Yet Brown understood the most obvious pitfall of a 1200-page book. “It is not everybody that will read such a work,” he wrote. “Still fewer will pay $3 to procure it.”[40] Indeed, many reviewers, though praising the content, predictably complained about the book’s length and the author’s lack of style. Williams “is far from being a finished or polished writer,” wrote one, “nor has he sufficiently studied brevity, either by the compact adjustment of his materials or the omission of needless details.”[41] Williams himself wondered if those who had purchased the book would “rather have their money returned than wade through so many pages.”[42]
 

Though the size proved to be a deterrent, the intellectual community embraced The Middle Kingdom. Almost immediately, it became universally regarded as the definitive authority on China. For this achievement, Union College conferred upon Williams an honorary degree (LL.D.) in 1848; it must have been a meaningful moment for a man who felt acutely his lack of institutional credentials.[43] While the cumbersome book was seldom read by the average reader, it did succeed in becoming the single most important reference work on China. For this reason, one can measure its influence less by its sales and more by the frequency with which it was cited in other works.  
 

For example, on January 26, 1854, a Reverend Scott delivered a lecture on China at the Mechanic’s Institute in New Orleans. Scott began his presentation by admitting his ignorance on the subject of China. To illustrate, he jokingly made reference to the only two Chinese words he knew: “tea” and “junk.” Despite his lack of knowledge, Scott demonstrated his full awareness of the condescending mockery that then suffused Western attitudes towards the Chinese. “No people on the globe have been more subjected to ridicule than the Chinese,” he said. “They have been regarded as ‘the apes of Europeans,’ and their civilization such as it is, their arts, laws, and government considered as the burlesque of ours.” Scott proceeded to review the standard list of cruel stereotypes and to repeat the derogatory poem that had earlier riled Williams. However, after reviewing the usual insults, Scott did something interesting. He informed audience members that, if they were expecting more of the same, they would leave disappointed. After invoking The Middle Kingdom, he went on to deliver a lecture that owed almost all of its content to that masterful work.[44] 
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