William C. Hunter, China merchant and writer, was born in Kentucky and at age thirteen became apprenticed to the Canton agency of Thomas H. Smith & Son of N.Y. Hunter was perhaps the first American to devote himself to the study of Chinese as a spoken and written language. In 1829 he joined the firm of Russell and Co., and remained in China for another fourteen years. His journal describes an incident foreshadowing the Anglo-Chinese War, detailing the plight of the Western trading community at Canton, embargoed by the Chinese who wished to halt the importation of opium. With food and water in short supply and Chinese troops close by, Hunter shows the pattern of life under seige conditions. Mentioned in the text are Capt. Charles Elliott, British naval officer, and the Chinese merchant Howqua, among others.
