A modern history of China, the theme of which is the history of opposing reform and opening up and struggling with the progressive trend of the world. For decades, the historical knowledge that textbooks have instilled in us is actually a bunch of distorted materials, plus many lies. In fact, Mr. Marx has long summed up the essence of China's modern history: "A great empire, which accounts for almost one third of the human population, ignored the status quo, was content with the status quo, and was artificially isolated from the world, so it tried its best to deceive itself with the illusion that China was perfect. Such an empire is doomed to be defeated in a desperate duel; In this duel, the representatives of the stale world are motivated by morality, while the representatives of the most modern society try to get the privilege of buying cheaply and selling expensive-this is really a strange couplet elegy that any poet can't even think about. " "British artillery destroyed the authority of the emperor and forced the Chinese empire to contact the world on the ground. Complete isolation from the outside world was once the primary condition for the preservation of old China, and when this isolation was broken by violence in Britain, it would inevitably disintegrate, just like a mummy carefully preserved in a tightly closed coffin would inevitably disintegrate when exposed to fresh air. " What is old China? He defined it as "barbaric, closed-door and isolated from the civilized world". Mr. Marx did not express any sympathy for the Qing court. On the contrary, from the above words, it is not difficult to understand his contempt for that China. I imagine that if Mr. Marx is in power, he will be more determined to completely destroy the Qing Dynasty, instead of being as merciful as the British bourgeois regime.

The problem is that if we can't understand our history correctly, we will never find our future. For example, was China's poverty and weakness in modern times caused by its own hardships or by the invasion of foreign powers? The guidance of textbooks is the latter. In fact, it is a very useless sophistry of Confucian culture to blame China's poverty and weakness on the invasion of foreign powers. Poverty and weakness in China are caused by decadent system and culture. On the contrary, the invasion of foreign powers brought China a strong and progressive opportunity, which was rejected by China people themselves. After the Opium War, although the West realized the industrial revolution, from a technical point of view, they only entered the stage of scientific confirmation and guidance of industrial development from a skilled era and accumulated experience. The modern iron and steel industry has just begun; The chemical industry is almost zero; Railway construction has initially entered the stage of large-scale development; Motorized boats have not completely replaced sailboats. If China can catch up and directly use the advanced methods explored by the West, it may not fall behind. That's what Japan, which was much poorer than China at that time, did. 1860, Japanese envoys went to the United States on American warships in exchange for unequal trade treaties between Japan and the United States. The Japanese who just learned to sail bought 250 tons of "salty pills" from the Netherlands, completing the first voyage of Japanese self-driving boats across the Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, China doesn't even have the courage to sail by boat. It was not until 1876 that Guo Songtao went to England and became the first ambassador of China to go abroad by boat. When he came back from his hometown in Hunan, he was reviled by the villagers: a foreign slave who dared to go abroad! Even the official boat he took home was burned by patriotic villagers. After the signing of treaty of nanking, the whole country fell asleep again, and the Chart drawn by Wei Yuan with the support of Lin Zexu was neglected in China. It spread to Japan, but it was very popular. Since the emperor, dignitaries have been proud to read this book, and the first edition is in short supply. A British officer in the allied forces of Britain and France took part in the Opium War. He found it incredible that the weapons, training and tactics of the Qing army have not changed in the past 20 years. The same is Guo Songtao. When he was in Hong Kong, he was stunned by the earth-shaking changes and prosperity there. Looking back at Guangzhou, the old appearance remains the same for more than 30 years. Hong Kong residents have basically moved here from Guangdong, which has been more than 30 years and has just changed the system. Guo Songtao can only sigh and hush. American missionary Abili wrote: "China, China, we are finally in this empire, this dark region, this dead empire, when will your silent night end!"

Scholars have been criticizing unequal treaties, which is understandable. But they seem to deliberately avoid a basic fact: the core of the conflict between China and the West is the collision between persisting in inequality and demanding equality. The Qing court insisted on the Chinese-foreign system, that is, China was the central empire, and other countries must be in a tributary position; Britain adheres to the treaty system, that is, the principle of reciprocity between countries and the principle of fulfilling treaties. In this way, the essence of the matter is that the Qing court defended the inequality between countries and Britain sought equality between countries. In view of the impossibility of complete equality, in other words, the Qing court defended the status of absolute inequality, while Britain sought the status of relatively equal. Moreover, diplomacy is an extension of internal affairs, and the fundamental interests of democracy determine that its ultimate goal must be equal relations, and only equal relations can maintain the existence and continuation of democracy; Similarly, the fundamental interests of authoritarian regimes are doomed to exist only under unequal conditions, and once equal relations are established, authoritarian regimes will inevitably perish. We don't mention the historical fact that Britain has repeatedly sent missions to establish equal exchange relations with the Qing court. The experience of the Madzar-Nepal Mission and the Amish Mission in China shows the inevitable result of the efforts to seek equality between countries in the face of the arrogance of persisting in unequal relations.

