30
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS
JEFFERSON AND CHINESE CIVILIZATION
DAVE WANG
ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY
Abstract:
American civilization is not a simple extension of European civilization. In the historic process
of the formation of American civilization, it drew positive elements from Chinese civilization.
The founding fathers with a great vision for this nation worked hard to draw positive elements
from Chinese civilization during the formative age of the United States. Benjamin Franklin,
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson made their efforts to use the positive elements from
Chinese civilization to build a new nation in North America. Benjamin Franklin promoted
Confucian moral philosophy to North America in his effort to enhance his own and others’ virtue
in North America. George Washington tried to grow Chinese flowers in his garden. Thomas
Jefferson attempted to combine Chinese architectural style with the European style. The
founding fathers’ efforts have produced great influence on the United States and become a
valuable legacy.
Key words: American Civilization, Chinese Civilization, Benjamin Franklin, George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson
It is well-known that "for much of their history, Americans defined their society in
opposition to Europe."1 "America, it was argued, was a distinct civilization."2 George
Washington had believed that “the new nation would develop a unique American character.”3
Thomas Jefferson alleged American civilization “was the part of a form of civilization higher
than the polished societies of Europe.”4 US cultures have evolved and absorbed elements from
other cultures in the historic process of the formation of American civilization. American
civilization drew positive elements from other major civilizations of the world, including
Chinese civilization. In contemporary society, American political leaders have also clearly
realized the influence of Chinese civilization on the development of American civilization. Bill
1
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order, Simon & Schuster, Rockfeller
Center, New York, 1996, P.46.
2
Ibid.
3
A. J. Langguth, Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence, New York, Simon &
Schuster, 2006, p.4.
4
Robert W. Tuck and David C. Hendrickson, “Thomas Jefferson and American Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Affairs,
Spring 1990, Vol. 69, Issue 2, p.135.
31
Clinton pointed out that China as “a stronghold of creativity, knowledge and wealth” had an
impact on American life long before the United States was even born. He told Americans that
“From the printing China invented to the poetry it produced, from medicine and mathematics to
the magnetic compass and humanistic philosophies, many of China’s earliest gifts still enrich our
lives today.”5
The founding fathers of the United States were among the main weavers of the fiber of
American civilization. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had
positive attitudes towards Chinese civilization and worked hard to borrow from it in their efforts
to make a new and flourishing society in North America.6 Benjamin Franklin studied and
promoted Confucian Moral philosophy in his effort to cultivate his own morals as well as to
encourage Americans to do the same. George Washington personally conducted an experiment
to grow Chinese flowers in his garden. Thomas Jefferson incorporated Chinese architectural
elements into his own buildings in Monticello.
Chinese Civilization in North America during the Formative Age of the United States
Before the founding of the United States, colonialists had been well aware of China and
its products. During the early colonial period Chinese cultural influence in North America was
characterized as “novelty".7 Chinese products enriched "American life in many, many ways."8
For those Americans who lived a Puritan life, China, the remote empire, was a source of tea and
silk.9 During the mid-eighteenth century, the colonists bought a huge amount of "Chinese
Chippendale" furniture, Chinese wallpaper, silk and porcelain. Some Chinese products, such as
5
Bill Clinton, Remarks at a state dinner Honoring President Jiang, October 29, 1997, Executive Office of the
President, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Weekly Ending Friday, October 21, 1997 (Washington,
D.C: US. Government Printing Office, 1997), 33: 1685-1686.
6
As for more information on the founding fathers’ connection with Chinese civilization, see Dave Wang, “The
Founding Fathers of the United States and Chinese Porcelain Ware,” in Huaren-E Magazine, January 2008;
Benjamin Franklin and Chinese Civilization, U.S –China Relation Series, No. 2, New York, Outer Sky Press,
August 2006; Benjamin Franklin’s Attitude toward Chinese Civilization, Social Science Journal of Harbin Institute
of Technology, Issue 4, 2006; Benjamin Franklin and China: A Survey of Benjamin Franklin’s Efforts at Drawing
Positive Elements from Chinese Civilization during the Formative Age of the United States, published since 2005
by the Official Website of the Tercentenary Commission. The paper is available at
http://www.benfranklin300.org/etc_essays.htm
7
William J. Brinker, Commerce, Culture, and Horticulture: The Beginnings of Sino-American Cultural Relations,”
in Thomas H. Etzold, ed., Aspects of Sino-American Relations Since 1784, New York and London: New
Viewpoints, A Division of Franklin Watt, 1978, p.11.
8
C. Martin Wilbur, "Modern America's Cultural Debts to China," in Issues & Studies: A Journal of China Studies
and International Affairs, vol. 22, No.1, January 1986, p.127.
9
As for tea and silk in the United States, see Dave Wang, “Tea: The Leaves that Triggered the American War for
Independence,” in Huaren E-Magazine and “Benjamin Franklin’s Efforts to Promote Sericulture in North America,”
in Huaren E-Magazine, January 2008.
32
chinaware and less expensive handicrafts, "spread among less affluent sectors of American
society."10
Confucius “dominated early American perspectives Chinese worship."11 In colonial
bibliophile James Logan's collection works of Confucius were found.12 In 1733, Logan "acquired
for his personal library a copy of the first European printing of Confucius philosophy.13 In May
1788, an article carried in the Columbia Magazine introduced its readers to Confucius’s filial
piety.14 John Bartram, the well-known American scientist, showed his interest in the personality
of Confucius."15 Another influential magazine in New England, the New Hampshire Magazine in
its September 1793 issue published "an outstanding tribute to Confucius and Chinese religion."
