CHINA CHEATED IN TREATY OF NANJING
September 12, 1842
On the 29th of last month, Emperor Tao Kuang
grudgingly allowed for the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing
with Great Britain, which has given the British the right to seize our land
and to force addictive drugs into our culture, leaving China humiliated (1). Signed aboard a British warship by two
Manchu royal officers and a British diplomat, this treaty has engendered a
greater hate for the West than ever before and an increased pressure on China
to take on Western ways (2).
The treaty’s lofty
demands included paying indemnity of 21 million Mexican dollars total, opening
five trade ports (Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai) in which the
British are allowed to live in their own sections governed by their own laws,
ceding the island of Hong
Kong to the British, and establishing a fixed tariff on imports and
exports. All of these unfair
orders have had a large effect on the people of China. With the government’s need to pay
off such a great sum of money, taxes have risen for all, even impoverished
farmers who don’t have enough money as it is (3). Chen Zen, rice grower, says “My
family can’t afford to pay the taxes these days. And we don’t want to because our
hard-earned money will go straight into the greedy claws of the evil British
monster.” Many people feel
this way, and the Treaty has begun to be called the “unequal
treaty”.
It
has come to the knowledge of China that after the humiliating display of the
Treaty of Nanjing, the rest of the world, namely the
West, will have lost their respect for China as a country. It is possible that they will now see
us as an opportunity for a great amount of exploitation. Now the world has seen that China’s
military is weak and that we do not even hold control of the opium trafficking within our
bounds. Cian Hsu, prominent government
official suspects the worst for China’s near future. “So far we have only been hit by
one powerful oppressor. More
will come. All of the west will
follow, taking advantage of our helplessness.
They will also work our trade system to benefit themselves. They will come demanding money and ports
because they saw how easy it was for the British to get what they wanted,”
says Hsu.
The Treaty of Nanjing has shown China the extreme strength of the West, and the cutthroat ways of the modern world. In response, there has been much turmoil, and also the resentment for the West is continually building. It now seems inevitable that we will take action so as not to be butchered by every bully there is. It has become clear that to fight back against these modern enemies, we must use their tricks. China has been greatly wronged and cheated, having what was rightfully ours stolen.
Sources
1. Kenneth S. Latourette, The Chinese: Their History and Culture (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1946), 346.
2. Smitha, Frank E. “Imperialism to the Crimean War,” 2002, http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h38-br.html (1 Feb 2003).
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History: The Human Odyssey. (New York: West Educational Publishing, 1998),
Pictures
1. Index China: Foreign Invasion, “Nanjing Treaty,” Jan 30, 2003. http://www.index-china.com/index-english/ people-invasion-g.html
2. Historic China and Drug Abuse Treatment, “Opium Smokers Relaxing in Shanghai,” Jan 30, 2003. http://www3.telus.net/tcmguide/ addctour.html