Who discusses the late foreign policy of the Qing Dynasty government and its impact on Chinese society - looking at China's diplomacy from the evolution of Hong Kong
1. Diplomacy of the late Qing government
1. The evolution of diplomatic institutions in the late Qing Dynasty
The five ministers of commerce—the three ministers—the Prime Minister’s Yamen— —Ministry of Foreign Affairs—Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. The trend of the Qing government’s dealings with foreign powers
From the general trend, it has gone through confrontation-temporary compromise-and then confrontation- The process of complete surrender focused on compromise and surrender, and the massive betrayal of national sovereignty, and China became a semi-colonial society.
3. Three stages of diplomacy in the late Qing Dynasty
(1) Before the Opium War, the country pursued a policy of isolation and arrogance.
(2) In the modern wars of aggression against China by major powers, there were confrontations and compromises, with compromise being the mainstay.
(3) After the signing of the "Xinchou Treaty", it completely became a tool for imperialism to invade China.
Early History
Archaeological research indicates that human activities in Hong Kong can be traced back to 5,000 years ago. Neolithic excavations have shown that the local culture is different from the Stone Age culture in northern China, including the Longshan Culture. Bronze fishing tools and weapons have been excavated on Lantau Island and Lamma Island. At present, eight stone carvings have been discovered in Tung Lung Island, Kau Sai Chau, Po Toi Island, Wong Chuk Hang, Cheung Chau, Lantau Island, Tai Long Bay on Hong Kong Island and Lobster Bay in Sai Kung. These stone carvings facing the sea are believed to be related to the ancestors of Hong Kong who lived in the Shang Dynasty to worship the weather and pray for calm seas. Archaeological discoveries in the 1930s are believed to be related to the culture of Hong Kong's neighboring Guangdong region during the Warring States Period from the 6th century BC to the 3rd century BC.
[edit] Han to Song Dynasty
Hong Kong was under the jurisdiction of Panyu County for more than 500 years from the Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms and the early Eastern Jin Dynasty. From the sixth year of Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (331 AD) to the first year of Emperor Suzong's reign in the Tang Dynasty (756 AD), this area was under the jurisdiction of Bao'an County. From the second year of Zhide (AD 757), through the Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, to the sixth year of Longqing of Muzong in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1572), for more than 800 years, this area was under the jurisdiction of Dongguan County. Small-scale salt ponds were also developed.
Since the Han Dynasty, Han people began to settle in Hong Kong. The ancient tomb in Li Zheng Uk Village is believed to be a structure from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because there are few documents and archaeological discoveries, there is a lack of historical data on Hong Kong during the Three Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties. At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Eastern Zhejiang Uprising Army led by Lu Xun once captured Guangzhou City. After the failure of the uprising, most of the remaining tribes retreated to the Lantau Island area; this was the earliest documented immigration movement in Hong Kong. The sculpture at Castle Peak Monastery near Tuen Mun is said to be a portrait of Zen Master Bei Du, a Buddhist monk from the Southern Dynasties. In May 2004, a large number of pottery and pottery tools from the Eastern Han, Jin and Tang dynasties were unearthed from a drainage site with a depth of only two meters at the junction of Tung Choi Street and Soy Street in Mong Kok, indicating that people had been inhabited more than a thousand years ago. .
During the Tang Dynasty, because Guangzhou was an international trade port, the "Tuen Mun area" (i.e., the coastal area from Dongguan to Lantau Island including Deep Bay) was used as a military port, a safe haven, and an outer port for Guangzhou's overseas traffic. , is the only place for ships entering and leaving Guangzhou. "New Book of Tang" once quoted the article "Guangzhou Tonghai Yi Road" written by Tang Dynasty geographer Jia Dan in "Ancient and Modern County Roads and Four Barbarians": "Guangzhou travels to the southeast sea for 200 miles to Tuen Mun Mountain." Han Yu wrote in the sixth poem of "Farewell to the Eighteenth Union of the Yuan Dynasty": "Although the clouds in Tuen Mun are high, they also reflect the waves." Liu Yuxi wrote in "The Song of Treading the Waves": "Tuen Mun has been soaring for a long time without returning, and the waves that have not returned have turned into Tidal Waves." There is no historical data confirming that Han and Liu visited Tuen Mun. The appearance of the scenery of Tuen Mun in their poems shows that the place was already famous in the Tang Dynasty due to its convenient sea transportation. The management of salt ponds is also quite advanced.
