On Tuesday, April 7th, 1840, an ordinary day in the spring of London, England, an unusually fierce debate had just begun in the House of Commons. More than 400 members of the House of Commons were present and joined the debate, which lasted for three days. However, what caused them to fiercely debate was not the bills and policies of Britain, but the decisions related to the national development of another country thousands of miles away. The focus of the debate was only one, whether the British government should use opium as a pretext to launch a war against distant China. Among the members, Thomas Staunton, who was later hailed as the father of British Sinology, was highly regarded. He vigorously advocated for war to replace diplomatic negotiations with China. This proposition comes from its extensive understanding and firsthand experience of the situation in China over the past few decades. At the age of twelve, Staunton accompanied the British envoy Macartney on a mission to China. As the youngest and only member of the mission who could speak Chinese, he was favored by Emperor Qianlong and received a purse personally gifted by the emperor. Macartney’s mission was the beginning of Staunton’s interest in China, and for both China and Britain, it was an extremely far-reaching and important event. It was the first formal contact between China, the chief representative of the East, and Britain, the emerging representative of the West, the two most influential powers in the world at that time. It was also a turning point for countless Europeans who had once dreamed of China to change their impression of this ancient Eastern country. This used to be the Zhanbo Jingcheng Hall of a summer resort. On September 24, 1793, Emperor Qianlong celebrated his eighty-third birthday here and received a delegation led by the British envoy, Magalny. Magalny’s visit to China was to celebrate Emperor Qianlong’s birthday, but according to the instructions of State Secretary Dundas, his true mission on this trip was to enhance communication with China, in order to sell products from his Indian territory in China. The British were well prepared for this, bringing over 600 boxes of gifts alone, including the most exquisite celestial globe in Europe, a globe marked with the land, capital, and navigation routes of various countries, and equipped with the most exquisite celestial globe. The model of the monarch, the largest battleship in Britain with 110 artillery pieces, as well as weapons such as howitzers, they are confident that these gifts representing advanced European technology will definitely leave a deep impression on the Chinese people, The emperor was dazzled, and the entire delegation was full of confidence in completing their mission, especially Magalny, a renowned nobleman who had served as the ambassador to Russia with rich diplomatic experience. As the fleet approached its destination after a year of arduous journey, he gazed at the sunny coastline and sighed – I felt hope, but what was waiting for these hopeful visitors ahead? Yu Hongliang: What Ma Galni couldn’t accept was that he had to kneel three times and kowtow nine times to Emperor Qianlong, and he only agreed to kneel on one knee or kiss his hand. Officials from both China and Britain were deadlocked on this issue. Behind this etiquette, there was an insurmountable gap in understanding between the two sides. Britain attempted to open up the Chinese market through trade, while China treated envoy visits as tribute and tribute. When Ma Galni was finally allowed to meet Emperor Qianlong, he was disappointed to find that their carefully selected gifts were nothing more than ingenious skills in the eyes of the Qing Emperor. Their requests for the establishment of trade ports and fixed tariffs were firmly rejected. Emperor Qianlong boldly declared in his imperial edict to the British king that the Chinese Empire had abundant resources and all kinds of goods, which were not originally from foreign countries. Despite his frustration, Ma Galni still made various efforts, such as inviting Minister Fu Kang’an to watch the British Guard practice new European firearms. He thought that this beloved general would be very interested in this and perhaps could help him. A few beautiful words were spoken, but Fu Kang’an coldly replied, “It’s okay to watch, it’s okay not to watch.”, The attempt to open up the Chinese market through diplomacy ultimately ended in complete failure. Under the repeated urging of the Qing court, exhausted Magartney returned by boat, but he did not return empty handed. Before leaving China, the mission spent more than three months traveling south from Beijing, observing the situation in mainland China along the way, and re examining the seemingly powerful ancient empire with military facilities and land and water transportation in various places. Ma Galni, with his keen eyesight, wrote in his diary his judgment that the Qing Dynasty was nothing more than a giant with mud feet. With just a gentle touch, he could knock him to the ground. He proudly wrote that the Qing government’s policies were