There is a common view in Chinese history that Ming and Qing societies were repulsive and devastated towards European products.
This idea is supported by the Qianlong Emperor's remarks in a letter to King George III of England, which has been repeatedly cited by scholars to illustrate the attitude of Chinese society towards European goods at the time. This rejection of European goods is often attributed to the cultural ideas and self-sufficient economic model of Ming and Qing societies.
However, this view may ignore a subtle detail: European consumers are in China. The attitudes and motivations of these consumers, as direct users of European products, also deserve more attention.
After all, before the Opium Wars, Chinese society was only in the initial stages of the consumption of European products. To fully understand the attitudes of Ming and Qing societies towards European products, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of these early consumers and their motivations for European goods.
When first encountered, did European goods have the qualities to appeal to Chinese?
Perhaps Chinese society itself has a culture and consumer base that accepts European goods?During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the luxury style of European goods reached unprecedented heights. In terms of consumer objects, the upper class preferred those new and ingenious items.
In the Chronicle of Long Things, "Qi" and "Qiao" became important words often used by the early Chinese elite when appreciating objects. This "language of objects" reflects the worship and consumption characteristics of the upper class at that time, and also highlights their pursuit of novelty and exquisite goods.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, some upper-class people were attracted by the delicate nature of European goods when they first came into contact with them. European goods were favored by some of the upper classes at the beginning of their introduction, as can be seen from what European missionaries had seen and heard in China at that time.
For example, Matteo Ricci's Notes on China records that in 1582, Chen Rui, the governor of Liangguang, showed a special interest in a clock that could tell the time without touching it.
He said, "Please go and see Luo Mingjian immediately, no matter how sick he is." Chen Rui was so pleased with this "novelty" that he even approved Luo Mingjian's request to build a house and church in Guangzhou.
However, Chen Rui was subsequently dismissed from his post due to his relationship with Zhang Juzheng, and Lo Mingjian lost his protection and had to return to Macau.
After that, Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing, invited Luo Mingjian to go and went with Matteo Ricci. At the site designated by Wang Pan to build the church, Luo Mingjian displayed European goods, including a glass prism to be given to the former governor.
People were amazed when they saw the glasswork, and then they looked at the statue of the Virgin in amazement. Those who looked closely at the glass were speechless and could only stand there.
Especially the ** who accompanied the chief, the more they admired, the more people's curiosity was aroused. It can be seen that the ingenuity of European glass prisms and portraits has attracted strong interest from China** and the public.
If the pursuit of European goods by some upper-class people in the late Ming Dynasty represented the beginning of the rise of European goods in China's upper class, then in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's pursuit and use of European goods was the main driving force behind the consumption of European goods.
Some believe that Qing scholars played a key role in shaping fashion. Their importance had diminished much from that of the late Ming Dynasty, and the court had taken its place as the dominant force in fashion.
The Qing court's consumption and pursuit of European goods was particularly evident in two aspects: first, the Qing court became an authoritative group in the consumption of European goods, and they played an exemplary and leading role in the consumption of European goods, and the upper class of society imitated the court in consuming European goods.
Researchers point out that during the Qianlong period, elite families in Jiangnan society were popular in imitating the court to place self-striking bells and wear watches.
In addition, during the Kang Yongqian period, emperors often rewarded European goods, and they also collected European goods as tribute, which released consumption information and promoted the consumption of European goods by the upper class.
Secondly, the Qing Dynasty court also had an exemplary and leading role in the production of European goods, and the folk imitated the court to make European goods, and the court influenced the production of European goods in Chinese society.
For example, during the Kangxi period, the folk imitated the court to make glass snuff bottles, and during the Yongzheng period, the Changshou Nunnery outside the Taiping Gate in Guangzhou imitated the manufacture of yellow enamel snuff bottles, which were shipped to Beijing by Guangdong merchants for sale.
During the Qianlong period, the craftsmen of the office stole materials to burn glass lamps**. The European goods produced by the court became the object of imitation in the market, and the influence of the court promoted the production and consumption of European goods in Chinese society, laying the foundation for the consumption of European goods.
An important reason for Kang Yongqian's pursuit of European goods is the strange nature of these goods. Kang Yongqian's poems about European goods were often described with words such as "strange" and "ingenious", and in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's attraction to European goods prompted the upper class to consume them, and at the same time increased more and more people's interest in European goods.
In general, the consumption and dissemination of European goods by the upper class during the Ming and Qing dynasties was promoted by the culture of advocating KitKat consumption. Although the kitsch nature of European goods was an important factor in attracting the upper classes, it was not the only one.
Once these commodities enter the cultural system, they transcend the mere material itself and become symbols of cultural and social significance.
Therefore, the consumption of these goods is not only for its practical value, but also reflects a social norm and value.