In the 57th year of Qianlong (1792), the British Earl of Macartney was appointed by King George III to send an envoy to the Qing Dynasty in the name of congratulating Qianlong on his 80th birthday.
At that time, Britain was in urgent need of a new dumping market for goods because of the first industrial revolution and its national strength, and the Qing Dynasty, with its vast territory and large population, naturally became the choice of Britain.
Macartney's visit
It's just that the Qing Dynasty only opened thirteen lines of trade in Guangzhou, and there were too many restrictions, and Britain could only negotiate with the Qing Dynasty in the name of celebrating his birthday and seeking greater commercial benefits.
After an eleven months of sea voyages, the Macartney mission finally arrived in the capital in August of the 58th year of Qianlong (1793).
The initial situation was relatively smooth, but after learning that he was required to kneel three times and knock nine times to meet Qianlong, Macartney was extremely angry, thinking that this was an insult to himself and an insult to the British Empire.
To tell the truth, this request was not made by Qianlong, but by Liang Kentang, the governor of Zhili, who received the mission.
However, Qianlong didn't care much about this, but explained this sentence first:
If the envoy is equal to the bow, the governor does not have to resign; if the envoy does not perform this ceremony, he can only follow his national customs, and there is no need to add reluctance-"Records of the Qing Gaozong"
It's just that they are willing to salute, and if they don't want to, forget it, after all, people come all the way to celebrate their birthdays, and there is no need to embarrass others because of this matter, which doesn't seem to be the Heavenly Empire has no stomach at all.
Portrait of Macartney
However, Liang Kentang did not give up, and repeatedly asked Macartney and them to kneel and bow, so that Qianlong was furious:
Moreover, the envoy should have sailed far away, and for a year, he should be especially compassionate. How can such a meeting etiquette, compared with it, it is not the way of Huairou Yuanren - "Qing Gaozong Record"
Therefore, Qianlong did not care about the question of whether the British kowtowed or not, and it was the courtiers below who really cared about this issue, after all, etiquette was greater than heaven, so he insisted on kowtowing to Macartney.
Macartney was a hundred unhappy, repeatedly communicated with the receiving ministers such as Heshen, and even took a step back, hoping to get down on one knee.
Obviously, this proposal was also vetoed, after all, in the eyes of the Qing ministers, it was not a simple question of kneeling or not kneeling, but whether to agree with the status of the Qing Dynasty's Celestial Empire.
In the tributary system, the Qing Dynasty is the suzerain, and the surrounding countries are vassal states, that is, the difference between the monarch and the minister in the ceremony.
A vassal state of the Qing Dynasty
Not to mention a small envoy, even if the monarch of his country comes, he still has to kneel and bow nine times, this is the majesty of the Heavenly Empire, which cannot be lost, let alone discounted.
It can be said that for the Qing Dynasty, Britain's status was the same as that of the surrounding vassal states, since it sent an envoy to the Qing Dynasty, it was to meet the suzerain, and it was necessary to kneel and knock.
However, for Macartney, Britain was not a vassal state of Rausch, but a country as equal as the Qing Dynasty, and it was an equal exchange.
Besides, if you can't salute equally, then the negotiation will not be equal.
The Qing Dynasty insisted on kneeling and knocking, and Macartney said that at most he knelt on one knee, so the contradiction came, whether to kneel or not to kneel?
According to the record of "Macartney's Mission to China", under Macartney's arguments, he only knelt down on one knee to salute, maintaining the dignity of himself and the British Empire.
Macartney said to get down on one knee
However, according to the account of Staunton Jr., the son of Staunton, who was the deputy envoy of the British mission, the British envoy and his entourage bent only one knee, that is, bowed their heads and knelt on one knee, and then repeated nine times:
We heard solemn music, and with a command, we knelt down on one knee and bowed our heads to the ground. We have made this nine times in a row with other dignitaries and princely ministers, except that they are on their knees and bow their heads to the ground—"Memoirs of Little Staunton"
It can be seen that although Macartney knelt on one knee, he knelt firmly nine times, but it was just Western etiquette after the magic reform.