related to arrogance, and he wanted to surpass other countries, but his eyes were like beans. He only knew how to prevent people’s intellectual progress. As we advanced in the fields of art and science every day, they were actually becoming semi barbarians. Ma Galni objectively explained the Qing government’s international perspective at that time and the mentality he held in handling foreign relations. Yu Hongliang: The Qing Dynasty, with a nomadic ethnic group as its main characteristic, established a vast empire by occupying the Central Plains and replacing the Ming Dynasty. In shaping its political and cultural process, it mainly learned from the Ming Dynasty and the Confucian culture of national governance. This also led to its acceptance of the traditional Chinese dynasty’s belief that China was the center of the world. This cultural superiority made it difficult for the Qing Dynasty to treat Western powers with an equal attitude in its early interactions, resulting in significant differences in their status and understanding of relationships. In the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign, 1757 AD, a decree was passed from the capital to various coastal provinces. The Qing Dynasty began to implement a thorough policy of isolationism, with the exception of Guangzhou, all other ports ceased foreign trade. This decree was later considered the root cause of China’s backwardness in modern times. The direct reason for issuing isolationism measures was the fear that Western merchant ships would move northward and foreigners would penetrate the mainland, which would support the anti Qing sentiment already existing in coastal areas, collude internally and externally, and threaten the rule of the Qing government. The direct consequence of isolationism was China’s isolation from the world. The Qing court and literati were complacent about the power of the empire, closed their eyes, and knew nothing about the changes in the world situation. In 1784, Emperor Qianlong ordered the compilation of the second Qing Dynasty book, “The Unification of the Qing Dynasty,” which basically followed the description of Europe from Western missionaries in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. They believed that the major European powers were Spain, France, Italy, etc., without mentioning the name of Britain. In that year, the British inventor Watt had obtained his fourth patent for improving the steam engine process. Adam Smith praised the masterpiece of free trade – “The Wealth of Nations” – which had been published in Britain for eighteen years and had been sold countless times. The sky over England resounded with the roar of machines and the fresh scent of a new era. In 1764, Hargreaves, a weaver, invented the Jenny spinning machine that could spin cotton into multiple threads in one go. In 1774, a steam engine greatly improved by Watt was put into production. In 1819, Stevenson invented the Voyager steam locomotive, which was called a train because its chimney kept burning as it advanced. Various new inventions emerged, and Britain led the world into the Industrial Revolution. In the rolling wave of this revolution, it rose from an agricultural island country to an industrial powerhouse. By 1820, Britain’s industrial production had accounted for half of the world’s total production. Ma Yong: From a global historical perspective, before the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the world was dominated by Spain and the Netherlands. However, the reason for Britain’s rise was the Industrial Revolution, with the discovery of new production capacity steam engines. After the discovery, domestic production capacity quickly saturated, and the European market also saturated. Therefore, he faced the process of output capacity. We should note that in the 16th century, humanity faced another major turning point. The discovery of navigation and the application of the compass brought the distance between the East and the West closer, and China was a huge market that was known to the West for a long time. In this way, China became an area that had not been industrialized and developed, of course, became a British capital. The first choice for home. If the shirt hems of 400 million Chinese people were lengthened by an inch, our factory could be busy for decades. Just open this barrier. The factory owners in Manchester have wishful thinking, with vast land, rich products and countless people. In the eyes of British businessmen, there is no more exciting country than China. In addition, there are also fascinating tea produced here. Tea was first transported from China to Europe by the Dutch. When this fragrant green leaf came to Britain, he soon attracted the British people, and even changed their dependence on alcohol and daily life habits. In the early 17th century, an English breakfast It is mainly composed of cold meat, fish and beer. After the popularity of tea, bread, toast and a cup of tea became the most common combination, The British government charges a tariff of up to 100% on tea imports, making it an important source of government