Chapter 27 Section 3 The Genetics of the Empire

In August and September of 1960, French sinologist Perefit, who had specialized research on the history of the British mission to China, set off from Hong Kong and made his first investigation to China.Recalling this trip to China, he said: "I was immediately surprised to see that this society was very similar to the society described by Macartney's partners." He saw almost everything Macartney and his colleagues wrote in China. : ...same collective response: Chinese continue to sleep in the streets on sweltering summer nights...same austerity;same bowl of rice and burnt cabbage;same chopsticks...same blue-gray cotton clothes...same Good to smoke.

He said: It can be said that every Chinese has all the genetic information of the Qianlong Empire in their genes.China is rebelling against itself in a very Chinese way.Wanting to break with the past, it looks for factors it can rely on to prove its invariance. He found: The fact that the Chinese in 1960 still shared Qianlong's vision of the Macartney mission underscored this continuity.History textbooks, college textbooks, and the intellectuals I spoke to all use Marx's language to support the traditional view.Macartney's attitude is "imperialist", "capitalist" and "colonial".Everyone agrees with Qianlong's stern answer: "I don't ask anyone. Please put away the gifts quickly and set off to return to China." Mao also did the same when he repatriated Soviet technicians and "advisors" not long ago. "We are going to be self-reliant," he declared.

Of course, from 1960 to the present, to be precise, from the Macartney era to the present, China has indeed undergone tremendous changes.If Macartney and Perefit visit China again, they may revise their conclusions.Today's Chinese no longer say that they have nothing to ask for.We have opened our arms and made a gesture of embracing the world.When foreign businessmen and envoys come to China, what they receive will no longer be cold reception, but enthusiasm rarely seen in the world.The appearance of China has also become colorful, and the era of blue and gray rule should be gone forever.

However, there will still be many things that are very familiar to them.In other words, in China's diplomatic tradition, there are many core elements that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. They will meet the same warm and simple people. Although the rulers had various sinister assumptions about foreigners' visits, from the Qianlong era onwards, the common people naively believed that they were attracted by Chinese culture and paid homage to the Chinese rulers.The British record said, "The soldiers and sailors who came down to China were courteous to the guests, not out of duty but out of hospitality. The whole made people feel that we were welcome guests. They knew that these foreigners came from very They came from afar to pay homage to their emperor. Therefore, although their status is so low, they still feel the joy that is due to the nation". (John Barrow's "I See the Prosperity of Qianlong")

They will meet with the same extravagant hospitality. Although they may be suspicious of foreigners, China's rulers have always been super enthusiastic about their hospitality.In the eyes of the Chinese rulers, this is first and foremost an issue of national image, or in other words, an issue of the overall situation.There is no small matter in diplomacy, and there is a difference between inside and outside. This is the consistent diplomatic policy of the Chinese Empire.Therefore, no matter how poor the people are or how financially difficult they are, they always spare no effort in entertaining foreigners.For the Chinese rulers, this is by no means difficult.Mr. Ge Jianxiong said: "Because the unified regimes in the past generally have vast land and a large population, even if the people's living standards are very low, the number of human and financial resources that can be collected is still quite large. The illusion of 'richness'."

When the British mission had just set off, Emperor Qianlong had already made preparations for a grand reception.From the perspective of the Qing Dynasty, receiving a mission that came to China for the first time was a major "political task" to spread Chinese culture to the world and publicize the great achievements of Chinese governance.Political accounts must be settled, not just economic accounts.Qianlong issued detailed edicts many times before and after, and personally carefully arranged the reception of foreign guests. In order to better receive the British, the emperor specially appointed Chang Luyan Yun Zhengrui as the imperial envoy to be in charge of the reception.For this reason, he was specially honored and promoted to the title, and he was rewarded with Hualing.

