. . . . I have perused your memorial: the earnest terms in which it is couched
reveal a respectful
humility on your part, which is highly praiseworthy. In consideration of the
fact that your
Ambassador and his deputy have come a long way with your memorial and tribute, I
have shown
them high favor and have allowed them to be introduced into my presence. To
manifest my
indulgence, I have entertained them at a banquet and made them numerous gifts.
I have also
caused presents to be forwarded to the Naval Commander and six hundred of his
officers and
men, although they did not come to Peking, so that they too may share in my all-
embracing
kindness.
As to your entreaty to send one of your nationals [namely, Lord Macartney] to be
accredited to my Celestial Court and to be in control of your country's trade
with China, this
request is contrary to all usage of my dynasty and cannot possibly be
entertained. It is true that
Europeans, in the service of the dynasty, have been permitted to live at Peking,
but they are
compelled to adopt Chinese dress, they are strictly confined to their own
precincts and are never
permitted to return home. You are presumably familiar with our dynastic
regulations. Your
proposed Envoy to my Court could not be placed in a position similar to that of
European
officials in Peking who are forbidden to leave China, nor could he, on the other
hand, be allowed
liberty of movement and the privilege of corresponding with his own country; so
that you would
gain nothing by his residence in our midst.
. . . . Supposing that your Envoy should come to our Court, his language and
national dress
differ from that of our people, and there would be no place in which to bestow
him. It may be
suggested that he might imitate the Europeans permanently resident in Peking and
adopt the
dress and customs of China, but, it has never been our dynasty's wish to force
people to do
things unseemly and inconvenient. Besides, supposing I sent an Ambassador to
reside in your
country, how could you possibly make for him the requisite arrangements? Europe
consists of
many other nations besides your own: if each and all demanded to be represented
at our Court,
how could we possibly consent? The thing is utterly impracticable. How can our
dynasty alter
its whole procedure and system of etiquette, established for more than a
century, in order to
meet your individual views? If it be said that your object is to exercise
control over your
country's trade, your nationals have had full liberty to trade at Canton for
many a year, and have
received the greatest consideration at our hands. Missions have been sent by
Portugal and Italy,
preferring similar requests. The Throne appreciated their sincerity and loaded
them with favors,
besides authorizing measures to facilitate their trade with China. You are no
doubt aware that,
when my Canton merchant, Wu Chao-ping, was in debt to the foreign ships, I made
the Viceroy
advance the monies due, out of the provincial treasury, and ordered him to
punish the culprit
severely. Why then should foreign nations advance this utterly unreasonable
request to be
represented at my Court? Peking is nearly two thousand miles from Canton, and
at such a
distance what possible control could any British representative exercise?
If you assert that your reverence for Our Celestial dynasty fills you with a
desire to acquire
our civilization, our ceremonies and code of laws differ so completely from your
own that, even
if your Envoy were able to acquire the rudiments of our civilization, you could
not possibly
transplant our manners and customs to your alien soil. Therefore, however adept
the Envoy
might become, nothing would be gained thereby.
. . . . I have but one aim in view, namely, to maintain a perfect governance and to fulfill the duties of the state: strange and costly objects do not interest me. If I have commanded that the tribute offerings sent by you, O King, are to be accepted, this was solely in consideration for the spirit which prompted you to dispatch them from afar. Our dynasty's majestic virtue has penetrated unto every country under heaven, and kings of all nations have offered their costly tribute by land and sea. As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures. This then is my answer to your request to appoint a representative at my Court, a request contrary to our dynastic usage, which would only result in inconvenience to yourself. I have expounded my wishes in detail and have commanded your tribute Envoys to leave in peace on their homeward journey. It behoves you, O King, to respect my sentiments and to display even greater devotion and loyalty in future, so that, by perpetual submission to our Throne, you may secure peace and prosperity for your country hereafter. . . . .
[The emperor's follow-up communication on the subject follows]:
You, O King, from afar have yearned after the blessings of our civilization, and
in your
eagerness to come into touch with our converting influence have sent an Embassy
across the sea
bearing a memorial. I have already taken note of your respectful spirit of
submission, have treated
your mission with extreme favor and loaded it with gifts, besides issuing a
mandate to you, O
King, and honoring you with the bestowal of valuable presents. Thus has my
indulgence been
manifested.
Yesterday your Ambassador petitioned my Ministers to memorialize me regarding
your trade
with China, but his proposal is not consistent with our dynastic usage and
cannot be entertained.
Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country's barbarian
merchants, have carried on
their trade with Our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure
for many years,
although Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and
lacks no product
within its own borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures
of outside
barbarians in exchange for our own produce. But as the tea, silk, and porcelain
which the
Celestial Empire produces are absolute necessities to European nations and to
yourselves, we
have permitted, as a signal mark of favor, that foreign hongs (Chinese
business
associations) should be established at Canton, so that your wants might be
supplied and your
country thus participate in our beneficence. But your Ambassador has now put
forward new
requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne's principle to 'treat
strangers from afar
with indulgence', and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the
world over.
Moreover, our dynasty, swaying the myriad races of the globe, extends the same
benevolence
toward all. Your England is not the only nation trading at Canton. If other
nations, following
your bad example, wrongfully importune my ear with further impossible requests,
how will it be
possible for me to treat them with easy indulgence? Nevertheless, I do not
forget the lonely
remoteness of your island, cut off from the world by intervening wastes of sea,
nor do I overlook
your excusable ignorance of the usages of Our Celestial Empire. I have
consequently commanded
my Ministers to enlighten your Ambassador on the subject, and have ordered the
departure of the
mission. But I have doubts that, after your Envoy's return he may fail to
acquaint you with my
view in detail or that he may be lacking in lucidity, so that I shall now
proceed to take your
requests seriatim[one by one] and to issue my mandate on each question
separately. In this way
you will, I trust, comprehend my meaning.
