[Two Bound Issues of] Journal of The American Association of China [Vol. I, Nos. 13 (Jul 1904) and 14 (Jan 1905)].; China

Shanghai: The American Association of China, 1905. Good. 9¾” x 7¼”. Cloth-covered boards. Pp. 34; 53. Good due to front board, endpaper and first leaf detached (but attached to each other); internally very good or better with penciled notes on issues' contents to ffep.

This is a slim bound volume of two rare issues of the Journal of The American Association of China, concerning the United States' economic and scientific involvement in China and Manchuria. Released just two years after the Chinese Exclusion Act was extended and made permanent, amidst the backdrop of the Open Door Policy and the Russo-Japanese War, the issues include contributions from some of the leading American voices in Chinese relations and foreign policy.

An opening editorial section of the first issue here noted that:

“since the publication of the last issue of the Journal, events of world-wide importance have occurred which may lead to an entire reconstruction of the ideas of one half of the world in regard to the other half . . . to us who live in China, the future of this great country is naturally the most important feature in the Asiatic situation . . . In this great epoch in the development of the Orient, the United States will have its share . . .”

The issue claimed that “the trade of China with the United States has grown more rapidly in recent years than with any other country,” and yet it was “not merely the prospect of mercenary and material gains which appeals to Americans in the upbuilding and renovation of the ancient Empire but also sympathy for the Chinese people and hope for their final independence.” There were blurbs on the Chinese Exclusion Act, mining regulations and the visit of Chinese Imperial Commissioners to the St. Louis Exposition. It also printed the latest edition of the Association's Constitution and Bylaws.

The second issue ran an extract from the Far Eastern Review of Manila, revealing a parallel effort to Jenks' monetary reform work taking place in the Philippine Islands. Other blurbs concerned the admission of Chinese students to the United States, an American improvement plan for the “Whangpoo” river, rail and steamship service between the continents, trademarks and customs fees.

Two rich journal issues covering United States foreign policy in China and the Far East. OCLC locates these issues at eight institutions.