Not long after the British set off, the emperor ordered the Military Aircraft Department to draw up a detailed reception plan, including meeting, rewards, banquets, theater viewing, sightseeing and other activities.This plan is recorded in the "Shangyu File" in the Qing palace archives. In June of the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong (1793), when the tribute envoy was expected to arrive soon, the emperor gave specific instructions on the principle of reception: "When dealing with foreign barbarian affairs, it must be moderately rich and thrifty, which is sufficient to conform to the system... The British After the arrival of the Kali tribute envoy, all the hospitality cannot be further improved. However, the tribute envoy sailed far away and visited the country for the first time. It is not comparable to the frequent tributes from Burma and Annan. (Governor of Zhili) Liang Kentang , (Changlu Salt Administration) Zhengrui affairs should be properly taken care of, and it should not be too simple, so that people from afar will take it lightly."

The emperor’s reception policy was as follows: first, it should be grand and warm, and take care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of foreign friends to ensure their happy mood; second, use this opportunity to fully demonstrate China’s prosperity and strength. Therefore, when the mission's fleet arrived outside Dagukou, they found two court officials waiting here with a large amount of food as gifts.The deputy envoy of the mission, Stanton, carefully recorded the number of gifts: 20 cows, 120 sheep, 120 pigs, 100 chickens, 100 ducks, and 160 bags Flour, fourteen boxes of bread, one hundred and sixty packages of rice, ten boxes of red rice, ten boxes of white rice, ten boxes of millet, ten boxes of tea, twenty-two baskets of preserved peaches, twenty-two baskets of candied fruit, twenty-two boxes Plums and apples, twenty-two baskets of vegetables, forty baskets of cucumbers, a thousand pumpkins, forty bags of lettuce, forty bags of peas, a thousand watermelons, three thousand melons, and many bottles of wine, ten cases Candles, three large baskets of china.Due to the large number, the ship could not accommodate them, so they could only accept some of them and "thank the rest". "In the future, there is no need to make a request, and a large number of free supplies will continue to be sent." (Standton's "Records of the British Envoy's Meeting with Qianlong")

This is just a meeting ceremony.On subsequent trips, they were continually amazed by the generosity of the Chinese.The head of the mission, Barrow, said: "The hospitality, attention and respect we have experienced so far can only be met by strangers in the east of the world." to the entire regiment, and generally to all the craftsmen, guards, and servants of the mission. It appears that the Chinese side spared no expense whatsoever in order to make the most luxurious provision for the mission." The emperor's instructions were fully implemented. "So many officials, so many servants, and so many ships were mobilized to do hospitality work. It is said that these officials and servants who participated in the hospitality work have received exceptional salary increases to encourage them to do this work well Along the way, there were welcome soldiers lined up on the shore, a colorful archway and specially prepared performances. All the above expenses were borne by the emperor himself.”

"This will of His Majesty the Emperor was strictly observed by all the officials involved in the reception work. Once a member of the diplomatic mission accidentally asked to buy a tiny piece of clothing, the official who hosted the reception bought it immediately, but refused to accept the money anyway. He said, All expenses are charged to the emperor's account." In the subsequent reward link, the British will be even more surprised.The warm reception received by the British along the way was passed back to London through the mouths of British businessmen, and the whole of England rejoiced.

