The Value of the Illustrations in the Study of the Early History of American-Chinese Interaction
First of all, the importance of the Illustrations lies in the fact that it traces its history back more than 200 years. The year of ding-si 丁巳 by the Chinese calendar was marked on the cover of the manuscript, and it is calculated that this should refer to the second year of Jiaqing 嘉慶 (1797), because this was the only possible year to lie within the period from the Rhode Island merchants’ first engagement in Canton trade (1788) to Carter’s arrival in China (1798-1806). There were additions and revisions to the manuscript made as late as the end of the 10th year of Jiaqing (1805), and yet it is still the earliest among all other previously known works in the category of “the (commonly used) foreign language of the ‘Red-haired people/devils’ talk’”.
Secondly, the Illustrations has its own distinct characteristics and is largely different from existing works in the same category, with only minor similarities. All the existing manuscripts and books in the category of “the (commonly used) foreign language of the ‘Red-haired people/devils’ talk’” were of the “Canton English” type. Pronunciation of the syllables were formed in such a way that the Chinese could pronounce them with greater ease. As regards the origins of words, these books were influenced by the Portuguese language. The vocabulary of these books consists mainly of nouns, numerals, frequently used verbs, expressions in trade, and other common phrases. In the aspect of written form, many Chinese characters in their popular (and usually regarded as vulgar) form are used and casually written. Moreover, characters with the added radical “口” (kou, meaning mouth) are usually used to serve as an indicator of pronunciation. Chinese characters are included to indicate the pronunciation of English words, the most useful phrases are selected and the pronunciation of English was made easier to learn. They are the first set of reference books used for the commercial and cultural communication between China and the West.[37]
Most such features are found in the Illustrations, but it differs in various ways. As to the layout of the content, all the five block-printed books, belonging to the category of “the (commonly used) foreign language of the ‘Red-haired people’” introduced by the scholar Zhou Zhenhe 周振鶴 of mainland China, are divided into four parts, which are different from the division of, and the vocabulary included in, the two books in handwritten copy that the Japanese scholar Keiichi Uchida 內田慶市 found in the British Museum. However, the layout of the Illustrations is entirely different from that of the above works. It somewhat resembles the layout of the book Yiyin jiyao 夷音輯要 (A Concise Book of the Pronunciation of Foreign Language) owned by Uchida, in that both books first list the written form of alphabets and numbers, but the second halves of the books differ in layout.[38] The “hongmao (tongyong) fanhua/guihua” books mainly aim at helping learners to “speak” the language, and there is no need to include English words in written form. The Illustrations puts emphasis on the recognition of “written words.” It includes a long list of alphabets and numbers, names of years and months, and also various kinds of silk and tea—to best serve the practical purposes of merchants. Regarding the aim of compilation and the target audience, the “hongmao (tongyong) fanhua/guihua” books are provided for the linguists, servants, coolies and shop owners engaged in the Canton trade, and thus they supply a more comprehensive vocabulary with words from various walks of life.[39] In contrast, the Illustrations contains mainly terms for the trade of silk and tea, while words for the daily life are deemed to be of secondary importance. Alphabets and part of the English vocabulary are accompanied by Cantonese transliterations. Most of the Chinese characters and terms, except the alphabets and numbers, are with their pronunciation in Cantonese (as indicated by English transliteration), and their English translation. This may have been a reference book for traders who were more highly cultured, with the need to read and keep track of terminologies and documents in English in relation to the trade of silk and tea, and communicate with foreigners to that end. In addition, the Illustrations served the function of enabling users to study the features of “Canton English” and standard English, and for practical purposes, help foreigners to learn written and spoken Chinese. Carter’s work was a good example of this.
Thirdly, the Illustrations provides important historical materials and suggest a new direction for tracing the history of Chinese people studying English and the history of Americans studying Chinese. Zhou Zhenhe asserts that the “hongmao (tongyong) fanhua/guihua” works are first-hand sources for the study of the history of interaction between languages. They are valuable primary reference materials for investigations into the development of English studies in China, and Chinese people’s acceptance of new things and ideas from the West.
Moreover, the Illustrations add some special flavor to the study of Chinese culture. Zhang Xiping 張西平 points out that Westerners took a long time to get acquainted with the Chinese language, and therefore he advocates exploring this process as a basis for research into the early history of Westerners learning Chinese.[40] The author of this paper agrees and summarizes the importance of the Illustrations in two points.
First, it has been generally believed by the academics that before the Opium War the Chinese in Canton were not able to read English, and they were not willing to take positive steps to learn English either. However, Wu Yixiong 吳義雄 notes that some Chinese in Canton were able to read and write English documents.[41] The original compiler of the Illustrations was a Chinese who seemed to have business with Providence’s Brown & Ives. From the part “俚言” in the Illustrations, it is revealed the compiler stressed that the English language should be learned with earnestness and seriousness. The Illustrations, as a historical document, can supply strong evidence to support Wu’s discussion and should be used for further research.
