How did the closed-door policy come into being?

/kloc-since the middle of the 0/7th century, bourgeois revolutions have occurred in Britain, France, the United States and other countries. The establishment of bourgeois dictatorship and the occurrence of industrial revolution not only made international economic exchanges increasingly frequent, but also made the Qing government at the end of feudalism feel the threat of colonial expansion. Closing the country to the outside world became the instinctive countermeasure of Qing rulers to deal with external challenges. The natural economy combining agriculture and handicrafts is the economic basis of closing the country to the outside world. In the words of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, "China is rich in products. It is ubiquitous, and it is not necessary to borrow foreign goods to communicate with each other. " "China is rich in the four seas, and a small country doesn't have to have some goods."

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom House in Cicheng, Ningbo, from four to one.

In the early Qing Dynasty, in order to impose an economic blockade on Zheng Chenggong, who insisted on resisting the Qing Dynasty at sea, the Qing government issued a severe maritime ban, which was first promulgated in the thirteenth year of Shunzhi (1656). Fishing boats are strictly prohibited from going out to sea. "Every governor and town should closely guard all officials, assess the situation, try to stop them, or build earth dams or hedges to guard against them everywhere. No sails allowed, only thieves are allowed to land. " In the 22nd year of Kangxi (1684), the second year after the Qing court recovered Taiwan Province Province, it announced the cancellation of the maritime ban, allowed businessmen to go to sea to trade, formulated tariff rules, designated Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningbo and Yuntai Mountain as trading ports, and set up Guangdong Customs, Fujian Customs, Zhejiang Customs and Jiang Customs.

After Qianlong ascended the throne, considering that "foreign businessmen's mistakes are bound to cause troubles", Qianlong ordered foreign merchant ships to trade only in Guangzhou for twenty-two years (1757). The practice of trading in one place has caused dissatisfaction among Chinese and foreign businessmen. Raw silk and tea needed by foreign businessmen are mainly produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places, and all of them are transported to Guangzhou, which makes the transportation cost increase sharply, and the long-distance transportation makes the tea that cannot be stored easily deteriorate. So james flint, a British businessman, went to Tianjin by sea, asked the Qing court to open Ningbo and other ports, and sued Guangdong Customs for extortion. Although Li Yongbiao, the supervisor of Guangdong Customs, was dismissed; A trade has not changed, and james flint himself was imprisoned in Macau for three years by the Qing court on the charge of "colluding with the mainland to rape the people, making money on behalf of the people, hoping to violate the port traffic rules". During the Jiaqing period, China Merchants repeatedly requested to export tea nearby in Xiamen, and the Qing government "issued a decree as a warning", requiring businessmen to be "piously bound" and "always abide by" the rules of one-stop trade. 1at the end of the 8th century1at the beginning of the 9th century, Britain sent two diplomatic missions, Madzar and Amherst, to Beijing, demanding to change the status quo of one-port trade, which was rejected by the Qing government.

See trade as a tribute.

The rulers of the Qing Dynasty regarded trade as a tribute and a means to treat foreigners well and detain them. Tariffs are set very low. The Qing dynasty fixed positive tariffs and levied 43200 taels of silver every year. With the development of foreign trade, the actual amount collected by Guan Rui exceeded the positive amount, and the surplus was called "surplus", which was 855,200 yuan at the end of Qianlong. By the eve of the Opium War, the annual tariff (plus surplus) reached1520,000, accounting for 8% to 9% of imported goods. A foreigner once compared the tariffs between China and Britain. The Qing government stipulated that the tea tariff was "1,279 taels per tael of silver, and the actual levy was 62 taels", which was equivalent to 20% ~ 25% of the tea price in Guangzhou. In Britain, the government imposes an import tax of 96% on tea, which is about 200% of the invoice price in Guangzhou.

While implementing low tariffs, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty stubbornly demanded that foreign missions "observe the Heaven" when visiting the Qing emperors. When Macartney's mission came to China, Qianlong ordered the reception officials to persuade the mission to bow down before the emperor. "It is inconvenient to bow to westerners with cloth." "But why not loosen it temporarily when you bow down and tie it up after you salute?" When the mission refused to bow down, Qianlong immediately ordered the reception officials to "reduce the confession in an all-round way, and all extra rewards are not included here", repeatedly stressing that "foreigners who enter the incense should be treated with kindness to show their compassion; If you show a little arrogance, it is that Iraq has not inherited the blessing of grace, that is, it has reduced its reception ceremony to show the system, which controls the way of foreign princes. " Therefore, before the Opium War, the etiquette of seeing the emperor became the focus of controversy in Chinese and foreign exchanges.

Restrict maritime trade.

At the beginning of the maritime ban in Kangxi period, gunpowder, sodium sulfate, guns and cannons were all prohibited items for export; During the period from Langzhi to Qianlong, soybeans, rice, wheat, iron (including scrap iron), horses, silks and satins were all banned from export. Since it is forbidden to export grain and iron, the round-trip time for ships to go to sea is stipulated. People on board carry food according to the sailing time (one liter per person per day). If there is a storm and they can't return on time, they will eat all the food. Because it is stipulated that each ship can bring a pot and an iron axe, it is inconvenient to use, and once it encounters pirates, it has no defense ability.

