#头条创作挑战赛 #
In 1793, the British government officially appointed Macartney as an envoy to China in the name of congratulating the Qianlong Emperor on his 80th birthday, hoping to open up the Chinese market through negotiations. This was the first time that a Western European country sent an official envoy in the name of a state to China.
Macartney
(George Macartney, born in Antheshire, Northern Ireland, served as governor of several British colonies.) ）
Macartney led a large diplomatic mission to the mouth of the Baihe River in Tianjin on a sixty-gun gunboat "Lion" and two accompanying ships provided by the British East India Company, and then changed boats into Dagu to reach Tianjin. Nominally celebrating Qianlong's 80th birthday, Macartney actually came to open China's trade gates.
On September 13, 1793, the mission arrived at Rehe and immediately presented their credentials to the Qing courtiers and Kun, but a fierce dispute ensued over etiquette. The Chinese side insisted that the British side bow three times and nine kowtows, but the British side was unwilling, and after several negotiations, the two sides finally reached an agreement, and the British envoy only needed to kneel down on one knee and did not have to kowtow.
A cartoon of the Englishman James Gilray describing the matter
After that, Qianling arranged for Macartney to come to the Old Summer Palace to wait for the summons. Macartney was able to come to the Old Summer Palace, and he was immediately impressed by the scenery here, so he left a text in his accompanying diary to describe it, which praised the Old Summer Palace.
Soon after, Qianlong received the Macartney delegation at the Old Summer Palace. Macartney presented gifts carefully prepared for the Qianlong Emperor.
Macartney introduced a large number of gifts that can fully demonstrate the strength of British industry, including: weapons such as breech guns, telescopes, astronomical instruments such as globes, clocks and watches and a model of one of Britain's most advanced 110 gunboats.
Qianlong Emperor
However, the Qing Dynasty had been closed off from the country for decades, so the Qianlong Emperor and Qing officials were very arrogant, and only collected these gifts as tribute and toys, or played with them, or despised them, never thinking about the scientific and technological content and military value in them.
Macartney once warmly invited Qing generals to watch artillery drills, but Qing generals felt that there was no need to watch, and firearms operations were not unusual.
Next, Macartney put forward a series of demands such as opening trade ports and allowing British businessmen to set up trading in Beijing, as well as tax incentives, but the Chinese side refused. In the end, Macartney had to return empty-handed.
Wakan
On October 7, Helong handed over a letter and gift from the Qianlong Emperor to the mission. The following year, the mission left China on 17 March and returned to the British military port of Portsmouth on 6 September. Summing up the process of his visit to China, Macartney said: "Our whole story has only three sentences: we entered Beijing like beggars; Resembling a prisoner when staying there; Leave like a thief. ”
By 1840, just 41 years after Qianlong's death, the Opium War broke out, and the British forcibly opened the door to China with artillery.
Opium war