The primary readings for this week were for Friday, and much of the focus ,for the basic set at least, was on the Chinese-European interactions of the early nineteenth century, especially over opium. One of the most rewarding things about reading the primary sources, coming from both the Chinese and British perspectives, is the different approaches to the world and to life that come out of the writings. For example, the letter from Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria gives a very good insight into how the Chinese saw their place in the world, and how that could be applied in action. The focal point of the message was that the British must stop bringing their opium to China, but the framing of it was very interesting. Most telling for me was that the Chinese made no attempt to hide the fact that they saw themselves as superior to the British. By using terms like barbarian or submission, Lin Zexu leaves nothing to doubt; in the process, he is bound to outrage the equally proud British.
The bluntness of Lin’s message makes perfect sense in the Chinese world view, but it also is interesting to note that it indicates a level of confidence in the material power of China. In other words, Lin is completely confident that his demands could be backed by the Chinese government and military. This raises two questions for me; the first is how Lin expected to curb the rampant corruption in the Qing bureaucracy, and the second is how aware was Lin about the military strengths of the British. Since I am personally interested in historical military affairs, the second question is particularly fascinating to me. I would be interested in finding out how the Qing believed that their military stacked up against the British, especially in terms of advanced artillery, small arms, and shipping technology.
For my exploration pack, I read about the Taiping rebellion. While the passages that I read were interesting, I look forward to finding out more about it, both in and out of class. I expect that the Taiping rebellion will be the topic of my next show and tell. I think that a further investigation of the actual course of the war will make the passage about the dead especially more meaningful.
Lin Zexu. “Letter to the English Ruler”, in Sources of Chinese Tradition: From 1600 through the Twentieth Century, Vol. 2, 202-205. Edited by Wm. Th. de Bary and R. Lufrano. Columbia Univ. Press, 2001.
Meyer-Fong, Tobie S. “4. Bones and Flesh.” In What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2013.
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