Just the year after Qianlong's death, in 1800, the Englishman Twendick invented a high-pressure engine, which was more practical than Watt's steam engine, and soon, all the power of the trains and ships of the European powers was powered by high-pressure engines, and the climax of the Industrial Revolution came. This was followed by the advent of the war frenzy, britain, France, Russia and Prussia fought fiercely, until the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and the beginning of a brief calm in Europe after a long period of strife, the Western European powers seized the opportunity to complete the transition of industrialization, and found common ground in the conquest of the East, they did not fall for each other, but joined hands to expedition to the East, and the countries of the East were ignorant of this. Due to the advent of the climax of the Industrial Revolution, in terms of national strength, European countries have advanced by leaps and bounds, while China has flourished and declined, and the people's livelihood has withered and closed the country.
At the same time as the gap between the East and the West widened, Qianlong died in 1799 and Jiaqing took the throne. In 1814, Jiaqing issued a decree prohibiting Chinese from serving foreigners, not living in small Western-style buildings, not allowing foreign languages with shop numbers, and not allowing foreigners to buy Chinese books or learn Chinese. It was a ridiculous ban, the missionary Tu Ma Li Xun learned Chinese in China, and he had to carry a pair of shoes and a bottle of poison with him every time he went to class, and the shoes said that he had gone to buy shoes, and the poison was in case the government found out that he would take poison and commit suicide.
The tragic experience of the foreigners in China infuriated the British. In that year, the British won the final victory against Napoleon, and they saw this as a good opportunity to expand into China, so they sent Amistad and Staunton, who was still a child when they last came to China, to China.
In 1816, Amistad came to China and met the Jiaqing Emperor asking for trade, and encountered the same problem. The British envoys still refused to kneel, and the Chinese ministers could not screw them, but if they did not kneel, they could not make a difference, so they lied to Jiaqing that the British envoys agreed to kneel. Jiaqing was very happy, Qianlong did not let the British kneel, I can make the British kneel. At that time, Jiaqing was in the Yuanmingyuan, and he wanted to meet the British envoys in the Yuanmingyuan. The British envoys lived in Tongzhou, and the Chinese ministers wanted to transport them to the Yuanmingyuan overnight, and when they were tired, they knelt there. As a result, after arriving, the British resolutely did not kneel, and they could lie down when they were sleepy, but they did not kneel. So the ministers pushed and dragged, and they wanted to kneel down with Amistus, and Amistad protested against the use of force against the envoys, but still resolutely did not kneel.
Later, the envoys thought of a way to deceive the Jiaqing Emperor, saying that the British envoy was sick and could not see the emperor, so he hoped that Jiaqing was gone, and it would be canceled. As a result, Jiaqing said that the main envoy was ill, so I would see the deputy envoy, and the big and the old could not let the family come to the white. But the deputy envoy still did not kneel, and the minister lied to Jiaqing that the deputy envoy was also ill. Jiaqing understood that his minister was deceiving him, so he was very angry and drove the British away, and the minister was also punished. Before the British left, Jiaqing gave them a letter to the King, in which he said: "It is very obedient and pleasant to remember your country, but you cannot learn Chinese etiquette." China is the common master of the world, how can you be so arrogant? China is a heavenly kingdom, everything, there is no need to communicate with you, you hurry to leave. You have come from afar to show compassion for all the nations, you are too hard, you will not need to pay tribute in the future, you know this filial piety. ”
Napoleon, who was imprisoned on st. Helena, also heard about this, and he said to Amistad on the island: "In Italy you kiss the pope's mule is not considered a low knee, you salute the Chinese emperor like the highest Chinese official, it will not damage your reputation at all, you say that you are ready to salute the Chinese emperor like your own king, then how can you ask Chinese to obey the etiquette of the English?" "To go to war on this vast, rich empire would be the greatest folly in the world, and maybe you would succeed in the beginning, and you would destroy their business, but they would awaken and learn your cannons and warships to make them as powerful as you were, and they would bring in gunners from France or the United States, build a fleet, and finally crush you."
Finally he famously said, "China is a sleeping lion, but when it wakes up the whole world trembles." This sentence is very proud of the Chinese people, pay attention to the back of a sentence: "It is best not to wake up, let her sleep!" Amistus listened to Napoleon's words and said, "The Great Qing Dynasty is a mud-footed giant, vulnerable, wait and see." "It turns out that Napoleon's prediction was completely disappointed, and it was not China, but Japan, that really fulfilled Napoleon's prediction."
Not only Napoleon, but many Westerners believe that China was asleep at that time, and France's Stalan said: "China is indeed in a state of deep sleep", "in fact all it has left is a large population, a vast territory, a heavy burden, and a central empire that is floating in the void." China, like lepers, tries to avoid contact with the outside world, and when I met with the prime minister, Yamen, I was surprised to find that the empire was so ignorant, arrogant and isolated, and rudely marked with the sign of 'don't touch me'. ”