A writer using Confucius Disciple as a pen name wrote "a concise History of Confucius, a
famous Chinese philosopher," in which he demonstrated his belief that Confucius was "a
Character so truly virtuous."16 In 1796 Jedidiah Morse, the author of American Universal
Geography cited Daxue (Great Learning), the new French translation, and Zhongyong (the
Doctrine of the Mean) two of the four classics of Confucius philosophy. Morse praised the two
works as "the most excellent precepts of wisdom and virtue, expressed with the greatest
eloquence, elegance and precision."17 In his word, Confucius "is very striking, and which far
exceeds, in clearness, the prophecy of Socrates."18
The influx of Chinese goods widely influenced the American way of life. During the
early 1700's tea had been used as a social beverage. Judge Samuel Sewall had a good record of
Boston life in the turn of the 17th century. The large amount of Chinese nankeens (a kind of
cloth) into the United States "opened a new epoch in the history of American clothing." 19 In the
streets of Salem, New England women wore "the most fashionable jackets and trousers" made of
nankeens. A more elegant material, the crepe de chine made of soft "Oriental silk" which was
10
Warren I. Cohen, America's Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations, New York: Columbia
University Press, 1990, p.2.
11
Ibid.
12
Frederick B Tolles, Meeting House and Counting House, New York: 1963, pp. 147, 174-175 n.38.
13
A. Owen Aldridge, The Dragon and Eagle: The Presence of China in the American Enlightenment, Detroit:
Wayne State University Press, 1993, p.23
14
The Columbia Magazine, May 1788, 2, pp.257-263.
15
The Morgan Library in New York City possesses a manuscript in Bartram's hand titled "Life and Character of the
Chinese Philosopher Confucius."
16
The New Hampshire Magazine, September 1793.
17
Jediadiah Morse, The American universal Geography; or a View of the Present Situation of the United States and
of All the Kingdoms States, and Republics in the Known World. 2vols. Part II. Second edition of his volume. Boston:
Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews, p.499.
18
Ibid.
19
Ping Chia Kuo, "Canton and Salem: The Impact of Chinese Culture Upon New England Life During the PostRevolutionary Era," in The New England Quarterly, vol. III, 1930. p.426
33
exceedingly smooth, and gauzy to transparency, "took the women by storm."20 By the end of the
eighteenth century, in states like New Hampshire, the manufacture of gingham had become "one
of the common industries."21
Benjamin Franklin and Confucian Moral Philosophy
Franklin’s first contact with Confucius’ works was not in America but in Europe. In
1724, Franklin borrowed money and traveled to London to buy a printing press and other
equipment. When he stayed in London, Franklin was passionate about reading various works.
Except for working, he committed his time “in books.”22 It was in this period that Franklin
contacted the Confucius moral work. Evidence shows that Franklin read The Morals of
Confucius, published in London in 1691.23 The following paragraph from the Morals of
Confucius left a deep impression on Franklin:
This is what Confucius proposed to the princes, to instruct them how to rectify and polish first their own
reason, and afterwards the reason and person of all their subjects. But to make the greater impression, after
having gradually descended from the wise conduct of the whole empire, to the perfection of the
understanding, he re-ascends, by the same degrees from the illuminated understanding to the happy state of
the whole empire. If Said he, the understanding of a prince is well enlightened, his will incline only to
good: his will inclining only to good, his soul will be entirely rectified, there will be not any passion that
can make him destroy his rectitude, he will be composed in his exterior, nothing will be observed in his
person that can offend complaisance. His person being thus perfected, his family forming itself according
to this model, will be reformed and amended. His family being arrived at this perfection, it will serve as an
example to all the subjects of the particular kingdom, and the members of the particular kingdom to all
those that compose the body of the empire. Thus the whole empire will be well governed; order and justice
will reign there; we shall there enjoy a profound peace; it will be an [sic] happy and flourishing empire. 24
After Franklin “finally settled on what he believed, he did not talk much about it, but that
belief gave direction to everything he did and to what he thought to ought to do.”25 He worked
20
ibid., p.427.
ibid., p.428.
22
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Introduction by Lewis Leary, New York and
London: A Touchstone Book, 2004, p.40.
23
The Morals of Confucius is the first English book, which introduced Confucian moral philosophy to the English
readers. Its whole title is The Morals of Confucius: A Chinese Philosopher, Who flourished above Five hundred
years before the Coming of Our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. The following information is from the cover: Being
one of the Choicest Pieces of Learning Remaining of the Nation. The Second Edition. London: Printed for T. Horne,
at the South Entrance into the Royal Exchange, Cornbil, 1706.
24
The Morals of Confucius, pp.55-56. Franklin loved this paragraph so much that later he published it in his very
popular weekly newspaper Pennsylvania Gazette; see the Gazette, from February 28 to March 7, 1737.
25
Edmund S. Morgan, Benjamin Franklin, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2002, p.15.
