Macartney Embassy
The Macartney Embassy, also called the Macartney Mission, was a British embassy to China in 1793. It is named for the first envoy of Great Britain to China, George Macartney, who led the endeavor. The goal of the embassy was to convince the Chinese Emperor Qianlong to ease restrictions on trade between Great Britain and China by allowing Great Britain to have a permanent embassy in Beijing, possession of "a small unfortified island near Chusan for the residence of English traders, storage of goods, and outfitting of ships", and reduced tariffs on traders in Guangzhou.
The Macartney Embassy is one of the British and European embassies sent during the 18th century to establish official relations with the Middle Kingdom with the specific goal to enhance commercial exchanges and a presence within China at least in the ports.
Such an Embassy at the end of the 18th century, which represented a turning point in East-West relations, was no ordinary Embassy and had much immpact on future developments. Therefore it requires a study of the historical background and of the attitudes of the representatives involved in the encounter.
The Contents
The Historical Background
The Encounter
The Outcome
Clash of political perspectives
The Historical Background
In the 17th century and in the beginning of the 18th century two reigns were long and bringing achievements, the reign of Kangxi (1662-1722) in China and the reign of Louis the XIV (1661-1715) in France. Many exchanges continued at that time between China and Europe on the foundation of Matteo Ricci who died in 1610 and his successors.
However the Question of Rites did strain the promising cultural and scientific cooperation and ruined the confidence that the emperor had in the Europeans due mainly to the Jesuit mission. It is under the reign of Kangxi that the Jesuits Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666) and Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) achieved their remarkable work in Mathematics and in Astronomy, work continued by Antoine Thomas (1644-1709). When the Vatican officially comdemned the Chinese rites Kangxi was disappointed. While before he was a man of dilaogue and ready to appreciate European culture he wrote one year before he died:
Reading this proclamation, I have concluded that the Westerners are petty indeed. It is impossible to reason with them because they do not understand larger issues as we understand them in China. There is not a single Westerner versed in Chinese works, and their remarks are often incredible and ridiculous. To judge them from this proclamation, their religion is no different from other small and bigoted sects of Buddhism or Taoism. I have never seen a document which contains so much nonsense. From now on, Westerners should not be allowed to preach in China, to avoid further trouble.” (China in Transition, Dan J.Li, trans, New York, Van Nostrand Company, 1969), p.22.
The emperor Yongzheng (1723-1736) was hostile to Christianity and his edict of 1724 demanded the closure of all churches and that Christian renounce their faith. The Beijing Jesuits alone could keep their positions as advisers on scientific and other matters. Under the Qianlong emperor (1736-1795) matters became worse although worship continued in Beijing. A severe persecution took place in 1747 with some executions.
Leibniz supported the Jesuits until his death, but although some Jesuits continued to work in Beijing despite their condemnation and the suppression of their order in 1773, the Jesuit mission itself and the true exchange between China and Europe had been seriously compromised. But who was seeing the seriousness of the situation?
When Europeans came back to China at the end of the 18th century it was with less lofty motivations than Matteo Ricci. European powers were on the pursuit of their world conquest in terms of land, market, energy and also looking to demonstrate their superiority and power not just in terms of science as before but in economical an military terms. That was the beginning of the colonial period. Fear rose in the minds of Asians and the negative course reached its peak with the fall of Beijing in 1860 at the hands of European armies. This trauma and these wounds have never been healed.
Previous Attempts
Already in the 17th century the Portuguese, the Spanish and the Dutch tried to establish trade activities in China through Macao but it was very difficult. The Canton commercial system of trade had been in place informally. Essentially, the guidelines restricted formal trade to being conducted through a handful of merchants selected by the government. These were commonly called Hong merchants. As trade intensified, disputes broke out between the British traders and the Hong merchants. This forced local authorities to issue edicts formalizing the system of trade and its restrictions.
"In 1715 the East India Company resolved to place their trade with China on a regular footing, to establish a factory with a permanent staff at Canton, and to dispatch their ships at stated seasons.../... From this time on, the history of English trade, and of the Enlish East India Company in China, is the history of the Canton factories." (Hosea Ballou Morsem The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, 1978, p.53)
By the late 18th century, the British traders were feeling confined by the restrictive system. In an attempt to gain greater trade rights, they lobbied for an Embassy to go before the Emperor and make requests. The first Embassy, the Cathcart Embassy of 1788, was called off with the sudden death of Cathcart before his arrival in China. Another Embassy was quickly organized, with Lord Macartney as its head.
The Encounter
The Macartnet Embassy was set for 1792. It is worth recalling that great changes were happening in the world. The ideas of Enlightenement had spread all over Europe with the inspiration of great minds such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaore and Kant who wrote in 1784 his essay "What is Enlightenment?" 1776 saw the peaceful declaration of independence and 1789 started a French revolution that degenerated in bloodshed and dictatorship. When Macartney sailed for China France was still in the middle of much turmoil.
