Chapter 30 Step 2 into the trap: Sino-British Humen Treaty

After the ostentatious signing ceremony of the Treaty of Nanjing ended on the British ship Gao Huali, the British army fired a salute.The joy in Plenipotentiary Pudingcha's heart surged with the roar of the salute, and he had completed his mission. Both the Chinese and English versions of the Treaty of Nanking were drafted by the British side, including all the requirements of the Palmerston Instructions.I mentioned in Chapter 3 the draft treaty with China promulgated by Palmerston. Let us compare it with the Treaty of Nanking: 1. China opens Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shanghai, and Ningbo as treaty ports (realized in the second paragraph of the treaty).

2. The United Kingdom can send officials to treaty ports and have direct contact with Chinese officials (realized in Articles 2 and 11 of the Treaty). 3. Ceded the island (realized in the third paragraph of the treaty). 4. Compensation for burned opium (realized in paragraph 4 of the treaty). 5. Abolish the business system and compensate business debts (realized in paragraph 5 of the treaty). 6. Compensation for military expenses (realized in Article 6 of the treaty). 7. The indemnity shall be paid annually, and the unpaid part shall be paid at an annual interest rate of 5% (realized in Clause 7 of the treaty).

8. After the emperor of China ratified the treaty, the naval blockade against China was lifted, and the British army withdrew after the indemnity was paid off (realized in Clause 12 of the treaty). 9. The treaty is written in both Chinese and English; the meaning of the treaty is mainly interpreted by the English side (the former item is implemented during implementation, and the latter item has no English interpretation because Qing officials do not understand English and the Chinese version of the treaty was drawn up by the British side. It is necessary for the Lord, so it is not specified in the treaty).

10. The treaty is ratified by the sovereigns of the two countries (realized in clause 13 of the treaty). It can be seen from this that Pudingcha strictly abided by the instructions, and the order of the treaties generally followed the provisions of Palmerston's draft. In addition to the draft of the Palmerston Treaty, Pudingcha also added 4 other clauses: 1. Release the British prisoners during the war, that is, the eighth clause of the treaty. 2. Amnesty for the "traitors" who communicated with the British side during the war, that is, the ninth clause of the treaty. 3. The Qing Dynasty formulated and promulgated a new customs tariff, namely the tenth clause of the treaty (this clause is the second of the five exchange conditions in the draft Palmerston Treaty as the renunciation of the island).

4. Equal exchanges between officials of the two countries, that is, the eleventh clause of the treaty (the Palmerston treaty draft does not have this content, but the instruction has this spirit). It can be said that Pottinger overfulfilled the tasks entrusted by the British government. When the Nanjing Treaty was signed, Palmerston resigned due to a change of government. After seeing the treaty, he called it a "satisfactory result" in a private letter.The new Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, has always emphasized that Palmerston's previous instructions are still valid. After receiving the treaty, he expressed his "deep approval" and "full approval" of Pottinger's work in the instructions.

At this time, in front of Pu Dingcha, there were no longer mountains and mountains, and there were only two remains to be dealt with: 1. The opium trade was legalized.This issue was raised in the Palmerston Instructions, but it also stipulated that the British government "does not make any demands" and instructed Pudingcha to use all opportunities and evidence to persuade the Qing Dynasty to abandon the ban on smoking.Before and after the signing of the Nanjing Treaty, Pu Dingcha carried out a series of lobbying activities.According to Pu's later report, Qiying made a promise that the Qing Dynasty would "limit the scope of the smoking ban to its own soldiers and civilians" in the future, that is to say, it would no longer take action against British opium dealers.

Second, sub-import tax.The Palmerston Instructions have clear instructions on this, but due to the short negotiation time and the unclear situation of the British tariffs on the mainland, Article 10 of the Nanjing Treaty has no clear regulations on this: There is a space before the specific amount.This is the origin of the "Transit Tax Statement" that was later attached to the Nanjing Treaty. However, when Pu Dingcha received the note of 12 negotiations issued by Qiying on September 1, his sharp eyes suddenly discovered a new opportunity.It seems that he has conducted serious research and returned to Qiying on September 5: in his note, those that belong to China's sovereignty or are in line with international practice and are irrelevant, such as the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and twelfth agreed to item 8; welcomed item 8 (extraterritorial jurisdiction); rejected item 1 that did not conform to the Nanjing Treaty; and items 3, 9, 10, and 11 (mainly about China’s sovereignty or internal affairs) Or justify, or set up obstacles.The ignorant Qiying didn't realize at all that he was negotiating with the British side on matters that could have been decided by the Qing Dynasty on its own, with the hidden meaning of requiring the other party's nod, and he had already damaged his own rights and interests.