21
34
tirelessly to use Confucian moral philosophy to advance his own and others’ virtue.26 By
devising “a systematic approach to virtue that emphasized a gradual, bit-by-bit approach toward
perfection” Franklin worked hard to advance his virtue throughout his life.27 Franklin exactly
followed the above Confucian procedure of moral cultivation. He cultivated his own moral first,
then promoted the youth in North America to advance their virtue, and finally encouraged all
youth in the world to improve their virtues. The process of Franklin’s efforts are divided into
four periods, in each period we could find its characteristics.28
In 1726 Franklin started to cultivate his virtue, and strove to be a perfect person. He
Dave Wang, “Exploring Benjamin Franklin’s Moral Life,” Franklin Gazette, Spring 2007.
J.A. Leo Lemay, The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume Two, Printer and Publisher, 1730-1747, Philadelphia,
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006, p.207.
28
Chronology of Franklin’s moral life from 1722 to 17901. Franklin Searched for a solution to the Moral
Issues which existed in New England, 1722-17241722 Franklin published his series of articles, in which he
expressed his desire to find solutions for the moral issues which existed in New England.2. Franklin’s Contact
with Confucius Moral philosophy, 1725 1725 Franklin contacted Confucius Moral Philosophy in
London through reading “The Morals of Confucius’ published in London in 1691.Franklin expressed the notion
that human beings need to cultivate their virtue in A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain,
published in 1725. 3. Franklin’s Efforts to Cultivate His Own Virtue according to Confucius Moral
Philosophy, 1726-17361726 Franklin expressed the notion that the rulers should show love to
their subjects in Journal of occurrences in My Voyage to Philadelphia from London, July 1726. 1727 Franklin
expressed the notion that he had focused on moral cultivation in his Letter to His Sister Jane Mecom in January
1727.He put moral issues in the discussing agenda of JUNTO.1728 He started his virtual cultivation campaign and
listed thirteen virtues he would cultivate.He stated that there was never yet a truly Great Man that was not at the
same time truly Virtuous.4. Franklin’s Efforts to Promote the Youth in North America to Cultivate Their
Virtue, 1737-17831737 Franklin published his essay “From Morals of Confucius” in his weekly newspaper
Philadelphia Gazette. 1738 Franklin promoted virtual cultivation in his widely read Poor Richard Almanack. 1743
Franklin expressed the notion that all knowledge should be usable in A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge
Among the British Plantations in America.1748 Franklin told the young trademen that industry and frugality were
the two most important virtue in his The Advice to a Trademan.1749 Franklin expressed that Confucius was
his example in his Letter to George Whitefield.Franklin told the youth in Pennsylvania to be men of good
morals in his Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania.1753 Franklin told the North American
people that “Virtue and Trade are a Child’s best Portion in Poor Richard Almanck. 1757 Franklin told the youth that
industry and frugality were the means of procuring wealth in The Way to Wealth.1758 Franklin emphasized
frugality’s importance.1760 In his Letter to Load Kamas, Franklin explained the Art of Virtue and told the youth
how to cultivate their virtue.1775 Franklin expressed his happiness seeing that frugality had become the fashion of
the American people. Frugality would make sure that Americans were able to pay off the war expenditure.1778
Franklin addressed moral’s important role in the new nation. He raised the question, “what can laws do without
morals?”1780 In his Letter to His Grandson Franklin told him that a person with virtue would live a happy
life.1783 America’s new leaders should lead by example and be role models. He showed his desire that there would
be no war in the world.5. Franklin’s Efforts to Encourage Humankind to Cultivate their Morals, 178417901784 Franklin wrote the virtual cultivation section of his autobiography.In To Those Who Would Remove to
America, Franklin told the people who planned to move to the United States that success in the New Nation rested in
if one had a good virtue. 1790 Franklin extolled industry and diligence above all virtues. He also expressed his
happy life because he cultivated his virtue.
26
27
35
stated that in the past he had “never fixed a regular design in life.” However, things were going
to change, for he was determined to to cultivate his virtue. He made the following solemn
statement. “I am now entering upon a new one: let me, therefore, make some resolutions, and
form some scheme of action, that, henceforth, I may live in all respects like a rational creature. 29
Franklin then gave out several morals that he needed to exert extra hard work to cultivate,
including frugality, honesty and industry.30 All those are important elements of Confucius moral
philosophy that Confucius requested his students and other followers to cultivate.
Two years later, Franklin, at the age of 22, compiled a list of thirteen virtues he thought to
be the most important elements that would contribute to the development of his virtue.31 The
thirteen virtues constitute the main content in Franklin’s drive for moral faultlessness. According
to Franklin himself, this system of behavior made Franklin “not only successful but a better
person.”32 Franklin’s “personal code of behavior” was clearly inspired by The Morals of
Confucius. For a comparative purpose, I have made the following table with two columns. In the
left column I list Franklin’s thirteen virtues and in the right I give the quotations from The
Morals of Confucius. Comparing each of Franklin’s thirteen virtues with Confucius sayings, we
find there exists between the two “significant parallels.”33
The thirteen virtues
01) Temperance—Eat not to
dullness; drink not to
elevation.
The Sources of the Thirteen Virtues
Eat not for the pleasure thou mayest find
therein. Eat to increase thy strength; eat
to preserve the life which thou hast
received from heaven.# The Morals of
Confucius, p.153.#
29
Benjamin Franklin, Plan of Conduct, The Writings of Benjamin Franklin from Philadelphia to London, 17221726, it available on line http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf1/m8.htm
30
Ibid.
31
Stephan A. Schwartz, Dr. Franklin’s Plan, in Smithsonian, June 2001, Vol. 33, Issue 3, p.114.