After the Opium War, the essence of "treaty of nanking" was that the system of dealing with China people and foreigners insisted by the Qing court was frustrated under the attack of strong ships and strong guns. That is, Marx said: "British artillery destroyed the authority of the emperor and forced the Chinese empire to contact the world on the ground." A little deficiency is that Mr. Marx is a little optimistic. The coffin of China traditional culture is not so easily broken, but it has tenacious self-healing ability. There are many China literati talking about modern history from the standpoint of the Qing court. On the one hand, it reflects the stubborn nature of tradition; on the other hand, it shows that there are still many difficulties for China to integrate into the world trend. Americans at that time seemed as optimistic as Marx. 1842, President Taylor reported the contents of treaty of nanking to Congress, and Americans immediately decided to establish treaty relations with China. In July 1843, the American mission led by Klebel Caleb Cushing set out from Boston. Secretary of State Webster's instructions to him are: the first task is to make American ships and goods get the same treatment as British businessmen, that is, internationally recognized MFN treatment; If possible, it is best to go to Beijing to meet His Majesty the Emperor and show the credentials signed by the President of the United States, so as to develop the friendship and business exchanges between China and the United States. In particular, the Secretary of State stressed that we should constantly make it clear to the Chinese side that the U.S. government requires American ships and personnel to abide by the laws and regulations of China, and that if any American violates the well-known trade laws and regulations, the U.S. government will never intervene to protect their illegal acts. China scholars accused the United States of forcing the Qing court to set a precedent for consular jurisdiction in the Wang Xia Treaty between China and the United States, which is somewhat puzzling. The draft originally proposed by the United States clearly pointed out that American ships and personnel entering China waters are under the jurisdiction of the China government. However, after consulting with Zhang Mu A, the military minister who reviewed the Treaty, the representative of China in the negotiations believed that China should avoid getting involved in troubles between foreign countries. Disputes and even lawsuits between American ships and British ships in Guangzhou have never been accepted by the Guangzhou government. Therefore, it is decided that the treaty must refuse to govern American ships and personnel and let the American consulate take charge. Giving consular jurisdiction is conducive to the "dispute with Yi". The sole purpose of the negotiation between the old citizens is to resolutely refuse the American mission to enter Beijing, because the American mission does not agree to "pilgrimage" as a tributary country, but demands to enter Beijing as an equal national mission, which violates the old system. Even before the arrival of the mission, the Qing court had issued several imperial edicts, ordering all localities to prohibit the American mission from landing, but not to use force, and only to allow it to stay in Guangdong. Treaties and the like were "handled as appropriate" by the predecessors and others. In this way, everything is easy to discuss except insisting that the American mission not enter Beijing; In addition to making concessions, the United States no longer asked to go to Beijing, but also accepted the consular jurisdiction granted by China. Not a word in the Wang Xia Treaty was "coerced" by the United States, which was entirely the result of the Qing court's adherence to the Chinese and foreign systems and "China customization". Daoguang was so excited about signing this contract that he even thought that the Americans had come to submit to China, and not only rewarded Chi Ying and others, but also rewarded the American mission for observing China customs.

