In this episode we take a look at the circumstances and times when the brand spanking new nation of the USA came a calling to China for the very first time.  The so-called “Most Important Relationship in the World” had very humble origins indeed.  When representatives of the United States first arrived in Canton in August 1783 they really had a lot of explaining to do about who they were and where they came from.  Repeatedly they had to explain to the Chinese who interacted with them that they weren’t British. TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE  Qianlong 乾隆  The Qing emperor who reigned 1735-1796 Guangzhou 广州  Canton Wujing 五经  The Five Classics Sishu  四书 The Four Books Zhong-Mei guanxi 中美关系  China – US Relations Lao Mei 老美 a term for America or Americans…not particularly a polite way to say it Lao Zhong 老中 I never heard this used before…but the counterpart of Lao Mei Jin Sha 金沙 Cumshaw. A bribe given in the form of a gift (means gold sand or gold dust) Wuyi Cha 武夷茶  Bohea Tea  A popular type of tea export back in the day Xichun Cha 熙春茶  Hyson Tea Another popular type of tea export back in the day. Bupingdeng tiaoyue  不平等条约 Unequal Treaty Qiying  耆英 Known as “Keying”, a Manchu noble who signed many Unequal Treaties Wangxia Tiaoyue  望夏条约  The Treaty of Wangxia July 3, 1844 Guanyin Tang  观音堂  The Temple in Macao where the Treaty of Wangxia was signed Puji Chanyuan  普及禅院  The former name of this temple Da-Qing  大清  The name of the Qing Empire…means Great Qing Jean Baptiste Du Halde, writer of the The General History of China http://www.archive.org/stream/generalhistoryof01duha#page/n0/mode/2up