32
Jay Tolson, The Many Faces of Benjamin Franklin, in U.S. News & World Reports, 6/23/2003, Vol. 134, Issue
22, p.24.
33
Ibid.
36
02) Silence—Speak not but
what may benefit others or
yourself; avoid trifling
conversation.
Silence is absolutely necessary to the
wise man. Great discourse, elaborate
discourse, pieces of eloquence, ought to
be a language unknown to him, his
actions should be his language. As for
me, I would never speak more.# Ibid.,
p.176.#
03) Order—let all your
things have their places; let
each part of your business
have its time.
04) Resolution—Resolve to
perform what you ought;
perform without fail what
you resolve.
Franklin’s own
We must reduce to action, sincerely and
constantly perform and execute, to the
utmost of our power, the good resolution
which we have taken.# Ibid., p.120#
He says that after we know the end to
which we must attain, it is necessary to
make toward this end, by walking in the
ways which lead thereunto; by daily
confirming in his mind the resolution
fixed on for the attaining it, and by
establishing it so well, that nothing may
in the least shake it. # Ibid. p.50, see also
Pennsylvania Gazette, from February 28 to March
7, 1737, p.74.#
05) Frugality—Make no
expenses but to do good to
others or yourself, i.e., waste
nothing.
He that seeks pride in his habits and loves
not frugality, is not disposed for the study
of wisdom; thou oughtest not even to
hold correspondence with him.# The
Morals of Confucius, p.158.#
37
06) Industry—Lose no time;
be always employed in
something useful; cut off all
unnecessary actions.
He would have us avoid idleness.# Ibid.,
p.147#
Combat night and day against vices.# Ibid.
p.174.#
When he undertakes any affair, he ought
to be diligent and exact, prudent and
considerate in his words.# Ibid., p.125.#
07) Sincerity—Use no
hurtful deceit; think
innocently and justly, and, if
you speak, speak
accordingly.
To be serious, and not precipitate in our
answers # Ibid., p.147.# He is moderate
and reserved in his discourses; he speaks
with circumspection; if to him occurs a
great affluence of words, he presumes not
expose it, he restrains himself.# Ibid.,
p,103.#
08) Justice—Wrong none by
doing injuries, or omitting
the benefits that are your
duty.
The first regards the justice that ought to
be practiced between a king and his
subjects. # Ibid., p.111.#
38
09) Moderation—Avoid
extremes; forbear resenting
injuries so much as you
think they deserve.
If we abandon ourselves to an
immoderate joy, or to an excessive
sorrow, it cannon be said that our mind is
in the state wherein it ought to be, that it
has its rectitude and uprightnest.# Ibid.,
p.76.#
He says it is not only necessary to
observe moderation in general, as oft our
passions are stirred, but that also in
respect of those which are the most
lawful, innocent and laudable, we ought
not blindly to yield up ourselves
thereunto, and always to follow their
motions; it is necessary to consult reason.
# Ibid. #
Acknowledge the benefits by the return
of other benefits, but never revenge
injuries.# Ibid., p.172.#
10) Cleanliness—Tolerate
no uncleanliness in body,
cloths, or habitation.
Be always cleanly.# The School of Manners
11) Tranquility—Be not
disturbed at trifles, or at
accidents common or
unavoidable.
Franklin’s own
or Rules for Children Behaviour: At Church, at
Home, at Table, in Company, in Discourse, at
School, Abroad, and among Boys. With Some
Other Short and Mixt Precepts. By the author of
the English Exercises. (The fourth Edition)
London: Printed for the Cockerill, at the Three
Legs and Bible against Grocers-Hall in the
Povltrey, 1701, p.9.#
39
12) Chastity—Rarely use
venery but for health or
offspring, never to dullness,
weakness, or the injury of
your own or another’s peace
or reputation.
The third recommends conjugal fidelity
to husbands and wives.# The Morals of
13) Humility—Imitate Jesus
and Socrates# Benjamin
Endeavor to imitate the wise and never
discourage thyself.# The Morals of Confucius,
Franklin, The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin, New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2004, pp.6768.#
p.151.#
Confucius, p.112#
Confucius maintained, “It is not enough to know virtue, it is necessary to love it; but it is
not sufficient to love it, it is necessary to possess it.”34 After more than ten years of cultivating
his own virtue, Franklin accumulated certain experience in how to advance other people’s virtue.
He felt that it was time for him to introduce the moral philosophy of Confucius to his readers. In
1737, Franklin started to promote moral cultivation in North America systematically.
Believing that his “newspaper, also, as another means of communicating instructions,”35
Franklin made good use of all his publications to encourage the colonists to cultivate their
virtues, including the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard Almanack. In 1737, Franklin
carried some chapters from the Morals of Confucius in Pennsylvania Gazette.36
A very important principle of Confucian moral philosophy is to educate the leaders to
rule according to the belief--governing according to morality and promotion according to talents.
In 1778, two years after the colonists declared their independence; Franklin addressed the
significance of the morality’s role. He pointed out the necessity of introducing the notion of
governing with morals, especially for the leaders of the United States. He told his fellow
Americans, laws were not enough for the new nation;
What the political struggle I have been engag’d in for the good of my compatriots, inhabitants of this bush;
or my philosophical studies for the benefits of our race in general! For in politics, what can laws do
without morals? Our present race of ephemeras will in a course of minutes become corrupt like those of
34
Ibid., p.166.
