INTRODUCTION
BRITISH PERCEPTIONS of CHINA in the 18TH CENTURY
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EASTERN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ASIA 1760 A.D. |
Eighteenth Century England...and the Rest of the Cosmos - China and the Pacific Rim
By
April Olinchak and
Suzanne Lauer
December 2003
This website will explore perceptions and misperceptions regarding the rest of the world found in eighteenth century British literature. We are exploring China and the writings of Daniel Defoe, William Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson, and articles from the Tatler and the Spectator. Also, we are considering Chinese cultural influences on Britain including Confucianism, commodities like tea and porcelain china, landscape gardening, and political issues such as the Macartney expedition toward the end of the century.
Thesis: A New Historical approach to interpreting eighteenth century British literary texts regarding China does not read these texts as a historical "reality" of the history of China and Chinese culture. Rather, these texts are a history of the representation of Chinese culture. China came to figure imagistically in the British popular imagination as an exotic, luxurious landscape. The end result of direct contact with eastern cultures was not a more accurate "knowledge" of Chinese civilizations, but an appropriation of its cultural heritage.
A Literature may be related to the life around in one of three ways.
It may reproduce the society which produces it, thus reinforcing its likes and dislikes; it may escape from the life around; or, as in the present case, it may be an outspoken criticism of life.
-Qian Zhongshu, Quarterly Bulletin of Chinese Bibliography, II (1941)
TIMELINE SUMMARY
1500’s: Chinese Lore
The first stories to idolize the orient first spilled into Britain. The stories came from Jesuit missionaries, members of embassies from other countries, and seafarers. This Chinese lore heavily influenced Macartney’s motives in planning the embassy. The stories presented Macartney with a picture of the “national character” of china and in turn Macartney wished to send the east a picture of the “national character” of Britain.
1730: China Part of the Civilized World
Travelers from other nations bring back word of China, its rich history and art. Around this time the Literary Club champions China and Chinese style. Some parts of Asia, especially China and the Mandarin elite are held as civilized by Europe and Britain in particular.
1738: Johnson’s First Essay on China
Johnson never actually visited China. Johnson was the leader of the Literary Club. He researched China studying journals from other travelers who went to the Far East. He published in Gentleman’s Magazine. In 1742 he reviewed as an expert Jean Baptiste Du Halde’s Description of the Empire of China, also published in Gentleman’s Magazine.
1760: Goldsmith’s Chinese Letters
Goldsmith wrote 123 letters for the Public Ledger between January 24, 1760 and August 14, 1761. In May of 1762 the epistolary series was published in two volumes, The Citizen of the World; or, Letters of a Chinese Philosopher, living in London, to his Friends in the East. This was the height of the Chinese craze.
1781: First Opium Ship to China
This is the precursor to the Opium Wars of 1836.
1784: Commutation Act of 1784
This act greatly improved trade relations between Britain and China. It would prove a stumbling block as Macartney planned his embassy because the East India Company, which would pay for the embassy, feared the new venture could jeopardize the trade relationship nurtured by the Commutation Act. Macartney would have to prove that his embassy would be about something more important than money.
1786: Literary Club Election
Lord George Macartney was elected to the Literary Club, a club that prided itself on diversity and bourgeoisie values. The club served to aide the popularization of chinosierie or Chinese style around the middle of the 18th century. Members applied the style to literature, architecture, agriculture, design, and so on. The craze peaked 20 years before the embassy, but rippled into the next century.
1792: Ambassador Macartney
On May 2, 1992 Macartney is officially appointed ambassador to China and his embassy sets sail on September 26.
1793: Audience with the Emperor
On September 14, 1793 Macartney walked directly up to the throne of the emperor, and presented him with a jewel-encrusted box, a gift from George III, the king of Great Britain. The emperor took the box, placed it on a pillow and handed Macartney back a jade scepter or ruyi. Macartney noted that the gift did not “appear in itself to be of any great value.” For the Chinese it was a symbol of peace and prosperity.