The phrase "three thousand years of great changes" was said by Li Hongzhang, a heavy minister of the late Qing Dynasty, in order to warn the people of the country that the times are different, and that the set of the past does not work, so hurry up and learn the good things of the foreigners.
In fact, some historians in later generations believe that the time point of "three thousand years of unprecedented great changes" should be pushed forward, when Europeans appeared in Chinese waters in ocean-going sailing ships carrying sharp cannons, the "great changes" had begun, but the Chinese at that time did not realize it.
This point in time was 1511, marked by the Portuguese capture of Mandraga, modern-day Malacca. The Song Dynasty set up a municipal shipping department in Manchuria to collect taxes on Arab, Indian and other merchant ships heading to China, which meant that foreign ships entered Chinese waters as soon as they passed through Manchuria and had to be regulated by Chinese law.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, after Zheng He went to the West, the Sultanate of Manchuria had been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, often paying tribute and trading. The Manchurian region itself was inhabited by many Chinese and had good relations with the Sultanate.
Located at an important juncture of the Maritime Silk Road, Mandala is the richest country in Southeast Asia, with a strong city and a strong army, and it may not be enough to go out to fight, but it is more than enough to protect itself. The Sultan believed that if there was a foreign invasion, it would be enough for Manchaga to hold out until the Ming Dynasty sailors came to reinforce.
Unfortunately, Zheng He did not go to the West after that, and the Ming emperors enjoyed the tribute of overseas feudal states, but did not have the heart to protect the safety of the feudal states. From the Yongle Emperor onwards, the Ming Dynasty became more and more conservative, and had long forgotten how to build Zheng He's treasure ship.
Since opening up a stronghold in Goa, India, the Portuguese have been figuring out how to control trade with China and monopolize the European market for silk, tea, porcelain and other popular Chinese commodities, and Manja is the first obstacle for the Portuguese to achieve this goal.
If the local people's civilization is relatively low, they will directly occupy and plunder by force; if the local people have not weak force, the Europeans will first trade, wait until they have enough strength, and then provoke the resistance forces that divide the local area, and finally conquer it.
The value of manja's force was neither high nor low, and the Portuguese could take it with sufficient preparation. In 1511, 700 Portuguese soldiers, plus more local mercenaries, under the cover of 16 warships, captured Manjaga and captured the gateway to Chinese waters.
The Sultan of Manja had long been aware of the Ambitions of the Portuguese and had asked the suzerainty of the Ming Dynasty for help. The Ming court refused Man's request for help, and the Zhengde Emperor may have wanted to teach a lesson to the Europeans who invaded the domain, but the Manchu Wenwu certainly would not agree, for fear that the restless emperor would have to toss and turn again.
So, what does the Portuguese occupation of Manchuria have to do with "a great change that has not occurred in three thousand years"? The British fleet that defeated China in 1840 was essentially no different from the Portuguese fleet that captured Manchuria, except that the ships were larger and the guns heavier.
For the first time, Chinese civilization encountered an opponent whose civilization level was comparable to its own, which was a completely new civilization, but China did not face up to this threat, and in the next 300 years, the British emerged from this new civilization and finally challenged China.
Or it can be said that from the moment Manchaga fell to the guns of Europe, the decline of Chinese civilization has become a foregone conclusion, and the remaining question is when and who will break through this layer of window paper.