Page 469 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

455.

advantages from the American treaty. Cushing himself listed

sixteen stipulations not in the Treaty of Nanking. The most

important articles in the American treaty included the rights

and privileges of: extraterritoriality; renting land for churches,

hospitals and cemeteries; learning Chinese and purchasing books;

communicating with the Emperor through an Imperial Commissioner;

renegotiating the treaty after twelve years. Because of these

provisions the Treaty of Wang-hsia was the basis of subsequent

relations between China and the West.

In addition to safeguarding American interests in China,
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Cushing believed that he had respected China s sovereignty and

integrity. He asked the Chinese to grant minimum guarantees to
Americans, their property and their trade. In return he will­

ingly acceded to Chinese proposals that the United States of-
I
ficially condemn smuggling and the opium trade. Ch i-ying' s

attitude in conferences and correspondence confirmed Cushing s
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opinion that the Imperial government approved the American

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minister s position. The Imperial Commissioner did indeed sane-
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tion Cushing s actions, which he characterized as 11reasonable

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behavior, that of a proper barbarian. 1 Cushing• s decision to
remain at Macao convinced Ch'i-ying of his good faith and dis­

posed the Commissioner to treat him with particular benevolence.

A fundamental amity which had evolved between American and Chin­

ese merchants at Canton underpinned the relations between

1
Cushing and Ch i-ying. Although each envoy believed himself
representative of a superior civilization, both nevertheless were

aware of the relationship that existed between Americans and