In Pu Dingcha's photo, there are two points that need special attention. 1. Tariff issues.Pu Ding found out that he knew that the eleventh item of the Qiying Note violated the Nanjing Treaty, but he did not directly reject it, instead of lying and deceiving: The committee discussed in detail the taxation of exports and imports to the mainland, which clearly stated what it thought: if the tax is too heavy, it will leak the disadvantages; if the tax is too light, it will be considered insufficient, and everyone is displeased.In addition to the necessary capital use, there is a surplus to return to the money, which is the wish. (The emphasis is marked by the citer)

Here, Pu Dingcha cleverly pretended to be a "middleman" who was "unbiased" and lured senior elites to discuss tariff issues that the Qing Dynasty could decide on its own.Because the Nanjing Treaty stipulated that the British army must withdraw from the Yangtze River after the treaty was ratified and the first payment of indemnity was paid. Pu Dingcha knew that such negotiations would not be concluded quickly, and proposed that the negotiation venue be in Guangdong.In order to make this negotiation legally effective, Qiying was reminded that the negotiating representative should be an imperial envoy who had the power to "do things cheaply" "as ordered by the cabinet".

2. To conclude a separate treaty.At the end of the note, Pottinger puts forward: .So that the Qing emperor and the British monarch were allowed to implement it.This is the opinion of my minister, and if your ministers have no objection, this minister will do it accordingly. (emphasis marked by the citer) In other words, Pu Dingcha requested that after the signing of the Nanjing Treaty, another treaty should be signed with the Qing Dynasty, and that the new treaty should be drafted by him. Pudingcha set two traps in the note.The origin of his two proposals, namely the "Five-port Trade Charter: Customs Tariff" and the "Five-Port Trade Treaty Attached to the Aftermath" (Humen Treaty)!

The nature of the Sino-British Nanjing Treaty is a peace treaty.According to the law of war prevailing in the West at that time and in the current world, once the peace treaty is signed, the relationship between the two countries will be transferred from a state of war to a state of peace. After that, the victorious country shall not ask the defeated country for war compensation or other demands. It must also conform to the letter and spirit of the peace treaty.In other words, the Qing Dynasty could completely reject the British request without a basis for a peace treaty based on the letter and spirit of the Treaty of Nanjing.However, who knows these truths in the "Heavenly Dynasty"? When Qiying received Pu Dingcha's photo, he also received an order from Emperor Daoguang to "negotiate" "all important matters".Negotiations were originally his initiative. According to his concept (that is, the concept of the "Tianchao"), it is impossible to see through Pudingcha's tricks. He feels that the British side has accepted many of his demands and is open to future negotiations. door.Compared with the previous posture of threatening to bombard Nanjing, Pu Dingcha's face at this time seems to be amiable and lovely.The earnest words in Emperor Daoguang's decree made him feel the sense of responsibility of his courtiers.He was determined to work hard to restore the "rights and interests" of the Qing Dynasty, and to use his skills in the midst of setbacks, so that Sino-British relations could be established on a solid and reliable basis after the war, leaving no future troubles. Due to the lack of data, we don't know the details of the Sino-British negotiations at this stage, but we can see from Li Xingyuan's diary: Huang Entong, who was negotiating between China and Britain at this time, revealed in his letter that the Qing side first reached an agreement with the British side on eleven items, and later changed it to eight items. And Qiying's memorial on September 20 generally contained the contents of the eight agreements, including the items that Emperor Daoguang especially valued in the future, such as not being able to repay business debts by officials.At the end of the book, Qiying said: It seems that besides the "aftermath" (i.e., the eight-point agreement), Qiying is moving in the direction indicated by Pu Dingcha, and is preparing to negotiate with the British side on matters related to the "five horse heads" (i.e., the five trading ports). Emperor Daoguang received the package and approved the eight agreements, "all of them will be handled as discussed", and made another decree: Although Emperor Daoguang did not yet know how Qiying would negotiate with the British side on the "five horse heads", he had already approved his next move. By the end of September 1842, the Qing had paid off the first indemnity. According to the Treaty of Nanjing, Britain should withdraw its troops.Pu Dingcha then sent a note to Qiying and others, reminding him not to forget the Guangdong negotiations: On September 29, Pu Dingcha came to Zhengjue Temple in Nanjing to bid farewell, and Qiying promised him face to face: "All tax and payment matters