Napoleon said that when the lion fell asleep, the fly dared to land on its face and make a few noises; Once China awakens, the world will be shocked.

1793 (fifty-eight years of Qing Qianlong),

The King of England sent a delegation from Macartney to visit China, eager to open the trade gateway of China. However, their trade requirements were rejected by Emperor Qianlong of China.

18 16 (11th year of Qing Jiaqing) On February 8th, the King of England sent a delegation from Amherst to China again to discuss trade issues. Amish, head of the mission, is a famous British diplomat. He used to be the governor of India, and the members of the mission were not only high-level Chinese, but also members of the East India Company. 1865438+On July 28th, 2006, Amish and his party arrived outside Tianjin. At this time, Emperor Jiaqing understood the intention of the British special envoy to visit China. He bluntly asked local officials "not to be extravagant and wasteful", "if you ask to open a commercial port, you should sternly refute it and send the banquet back to Beijing."

18 17, the unpopular Amistad embarked on his way home. He is going to write to Parliament and the King of England after returning home, and forcibly knock on the door of China's foreign trade.

Just before and after amherst's visit to China, major events took place on the European continent. The powerful French emperor Napoleon I made a comeback after being defeated by the European anti-French Coalition forces in 18 14. In 18 15, he organized 300,000 troops to attack the European anti-French Coalition forces, and the result was disastrous in Waterloo. On June 22, Napoleon was forced to abdicate, and was soon escorted by the British army to the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena and imprisoned. In the third year of imprisonment, Amish came back from China in frustration. On his way home, he happened to pass by St. Helena. When Amish heard that the world-famous Napoleon I was imprisoned here, he wanted to meet him and listen to the legendary figure's views on China. With the consent of the governor of the island, Amish people met with the former emperor. Amish talked about his experience in China and thought that only by knocking on the door of China through war can the autocratic rulers of China understand that opening the door is beneficial to both sides. At that time, Napoleon was full of contempt for British practices. He commented on Britain's idea of solving problems by war: "Fighting this huge and rich empire is the biggest stupid thing in the world." He went on to say, "You may succeed at first. You will seize their ships and destroy their military and commercial facilities, but you will also let them know their own strength. They will think; They will build ships and equip them with artillery. They will invite gunmen from France, the United States and even London to form a fleet and defeat you. " Amish retorted, "China is a powerful giant with clay feet behind its surface. It is very weak." But Napoleon thought that China was not weak, but a sleeping lion. "From today's point of view, the lion is asleep, and even flies dare to fall on its face and scream." Napoleon went on to say, "Once China wakes up, the world will shake." After this sentence was uttered from Napoleon's mouth, it had a very strong sensation effect. "A Sleeping Lion-China" quickly spread throughout Europe and the world.

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