“If you have money, you can make spirit: turn the mill.”

有錢能使鬼推磨

Around the tree-shaded spots in the hills of Manchuria and Korea there grows an indigenous wild plant with bifurcated roots which usually assume a rough semblance of the form of the human body. Because of this suggestive shape it has long been believed by the Chinese that the root has a medicinal value and would greatly prolong the virility as well as the life of a man. It is the most sought-for herb in China’s pharmacopoeia, where it is given the name of ginseng. Some large old roots which have a more than ordinarily striking resemblance to the body of a vigorous man sell for fabulous sums – hundreds of dollars an ounce. This is also the demand at good prices for inferior and broken roots from which an aromatic mucilaginous tea is made and consumed by old and middle-aged men who fancy that it gives them a return to the robust thrills of youth.

在東北與韓國樹影環繞的山上，生長著一種根部帶有分岔的野生植物，外型看起來略微像是人體的輪廓。因為這種具有暗示性的外型，長久以來中國人相信它的根部具有能夠延長人類壽命的強大藥效。它也是中國藥典上被查閱最多次的草本植物，人參。一些年代久遠的大型人參，長得比一般人參更像精壯男子，能夠賣到難以置信的價錢：幾百美元一盎司。較次等或是損毀的人參也有能賣到好價錢的需求，做成一種芳香黏膩的茶，來賣給一些幻想重新得到青春悸動的中老年人。

This is one of the oldest of Chinese medicines. It has been used for centuries and in spite of the fact that foreign doctors have declared it to be valueless, its use still continues. One can see the roots on display in the window of any first-class medicine shop in China. At one time ginseng was dug up in such wholesale quantities in Manchuria that there was danger of its extinction, and it was protected by an Imperial mandate which threatened death to anyone who collected it except by Imperial license. The conservation measure came too late to be of any practical benefit, for it was already so rare in Manchuria that it was not worth while trying to export it and the few roots which were found were sold locally. This gave that was practically a monopoly to Korea, and the exports of the herb for more than a century balanced the negligible foreign trade of that hermit nation. Once a year the pack train, which carried tribute to the Emperor of China, set out from Seoul and was accompanied by traders carrying loads of ginseng which were sold in Perking for such good prices that the proceeds paid for the Chinese goods which Korea imported. The choicest roots formed part of the tribute to the Emperor.

這是最古老的中國醫學之一。已經有好幾世紀的歷史，而且儘管外國醫生已經宣告人參是沒有療效的，還是繼續持續下去。你可以在第一流的中國藥店看到這些被展示在櫥窗裡的人參。有一段時間東北的人參被大量挖掘發售，以致於面臨滅絕的危險，帝國下令禁止沒有得到許可的挖掘，違者處死。但這些保護措施來的太晚而收不到實質的效益，東北的人參已經少到沒有出口的價值，僅僅只有一些少量的人參在當地販售。這對韓國來說真的是壟斷的生意，光是出口人參就能平衡這個偏遠的國家一百多年來微不足道的對外貿易。曾有一年有列要向中國皇帝進貢的隊伍，從首爾出發並伴隨了滿載人參要到北京交易的商人們，結果人參的價錢好到收益能夠彌平進口到韓國的貨物。而細心挑選過的人參被拿去進貢給皇帝。

There is a similar plant, of the same species but not the same variety, found in the hills of Massachusetts; and when the colonies, having gained their independence from England, started in to build their foreign trades, the roots of this herb constituted the only salable commodity they had for export, and China was the only market where it could be sold. Thus the freakish geographical distribution of a curious and useless botanical product threw together two peoples who were about as widely separated geographically as it was possible to be.