In order to maintain the relationship between China and foreigners, the Qing court always refused to let the foreign minister stay in Beijing. The Qing court was worried that the presence of foreign envoys in Beijing would break the traditional habits of China, especially that they would bring many foreign lives, economies and ways of thinking to China and destroy the "ancestral customization". After the Second Opium War, China and Britain concluded the Tianjin Treaty on June 28th, 858. The second paragraph of the treaty reads: "The Qing emperor and Great Britain kept the same idea and agreed that they could send powerful officials to the Qing Dynasty and the capital of Great Britain at will according to the good practices of major countries." China was forced to agree to "ambassador to Beijing". On February 25th, the 11th year of Xianfeng (186 1 year), the French minister Bourbon first arrived in Beijing. The next day, British Minister Pruss also established a legation in Beijing. On July 8th, Russian Minister Liu Qie arrived in Beijing. On June 24th, the first year of Tongzhi (1July 20th, 862), American Minister Pu arrived in Beijing. The ambassadors of France, Britain, Russia and the United States were the first foreign envoys stationed in Beijing. Xianfeng Emperor approved the game on the order of186265438+1October 20th. To be summoned: "Shi Jing set up the Prime Minister's Office to handle the trade affairs of various countries, and immediately sent Prince Gong to battle? Gui Liang, a college student, was managed by Wen Xiang, the left assistant minister of the household department, and was awarded by the Ministry of Rites to the Prime Minister of Qin State to handle the customs clearance of trade affairs in various countries. " Xianfeng imperial edict added the word "trade", which obviously limited the responsibility of "the Prime Minister's yamen to handle state affairs" within the scope of trade. Please play the explanation again before deleting the word "transaction". It can be seen that the Qing court defended the tenacity of Sino-foreign relations step by step. During the Tongzhi period, due to the great improvement of Sino-Western relations, the number of foreign ambassadors in Beijing began to increase. In addition to the earliest ambassadors of the four countries, there are also ambassadors from Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Japan, the Netherlands and other countries. Dongjiaominxiang in Beijing has become a famous foreign embassy district in China, which has greatly promoted the exchanges between China and western countries. Among them, American envoy Pu is not only the first American envoy to China, but also the political ally of President Lincoln, a famous American human rights activist and abolitionist. 1854, a group of people who opposed black slavery established a new political party, which is now the Republican Party of the United States, with Chen An as one of its founders. 1On June 2, 856, his famous speech "Defending Massachusetts" was an important document of the American slave liberation movement. In order to help Lincoln resign as a member of parliament, he was sent to Austria by Lincoln, and Austria refused him entry because he had made a speech strongly supporting Polish revolutionaries, so he was reassigned as the ambassador to China. Therefore, he became the first foreigner to help China know the world.

After the Xinyou coup, China's policy of being completely hostile to the West began to ease, and Sino-foreign relations took an unprecedented turn. Empress Dowager Cixi and Wang Yi? These high-level decision-makers began to realize that China's long-term closed-door policy was unfavorable to China's long-term development, and began to advocate a "cooperative policy" towards western countries. Hey? The policy of trusting foreign countries was echoed by many ministers in the imperial court at that time. The presence of western envoys in Beijing also brought some new ideas to China at that time, the most important of which was the "cooperation policy" put forward by the American government, which was consistent with the policy of the Qing court at that time. 1862, US Secretary of State Seward put forward a "cooperative policy" toward China. In February, Seward instructed US Ambassador to China Pu Chen An: "In China, we should negotiate and cooperate on all major issues; Defend the treaty ports within the scope necessary to safeguard and protect our treaty rights; Support the customs managed by foreigners on a purely administrative basis and worldwide; Sponsorship? The government's efforts to maintain order; At the treaty port, neither concession nor occupation is needed, and China's interference in any way is not needed? The government's jurisdiction over its own people does not threaten the territorial integrity of the Chinese empire. " After Pu arrived in China, he began to take the "cooperative policy" of the United States towards China as the basis of his diplomacy. Pu explained that the content of the "cooperative policy" is: "Encourage the China authorities to strive to maintain order; At the trading port, it neither demands nor occupies concessions, does not interfere in the jurisdiction of the China government over its own people in any way, and will never threaten the territorial integrity of the Chinese empire. " "Strive to carry out fair diplomatic activities in China to replace military diplomacy." Later, this policy also began to affect some other western countries. Here is a little bit about the Qing court's employment of British Hurd as the General Tax Department of Customs. Scholars always take this as an example to prove that the control of customs by the great powers violated China's sovereignty. However, they have always avoided the fact that Hurd drastically rectified the corrupt customs institutions in the Qing court and helped establish a customs system that met international standards. Before Hurd, the customs revenue never exceeded three million and two thousand silver. Hurd made this income exceed 32 million silver. Is it harm or help? Moreover, China literati deliberately translated the "cooperative policy" into "partnership policy", and then arbitrarily accused them of plundering China with Britain and France. In fact, the vast majority of foreigners who come to China sincerely worship the Christian concept of helping the poor and the world, and are bent on helping the people of China and China get rid of poverty and weakness. It is enough to prove that missionaries who started from Matteo Ricci tried their best to spread western scientific knowledge. China's deep-rooted Confucian "Discrimination between Chinese and foreigners" has always resisted all foreign ideas and theories. Not to mention Ji Xiaolan, a great scholar who is deeply loved by playwrights, not only tampered with a lot of historical materials that were unfavorable to the Qing court, but also attacked the scientific knowledge spread by Matteo Ricci unscrupulously, saying that there are five continents in the world is nonsense.