will be discussed in Guangdong within October (that is, November in the Gregorian calendar). " From October 2, the British army gradually withdrew from the Yangtze River from Nanjing, entered Hainan and went south to Guangdong.Relieved by this, Qiying delivered five memorials and two clips at once on October 13.Apparently he agreed to the British side’s proposal to negotiate in Guangdong without a decree, but he cited the decree ordered by Emperor Daoguang to go south from Hangzhou to Guangzhou five months ago, requesting approval for him to take the imperial envoy Guan Fang to Guangzhou to serve as a general, and continue to fight with the The British side "states the offer" and properly handles the "five Matou trade matters".Among this pile of folded pieces, there is a very interesting memorial, revealing Qiying's vision for the future treaty procedure: Therefore, it is allowed to go to Guangdong to hand it over after you ask for it.Now that the Yi ship industry has all withdrawn from the Yangtze River, they should go to Guangdong and return to China immediately.The ministers and others are sincere, respectfully ask for rewards, and send them down with respect, so that the original bien can return and find out where the minister Qiying and the minister Yilibu are going, and then hand over the ministers and others to the east of Guangdong. , and then the original decree, all according to the seven characters discussed, respectfully excerpted on the yellow paper, before the imperial treasure, and kept it with Zhaoxin. (The emphasis is marked by the citer) When I first saw this fold in the archives, I was in a cloud. "Imperial Treasure" refers to the matter of affixing the national seal, "according to the size, yellow paper is prepared" is the yellow paper prepared to be affixed with the national seal according to the size of the signed text of the treaty, and "top page" refers to the yellow paper to be affixed with the national seal Included on the front page of the signed text of the treaty.There are indications that the signed text of the Nanjing Treaty was not submitted to the imperial court, and Qiying only sent a copy, so it seems not difficult to understand.However, where should Qiying ask the British side to "write in detail" the "places that should be added" (that is, the agreement between the two parties after the treaty is signed)?And what is the relationship between the content of "Ying Xing Tian Zhu" and the "yellow paper" and "imperial treasure"? When I read Qiying's message to the Minister of Military Aircraft for this matter, I realized that besides the "yellow paper", Qiying also sent a "poster paper".It turned out that he planned to write the content of the "additional note" on the "poster paper", and then glue it together with the signing document of the Nanjing Treaty. Emperor Daoguang issued an order to "add notes", Pu Dingcha proposed "attaching notes", and Qiying prepared a "poster note".Although Qiying still uses the term "Tianzhu", it is closer to "attachment" in practice. From this point of view, in Qiying’s memorial, the phrase “all the items discussed are of great importance, once awarded to the Imperial Treasure, it will be easier to turn over the difficulty” should be understood as, once the British side obtains the ratified text of the Treaty of Nanjing, it may make the opponent The content of the treaty has been "easier" and the "discussed articles" (that is, the eight-article agreement that has been agreed and the upcoming Guangdong negotiations) have "turned difficult."The treacherous and cunning Pu Dingcha did not know what kind of means he used to make the New Testament, which should have been sought by the British side, become something that the seniors were eager to hunt for: only after the British side "describes in detail" and "the place to add notes" can it be obtained. Obtain the "yellow paper" of "top page". In "The Celestial Dynasty", Qiying is by no means a clumsy person, but the embarrassment shown in the Sino-British negotiations makes people feel that he has stepped into a trap but thinks he is heading for the light. Anyone who is familiar with Emperor Daoguang's temper knows that his pent-up anger during the war must have a big vent after the war.Sure enough, he received the Qiying memorial and learned that the British army had withdrawn from the Yangtze River, so he first attacked Niu Jian, the governor of the Liangjiang River, and ordered Najing to be dismissed for not deploying the defense of the Yangtze River early. Although from the perspective of military history, Niu Jian was not guilty, but from the rules of the official game at that time, Niu Jian must be punished.Since the start of the war, there have been two people in Guangdong (Lin Zexu, Qishan), two people in Fujian (Deng Tingzhen, Yan Botao), and three people in Zhejiang (Wuer Gonger, Yilibu, Yu Buyun). Jiangsu should not sacrifice a lamb ? Emperor Daoguang did not agree with Qiying to go to Guangdong, but ordered Qiying to stay in Nanjing and succeed Niu Jian as Governor of Liangjiang.This is not a distrust of Qi.Since Yixing was dismissed as governor of Jiangsu in 1798, it has become a practice for the clan