Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793
This paper looks at the choice, reception and afterlife of both the Chinese and the British gifts given during Britain’s first embassy to China. Earlier studies have tended to fault the Qing court for understanding the gifts they received as tribute and failing to appreciate the scientific items giv...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2018
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| _version_ | 1797067547479113728 |
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| author | Harrison, H |
| author_facet | Harrison, H |
| author_sort | Harrison, H |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This paper looks at the choice, reception and afterlife of both the Chinese and the British gifts given during Britain’s first embassy to China. Earlier studies have tended to fault the Qing court for understanding the gifts they received as tribute and failing to appreciate the scientific items given by the British. However, gift-giving was a highly charged political issue in the domestic politics of both countries at this time and the terms in which the argument was conducted differed widely. This paper argues that the Chinese term that has been translated into the English ‘tribute’ did not have the same resonance in China, and that instead the gifts were received by both sides as part of the negotiations that accompanied the embassy. The most successful gifts in this context were those with an accepted monetary value in the existing trade between the two countries, notably high-quality textiles. British military gifts were also of importance in shaping the outcome of the embassy. However, attempts to use the gifts to present the culture or wider philosophical outlook of the giver were much less successful in this diplomatic context. After the embassy ended the vast majority of gifts given by both sides became exotic items in royal collections where they added to the glory of the recipient rather than that of the donor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:57:52Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:4d8b8ce8-ae73-4daf-99ac-0321959a8645 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:57:52Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:4d8b8ce8-ae73-4daf-99ac-0321959a86452022-03-26T15:56:02ZChinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:4d8b8ce8-ae73-4daf-99ac-0321959a8645EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2018Harrison, HThis paper looks at the choice, reception and afterlife of both the Chinese and the British gifts given during Britain’s first embassy to China. Earlier studies have tended to fault the Qing court for understanding the gifts they received as tribute and failing to appreciate the scientific items given by the British. However, gift-giving was a highly charged political issue in the domestic politics of both countries at this time and the terms in which the argument was conducted differed widely. This paper argues that the Chinese term that has been translated into the English ‘tribute’ did not have the same resonance in China, and that instead the gifts were received by both sides as part of the negotiations that accompanied the embassy. The most successful gifts in this context were those with an accepted monetary value in the existing trade between the two countries, notably high-quality textiles. British military gifts were also of importance in shaping the outcome of the embassy. However, attempts to use the gifts to present the culture or wider philosophical outlook of the giver were much less successful in this diplomatic context. After the embassy ended the vast majority of gifts given by both sides became exotic items in royal collections where they added to the glory of the recipient rather than that of the donor. |
| spellingShingle | Harrison, H Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title | Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title_full | Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title_fullStr | Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title_short | Chinese and British diplomatic gifts in the Macartney Embassy of 1793 |
| title_sort | chinese and british diplomatic gifts in the macartney embassy of 1793 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT harrisonh chineseandbritishdiplomaticgiftsinthemacartneyembassyof1793 |