"The decions to dispatch the Eark of Macartney on his mission was made by the British government; indeed, the court of directors of the East India Company were apprehensive ... of losing the greater in demanding redress for the less but they offered no opposition; and the embassy sailed from Portsmouth on September 26th 1792 and arrived at Taku at the mouth of the Tientsin river on August 5th 1793. Its reception was in marked contrast with that of any of the previous Portuguese or Dutch embassies and this can be only explained by the dignified bearing, as of a royal envoy, assumed by Lord Marcartney himself, and his avoidance of any appearance of being a mere commercial emissary." (Hosea Ballou Morsem The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, 1978, p.53-54)
The viceroy of Chihli came to greet the British party and boats were supplied to transport the embassy and the sic hundred cases of presents to Peking. However, despite the courtesy the Chinese court wanted clearly the foreigners to understand the position of the emperor. The boats and carts used for the transport bore flags with the inscription: "Ambassador bearing tribute from the country of England." Lord Macartney knew about it but made no protest in order not to jeopardize the mission.
The Chinese Empire had always considered all other states to be tributary to itself. However, the Macartney Embassy was given special notice for two reasons. First, it was sent by England on the pretext of commemorating the Emperor's 80th birthday. Second, the Embassy had traveled a great distance, and had not previously come before the Emperor's Court. The matter was complicated somewhat by the Embassy's insistence on meeting with the Emperor without previous announcement, and Macartney's refusal to observe Court traditions. Nonetheless, the Emperor instructed his officials to lead the Embassy to him with the utmost civility.
Before even starting any relation and discussion a crucial point for the Chinese was the observation of the etiquette. All people apporoaching the emperor should kneel three times and make nine full prosternations. Lord Macartney wanted to show respect to the Empeor but could not accept the prosternations. It was finally decided that he would bend on one knee like in front of the English king.
Outcome
The embassy was ultimately a failure.
"Of business, not a single point was settled, or even discussed, from the arrival of the embasy in August until its departure from Peking on October 7th, nor was any further settlement reached in the interval between that date and its departure from Canton. One object was a mitigation of the restraints and exactions on trade at Canton; these continued until they were removed by war. Another aim was to secure liberty to trade at places onther than Canton.... This was peremptorily refused. Not one real advantage was gained..." (Hosea Ballou Morsem The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, 1978, p.53-54)
In consequence of this failure the British set another embassy that of Lord Amherst in 1816 with the hope of establishing direct relations between the two governments and better trade conditions.
Clash of political perspectives
The Macartney embassy gives the opportunity of observing how political relationships restarted in the 19th century between China and Europe. It is difficult to understand the failure of the mission if we just consider the problems of etiquette like the prosternation in front of the emperor. Much deeper there was no real preparation of encounter but the decision to reach commercial goals.
The failure of 1793 reflects a longer failure from the Europeans throuhgout the 18th century with the comdemnation of the Chinese rites, the loss of the Jesuit mission and the disbelief of the Chinese in the Europeans.
No reflection had been done on past events. No European was in the position of a Ricci to make a bridge between the two cultures and to guide toward a mutual appreciation allowing to set the foundation of credible commercial relations. On the contrary the approach of British and other European governemnts became an approach of forcing the opening of China at the cost of a war if necessary.
There were responsiblities on both sides.
This was not due to Macartney's refusal to kowtow in the presence of the Chinese emperor, as is commonly believed, but rather because of the Chinese reliance on tradition in dictating foreign policy. The increased presence of foreigners in the royal court would have undermined the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, as it was understood by the Chinese.
After the conclusion of the embassy, Qianlong sent a letter to King George III, explaining in greater depth the reasons for his refusal to grant the requests of the embassy.[1]
The Macartney Embassy is historically significant because it marked a missed opportunity by the Chinese to move toward greater trade with the Western world, and thus, toward industrialization. This failure to industrialize early would continue to plague the Qing Dynasty as it encountered increasing foreign resistance and internal unrest during the 19th century.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Cranmer-Byng, J. L. "Lord Macartney’s Embassy to Peking in 1793." Journal of Oriental Studies. 4.1,2 (1957-58): 117-187.
- Esherick, Joseph W. "Cherishing Sources from Afar." Modern China 24, no. 2 (1998): 135-61.
- Hevia, James Louis. Cherishing Men from Afar: Qing Guest Ritual and the Macartney Embassy of 1793. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995.
- Peyrefitte, Alain. The Immobile Empire. Translated by Jon Rotschild. New York: Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1992.
See also
- Foreign relations of Imperial China
- Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest
- Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
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