Although the mission of the British mission failed, this mission was not without gains.Even, if measured purely from the economic aspect, the gains of the British are huge. On the return ship, it was full of gifts from the Chinese emperor. Ever since he heard that the British were coming, the emperor began to prepare gifts for them.After the British ships arrived in Tianjin, the first thing the emperor sent someone to ask was the list of tributes, and the second thing was the list of missions.This is to prepare targeted gifts for the British.The emperor was very careful, and his rewards were not limited to officials. Every British person, from envoys to black servants, had a share.The 650 soldiers and sailors who remained on board were also rewarded.For this previously unknown country, he was going to show great favor to these remote barbarians and leave a deep impression on the Celestial Dynasty.By convention, when a foreign country pays tribute, the emperor only rewards its king and envoys once.And this time when Britain came to the court, the emperor rewarded them 37 times. Even after the British's rebelliousness and unreasonable requests made the emperor very angry, the gifts that were originally prepared were still sent to the British.According to the statistics of later historians, there were 130 kinds of gifts and more than 3,000 gifts.The quantity, variety and frequency are unprecedented.The emperor was always happy to show his generosity.Anger is anger, and the dignity of the heavenly kingdom cannot be lost.In the letter of credence to the King of England, the emperor also specifically mentioned this point: "Your king lives in a secluded ocean and pays tribute to you. What I bestow is better than other countries." ("Emperor Qianlong and Macartney") Although the dietary standards were lowered for a while due to etiquette issues, the generous emperor still ordered to give the British high-standard care on the way back: "To be fair, the Chinese court and the people he appointed to take care of the mission have always behaved as masters. The generosity, the caring, the genuine friendliness. At least to our party.” These are Barrow’s words. On the way, "Master Wang", who had already talked with the British about the cost of the reception, told the British: "Master Wang told me that in order to pay for the reception of our mission, they were ordered to send money from the provinces we passed through. The silver treasury withdraws 5,000 taels of silver (today’s currency value of 1 million yuan), which is 1,600 pounds of standard sterling silver. In Beijing, I receive 1,500 taels from the household department every day.” From this, Barrow estimated that their party cost Beijing 519,000 taels of silver, or 173,000 pounds of silver.Converted into today's currency value, about 100 million yuan.This of course does not include gifts from the emperor, whose value is much higher than this. "My lord Wang told me that the number of people serving us is generally not less than 1,000, and often greatly exceeds 1,000. I believe he did not exaggerate." Barrow calculated the accounts and said that the cost of their mission to Britain itself was only 80,000 pounds. "For a country like Great Britain, it is really insignificant, less than 1/4 of the amount that people usually imagine." (John Barrow, "I See the Prosperity of Qianlong") So what did the British ship from China?The following are some of the gifts of several rewards in the archives: The first greeting gift to the British is: Special gifts for the king include jade ruyi one, dragon satin three, python satin two, makeup satin seven, hundred-flower makeup satin six, Japanese satin three, piece gold satin two, glitter satin, robe satin, blue satin, colorful satin, blue and white satin, and plain clothes Satin, thread satin, cap satin each four, silk satin and silk spinning each twenty-two, Luo thirteen, hang silk seven, one jade pair uncorked bottle, one box of battle pictures, nine red-carved lacquered peach-style boxes, four vermilion lacquer grape petal plates , fifty silk papers and wax papers, four pairs of hanging lamps, eight boxes of embroidered sachets, four boxes each of embroidered sachets and three sachets, thirteen palace fans, four boxes of passion cakes, and forty Puer tea balls. , five boxes each of tea paste and persimmon cream, one box each of dried cantaloupe and cantaloupe, ten bottles each of Wuyi tea and Liu'an tea, four boxes of lotus root powder and lotus seed powder; Two plain satin, eight Japanese satin, one silk and satin, four silk satin, hang silk, and silk spinning, six porcelain bowls, eight porcelain plates, six Jiqingbaili porcelain plates, twenty fans, six Pu'er tea balls, Six bottles of Lu'an tea, two boxes of tea paste, two boxes of dried cantaloupe; one each of deputy envoy dragon satin, makeup satin, Japanese satin, blue satin, caramel satin, and plain satin, two each of satin silk, hang silk, and spinning silk, and porcelain bowls Two, eight porcelain plates, four Jiqingbaili porcelain plates, ten fans, four Pu'er tea balls, four bottles of Liu'an tea, one box each of tea paste and dried cantaloupe; Satin, brocade, zhang velvet, feather