Qianlong gave it to YingLetters, Ignorance and Arrogance, Tibetan and British Museum
In 1792, five British ships loaded with gifts sailed for China, and they wanted to discuss trade with Emperor Qianlong, according to the editors of Shi Shuobai. But Qianlong refused, and wrote a letter to the envoy to bring him back to England.
The letter, which is still in the British collection of museums, exposes Qianlong's arrogance and has an impact on later generations. So, what did Qianlong write in the letter?
How did his arrogance affect future generations? Let's ** this history together.
China's feudal dynasties have a long history, the last of which was the Qing Dynasty, which lasted for two hundred years, starting in 1644 and went through 12 rulers.
As one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, China is the only country with a continuous civilization and a unique long history.
Emperor Kangxi, everyone in film and television dramas knows that his great achievements have amazed the world. As the monarch of the Qing Dynasty, he achieved the stability of the frontier and made great contributions to the reunification of the motherland.
His three expeditions to Galdan laid the foundation for Qianlong's pacification of Dzungaldan; His march was the maintenance of peace on the southwestern border; His march into Taiwan has brought Taiwan back to the motherland and once again to our embrace.
The image shown by Emperor Kangxi in film and television dramas is that he fought heroically against Tsarist Russia in order to protect the northeastern frontier of our country. At the same time, under his rule, unity and harmony within the imperial court were also achieved.
When the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, its total number of troops and dependents was less than 200,000, and it was obviously impossible to manage such a large country. However, Emperor Kangxi had a unique vision, proposed and practiced the strategy of the united front, successfully won over various remote tribes and Han families, and laid a solid foundation for the stability and prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.
Kangxi upholds the official position"One full and one man"Regardless of the position, such as scholars, scholars, squires, etc., it is necessary to ensure that the Manchus and Hans have a seat. This move cleverly solved the problem of the small Manchu population, and at the same time won the favor of a large number of Han families.
Among the talents that Kangxi admired, Han people occupied an important position, and these people who were appreciated by him were grateful and willing to go all out. In addition, Kangxi took the initiative to learn Han culture and absorb advanced knowledge and experience.
During his reign, he strictly implemented the policy of clear rewards and punishments, and even if his own prince made a mistake, he would punish him according to the rules and regulations, so as to set an example, so that other courtiers did not dare to take chances.
The prosperous era of Kangqian and the rapid development of the Qing Dynasty were inseparable from Kangxi's three major measures, strict court discipline, and every minister did his best to fulfill his duties. And Yongzheng, as a transitional person between Kangxi and Qianlong, although his reign was short, his merits were no less than anyone's.
Under his rule, the secret system of establishing a prince was established, so that there were no more heirs vying for the throne in later generations. At the same time, he also made a big crackdown, sending his cronies and subordinates to carry out investigations all over the country, laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.
In Yongzheng film and television dramas, no matter how big or small the official position is, as long as the best filthy officials are found, they will be severely punished, so Yongzheng is respectfully called"Emperor of the Raiders"。In just a few years, the wind of ** was swept away in the court, and the treasury became extremely sufficient.
This achievement laid a solid foundation for the later Qianlong Emperor. After Qianlong succeeded to the throne, on the basis of his two predecessors, he made another great achievement. He further improved his rule over the country, and at the same time successfully recovered Xinjiang again, further realizing the unification of all ethnic groups, and making China's territory reach the largest in history.
In addition, Qianlong also actively reduced the tax burden of the people, so that the people could live a life without food and clothing, and promoted the prosperity and development of the social economy. During the reigns of the three emperors, the Qing Dynasty achieved unprecedented economic and national development, reaching the peak of history.
Under the rule of Emperor Qianlong, China experienced rapid economic development. However, Western countries are also busy with the industrial revolution. Britain is one of those pioneers. In the 17th century, Britain completed the transformation of the social system, from a monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, the status of the bourgeoisie was greatly improved, and it participated in the formulation of laws, making policies more beneficial to itself, laying the foundation for the future industrial revolution.
Led by the British aristocracy and bourgeoisie, an enclosure movement full of oppression began. The movement allowed the bourgeoisie to obtain cheaper raw materials and at the same time to have a large number of cheap labor.
