My Life in China and America · Chapter
XII: Expedition to the Taiping Tea District explained
Yung Wing, disillusioned with the Taiping rebellion, turns his attention to commercial ventures.
What happens
Yung Wing, disillusioned with the Taiping rebellion, turns his attention to commercial ventures. He learns of a large stock of green tea in the Taiping district, controlled by rebels, and organizes an expedition to purchase it. After a preliminary survey, he leads a treasure-laden fleet upriver, facing a tense night when a large rebel band approaches, but they manage to avoid conflict through negotiation and caution.
Themes in this chapter
Corruption and Personal Integrity
Yung Wing's decision to pursue wealth as a first duty reflects a pragmatic approach, yet he insists on not surrendering the treasure without effort, showing a personal code of honor.
Modernization vs. Tradition
The expedition uses a mix of traditional Chinese boats and modern firearms, and Yung Wing's business methods reflect a modern entrepreneurial spirit within a traditional setting.
Characters to notice
- Yung Wing
Narrator and leader of the tea expedition, seeking fortune after abandoning hopes in the Taipings.
- Viceroy Tsang Kwoh Fan
Not directly present, but Yung Wing's connection to him is mentioned as a source of influence.
- Hung Siu Chune
Leader of the Taipings, whose movement Yung Wing has concluded cannot reform China.
Key passages
“My Nanking visit was utterly barren of any substantial hope of promoting any scheme of educational or political reform for the general welfare of China or for the advancement of my personal interest.”
My trip to Nanking yielded no real prospects for educational or political reform, nor for my own advancement.
Yung Wing expresses his disillusionment with the Taipings.
“I reasoned with myself that this was a chance for me to make a fortune, but wondered who would be foolhardy enough to furnish the capital, thinking that no business man of practical experience would risk his money in such a wild goose adventure, surrounded as it was with more than ordinary dangers and difficulties, in a country where highway robbery, lawlessness and murder were of daily occurrence.”
I saw this as an opportunity to get rich, but doubted any sensible businessman would invest in such a risky venture, given the constant dangers of robbery and violence.
Yung Wing weighs the risks and rewards of the tea expedition.