not to let go of foreign appointments.The conservative Emperor Daoguang made an exception this time because he attached great importance to the post of Liangjiang, which shows that his thinking has changed from wartime to peacetime.This is very similar to the situation when he transferred Lin Zexu to Liangjiang at the critical moment of Guangdong's smoking ban. According to Qiying's memorial, he and Yiribu were jointly responsible for the Guangdong negotiations.Emperor Daoguang didn't seem to attach much importance to this negotiation, so he let Yilibu go to Guangdong alone, and also transferred Qiying's officials and posts to Yi, but only asked Qi to "make overall plans" and explain clearly to Yi.Judging from the text of the decree, he is also not very clear about the meaning of this negotiation, and only said to "handle rates and taxes (that is, customs duties) and all trade matters."This is exactly the same as the wording in Qiying's Memorial, and it also coincides with Pudingcha's wish. Emperor Daoguang has been influenced by Qiying, and Qiying has been led by the nose by Pu Dingcha. At this time, Yilibu was unified from the deputy capital of Sipinqing Zhapu to the imperial envoy and general of Guangzhou. After receiving the decree on October 21, he went south from Zhejiang and Jiangxi and arrived in Guangzhou on January 19, 1843.He was the first person to be reused by convicted officials during the Opium War. However, during this period, three things happened in succession: First, Pu Dingcha raised objections when he learned that Qiying had been transferred to Liangjiang, fearing that the negotiations in Guangdong would not be as he wished. The second is the killing of British captives by order in Taiwan. The turmoil was almost broken. As a result, the Qing party sent officials to investigate, and the military and political officials of Taiwan were arrested and interrogated in Beijing. The third is the "barbarian" dispute among the people in Guangzhou on December 7, 1842. The people set fire to the British business house, and finally settled with paying money. During these negotiations, Pu Dingcha pressed every step of the way and spoke fiercely. In order to appease these rebellious "rebellious barbarians" and prevent them from starting any more provocations, border officials in coastal provinces and even Emperor Daoguang blocked him from left to right, and were hard to guard against.Under the shadow of these incidents, the Qing Dynasty seems to have forgotten that the Guangdong negotiations were originally intended to restore some "rights" (although the real rights are not yet known), but turned to the pursuit of peace between the people and the "barbarians" for no reason. It is indeed a good wish for the people of "barbarians" to live in peace, that is, China and foreign countries coexist in peace at the treaty ports.But how to make people with completely different religious beliefs, values, and codes of conduct coexist peacefully is something that officials of the Qing Dynasty can hardly figure out.Because they do not understand international practices, they seem to be at the mercy of the British side in many matters.Although the scope of the negotiations was extremely broad, judging from the memoirs of Huang Entong, the main negotiator of the Qing side, there were only two things that attracted his attention and were recorded: one was the abolition of merchants, which was stipulated in the Treaty of Nanjing, but the The abolition means that Guangdong officials' large income will be reduced suddenly, and the shock caused by it is no less than the inability of the government to pay wages today.The second is the tariff rate. The Qing side’s self-determined countermeasure is to increase the bulk goods and reduce the less-recognized goods, so as to ensure the country’s abundance.It is hard to see how they feel about the "five out of a hundred" principle secretly formulated by the British side (it was already the lowest tax rate in the world at that time).As for the various provisions proposed by the British side, Iribu, the chief representative who was dying of illness and mentally exhausted, neither understood nor wanted to understand. He once gave Huang Entong a secret tip: On March 5, 1843, Yilibu finally died of illness in Guangzhou. Pu Dingcha, the British plenipotentiary, did not want to see the cooked duck fly away, and threatened to sail northward to continue negotiations with Qiying, Governor of Liangjiang.The practice of the British side in designating negotiating opponents is also their analysis of the bureaucratic group of the Qing Dynasty.Hearing this, Emperor Daoguang appointed Qiying as imperial envoy on April 6, and went to Guangdong to "handle the regulations on commercial rates and taxes"; "Rehabilitation" to completely rehabilitate this old minister. Qiying set off from Nanjing on April 17, but it would take time to reach Guangzhou. In order to keep Pu Dingcha from going north, Huang Entong proposed to the British side to reopen negotiations on the most difficult tariff rate at that time.Pu Dingcha was overjoyed when he heard this.As a result, the venue of the negotiation was transferred