By 1713, Britain began to vigorously promote overseas **, no matter where it went, it would carry out colonial plunder, so that Britain quickly completed the primitive accumulation, and the British national strength at this time was already very strong.
During this period, the English people were influenced by the Renaissance, their minds were emancipated, and a large number of famous inventors appeared, and their talents were displayed.
Among them, Newton is one of them, he made people understand the nature of force and laid a solid theoretical foundation for the industrial revolution.
Under the influence of multiple factors, Britain became the first country in the world to carry out the industrial revolution. The starting point of this revolution was the textile industry, and the birth of the shuttle made the efficiency of the textile greatly improved, setting an example for the transition from human to mechanical.
Subsequently, the advent of Jenny's spinning machine increased the work efficiency by more than ten times. Britain began to manufacture a wide variety of machines to replace backward manual production.
The invention of the water-powered spinning machine completely got rid of manpower, and the traditional manual workshop was gradually eliminated and replaced by a large-scale and highly efficient machine factory.
The Industrial Revolution in Britain changed the global landscape and triggered many European and American countries to follow suit.
Qianlong's birthday, England sent congratulatory gifts, but behind this lies a greater ambition - to spy on the strength of our country and promote the two countries. England has shown its great power many times in history, and China has attracted global attention, and European aristocrats are proud to own Chinese porcelain and silk.
In 1792, Britain specially sent an envoy to China, including doctors, translators and other talents, as well as five large and small ships, sailed to our country to celebrate Qianlong's birthday, but also secretly probed our country's reality.
After a long journey on the sea, the British envoy finally arrived in Macao, and the British envoys waited with great anticipation for the reception of Emperor Qianlong. However, the process of the audience was full of twists and turns.
First of all, because of the etiquette of the meeting, they had to kneel three times and bow nine times, which made the envoys feel disrespectful and considered it to be detrimental to their national dignity. When Emperor Qianlong heard the news, he was immediately furious and decided not to receive these envoys again.
The British mission was anxious to complete its task, and finally expressed its willingness to accept the salute of three kneeling and nine bows.
In Qianlong's film and television dramas, some of the performances of the British envoys have left a bad impression on Qianlong. When they first met Qianlong, they only felt that there was gorgeous golden light everywhere, which made them realize the luxurious life of the emperor.
When they saw Qianlong, they did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and hurriedly presented gifts prepared by the British, including the products of the industrial revolution, such as looms, steam engines, and guns.
However, to their surprise, these gifts did not arouse Qianlong's interest, which made the British mission very anxious. They originally hoped to show Britain's strong national power through these gifts, as well as arouse Qianlong's interest, so as to persuade Qianlong to open **.
The British envoys had expected Qianlong to do what they had expected, but after the feast, he did not speak. In the days that followed, Qianlong never summoned them again, and seeing that the deadline for the visit was approaching, the British mission could only turn to the missionaries in Beijing to express their intentions to Qianlong.
In the end, Qianlong summoned the mission again, but before they could speak, he rejected their request for trade, saying that there was no need to trade with the British.
It turned out that after the image of Qianlong in the film and television drama was summoned this time, Qianlong directly ordered to urge the regiment to return to China as soon as possible. The unwilling British mission made a final effort, and in the tone of the British monarch, wrote a letter to Qianlong, in which the British ambitions were clearly exposed.
The letter said that it hoped that China would agree to British business in various Chinese cities and that it would also open a foreign bank in Beijing. It is also hoped that the Qing ** will divide the islands so that British merchants can live in them, which is simply naked plunder.
What is even more excessive is that Britain also wants China to agree with the missionaries to propagate the idea of God in our country, in order to control our people through missionary work.
British missionaries tried to persuade Qianlong to cede territory during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, but Qianlong sternly refused, emphasizing that China's territory, no matter how big or small, would not be ceded. After the defeat, the British envoy received a handwritten letter from Qianlong, which contained only 976 words, but the words revealed Qianlong's arrogance.
In Qianlong's letter, Qianlong regarded the visit as a tribute and praised the British performance. His reference to Britain in his letter suggests that he regarded it as an uncivilized land.
