Acknowledgments
The origins of this book lie in 2003, when, as a Kludge Fellow of the US Library of Congress, I first had the opportunity to read the manuscript Xiuxiang hongmao fanzi
Although I knew from the very beginning that the Library of Congress manuscripts previously owned by Carter were highly valuable for academic research, I did not know much about Carter himself, and my early research was limited to exploring the texts and analyzing their language. In 2013, I began corresponding by email with Mr. John Eng-Wong of Brown University, and our conversation led me to envision a book about Carter and his engagement with the Chinese language in the context of early sinology and China-US relations. John gave invaluable assistance to me throughout the whole writing process, which will always live in my heart. Through John’s introduction, I became friends with Dr. Caroline Frank and others whose research enhanced my knowledge of Carter and his family, and of the history of Rhode Island and of the China trade as well.
Carter’s status as an American pioneer in Chinese studies is the main theme of this book, and his life experiences make him a fitting subject to address from a cross-cultural perspective. Such an investigation, especially when it treats an earlier period in history, will inevitably encounter various problems related to translation and the analysis of manuscripts, and to understanding and interpreting cultures. Regarding these problems, Dr. Gene McGarry and Mr. Kwong-yiu Lee provided reliable assistance to me to ensure a clear and fluent presentation of the evidence and arguments. Ms. Erika Hebblethwaite and Ms. Wendy Smyer Yu also participated in editing and proofreading during the initial and final phases, respectively. I wish to express my gratitude to them all.
When sorting out the historical materials passed down by Carter and reconstructing his story, I obtained much assistance from scholars with professional expertise in various languages and academic disciplines, including Mr. Herbert Kam Shing Chan of Beit Midrash Yeshua, who helped to assess Carter’s Hebrew proficiency; Professor Johan C. Thom of Stellenbosch University, who offered assistance in decoding the Latin manuscripts of Carter and his Chinese instructor Abel Yen; and Professor Masayuki Yoshikawa of the University of Tokyo, who analyzed Carter’s system of phonetic notation for the Canton dialect. I am indebted to my colleagues Ms. Yeuk Tan Chan and Dr. Yan Yan Chan for answering my questions about teaching Chinese as a foreign language and for checking the Hanyu Pinyin transliterations.
In the process of writing this book I was much benefited by scholarly exchanges and conceptual inspirations. Professor Paul A. Van Dyke examined some early drafts of this book and gave valuable suggestions. Two anonymous readers who reviewed the manuscript for Brill’s East and West series made concrete recommendations regarding the theoretical framework and organization of the book. During the revision, Professor Chuxiong Wei examined the whole manuscript and made very useful suggestions for improvements. In addition, when I was a visiting scholar at a number of institutions, including the Department of History, King’s College London; the Department of American Studies, Brown University; and the Department of History, Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou), and participated in various international academic conferences, seminars and invited talks, I had numerous discussions with other historians, scholars, and linguists. All of these activities enriched the content of the book and helped me to make adjustments to its shape and direction.
The writing of this book was supported by research grants provided by several sources. I was awarded the General Research Grant by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council for a research project entitled “Teaching and Learning Chinese in Canton and Macao in 1805–15: Abel Yen, the Dictionary Hán-tzé-sin-yih and the Anglo-American Community,” and part of that grant subsidized later research for chapters 3 and 4 of the book. Furthermore, the University of Hong Kong’s Seed Funding for Basic Research, the Small Research Grant program of the university’s School of Chinese, and the Hsu Long Sing Research Fund of the Faculty of Arts all provided financial assistance for collecting information, duplicating historical documents, writing the text, and preparing the manuscript for publication. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of these sources of support for their generosity.
For the assistance I received while collecting firsthand materials, accessing historical documents, making duplicates, and securing permission to publish specific items, I am grateful to the following libraries, academic institutions, and individuals: the John Carter Brown Library, especially Ms. Kimberly Nusco; the John Hay Library (including the Annmary Brown Library) of Brown University Libraries, especially Ms. Karen Eberhart and Mr. Raymond Butti; the Brown University Curator, Ms. Nicole Wholean; the Rhode Island Historical Society Library, especially Mr. J. D. Kay; the Manuscript Division of the US Library of Congress, as well as the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, and in particular its reference librarian Mr. Eric Frazier; the Maryland State Archives; the British Library; the Royal Asiatic Society Library, especially Dr. Edward Weech and Ms. Nancy Charley; the City Archives of Mantes-la-Jolie, especially Ms. Caroline Koenig; the Department of Manuscripts of the Bibliothèque nationale de France; M. Romain Dugast, Head of Public Services at the Departmental Archive of Yvelines, France; and Professor Chao-ming Liu and Dr. Caroline Frank; and Miss Emily Louise Dawes.
In addition, my graduate student Mr. Ka Hang Chu assisted in compiling the bibliography and tidying up the format of the manuscript so that this book could be delivered on schedule to the publisher. At Brill, Ms. Qin Higley, Ms. Elizabeth You, and Ms. Kristen Chevalier guided me through the publication process, and I am grateful for their help.
Finally, I am thankful to my good friends Dr. Peter Lars Laamann, Professor Joseph Tse-Hei Lee, Mr. Allan Chung Hang Lo, Dr. Kwong Tai Lam, Dr. Chi Ming Chan, and my wife Jessie, together with my children Rita and Brian. Their care, support and encouragement are the motive power driving me to complete this book.