Second, works on the history of Americans’ learning Chinese usually make mention of Hunter, but there is not much information about him, making his case difficult to research. As a result, the missionaries who came slightly later to China are typically taken to be the starting point. Now that we know Carter learned Chinese earlier than Robert Morrison, and relevant, well-preserved historical documents have been identified, the starting point should be dated back 20 years earlier than Hunter to write an accurate history of Chinese/English language acquisition. Furthermore, many words in the Illustrations are appended with Roman alphabets to indicate their pronunciations in Guanhua and Cantonese. Such a practice is also found in some of Carter’s other documents. This provides new primary sources for future research and leads to a more profound understanding of the ways Westerners (especially the Americans) learned the pronunciation of Chinese in the beginning of the 19th century.
Fourthly, the Illustrations are important in that Carter has not been deemed a qualified Sinologist by the existing standard of Sinology in the narrow sense, but from the letters, manuscripts and books passed down by him we can say that he did show “a serious academic interest” in China, and the people in Rhode Island at his time even praised him as “the first rank of oriental scholars in this country”.[42] As mentioned above, the communication about the Chinese learning between Carter and Rémusat was an intellectual interchange regarding the Chinese language and culture between the American and French academics, and it is another important direction of understanding America’s early history of cultural development. Carter’s manuscript, which recorded the ways he learned the Chinese language, later fell into the hands of Caleb Cushing. This fact precisely reveals that the diplomatic corps attached a great importance to the learning of the Chinese language. It is indubitable that to make a through investigation into the results of Carter’s study of Chinese, to sort out all the existing literature related to Carter, especially his records and comments on China, will be invaluable to depicting in detail the development of the Sino-American relationship in the early 19th century.
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[36] See John Eng-Wong, “Benjamin Bowen Carter: Polymath, Physician, Pioneer”, paper presented at the symposium of “Interconnected: Finding East Asia in Early America”, December 5-6, 2013, Brown University, U.S.
[37] Wu Yixiong, “‘Guangzhou yingyu’ yu shijiu shiji zhongye yiqian de zhongxi jiaowang ‘廣州英語’與19世紀中葉以前的中西交往” (Pidgin English and Sino-Western Intercourse before the Mid-19th Century), Jindaishi yanjiu 近代史研究 (Modern Chinese History Studies), Vol. 3 (2001), p. 180; Zhou Zhenhe, Yiyan shuyu 逸言殊語 (Essays on Interactions between Different Languages) (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2008), pp. 216-218 & 223-224; Zou Zhenhuan “Shijiu shiji zaoqi Guangzhouban shangmou yingyu duben de biankan ji qi yingxiang 19世紀早期廣州版商貿英語讀本的編刊及其影響” (Compilation and Influence of Business English Readers Published in Canton during the Early 18th Century), Xueshu yanjiu 學術研究 (Academic Research), Vol. 8, 2006, p. 94.
[38] Copies of all the texts mentioned are collected in Uchida and Shen’s Gengo sesshoku to pijin: 19-seiki no higashi Ajia (kenkyu to fukkoku shiryo).
[39] “Shijiu shiji zaoqi Guangzhouban shangmou yingyu duben de biankan ji qi yingxiang”, p. 93. Actually users of books of this kind were not limited only to these people. See Zhou Yurong 周玉蓉 and 楊秋 Yang Qiu, “Shiba, shijiu shiji ‘Guangzhou yingyu’ de shiyongzhe 十八十九世紀“廣州英語”的使用者” (The Speakers of Canton English in the 18th and 19th Centuries), Guangxi minzu xueyuan xuebao 廣西民族學院學報（哲學社會科學版） (Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities [Philosophy and Social Science Edition]), Vol. 2, 2006, pp. 24-27.
[40] Yiyan shuyu, pp. 106 & 151; Zhang Xiping, “Ying jiaqiang dui xifangren zaoqi hanyu xuexishi de yanjiu – jianlun duiwai hanyu jiaoxueshi de yanjiu 應加強對西方人早期漢語學習史的研究──兼論對外漢語教學史的研究” (On the Enhancement of the Study of the Early History of Westerners’ Learning Chinese -- also on the Study of the History of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language), in Ren Jiyu 任繼愈 ed., Guoji hanxue 國際漢學 (International Sinology) Vol. 10 (Zhengzhou: Daxiang chubanshe, 2004), pp. 284-287.
[41] Paul A. Van Dyke, The Canton Trade: Life and Enterprise on the China Coast, 1700-1845 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2005), p. 78; “‘Guangzhou yingyu’ yu shijiu shiji zhongye yiqian de zhongxi jiaowang”, p. 183.
[42] “Death Notice”, Rhode-Island American (and Gazette), p. 2; Chinese Collections at Brown University (Chinese version), p. 3.[http://blogs.brown.edu/libnews/files/2012/06/YearOfChina_spreads_draft16c-1.pdf]