King George the III sends an envoy to China in 1793 to speak to Qianlong Emperor. His mission is to discuss the condition of trade between England and China, who at that particular time hold a strict process concerning foreign association. George III wants special treatment from the Chinese and they request to open business and cultural interchange, and request’s the Chinese Emperor to give the British small pieces of land to use for trade related matters. The Qian was not welcoming of these requests. He believes that England is just another barbarian country from the west soliciting for gifts and charity from the mighty Chinese Empire. In his response to King George III, the Qian Emperor wishes to go on repressing jurisdiction over barbaric groups globally. The letter outlines the many convictions that the Emperor has about the British and the rest of the European nations concerning trade and culture. The Emperor uses a tone that borders courtesy and demeaning.
The Chinese Emperor terms Britain as primitive on many occasions in the letter he addresses to the King of England, George III. During this period, Emperor Qiang is in charge of almost a third of the global population. The Chinese culture is prospering in all spheres including arts and technology, yet the Man Chu Emperors of China try to keep their society tight. At this time, the Chinese neither bother themselves with the way of life of the barbarians nor their products. Qiang sees England as an irrelevant nation, and feels like interminable assent to China’s Throne, Britain will acquire peace and success for her country eventually.
During this time of Qianlong Emperor, China slackens its relationship with foreign countries regarding trade. Although the Empire decides to open up its borders to do business with western nations more than the past, it places a lot of restrictions on the transactions which traders should involve themselves in. European countries had areas where they would conduct their trade and they could not transact any business out of these sections. These countries have to embrace the Chinese dress-code and culture, and there was little interaction with the Chinese people. The widespread notion at the time was that the Chinese have superior technology and culture that any other nation in the world. This assumption is true for a significant period of time and before the Man Chu Dynasty, and it leads to exporting of this technology from China to other countries. China at this time had the privilege to be a producer of a lot of products such as tea, silk, and porcelain.
King George III asks for extra special treatment for British businessmen from China, and the Emperor feels like these are insults from an insignificant poor nation. The Emperor feels that by designating trading sections for European traders in different parts of China was enough of an entitlement. In the letter to the King, the Emperor tells him that he has no use for their goods and technology since they have the capacity to do everything for themselves. The Emperor while writing this letter must be contemplating that the trade between China and western countries is only beneficial to the European nations only. He tries to tell King George III that whatever England is willing to bring to China, the Chinese people can get it locally. However, deep down. he acknowledges that the British peoples’ demand for Chinese products will increase and therefore trade between these countries will go on no matter the rules which the Chinese impose.
The letter from Qian Long Emperor to King George III exhibits that both England and China have very diverse assumptions when it comes to trade issues. They also hold divergent views on the state of their own and each other’s nations. King George III knows that England is an emerging nation in terms of technology. What he does not understand is that China is a wealthy and powerful nation which appreciates the sanctity of their culture. On the other hand the Emperor of China believes that his nation is the only essential nation globally. The Emperor feels that the barbarians cannot understand China’s substantial innovations and culture. He believes that no other nation globally can match up to China’s affluence or technology. These notion prevents the Chinese from entering the first industrial revolution.