Born in 1737, Macartney was an earl of the British Empire, and served in the colonies of the British Empire on behalf of the British Empire many times, Macartney served as governor of the Caribbean island countries, and also served as governor general in Madras, India, and later went to China in 1792.

The British government appointed Macartney as a chief envoy to China in the name of congratulating Emperor Qianlong on his 80th birthday, which was the first time that a Western European government sent an official envoy to China. Macartney met with Emperor Qianlong, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, in the palace where he was in the imperial court, and was allowed to see Lord Macartney, his deputy, Sir George Staunton, his interpreter, Fr. Lee, and Thomas Staunton, the twelve-year-old apprentice boy and son of Sir George.

A chamberlain led the way, and Macartney held a delicate gold box containing George III's letter high in front of his forehead and handed it to Emperor Qianlong, who gave him a white token carved from jadeite as a gift to King George, and another jade scepter for the ambassador himself. Macartney and the apprentice boy walked backwards, Sir George was accompanied by his son to curtsy Qianlong, and the Emperor gave him a carved gem.

When Qianlong heard that the trainee boy could speak Chinese, he untied the yellow silk purse hanging from his waist and gave it to the child, expressing his desire to listen to him. Thomas freely expressed to the monarch his gratitude for receiving the gift from the honorable Qianlong. Qianlong seemed very happy, in this meeting the British envoy gushed out his thoughts on how he wanted to go to China, and Qianlong had been silent, as if he was a mute, both sides thought that they were civilized and powerful countries, proud of their country, and regarded each other as barbarians.

Through the anecdotes of Macartney and Qianlong, it can be seen that the cultures between China and the West were quite different at that time, and the first exchange between the East and the West was difficult.

Macartney was an envoy to England who had traveled to China to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. In the eighteenth century, there were many legends about China in Europe, such as the gold everywhere in the East, and Europeans were very yearning for and admiring Chinese life.

British scholars at that time believed that Britain should learn from China if it wanted to become stronger, and as the great writer Voltaire said, the British should be the apprentices of the Chinese. Europeans believe that the Chinese are the smartest people in the world, because of Confucianism, the whole country of China is very harmonious and friendly, and the people are also very simple and united.

The historical background of Macartney's visit to China is that in the second half of the eighteenth century, the British capitalist economy was already quite developed, the products produced by large industries were inflated, and the treaty port of Canton in China could no longer meet the needs of British trade with China. In the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong, the British king agreed to the request of the East India Company and sent an envoy from England to China to negotiate commercial and trade issues.

Unfortunately, the envoy died of illness at sea, and the negotiation was delayed, and it was not until a few years later, because of China's vast land and the popularity of Chinese porcelain and tea in England that the British sent Macartney to visit China again. When the Macartney mission left England, the British Home Secretary at the time told him that he must obey Chinese etiquette, but not to the detriment of the interests of the British state.

In the eighteenth century, the British capitalist economy developed greatly due to the Industrial Revolution, but the trade between China and Britain was completely closed, and Guangzhou, China's only treaty port, could no longer meet the needs of Britain. In the 57th year of Qianlong, the British government sent Macartney as an envoy to lead the LinkedIn delegation to visit China, and Macartney paved the way for the opening of China's country under the banner of celebrating the 83rd birthday of the Qianlong Emperor, which was also the purpose of Macartney's visit to China.

The Macartney Mission's various actions during its visit to China were aimed at achieving the objectives of Macartney's visit to China. During Macartney's visit to China, Britain negotiated with the Qing Dynasty's high-level officials to strive for Britain to obtain more benefits in trade with the Qing Dynasty and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. And actively expand the Chinese market and open the door of China. In fact, the purpose of Macartney's visit to China also included that Macartney was a spy to spy on China's relevant intelligence, estimate China's comprehensive national strength in advance, study whether China is as strong as the legend, and provide intelligence for Britain's next move.

Britain attaches great importance to Macartney's visit to China and has made very perfect preparations. First of all, Macartney was an experienced diplomat and a colonialist through and through. Macartney served as a British diplomat in Russia and signed treaties with Russia that were very favorable to the British. Moreover, the warships on which the mission was carried were also carefully selected, and they were all the top ships of Britain at that time. Macartney's visit to China was a multifaceted military, political, and economic purpose, and was an integral part of Britain's colonial and economic expansion.

The British government appointed Macartney as its chief envoy and George Staunton as its deputy envoy to the Qing Dynasty in the name of celebrating the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong, which was the first time that a Western European government sent an official envoy to China. This envoy can be said to be of a very high standard, first of all, the captain Macartney in Britain has a very high status, aristocratic background, can be called the most famous British diplomat, politician, in India, the Caribbean islands as a governor, in Britain was made a count.

Vice-Envoy George Staunt, Doctor of Law from Oxford University, is also well-informed in the field of diplomacy. Plus five luxury warships, with more than 700 attachés. These included all sorts of English experts, philosophers, mechanics, biologists, botanists, doctors, painters, and so on. There were also six hundred boxes of gifts, worth thirteen thousand pounds.