finance. They exchange British machine products for Chinese tea. The British are calculating this, but what troubles them is that the Chinese don’t want anything. Ma Yong: Because before the arrival of the West, the structure of classical Chinese society was that of scholars, peasants, and merchants. These four classes made this society very stable, but what are the prerequisites for social stability? Workers and farmers are very stable, but their stability means they do not have more consumption ability. In the trade between China and the West, China exports primary agricultural products, while Britain imports its industrial products. In this state, China cannot accept Western industrial products. Therefore, the key to solving the trade surplus in China at that time was only to improve the consumption ability of these two classes, cultivate their consumption habits, and more importantly, stimulate their impulse to consume. Without ability, habit, and impulse, of course, society cannot accept more industrial products. China is like a black hole absorbing silver. From 1701 to 1759, Britain imported as much as 26 million pounds from China, while exporting only 9 million pounds to China. The British East India Company’s merchant ships to China often carried very little cargo, as well as 90% or even up to 98% of gold and silver. By the end of the 18th century, they had found it increasingly difficult to gather enough money to transport them to Guangzhou in exchange for tea. In Sino British trade, China had a serious surplus, which angered the British. The Chinese not only did not intend to reciprocate their love for tea, but also did not welcome their arrival at all. This is the 13th Route of Guangzhou, which is now the 13th Route of Guangzhou. It is a famous clothing wholesale market in China, and it is said that one-fifth of China’s clothing is wholesale from here. At 5 o’clock in the morning, The flow of people on the streets is already bustling, and the cries of vendors are everywhere. This bustling scene is no less than two hundred years ago. During the period of seclusion and seclusion, the Qing government authorized a group of commercial firms in Guangzhou, the only port open to the outside world, to be responsible for all transactions with foreigners. This was the Thirteen Factories. A bamboo poem from the Qing Dynasty described the glory of the Thirteen Factories at that time, with foreign ships competing for official and commercial status. The cross doors opened to the two foreign countries, and the five silk and eight silk fabrics were fine, with silver coins piled up all over the Thirteen Factories. Yu Hongliang: Foreign merchants cannot freely interact with Chinese merchants, and can only sell goods to merchants in the Thirteen Factories. They can only purchase the goods they need through merchants. In addition to doing business, merchants sometimes also serve as informal and diplomatic officials, responsible for informing foreigners of the rules of China. According to regulations, foreign merchants cannot directly contact Chinese officials. On the surface, these officials disdain to interact with barbarians, but in reality, they firmly control the richest gifts and kickbacks in Sino foreign trade through agents at all levels. The riverside building on the Thirteen Rows Scroll is the Yuehai Guan Pancha Yamen, with a flag hanging high on the flagpole bearing the imperial order for Yuehai Guan Pancha. The gateposts at the entrance of the Yamen respectively hang signs prohibiting smuggling and investigation. In 1689 AD, the first British East India Company merchant ship arrived in Guangzhou and was required to pay nearly 2500 taels of management fees. After bargaining, this fee was discounted by 50% and reduced to 1200 taels, with the condition of paying a thank-you fee of 300 taels to the Yuehai Guan supervisor. Yu Hongliang: Whether it is the British government, the East India Company, or businessmen engaged in dialogue trade, they find it difficult to tolerate this situation. They have decided to use all means to break this deadlock by exploiting the management loopholes of the Qing government when official negotiations are temporarily ineffective. If the Chinese people have no demand, then create one for them. Poppy is a beautiful herbaceous plant, first born in Greece and introduced to China by Arabs in the 7th century AD. Before the Ming Dynasty, it was only used as a medicine. The juice from the fruit of poppy flowers can be boiled to make a drug – opium. In the late Ming Dynasty, the method of boiling opium for smoking was introduced to China from abroad. The Qing emperors have been wary of this foreign thing for a long time. In 1729 AD, Emperor Yongzheng issued the first imperial decree of the Qing Dynasty to prohibit the trafficking and consumption of opium. In 1796 AD, his grandson Emperor Jiaqing, on the same year as he ascended the throne, Has the ban on opium imports been effective? In response, the British East India Company, which monopolized the cultivation and export of opium in India, decided not to directly sell this