Qianlong did not do anything wrong when he refused Macartney's trade request?

After entering the industrial revolution era, Britain urgently needs overseas markets and sources of raw materials. In order to expand the market, Britain continued its colonial expansion. After the " Seven Years War ", the United Kingdom has become the world's largest colonial empire. In the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong, Macartney led a British envoy to visit China, which was a very famous diplomatic event in the history of the Qing Dynasty. This is also the first official contact between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty.

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Macartney mission to China

Most people think that because of Qianlong’s closed-door policy and arrogant attitude, China missed this period of rapid development. Opportunities for growth. Is this really the case? At that time, the British Empire was in a period of rapid development of the Industrial Revolution, while the Qing Dynasty was in the Qianlong period. The rise of the British empire is inevitable in a head-on confrontation with another empire, the Qing empire. This is the greatest prosperous era in Chinese history-the peak period of Kang-Qian Prosperous . During the Qianlong period, China's total economic output ranked first in the world. At that time, China's share of the world's manufacturing industry could reach several times that of countries such as Britain, Russia and Japan. At that time, these countries were completely unable to compare with the Qing Dynasty. Although the Qing Dynasty did not attach importance to foreign trade, its huge economic aggregate was still an important force in world trade. In this prosperous age, in 1793, a group of British envoys went to the Qing Dynasty at that time under the name of wishing Qianlong's birthday. The visit of British envoys to China actually provided Qianlong with a good opportunity to get to know the West and promote China's entry into the competition of world maritime trade. Although in the name of wishing Qianlong's birthday, he actually wanted to take this opportunity to conduct trade and trade with the Qing Dynasty. The British made a very "unreasonable request". They wanted to own a small island like Macau in the name of "stacking goods".At that time, Macau had actually been ruled by Portugal for many years, so the British hoped that the Chinese emperor would also "give" them a "small island." This request was decisively rejected by Qianlong, and Macartney could only return without success. In this way, the first diplomatic negotiation between the Qing Dynasty and Britain in history broke down.

Qing Dynasty soldiers

As for the breakdown of the negotiation between the two sides, most people felt that Qianlong was mainly responsible for the breakdown of the two sides. It is believed that Qianlong has always been indifferent in the process of accepting Macartney's mission. Regarding the visit of the British delegation as a confession to the country, it completely ignored the importance of the country's transportation industry. I feel that Qianlong thinks he is a "celestial dynasty" and is a bit too arrogant. He does not recognize the progress of others at all and ignores the gifts given by the British delegation at all. This time the mission came from the British battleship "Lion" equipped with 64 cannons.

In order for Emperor Qianlong of China to accept his request, the mission carried a large number of gifts, including steam engines, cotton spinning machines, card , weaving machines, and a large number of exquisite astronomical and geographic instruments. They even brought hot air balloons and hot air balloon operators to Qianlong. It also brought the most advanced battleship "Monarch" model in the world at that time and was equipped with hundreds of cannons. It also includes weapons such as carbine , rifles and pistols. The British fully believe that these latest achievements of human civilization will surely open Qianlong's eyes and make him admire the Europeans.

But this visit ended in failure. Both China and Britain were very dissatisfied with each other. Why? The first is the debate about etiquette. After the British envoys came to China, officials of the Qing Dynasty asked them to learn three knees and nine knocks. All foreign envoys must salute this way when they come to pay tribute. But the British envoy refused to agree. They believed that the two sides were equal, and there was a fierce conflict for this. Second, Macartney's request for negotiation was decisively rejected by the Qing government. Macartney was very confident that the advanced handmade products he brought would definitely arouse the interest of the Chinese, so he took the initiative to propose the idea of ​​doing business with the UK.However, what was unexpected to the British mission was that the Qing Dynasty was completely different from what they thought. They showed no interest in these products and regarded Western technology as a "little trick." After celebrating the birthday, the Qing government believed that Macartney's "tribute" task in the name of birthday celebration was completed and he could go home. Because of the improper trade demands made by the British embassy and consulate, the Qing government would naturally reject such rude demands.

Qing Dynasty

When the mission returned, they rejected Qianlong's arrangement. They entered mainland China by land from Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Guangdong. They learned about China to the greatest extent and conducted a detailed investigation of China's specific defense. After the delegation returned to China, they reported everything they had in China. Since then, the British impression of China has changed a lot, which paved the way for the Opium War decades later. This time the failure of diplomacy was regarded by many as a harbinger of the demise of the Qing Dynasty. Refusing to do business with the UK is a matter that has a huge impact on the country's future. Because if the Qing Dynasty agrees to trade, it will inevitably come into contact with advanced Western civilization earlier, and in a peaceful way. At this time, the Qing Dynasty, which was in line with international standards, had the opportunity to leap forward again to become a world power. Just like Japan during the Meiji Restoration . No matter how bad luck, there will be no such thing as the Opium War. People will be suppressed by force and forced to sign unequal treaties. Therefore, Macartney's visit to China is also considered by some to paved the way for the occurrence of the Opium War. However, this is not the whole story, and many contents are selectively ignored by everyone. In fact, Heaven did not have such arrogance, and Britain was not so sincere, and could not push the responsibility of diplomatic failure to Qianlong.

The attitude of the Qing government

First of all, Qianlong paid enough attention and respect to the British mission from beginning to end. I heard that the British were coming. Qianlong issued an edict, arranged work personally, and strictly ordered provincial governors to do the reception work along the way.Etiquette must be thorough. The overall reception is handled by and Shen , and the etiquette department is responsible for preparation. The most critical point is that Emperor Qianlong will personally receive the mission. In addition, the problem that has been repeatedly mentioned is the so-called prostration. It is said that the Macartney mission was required to kneel and knock three times when meeting Emperor Qianlong.