At that time, Britain's deepest understanding of China was seen from "Marco Polo's Travels", although Britain had begun the industrial revolution at this time, dominating Europe on the sea, but it was still very respectful to the mysterious Celestial Empire, so it was necessary to prepare a birthday gift, after all, Marco Polo described China as so prosperous and powerful. The British Empire's sending such a high-quality contingent to China shows its attitude towards China.

The British mission arrived at the mouth of the Baihe River in Tianjin on a sixty-gun ship Lion and two accompanying ships provided by the British East India Company, and then changed boats to Dagu, after all, foreign envoys came to celebrate their birthdays, and the governor of the Qing Dynasty personally greeted them and sent a large number of gifts and food. Staunton, the deputy envoy of the British mission, wrote in great detail: "Because of the large number of gifts, the space on board was small, and only a part of them could be received, and then without request, large quantities of free supplies were sent in a steady stream." ”

This grand reception ceremony made the British very happy and satisfied, and admired this oriental prosperity from the bottom of their hearts, but then strange things that the British did not expect followed.

The Governor of Zhili had just left after delivering the goods, and because some pigs and poultry had already collided and died on the road, the British threw some dead pigs and dead chickens from the Lion into the sea. When the Chinese watching the bustle on the shore saw it, they rushed to jump into the water, immediately scooped them up, took them home, washed them, and salted them in salt. After landing in Tianjin, the mission traveled north along the White River to Beijing. What unfolded in front of them was not the scene of a bustling metropolis, but a patch of dilapidated houses and poor and emaciated people. Treasurer Barlow wrote: "In fact, there is nothing but poverty and backwardness as far as the eye can see. ”

If they couldn't believe the scene of poverty, then the authoritarian environment in society was even more disappointing. When they landed in Dinghai, the British made a request to the local officials to find someone familiar with the sea route to guide them to Tianjin. The old soldier agreed, and immediately sent someone to arrest a group of people.

Barlow wrote: "The soldiers they sent soon brought back a group of men. They were the most miserable-looking creatures I've ever seen in my life, and they got down on their knees and were questioned. ”

What opened the eyes of the British even more was that on the return trip along the White River, the ship could not be driven due to the drop in the water level, and the officer in charge who was angry ordered his soldiers to let the captain and the whole crew face the board. The poor fellows provided the boats and served two days of hard labor, and that was the only reward they received. The China in "Marco Polo's Travels" was educated in Confucianism and was full of respect and harmony, but the events in front of them suddenly shattered their favor for the Qing Dynasty.

The mission arrived in Rehe, presented its credentials to the representative of the Chinese government, and had a dispute over etiquette, Macartney was unwilling to bow down, and at the insistence of the mission, the two sides finally reached an agreement, and Britain, as an independent country, his envoy would kneel on one knee and not have to kowtow.

Eighty-three-year-old Qianlong received the mission at the Chengde Summer Resort, and the British mission presented the Chinese government with a number of state gifts, including weapons such as breech guns, telescopes, globes and other astronomical instruments, clocks, and a model of a 110-gun gunboat, which was the most advanced in Britain. But how can these things be seen by the Celestial Empire, the Qing Dynasty is vast and rich, and there is no need for anything from foreign countries, and these things are not useful to the Qing Dynasty.

Qianlong had no interest in the gifts from the British, but a twelve-year-old British boy in the mission made him very interested. Although this child was only twelve years old, on the way to China, he learned Chinese alone, which made Qianlong very happy, let him come over, and rewarded him for touching his knees, which was a great reward.

The little boy who touched the dragon's knee was the son of the vice-captain George Staunton. Because of learning Chinese, Xiao Si Dangdong had a lot of understanding of the Great Qing Dynasty and the essence of the Great Qing Dynasty very thoroughly. When the British Parliament discussed waging war against the Qing Dynasty, Staunton Jr. was the one who was most firmly in favor. "China doesn't understand the language of free trade, only the language of artillery fire," he said. ”

Macartney then submitted a contract to Emperor Qianlong on free trade between the two sides, but Emperor Qianlong rejected the British request on the grounds that it was unprecedented, arguing that China, as a superior state of the Celestial Empire, could be self-sufficient without the need for foreign goods, and that there was no basic condition for equal trade between the two sides. The mission had no choice but to leave China for a while in Macau and return to the British military port of Portsmouth.

Anderson, an attaché at Macartney, said: "Our envoy had only three sentences: we entered Peking like beggars, stayed there like prisoners, and left like thieves. ”

Baron Staunton said: "The poverty is surprising, the garbage we throw away along the way will be picked up and eaten by the people living at the bottom, and the Qing army we see is like a flower child." ”

The prosperous Kangqian era admired by history did not seem to be so strong in what Macartney and his party saw, and it seems reasonable that it would be divided up by foreign invaders in the future. Which of Macartney's records and history books is the real Kangqian Dynasty?

On his return, George Macartney wrote a report to the British Parliament: "China is a big dilapidated ship, and the reason why it has not capsized for a hundred and fifty years is because it has been fortunate enough to meet a very cautious captain." Once caught up with the mediocre captain, the big ship could sink at any moment. China simply does not have a modern military industry, and China's military strength is three to four centuries inferior to that of Britain. ”