It is worth mentioning that the rumors of later generations that Macartney practiced the ritual of three bows and nine kneels are actually wrong:
The minister and the court official of the ceremonial department led the deputy superintendent of Qintian, Suo Dechao, and led the deputy envoy of LinkedIn and Geely to deliver the text, from the right door of the palace gate of the summer resort to the front step of the palace, knelt up and handed it to the imperial minister, Fu Chang'an, and forwarded it to the imperial court. The ministers immediately ordered the tribute envoy to kneel three times and bow nine times, and finish
Of course, there is no question whether the content is true or false, but this recital was planned before the audience with Qianlong, that is, it was submitted on the fourth day of the first month of August (the Military Aircraft Department played the "Note 2 List of the English Mission on the Sixth and Ninth Days of the First Month"), not the record after the audience.
After all, Macartney's real visit was on August 13.
As for Macartney's negotiations, they were naturally also rejected, because after all, where did his proposal come from trade?
1. Ask Qianlong to cede an island near Zhoushan to British merchants to live in;
2. Open more ports and markets in addition to Guangzhou;
3. Set aside a place near Canton to allow the British to come and go freely, but the Qing Dynasty did not prohibit it;
4. British merchant ships enjoy tax exemption or tax reduction, etc.;
From today's perspective, Macartney was asking Qianlong to cede an island to the British, and then set up a concession in Guangzhou, while also exempting from customs duties.
Thirteen lines in Guangzhou
Obviously not, Macartney returned in vain and left the Qing Dynasty the following year.
Since then, although trade between the Qing Dynasty and Britain has continued, relations have deteriorated.
At this time, Napoleon was rising in Europe, and Britain was worried that France's seizure of Macao would shake Britain's trade position in the Far East, so it struck first.
In the 7th year of Jiaqing (1802) and the 13th year of Jiaqing (1808), they occupied Macao twice to demonstrate against the French, but this caused dissatisfaction with the Qing Dynasty, and although the British later withdrew, the two sides broke out sporadically because of the slow pace of withdrawal.
Later, the British invaded Nepal, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, which brought the relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Britain to a freezing point.
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain set its sights on the Far East, and domestic merchants increasingly demanded to expand the Qing market, so Britain once again sent a mission to visit the Qing Dynasty.
In the twenty-first year of Jiaqing (1816), the British sent a mission to Amster, and this time they encountered the problem of whether to kneel or not, but this time Amsterd was more iron-headed and resolutely did not kneel, and was choked back:
In the 58th year of Qianlong, the envoys bowed and knelt like a ritual, and this time it was not allowed to change
It seems to prove that Macartney did indeed bow on one knee at that time, and since Amsterd insisted on refusing to salute, he naturally did not see Jiaqing, and there was no way to negotiate.
Emperor Jiaqing
It can be said that before the Opium War, it was impossible for Britain to insist on not kneeling to meet the Qing emperor, either to kneel honestly and bow nine times, or to go back and forth from where.
In the 19th year of Daoguang (1839), it was not a matter for Britain to drag on like this, and if it could not stand and meet the Qing Emperor on an equal footing, how could Britain obtain more commercial benefits? Time waits for no one.
It just so happened that at this time, Lin Zexu Humen sold cigarettes and gave Britain an excuse to start a war.
One is a decaying and lonely empire, the other is a rising star, and the result can be imagined, after the Qing Dynasty lost several times, it was pressed to the negotiating table by the British and signed the "Treaty of Nanjing".
Treaty of Nanking
In order to better meet with the Qing emperor, Britain planned to set up an embassy in the capital, but the Qing Dynasty did not agree, after all, in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty, although they lost the battle, they still looked down on Britain in their hearts.
The British had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, and asked the Qing Dynasty to open five treaty ports, and the meal was eaten one bite at a time.
But I didn't expect the Qing Dynasty to be so strong, and they hated the British from top to bottom, and even the British in Guangzhou City for foreign trade could not enter, and even met with unanimous opposition from the local residents.
So Britain and France seized the opportunity to carry out another Opium War, directly broke into the capital, burned the Old Summer Palace as punishment, and then forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the "Treaty of Beijing".