有一種相似的植物，是人參的變種，被發現於美國麻薩諸塞州；當美國從英國殖民地裡獨立後並開始自己的對外貿易，這些植物的根部是他們唯一可以出口的有價貨物，而中國是唯一可以銷售這東西的市場。這個令人好奇而且沒用的貨物因為它的地理分佈，將可能是地理上相隔最遠的兩種族群給拼湊起來。

Another herb which contributed to American interest in China was tea. The movement which led to that independence had been punctuated by Boston Tea Party when the chests of China tea were thrown into the harbor. Tea constituted one of the few luxuries enjoyed by the colonists; and it should have been very cheap, for they bought only the inferior grades that could not be sold in England. But the monopoly of the East India Company enabled it to demand high prices, and this was one of the standing grievances of the colonies. The ability to import their own tea became a kind of symbol of independence, and turned the attention of American traders toward China. Americans had no manufactured goods to sell. They had little in fact but a boundless energy occasioned by their poverty and stimulated by their recently found independence. But the Chinese had tea and the Americans had ginseng, though they didn’t know what a very poor quality of ginseng it was.

另一種引起美國人興趣的草本植物是茶葉。將幾箱中國茶葉丟進海港裡的波士頓茶葉事件，正是造成美國獨立的導火線。茶葉是殖民地人民能享用的少數奢侈品之一，而且一直很便宜，因為那是在英國不能銷售的次等茶葉。但是英國東印度公司壟斷這項產品並且索取高價，讓各殖民地許多長期的抱怨又添上一筆。進口他們想要的貨物變成獨立的一種象徵，並讓美國貿易者的注意力轉向中國。但美國人沒有工藝商品可以銷售。他們除了被貧窮磨練過，而且又被獨立行動激勵出的無窮無盡的活力之外，幾乎一無所有。但是中國人有茶葉而美國人有人參，然而他們並不知道美國人參的品質到底有多糟糕。

Less than three months after General Washington had watched the evacuation of the last of the British troops from New York, the frigate, Empress of China, sailed from that port on the long journey to Canton. The first American venture in foreign trade was ambitious and theatrical. The sailing of the ship was delayed so that it would fall on Washington’s birthday, February 22, 1784. The promoters were undoubtedly conscious of the fact that their ship would come under the critical eyes of the officials of the East India Company who were stationed at Canton.

華盛頓將軍監視最後一批英國軍隊撤離紐約後的三個月內，護衛艦中國女皇號，展開了從紐約到中國廣東的長征。美國在第一次的外貿探險上相當有企圖心而且戲劇性，這艘船甚至延至1784年的二月二十二日華盛頓生日那天才進港。策劃人無疑地，想讓東印度公司派遣在廣東的官員們，用他們挑剔的眼睛好好看一看這艘船。

The boot was of striking large size for an American merchantman. It measured no less than 360 tons and $210,000 was invested in the enterprise. The cost was divided between a number of partners, the principal one being Robert Morris, the Philadelphia financier who had raised the money to pay Washington’s troops. The only cargo carried consisted of a few tons of the Massachusetts ginseng.

中國皇后號對一個美國商人來說是過大了。它重達360噸並花了二十一萬美元投資在這項事業上。這些成本是由一群合夥人共同資助，領頭的一位名叫羅伯˙米勒，他同時也是資助華盛頓將軍的一位費城金融家。唯一的貨櫃只裝載了幾噸的麻薩諸塞人參。

The ship made a good impression on the China Coast, as the Americans had hoped it would; and the British in Canton were more friendly than had been anticipated, but financially the venture was not a success. The ship was too large, the investment too heavy, and the cargo of ginseng did not command the price the owners thought it would bring. When the tea the ship brought home was sold and the balance sheet finally drawn up, there was not enough profit for an entirely satisfactory division between owners, officers, consignees, and crew.