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Introduction by Lewis Leary, New York and
London: A Touchstone Book, 2004, p.78.
36
Pennsylvania Gazette, from February 28 to March 7, 1737 and from March 14 to March 21 1737.
35
40
other and older bushes, and consequently as wretched. 37
1784 was the year when Franklin was seen to first start his effort to advocate the use of
Confucian moral philosophy to cultivate individual virtue. It was in this year that he revealed his
readers of his personal experience in cultivating his own virtue. He wrote in 1784 a pamphlet of
advice, entitled “To Those Who Would Remove to America.”38 He advised to Europeans who
wanted to move to America that one could obtain success in the United States, if one had good
virtue. He said to them that “the only encouragements we hold out to strangers are a good
climate, fertile soil, good pay for labour, kind neighbors, good laws, liberty and a hearty
welcome. The rest depends on a man’s own industry and virtue.”39
The message Franklin conveyed is very clear. If you wanted to be a successful person, you must
possess good virtue. With it you would achieve success anywhere in the world. If you don’t have
good virtue you wouldn’t be a successful person even in a place as plentiful as the United States- the recently independent country, full of opportunities and good conditions.
In 1790, largely confined to bed, Franklin, who had finished his last will, struggled to add
to his autobiography another seven and half pages. In these last pages Franklin still encouraged
people to cultivate their virtues.
George Washington and Chinese Flower
Americans have a long history of transplanting plants from other parts of the world. As
early as 1699, on the banks of the Ashley River in South Carolina, an experimental farm was
established by colonists interested in transplanting plants to North American colonies. In the
spring of 1733, General James Ogelethorpe set up an experimental garden for botanical purposes
and for testing agricultural plants. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in West London also
made many contributions in transplanting plants to North America.40
During the colonial period China was considered a rich source of new plants and was
viewed as "a botanical and zoological wonderland."41 Some colonists had realized that "many
Benjamin Franklin, To Madame Brillon: “The Ephemera” AL (draft): Cornell University Library; French
translations: American Philosophical Society (three), Bibliothèque de la Société Eduenne, Autun, Institut de France;
copy or transcript: Yale University Library; incomplete copy: Huntington Library. It is available on line at
http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp
38
Edmund S. Morgan, Poor Richard’s New Year, in New York Times, December 31, 2002, p. A19.
39
Benjamin Franklin, To the Earl of Buchan (unpublished), Passy, March 17, 1783. It is available at
http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp
40
Nelson Klose, America's Crop Heritage: The History of Foreign Plant Introduction by the Federal Government,
Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State College Press, 1950, p.11.
41
Thomas H. Etzold, ed., Aspects of Sino-American Relations Since 1784, New York and London: New
37
41
valuable trees, unknown in Europe, grow in the northern provinces of China” could thrive well”
in the colonies,"42 and therefore made efforts to introduce China's plants into North America.43
Numerous Chinese plants were brought in North American colonies. For example, paper
mulberry was brought into North America in 1754.44
From the beginning of the American introduction to Chinese plants, ornamental plants
such as the gardenia, the camellia, and the Cherokee rose were brought from China and grew
well in the Southern states. A few handsome trees were also introduced such as the ginkgo and
the camphor.45
George Washington showed great enthusiasm in the agricultural development of the
United States. Born and raised in the country, Washington had a special bond with the soil. In his
annual message to Congress in 1796, he urged "a federal appropriation to stimulate enterprise
and experiment in agriculture." At the same time he tried to "draw to the national center the
results of individual skill and observation, and to spread the collected information far and wide
throughout the nation."46
Led by his interest in agriculture, Washington had turned his attention to agricultural
developments in the wake of the victory of the American Revolution. In 1783 Washington
returned to Mount Vernon “with every hope and intention of spending the rest of his days
there.”47 He told his fellow Americans that the advancement of agriculture in the United States
Viewpoints, A Division of Franklin Watt, 1978, p. 5.
42
John Ellis (1784) "Directions for Bringing over Seeds and Plants, From the East Indies and Other Distant
Countries, in A State of Vegetation: Together with a Catalogue of Such Foreign Plants as Are Worthy of Being
Encouraged in Our American Colonies, For the Purposes of Medicine, Agriculture, and Commerce." in E. Charles
Nelson ed., Aphrodite's Mousetrap: A Biography of Venus's Flytrap with Facsimiles of an Original Pamphlet and
the Manuscripts of John Ellis, F.R.S., published by Boethius Press, Aberystwyth. Wales in association with
Bentham-Moxon Trust and the Linnean Society, 1990, p.(2).
43
Following is a list of Chinese plants which should be brought in the North America recommended by John Ellis.
Chinese NamesLatin NamesEnglish NamesObservations Yeqi ShuCroton SebiferumTallow-tree of ChinaThis plant
grows in moist places in China, and is of great use in the country.Zhuteng Arundo BamboThe true Bamboo caneOf
great use in China, and might be also in our American islands. ChashuTheaTeaFrom China and Japan
EzihuaGardenia FloridaUmky of the ChineseUsed in dyeing in China. The pulp that surrounds the seeds, gives in
warm water a most excellent yellow color, inclining to orange. SangshuMorus papyriferaPaper Mulberry treeUsed
for making paper in China and Japan. This has been some time in English gardens. BoqigenSimilax ChinaChina
RootIn China and in New Spain. LeecheeLeechee of ChinaThis fruit is highly commended by all persons who have
been to China.
