In a letter to Captain Vattre on November 25th, 1861, victor hugo bluntly denounced the heinous crime of the British and French allied forces burning down Yuanmingyuan: "One day. Two robbers walked into Yuanmingyuan, one robbed and the other set fire. It can be said that victory is a thief's victory, and the two winners together completely destroyed the Yuanmingyuan. ..... We Europeans think we are civilized people, but in our eyes, China people are barbarians, but this is what civilized people do to barbarians. "