Qi Zhaoxi ? -1891

A native of Shanghai, he learned French in order to engage in direct negotiation with French force. He joined the Shanghai Customs service in 1865 and began to learn English. In the early 1870s the Chinese government adopted Yung Wing's proposal of sending young teenagers to study in the US. When the third batch of Chinese boys set off for the US in 1874, Qi was chosen as their escort. Among the boys was his twelve-year-old son Zuyi. Diary of Travels in America is a record of this journey. Qi returned to China immediately upon completion of his mission. After that he served as an official in Guangdong province for some seventeen years. He died in Guangdong.

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