American Ginseng

choi

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徐重伟 | 威斯康星州, 乡下农夫 - 花旗参王许忠政的故事. VOA Chinese, Jan, 22,
2010.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/special-reports/Cultural_Odyssey_Showreruns/20100122-Ginseng-Farmer-The-story-of-Paul-Hsu-82388137.html

My comment:
(1) Until now, I have no idea that a Taiwanese is main producer of Wisconsin
ginseng.
(2) There are two species of ginseng in the world: American ginseng (Panax
quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng). (Note: teh singular and
plural forms of the noun "species" are identical.)
(3) 许忠政 Paul Hsu
The web site of his company 許氏參業集團- Hsu Ginseng Enterprises Inc.
http://www.hsuginseng.com/

(4) Compare two other recent reports on American ginseng:
(a) John Pomfret, The Chinese are 'changing us;' Rising global power is
reshaping the way Americans do business and live their lives. Washington
Post, Nov. 14, 2010.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111303151.html

(b) Simon Schama, China's on-off American romance. Financial Times, Nov. 17,
2010.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/26cdc374-d31b-11de-af63-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Quote:

"Finding something American to sell to the Chinese, whether democracy or
widgets, has always been a problem. The first merchant vessel to sail from
New York to Canton in 1784 was on a tea-buying voyage, but the cargo it had
to exchange was ginseng. American ginseng was consumed by the Chinese for
its yin: the female properties of cool, while the native product was thought
more yang-heavy. A population explosion may have made it difficult for
domestic production to keep up with demand, hence the opening for American
ginseng merchants who made a nifty profit."

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