commodity to China. Its approach was to force Indian farmers to grow opium, increase production, set up processing plants, carefully study how to make the produced opium more in line with the taste of the Chinese people, and then issue licenses to a certain number of British retail merchants, wholesale opium to them, and smuggle it to Guangzhou. Ma Yong: So in this process, Britain abolished the monopoly power of the East India Company in trade with China, and all British merchants were able to do it. Everyone was running around profits, which was also one of the most important reasons for the proliferation of opium in the short period of time. Every October when the southeast monsoon was about to end and the northwest monsoon was about to start the following year, countless merchant ships filled with opium were like crucian carp crossing the river, gathering in the ocean near Guangzhou. This was a grand trade fair for opium merchants, centered around Guangzhou, from the southeast coast to the northwest inland. Boxes of opium were transported into the cabins and drove straight into the entire China, just like countless British merchants. People fall in love with drinking tea produced in China, millions of Chinese people have developed the habit of smoking opium made in Britain, landlords, merchants, soldiers, and officials, Even monks, Taoists, prostitutes, and beggars picked up slender smoking guns. There were many smoking dens in Guangdong and Fujian, much like British pubs. The British no longer worried about not having enough money to buy tea, and the trade balance continued to tilt towards the side that was not conducive to China. Between 1800 and 1839, a total of 600 million taels of silver were smuggled out due to opium smuggling, with an average annual loss of 15 million taels of silver. In 1821, when Emperor Daoguang ascended the throne, there were only 20 million taels of silver in the Qing treasury. The result of a large outflow of silver was a rise in silver prices and domestic economic turmoil, which not only affected society, but also had an impact on society. Due to economic factors, opium also threatened the rule of the Qing government. In the twelfth year of the Daoguang reign, 1832 AD, the Yao people in Lianzhou, Guangdong Province launched an uprising, and the Governor General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Li Hongbin, led troops to suppress it, resulting in heavy casualties, The Minister of Revenue, Xi’en, was ordered to come and assist, and returned to report to the court. Li Hongbin’s ineffective suppression of bandits was due to the fact that Guangdong soldiers ate too much opium and were not tolerant of mountain dangers. Emperor Daoguang was enraged and engaged in a prolonged debate among Qing officials around the increasingly rampant opium. In May 1836, Xu Naiji, the young minister of Taichang Temple, submitted a report, stating that the smoking ban was ineffective and had become an excuse for officials to take bribes. Although there were many smokers, they were mostly insignificant civilians. He proposed to lift the ban on opium and suggested legalizing the opium trade, with the government imposing taxes on it, exchanging goods for prohibition, and prohibiting its use. The silver trade allows the cultivation of opium poppies in the mainland to offset the import quantity, and the view of lifting the ban ignores the harm of opium trade to the national system and people. In essence, it is to evade the responsibility of smoking bans, In order to protect the interests of some Guangdong officials and merchant groups who had long obtained bribes from it, in June 1838, Huang Jizi, the minister of Honglu Temple, submitted a petition to strictly control the leakage of danger in order to cultivate the foundation of the country. He proposed to severely punish those who smoked opium, and if they could not quit smoking within a year, it would be considered a capital crime. The court was shocked by this, and there were a large number of memorials supporting the prohibition. One of the memorials deeply touched Emperor Daoguang, who was Lin Zexu, the Governor General of Hubei and Guangxi. In the midst of the compromise, Lin Zexu sternly warned that if opium could not be eradicated, China would have no soldiers who could resist the enemy in decades, and the national treasury would not have enough silver to serve as military pay. In the end, Emperor Daoguang made up his mind to implement a smoking ban. There was another matter. In October 1838, the Lingguan Temple outside Dongzhimen was celebrating the birthday of the abbot, Guangzhen nun. An imperial censor reported that Guangzhen had often recruited prostitutes, sang songs and gambled in the temple, and seduced officials to have fun. The officials and soldiers rushed to investigate and even caught Prince Zhuang and Duke Fuguo smoking opium here. This incident was fabricated by the good actors at the time. The song known as Lingguan Temple was widely sung, and the harm of opium had spread to the royal family. In a fit of anger, Emperor Daoguang quickly dismissed Prince