See John Ellis (1784) pp.(22)-(33).
44
John Ellis (1784) p.(13).
45
Walter T. Swingle, "Our Agricultural Debt to Asia," in Arthur E.Christry ed., The Asian Legacy and American
Life, New York: The John Day Company, p.1945, p.85.
46
Charles A. Beard & Marry R. Beard, The Rise of American Civilization, New York: The Macmillan Company,
1927, vol. II, p.282.
47
Ralph K. Andrist, The Founding Fathers: George Washington: A Biography in His Own Words, Newsweek Book
42
“by all proper means, will not I trust need recommendation.”48 Believing that “with reference
either to individual, or National Welfare, Agriculture is of primary importance,”49 Washington
had made agriculture his "favorite subject” by the late 1790s.50 In Mount Vernon Washington
indulged himself in agricultural experiments and “entirely devoted [himself] to the care of his
farm."51
One of Washington's great preoccupations, during his whole career in agriculture, was
finding the right crops for the soil, climate, and practical needs of his Mount Vernon
establishment.52 In December 1788, he told Arthur Young, the most scientific farmer of his day
and the editor of the Annuals of Agriculture, that "The more I am acquainted with agricultural
affairs, the better I am pleased with them; inasmuch that I can nowhere find so great satisfaction
as in those innocent and useful pursuits."53
Experimentation with all these many crops was one of Washington's chief delights as a
farmer. He worked hard to transplant Chinese flowers to North America. He tried drill culture
instead of broadcasting the seed; he varied the distance between rows. He tried different rates of
seeding.54 He recorded his experiments in his diary, suggesting that how much he valued this
kind of transplanting research. He wrote of the procedure in great detail by which he sowed the
flowers as well as information on the kinds of flowers he sowed.
According to his diary, on Friday 8th, July 1785, Washington chose a good place next to
the garden wall in his "well cultivated and neatly kept" botanical garden55 and sowed "one half
the Chinese Seed given by Mr. Porter and Doctr. Craik.( James Craik, a physician in Mount
Vernon)" . Washington took a very detailed record of the procedure he used to plant the seeds.
Division, New York, 1972, p.289
48
George Washington, First Annual Address to Congress, January 8, 1790, Writings Vol.30, p.493
49
George Washington, Eighth Annual Address to Congress, December 7, 1796, Writings Vol.35, p.315
50
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Vine and Fig Tree: Travels Through America 1797-1799, 1805 with some Further
Account of Life in New Jersey, translated and edited with an introduction and Notes by Metchie J. E. Budka,
Elizabeth, New Jersey: The Grassmann Publishing Company, Inc, 1965, p.102.
51
Brissot de Warville, Jean-Pierre. New Travels in the United States of America edited by Durand Echeverria.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964. Reprint of 1972 ed., 342-343.
52
Introduction to the Diary of George Washington. It is available online at
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/4gwintro.html
53
Paul Leland Haworth, George Washington: Being An Account of His Life and Agricultural Activities,
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers, 1925, pp.2-3.
54
Introduction to the Diary of George Washington. It is available online at
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/4gwintro.html
55
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, p.97. His Botanical Garden is a plot of ground lying between the flower garden and
the spinners’ house, where he made many experiments. According to Paul Leland Haworth, most of Washington's
experiments did not succeed. However, Washington's experiment was "the experience of every scientific farmer of
horicultures who ventures out of the beaten path." See Paul Leland Haworth, pp. 106-107.
43
He sowed them in three rows. The following record from his diary shows that Washington sowed
the flowers in three rows.
First Row
Between the 1st. & 2d. pegs 1 I Muc qua fa;
betwn. the 2d. & 3d. Do. 1 Pungton leea fa;
6 & 7 2 In che fa
3 & 4th I Ting litt fa
7 & 8 Cum hung fa. 4 Seeds
4 & 5 I Iso pung fa
8&9
2 Hung co fa
5 & 6 I Ci chou la fa
9 & 10
5 Be yack fa
10 & 11 7 Hou sun fa
18 & 19
Pain ba fa
11& 12 Sung sang fa yung
19 & 20 Cu si fa
12 & 13 Pu yung fa
20 & 21 Tu me fa
13 & 14 Mon Tan fa
21 & 22
All san fa
14 & 15 Cum Coak fa
22 & 23 Yong san con fa
15 & 16 Pung ke Cuun
23 & 24 Hou Con fa
16 & 17 Cin yet cou
24 & 25 Hoak sing fa
17 & 18 Se me fa
25 & 26 I sit Ye muy fa
Second Row
1st & 2nd Tits swe fa
10 & 11
Ling si qui
2 & 3 An lee pung fa
11 & 12
Yuck soy hung seen fa
3 & 4 Se lou fa
12 & 13
Yuck sou cou fa
4 & 5 Lung Ci fa
13 & 14
Sing si qui fa
5 & 6 Tiahung seen fa
14 & 15 Bea an Cou
6 & 7 Lam Coax fa
15 & 16 Brey hung fa
7 & 8 Iny hung fa
16 & 17
Si fu he Tons
8 & 9 Jien pien cou fa
17 & 18 No name
9 & 10 Pung qui fa
Third Row
1st & 2 Cum Seen fa
2 & 3 Top pu young
3 & 4 No name--like a 2d. bla. Bead.
