Readings for Week 6

Kangxi (r 1662-1722) (reigned) consolidated, powerful
Sacred Edicts of the Kangxi Emperor, 1670
1) Why were the edicts read out loud to the people?
2) Why did the edicts have the seven character grammatical structure?
3) How would you characterize these edicts? What ideas unite them?
4) Why would the government issue such edicts?

Qienlong (r 1736-1795)
The Qianlong Emperor: Letter to George III, 1793
1) How did the Qianlong emperor view England? How does this compare to English self image?
2) Why doesn’t the Qianlong emperor grant the King of England’s requests?
3) What does this document say about Qianlong’s image of China and of China’s self image in general?
4) How did this isolationist attitude towards the Europeans hurt China?

Lin Zexu: Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria, 1839
1) What moral responsibilities do merchants have in Lin’s view?
2) What arguments does Lin use against the opium trade?
3) According to Lin, what happens if a ruler acts morally (pay especial attention to page
4) How have things changed since the Qianlong’s letter to King George III?

Supplemental Reading

317-320 (Taiping rebellion and some other information. If you want to read the whole chapter, you can go ahead, though we won’t deal with that material for a little while longer)