PDP5 - Letter to King George III

Author Bio: The author of this document was the emperor of China, Chi’en-lung, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty. During his rule there were many foreign merchants attempting to come into China in order to sell their western goods. Being a more traditional emperor he did not care for much of the foreign items being brought. In his letter he is against the sale of western goods in China and is not willing to loosen the restrictions on British merchants.

Context: This document was written at the end of the 18th century where China was reluctant to begin trade with the Europeans. The tributary states was where most of the British trading was done until they got footholds in many ports and decided to pay tributary to the Emperor and ask to trade in the Canton area. Their request was denied and this went on for many years until the British were finally able to force the Chinese to open up to European trading after the Opium Wars. The time this letter was written displays how the Chinese were rightfully worried about the foreign trade.

Summary: The letter begins with the emperor acknowledging King George III tribute in order to help facilitate the trade between the British and China. He then goes on to discuss how he accepted the ambassador, Macartney, and his deputies with open arms yet they did not abide by the dress code. The emperor then discusses the problems of not abiding by the customs of another’s country and how China would not be able to change its traditions and culture in order to fit that of Europe. He also states the even if the envoy would be able to come dressed in proper Chinese attire that their ideologies would not be Chinese so the envoy would gain nothing. He then says how he accepts the gifts from the King as to not be rude to him, and says that the he has no need for European manufactures as he has everything he already needs. He then states that he is sending the envoy home peacefully with gifts for the King. The emperor then states that it is possible for the British to trade in the Canton area, but takes offense that they’re asking to loosen the regulations for foreign merchants. He says that this would be unfair to the other countries trading in the Canton region. The emperor then denies the British request to have a small trading port on the island of Chusan. He also denies the request for the merchants to be able to roam freely in Aomen because he feels that the Chinese may have conflicts with the merchants. The last thing the emperor denies is the ability for the Europeans to freely practice and spread their religion in China. He ends the letter by saying that the King should not send his merchant ships to trade wherever they please and if they do they will be forced off the land and back to England.

Key Quotation: “I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country’s manufactures.”