4& 5 Ditto--like but large. than Cabbage seed
5 & 6 larger and redder than Clover Seed.56
56
The above are the Chinese names which were accompanied by characters or hieroglyphics------a concise
44
Washington planted the seeds of the Chinese flowers according to the above pattern at his
River Plantation on July 13. Ten days later, he noticed the seeds had germinated and happily
found a few Plants of the Pride of China "to be coming up." He also found that the Jien pien Cou
fa and the other kind of Chinese flower he sowed according to "Chinese sowing” had “been up
several days."57
After that, Washington left home. Twenty days later, on the 13th of August, when he
returned home he found that two kinds of Chinese flowers which had sprouted had disappeared.
He thought they might have been "destroyed either by the drought or insects." Washington was
very sad and upset when he saw some flowers were "eradicated" while others were broken "near
the ground.” He was worried about whether they could “recover." Washington tried to figure out
what had happened to the seeds. He thought that bugs might have eaten them, upon remembering
that, at the time he left home, "some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to prey upon the leaves."58 By
April 6, 1786, Washington had recognized that his experiment had failed. He did not see any
flowers sowed with the seeds from China coming up, even though some of them had come up the
previous year. He could not figure out the reason why these seeds did not grow up in his garden.
He pondered over their disappearance in his diary, "Whether these plants are unfit for this
climate, or whether covering and thereby hiding them entirely from the Sun the whole winter
occasioned them to rot, I know not."59
The year of 1785 was not a good year for Washington to experiment in terms of weather
conditions. The rain seemed to forget how to fall in the summer. The crops suffered, the wheat
yield was poor and chinch bugs attacked the corns in the degree that "hundreds of them & their
young [were found] under the blades and at the lower joints of the Stock."60
Due to the severe weather that year, Washington's experiment was not very cheerful.
However, his experiment gives a strong evidence of Washington’s efforts in transplanting
Chinese flowers in North America. As Paul Leland Haworth pointed out, the record of
description of the Seeds are annexed to their names on the Paper that enrolls them. See John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M.,
The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799, vol. IV (1789-1799), Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin
Company, pp.388-389.
57
John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M., The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799, vol. IV (1789-1799), Boston and New
York: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp.392-393.
58
ibid., pp.404-405.
59
ibid., pp.37-38.
60
Paul Leland Haworth, p.104.
45
Washington's failures was "much greater than of successes.” It is the experience of “every
scientific farmer of horticulture who ventures out of the beaten path."61 Most importantly, this
experiment revealed George Washington’s efforts to introduce Chinese flowers to the newly
independent United States that he fought for.
Thomas Jefferson and Chinese Architecture
As early as the colonial period Chinese models influenced architectural designs in North
America. Some residents built their houses with "Chinese trim," others incorporated the style
known as Chinese Chippendale, and still others followed the designs of British builders, known
as Chinoiserie-a style of ornamentation that "represented an Occidental interpretation of
China."62
At Woodside House, Berkshire, in 1752-5, Hugh Hamersley gothicised the house by
laying out a rococo wildness with an elegant Chinese kiosk, seemingly inspired by the House of
Confucius at Kew, designed by Chambers and decorated by the fan-painter Joseph Goupy.
Numerous pattern books on how to build Chinese gardens were produced at this time; among
them were William Halfpenny's New Designs for Chinese Temples &c (1750) and Chinese and
Gothic Architecture properly ornamented (1752).63 After 1756, railings of "Chinese lattice"---slender bars forming patterns in the panels--made their appearance at the Woodford, Schuyler,
Timothy Orne, and Roger Morris houses. They continued to be used after the Revolution.64 Stair
rails with Chinese lattice instead of balusters existed in America, for example, at Bachelor's Hall
in Maryland and the rails at Brandon.65
In the 1760s, the influence of Chippendale's "Chinese" manner was apparent in the roof
balustrades. An advertisement in the South Carolina Gazette, dated April 1, 1757, shows that at
that time some Americans had used Chinese style design as a great attraction to potential buyers.
The advertisement describes the James Reid house offered for sale as the "new-built, strong and
modish" house designed "after the Chinese taste" and "remarkably commodious in many
61
Ibid. p.107.
William J. Brinker, Commerce, Culture, and Horticulture: The Beginnings of Sino-American Cultural Relations,”
in Thomas H. Etzold, ed., Aspects of Sino-American Relations since 1784, New York and London: New Viewpoints,
A Division of Franklin Watt, 1978, p. 5.
63
David Watkin, The English Vision --The Picturesque in Architecture, Landscape and Garden Design, London:
Breslich & Foss, 1982, pp.31-33.
64
Fiske Kimball, Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early Republic, (illustrated), New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927, p.110.
65
ibid. p.131.
