Robert Fortune’s Dangerous Mission To Obtain Tea From The Chinese

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - After four months, Scottish botanist Robert Fortune arrived in Shanghai, China. It was a hot September day in 1848, but he had no time to rest. Fortune had to disguise himself as a Chinese official, adopting local appearance, clothing, speech, and behavior to create a new identity.

His mission was dangerous: he was to steal 13,000 tea seedlings of Camellia sinensis from China and transport them to India on behalf of the British East India Company.

He changed his name to Sing Wang (meaning "brilliant flower"), shaved his head, grew a pigtail, learned to eat with chopsticks, spoke Mandarin, and wore Chinese clothes to blend in with the locals. He was even brave enough to fight off pirates who attacked him during one of his journeys.

This is a preview of our premium article available only to members of Ancient Pages.

Become a member to read more -  Click here

If you are already a member and have logged in to your account, you can access the article here

See also: 

How A Solar Eclipse Saved George Davidson In Alaska

Dragon Empress Wu Zetian Challenged Confucian Beliefs Against Female Rulers

Trung Sisters Of Vietnam: National Heroines That Stood Against Cruel Chinese Occupation Of Their Country

More Premium Articles