The Qing Dynasty was closed to the outside world but was very interested in foreign things!

The Qing Dynasty was closed to the outside world, but was very interested in foreign countries. The editor below will give you a detailed answer.

In the 1860s, the first industrial revolution occurred in Britain, ushering in an era in which machines replaced manual labor. Subsequently, Britain actively expanded overseas to obtain raw materials and cheap labor, and soon became a world hegemon. Regarding China, which has a huge export volume, the UK has adopted an active foreign trade policy in the hope of selling more goods to China.

A factory owner in Manchester, England, once had a brilliant idea: "If every Chinese shirt was one inch longer, our factory would be busy for decades!" However, the small-scale peasant economy has little impact on industrial products. The stubborn resistance of the Qing Dynasty and the strict seclusion policy of the Qing Dynasty made the dreams of British businessmen come to nothing. The opium trade arose out of this situation.

When the first industrial revolution emerged in Europe and the United States, China was in the prosperous period of Qianlong. In 1757, Qianlong ordered the three customs in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian to be closed, leaving only Guangdong-Guanhai and Guangzhou in charge of foreign trade. In 1759, Li Shiyao, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, wrote to Qianlong and promulgated the "Regulations on the Prevention of Immigration in Guangdong".

After that, the Qing government promulgated the "Regulations on the Trade of Ethnic Minorities" and the "Regulations on the Prevention of Ethnic Minorities" in 1809 and 1831 respectively. They have strict and complex regulations on foreigners' business activities, residence period, residence location, scope of activities, and exchanges between ethnic minorities and China. Another measure that constituted the secluded policy was the restoration of the public transportation system in Guangzhou in 1760.

Listed companies are monopoly organizations registered and approved by the Qing government and are composed of foreign trade operators. It has both official and commercial functions. The Qing government gave exclusive rights to merchants participating in public tourism and arranged all import and export trade. Public tourism operators had certain obligations towards the Qing government, such as ensuring that foreign businessmen paid taxes, restricting foreigners' daily activities in Guangzhou, and acting as intermediaries between the Qing government and foreign businessmen in all negotiations.

The Qing Dynasty’s closed-door policy undoubtedly created resistance to the dialogue and expansion policies of European and American countries. The East India Company established by the British government was mainly responsible for overseas trade with India and China. In 787, King George III of England approved the East India Company's request, appointed Cascade as ambassador plenipotentiary, and led a delegation to visit China. Before leaving, King George III expressed the hope that China could provide an island as a permanent warehouse.

Carter died of illness on the way and had to return midway through the mission. Although this mission was fruitless, it kicked off the British government's diplomatic expansion towards China.

In 792, the British government sent Irish troops to China in the name of congratulating Emperor Qianlong. Secretary of State Dundas ordered McCartney to submit territorial claims to the Qing government, hoping to establish a British commercial base near the famous tea-producing areas between 27 and 30 degrees north latitude.

After a full year of long journey, McCartney's mission came to China. Gandy flatly rejected all of McCartney's requests. He is not opposed to commercial activities with the UK, but is more concerned about the political and social content behind commercial activities. McCartney's original intention of making China a reality did not materialize. Regarding this diplomatic event, the British authoritative evaluation was: "The ambassador received the most polite reception, the warmest hospitality, the strictest supervision and the most polite dismissal."

In 1816, the British government Ahmed was appointed ambassador plenipotentiary to China three times. Aramid's visit has four tasks: first, to ensure trade with China; second, to strive for more trade with China; third, to protect the interests of the East India Company in China; fourth, to be the minister in Beijing. After Aramid came to China, he and McCartney clashed with the Qing court over issues of audience etiquette. Emperor Jiaqing categorically refused to meet Aramid, and the British delegation had to find nothing.

At the same time, the British government and private companies are also actively seeking economic means to open China's borders. More than 100 companies in London jointly established the London East India and China Association, hoping that

In Chinese society during this period, the small farmer economy and self-sufficient natural economy tenaciously resisted the invasion of Western industrial products. From the late 1920s to the eve of the Opium War, the merchandise trade between Britain and China was only about 1 million pounds, while the tea that China sold to Britain every year was worth about 10 million silver dollars, a total of more than 6 million British dollars.

The stubborn resistance of traditional small farmers to industrial products, coupled with the Qing Dynasty's strict isolation policy, made it difficult for British merchants to open a huge market in China through normal trade channels. In the end, British businessmen openly abandoned the hypocritical but always flaunted humanitarian principles. They shamelessly regarded opium as a special commodity and started a criminal opium trade with China.

Most Chinese nobles and people seem to have no natural resistance to opium. With the import of opium, Sino-British trade also quickly reversed, with large amounts of silver flowing out. At this time, the Qing government realized that the wolf was coming, but it was too late.