from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, and standing opposite Huang was Robert Dan, who had worked under the great opium merchant Chadton and had a deep understanding of the Sino-British trade, and was Pu Dingcha's Chinese secretary at that time. Huang Entong, a native of Ningyang, Shandong, was a Jinshi in 1826 and served as a principal and other officials in the Ministry of Punishment. In 1839, Jiangsu Salt Road was granted. In July 1842, when the Jiangsu battlefield was at its most critical, he moved to Jiangsu as an inspector envoy.His appearance was very accidental.First, Qiying and Niu Jian suspected Zhang Xi and other low-level officials, and planned to send high-ranking officials to come forward. However, the prefect of Jiangning, who was supposed to act as a stutterer, asked Huang Chu to be the negotiator.The performance of this young official also attracted the attention of the British side: What is mentioned here is his demeanor, not his wisdom. Moreover, the British side's appreciation of the negotiating opponent also has its own interests, and sometimes it can be understood in reverse. After the Nanjing negotiations, Huang Entong was proposed by Qiying to go to Guangdong as an assistant to Iribu in foreign negotiations, and later became Qiying's assistant and counselor.It can be said that he was mainly responsible for the specific negotiations of the Sino-British Humen Treaty and the subsequent Sino-US and Sino-French treaties. Huang Entong is a smart man with a strong understanding, but his personal experience and knowledge structure determine his ignorance of international laws, so he cannot be the opponent of Robert Dan and Ma Ruhan.How can you expect him to keep China's rights and interests? Qiying rushed to Guangzhou on June 4. On June 23, he was accompanied by Huang Entong and others to Hong Kong.From the next day, he had a meeting with Pu Dingcha. On June 26, the ratification text of the Sino-British Nanjing Treaty was exchanged in Hong Kong. On June 28, Qiying and his party returned to Guangzhou from Hong Kong.So far, the relevant matters between China and Britain have basically been negotiated. The development of things since then, viewed from the eyes of today's people, is unavoidably a bit grotesque. On July 12, Qiying reported the general situation of Hong Kong negotiations to Emperor Daoguang, claiming that he had reached a customs tariff with the British side, and agreed with the British side on July 27 according to the previous promise made by Yilibu. (The first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar) According to the new regulations "trade tax transfer".However, Qiying did not submit the newly agreed customs tariffs along with the concert, but instead stated: Qiying, who used to be an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was well aware of the benefits of making things difficult for the officials. In order to ensure that the customs regulations can be passed smoothly in the Ministry's discussion, he did not hesitate to create the facts before sending the text of the treaty. This actually deprived the Ministry of the right to rebut. .Emperor Daoguang Zhu commented: "What you do is commendable" and "won the body of a minister." On July 22, Pu Dingcha took the lead in announcing the Sino-British "Five-Port Trade Regulations: Customs Regulations" in Hong Kong.Two days later, on the 24th, Qiying uploaded a 40% discount, with the full text of the treaty attached.After receiving it on August 11, Emperor Daoguang ordered the minister of military aircraft to discuss it with the Ministry of household affairs. On August 16, it was approved according to the deliberations of Mu Zhanga and others. On September 7, Qiying received the approval document.But the charter has been implemented for 42 days! In Qiying's July 24 white memorial, there is a piece attached, which says: .And there are still unfinished matters, which must be clarified at the same time, so as not to make excuses in the future.Now discuss with the chief, and still use the customs stamp on the front cover, so as to keep it clear. (The emphasis is marked by the citer) It can be seen that Qiying fully agreed with Pu Dingcha's request for another new covenant, and on the grounds that "there are no more pages to add annotations", he denied the instruction of Emperor Daoguang to "add annotations", and also abandoned his previous "poster theory". "Imagination.In this film, Qiying also stated: That is to say, Qiying is going to sign the treaty first, and then submit the text of the treaty, and it is only for "imperial reading". It took nearly a year from Yilibu's departure from Nanjing to Qiying's signing of the new contract.However, I cannot find in the archives any memorials in which Yi and Qi asked Emperor Daoguang for the specific content of the New Testament.I don't know why Yi and Qi acted so independently and arbitrarily, and I don't know whether their behavior is in line with the rules of the Qing Dynasty.However, it can be said with certainty that Yi and Qi no longer enjoyed the right to "do things cheaply". On October 8, Qiying and Pu Dingcha signed the "Treaty of Five-Port Trade and Adhesion to