In the Sixth Year of Dabao of the Southern Han Dynasty (AD 963), Liu Yuan, the later master of the Southern Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, recruited thousands of pearl-fishing soldiers to specialize in pearl diving at "Da Bu Hai" in Dongguan. The Southern Han Dynasty established the "Meichuan Capital" and began to develop the pearl fishing industry mainly in Tolo Port and Tai Po Sea: "Du" means military wing, and "Meichuan Capital" is a kind of garrison. "Big Bu Sea" is today's Tai Po Sea in the New Territories. Pearl fishing is hard and dangerous work. From the Song and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, in this sea area, official pearl fishing was sometimes ordered, and sometimes it was banned. It was not until the early years of Kangxi that official pearl fishing was permanently banned.
In the Song Dynasty, salt production in Hong Kong was already very large-scale. Because of the high profits of the salt industry, the Song Dynasty government established the "Guan Fu Chang" in the northwest of Kowloon Bay in this region, in the area where Kowloon City and Kai Tak Airport are now, and sent salt officers and troops to manage the salt field. "Song Huiyao" records: "In the first year of Longxing (1163 AD), "the promotion of Guangdong Salt and Tea Secretary said: Guangzhou Bolaochang, Guanfuchang, Chaozhou Huilaichang, Nan'enzhou Hailingchang, each of them is remote. Far away,... I want to abandon the four fields and attach them to the management of the nearby salt field. ... The official wealth field is attached to the folding blessing field,... follow it." Longxing was the reign name of Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty. Judging from this historical data, the official wealth market was established before Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, and at the latest during the reign of Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty. Lantau Island was once an important salt producing area in Hong Kong. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, he recruited local magistrates and others, selected their young and strong men as navy troops, and relaxed the ban on fishing and salt, which was called pickling salt. During the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty, Xu Anguo promoted salt tea in Guangdong and sent people to Lantau Island to arrest smuggled salt dealers, which triggered a large-scale salt uprising on the island. The rebels led by Gordon once took advantage of the rising tide to attack the city of Guangzhou.
The navigation industry on the Kowloon Peninsula in the Song Dynasty was also developed.
According to the "Lin Family Genealogy" in Pugang Village, Kowloon, during the Song Dynasty, a man named Lin Changsheng from Putian, Fujian Province, moved his family to Peng Puwei (today's Tai Hom Village) near today's Wong Tai Sin. For several generations, he made a living by sailing, traveling by boat to Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places. Once, his grandsons Lin Songjian and Lin Baijian were driving a boat out to sea and encountered a hurricane. The boat was damaged and the cargo was lost. The two of them pulled up the canopy of the boat, hugged the goddess Lin's aunt on the boat, and floated to Donglong Island (South Buddhist Hall) to escape safely. They believed that this was the guardian of the gods, so they built a temple to worship Aunt Lin in the Nanfo Hall. Lin Songjian's son Lin Daoyi later built a similar temple in the North Buddhist Hall. This aunt of the Lin family was later known as the Queen of Heaven. The migration history of the Lin family in the Song Dynasty and the construction of the Tianhou Temple in the north and south of the area reflected the development of the navigation industry in the area at that time.
