For the Qing Dynasty, the most prosperous period at that time was when Qianlong was the emperor, the Qing Dynasty at that time can be described as prosperous, at that time in the Western countries, when they just entered the industrial revolution, but the Qing Dynasty government at that time due to the strong national strength, or in the position of a strong country, so at the time of Qianlong's 80th birthday, other countries still sent people to send gifts to express respect for the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Britain, which was thousands of miles away, heard this news, and in order to make good friends with the Qing Dynasty and start to connect the business between the two sides, it also sent a big gift to the Qianlong Emperor on this pretext.
In 1793, the British Magalney mission came to China, and under the banner of wishing Qianlong a happy birthday, they offered many gifts and put forward the idea of doing business with China and expanding trade. In the 1760s, Britain was undergoing an industrial revolution and its power was increasing. However, China is still immersed in the beautiful dream of the heavenly dynasty, pursuing a policy of closing the country to the outside world, and going farther and farther down the road of feudalism. The Magalni mission was the first British mission to come to China, and in order to wish the Qianlong Emperor a happy birthday, they went to great lengths to ask the opinions of the believers and brought tens of thousands of gifts to the Qianlong Emperor. An Englishman, Magalni, gave Qianlong 3 gifts, which were the products of the Industrial Revolution and represented the highest level in Britain. The Magalni mission firmly believed that these three gifts would certainly make the Qianlong Emperor smile and agree to the request for trade.
The first is the carriage. This carriage is very beautifully designed, and it is golden, the equipment inside is also very high, it is very comfortable to sit, it is windy and rainproof, and it does not require manpower. And sitting on it and walking very steadily, I don't feel particularly bumpy. However, when Qianlong saw this carriage at that time, he did not want to sit on it, because he felt that the groom who was driving the horse in front of him was higher than him. We know that in ancient times it was very feudal. He felt that no one's head could be higher than the emperor's head, so the Qianlong Emperor was very reluctant to sit on it.
The second gift was mortar cannons, after the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the military industry was much stronger than the Qing government at that time, Magalni originally wanted his soldiers to demonstrate their guns, and the Manchu Qing ministers were angry again, a rotten cannon, we will not use it? So let his soldiers demonstrate, but also filled with their own ammunition, the result is greatly reduced, not as good as his own cannon, Ma Jiaerni thought that the mortar cannon can arouse Qianlong's curiosity, but Qianlong is not interested in it at all. Before leaving, Macartney left the mortar cannon to Qianlong, who later threw it into the treasury and never took it out again. The second gift, too, is invalid!
The third gift is the Celestial Orbiter. The celestial orbiter includes the eight planets of the solar system, and people can see how the eight planets move through the celestial orbiter, which plays an important role in people's study of astronomy. More importantly, this instrument can not only vividly introduce astronomical knowledge, but also measure the time of solar eclipse. For the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, when the eclipse occurred, it was a major event related to the fate of the auspicious, with this artifact is convenient, and after a thousand years of eclipse time, this British "celestial body operating instrument" can be accurately measured. The level of technology is quite strong. In Ma Garni's eyes, the celestial body runner seemed to be a science and a treasure, but in Qianlong's eyes, this thing was a strange technique, a garbage, and Qianlong was not interested in it.