Understanding China Through Historical Lens

Some say that Chinese has long memory. Things happened two hundred years ago is still influencing how Chinese view the outside world. In fact, it is not just the Chinese, try to take away American gun rights and you will trigger an instant reaction due to the culture ingrained since the beginning of the nation, also two hundred years ago. 

For most European and especially the Greeks, the name Lord Elgin would be instantly associated with the Elgin Marbles which were taken from the Greek Parthenon and are still displayed in the British Museum in London today. The Greek has built the brand new Acropolis Museum in Athens to expect that one day those marbles would be returned and hosted in their rightful places in Athens. What few people in Europe know is what Lord Elgin’s son did in China in 1860, the complete looting and destruction of one of the most beautiful gardens in the world at the time, the Yuanmingyuan (or the old Summer Palace). It is often reported that many of the high end Chinese antiques auctioned in Europe today are from the looting of the Yuanmingyuan.

In 1840, China fought and lost the first opium war in Guangdong and was forced to open up the trading port of Hong Kong and several other cities to allow European, especially the British to ship opium to China. In 1858, the second opium war triggered the invasion of China again by the British and French army with modern weaponries that China did not have the means to stop. It is such an irony that gun powder invented by the Chinese were now used for the complete destruction of China. On the right is a photo I took of the only original arch bridge remaining at the ruin.

Here is a description by French Author Victor Hugo of the looting:

One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits. We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism.

From the European point of view, the Opium Wars were minor conflicts compared with those of the 20th century throughout the rise and decline of the British Empire. But China has not forgotten the Opium Wars. Outside of Beijing suburb at the site where the park used to stand, the memories of the Opium Wars are very much alive. “Never forget our national shame” is prominently displayed for the millions of Chinese visitors, both casual tourists and organized tours for patriotic education. Psychologically, it created a much deeper scar to the Chinese society than what 911 did on the American society partly due to the lack of ability for China to respond but also what followed after the event.

The conflicts were a humiliation for the Chinese. They set it on a quest ever since, which continues to this day, to rediscover its strength lost during the last two hundred years. Biased or not, every Chinese student learns earlier on that the drive for modernization is, at root, a means of avenging the Opium Wars and what followed. How the conflict is remembered still matters very much in how Chinese view the outside world.

While often unspoken, many of the current foreign policy and government actions in China are directly or indirectly affected and underlined by its history. While we in the United States tend to look at the world with a lens which is shaped by our history which had demonstrated a remarkable success for the last two hundred years of history starting with a blank sheet of paper with its unique history, most of other nations are heavily influenced and shaped by their unique histories (the blank sheet statement is not intended to ignore the rich culture of the native Americans but unfortunately today’s American society inherited preciously little from it). The endless conflicts in the Middle East and the long history of conflicts in Europe, including the current Brexit movement, are both illustrative examples.

It is important for society to move forward but at the same time it is equally important not to forget its history. It is often necessary to put the current events in historical context, especially when one tries to seek a deeper understanding of the underlying emotions of people in different parts of the world.

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