中國皇后號如美國人所希望，在中國海岸帶來極深的印象；而且在廣東的英國人也比預期中要友善的多，但是財政上，這趟冒險失敗了。這艘船太大，投資金額太重，那貨櫃的人參也沒有贏得預期的好價錢。帶回去銷售的茶業清算完畢，最後攤開收支表，根本就沒有足夠利潤分給老闆、幹部、承銷者以及船員等，這些表現令人滿意的團隊。

The voyage called attention to possibilities of the trade with China, and later American ventures were on a less spectacular but more practical basis. British traders at Canton may have laughed at the tiny size of American ships which followed the Empress of China but most of them made money, and a few made profits which were almost unbelievable. Americans were good shipbuilders and good sailors, but there was no money for large enterprises nor did the buying power of the impoverished country justify bringing in large cargoes. There were many American ships of less than a hundred tons which made the voyage to Canton and returned with cargo which sold for many times the cost of the ship, the investment in the cargo, and all expenses. Tyler Dennett tells of the notable voyage of the Betsey of 93 tons sailing from New York, 1797. In a voyage of a little less than two years she went to the South Sea by way of Cape Horn, thence to Canton and back to New York by the way of Good Hope. Of the crew of thirty, not one was more than twenty eight years old. The total cost of the vessel, outfit, insurance, and interest was $7,867 and the net proceeds came to more than $120,000.

這趟航海引起人們對中國貿易可行性的注意，後期美國投資事業則建立在較實際而不華麗的基礎上。看過中國皇后號之後，在廣東的英國人可能會嘲笑美國人相較之下小到不行的船隻，但是這些船大部分都賺錢，有些甚至海削到讓你不敢相信。美國人是優秀的造船者與水手，但他們沒有錢搞大事業，這個貧窮國家也沒有能進口大筆貨物的購買力。有許多少於一百噸的美國船隻航行到廣東，帶回來的貨物價值是船隻、貨物成本以及其他花費總和的好幾倍。泰勒˙丹耐特講述93噸的貝絲號於1797年從紐約出發的著名航海故事。在不到兩年內，這艘船從南美洲南端的和恩角航行到南中國海，然後到廣東，再從南非的好望角回到紐約。船上三十個成員，沒有一個超過28歲。包含船艦、全部裝備、保險與利息總共是7,867美元，但是淨利卻超過 12萬美元。

With profits like these each successful voyage encouraged the building of more ships, and in their haste for profits the builders often did not give the timbers time to season; and many unseaworthy ships made the voyage successful only because of luck and the skill and daring of their navigators. The ginseng business soon played out as a bonanza; and though some of the worthless roots are still exported to China, it was never the big business that had been anticipated. The wild roots found in Massachusetts and those later grown in ginseng farms had the same suggestive appearance as the Korea product, the Chinese herb dealers soon discovered the difference and would not pay the high prices. Customers said the medicine brewed from them was not efficacious. While New England ginseng did not provide the fortunes Americans had expected to make, it did ruin the fortunes of others and played a part in changing the map of the world. It broke the Korean monopoly and upset its foreign trade and started that unfortunate country on the downward road which eventually led to annexation by Japan.

這些成功的航海事蹟鼓勵了船艦的建造，但是建造者為了早點賺到錢，常常使用季節不對的木材；許多不適於航行的船能夠成功完成航海，只是由於這些航海者的運氣、技能與膽量都很好。人參這項事業來得容易去得也快；雖然還有一些沒有價值的根部（編按：作者很鄙視人參，常用roots這字眼替代）出口到中國，但這事業一直沒有預期中那樣龐大。在麻薩諸塞出產的野生人參與後期種植在農場裡的人參外表上都與韓國出產的一樣，但中國草藥商馬上發現到差異而不肯再出高價。他們的顧客說這些人參做成的藥酒一點效用都沒有。當新英格蘭區農場的人參無法提供美國人想像的富裕，同時也毀了其他國家的錢途，並且間接改變了世界地圖。韓國人參的壟斷局面被打破，意外弄垮了韓國的對外貿易，引起這個擋在日本南下道路上的倒楣國家，最終被吞併的局面。

The American trade with China would not have flourished had it not been for the more or less accidental discovery of the fur resources of the Northwest. This was the first of a long series of incidents in which good fortune appeared to conspire with American energy and ingenuity to send the impoverished country on its way to prosperity. It would be difficult to imagine a combination of circumstances more opportune than that connected with the fur trade. There was a wealth of furs in the Northwest and a very profitable market for them in China. Americans were not only good shipbuilders and good sailors but most of them had at least an amateur experience in trapping and the curing of pelts.

