China and the West

Letter from Mark Twain to William Dean Howells ; 24 Dec. (1880), Harford, Conn. Xmas Eve.
"Next day I attended to business—which was, to introduce [Joseph Hopkins] Twichell to Gen. [James Hope] Grant & procure a private talk in the interest of the Chinese Educational Mission here in the U. S. Well, it was very funny. Joe had been sitting up nights building facts & arguments together into a mighty & unassalilable array, & had studied them out & got them by heart—all with the trembling half-hearted hope of getting Grant to add his signature to a sort of petition to the Viceroy of China; but Grant took in the whole situation in a jiffy, & before Joe had more than fairly got started, the old man said: "I'll write the Viceroy a letter—a separate letter—& bring strong reasons to bear upon him; I know him well., & what I say will have weight with him; yes, & with the advers I will attend to it right away. No, no thanks—I shall be glad to do it—it will be a labor of love."
Letter from James Hope Grant to Mark Twain. (1881).
"Li Hung Chang is the most powerful and most influential Chinaman in his country. He professed great friendship for me when I was there, and I have had assurances of the same thing since. I hope, if he is strong enough with his government, that the decision to withdraw the Chinese students from this country may be changed."
Letter from Mark Twain to James Hope Grant ; March 16 (1881).
"Your letter to Li Hung Chang [Li Hongzhang] has done its work, & the Chinese Educational Mission in Harford is saved. This cablegram mentions the receipt of your letter, & at the same time it commands the minister Chin to take Yung Wing [Rong Hong] into his consultations."