the Aftermath" in Humen, also known as the Humen Treaty.The previously announced "Five-Port Trade Charter: Customs Tariffs" was also formally established as an annex to the treaty. Twelve days later, on October 20, Qiying submitted the text of the treaty. On November 7, Emperor Daoguang received the treaty and ordered the Minister of Military Aircraft to discuss and reply. On November 15, Emperor Daoguang agreed to "handle as discussed" according to Mu Zhang'a and others' deliberations, but pointed out that the section on Hong Kong's general market "inevitably has the disadvantage of overstepping" and ordered Qiying to "deliberate carefully again." with play".At this time, Qiying had completed the negotiations in Guangdong and was returning to his post as the Governor of Liangjiang in Nanjing. He traveled to Qujiang, Guangdong. After receiving the edict, he hurriedly played a defense.Emperor Daoguang could only let it go. The Celestial Dynasty bewilderedly accepted a new treaty, putting a rope around its own neck. The Sino-British Humen Treaty, that is, the "Treaty of Five-Port Trade Attachment and Rehabilitation Treaty" has 16 items in total, and 3 "Small Ship Regulations" are attached; its annex "Five-Port Trade Regulations: Customs Tariffs" has 15 items in total, and the tax rates for 26 types of goods are formulated. Regulation.Judging from the number of articles and the length of the text, it is several times that of the Nanjing Treaty. Its content mainly focuses on the five-port trade, the abolition of merchants, and the new tax rules.Many of the clauses are indeed in line with the prevailing practice in the West at that time and in the world today.In this sense, Pu Dingcha, Ma Ruhan, and Robert Dan became the teachers of Yilibu, Qiying, and Huang Entong.But these teachers are also liars. While imparting international knowledge, they are also mixed with a whole set of deception techniques.Here, to give an example, what best reflects the characteristics of the treaty is paragraph 6, which states: , are not allowed to cross, in order to live in peace with each other forever.All sailors and people on board are allowed to go ashore after the steward and the magistrate have first signed a prohibition agreement.If there is a British person who violates this prohibition and travels to the mainland without authorization, no matter what his rank is, he will be arrested by the local people. This was written into the treaty at the request of the Qing side.According to international practice, the areas other than Wukou that were not open to the Qing Dynasty were internal affairs and could be determined by domestic law.The British side, who was well aware of this principle, agreed to include this item in the treaty, but made some manipulations: first, the opening scope of the five ports should be "negotiated" by both parties, and the Qing Dynasty had no right to make decisions; It is up to the British side to decide.In particular, the text "Do not beat or hurt without authorization", the nature of the Qing party's request was reversed after negotiation. Based on the Sino-British Humen Treaty and its appendices, we can conclude that the Qing Dynasty lost at least four major rights and interests: Article 10 of the Chinese version of the Nanjing Treaty states: The meaning of this passage is not very clear. It is mainly the phrase "negotiated in a fair manner". Later generations also misunderstood this as the basis for the tariff agreement.actually not.Looking up the English version of the treaty, the text of this paragraph is: Literally translated into modern Chinese, it should be: It can be seen from this that the phrase "negotiate impartially" means that the Qing government should uphold the principle of "fairness" when formulating new tariff regulations.This clause of the Treaty of Nanking was fully in line with Palmerston's instructions.Accordingly, the Qing government only needed to formulate a "fair" tariff code.The right to formulate and announce it belongs entirely to the Qing government. The above-quoted note on the 12 items of negotiation between senior citizens pointed out that the tax rates of the newly opened treaty ports "are in accordance with the regulations of the Guangdong Customs on tax transmission and shall be reviewed and followed by the Ministry of Household Affairs." "Deliberated by the Ministry of Household Affairs" did not violate the Nanjing Treaty, because the Ministry of Household Affairs was originally the functional department in charge of the economy of the Qing Dynasty, not to mention that the Chinese text of the treaty also stipulated that the new tariff regulations should be "issued by the Ministry of Accounting"; but "According to the Guangdong Customs Tax Transfer Regulations" is a violation of the treaty, because both the Chinese and English versions of the treaty clearly stipulate that new regulations must be formulated.This reflects that when Qiying was negotiating with the British side, he didn't even study the Nanjing Treaty that had just been signed seriously, or simply couldn't understand it. Pu Dingcha's proposal to Qiying was not to reject Qiying according to the treaty, or to explain