要不是多少有些意外地發現美國西北部的毛皮資源，美國對中國的貿易不會那麼興盛。在一連串靠著美國人的活力與獨創性讓這個貧窮國家興盛起來的事件裡，這是最早的例子。我們很難去想像有比毛皮貿易更恰當的環境組合。在美國西北有大量的毛皮而且在中國市場能得到相當大的利潤。美國人不僅是優秀的造船者與水手，他們大部分的人都有一些設陷阱捕獵與剝取毛皮的業餘經驗。

Interest in foreign trade and foreign shipping was more widespread then than now. Ships designed for foreign trade were launched at Albany and at a surprisingly early date from Cincinnati. Capitalists of Boston, Salem or Providence scraped together enough money to buy or build a sloop, usually of less than a hundred tons. Provisions were secured for a voyage of six months or a year or two years and a crew engaged. Often the crew consisted of relatives of the captain or the owners. There was, in fact, no sharp dividing line between owners, officers and crew. The barbarous cruelties of the American sailing ship were to come later with the fierce competition of the fast clipper ships. Frequently there was no pay roll to meet for the members of the crew received a share of the profits of the voyage.

對外貿易和對外運輸的同業比現在更廣泛地散佈。外貿船從紐約州的Albany出發，令人驚訝地是這船更早之前是由辛辛那提州開出的。波士頓、Salem與Providence(編按：Salem在現今加拿大，Providence是康乃迪克州的暱稱，因為在獨立戰爭中大力支援糧餉而得名。)的資本家勉強地籌措出足夠的錢來買或是建造單桅帆船，通常都小於一百噸。糧食足夠讓船員從事六個月或是一兩年的航海。通常船員是由船長或是船東的親戚所組成。事實上，過去船東、幹部與船員根本沒有明確的區隔。與快速帆船的競爭，對這些美國船隻來說很野蠻殘忍。常常船員賺不到航海該有的利益。

The ship often sailed with nothing but ballast in the hold. Arrived on the Northwest Coast the crew trapped and cured the pelts or secured them from the Indians in ways that were never inquired into too closely. When the ship was loaded, or the stock of provisions ran low, or the season of favorable winds approached, sail was set for Canton. Here the pelts were bartered for tea and silk and other produce of China. It was as profitable as working the gold mines of California became a half century later, or whaling after the fur business ceased to be a bonanza. Sometimes pelts which could be bought for less than twenty cents on the Northwest Coast sold for $100 in China. If there were empty spaces in the holds when the ship sailed for China Coast the Americans anchored in the Sandwich Islands and cut down the odorous sandalwood trees for sale to the Chinese. One pious Salem hypocrite had a clear conscience about stealing the trees from the Hawaiians but worried about the trade because it provided the Chinese with materials for making incense “which might be used for idolatrous purposes.” But he kept on cutting down the trees. He might have spared himself that specialized qualm for the sandalwood was principally used in making the frames of fans and only the sawdust and splinters went into the making of incense.

船隻經常空蕩蕩地只有壓艙物就出海。當抵達西北岸邊，船員捕捉獵物、剝取毛皮，並用曾來沒有被詳細調查過的方式驅離印地安人。當船裝滿貨物、或者是存糧偏低、或是季節順風來臨，他們就航行到廣東。他們用毛皮來交換茶葉或是絲等等中國貨物。這些利潤相當於半世紀之後在加州挖金礦一般，或是在毛皮交易像泡沫結束後展開的捕鯨事業。有時在西北海岸可以用20美分買到的毛皮，可以在廣東賣到100美元。假如開到中國的船艙裡空空如也，美國人會在夏威夷群島下錨，然後砍伐檀香木來賣給中國人。Salem這地方有個偽善者發表過明確的憂慮，擔心從夏威夷人手中偷取樹木並賣到中國，可能會提供原料給中國人製造「崇拜偶像」的香。但他還是繼續砍樹。他可能已經寬恕自己關於檀香木這個特別的憂慮，因為大部份的檀香木被拿來製造成扇子的骨架，只有木屑與碎片會被拿來做成香。

Often the voyage was continued to Europe, where the China produce was sold for cash or traded for other merchandise. Calls at ports at India often made possible profitable deals in opium, and pepper and spices were picked up in Sumatra. Someone sold a Connecticut skipper the nuts of the wild nutmeg tree which have no more taste or flavor than a piece of wood, and so a state acquired its nickname and a generation of traders a reputation shared by posterity. Perhaps the reputation was deserved, though there were never any nutmegs actually manufactured from wood.