The letter mentioned the products of the Industrial Revolution brought by the British, but Qianlong was not interested in them. In addition, Qianlong said that as a great power, it was impossible for him to change the ** treaty because of the British visit.
Qianlong's arrogance, ignorance, and ignorance in the letter are obvious. The letter is still in museums in the UK and has become the laughing stock of the world.
Qianlong's decision revealed his ignorance in the British Museum's letter, and his subsequent orders showed his confusion even more. He ordered the British mission to arrive overland in Canton and then return to England by ship, with the aim of allowing the mission to witness with their own eyes the vast territory and great national strength of our country.
The British mission included experts in intelligence gathering and cartography, and the purpose of the visit was to seek information. However, this order allowed the missions to gather intelligence at will on Chinese territory, crossing most of China.
In the eyes of the envoys, the Qing Dynasty was a strong foreign force, a corrupt person, the people lived in poverty, the Qing soldiers were scattered, there was no fighting spirit, and the combat strength of the marching exercises was mediocre.
In 1816, the British again sent envoys to visit the Qing Dynasty, hoping to be able to trade with the Qing Dynasty. However, the British were deeply disappointed that the envoy refused to bow down three times and prostrated himself and ordered his expulsion without seeing the emperor.
This event completely eliminated the possibility of negotiations between Britain and the Qing Dynasty. At the beginning of the 19th century, Britain had already experienced two industrial revolutions and became one of the most powerful countries in Europe.
The British had always harbored a predatory heart for China, and they sent merchants into China, but to great effect. Because the machines brought by British merchants did not find favor with buyers.
However, these Brits' love for Chinese silk and porcelain kept them engaged. This made Britain, which originally intended to plunder China's wealth by **, instead let the wealth continue to flow to China.
The shameless British began to sell opium in China, and the erosion of opium led to a large amount of ** flowing into British pockets, and at the same time, the health of countless citizens deteriorated.
The ordinary people of the Qing Dynasty regarded opium as a kind of sustenance and a kind of comfort. In 1839, Lin Zexu discovered the problem in Guangzhou, and he strongly appealed to foreigners not to bring opium into China, knowing that opium was harmful to people's bodies and minds.
He ordered foreign traders to declare that they would no longer trade opium and demanded that it be confiscated on the spot. However, foreigners do not take Lin Zexu's words seriously, they think that Lin Zexu, like other **, can sell opium at will as long as there are enough bribes.
Lin Zexu firmly enforced the smoking ban and imposed a siege on the Thirteen Lines, and many foreign businessmen began to compromise. However, Lin Zexu always adhered to his principles and would withdraw his troops only when they handed over opium and promised not to sell it in China again.
The British merchant overseer, Yilu, realized that Lin Zexu was not joking, and ordered the merchant to hand over the opium to him, not his own possession, so that the British could control it. After receiving the opium, Lin Zexu dug two pools in Humen, sprinkled lime, and destroyed all the opium.
After Lin Zexu destroyed the opium, Britain used this as an excuse to demand compensation from the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty's refusal to compensate led to the outbreak of the Opium War between China and Britain. At that time, the corruption of the Qing ** was serious, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers was low, and they were beaten all the way to Nanjing by the British.
In order to avoid the war, the Qing ** was forced to agree to the British demand and signed the Treaty of Nanjing, which made me feel ashamed. Qing ** not only compensated a large amount of silver taels to the British, but also ceded Hong Kong to the British.
This treaty marked the beginning of our modern history and the beginning of a history of shame in our country.
Once upon a time, we were at the forefront of technology, and the British compass and gunpowder were all derived from our transmission. However, during the Qing Dynasty, we were self-contained, blindly confident, refusing to learn the advanced knowledge of others, and instead indulging in the illusion of our own national power.
In the end, the country was opened by the artillery fire of other countries. The lessons of history tell us that if we are backward, we will be beaten, and if we want to avoid falling behind, we must learn from others with an open mind. Today's China no longer worries about being bullied, thanks to the humility of modern scholars, who have learned advanced technology from other countries and brought it back to China, making outstanding contributions to the development of China's science and technology.