In fact, Pu's "cooperative policy" towards China has also been supported by some western countries such as Britain. At that time, British trade with China accounted for more than 70%. In order to maintain the trade achievements with China at that time, Britain supported the "cooperative policy" put forward by the United States, but some people think that this was the result of Lord Clayton's sudden deviance after being hypnotized by Pu Chen An. The Russian government was the most profitable country in China before, once occupying more than one million square kilometers of land in China. Russia needs some time to consolidate its interests. Russian ambassador to China BaliuCzech told Pu Chen An: "Russia no longer wants to threaten the territorial integrity of China." "It would be very pleasant if it could cooperate with others on the policy of grafting western civilization to eastern civilization." Boerder, the new French ambassador to China, arrived at 1863. "He is a magnanimous and experienced politician. He immediately saw the benefits of putting aside all suspicions and adopting a cooperative policy on an important issue involving China. " With the support of these great powers, Pu Chen 'an reported to Secretary of State Seward on April 6: "In my conversation with the China authorities, I always put forward this uncompromising attitude to them." This "cooperative policy" made the Qing court feel at ease, and Sino-Western relations showed signs of easing for the first time. In order to help the Qing government, which had just started to cooperate with the West, understand the West,1In August, 865, Pu sent the Law of Nations translated by American missionaries to the Prime Minister's yamen for "discretionary quotation". For the first time, The Law of Nations showed China how western countries run the country according to law. The Prime Minister's yamen attached great importance to this book after getting it. Some people think that "there are some merits", please publish it. On August 30th, it was approved by the Empress Dowager Miyako. 1865, Wentong Museum officially published this book in the name of the Law of Nations. The fourth example of the Law of Nations said: "It is a Chinese translation of the book, which is regarded as well-founded and well-prepared in the United States and beneficial to China and foreign countries, because it has translated several volumes with He Shimeng of Jiangning, Li Dawen of Tongzhou, Zhang Qian of Daxing and Cao Lue of Dinghai, and submitted it to the Prime Minister's Training Office for examination and approval. Moreover, the book had an effect before it was printed:1In April, 864, the new Prussian ambassador to China, Li Fusi, captured and plundered three Danish merchant ships outside Dagukou. As soon as Prince Gong learned that "foreign countries" and "foreign countries" had different status in international law, he wrote to Li Fusi to protest against this behavior of "obviously occupying China's rights" and "despising China", and said that Li Fusi had to solve this matter before he could be accepted by China. Reeves was forced to give in, released three Danish merchant ships and paid compensation of RMB 1500 yuan, calling Prince Gong "very wise and fair". Rivers incident strengthened Prince Gong's confidence, and he began to believe in the western rules of international law and diplomatic means. However, not everyone agrees with this move, and French agent Costello firmly opposes it. He said to Pu, "Who is this guy (Ding Weiliang)? Let China people know about international law in Europe. Kill him, get rid of him, he will bring us endless trouble. "Pu ignored him and always insisted on persuading important officials of the Qing court to abandon the outdated concept of Sino-foreign relations and integrate into the trend of world progress.

In order to make China a law-abiding country and establish modern industry and commerce, western personnel in China have really spent a lot of thoughts. For example, 1865, 1 1 In June, Hurd gave the Prime Minister's yamen an opinion entitled "Watching". In this opinion, he proposed that the Qing government should abide by the treaty and handle all foreign affairs in accordance with its articles of association. The article said: "Now there is something to do and there is a treaty to follow. Once it defaults, this will be a question to ask. " "There is a contract between people, that is, there is a treaty between countries. If people break the contract, they can sue officials. If this country violates the treaty, it will be allowed to use the army in public international law. The losing party will recognize the Old Testament and compensate the soldiers, and the guarantor will be just that. " "If it is illegal, there are tricks to play, and the country is in chaos. The breach of contract either refuses to keep the contract or fails to keep it. If you don't want to, you will be reluctant. If you can't, someone will take your place. " "What to do or to do, lest be forced in the future. "Hurd's principle is the foundation of a country ruled by law. Since China's "imperial power" is above everything else, treaties and laws will naturally not be completely taken seriously. At the back of the article, Hurd also put forward some things that China should have done long ago, such as "amphibious ship, weaving tools, mail motor, currency style, and Sun Tzu's art of war". He suggested that China should build railways, run factories, run telegrams, run banks and undertake shipping. Undoubtedly, this was the earliest modernization proposal put forward to the Qing court, and it should be said that these suggestions were beneficial to the development of China. 