During the Qianlong period, the policy of closing the country to the outside world did not exist at the beginning, but developed gradually. In the early years of Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty adopted a relatively open policy to the outside world, allowing foreign merchants to conduct a relatively strict maritime ban in Guangzhou, but it was not completely closed.
The main reasons for the emergence of a more closed tendencies during the Qianlong period include:
1.Safeguarding National Sovereignty: Emperor Qianlong believed that by restricting the scope and scale of foreign businessmen's activities in China, China's sovereignty and dignity could be safeguarded and foreign forces could be prevented from interfering in China's internal affairs.
2.Guarding against external threats: During the Qianlong period, the Western powers had begun to expand in Asia, and the Qianlong Emperor was wary of the aggressive ambitions of Western countries, so he strengthened his control over foreign countries to prevent the penetration of Western forces.
3.Economic self-sufficiency: At that time, China's economy was relatively self-sufficient, and Emperor Qianlong did not see the need for extensive economic exchanges with Western countries, and was worried that too much foreign affairs would undermine the order of the domestic market.
4.Internal stability: During the Qianlong period, China's economy was relatively stable, and the Qianlong Emperor hoped to maintain this stability by closing the country to avoid instability caused by external factors.
5.Cultural Confidence: Emperor Qianlong had a deep confidence in Chinese civilization, believing that China's culture and institutions were far superior to those of the West, and that there was no need to learn foreign techniques and knowledge.
With the passage of time, especially in the later years of Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty's policy of closing the country to the outside world became more and more strict, which eventually led to the gradual widening of the gap between China and the Western powers in science and technology and military, and finally lost to the British in the Opium War, marking the end of China's policy of closing the country to the outside world.