21–30 of 92 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is important to stress that China was ruled, at the time, by a government that was widely seen as "Nonchinese" -- this sense of external rule surely had a great deal to do with the emergence of mass addiction, as the Ching state that imposed the laws had serious legitimacy issues (and would collapse less than a century later.)
How was it nonchinese?
>We find your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li make one mile, ordinarily] from China Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous dru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War#Reaction_in_Br...
A lot of the complaints voiced by the pro-war people ironically hinge on feeling slighted by the imperial court and that the Qing "didnt see them as equals"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is important to stress that China was ruled, at the time, by a government that was widely seen as "Nonchinese" -- this sense of external rule surely had a great deal to do with the emergence of mass addiction, as the Ching state that imposed the laws had serious legitimacy issues (and would collapse less than a century later.)
How was it nonchinese?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is important to stress that China was ruled, at the time, by a government that was widely seen as "Nonchinese" -- this sense of external rule surely had a great deal to do with the emergence of mass addiction, as the Ching state that imposed the laws had serious legitimacy issues (and would collapse less than a century later.)
How was it nonchinese?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How was it nonchinese?
The Qing were originally Manchu invaders. And yes, the Qing empire is still viewed by many in China to be illegitimate.
Tens of millions of Chinese died during the Manchu invasion of China. The Qing forced every Han Chinese male to shave their forehead and wear a queue on the threat of death, but that's apparently not humiliating.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Ching government had already launched an opium war before the British began their narcopolitics. This is from P.E Caquet's "Opium's Orphans" “n the leafy town of Taiyu, Shanxi, an inland Chinese province southwest of Beijing, the district magistrate Chen Lihe had a stele put up for public display. The date was 1817 and, four years earlier, the emperor had issued a raft of regulat…
But deploying Royal Navy to acquire foreign territory for trade is the "war".
>We find your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li make one mile, ordinarily] from China Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous dru…
Did that letter suggest the British were seen as equals? The phrase "barbarian" is used 16 times in the text...
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"The kings of your honorable country by a tradition handed down from generation to generation have always been noted for their politeness and submissiveness."
"Privately we are delighted with the way in which the honorable rulers of your country deeply understand the grand principles and are grateful for the Celestial grace."
"This is the source from which your country has become known for its wealth."
"Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries -- how much less to China!"
"We take into to consideration, however, the fact that the various barbarians have still known how to repent their crimes and return to their allegiance to us"
"Take tea and rhubarb, for example; the foreign countries cannot get along for a single day without them. If China cuts off these benefits with no sympathy for those who are to suffer, then what can the barbarians rely upon to keep themselves alive? Moreover the woolens, camlets, and longells [i.e., textiles] of foreign countries cannot be woven unless they obtain Chinese silk. If China, again, cuts off this beneficial export, what profit can the barbarians expect to make?"
"Our Celestial Dynasty rules over and supervises the myriad states, and surely possesses unfathomable spiritual dignity."
"May you, O King, check your wicked and sift your wicked people before they come to China, in order to guarantee the peace of your nation, to show further the sincerity of your politeness and submissiveness"
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The constant, repeated subtext is that Britain is merely a far flung tributary nation of China. Lin states outright that all Britains wealth is derived from from China and needs Chinese good just to survive.
The Imperial Qinq court was completely delusional.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Qing were originally Manchu invaders. And yes, the Qing empire is still viewed by many in China to be illegitimate.
Which is what I find strange about the Century of Humiliation. Why is China losing a minor war that killed a couple thousand Chinese soldiers a great humiliation while getting outright conquered at least twice (once by the Mongols and once by the Manchu) isn't? Tens of millions of Chinese died during the Manchu invasion of China. The Qing forced every Han Chinese male to shave their forehead and wear a queue on the t…
When the Mongols and Manchu conquered the Chinese "Crown" it was more of a change of dynasty and they they effectively became Chinese. Mongolia was part of the Chinese empire until its fall in 1912, for instance.
>We find your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li make one mile, ordinarily] from China Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous dru…
From the wiki page it seems like there was actually a very strong anti-war sentiment in the West at the time (this was not covered in my history classes!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War#Reaction_in_Br... A lot of the complaints voiced by the pro-war people ironically hinge on feeling slighted by the imperial court and that the Qing "didnt see them as equals"
And queue the first Opium War. The Chinese did indeed start a crackdown on opium trade after this, including sending troops to seize warehouses full of it. This action sparked off the first Opium War with Britian, and kicking off the so-called Chinese “Century of Humiliation”.
It is important to stress that China was ruled, at the time, by a government that was widely seen as "Nonchinese" -- this sense of external rule surely had a great deal to do with the emergence of mass addiction, as the Ching state that imposed the laws had serious legitimacy issues (and would collapse less than a century later.)
Whether that state was totally nice or democratic or "Chinese" or whatever value you cherish, is besides the point. It does not legitimize any of what GB did during either Opium War, and therefore I disagree that it's "important to stress".