Twilight of the Empire

Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age

In the mid-19th century, during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, China and Britain went to war over opium smuggling and trade, a conflict known as the "Opium War." This conflict, more than a century ago, holds a unique place in the historical imagination of both China and the West. For China, the Opium War marked the end of imperial China's last golden age and the beginning of a "century of humiliation," during which China, threatened by the might of Western powers, was reduced to a semi-colony. For the West, the war was sparked by China's closed-door policy, restricting trade to only the city of Guangzhou, a symbol of China's backwardness and inexplicable resistance to free trade.
The reality is far more complex than these simplified imaginations.
Pei Shifeng, author of "The Autumn of the Taiping Rebellion," explores the fateful Sino-British War. However, his narrative focuses not on the war itself and its aftermath, but rather on the events leading up to the Qing court's decision to adopt the Guangzhou single-port trade policy in the 1750s, the Macartney Mission's visit to China to meet Emperor Qianlong in 1793, and the outbreak of the war in 1840. Not only does his vivid prose vividly depict the exchanges between China and Britain, and between China and the United States, during these decades, but he also attempts to convey a crucial point: the Opium War was not, as many commentators have argued, an inevitable cultural clash, but rather the devastating consequence of a series of misguided choices.
Ultimately, it's people who drive all of this. To showcase this power, the author populates his historical stage with a diverse cast of characters: Chinese and Western merchants, Chinese officials and British MPs, missionaries from various countries, and even pirates. These characters' expressions and appearances are vividly portrayed, their inner worlds meticulously explored, fully exposed to readers two centuries later.
The international political landscape of the 21st century is vastly different from the century in which the Opium War erupted. China, too, has become a vastly different nation, having leapt into the ranks of powerful nations. Nevertheless, one thing remains constant: tensions between China and Western powers persist. If the Sino-British conflict of the 19th century was not inevitable, then a renewed understanding and review of the Opium War is necessary today. While learning from the past may not predict the future, historical lessons may offer some insights.

2018-12-01

衛城

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