62
46
respects; it is both warm in winter and deemed the most airy in summer of any house in the
province."66 The decoration of the Miles Brewton house, completed 1769, is full of various
Chippendale motifs, in which rococo, "Gothic," and "Chinese" are mingled. Some researchers
show that Jefferson preferred such forms of construction in 1782.67
The Chinese influence on architecture remained conspicuous after the founding of the
United States. In the 1790s a member of the American Philosophical Society, Andreas Everardus
van Braam Houckgeest built a home near Philadelphia known as China's Retreat. The building
adopted a Chinese-style cupola on the roof. The windows, similar to screens in Chinese homes,
were double leaves that slid into pockets in the walls. The buildings that used Chinese "touches"
added “decorative embellishments to an otherwise Occidental plan and structure." 68 Julian Ursyn
Niemcewicz, a Polish visitor, wrote a vivid description of the house and its contents. The house
was "immense, surmounted with a cupola and decorated with golden serpents in the Chinese
manner. Six tabourets of porcelain were arranged in a circle in the peristyle." 69
Jefferson showed interest in Chinese garden styles while designing a garden on his
property. For Jefferson, gardening was "the complement to building, in the activity of a country
gentleman." In his eyes, gardens were "peculiarly worth the attention of an American, because it
is the country of all others where the noblest gardens may be made without expense."70 He used
his free time to draw up plans for his garden,71 and finally decided to ornament his garden with a
Chinese style.72
Library of Congress
Jefferson regarded Monticello as a building, in which he could test his “architectural
ideas and experiments.”73 In his own construction, Jefferson adopted a Chinese style, making
66
Alice R. Huger Smith and D.E. Huger Smith, The Dwelling Houses of Charleston, South Carolina, Philadelphia
and London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917, pp.357-358.
67
Fiske Kimball, Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early Republic, (illustrated), New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927, p.138. ["Notes on Virginia," see Kimball, "Thomas Jefferson, Architect," p.35
68
William J. Brinker, Commerce, Culture, and Horticulture: The Beginnings of Sino-American Cultural
Relations," in Thomas H. Etzold, ed., Aspects of Sino-American Relations Since 1784, New York and London: New
Viewpoints, A Division of Franklin Watt, 1978, pp.11-12.
69
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, pp.62-63.
70
A. E. Lipscomb and A.E. Bergh, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol.17, p.292.) Marie Kimball, Jefferson:
The Road to Glory, 1743 to 1776, Coward - McCann, Inc., New York, 1943, p.160
71
Douglass Lea, “Thomas Jefferson: Master Gardener,” in Mother Earth News, Feb/Mar 1999, Issue 172, p.104.
72
Marie Kimball, Jefferson: The Road to Glory, 1743 to 1776, Coward - McCann, Inc., New York, 1943, p.148.
73
Whately, Observations on Modern Gardening, pp.120 and 127-28.
47
drawings of Chinese lattice around 1771.74 In the Swan house in Dorchester, the open panels
contained Chinese lattice, which Jefferson continued to use in balcony railings until his death in
1826.75 Before 1798, he designed the Chinese lattice for the house at Edgehill, Virginia. Around
1802, Jefferson planned the lattice for the house at Farmington and also later designed the
Chinese lattice for his dwelling at Barboursville.
In addition to the lattice, Jefferson considered building one of his rooms with a Chinese
roof.76 In his notebook entry dates 1771, Jefferson recorded his plans to build "a square Chinese
Temple." It would be two stories high with four columns on a side in the lower story. He also
decided to “set back behind a balustrade also of Chinese form." Later Jefferson wrote, "I think I
shall prefer to these Chinese temples to regular Tuscan ones." 77 According to his plan, these
temples “were to be of two stories, standing at the angles of the terraces." In another page one
finds Jefferson's "studies for two towers, doubtless for the higher neighboring Monticello, now
known as Carter's Mountain." 78
Jefferson's fondness for Chinese building styles made him plan to build a Chinese
pavilion while working to remodel Monticello in the last decade of the eighteenth century and
building the University of Virginia in the second decade of the nineteenth century.79 His vast
numbers of memos dealing with temples indicate Jefferson's deep interest in and aesthetic
appreciation of this Chinese style.
Concluding Notes:
Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s proclivities to borrow from
Chinese civilization were made with a very clear purpose. These men, being concerned with the
search for individual and societal happiness, thought Chinese cultural influence would quicken
the development of North America morally, economically and socially. “Chinese science and
technology have a long and distinguished history and led the world until some time in the
eighteenth century.”80 The founding fathers were looking to China to provide the people in North
America with the resources that they could use to build their new nation into a better place.
74
Fiske Kimball, "Thomas Jefferson, Architecture," p.130.
Fiske Kimball, Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early Republic, (illustrated), New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927, p.234.
76
Marie Kimball, Jefferson: The Road to Glory, 1743 to 1776, Coward - McCann, Inc., New York, 1943, p.162.
77
Fiske Kimball, Thomas Jefferson: Architect, Original Designs in the Coolidge Collection of the Massachusetts
Historical Society with an Essay and Notes, New York: Da Capo Press, 1968, p.126.
78
Marie Kimball, Jefferson: The Road to Glory, 1743 to 1776, Coward - McCann, Inc., New York, 1943, p.164.
79
Karl Lehmann, Thomas Jefferson: American Humanist, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947, p.170.
80
Rhoads Murphey East Asia: A New History, Longman, New York, 1996, p.12.
75
48
The founding fathers’ efforts of drawing positive elements from Chinese civilization have
produced an important and lasting impact on the development of American civilization. The
virtues Franklin promoted have become part of American civilization. The plants transplanted
from China have contributed greatly to American agricultural and social development;
Jefferson’s incorporation of Chinese styles into his own designs stimulated the American
tradition of adopting foreign ideas in their own buildings. Most importantly, the founding
fathers’ open attitude towards Chinese civilization has been expanded into Americans’ open
attitudes towards foreign cultures.