通常航海會繼續到歐洲，在那裡中國貨物可以換成現金或是其他商品。在印度停靠通常可以靠在蘇門達臘群島上船的鴉片、胡椒與香料拿到合理的利潤。有人賣給康乃迪克州一位航海者野生肉豆蔻樹的果仁，這些果仁的味道或是香氣基本上就跟木頭一樣，這一州也因此讓後代子孫得到它的暱稱而且被當成這一代貿易者的評價。也許這樣的評價是應得的，因為根本沒有一種肉豆蔻是用木頭製造出來的。（編按：康乃迪克州是美國最有錢的一州，它有許多暱稱，像是憲法之州與上面提到的Providence等等，其中一個就是作者這裡提到的Nutmeg State，肉豆蔻之州。這州在18、19世紀以進口並銷售肉豆蔻聞名，當時有批來源已不可考的「木頭仿造肉豆蔻」，居然在小販市場上流通。我個人猜想這或許有可能是美語罵人Nuts的由來。）

The Americans, whether they came from Connecticut or some other states, were sharp traders and efficient smugglers. A great deal of the opium brought to China by British was smuggled up and down the coast by the Americans who with their smaller and faster boats were better equipped for the business. They could slip into the small harbors used by Chinese fishermen and get away quickly if danger threatened. They sold the smuggled opium for silver or anything else of value that was offered. Many a piece of mediocre Chinese porcelain now treasured as heirlooms in old New England families was picked up in exchange for a ball of smuggled opium. If the Yankee smugglers gave more than a very small ball of opium they got the worst of the deal for most of the heirlooms are worth intrinsically only a few cents. Sometimes the ship was absent three or four years but by the time it had returned to the home port the cargo had been turned over several times and always at a profit. By these methods the Yankee traders amassed some capital and abandoned the slow process of trapping and curing their own furs. They traded cheap trinkets to the Indians, or worn-out muskets or handfuls of powder. One resourceful skipper set up his forge on the deck and put his blacksmith to work making iron rings which the Indians wore as collars, establishing a style vogue which was very profitable.

不管是來自康乃迪克還是其他州的美國人，都是狡猾而且有效率的走私商人。更小與更快的船能讓他們更有能力在中國沿海四處流竄，經營英國人帶進來的鴉片事業。他們可以溜進漁夫出入的小港，然後在警覺到危險之前快速逃離。他們用鴉片來交換銀子或是其他買家能提供的有價物品。很多在美國新英格蘭區家庭被當成傳家寶的次等瓷器，就是當時被拿來交換一小球鴉片的。如果美國北方佬拿大一點的鴉片來交換，那這項交易簡直遭透了，因為大部分這些傳家寶根本不值幾分錢。有時這些船三、四年音訊全無，但等到回到家鄉港口之前，這些貨物早就被賣了好幾翻，而且總是賺錢的。利用這些方式，北方佬聚集了一些資本並且放棄了原本需要捕捉與剝取這些緩慢過程的毛皮事業。他們賣一些廉價的小飾品給印地安人，或是殘破不堪的毛瑟槍，或是一小撮火藥。一個有策略的商人還在自己船上甲板設置熔爐，讓鐵匠打造一種讓印地安人掛在脖子上的鐵環，創造了一個賺錢的流行風尚。

