In 1793, under the rule of the Qianlong Emperor, China experienced a major event that could affect the direction of history, that is, the "Visit of the British Magalney Mission to China". During this meeting, China and the United Kingdom held a tentative confrontation, but due to various factors, both sides failed to achieve their wishes.
In our history textbooks, the description of the first visit of the British mission to China is very positive and positive, believing that they are friendly messengers who promote the exchange of scientific and technological civilizations between China and the West. On the side of the Qing government, they were fools who did not know what to do, blindly arrogant and did not think of making progress, so that they later lagged far behind the West and could only be passively beaten.
Is that really the way things are? Not necessarily, I'm afraid. Regarding the Qianlong Emperor's cold rejection of British envoys, his arrogant return to absolute demands for trade, and even his act of closing off the country, Shen Aidi, a professor at Oxford University in the United States, put forward a different view. She thinks that we may well have misunderstood Qianlong, and that the closure of the country is not blind arrogance, but for self-preservation.
I. The British mission's first visit to China was met with a cold reception
In the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong, the Macartney mission, which visited China on the orders of the British king, finally set foot on the coveted Chinese land after nearly a year of wandering. The purpose of their visit was ostensibly to wish Qianlong a happy birthday, but in fact they wanted to discuss trade matters.
Qianlong initially welcomed the British people's visit to China. First, he was curious about Britain, an unheard of country, and second, he thought that the other side was here to pay tribute, and the more naturally the better. Therefore, he not only made an exception to let the British mission come ashore from Tianjin, but also instructed the officials below to receive them with the highest etiquette.
However, the problem arises. One of the main reasons why Qianlong gave preferential treatment to the British was that he misunderstood their intentions and regarded the other party as a small country worshipping the Heavenly Dynasty. But for the British, this kind of "lifting" is actually an insult, indicating that the Qing government did not put them on an equal footing.
This deviation in consciousness culminates in the negotiation of meeting etiquette. Qianlong asked the British mission to perform a prostration ceremony to show respect for him. The British, on the other hand, were reluctant to do so, believing that one knee was enough to show sincerity, and that it would be too humiliating to dignity and personality. The two sides argued about this issue for a long time, and almost collapsed before they officially met.
Did you just go home? The British are naturally unwilling, and they have a special mission to be completed! In the end, after fighting with the Qing government for a long time, Ma Jiaerni and others bowed to Qianlong on one knee. Although Qianlong did not say much, he immediately demoted the treatment of the mission as a way to express his anger and dissatisfaction.
Second, Western congratulatory gifts were rejected
Macartney was originally a Chinese fan, and his greatest wish in life was to go to China to see it. Therefore, in order to ensure the complete success of this visit to China, he specially consulted the opinions of the knowledgeable people and carefully prepared a large number of gifts. As small as the foreign watch, as large as the gun, as far as possible to do what they like.
However, Chinese's performance disappointed him greatly. Those exquisite and practical astronomical instruments and steam engines, Qianlong bluntly said that "they are all small gadgets" and expressed his disinterest. And those advanced and exquisite howitzers, continuous guns, Manchu Dynasty Wenwu are equally lacking in interest, not even willing to look at it.
After several cold encounters, Macartney was deeply disappointed, and his previous fantasies about China gradually disappeared, leaving only a cruel reality. But after all, it is an ambassador of a country, and bad emotions have not made him forget his duties and mission. Therefore, after the gift, he made 6 demands to the Qing government on behalf of the United Kingdom.
These 6 requirements are briefly put, that is, the British hope that the Qing government can open more ports and give more preferential treatment to the United Kingdom, so that the two sides can trade in the future. Qianlong's attitude toward this was very straightforward, and he directly rejected the request of the British mission on the grounds that "there is no shortage of anything in the Heavenly Dynasty" and ordered their repatriation.
Third, the misunderstood Qianlong
Because of this sentence, Qianlong was fiercely exposed to the net for many years. The Chinese people scolded him for being blindly arrogant, stupid and not self-aware, missing the opportunity to make progress with the West, and even shouting "The Great Qing mistakenly took china for three hundred years", which reduced him to a worthless one. But is that really the case?
It is undeniable that Qianlong had many shortcomings, especially in his later years, he was so happy and successful that he did not think of making progress and drifted too much. But in refusing to cooperate with Britain, he cannot be said to be entirely wrong. Including the policy of closing the country to the outside world later, it is not a simple "stupid decision" that can be characterized.
After conducting a detailed study of this history, Shen Aidi, a professor at Oxford University, put forward an unconventional view, which completely subverted the public perception. She believes that Qianlong's move was not out of arrogance and arrogance, but pre-predicted the British threat to China in advance.
The British claimed to want to communicate on an equal footing, but they made extremely colonial and aggressive demands, such as "ceding an island near Zhoushan to British merchants to live and store goods" and "carotting a place near Guangzhou for the British to come and go freely without prohibition."
Qianlong was not a fool, and he knew the truth that "it is easy to ask God to send God to God", so he did not want to have too deep contacts with the British, so he resolutely refused the other party's request. Doing so is not only to worry that the other side will earn their own money, but also to fear that they will fight their own territory and threaten the security of the entire Qing Dynasty.
In addition, after the British mission left, he immediately issued a number of instructions to the coastal areas, asking the local military defenses to strengthen military defenses and beware of British attacks. He also reminded the Zhoushan and Macao regions in particular, asking them to prepare their troops in advance and prepare for war. It can be seen from this that Qianlong has already guessed the real purpose of the other party from the British visit to China.
Fourth, the fate from which there is no escape
Some people may ask, since Qianlong was already prepared to deal with foreign invasion, why was the Qing Dynasty beaten so badly by the British later? This brings us to the place where Qianlong made mistakes.
First, deal with foreigners one-size-fits-all. The British did have a sinister intention toward China, but it was useless to just escape. If Qianlong had not rejected all the British demands, but had discussed a few more rounds and learned more about his opponent, perhaps the situation would have been much better.
Including the policy of closing the country behind, although it is for the purpose of self-protection, the effect is not ideal. Blindly refusing to change is equivalent to blocking the path of your own progress, and the final result will only be self-destruction, becoming a fish on the chopping board, and allowing others to slaughter it arbitrarily.
Secondly, precautionary measures have not been implemented. Although Qianlong realized the danger and ordered precautions in time, the effect was very average. To put it bluntly, the combat effectiveness of the Qing army at that time was actually not strong, and there was a big gap between the individual quality and the founding of the country. Coupled with the backwardness of the weapons, if you really fight with the British, even if you can win, you will have to pay a lot of price.
Unfortunately, the elderly Qianlong was still a little too confident in the end, did not think about this aspect at all, and felt that his soldiers were invincible all over the world. As everyone knows, the West already has strong ships and cannons at this time, and as long as the time is ripe, it is entirely possible for them to crush the Qing army on the battlefield.
Although the Visit to China by the Macartney Delegation was not accomplished, it also roughly ascertained the true strength of the Qing Dynasty. He unceremoniously taunted that the Qing government was like a dilapidated warship, not sinking only because of good luck, it was only stronger than its neighbors in terms of size and appearance, and it was actually vulnerable.
Sure enough, when the British knew that their target was only "paper tigers", they no longer had any scruples. In 1840, with their proud advanced weapons, they directly opened the gates of the Qing Dynasty. Those requests that Qianlong had rejected were all answered by his grandson Daoguang...