Philip Freneau’s ‘On the First American Ship That Explored the Route to China and the East-Indies, After the Revolution’

Posted: August 4th, 2016 | No Comments »

I’m currently reading Hua Hsu’s A Floating Chinaman, which has a lot to say about China Watching and is rather interesting. I’ve blogged before about the American ship, The Empress of China, that left New York in 1784 for Canton to trade – an independent America’s first China bound ship. All very interesting of course, a new country, a new player in Canton, ginseng, silver and eventually a new player in the opium trade. However, I was not asware of the poem, mentioned by Hua Hsu, by Philip Freneau, On the First American Ship That Explored the Route to China and the East-Indies, After the Revolution, published in 1784 to mark the voyage of The Empress of China (pictured below after the poem). Freneau (below) was a proud American revolutionist and so equally proud of the voyage while never missing a chance to bash the Brits…

On the First American Ship That Explored the Route to China and the east-Indies, After the Revolution

 

Philip Freneau (1784)

 

She spreads her wings to meet the Sun,

Those golden regions to explore

Where George forbade to sail before.

 

Thus, grown to strength, the bird of Jove,

Impatient, quits his native grove,

With eyes of fire, and lightning’s force

Through the blue aether holds his course.

No foreign tars are here allow’d.

 

To mingle with her chosen crowd,

Who, when return’d, might, boasting say

They show’d our native oak the way.

To that old track no more confin’d,

By Britain’s jealous court assign’d,

She round the stormy cape shall sail

And eastward, catch the odorous gale.

 

To countries plac’d in burning climes

And islands of remotest times

She now her eager course explores,

And soon shall greet Chinesian shores.

From thence their fragrant teas to bring

Without the leave of Britain’s king;

And porcelain ware, enchas’d in gold,

The product of that finer mould.

Thus commerce to our world conveys

All that the varying taste can please;

For us, the Indian looms are free,

And Java strips her spicy tree

Great pile proceed! – and o’er the brine

May every prosperous gale be thine,

’Till, freighted deep with eastern gems,

You reach again your native streams.

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