Year

1988

Text

Type

Publication

Mentioned People (1)

Subjects

Chronology Entries (1)

#	Year	Text	Linked Data
1	1786-1788	[Franklin, Benjamin ]. A letter from China. In : The Columbia magazine, Philadelphia ; vol. 1, Sept. 1786. For the Columbia Magazine. The following letter, not before published, is curious, as it contains the natural observations of an unlearned man, on the internal present state of a country seldom penetrated by Europeans, and therefore very little known to us. 'Letter from a gentleman in Portugal to his friend in Paris, containing the account of an English sailor who deserted in China from Capt. Cooke's ship. Translated from the French'. [Franklin, Benjamin] : To the Editor of the Repository. A letter concerning China. The editor is happy to lay the following piece before the public, which he has received from an unknown quarter. In : The Repository ; vol. 2, May 1, 1788. The letter was first attributed to Franklin by Jared Sparks 1839 : "This jeu d'esprit was first published in The Repository for May, 1788. A correspondent, who was for several years personally and intimately acquainted with Dr. Franklin, writes to me : 'He was very fond of reading about China, and told me, that if he were a young man he should like to go to China'. In the form of a pretended narrative of a sailor, he has embodied in the following letter some of his knowledge derived from books, with fanciful descriptions of his own. In a few passages his peculiar manner of thought and style is very apparent". A. Owen Aldridge : The letter is unique in Franklin's literary career, and for this reason doubts have been expressed concerning Franklin's authorship, particularly because of the nature of the work itself, imaginative fiction. Franklin was capable of writing in this genre and style, but throughout his extensive literary career prior to the 'Letter' he did not choose to do so. The date of the letter is historically significant, for it appeared less than two years after the sailing of the 'Empress of China'. Presumably Franklin composed the letter on the passage back from Europe in 1785 after serving as ambassador to France. He derived the inspiration from Captain James Cook, whom he had known in England. While in France, 1784, he received a copy of Cook's Voyages by Richard Howe and by Benjamin Vaughan. In Franklin scholarship, the letter has been almost entirely ignored, perhaps because of its exotic subject matter or perhaps because scholars have subconsciously characteristics alien to Franklin. If the letter is the product of an unlearned man, it cannot be Franklin's. Nor can it be Franklin's if it is translated from the French. All indications of style and provenance, however, indicate that it is the work of an American of greater than average literary talent. The main reason for doubting Franklin's authorship is the nature of the work itself : imaginative fiction. Franklin was capable of writing in this genre and style, but throughout his extensive literary career he did not choose to do so. The Chinese letter is pure fiction. A close reading would have aroused suspicion of the authenticity of the Chinese letter. It names only three Chinese cities, Macao, Canton and Peking, but describes none of them. The seaman mentions 'a great river', but 'does not remember its name' ; he also travels to a province in the tea country, but 'does not recollect the name'. The only other geographical location is 'Nooky-Bay', still a puzzling reference. The author's purpose in writing was presumably to demonstrate his literary skill, for as it has no ideological, political, theological, social, or philosophical aim. Even the passage on religion is anecdotal rather than controversial. At the time, Franklin was old, he had just returned from France, and his leadership was being sought in Pennsylvania and national politics. It is inconceivable that he would in the circumstances write a purely fanciful letter about China. [See also : Benjamin Franklin : To Benjamin Vaughan. 24 July (1785)].	Document: Aldridge, A. Owen. Benjamin Franklin's Letter from China. In : Asian culture quarterly ; vol. 19, no 4 (1991). (Frank50, Publication) Person: Franklin, Benjamin

Cited by (1)

#	Year	Bibliographical Data	Type / Abbreviation	Linked Data
1	2000-	Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich	Organisation / AOI	Cited by: Huppertz, Josefine ; Köster, Hermann. Kleine China-Beiträge. (St. Augustin : Selbstverlag, 1979). [Hermann Köster zum 75. Geburtstag]. [Enthält : Ostasieneise von Wilhelm Schmidt 1935 von Josefine Huppertz ; Konfuzianismus von Xunzi von Hermann Köster]. (Huppe1, Published)