ABSTRACT
I, Jiang Jiaoren, was born in the year of our Lord 1818 in the village of Lilang, Xinan district [now Shenzhen], province of Guangdong.I My father was a degree holder whose step would be designated as xiu cai [or sheng yuan] by the Chinese and would be very highly regarded by them. My father, who was a full-time teacher, instructed me in Chinese literature and the classics from my fifth to my twentieth year. When I was eighteen years old, I married my present wife, Ye Huangsha, who was then sixteen years old. In 1839 I began an oil business in my home village. I pursued this for many years in the course of which I went to the market town of Chimm cheen [?], where I remained for two and a half years. I had, however, no luck in this trade and was finally obliged to give up my business.
