ABSTRACT
The diary of Chang Hsi throws light upon an obscure phase in the opening of diplomatic relations between China and the West in the midnineteenth century, namely, the role of the obscure underling who met the barbarian on his own level and did the dirty work for his refined superiors. Ch'i-ying was keenly aware of the value of specialists in dealing with foreigners, although he seemed somewhat contemptuous of Chang Hsi and preferred "barbarian experts" of his own choosing. In the later Canton period, 1856-1858, other specialists in barbarian affairs were sought out and utilized. As soon as Ch'i-ying was ordered to return to Canton to meet the American minister, Caleb Cushing, he began to look around for experts who had helped him during his negotiations with England in 1842 and 1843. The first occasion of American official contact with China was the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking which concluded it in 1842.