Zhuang and Duke Fuguo, demoted Xu Naiji who proposed to lift the ban, and allowed Lin Zexu, who supported the ban, to enter the capital, The grand anti smoking movement began on this day. On January 8, 1839, at the Opium War Memorial Hall, Lin Zexu, the imperial envoy, burned incense and paid nine respects. He left the Changyi Gate from Zhengyang Gate and headed south from Beijing. On March 10, he arrived in Guangzhou and stayed at the Yuehua Academy. On March 10 and 8, he gathered thirteen merchants in the academy, ordering them to persuade foreign merchants to surrender all opium within three days, issue a guarantee that they would never carry, and declared to opium merchants who held a wait-and-see attitude that opium was not eradicated for a day, and this minister did not return for a day. Foreign merchants who refused to cooperate were placed under house arrest by Lin Zexu in the Guangzhou Commercial Hall. In response to Lin Zexu’s measures, British Business Commissioner Charles Yilu, who has been opposing British opium smuggling in China, has made a series of responses, Played an important role in the future war under the guise of opium. Ma Yong: Yilu was appointed by the British government as the business representative for Greater China and the trade representative for China. Therefore, British merchants must accept his jurisdiction. However, British merchants also face the challenge of China. Currently, Lin Zexu requires all merchants to hand over opium. If merchants hand over opium to China, it is of course a purely commercial trade event and does not constitute a national relationship. In the Opium War, Yilu did play a decisive role because he became the only representative of Britain in China. Therefore, his judgment determines the position of the British government. Therefore, condemning Yilu and condemning British aggressors at this time is 100% legitimate. In May 1839, Lin Zexu had confiscated more than 40000 cigarettes and more than 20000 boxes of opium. Emperor Daoguang ordered the opium to be destroyed on the spot, and Humen destructed opium sales hit opium smuggling hard. However, neither Lin Zexu nor Emperor Daoguang predicted the response of the British government, nor did they prepare enough for it. Some foreigners commented that the Chinese had fallen into the trap of making them face the Queen directly. When the British government learned about the smoking ban in Guangzhou, Foreign Minister Bamezun became furious and spoke arrogantly. The only effective way to deal with China was to go first, and then explain. On October 1, 1839, the British Under the leadership of Bamezun, the cabinet decided to send a fleet to China. The opposition Tory Party submitted an impeachment proposal to the Parliament on this resolution. After three days of debate, At the beginning of the voting, 271 votes to 262 votes, and finally the British House of Commons passed the resolution of the war against China by a narrow margin of nine votes. British warships eliminated the objections they encountered in China, and gathered in the sea of Guangdong. A war to open the prelude to the modern history of China was imminent. Lin Zexu, who expected that Britain would not give up in Guangzhou, had mobilized Qing sailors, hired civilian ships, consolidated the Humen Fort with foreign guns, and made various preparations for the battle. But to Lin Zexu’s surprise, the British fleet only blocked the mouth of the the Pearl River, did not attack, but turned north. Lin Zexu did not Knowing that the blockade of the the Pearl River Estuary was only the first step of the British military strategy, on July 2, 1840, a British fleet appeared ghostly on the sea between the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang Province, The Zhoushan Islands are located on the south side of the mouth of the Yangtze River in China, on the eastern sea surface at the outer edge of Hangzhou Bay. Therefore, their unique geographical location and natural deep-water port conditions play an important strategic role in trade and military affairs. Seeing the sudden appearance of the British fleet in front of them, Yao Huaixiang, the magistrate of Dinghai County, was extremely surprised. He had never seen such a large number of warships before, and he had already felt the seriousness of the situation in his heart. On July 5, 1840, it was a very ordinary day for Emperor Daoguang. After paying respects to the Empress Dowager, he processed several daily memorials. It was at 2:30 pm on that day that the British fleet sounded. The first gun to attack Dinghai, the Qing Dynasty soldiers stationed in Dinghai, had never seen such fierce artillery fire before. It took nine minutes, only nine minutes, The British army destroyed all the warships and shore guns of the Qing army. That night, the British army attacked the county town of Dinghai. On the one hand, it was a defeat with no fighting power, and on the other hand, it was the responsibility of defending the land as the father and mother of Dinghai. County magistrate Yao Huaixiang ultimately chose to throw himself into the water and lost