that the Qing government should comply with the treaty, but to induce negotiation.Needless to say, Qiying and others stepped into the trap.During the Guangdong negotiations, Iribu, Qiying, and Huang Entong believed that the tariff negotiations, which took the most time and painstaking effort, were extremely fast and smooth compared with today's Uruguay Round.As a result, after talking and talking, it was discussed that the import of cotton was levied 4 qian per dan, and the export of tea was levied 2.5 liang of silver per tan (both increased than before), so they thought they had a plan and hurriedly reported to Emperor Daoguang.They didn't realize at all that the "Five-Port Trade Charter: Customs Tariffs" they negotiated with the British side included 26 categories of more than 160 kinds of goods with tax rates The British side, who personally drafted the Nanjing Treaty and fully understood the content of the treaty, did not have any scruples when trampling on the treaty for its own benefit.This is not only reflected in the right to formulate, but also in the right to publish, although they used the Nanjing Treaty to clear the party everywhere. As early as before the Opium War, Elliot, the chief supervisor of China's commercial affairs, refused to hand over the British accused of homicide to the Chinese judicial authorities for trial on the grounds that the legal principles of China and Britain were different.The Palmerston Instructions stated that the treaty should include the provision that Britain should set up a court to judge the British independently, but it also instructed that if the Qing government agreed to cede the island, this requirement could not be mentioned in the treaty.Therefore, the Nanjing Treaty does not have any provisions on this. Item 8 of the Senior Citizens Note was cited earlier, giving up the judicial power to the British in vain.The reason is, of course, that the Sino-British judicial dispute has always been a difficult point in the long-term dispute between the two sides, and it is a scourge that may cause disputes.Qiying planned to let the British officials control the British people to avoid disputes, but it turned out to be counterproductive. Consular jurisdiction was one of the main excuses for Western powers to create troubles in the 19th century. In a sense, Qiying's proposals are not all original. 1689 Sino-Russian Nerchinsk Treaty (Latin text Article 2, Manchu text Article 4, Russian text Article 6), 1727 Kyakhta Boundary Treaty (Article 10), 1768 Amended Kyakhta Boundary Treaty Article 10 and the 1792 Kyakta City Convention (Article 5) both stipulate that the citizens of the two countries shall be convicted and punished by their own officials.However, the situation between China and Russia is quite different from that of China and the UK. At that time, the judicial practice between China and Russia was mainly aimed at fugitives, fugitives and criminals who committed crimes across the border. treaty.However, Qiying's approach completely destroyed the reasonable factors in the Sino-Russian treaty.He did not ask for the judicial right to the accused Chinese in Britain and its colonies (such as Hong Kong), but only asked for the Chinese criminals who fled to Hong Kong and the British ships to be handed over to the Qing side for trial, which is completely unequal. Pu Dingcha couldn't help being overjoyed at Qiying's proposal, and he praised Qiying in the reply, "It shows the sincerity of your minister in seeking to avoid disputes."And specifically propose: Therefore, Article 13 of the annex to the Sino-British Humen Treaty, "Five-Port Trade Regulations: Customs Tariffs" stipulates: This places Zaihuaying people completely outside the Chinese legal system and outside the jurisdiction of Chinese justice. The Palmerston Instructions mentioned unilateral most-favored-nation treatment, but also instructed that if the Qing Dynasty agreed to cede the island, this requirement could not be mentioned in the treaty. When Elliot negotiated with Qishan in 1840, he also made a similar request.The signing of the Nanjing Treaty enabled Britain to obtain rights and interests far superior to other countries, so the treaty did not stipulate this. Item 10 of the Negotiation Note quoted earlier stated that the UK is only allowed to open up four new ports of trade in Fuzhou and other countries, and the British side will "explain" to dissuade the request of other countries to go to the four ports.Pudingcha rejected this proposal, stating in his reply: Pu Dingcha responded in this way in accordance with the instructions of his own government. The activities of the United States and France after the signing of the Nanjing Treaty made Qiying see that it was impossible to prevent the United States and France from going to Fuzhou and other four ports for trade, and planned to grant the United States and France equal rights.At this time, his mood was exactly the opposite of what he had been at the beginning. Fearing that the British side would prevent the four from opening up to other countries, he demanded that the phrase "no pity" in Pu Dingcha's photo be clearly stated in the treaty.Therefore, Article 8 of the