Chapter 36 Postscript of the new edition

This is a book written more than 20 years ago, and it has been published for nearly 20 years.As an academic work, the first two editions have been printed 17 times, and the readers' welcome makes me feel warm—no matter how the world changes, academics have their meaning and value after all. In this new edition, historical materials have been rechecked, a few errors have been corrected, and most importantly, the style of notes has been changed, from the original post-chapter notes to page-by-page notes, for the convenience of readers.I also often hear readers complain about the post-chapter notes, saying that it is inconvenient to look back and forth when reading.All of this work is done with the help of my students.As for the text in the book, it has basically remained unchanged. This is because my research interest has shifted to the Reform Movement of 1898 in the past ten years or so. On the other hand, my basic views on the Opium War remain unchanged.