1866, the British ambassador to China, Allardyce, ordered Counsellor Wade of China Embassy to write down a "brief discussion" and send it to the Prime Minister's yamen. The article also suggested that the Qing government should abide by the treaty: "All China countries have important things that cannot be abandoned, and China has made a contract to protect each other. If you are willing to protect it, you will deeply regret that your strength is not as good as it. If you don't act according to the treaty, foreign interference is inevitable. The "country" is facing risks, and intervention and preservation are inevitable. When one country intervenes, all countries follow it. It goes without saying that in the future, China will be unified and independent, or it will inevitably belong to all countries. He also pointed out two possibilities to the Qing government at that time: "In the future, China must choose one of the two festivals, or enlist foreign cooperation, so as to facilitate the elimination of disadvantages and safeguard sovereignty forever, or put an end to doubts, and foreign countries will become suspicious. Wade also suggested that the Qing government allow railways, flying wires (telegrams) to be opened in China, as well as various factories to mine hardware and coal, the navy and army set up exercises, China was short of goods, invited to borrow goods, and set up medical teaching and other new laws. If China wants to try, all countries will be happy to hear it. The article writes: "All countries do things on behalf of others, not only for China, but also for China. Although it is beneficial to foreign countries, it is more beneficial to China on the spot. What is this? If China can listen to the opinions of people all over the world and enter China, it will certainly benefit, and if China takes its own measures, it will certainly ensure its prosperity. Fuping is guaranteed, and the right to independence can be guaranteed forever. " In this way, "the mainland is easy to be razed from now on, foreigners can often trade and live, it is easy to preserve, and countries can be carefree." "and the most lovable person." . In essence, these are all suggestions to make the Qing court get rid of the relationship between China and foreigners and adopt treaty relations. In China, where the rotten scholars are immersed in depth and breadth, their status is "one or two" at most. It should be said that Hurd, Wade and others intended to make China open and prosperous. These suggestions played a role in the Qing court at that time. After the establishment of the Prime Minister's yamen, he tried to send some sightseeing inspectors. 1in the spring of 866, Hurd returned to China for half a year's vacation and invited a game before he left. It is up to them to send one or two colleagues to England with them to "see the customs of this country". Hey? I thought that "traveling can also broaden my knowledge", so I sent Bin Chun to lead several students from Wentong Museum to London, Birmingham, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Brussels, Paris and other places with Hurd.

American minister pu is the initiator of the "cooperative policy" between China and the west. After years of unremitting friendly lobbying between China and foreign countries, the Qing government has special feelings and trust for Pu. Daniele commented: "The greatest contribution of this American envoy to the foreign relations of the Chinese Empire during his term of office was that he effectively implemented the cooperation policy during the difficult period of 1863- 1865." Prince Gong Yi? In "Memories of Ambassadors Assigning American Pu Chen An to Handle Chinese and Foreign Affairs", he wrote: "Recently, foreign countries all know the truth of China, and China is at a loss. Among them, the reason for the gap is always because he made it, and I have no way to make it. " "Pujan, ambassador, Xianfeng eleven years to Beijing. He is peaceful and can know the general situation at home and abroad. Once upon a time, Horatia Nelson Lay, an Englishman, disagreed with everything. Pu once helped China, trying to screen them out. After it was built, I took a peep show. If I encounter inconvenience in China, I am very willing to settle the dispute. At this time, I want to go back to my home. Because he didn't resign, the preferential treatment stayed. Pu left a very deep impression. He said that if it is unfair to other countries, Iraq will make great efforts, that is, China will send Iraq as its ambassador. I was sent abroad, but no one suffered. Now Pu wants to make a name for himself, and he firmly takes it as his responsibility. His inquiry is true. Other people and I went to the museum for several days in the name of seeing him off, and we met repeatedly, and our words were extremely generous. ..... It is really difficult for me to use China people as ambassadors, but it is not difficult to use foreigners as ambassadors. " "If Yu Yun is allowed, various orders will send Pu as Chen An's special envoy to deal with China and foreign negotiations." The imperial court replied, "Pu is an envoy, doing things peacefully and observing the general trend at home and abroad. He intends to send him to all relevant countries as the minister of Chinese and foreign negotiations. " This is the first time that the China government has sent a delegation to a foreign country. Since there were no diplomatic officials in China at the beginning, it was a good idea for the Qing court to hire some foreigners who were familiar with diplomacy and friendly to China to perform this duty, which was neither elegant nor diplomatic.