satin, and damask, two each of flower satin and silk, forty porcelain bowls and plates, ten brocade fans, four Pu'er tea balls, four bottles of Liu'an tea, tea paste, rock sugar One box each, one carved lacquer plate, two large purses, four small purses; two ghostwriters and general rear officers, one each of flash satin, makeup satin, Japanese satin, blue satin, and damask, two porcelain bowls and two porcelain plates Ten, ten brocade fans, two Pu'er tea groups, two bottles of Liu'an tea, one box each of tea paste and dried cantaloupe, two large purses, two small purses; Seven members, each member has one makeup satin, flashing satin, and blue satin, two porcelain bowls and two porcelain plates, two boxes of fans, two Pu'er tea balls, two large purses, and two small purses. Birthday on August 13th: Rewarding envoys with eight silk satin scrolls, two brocade satins, two porcelain tea buckets, bowls, and plates, and one Yixing vessel; deputy envoys three large scrolls with eight silk satins, one brocade, two porcelain tea buckets, and two porcelain bowls. One porcelain plate; two eight silk satins, one brocade, two porcelain tea barrels and two porcelain bowls, one porcelain plate, for the son of the deputy envoy; two large purses for the exhibition of paintings by the son of the deputy envoy; Each member has eight silk satins and two porcelain bowls. August 14: Appreciation of the main envoy's royal brush calligraphy and painting album, one jade cup, two porcelain plates, porcelain vases, lacquered peach boxes, and gourd bottles at Qingyin Pavilion; Four for the son of porcelain, two lacquered peach boxes, one porcelain vase, and one small purse; nine officers, such as generals and chief soldiers, each with two lacquered peach boxes and four porcelain. The last official reward, the gift list is: On the 29th, an imperial edict was issued at Taihemen.Give the king two hundred-flower python satin, four robe satin and four thread satin, one red sandalwood lacquered copper cloisonné enamel dragon boat fairy platform, eight jade wares, one agate bowl, two hundred and twenty porcelain wares, thirty-seven lacquer wares, and ten gourd wares. Four, two asparagus bamboo hanging grids, two brown bamboo lacquered kang grids each, two flower albums, twenty paintings on silk, twenty gold-sprinkled five-color writing silk paper, twenty white dew paper, and Korean paper, six boxes of ink, and four fans of various kinds Ten, eight Pu'er tea groups, eight bottles of Lu'an tea, four bottles of Wuyi tea, four boxes of tea paste and persimmon cream, four boxes of dried cantaloupe and cantaloupe, two boxes of lotus root starch and lotus seeds, and three boxes of Tibetan sugar.Also, according to the imperial edict, three dragon satin, two python satin, seven makeup satin, six hundred-flower makeup satin, three Japanese satin, two pieces of gold satin, glitter satin, gown satin, blue satin, colorful satin, blue and white satin, and plain cloth satin were bestowed upon the king. Four silk satins, four cap satins each, twenty-two silk satins and silk spinning, seven silk silks, seven silks, one hundred painted silks, one hundred white dew papers, fifty five-color silks sprinkled with gold, two hundred five-cornered letter papers, and two hundred Goryeo papers each. , thirteen palace fans, one hundred brocade fans, four boxes of three sachets, eight boxes of ten brocade sachets, four boxes of brocade sachets, four boxes of fragrant cakes, forty Pu-erh tea balls, five boxes of tea paste and persimmon cream , two boxes of dried cantaloupe and cantaloupe, ten bottles each of Wuyi tea and Liu'an tea, three boxes each of lotus root powder and lotus seeds, two asparagus bamboo kang tables, two carved lacquer kang tables, twelve hanging lamps, and twenty boxes of ink; Zhengshi dragon satin One hat satin, one hat satin, two makeup satin, two Japanese satin, three blue satin, blue and white satin, colorful satin, Hangzhou silk, six satin silk and silk spinning, two bottles of tea, two boxes of tea paste, two pieces of brick tea, large Pu'er tea Regiment 2, a frame for scraping fat and auspicious celebrations, a sapphire sunflower wash, an agate sunflower bowl, an agate sunflower dish, two boxes of hidden sugar; one deputy envoy, one dragon satin, one cap satin, makeup satin, blue satin, Japanese satin, Two each of blue and white satin, colored satin, and crepe silk, four each of satin and silk, four bottles of tea, one box of tea paste, two pieces of brick tea, ten daughter's teas, one white jade whole branch sunflower, one agate chrysanthemum petal bowl, and gourd Two boxes of sugar stored in utensils; one each of dragon satin, makeup satin, Japanese satin, green satin, blue satin, brocade, Zhangrong, and hat fleece for the son of the deputy envoy, three each of satin silk and spinning silk, two crepe silk, two bottles of tea leaves, and two brick teas A piece of tea paste, a box of tea paste, eight teas for daughters, a box of hidden sugar; two military officers and deputy chief officers, each with a dragon satin, makeup satin, Japanese satin, blue satin, green satin, hat satin, and brocade , three each of satin silk and spinning silk, two crepe silks, three