Chen Lanbin

Chen Lanbin was a scholar-official who helped establish two early forms of China's sustained engagement with the Americas: an educational mission and a permanent diplomatic legation. He obtained the jinshi degree in 1853 and served in the Qing administration before supervising the Chinese Educational Mission. Beginning in 1872, boys sent to New England studied subjects intended to strengthen China's technical capabilities. Chen and his deputy Yung Wing differed over how far students should adapt to American life and how their Chinese education should be maintained. ¹

In 1874, Chen headed an international commission investigating the treatment of Chinese indentured laborers in Cuba. Working with British and French colleagues, he visited plantations, industrial workplaces, warehouses, and prisons and collected testimony from laborers. His ability to speak Cantonese enabled direct communication with many of the men. The investigation documented violence and coercive conditions, including practices that prevented workers from leaving after their contracts expired. ²

The commission assembled its report in Washington, and its findings circulated internationally. Chen's work placed Chinese testimony and claims for protection before governments involved in the labor trade. He subsequently served as China's first resident minister to the United States, with additional responsibility for Spain and Peru. ^{1, 2}