The Qianlong period was the last prosperous era of the Qing Dynasty, after which China was about to enter the most humiliating period of history. The Qianlong Emperor ascended the throne at the age of 25, took charge of the world, reigned for 60 years, and had an advanced age of more than 80 years, so it can be said that he is a veritable longevity emperor.
The reign of the Qianlong Emperor coincided with the British Industrial Revolution, when Britain achieved unprecedented development and became a superpower in the world.
At that time, the British had taken a fancy to the Chinese market, so they sent envoys to visit China with their latest scientific and technological achievements, hoping to exchange these advanced technologies for an opportunity to open the Chinese market.
British envoys brought advanced science and technology to China
After experiencing the historical Industrial Revolution, Britain gradually became stronger and became the empire of the european region.
The large machine industry has replaced the development of traditional handicrafts, and the production efficiency of various products has been greatly improved. Britain desperately needs a market to dump goods, and China, which has a large and large population, is undoubtedly their best choice.
At the end of the 18th century, when China was still in the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor was in power. In 1792, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the Qianlong Emperor, the British sent envoys to China with all kinds of novelties on the pretext of wishing for a birthday, hoping to establish cooperative relations with China.
The british envoy at that time was Lord Magalni, a famous British politician and diplomat. He came to China with countless rare treasures, including the latest technological products such as celestial engines, steam engines, burst rifles and rapid-fire artillery.
China is one of the four ancient civilizations, so the British have not forgotten to present some literary works of art, including some calligraphy and paintings, sculptures and porcelain. What was even more unexpected was that they actually brought a symphony orchestra. It can be seen that the United Kingdom attaches great importance to this visit to China.
China was almost at the forefront of the world throughout the feudal period, especially in the eyes of Western countries, China was an absolutely powerful existence. Britain came with the heart of having to cooperate with China this time, hoping to achieve a situation in which the empires of the East and the empires of the West joined forces.
The Qianlong Emperor scoffed
The British envoys came from afar, and the Qianlong Emperor received them with the highest etiquette in the purpose of having the purpose of "friends from afar and being happy", received the British envoys with the highest standard feast, and enjoyed the song and dance with them, and also let them live in the palace.
It should be known that the emperor's palace is generally not allowed to enter others, and the fact that British envoys can stay here already represents the attitude of the Qianlong Emperor.
Because the Qianlong Emperor knew very well in his heart what kind of position Britain was in the world today, he used everything best for British envoys, in order to show that the Qing Empire attached great importance to their visits.
The Qianlong Emperor knew in his heart that Britain was powerful, but he was greatly shocked when the British envoys showed their contributions. Because these advanced technologies were unheard of in the Qing Dynasty at that time.
When he saw that England, which had been far inferior to the Qing Dynasty in previous years, was now so powerful, his heart was naturally a little embarrassed, and his embarrassment as the king of a country could not be expressed on his face.
So when the British envoy wanted to show Qianlong how the artillery was used, he suddenly made a sneering sound.
This means that there is nothing in China's land and treasures, and this thing you sent has long been used in the Qing Dynasty, and how to use it does not need you to show it. The Qianlong Emperor directly asked the two eunuchs to move it to the treasury.
But did anyone in China really use artillery at that time? The answer is no, the Qianlong Emperor only said this for his own face to hang up. The discovery of these cannons in the Yuanmingyuan at the time of the later British invasion of China also proved this, because they were completely new and had not been used by anyone.
In order to cover up, he chose to close the country
In fact, the Qianlong Emperor did not want any Western country to come to China in his heart, just to avoid this kind of embarrassment. However, it was helpless for the British to visit the Qing Dynasty at that time on the grounds of wishing for a happy birthday, which Qianlong could not refuse.
With this prelude, it is conceivable what the result of the British envoy's request to open a treaty port to dump goods would be. This request was also rejected by the Qianlong Emperor on the grounds that the Chinese nation was the kingdom of heaven, that all goods could be self-sufficient, and that there was no need to open treaty ports.
Britain's trip to China can be said to have lost its wife and folded its soldiers, contributed a bunch of things, not to mention, and did not accomplish anything that it wanted to accomplish, which can be described as taking advantage of the excitement and returning home with disappointment.
After the British and his party returned to China, the Qianlong Emperor officially began a comprehensive policy of closing off the country and cutting off a series of ties with the outside world, which also cut off all possibilities for China's development and laid the groundwork for the opium war in the later period.
People in the world never thought that the reason for the practice of closing the country in history was only because the Qianlong Emperor was afraid in his heart. He was afraid that the Western countries would know that China was not as powerful as they thought, and he was afraid that the people of the dynasty would know that there was a country more powerful than their own.
He decisively chose to close the country, directly close the door of the country, and isolate himself from the world. The Qianlong Emperor thought that everything in this way would be what everyone thought, but he did not know that this practice was actually cutting off the back road.
Qianlong's rejection of advanced Western technology was not due to how arrogant and arrogant he was, but precisely because he saw China's shortcomings. He was so frightened that he made such a choice.
Even the suicidal policy of closing the country to save the so-called face of Tianzi is not even hesitating to close the country. The British saw that the negotiations were fruitless, but they needed a market, so there was a series of invasions of China, such as the Opium War and the Second Opium War, and opened up China's market with strong ships and cannons, and opened up trade ports.
In fact, if the Qianlong Emperor could humbly accept his own shortcomings and reach cooperation with britain, he could achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win situation, and the humiliating history that followed Chinese did not have to go through. It follows that a key decision can change history, but unfortunately there is no if.