Due to the boom in commerce, large-scale immigration began in the Song Dynasty. Fishing and agriculture also developed due to demand. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Deng Fuxie (a native of Jishui, Jiangxi), a Jinshi, passed through Tuen Mun in today's New Territories via the sea route on his way to Yangchun, Guangdong to serve as county magistrate. He greatly appreciated the beauty of the local customs. Therefore, after he resigned from office at the end of his term, his family moved to Cen Tin (Kam Tin). Deng Fuxie built gardens, built huts and tombs here, and engaged in agricultural development. He built the north and south walls of Kam Tin and also moved the remains of his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents to the New Territories. It is said that by the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Deng Yuanxun, a descendant of the Deng family, was already extremely wealthy, owning thousands of acres of fertile land. By the Kangxi period of the early Qing Dynasty, the Deng family not only owned rich land in Kam Tin, but also owned many fields on Hong Kong Island, becoming the most prominent family. In addition, at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Jinshi Hou Wulang moved to Dongguan County, and his son Hou Zhuofeng moved to today's Heshang Township to build a tea house and do a small business. His descendants still live in Ho Sheung Township, Yung Kong, Qianjin, Binggang and other places in the New Territories. After the Song Dynasty, the Liao, Wen, Peng and other tribes moved in one after another; among them, the Wen family is the tribe and descendant of Wen Tianxiang, the leader of the late Song Dynasty. Together with the Deng and Hou clans, they are collectively known as the five major clans in the New Territories.
[edit] The young master fled in the late Song Dynasty
In 1276 AD, Emperor Gong of the Song Dynasty and his ministers surrendered to the Mongolian army of the Yuan Dynasty in Lin'an (now Hangzhou). The exiled court of the Southern Song Dynasty, headed by general Zhang Shijie and Song Duanzong Zhao Shi, the concubine brother of Emperor Gong of the Song Dynasty who he supported, fled to Quanzhou, Fujian. Later, there was a disagreement between the exiled court and Pu Shougeng, the chief minister of Quanzhou City, which led Pu Shougeng to defect to the Yuan Dynasty. Zhang Shijie robbed ships and went to sea. This was called "Sea Dynasty" and the coastal exile court arrived at "Guanfuchang" in 1277. The big stone where Zhao and his younger brother Zhao Bing rested was later engraved with the words "Songwang Terrace". According to legend, the exiled imperial court also stayed at Tung Chung, Silver Mine Bay (Mui Wo), Lantau Island. The Hou Wang Temple in Tung Chung is said to commemorate an official of this court.
Later Zhao died of illness, and Zhao Bing was supported and was called Emperor Bing of the Song Dynasty by future generations. Another minister, Chen Yizhong, left the imperial court and arrived at Champa State (a country in today's southern Vietnam). The journey arrived at Yamen in Xinhui County, Guangdong, where a small town was built in a small bay and a small island off the coast, and contacted Wen Tianxiang, who was fighting against the Yuan Dynasty at the junction of today's Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces. Soon, Wen Tianxiang was captured alive by the Yuan Dynasty general Zhang Hongfan in Wupoling, Haifeng County, Guangdong. Zhang Hongfan pursued Xingchao and engaged the Song Dynasty navy on March 19, 1279. The Song division anchored its ships in the bay, hoping to hold on securely before taking to sea to escape; however, the Yuan navy, which had weaker ships and weaker firepower, blocked the bay and bombarded them with heavy artillery. The Song army was defeated, and minister Lu Xiufu committed suicide by jumping into the sea with Zhao Bing on his back.
[edit] Hong Kong during the Ming Dynasty
Due to the boom in commerce and population growth, the Hong Kong area in the Ming Dynasty had become an important coastal defense area. During the Ming Dynasty, fortifications were set up here to defend against "Japanese pirates", Portuguese and Dutch invaders. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there were three patrol lines along the coast of Guangdong to prepare for Japanese officers and troops. The middle road "starts from Nantou City, Dongguan County, and goes out from Fotangmen, Shizimen, and Lengshuijiao to Hai'ao". The Buddhist Hall Gate is in the Hong Kong area, which obviously belongs to the defense range of the middle road.