(1)Your Ambassador requests facilities for ships of your nation to call at
Ningpo,
Chusan, Tientsin, and other places for purposes of trade. Until now trade with
European nations
has always been conducted at Macao, where the foreign hongs are
established to store
and sell foreign merchandise. Your nation has obediently complied with this
regulation for years
past without raising any objection. In none of the other ports named have
hongs been
established, so that even if your vessels were to proceed thither, they would
have no means of
disposing of their cargoes. Furthermore, no interpreters are available, so you
would have no
means of explaining your wants, and nothing but general inconvenience would
result. For the
future, as in the past, I decree that your request is refused and that the trade
shall be limited to
Macao.
(2)The request that your merchants may establish a repository in the capital of
my
Empire for the storing and sale of your produce, in accordance with the
precedent granted to
Russia, is even more impracticable than the last. My capital is the hub and
center about which all
quarters of the globe revolve. Its ordinances are most august and its laws are
strict in the
extreme. The subjects of our dependencies have never been allowed to open
places of business in
Peking. Foreign trade has hitherto been conducted at Macao, because it is
conveniently near to
the sea, and therefore an important gathering place for the ships of all nations
sailing to and fro.
If warehouses were established in Peking, the remoteness of your country lying
far to the
northwest of my capital would render transport extremely difficult . . .
.
This request is also refused.
(3)Your request for a small island near Chusan, where your merchants may reside
and
goods be warehoused, arises from your desire to develop trade. As there are
neither foreign
hongs nor interpreters in or near Chusan, where none of your ships have
ever called, such
an island would be utterly useless for your purposes. Every inch of the
territory of our Empire is
marked on the map and the strictest vigilance is exercised over it all: even
tiny islets and far-lying
sandbanks are clearly defined as part of the provinces to which they belong.
Consider, moreover,
that England is not the only barbarian land which wishes to establish relations
with our civilization
and trade with our Empire: supposing that other nations were all to imitate your
evil example and
beseech me to present them each and all with a site for trading purposes, how
could I possibly
comply? This also is a flagrant infringement of the usage of my Empire and
cannot possibly be
entertained.
(4)The next request, for a small site in the vicinity of Canton city, where your
barbarian merchants may lodge or, alternatively, that there be no longer any
restrictions over their
movements at Macao, has arisen from the following causes. Hitherto, the
barbarian merchants of
Europe have had a definite locality assigned to them at Macao for residence and
trade, and have
been forbidden to encroach an inch beyond the limits assigned to that locality.
Barbarian
merchants having business with the hongs have never been allowed to enter
the city of
Canton; by these measures, disputes between Chinese and barbarians are
prevented, and a firm
barrier is raised between my subjects and those of other nations. The present
request is quite
contrary to precedent; furthermore, European nations have been trading with
Canton for a
number of years and, as they make large profits, the number of traders is
constantly increasing.
How would it be possible to grant such a site to each country? The merchants of
the foreign
hongs are responsible to the local officials for the proceedings of
barbarian merchants and
they carry out periodical inspections. If these restrictions were withdrawn,
friction would
inevitably occur between the Chinese and your barbarian subjects, and the
results would militate
against the benevolent regard that I feel toward you. From every point of view,
therefore, it is
best that the regulations now in force should continue unchanged. . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
(7) Regarding your nation's worship of the Lord of Heaven, it is the same
religion as that
of other European nations. Ever since the beginning of history, sage Emperors
and wise rulers
have bestowed on China a moral system and inculcated a code, which from time
immemorial has
been religiously observed by the myriad of my subjects. There has been no
hankering after
heterodox doctrines. Even the European (missionary) officials in my capital are
forbidden to hold
intercourse with Chinese subjects; they are restricted within the limits of
their appointed
residences, and may not go about propagating their religion. The distinction
between Chinese
and barbarian is most strict, and your Ambassador's request that barbarians
shall be given full
liberty to disseminate their religion is utterly unreasonable. It may
be, O King, that the
above proposals have been wantonly made by your Ambassador on his own
responsibility, or
peradventure you yourself are ignorant of our dynastic regulations and had no
intention of
transgressing them when you expressed these wild ideas and hopes. I have ever
shown the
greatest condescension to the tribute missions of all states which sincerely
yearn after the
blessings of civilization, so as to manifest my kindly indulgence. I have even
gone out of my way
to grant any requests which were in any way consistent with Chinese usage.
Above all, upon
you, who live in a remote and inaccessible region, far across the spaces of
ocean, but who have
shown your submissive loyalty by sending this tribute mission, I have heaped
benefits far in
excess of those accorded to other nations. But the demands presented by your
Embassy are
not only a contravention of dynastic tradition, but would be utterly
unproductive of good result
to yourself, besides being quite impracticable. I have accordingly stated the
facts to you in
detail, and it is your bounden duty reverently to appreciate my feelings and
to obey these
instructions henceforward for all time, so that you may enjoy the blessings of
perpetual peace.
If, after the receipt of this explicit decree, you lightly give ear to the representations of your subordinates and allow your barbarian merchants to proceed to Chekiang and Tientsin, with the object of landing and trading there, the ordinances of my Celestial Empire are strict in the extreme, and the local officials, both civil and military, are bound reverently to obey the law of the land. Should your vessels touch the shore, your merchants will assuredly never be permitted to land or to reside there, but will be subject to instant expulsion. In that event your barbarian merchants will have had a long journey for nothing. Do not say that you were not warned in due time! Tremblingly obey and show no negligence! . . .
(Ref.: F. Schurmann et al., (eds.), Imperial China, pp. 105-13)