This is actually a misunderstanding. According to the planning process of the Ministry of God and the Ministry of Rites, Macartney and others did need to bow to Qianlong. They did kneel at the time, but they weren't kneeling in the way everyone imagined. They knelt on one knee and bowed nine times. This is a combination of Chinese and English etiquette. First of all, kneel down on one knee, which is a common etiquette used by the British when meeting the king; nine salutes combined with Chinese etiquette to follow the customs and take care of Qianlong's face. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty was not wrong on the issue of etiquette. Of course, the mission did experience some embarrassment during the visit, such as being searched, restrictions on personal freedom, and so on.

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But this is actually the normal entry process for foreign missions. The search is equivalent to a security inspection process, mainly to ensure that there are no dangerous items. The second is personal freedom to ensure the safety of the members of the mission and prevent mistakes caused by unfamiliarity with the environment. In fact, in Macartney's diary, he also expressed high praise for the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, to be correct, Qianlong did not neglect the British mission. There was no arrogant attitude, even though Qianlong was really not interested in the gifts brought by the mission. But for Qianlong, these things brought by the British were not fresh enough, so it is normal to despise them. According to records, Macartney brought many things from Britain as a national gift, including celestial globe , globes, clocks, glass lamps, cannons and firearms, and even models of sailboats and battleships. They believe that these things are the products of advanced Western civilization, which will definitely deter these backward Easterners and increase the weight of negotiations.

Qianlong

In fact,These things were not uncommon in the Qing Dynasty at that time. Celestial globes and globes have long existed in the Qin Tianjian. Old Summer Palace has many glass lamps, and clocks and watches are not necessarily more exquisite than those made by Beijing clockmakers. In fact, Guangdong artisans can make these things, even more exquisite than those made in the West, but not many people buy these things. Firearms and artillery were good things, but at the time, at the end of the 18th century, these weapons were not very advanced. And Macartney didn't bring the best weapon. The technique and power he showed could not make Qianlong feel in awe. The only regret is the British sailing warship model, which is indeed a good thing. During the Opium War, if the Qing navy had dozens of ships, it would not be easily defeated by the British army. But Qing Xianglai is not interested in this aspect. The Dutch at that time also brought similar warship models, but they did not attract attention.

Qing Dynasty Commerce

The rude request of the British government

Obviously, the British underestimated the technological level of the Qing Dynasty with an arrogant and superior attitude, with an arrogant attitude. They did not show the sincerity of exchanging benefits with the Qing government at all. So these things didn't move Qianlong. Qianlong played with Europe's top mechanical clocks since he was a child, and imported a large number of European rifles, cold weapons, as well as various telescopes and globes for his own entertainment. The British are completely exaggerating and did not give away some rare things. So it seems insincere. The lack of sincerity is actually only a secondary reason. The main reason for Qianlong's refusal is because the British have different plans.

At that time, the British mission made many very offensive and rude trade requests to Qianlong. For example, they wanted multiple trading ports such as Ningbo to be opened for them; and asked for one of the Zhoushan Islands allocated to The United Kingdom is used as a British business base; a place near Guangzhou is allocated to the United Kingdom as a British business location, or Guangzhou people are allowed to "freely come and go" in Guangzhou; in terms of tax rates, there are also discounts and tax exemptions. The English-style lion's open mouth behavior was naturally rejected by Qianlong. As far as the opening of trade ports is concerned,The trade of other countries in China is carried out in Guangzhou, where there are special foreign firms. These things have been running for a long time. No other country requires opening of ports. If the United Kingdom has precedent, some foreigners will also demand more openings. And all the countries in the Qing Dynasty trade here, there are fixed foreign firms. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty categorically rejected the British request. Although the Qing Dynasty had a self-contained or arrogant factor of "the heavenly property is abundant and omnipresent", it was completely correct in the main aspects and rejected British assets. The demands of class aggression and expansion safeguard the territorial integrity and sacred sovereignty of the country.

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In fact, in addition to opening trade ports, the British request to allocate locations and dispatch islands is obviously an infringement of national sovereignty. Therefore, Qianlong’s response was that it was not a question of money, but a question of land and sovereignty. Qianlong has made it clear that the territory belongs to and will not agree. In layman's terms, no one inch of land will be given. The ancestral territory cannot be compared with people. After the Qing Dynasty ruling group rejected the non-partial request of the British envoy, they still returned many gifts to the members of the British King’s mission and the crew. At the same time, he asked the British envoy to return and rejected the British envoy's idea of ​​continuing to stay in Beijing, and instructed the British envoy to lower the standard when receiving the local officials of the provincial capital that the British envoy passed through, and the provincial capital that the British envoy passed through. It only needs to be received normally, not in person.

Qing Dynasty merchant

From another perspective, since it is business and trade, it should be mutual. I believe that if the Qing Dynasty asked Britain to cede a small island around London to the Qing Dynasty, the British government would definitely not agree. Therefore, the failure of Macartney's visit to China is indeed not Qianlong's fault. From beginning to end, he has always been reasonable, not humble or arrogant. After the Qing government rejected the request of the British mission, it did not sit still, but took the necessary precautions. The Emperor Qianlong was 83 years old at the time, and his calm attitude towards Britain is commendable. In September 1794, the British envoy Macartney led the mission back to England. The deputy envoy Staunton said, "The things that all personnel have been exposed to and observed left an unprecedented and indelible pleasant impression in their minds."This also reflects that the Qing court's reception of the British mission was basically successful. As for what he called the "novel and subtle" mission, he failed in the main task of further opening up the Chinese market.