The poem first appeared in the Overland Express, followed by the 1870 edition which was issued on nine cards, illustrated by Joseph Hull, in an envelope, with the title "The Heathen Chinee, Plain Language from Truthful James," Western News Co., Chicago. Limited editions with comments and background followed in the 1930s, some of which sell for as much as an original copy.

Apparently it helped inflame anti-Chinese feeling in the United States.