In the 1980s, a TV series "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia" spread all over China, becoming a microcosm of the patriotic enthusiasm of the Chinese at that time, and the theme song of the play, "The Great Wall Never Falls", also became a song that almost every Chinese person would hum, and whenever the song appeared, national pride would arise spontaneously. The song can best express Chinese inner feelings than the two sentences at the end of the song, "Will the land be trampled on again, and this sleeping lion gradually awakens."
"Sleeping Lion" is the most appropriate description of China at the end of the feudal dynasty, not only the anger of the Chinese people on the feudal dynasty, but also the national pride in history and the firm belief in the future national rejuvenation on the road of national rejuvenation. But few people know that this "special" title first came from a foreigner.
This man was the Napoleon who turned Europe upside down. Napoleon was the greatest French military figure of the nineteenth century and the founder of the First French Empire. Napoleon traversed Europe throughout his life, showing astonishing military talent at both the Battle of Toulon and the Battle of Italy. The famous French writer Stendhal described Napoleon as "no one in this world can compare with him, Napoleon is proving to the world that after many centuries, Caesar and Alexander finally have successors."
And when Napoleon established his powerful empire on the European continent, China was also experiencing a peak "Kangqian prosperity". In 1793, the British king sent Macartney to visit China with a mission, hoping to trade with the Qing Dynasty, but at that time the Qing government insisted on a policy of closing the country to the country, which was categorically rejected by the Qianlong Emperor.
In 1816, the reluctant British government once again sent the famous diplomat Amysted to China to negotiate trade, but as soon as Amested arrived in Tianjin, the Jiaqing Emperor sent a message to local officials to "if they ask for the opening of a commercial port, sternly refute it, send it back at a feast, and prevent them from entering Beijing." Amistad didn't even see the emperor's face, and was sent home with a gray face. In 1817, Amested returned home, ready to propose directly to the British government to open the door of China by force and force trade.
During Amistad's visit to China, a major event also took place in Europe. In 1815, the French Emperor Napoleon led an army of 300,000 to attack the anti-French coalition forces, but suffered a crushing defeat at Waterloo, forced to abdicate, and was imprisoned by the British army on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic.
Before returning to England, Amistad passed by the island of St. Helena and stopped by to visit the famous former king of France. In conversations with Napoleon, Amistad mentioned his trip to China and his preparation to persuade the British government to wage war against the Qing Dynasty, believing that China was nothing more than a mud-footed giant, vulnerable.
But Napoleon rejected Amistad's view of China, arguing that China was not weak, that "China is nothing more than a sleeping lion, and once awakened, the world will shake." Napoleon made a very appropriate evaluation of China at that time, and the "sleeping lion theory" quickly spread throughout Europe and the world.
But in fact, after this sentence, Napoleon also put forward his own views on Amistad's idea of starting a war: "Let this sleeping lion continue to sleep, do not let it wake up." The sleeping lion is non-threatening, which is also Napoleon's sharp summary of the Closed Country policy of the Qing Dynasty at that time.
Later history is also as Napoleon predicted, the "sleeping" of the Qing Dynasty made the country a lamb to be slaughtered, but the iron hooves of the imperial powers also awakened this "sleeping lion", and the Chinese began to explode their own strength, defend the country, resist aggression, and began the great process of national rejuvenation.