Canton System
James Flint (Chinese name: 洪任輝, "Hong Renhui", ?1720–?) was an 18th-century British merchant and diplomat employed by the East India Company and noted for his role in precipitating the Canton System of Chinese trade with the West. One of the first English people to learn the Chinese language, Flint broke Qing dynasty court protocol through a direct complaint to the Qianlong Emperor, which led to three years of detention in the Portuguese colony of Macau. In later life, he was jointly responsible for the introduction of the soybean to North America.