200 Boundaries and Beyond
consisted of more than 50 ofβicers and 800 crew members on board βive
ships.^33 The Court received a letter from a British subject conveying his
king’s regret about the country’s absence from the celebration of the
Qianlong Emperor’s 80th birthday two years previously, and saying that
the king was sending a “tribute” mission led by Lord Macartney. The
mission would travel to Tianjin by sea and proceed from there to the
imperial capital. The Court was satisβied with the respectful (gongshun)
language of the letter in the Chinese translation, and gave its permission,
even though coastal-defense ofβicials had misgivings about allowing the
mission to sail along the coast up to Tianjin, which was considered the
front gate to the national capital. Disarmed by the βlattering Chinese-
language letter, the Court allowed the British vessels to sail north along
the coast.^34
Imperial China had had opportunities to accumulate greater
knowledge about countries in the Da Xiyang since the sixteenth century.
By the time of Lord Macartney’s arrival, Qing China was aware of the
fact that, of all “the Xiyang nations” (Xiyang geguo), Great Britain was
a particularly strong naval power and might become a military threat.
The Court was well informed about Britain’s prowess and aggressiveness
in the maritime world. And yet the Qianlong Emperor was indecisive in
dealing with the British mission. On the one hand, provincial authorities
were told to keep a watchful eye on the movements of the British envoy
and his suite and, if necessary, to restrict their movements.^35 On the other
hand, in response to persistent requests by the British envoy, on his
return trip the Emperor allowed him to travel by inland waterways to
Jiangxi and from there to cross the mountain range to Guangdong.^36 This
provided a rare opportunity for the British to gather valuable intelligence
about conditions in the interior.
Scholarship on China in Perspective
The subject of Qing China’s perceptions of the foreign lands beyond its
borders and particularly of the maritime world has been well researched
1466, p. 579; 59/12, juan 1467, pp. 591‒2, 595‒6; and 60/12, juan 1493,
pp. 980‒1.- QSL: GZ, 58/6, juan 1431, pp. 131, 134.
- QSL: GZ, 58/1, juan 1421, p. 12.
- QSL: GZ, 58/8, juan 1435, p. 192.
- QSL: GZ, 58/10, juan 1438, p. 128.
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