Page 331 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

317.
49
and even brought Chinese women into the Foreign Factories.

How indicative the opinions of Heard and Forbes were

of general feeling among American merchants towards mission-

aries cannot be determined. There existed only the acts of

good will on the part of Olyphant, who seemed to be considered

rather eccentric by many of his fellow Americans. Nevertheless,

the Heard and Forbes letters indicate negative attitudes among

Americans. Although these two opinions certainly are not

enough evidence for making a general conclusion, they do

further raise the question of the reality of co-operation
between American merchants other than Olyphant and missionaries.

If combined with the tepid support Americans offered to the

philanthropic societies, perhaps a better description of the

relationship between the two groups would be that American

merchants tolerated the missionaries. In 1838 the American

missionaries stated to the American Board: "But no comparison,

nor description, can convey to you, or to the churches, a per­

fect idea of all the difficulties under which our work. .is
50
here carried on.11 One wonders how much the merchants added

to those difficulties.

49
Imperial decrees against the presence of women in the
Factories always specified foreign women. In November 1834 the
Governor and Hoppo condemned the Hong merchants for procuring
servants and prostitute;::; for the foreign b0rb.::..rian_§_." The offi- _
11
cials warned the Hong mcrchcJ.nts not to "le::ad them ithe foreigner_§_/
clandestinely to the tonka boats, to drink wine and sleep with
courtesans; or, under the darkness of night, secretly take shore­
prostitutes into the factories;" If caught, foreigners and Hong
merchants both would "be tried and punished according to law, with
severity." This edict is in the Chinese Repository, III, 8
(December 1834), 391, 392.
SO .
.
.
Let t er, C h · i na Mission t o American Boar o .
d f C ommiss-
ioners, in Missionary Herald, XXXIV, 9 (September 1838), 340.