American Pioneer of Chinese Studies in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Yeung Man Shun, D.Litt (2000), Kyoto University, is Assistant Professor of Chinese History and Culture at the University of Hong Kong. He has recently published articles and book chapters on China-West historical relations and late imperial Chinese history.

"Yeung Man Shun’s important new study establishes Carter’s place within the annals of American Sinology, while also throwing new light on other important topics, including the more active field of British Chinese Studies in the early 1800s... The extensive appendices and reproductions of primary material referred to in the main text round out a volume that makes numerous important contributions to the history of global knowledge. Combining the qualities of biography, intellectual history, and the study of cross-cultural exchange, it will prove immensely valuable to scholars working in a variety of fields."-Edward Weech, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Series 3 (2022).

• AcknowledgmentsAppendixesList of IllustrationsAbbreviations1 On the Linguistic Frontier in CantonA Cross-Cultural Approach to Language Learning1.1 The Earliest Glimmer of Chinese Studies in America1.2 Recovering Carter’s Story: Perspectives and Approaches1.3 Learning the Language of the Other: The Place of Chinese Studies in Europe and America2 Finding a CallingCarter’s Transcontinental Journey to Chinese Studies2.1 Restless in America: Family and Early Life2.2 Opportunities in China: 1798–18062.3 Fulfillment in Europe and Disappointment at Home: 1806–18312.4 From Curiosity to a Lifelong Pursuit3 Reconstructing a Personalized CurriculumTextbooks, Dictionaries, and Study Notes3.1 Learning Chinese the Chinese Way3.2 From Linguistic Translation to Cultural Translation3.3 Entering the Chinese World: Carter’s Chinoiserie Letter to Conseequa4 Chinese Instructors and Their Anglophone StudentsA Reappraisal4.1 Learning Chinese in Canton and Macao4.2 Abel Yen and His Anglophone Students4.3 Language Instructor as Diplomatic Translator4.4 The American Consul Wishes for an Interpreter5 Agent of Global Knowledge: Carter in London, Paris, and New York5.1 Career Ambition: Consul Interpreter5.2 An Early American Encounter with European Sinology5.3 Academic Ambition: University Educator6 The Rise of American Chinese Studies: Changes in Foreign Policy, Academic Foci, and American Perceptions of China6.1 Carter’s View of China and the Chinese6.2 American Curiosity about Chinese Knowledge6.3 The Missionary Roots of the American Sinological Tradition6.4 The Interpreter as Diplomat6.5 America’s First Course in Chinese Studies6.6 The Chinese Language: Barrier or Gateway?6.7 The Treasures in the Cushing Collection7 Concluding Remarks: Carter in Perspective7.1 The Origin of Chinese Studies in America: An Alternative Pathway7.2 Teaching and Learning Chinese in China at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century7.3 Creation, Exchange, and Circulation of Chinese Knowledge on a Global Scale7.4 Cross-Cultural Dialogues: Carter, the Canton Dialect, and Contemporary China-America RelationsAppendixBibliographyIndex