Dinghai. Researcher Xu Ping from the Logistics College of the People’s Liberation Army: At that time, the British naval artillery only took nine minutes to completely destroy all the coastal defense facilities of the Qing army. This reflects the huge gap in weapons and equipment between the Chinese and British armies at that time. At that time, the Qing Dynasty’s cannons had relatively rough barrels due to casting, while the British army, after the Industrial Revolution, used advanced technology to produce barrels that were obviously more uniform, symmetrical, and smooth than the cast barrels. These characteristics improved the accuracy of the artillery. It was precisely because of these technological differences that British warships were able to violently and accurately destroy all the Qing army’s shore artillery beyond the range of the Qing army’s shore guns. Defense facilities. After occupying Dinghai, the British army continued to move north and on August 11th, arrived at the Baihekou area near Tianjin, approaching the capital. The third strategic goal of the British army was to move north and reach Beijing, using force to intimidate the Qing government. This time, they achieved their goal again. The British warship Chen invaded the Baihekou area of Tianjin, shaking the Taihe Palace in the imperial city of Beijing. The court’s intention was to resolve the conflict between China and foreign countries in the distant Guangzhou and not allow them to threaten Beijing. The result directly led to Lin Zexu’s dismissal and investigation. The then Governor General of Zhili, Qi Shan, took over the front line of history on behalf of the government and received a letter from Ba Maizun. In the Baihekou area, Lin Zexu was dismissed from his position and investigated. After witnessing British gunboats with his own eyes, Qishan was deeply shocked and reported to the emperor that British steamships could fly both upstream and downstream. However, the cannons used by China were still something left behind from the previous name, Being unable to confront is not a good strategy. He urged the British army to solve the problem as long as they headed south to Guangzhou. On September 15th, as the British army headed south, Qi Shan resolved a crisis near the feet of the emperor with an empty check. Yu Hongliang: In Guangzhou, Qi Shan became even more determined in his judgment that the Qing army would be defeated by the British army. He negotiated with Yilu over the ceasefire conditions for over a month until January 7, 1841, when the British army captured the Sha Jiao and Da Jiao forts at the entrance of the Tiger Gate, he was forced to draft a draft treaty that included ceding Hong Kong Island, compensating six million yuan in foreign silver, and restoring trade in Guangzhou. This draft treaty, which was drafted after many twists and turns, did not end the war. Its only effect was to cause both Qishan and Yilv to lose their official positions. Emperor Daoguang angrily criticized Qishan for being good at self cutting and giving up territory, believing that the Qing army he reported was weak in armament, weak in strength, and weak in public sentiment. He dismissed Qishan from his position and stole his family. Similarly, Ba Maizun, who was far away in London, was furious, believing that the price of Yilv was extremely low and negotiations were unnecessary. He only needed to speak with cannons against China. The British government dismissed Yilv’s position by disdaining the training order, and a new full authority representative stationed in China was appointed. Pudingcha sent troops to China, while Emperor Daoguang sent his nephew Yishan as the Jingni General and Imperial Envoy to lead the army in suppressing the British army. After Yishan arrived in Guangzhou, he continuously issued orders to urge Emperor Daoguang, who was losing patience in the war situation, to launch an attack, On May 21, 1841, the Qing army launched an attack on British ships. The battle ended with Yishan pleading for peace with the British army and ultimately paying Yilu a redemption fee of six million yuan. In August 1841, Pu Dingcha arrived in Macau and, according to the order of Ba Maizun, the main force of the British army bypassed Guangzhou and headed north. On October 1st, Dinghai was lost, on October 10th, Zhenhai was lost, and on October 13th, Ningbo was lost. The southeast coast was in urgent need, and the British army was unstoppable all the way. Is it because the Qing soldiers were timid and cowardly in battle? In the second Battle of Dinghai on October 1, 1841, General Ge Yunfei of Dinghai, along with General Wang Xipeng of Shouchun, Anhui, and General Zheng Guohong of Chuzhou, Zhejiang, led more than 5000 soldiers in a bloody battle until the barrel and barrel of the gun could no longer be fired. They died heroically for their country. Such stories are not uncommon in this war, however, no matter how bravely these Qing soldiers resisted, they still suffered repeated defeats. Xu Ping: The military failure of the Qing Dynasty in the First Opium War fully reflected the huge gap in military