The policy of sea prohibition has been throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, prohibiting private trade in the sea and also restricting foreigners from entering China to do business, and during the Qing Dynasty, guangzhou was set up as a fixed treaty port, and it is precisely because of this policy that countries that once stood at the peak of the world after the Industrial Revolution gradually broke away from the trend of world development due to the lack of use of world trade to develop the economy.
But at this time China's trade is in a surplus position, China's porcelain, tea, silk by the Western countries welcomed, in order to reverse the unfavorable situation in the market, the British actually used despicable means, resulting in a large loss of Chinese silver in the early nineteenth century, the people are living in the water, the family is poor and even have to buy children to hope to survive.
Mei Afang's misfortune
In 1834, the American merchant Kahn brothers came to Guangdong as usual to do business, before that, the Kahn brothers bought tea, silk, folding fans and other commodities in China and shipped them to Europe at high prices to sell to the European nobles, they also made a lot of money, this time they came to China they planned to buy some "different" goods to bring back, so the Kahn brothers looked for "goods" in the Guangzhou area.
Because China has been closed for hundreds of years, some people saw two foreigners curiously go up to watch, which for a time overwhelmed the Kahn brothers, and suddenly the Kahn brothers had a flash of inspiration and found new business opportunities.
They believe that Chinese see foreigners curious, then foreigners will be curious when they see Chinese, so it is better to use the curiosity between people to turn into business opportunities, driven by interests, the Kahn brothers set their sights on the 19-year-old girl - Mei Afang.
Mei Afang is just a child of an ordinary family, but the family is more difficult, and their family often runs out of food, just when the Kahn brothers are willing to help them, but on the condition that they "buy" their daughter Mei Afang at a high price. Why did the Kahn brothers choose Meafang? This is because Mei Afang's appearance is unique, especially Mei Afang's pair of Dan phoenix eyes, which highlights the breath of oriental women.
In the face of huge wealth, the desperate Mei Afang's parents have mixed feelings in their hearts, on the one hand, their own flesh and bones, and on the other hand is the hope of survival. In order to survive, Mei Afang's parents still gave their daughter to the Kahn brothers, but they did not know that they pushed their daughter into the endless abyss.
Although Mei Afang has a unique charm, her identity is not comparable to her appearance, after thinking about it, the Kahn brothers feel that what identity is more noble than the status of "daughter of the prince"?
After some "packaging", Mei Afang suddenly looked new, she also knew that her fate could not be mastered by herself from now on, thinking that Mei Afang, who was sold by her parents to others as a maid, was mentally prepared, so she and the Kahn brothers boarded a ship and returned to the United States.
But after arriving in the United States, what happened next made Mei Afang never think about how her dignity would be trampled on by the unscrupulous businessman.
A cry in the abyss
On the second day that the Kahn brothers and their party returned to the United States, they ruthlessly locked Mei Afang into a cage after doing a good "package" for Mei Afang, and then the Kahn brothers pulled Mei Afang to the street to drink, and clearly marked the price of 25 cents to see the woman from the East.
Sure enough, as the Kahn brothers expected, the people who came to watch Mei Afang for a while were endless, and the next day they also appeared in the American newspaper, and wrote in the New York Sun News: A beautiful "Chinese lady" walked down from the Washington, and her father was a "superior person" living in Guangdong.
However, Mei Afang in the cage was like dead ash every day, and she did not expect to be turned into an exhibition. In this way, Mei Afang's dignity was trampled on day after day.
The nature of businessmen is mostly to maximize profits, and the Kahn brothers are no exception. In order to make Mei Afang bring them higher income, they asked Mei Afang to take off her shoes, show off her three-inch golden lotus, and also allowed the person who bought the ticket to touch it.
Not only that, the Kahn brothers also took Mei Afang to various states in the United States for exhibitions, and over time, this "Chinese lady" has become very famous.
But no one has considered Mei Afang's feelings, she is only nineteen years old, a young girl, should have enjoyed her own happiness, but her parents pushed their daughter into the abyss for selfish desires.
No matter what kind of shouting Mei Afang made in the abyss, no one helped her, there was no trace of light in the dark abyss, and there was only Mei Afang's endless despair and shame.
Freshness is always temporary, and over time the freshness fades. At this time, the Kahn brothers felt that Mei Afang had no use value, so they easily left her on the street, so Mei Afang began to wander alone in a foreign country, and how to survive became a problem. Despite this, Mei Afang did not lose the hope of being strong and alive.
Later, where Mei Afang went, no one knows, perhaps it is the invincible road, Mei Afang met a kind person who can help her get through the difficulties, perhaps sleeping on the street in the night of hunger and cold, and finally died in loneliness, the only thing that is clear is that Mei Afang has never returned to China.
Modern national crisis
In 1900, the Eight-Power Alliance captured the city of Beijing, frantically plundered resources, harmed the people in Beijing, signed the "Xinugu Treaty", and set off a wave of great powers dividing Up China. Humiliated, he became the "Mei Afang" in the hands of the great powers.
However, the Chinese nation, which is constantly striving for self-improvement, will not give up on this. Just as Mei Afang has the strong perseverance to survive, the Chinese nation has never had the idea of bowing to the great powers.
In modern times, with the deepening of the national crisis, countless people with lofty ideals have also emerged, throwing their heads and spilling their blood, showing the courage of the Chinese nation to resist the invaders.
If you do not resist, you will be destroyed, and you will be exterminated. It is precisely because of this that we have won the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the founding of New China, the reform and opening up, and the world's second largest economy. The five-thousand-year-old Chinese civilization has been flowing endlessly, and the courage of the Chinese nation for five thousand years has been passed down from generation to generation.