The Qing government not only did not support the businessmen who actively developed shipbuilding, but suppressed or even framed them. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Zhang Yuanlong, a Shanghai businessman, "widely bought foreign ships" and "became famous in one fell swoop". He plans to build 100 ocean-going sailboats to develop maritime trade. Zhang Yuanlong was arrested and imprisoned by Jiangsu Governor Zhang Boxing on the charge of making friends with pirates, tortured and killed 12 boatmen. The case dragged on for five years, Zhang's assets were almost exhausted, and shipbuilding finally fell through.

The rulers of the Qing dynasty also tried to restrict the people of Fujian and Guangxi from going to sea for trade, accusing those who went to sea of being "restless" and unable to "let them come and go". "Set a time limit in the future, and you will be willing to emigrate after the time limit", "Those who want to return to trade dare not stay out of it". As a man of insight said: "Before Nanyang was banned, Fujian and Guangdong provided enough people. Wandering hooligans, also driven by the desire for wealth, went to Fandao, rarely hungry and robbed at home. Since the ban, department stores have been blocked and people's livelihood has shrunk. The residents' hard skills are useless, and the walkers sigh that there is no way to go. Therefore, there are four or five thousand foreign ships made of gold, which are broken between the broken port and the barren shore. "The coastal residents are lonely and poor, which are forbidden by foreign countries."

Restrict the export of raw silk.

The Qing dynasty has always been in a favorable position in foreign trade. During the Qianlong period, due to the increasing export of raw silk and the rising price of raw silk, the Qing court banned the export of raw silk, resulting in "many mainland merchant ships selling foreign goods, many of which could not stop." Because raw silk can't be bought in foreign countries, less goods are shipped, and the value of foreign goods needed in the mainland is also increasing. "In view of this, the Qing court relaxed the ban, but still restricted the export of raw silk, stipulating that foreign ships should not exceed 10,000 kilograms and Chinese ships should not exceed 2,000 kilograms.

Restrict foreign businessmen.

In order to prevent james flint from complaining about going northward, Li Shiyao, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, made five rules against foreign countries in the 24th year of Qianlong (1759), stipulating that foreign businessmen were not allowed to spend the winter in Guangzhou. Foreign businessmen must operate in commercial pavilions designated by the Qing court; Businessmen and citizens are not allowed to borrow money from and be employed by foreign businessmen; Businessmen and citizens are not allowed to inquire about the market for foreign investors; At the anchorage of foreign merchant ships, Qing soldiers were sent to "surprise inspection" In the 14th year of Jiaqing (1809), Bailing, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, formulated six articles of trade. In the 11th year of Daoguang (183 1), Li Hongbin, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, formulated eight articles of association; And four years later, Lv Kun, who succeeded the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, added eight more articles. To sum up, there are the following restrictions: no sedan chair; Every month, only on the eighth day (eighth, eighteenth and twenty-eighth), no more than ten people at a time; Foreign women can't get Guangzhou; Foreign businessmen are not allowed to submit documents directly to the Qing government.

Hong merchants monopolize foreign trade.

Businessmen who handle foreign trade are called foreign businessmen, and their institutions are called foreign firms, commonly known as thirteen firms. Anyone who acts as a foreign businessman must be recommended by the foreign businessman and approved by the Qing court. If a Hong Kong businessman wants to quit, he must also get the government's approval.

Blue-and-white filigree tied with lotus flowers respects the officials of the Qing court and does not associate with foreign businessmen. The customs duties paid by foreign businessmen in China are not paid directly to Guangdong Customs, but by merchants. If foreign businessmen need to discuss affairs, they should submit a submission to the Qing court, which will be conveyed by the businessmen. In addition, the pricing and underwriting of all imported goods and the procurement and pricing of export goods are arranged by dealers. Hong merchants are responsible for the import and export of the Ministry of Housing (actually the Austrian Customs), and only they can handle affairs with customs officials. "Hong Shang is the only institution recognized by the China government. Goods purchased by bulk traders in China can only be shipped out of China through the Hong Kong merchants, who will draw the handling fee and declare the goods in the name of the Hong merchants ".

Before the Opium War, Hong merchants monopolized foreign trade. All hong merchants are descendants of father and son, grabbing huge wealth and using part of it to bribe officials at all levels.

The rulers of the Qing Dynasty restricted foreign trade to a narrow scope, prohibited contacts and exchanges between Chinese and foreign people, and regarded "complete isolation from the outside world" as the "first condition" for consolidating their rule and resisting external threats. But in practice, can the rule of the Qing Dynasty be consolidated? Can the ancient feudal empire resist the aggressive offensive of capitalist countries? It does not depend on the opening and closing of the floodgates in China, but on our own strength. The isolation and stagnation caused by the closed-door policy just made China lose an opportunity to catch up with the western capitalist countries.