There are actually three reasons why China's history of more than two thousand years has been going around and has not been able to break through the strange circle of feudalism:
First, the productive forces are backward and cannot break through the shackles of the feudal economy; second, the buds of the new form of economic development are snuffed out in the cradle by war (for example, in the Song Dynasty, it is entirely possible for us to enter the capitalist society in advance, and various social characteristics have been very obvious, but because of the war and chaos, capitalism sprouted and destroyed, and capitalism also sprouted in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, but also because of local uprisings and wars, the economic buds were quickly snuffed out); Third, the ruler's thinking was solidified and limited, and the country was closed. As a result, the country's economic development is self-contained and divorced from the general trend of world development, so the country's economic form cannot be transformed for a long time. For example, most of the nearly three hundred years of the history of the Qing Dynasty have been maintained in the closed country, and although the prosperous era of Kang Yongqian, represented by the small peasant economy, has reached its most brilliant moment, it has finally been eliminated by the world tide, which has led to the humiliating history of more than a hundred years in modern China.
History is always cyclical, but sometimes it may be suddenly impacted by the outside world, and eventually change the ruts of history, such as the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the reform of serfs in Russia, etc. All occurred under the influence of external forces, and the rulers at the highest level adjusted their thinking in time, accepted the general trend of world development, and finally changed the law successfully, so that the country could prosper and become strong.
History will always give a lot of hints or opportunities before the elimination of an era, if you can grasp the opportunities given by history, the future and destiny of a country will be turned upside down, before the Opium War in 1840, the glory of the Qianlong Dynasty made the Qing Dynasty monarchs intoxicated, but why in just a few decades, the Qianlong prosperity was reduced to ashes under the strong ships and cannons of foreigners? In fact, before the advent of the Opium War, history once warned Qianlong that the 1793 Magalney visit to China was a landmark event that changed the future and destiny of history, seemingly just an ordinary diplomatic exchange, but its significance changed the history of more than 200 years.
The purpose of Magalni's visit to China is to open the door of the Chinese market and reverse the long-term trade deficit between China and Britain, this visit to China has disappointed Magalni greatly, not only to see the foolish and ridiculous side of the Qing Dynasty monarchs, but also to discover the secrets behind this powerful empire, Qianlong prosperity is only superficial prosperity, this decadent and declining empire has been out of the trend of world development, in the self-proclaimed apostasy of drunken gold fans, after returning to China, Magalni reported this information to the British royal family. Britain had the ambition to open the door to China by force, and under the dumping of opium, after decades of poisoning Chinese's body, by 1840, the Qing Dynasty had no enemy soldiers, and there was not even the slightest sign of the return of the Qianlong Dynasty. Finally, in the smoke of the Opium War, China's modern history turned a page of humiliation.
Magalni had made meticulous preparations before his visit to China, and he had always admired the Chinese Empire, so he wanted to see the free paradise in his mind with a very reverential mentality, and a large number of gifts in the gift list prepared for the Qianlong Emperor were the crystallization of the world's cutting-edge science and technology:
Among them are scientific instruments such as celestial orbiters, globes, Herschel telescopes, Parker lenses, barometers, etc.; industrial machines such as steam engines, cotton spinning machines, carding machines, and looms; there are also chandeliers, grandfather clocks, woven fabrics, Wedgwood porcelain, wagons with shock absorption devices, swords made of special steel, and other daily necessities; there are also advanced weapons such as howitzers, mortars, carbines, rifles, and burst pistols, as well as models of the giant battleship "King" equipped with 110 guns Mechanical and optical demonstrations and hot air balloon and re-sled shows are also being prepared, as well as army, artillery and brass bands.
However, for these advanced weapons, the Qianlong Emperor denounced them as strange tricks, which made Magalni quite helpless, for Magalni's trade demands, the Qianlong Emperor even warned Magalni not to be delusional, and his arrogant and arrogant posture made the British mission angry but also quite helpless, but Magani still refused to give up easily, and Magani went to visit Hezhen and wrote a note, listing six suggestions, one of which was to let Hezhen once again lobby the Qianlong Emperor to agree to the request of the British envoys. After analyzing the pros and cons, as a financial expert of the Qing Empire, He Yan was keenly aware of the trend of changes in the development of the world economy, he collected intelligence and found that China's porcelain, linen, tea and other products were quite popular with foreigners, while China's self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy made it difficult for foreign products to open the Chinese market.
So He Yan tried to propose to Qianlong again to open a treaty port to do business with the British, but this suggestion made the Qianlong Emperor Long Yan furious, and He Yan almost lost his head because of this, and never dared to mention it again. If from the perspective of the Qianlong Emperor, it seems that we can also understand that although the Qianlong Emperor was very happy and meritorious, he was not a faint and incompetent person, so why would he refuse these opportunities that seemed to be very beneficial to the future development of the Qing Empire? In fact, there are two reasons:
First, the introduction of Western scientific and technological products into China will inevitably open up the wisdom of the people, and China's feudal society for more than two thousand years has always practiced the policy of fooling the people, and once the people's wisdom is greatly developed, it will be very difficult to manage the people, and the rule of the Qing Dynasty will naturally be in danger, which is exactly what the Qianlong Emperor did not want to see.
Second, Western weapons have greatly surprised Qianlong, he may not have thought that Western countries will one day hit his doorstep, his first consideration is that once Western weapons are introduced, assassin assassination is not more convenient, cold weapons still have room for defense, and the power of guns and weapons is too great to defend, once someone has a bad heart, how to deal with it?
Third, China has always been based on agriculture, and the farming economy has two major benefits for the rulers, one is to maintain the peasants on the subsistence line and prevent the bottom peasants from eating and drinking enough to rebel. The second is to firmly confine the peasants to the land and prevent the flow of people. Once the treaty ports are opened, everyone is seeking profits, the country's basic subsistence materials and order will inevitably be readjusted, and poor adjustment may even lead to the downfall of the country, the Qianlong Emperor at that time has entered old age, is an old man of nearly eighty years old, how can he have the energy to carry out this great change in the production order? So he categorically refused Magalni's request, and also laid the groundwork for more than a hundred years of humiliating modern Chinese history.