In the long river of history, opportunities often pass by in a hurry, but wisdom to grasp opportunities is a more rare quality. As Su Shi, a wise man in Chinese history, said: "When the time comes, you can't miss it, and you can't let go of the opportunity when it comes." "The fall of the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history, not only symbolized the fall of the feudal system, but also meant that China fell into a tragic history of being invaded by foreign enemies.
In the long history of ancient China, China was once one of the four ancient countries in the world, and its brilliant civilization once led the world, which can be called "the first country". However, in just a few centuries, China has been forced to withdraw from the stage of history, and this historical twist and turn is embarrassing.
In fact, China had the opportunity to rewrite history, but unfortunately, these opportunities were missed. In 1794, Britain crossed the ocean, giving China a chance to change history. However, the Qianlong Emperor at the time regarded this opportunity as insignificant, and the result was a tragic situation in which the war raged later.
In the 60s of the 18th century, Britain took the lead in entering the era of the Industrial Revolution, and the beginning of this era greatly promoted the development of Britain. At the same time, China in the east of the world is under the reign of Emperor Qianlong, and the outside world is full of curiosity about the mysterious China. Britain sent a large number of missions to China in the hope of carrying out ** exchanges, however, their arrival did not receive an enthusiastic response from China.
At that time, China had a very high opinion of itself, and was called "the most confident in the outside world, and did not treat this opportunity as an important thing." This arrogant attitude eventually led to the failure of the British mission in 1794.
Ironically, about 100 years later, the British led the coalition to invade China, burning the Old Summer Palace and looting Chinese cultural relics. At that time, the British unexpectedly discovered the gifts that their country had given to the Qianlong Emperor a hundred years ago, which had been forgotten in warehouses and completely unappreciated. This scene makes one think deeply, if China had taken the British proposal seriously at that time, perhaps China's history would have been very different.
The lesson of history is that we must always maintain a humble attitude and be good at learning and accepting foreign civilizations. In today's era, China is in the midst of rapid development, and the spirit of humility, studiousness, good learning, and continuous innovation is the driving force for us to move forward. At the same time, history also reminds us that missing opportunities can lead to great regrets, so we should cherish every opportunity in front of us and not miss any moment that could change our fate.