bottles of tea leaves, two pieces of brick tea, one box of tea paste, eight daughter teas, and one box of Tibetan sugar; One each of silk, zhang velvet, brocade, blue satin, and colored satin, two each of silk and silk, two bottles of tea, two pieces of brick tea; Satin, Peng satin, damask, spinning each one, two bottles of tea, two pieces of brick tea; seven tribute envoys, each with two silks, four pieces of cloth, and ten taels of silver; Seventeen, each with two silks and silks, four cloths, and ten taels of silver; two inland escort officers, two large satins each; five tribute ship management officers, each Huizibu, Gaolibu, and Polo There are two each of hemp and Jiansige; there are a total of 615 military service sailors on the tribute ships, one each of Gaolibu, Huizibu, Xiaozengchengge, and Boluoma... Most of these gifts are taken from the high-quality products stored in the six warehouses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for many years, and many of them are the best products specially used by emperors and empresses. ("Emperor Qianlong and Macartney") In addition to these gifts, the British had two bigger gains, one was the investigation of China's military defense situation, and the other was the acquisition of silkworm eggs and tea saplings. During the entire visit to China, the British could feel the defensiveness of the Chinese all the time.Chinese officials have often refused their requests to visit.When the mission ships were berthed, Chinese officials prohibited mission personnel from going ashore for a walk to prevent them from spying on China's situation.Perefit said he felt "the same distrust of foreigners when he came to China in the 1960s. They can only disrupt order in China; their curiosity is dangerous; they should be closely monitored". This kind of prevention has even reached the level of abnormality. Litong foreign countries have been one of the most serious crimes that can be imposed on Chinese people since ancient times.Macartney certainly could not have imagined that his visit almost brought disaster to an ordinary Chinese citizen. His name is Guo Jieguan, from Ningbo, Zhejiang.His late father, Guo Duan, had done business with the British in Guangzhou in his early years and could speak some simple pidgin English.In the nineteenth year of Qianlong (1754), the British went north to Ningbo, and Guo Duan also reached a deal with the British here.Guo Jieguan thought it was fun to hear his father speak English when he was young, so he learned a few words. In his own words: "I heard my father learn to speak when I was young, so I also learned a few words, but such as eating cigarettes, drinking tea, etc. I can't understand other languages." In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773), Guo Duan passed away, and the Guo family gradually declined.Guo Jieguan made a living as a private school teacher and had never dealt with the British, so these few words of English were naturally useless. Unexpectedly, these few English words caused him a lot of trouble. When the British mission arrived in China, the first city it landed in was Dinghai near Ningbo.Why did you choose this place? Is there some traitor here?This puzzled the local officials in Zhejiang.They searched Dinghai and Ningbo for families who had dealt with foreigners, and Guo Jieguan, who was teaching children, was arrested by the government.Although tortured, Guo Jieguan still couldn't explain his relationship with the British, so he was sent to Beijing again.After a few good beatings in Beijing, the ministers of military and aircraft finally believed that "Guo Jieguan was only training Mongolian poor and foolish people, and there was no cunning in what he confessed."His father did have contact with the Yi people, but that was 40 years ago.Doubts are now removed.However, the bachelors still felt that his few English words were extremely dangerous, which made the magistrates "check carefully at any time, so as not to cause trouble." But it is strange that such strict precautions did not prevent the British from doing what they most wanted to do: surveying China's coastal and urban defenses and procuring silkworm eggs and tea saplings. The Viceroy of India, Lord Cornwallis, had hoped to introduce the production of silk and tea to Bengal.Macartney successfully obtained silkworm eggs in China, and also sent some information about silkworms and the production process to India.He had greater success with tea. On February 28, 1794, Macartney wrote to Lord Cornwallis from Macau: "If possible, I would like to get some saplings of high-quality tea trees. Thanks to the kindness of the new Governor of Canton - I have traveled through China with him The best tea-growing area - I was able to observe and take good samples. I charged Dr. Dinvithi to bring these saplings to Calcutta. He will go aboard the 'Jackal'." When the plains of tea trees were planted, Macartney did successfully have these saplings dug up: the Chinese escorts did not interfere this time.Perefit said: "Introducing high-quality saplings to India is not worth the trip alone, and the cost of this trip will be repaid a hundredfold in the next century."