The principal competition which the Americans met in China came from the Honorable East India Company whose tea had been thrown into the Boston Harbor. The Americans and British represented the extremes between penury and opulence; between individual efforts and initiatives as compared with what was at the time the world’s greatest treading organization, backed by the most powerful country. The Honorable Easy India Company was in fact an integral part of the British government itself. While the Americans found it difficult to raise enough money to build a ship of a hundred tons, the company was equipped with the largest and finest of merchant ships. They were so much superior to all others that they had a nautical classification of their own and were known as “Indiamen”. But in the tea trade, which was the most important, the two did not come into such direct competition with each other as might be supposed. Americans bought the cheaper grades because those were the grades which found a ready market not only in America itself but in the European markets which the American traders supplied. In fact, a very large part of American tea consisted of cargo which the company refused to accept as too poor for the London market.

美國人在中國市場上的主要競爭對手來自於茶葉被倒進波士頓港的高貴的英國東印度公司。美國人與英國人呈現著兩個極端；貧與富，個別的努力進取與當時世界上由最強盛的英國在背後撐腰的最大貿易組織。高貴的東印度公司事實上就是英國政府本身。當美國人沒錢建造百噸以上的船隻時，該公司擁有最大與最好的商船。這些商船是如此優異以致它們擁有自己的區別，而被稱為「印度人」。但是在最重要的茶業貿易上，這兩方並沒有進入一般想像中的直接競爭。美國人買比較次等的茶業不光是因為這些次等茶葉已經有穩固的本地市場，而且在它們掌握的歐洲市場也是如此。事實上，美國貨船上的茶業有相當大的部份是東印度公司認為品質太差而拒絕賣到倫敦市場的。

The opulent British company and the poor individual American traders suffered from the same handicap. Neither country produced any goods that had the least interest to the Chinese customers. It was one-sided business for both. China was the great storehouse of things the world wanted: tea, silk, licorice, and the hand-woven cotton which was so much superior to the hand-woven fabrics of other countries. Its hand looms and spinning wheels were the most numerous and its workers the most skillful. Every fashionably dressed gentleman of England and America had his knee breeches made of China cotton. The chinaware and porcelain manufactured in England and France were copies of Chinese products and inferior to the original. The age of steam had not yet begun to change manufacturing methods and China was far in advance of other countries in the production of merchandise. So far as America was concerned, it was very largely a cash and carry business. When furs and sandalwood were not available, kegs of Spanish or Mexican silver dollars were carried on the ships and traded to the Chinese dealers.

富有的英國公司與個別的美國商人遭遇到同樣的障礙。這兩個國家都沒有生產讓中國人感興趣的貨品。對他們來說這是一場單邊貿易。中國是個大商店，擁有許多全世界都想要的商品：茶葉、絲、甘草與其他國家所比不上的手工棉織品。中國有最大量的手紡織機以及紡車，還有最精巧的工匠。每一個穿著時尚的英美兩國紳士都有中國棉製的及膝短褲。在英法等地製造的陶瓷器都是仿造中國的次級品。工業革命還沒開始改變製造方式之前，中國在製造商品方面是優於其他國家的。目前為止美國所關切的，是需要攜帶大量現金的生意。在毛皮與檀香木生意還沒開始前，西班牙橡木桶或墨西哥銀幣被運載上船與中國商人交易。

The British balanced their trade in the only way possible, by selling opium, which was imported from India and Persia just as America sold furs from the India country and sandalwood from Hawaii. But there were no national lines in the opium business and Americans engaged in it as freely as the British. The only reason the British trader was the more important was because of the greater opportunities for securing supplies. Opium was such a generally accepted article of commerce in the Far East that when Americans negotiated the first treaty with Siam in 1833 it was taken as a matter of course that an attempt should be made to secure permission to import opium into that country.