Sino-British Humen Treaty states: This is actually an announcement in the form of a treaty that Britain will not object to other countries going to the newly opened treaty ports for trade.Although doing so is not in line with international practice, it is not harmful to China. However, just before the signing of the Sino-British treaty, in the text of the treaty sent by the British side, a "proviso" was added after this clause: This in effect raises the requirement of one-sided most-favored-nation treatment.In order for this request to be passed smoothly by the Qing side, the British side did not hesitate to show obedience in the wording of the Chinese text of the treaty, pretending to receive the "sacred grace". Qiying naturally couldn't see through the tricks of the British side.From the perspective of the great emperor of the "Celestial Dynasty", he said that "people from far away in Huairou" should be "treated equally" and "show fairness"; "Frequently asking the emperor for "benevolence" is not appropriate.So, after the British "proviso", he added another "proviso": Looking at the three items of this article from the perspective of international law, it can be concluded that: the first item is unnecessary, the Qing Dynasty can and should not discuss with the United Kingdom when dealing with other countries; Emotion-like words have no precise and consistent interpretation; only the second term is true.The British ruse succeeded.Qiying was fooled again. The third item of the Qiying Negotiation Note quoted above requires British ships not to enter the treaty ports, which is completely justified.However, judging from international practice, this matter does not need to be negotiated, and it can be decided by domestic law. Pu Dingcha, who was extremely cunning, saw the opportunity in the negotiation itself, and said in the reply: The reason for using warships of one's own country to "control" the nationals in other countries is really absurd, but in the view of Qiying, who wholeheartedly hopes that the British officials will "control" the British people, this argument has become a reasonable method.Therefore, Article 10 of the Sino-British Humen Treaty stipulates: As a result, under the guise of "restraining" the diaspora, the treaty ports became wharfs for British ships to come and go freely.Later facts showed that the British ships were not used by their diplomats to "restrain" their own nationals and sailors, but instead became a tool in their hands to exert pressure on the Qing Dynasty at any time.Because of this regulation, in the subsequent Sino-foreign wars, the treaty ports became cities that the Qing Dynasty could not fortify. The above four items are the Sino-British Humen Treaty and its appendices that damage the rights and interests of China. In addition, there are many other details, such as the loss of water diversion rights, the division of customs inspection rights, etc., which will not be detailed here. on. The Sino-British Humen Treaty and its annexes are unequal treaties.The damage it brought to China was no less than that of the Treaty of Nanjing, and in the long run, it was even worse than that of the Treaty of Nanjing.The Nanjing Treaty stipulated that the five-port opening would bring both harm and opportunity. However, under the provisions of involuntary tariffs, consular jurisdiction, one-sided most-favored-nation treatment, and free entry and exit of warships, opening up will be accompanied by too many disasters.But this unequal treaty was concluded after the war between the two countries on an "equal" basis. According to the legal principles of ancient and modern China and foreign countries, the definition of fraud should be to take advantage of the other party's ignorance of certain knowledge or one's own rights and interests to encroach on their interests, and the behavior of the British side is no different from fraud.Emperor Daoguang's "additional note" decree and Qiying's negotiation note showed their ignorance, which became a great opportunity for Pu Dingcha to use his deception. However, the criticism and review we do today has left the atmosphere of the "Heavenly Dynasty", and there is a historical gap with the people and parties involved at that time.Qiying, Yilibu, and Huang Entong who negotiated and signed the treaty, the Minister of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Household Affairs and other officials who reviewed and reviewed the treaty, and Emperor Daoguang who finally ratified the treaty, were not aware of the rights and interests transferred by themselves.The traditional concept of "Heavenly Dynasty" blocked their vision, and the lack of modern international knowledge made them unable to recognize the real national and national interests. Because of this, shortly after the Sino-British Humen Treaty was signed, Qiying and Huang Entong summoned the American consul Paul S. Forbes and the French consul Benoit Ulysse Ratti-Menton to "declare the emperor's favor" and allow Businessmen from the United States and France went to the newly opened port for trade, "all the regulations are handled according to the rules of England"! However, the matter did not stop there.