yung Wing takes up a temporary position as a clerk in an English tea and silk firm, gaining valuable business experience.
What happens
After leaving the Imperial Customs Service, Yung Wing takes up a temporary position as a clerk in an English tea and silk firm, gaining valuable business experience. When the firm dissolves, he turns to translation work, which brings him into contact with influential Chinese merchants and scholars. Through his successful translation of an epitaph and a fundraising appeal for Yellow River flood victims, he gains recognition in Shanghai. He declines a comprador position in Nagasaki, preferring to maintain his dignity as a Yale graduate, and instead is sent to the tea districts to learn the tea trade. The chapter also recounts two incidents involving foreigners in Shanghai, one resolved peacefully and another ending in a physical confrontation.
Themes in this chapter
Education as a Tool for National Reform
Yung Wing's Yale education shapes his identity and his refusal to take a menial comprador position, reflecting his belief in the value of Western education.
Cultural Identity and Belonging
Yung Wing navigates between Chinese and Western cultures, using his bilingual skills to bridge the two communities in Shanghai.
Corruption and Personal Integrity
Yung Wing declines the lucrative but servile comprador role, prioritizing personal dignity and integrity over financial gain.
The West as Model and Mentor
Yung Wing's translation work and his interactions with foreigners reflect the influence of Western education and values on his career.
Characters to notice
- Yung Wing
Works as a clerk in an English firm, then as a translator; gains recognition in Shanghai; declines comprador position; sent to tea districts.
- Tsang Kee Foo
Comprador who introduces Yung Wing to translation work and to Li Jen Shu; present during the offer of comprador position.
- Viceroy Tsang Kwoh Fan
Mentioned as the future patron of the Chinese Education Scheme, to whom Yung Wing is introduced through Li Jen Shu.
- Li Sien Lan
Celebrated Chinese mathematician who introduces Yung Wing to Viceroy Tsang Kwoh Fan.
Key passages
“I was not at all disconcerted or discouraged, for I had no idea of following a mercantile life as a permanent calling.”
I remained calm and undeterred because I never intended to make commerce my lifelong career.
Yung Wing's resilience after losing his job.
“I told him I would prefer to travel for the firm as its agent in the interior and correspond directly with the head of the firm. In that case, I would not sacrifice my manhood for the sake of making money in a position which is commonly held to be servile.”
I expressed my preference to work as an interior agent, as I refused to compromise my dignity for a role considered lowly.
Yung Wing's refusal of the comprador position.
“In the great web of human affairs, it is almost impossible to know who among our friends and acquaintances may prove to be the right clue to unravel the skein of our destiny.”
In the complex tapestry of life, we never know which connection will lead to our fate.
Reflection on the importance of networking.