The First Chinese International Students in America

In the 19th century, an unlikely international initiative took place. Despite the Qing government's reputation for conservatism and isolationist policies, it actually sponsored a group of 120 Chinese boys to study in the United States. This is the story of the Chinese Education Mission (CEM). An ambitious experiment— it built a short lived but very real bridge between two very different worlds. It was a story of political ambition, and cultural collision, but also one of baseball. 

References:

- My Life in China and America, by Yung Wing

- When I was a boy in China, by Yan Phou Lee

- Autobiography with Letters, by William Lyon Phelps

- 纪录片《幼童》(2004)

-Dr. Xiaoxing Xi on false science espionage accusations, advocacy, and Oppenheimer, MIT Science Policy Review

Cover photo: 

The "Orientals" baseball club of the CEM boys, taken in front of the Chinese Educational Mission Headquarters, Hartford, 1878. 2-1-11, Thomas E. LaFargue Papers, 1873-1946.

Courtesy Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), Washington State University Libraries.