In the 42nd year of Jiajing (1563 AD), Fujian Governor Tan Lun and Commander-in-Chief Qi Jiguang petitioned to restore the old system of the Navy City Wall (referred to as the Water Wall). After that, the Ming Dynasty government set up six water villages in Chaozhou, Huizhou, Guangzhou, Gaozhou, Leizhou, Qiongzhou and other places in Guangdong. In the Guangzhou area is Nantou Village, with the defensive area extending from Dayu to the east and Guanghai to the west. From the 44th year of Jiajing (1565 AD), the military leader of Nantou Village was a staff general. From the 14th to the 18th year of Wanli (1586 to 1590 AD), it was once changed to a higher-level general soldier. Nantou Village has old large and small warships for fifty-three years, with one thousand four hundred and eighty-six officers and soldiers. After the 19th year of Wanli (AD 1591), the number of warships increased to 112, and the number of officers, soldiers and handymen in Xiaolu reached 2,008. This water village has jurisdiction over six flood areas including Fotangmen, Longchuan Bay, Luoge, Tai O, Langtao Bay and Langbai. More than 200 troops were stationed in each flood area. Among them, at least two flood areas, Fo Tang Mun and Tai O, belong to today's Hong Kong area.
Nowadays, the place names of some areas in Hong Kong have begun to appear in historical records. According to the historical data discovered so far, the place name of Kowloon was first seen in the frontier military chronicle "Cangwu Governor Military Gate Chronicles" written by Ying Yao in the 31st year of Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1552). The place name of Hong Kong Island was first seen in the book "Yue Da Ji" written by Guo Di during the Wanli period of Ming Shenzong (1573 to 1619 AD). The "Coastal Map of Guangdong" contained in the book includes the names of Hong Kong and places such as Stanley, Wong Nai Chung, and Tsim Sha Tsui.
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a riot broke out in the Nantou area where hungry people were robbing rice. Squire Wu Zuo participated in quelling the riot. After the incident subsided, Wu Zuo and others asked Liu Wen, deputy envoy of Guangdong Haidao, to establish a county there. Many officials and gentry believed that the area was more than a hundred miles away from Dongguan County, making it inconvenient to manage and often harassed by "pirates", so they all seconded the proposal. Liu Wen informed the Governor of Guangdong and approved the establishment. In the first year of Wanli, fifty-six miles, 7,608 households, and 33,971 people were drawn from Dongguan County to establish Xin'an County, with the county seat in Nantou. From the first year of Wanli Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1573) until it became a British colony in the 21st year of Daoguang Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1841), the area has always been under the jurisdiction of Xin'an County, Guangzhou Prefecture.
In addition, Hong Kong was rich in fragrant trees during the Ming Dynasty. This kind of fragrant wood belongs to Wanxiang, also known as Nuerxiang. It was very popular in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wang Chongxi compiled "Xin'an County Chronicles" Volume 2 "Ao Di Lue." "Products" once mentioned the production of fragrant trees in Hong Kong in the past: "Plant more fragrant trees in bars." The east road comes from Liyuan, and Shaluowan and other places are better." Lek Yuen is today's Sha Tin and other places in the New Territories, and Sha Lo Wan is in the west of Lantau Island. Today there is still a place called Heung Fun House near Pak Tin Estate in Shatin. From the first to the twenty-third year of Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1662-1684), the Qing government attempted to cut off the contact between the coastal people of Fujian and Guangdong and Zheng Chenggong, and implemented a policy of moving the coastal boundary 30 to 50 miles away. Residents in Hong Kong were also forced to move inland, causing the local incense industry to decline. During the Yongzheng period (1723-1735 AD), there was another county magistrate in Dongguan who demanded incense sticks because of the order. The incense growers reluctantly chopped down trees and fled. Since then, the production of fragrant wood has collapsed.