Qianlong's+Edicts+on+the+Visit+of+Lord+Macartney

T W O E D I C T S F R O M T H E Q I A N L O N G E M P E R O R, O N T H E O C C A S I O N O F L O R D M A C A R T N E Y ’ S M I S S I O N T O C H I N A , S E P T E M B E R, 1 7 9 3 In the later half of the eighteenth century, the British East India Company sought to expand their trade with China, but the British traders soon found that they had little to offer the Chinese other than silver — and opium. Furthermore, the Qing emperors stipulated that the British trade only with a limited number of licensed merchants, did not allow the British to communicate directly with Qing officials, and limited the trade to the adjacent ports of Macao and Guangzhou (Canton). Furthermore, the taxes and fees charged by Qing officials in the port of Guangzhou were not to the liking of the British. The British East India Company continued to come to China because the tea trade was — despite the terms of trade — quite profitable. Nonetheless, the British East India Company was not satisfied with the terms of trade. Accordingly, with the cooperation of the British Crown, Lord Macartney (George Macartney, 1737-1806) was commissioned to go to the court of the Qianlong emperor (1711-1799; r. 1736-1796) as representative from George III of England (1738-1820). Lord Macartney was received with great ceremony by the Qing officials and by the elderly Qianlong emperor himself. Lord Macartney thus was able to communicate King George’s wishes to the Emperor: namely, that Britain desired a convenient offshore island as a permanent trading post, more ports opened to trade, and diplomatic representation in Beijing. __The documents below communicate the Qianlong emperor’s responses to these and related requests__. Document Excerpts with Questions (Longer selection follows this section) From Changing China: Readings in the History of China from the Opium War to the Present, by J. Mason Gentzler (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1977) ©1977 Praeger Publishers. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Excerpts from Two Edicts from the Qianlong Emperor,
 * Introduction**

You, O King, live beyond the confines of many seas, nevertheless, impelled by your humble desire to partake of the benefits of our civilization, you have dispatched a mission respectfully bearing your memorial. Your Envoy has crossed the seas and paid his respects at my Court on the anniversary of my birthday. To show your devotion, you have also sent offerings of your country’s produce. … As to your entreaty to send one of your nationals to be accredited to my Celestial Court and to be in control of your country’s trade with China, this request is contrary to all usage of my dynasty and cannot possibly be entertained. … You, O King from afar, have yearned after the blessings of our civilization, and in your eagerness to come into touch with our converting influence have sent an Embassy across the sea bearing a memorial. I have already taken note of your respectful spirit of submission, have treated your mission with extreme favour and loaded it with gifts, besides issuing a mandate to you, O King, and honouring you with the bestowal of valuable presents. Thus has my indulgence been manifested. … Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country’s barbarian merchants, have carried on their trade with Our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for many years, although Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce. But as the tea, silk, and porcelain which the Celestial Empire produces are absolute necessities to European nations and to yourselves, we have permitted, as a signal mark of favour, that foreign hongs1 should be established at Canton, so that your wants might be supplied and your country thus participate in our beneficence. But your Ambassador has now put forward new requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne’s principle to “treat strangers from afar with indulgence,” and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the world over. … Your Ambassador requests facilities for ships of your nation to call at Ningpo, Chusan, Tientsin and other places for purposes of trade. Until now trade with European nations has always been conducted at Macao, where the foreign hongs are established to store and sell foreign merchandise. Your nation has obediently complied with this regulation for years past without raising any objection. In none of the other ports named have hongs been established, so that even if your vessels were to proceed thither, they would have no means of disposing of their cargoes. Furthermore, no interpreters are available, so you would have no means of explaining your wants, and nothing but general inconvenience would result. For the future, as in the past, I decree that your request is refused and that the trade shall be limited to Macao. Questions: 1. Into what Chinese institutional framework is the Qianlong emperor forcing relations with the British? How does this compare with the British assumptions about how relations between different countries should be carried out? 2. Think in terms of the Qianlong emperor’s point of view: Why should the positions laid forth here seem reasonable to him? 3. Can you think of any reasons that the Qianlong emperor could have reasonably known at the time (i.e., not things you know in hindsight) that should have inclined him to accept some or all of the British requests? If so, what might the arguments against those reasons be?
 * On The Occasion of Lord Macartney’s Mission To China, September 1793**