EMERSON, Ralph Waldo; CITY OF BOSTON.

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Reception and Entertainment of the Chinese Embassy, By the City of Boston. First edition in wrappers of this work commemorating the August 1868 visit to Boston by the first Chinese embassy to the United States. The contents includes the text of a banquet speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson articulating Confucianism's contribution to notions of human goodness.In 1867, the Qing court appointed the Bostonian Anson Burlingame (1820-1870) as its envoy extraordinary to the Western powers, and the following year Burlingame led China's first official embassy to the United States and Europe. Burlingame was the ideal choice for such a task, possessing "a frank, noble disposition, habits of industry, a charming and persuasive manner, and promising talents as an orator" (quoted in the ANB). With the Chinese ministers Zhigang and Sun Jiagu at his side, Burlingame landed on America's Pacific Coast in March 1868, before city-hopping eastwards and reaching Washington in June. There, after extended negotiations, the two parties concluded the landmark Burlingame-Seward Treaty, the first time a foreign power explicitly recognized China's sovereignty.Following these negotiations, the embassy journeyed to Boston, staying between 20 August and 2 September. The present commemorative volume prints the full text of speeches given at the welcome reception and grand banquet. Other sections detail the engagements laid on for Burlingame and his party, such as visits to the governor's mansion and local manufact

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