英國靠唯一可能的方式來平衡貿易逆差，從印度與波斯進口鴉片，就像美國從印地安地區取得毛皮以及從夏威夷取得檀香木一樣。但在鴉片生意裡並沒有國界，而美國跟英國一樣沒有節制。英國商人能越來越重要只是因為他們有掌握住供給的大好機會。鴉片在遠東是如此熱銷的商品，美國在1833年第一次與泰國談判條約時，把嘗試談判進口鴉片到這個國家的許可當成一個重要的議題。

Lack of cargo which the Chinese would buy was not the only handicap to trade. Business was conducted according to a procedure as topsy-turvy as China itself appeared to be in Western eyes. The Chinese government had shown a celestial disdain for anything so base as trade and had set apart a little corner of crowded Canton as the one place where the foreign devils could purchase the priceless products of the empire. The British and American traders who were the only permanent residents of this strange community lived a ghetto-like existence similar to that of the Dutch on the Japanese island of Deshima. It was much like carrying in business inside the walls of a jail; mitigated by the fact that the Chinese jailers were not very strict disciplinarians and no one took the regulations too seriously. The Son of Heaven declined to deal directly either with the foreign devils themselves or with the diplomatic emissaries of such remote barbarian countries. A small group of Cantonese merchants was given the monopoly of foreign trade and the responsibility of taking care of foreign relations and the Son of Heaven then washed his hands of the entire business. Foreign merchants and officials could deal with the Cantonese group and no one else.

缺乏中國人會買的貨物並不是貿易的唯一障礙。做生意的門路在西方人眼中就像中國本身一樣亂七八糟。中國官方對任何貿易上的事一直表現出天朝的傲慢，只劃出廣東一塊擁擠小角落給洋鬼子來購買極為昂貴的產品。只有英國人與美國人才能成為這地區的永久性居民，這社區就像貧民區，有如住在日本長崎港出島的荷蘭人。這比較像在一個高牆監獄裡做買賣，還好中國獄卒並沒相當嚴格地執行紀律，也不太把規範當一回事。天子拒絕接見由遙遠的野蠻國家來的洋鬼子或是外交特使。一小群廣東商人被給於外貿的壟斷權和處理外交關係的責任，然後天子就從整個事業中抽手了。外國商人與官員只能跟這群廣東人打交道。

On paper it was the most impractical arrangement that could be imagined. The trader was entirely at the mercy of the Cantonese monopoly for he could neither sell to nor buy from any one else. Sailing ships were slow, there were no cables and every transaction was a gamble. If the Chinese offered a ridiculously low price for the foreigner’s cargo or demanded an absurdly high price for theirs, he could either take it or leave it. There was no alternative. But the Chinese were not arbitrary, and in actual practice the system worked out very satisfactorily. With a reasonableness which is characteristic of the race, the Chinese concerned that each party to a transaction must make a profit. They haggled and bargained but in the end almost everyone made money. In fact relations between the foreigners and the Chinese were remarkably friendly and pleasant as soon as they grew to know and trust each other. Each extended credit to the other in reckless fashion and often huge debts were wiped out so as to give some unfortunate traders of either nationality a fresh start. Business was done in a big, expansive way with plenty of give and take in either side and small regard for petty details. It was a business in which great fortunes were made and lost, but those who lost returned home and as only the successful remained, there was always an air of opulence and prosperity.

理論上這是最不切實際的安排。貿易者完全要靠這群廣東人的憐憫，因為在他們的壟斷下無法向其他人買賣任何東西。航行的船隻很慢，過去沒有電報，每一場交易幾乎都是場賭博。要是中國人提供了太荒謬的低價給外來的貨物或是索取不合理地高價給他們的商品，他們不是要接受就是要離開。這裡沒有互相論價的空間。但是中國人並非獨斷的，這套系統實際運作上非常令人滿意。合情合理是這民族的特性，中國人關切每一夥人都能在交易裡獲利。他們討價還價但最終每個人都有賺到錢。事實上中國人與外國人的關係馬上明顯地變得友善與和諧，在他們認識和信任彼此之後。每個人非常魯莽地擴張信用到其他人身上，常常為了讓對方能東山再起，大筆的債務就這麼一筆勾消。生意在兩邊龐大、昂貴的施與受之下經營，很少去關切那些小細節。這種龐大的獲利與損失模式，失敗的人回家，成功的人繼續經營，這裡永遠充滿著富裕的香氣。