This time, the British kept an eye on it, and specially added to the "Beijing Treaty" the envoy stationed in Beijing and the exercise of Western etiquette to meet the Qing emperor.
Signing of the Beijing Treaty
To be honest, for this request, Xianfeng is a hundred unhappy, but there is no way, he can only admit it if he can't fight on the battlefield.
But it's another thing to admit and recognize, and not to see.
After all, at this time, the Qing Dynasty still thought that the Celestial Empire was a superior country, and Britain and France were just barbarians.
But now that the treaty has made it clear what to do about it? As long as the British minister is not seen, nothing will be fine, and this contradiction will be gone.
And now the reason is very good, Xianfeng is hiding in the summer resort and is not in the capital, so naturally he can't meet with foreign ministers.
But it's not a matter of dragging it all the time, it just so happened that after Xianfeng's death, the queen mother of the two palaces hung the curtain to listen to the government.
Then he prevaricated on the grounds that men and women are not intimate, and it is inconvenient to meet foreign men.
In this way, until more than ten years before the pro-government of Tongzhi, the foreign ministers after the signing of the treaty were stunned that they did not see the emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
In the first month of the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Emperor Tongzhi got married, which means that Emperor Tongzhi has reached adulthood, and the queen mother of the two palaces must delegate power.
Since the empress dowager of the two palaces has returned to power, the reason why men and women are not close is useless, so the foreign minister immediately decided to ask to meet Emperor Tongzhi.
Emperor Tongzhi
There's really no reason to drag it out now, there's no way, see you!
However, the prime minister Yamen, who was in charge of handling foreign affairs, still did not give up and asked foreign ministers to kneel to see Emperor Tongzhi.
Obviously, the foreign minister would not have agreed, or would have gone to great lengths to add such an article to the treaty.
No matter what the prime minister Yamen said, the foreign minister just shook his head and refused to agree, and in the end he was forced to have no choice, leaving a sentence as long as he didn't kneel, anything would do.
Since the foreign ministers have said so, they can only think of a way other than kneeling.
After a few days of hard thinking, Prime Minister Yamen really came up with something different.
First of all, foreign ministers can not bow down, but they need to bow five times, two more than international practice, to show respect;
The second is to see and see, but you can't talk about specific affairs, you can only say some words such as saying goodbye.
In the end, Prime Minister Yamen also played a trick and chose to meet them in Ziguang Pavilion, you must know that since the Qianlong period, Ziguang Pavilion is the place where the emperor used to meet with the vassal states of various vassal states.
The intention of choosing to meet with foreign ministers here is also obvious, that is, in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty, you foreigners are still envoys of Fanbang, and you are still the upper kingdom of the Celestial Empire.
The foreign envoys had no opinion on these requests, and only bowed two more horizontally and vertically, and as for where they met, they didn't care, anyway, they just did.
On the fifth day of the sixth month of the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), the well-prepared foreign envoys successfully met with the Tongzhi Emperor with equal courtesy.
Ministers from various countries visited Emperor Tongzhi
Although in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty, he was still the superior kingdom of the Celestial Empire, but in fact, the ships and cannons of the great powers fell to the dust, but the Qing Dynasty did not know all this.
It took the British eighty years from Macartney's argument to refuse to bow in the 58th year of Qianlong (1793) to the eventual success in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873).
Don't look at it as just a question of kneeling or not, but involving the collision of two civilization systems.
The tributary system of the Qing Dynasty was similar to the relationship between Zhou Tianzi and the vassal states, in which the suzerains provided protection, spread culture, and opened up trade, while the vassal states were required to adhere to the tributary order and assist the suzerains in maintaining their barriers.
As for the vassal states, they were still independent in nature and could freely handle the affairs of the court, but they had to obey the suzerainty diplomatically.
What about the colonial system represented by the British? What about the colonial system represented by the British? What they brought with them was not civilization and culture, but violence and slavery, and the colonies under their rule had no independence at all, and they completely became the places where the colonial powers sold their goods and produced raw materials.
Eventually, the tributary system of the Qing Dynasty fell apart with the artillery fire of the great powers, and it also announced the end of an era.