strength between China and Britain at that time. This gap was not only reflected in weapons and equipment, military technology, but also in military theory and strategic tactics. Britain accumulated a series of modern warfare experiences, such as sea battles, island battles, landing wars, fortress battles, etc., in the two to three hundred years of maritime hegemony and colonial expansion wars with European powers. These experiences were very unfamiliar to the closed door and conservative Qing Dynasty. For example, in this war, the British army fought multiple times in Humen, Dinghai, Zhenhai, and other places. In the landing operations, they all used frontal bombardment, while outside the sight of the Qing army, they adopted a flanking strategy and successfully achieved victories time and time again, On August 29, 1842, the British flagship Kanghuali arrived on the surface of the Nanjing River. Imperial envoys Qi Ying and Pu Dingcha signed the “Treaty of Nanjing” on board the warship. On September 15, Emperor Daoguang painfully approved these humiliating treaties. On December 28, Queen Victoria approved the treaty. The “Treaty of Nanjing” had a total of thirteen articles, mainly including compensation of 21 million silver dollars, abolishing the public monopoly system in Guangzhou, opening up the five ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, ceding Hong Kong Island, and determining tariffs. In the subsequent signing of the “Tiger Gate Treaty” between China and Britain, it was added that Britain enjoyed one-sided most favorable treatment. National treatment, extraterritoriality enjoyed by the British, and a series of other contents. In 1844, after the failure of the Opium War between the United States and France, the Qing government faced difficulties and fear, The Qing court was forced to sign the Wangxia Treaty and Huangpu Treaty successively, which were constantly revised and expanded in the future. China entered the era of unequal treaties from the era of the Heavenly Kingdom, and was gradually dragged into the international order dominated by Western powers, falling into the abyss of colonialism. Yu Hongliang: The launch of the Opium War and the signing of a series of unequal treaties brought unexpected huge benefits to Britain, mainly reflected in huge reparations, advantageous trade, occupation of land, judicial privileges, and other aspects. Therefore, after returning to the country, Britain Pudingcha excitedly announced that I have opened up a new world for you. For the Qing government, what is even more severe is that through war and negotiation, the foreign powers recognized the essence of the Qing government’s external strength but internal strength. The huge benefits obtained by countries such as Britain and the United States stimulated the influx of Western powers. At this time, the Qing government was facing a situation of wolves and danger. The defeat did not prompt the Qing government to recognize its backwardness. In 1845, Russia gave back various astronomical and geographical instruments, as well as over 800 modern science and technology books, as a gift of the original Tripitaka. After receiving these books, the Imperial Academy only translated the titles and put them on the shelf. Thirteen years later, in 1858, the first Chinese diplomat stationed abroad, Guo Songtao, came to Beijing to serve. Seeing these books, he was greatly moved and believed that if translated earlier, it would definitely play a role in defending the sea. It was also in this year that Marx, who was far away in Germany, wrote a paragraph in his notebook that a population almost accounted for one-third of humanity. One of the great empires, disregarding the current situation and being content with the status quo, believed that the earth was isolated from the world, and thus made every effort to deceive themselves with the illusion of perfect heaven, Such an empire is destined to be ultimately defeated in a desperate battle. 90 seconds: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Guangzhou, the largest and oldest trading port to Wantong in southern China, returned to Guangzhou City in 1843 and took the second round exam for the fourth time. At that time, a feeling of unease was spreading in Guangzhou City. Due to the defeat of the Opium War, the Qing government was forced to sign the Nanjing Treaty with Britain. Later, the British drove merchant ships and warships to the bank of the the Pearl River. In this turbulent atmosphere, Hong Xiuquan completed the fourth imperial examination in his life. This time, he still failed to pass the exam. Compared with the last time, Hong Xiuquan was slightly calm, and he just I threw all the scriptures on the ground and swore that I would never take part in the imperial examination of the Qing Dynasty again. I would like to take the Corporal of Heaven as my own, This is an angry statement made by Hong Xiuquan amidst his repeated despair and anger. Perhaps he himself did not expect that this angry statement would become a reality after more than a decade.
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