The shame that China once suffered and the strength of our motherland today should be concise.

This is the most shameful page in China's history. When the nomads from Japan invaded Tokyo, except one of the Zhao and Song royal families, the rest were all Northern Expedition. The prince who escaped by luck was, while countless bureaucrats and their families were Northern Expedition, and most of them were sold as domestic slaves. Some prostitutes in low-level brothels turned out to be the prime minister's daughters. The cultural loss is immeasurable. Jin people were very savage in the Jingkang era, killing everyone and robbing everyone. The cultural wealth accumulated in the Song Dynasty was burned and robbed, which was also a catastrophe of Chinese civilization. This is also the foreshadowing of China being overtaken or even backward by the West.

It is also the cause of various historical tragedies later. More sadly, the later Ming Dynasty did not inherit the brilliant achievements of the Song Dynasty, which led to the national disaster in Shen Jia and the demise of China. At that time, Japanese culture changed from worship to reflection on Chinese civilization. By the way, sumo, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, polo and many other cultures and arts disappeared at that time.

The Second Opium War (1856- 1860)

I have always had a question. According to high school history books, the war was waged because Britain and France wanted to gain greater benefits in China. I have also read a lot of materials, and there is nothing about opium in them. So why is it called the Second Opium War? First, let's look at the first opium war. In fact, this is a trade war. It is for the British to gain trade rights, that is, for trade equality, not to buy opium for the government, nor to legally sell opium. To put it bluntly, opium is just a source. Not opium, but something else. In order to make our country more moral, our history books specifically call this war the Opium War. The purpose of the Second Opium War was the same, just asking the Qing government to open more deeply and give them MFN treatment. Since there is an opium war with the same purpose, let's call it the second opium war, which is a moral victory. Because at first glance, it sounds like two wars of open drug trafficking.

The reason for this is that after the First Opium War, the Qing government adopted the tactics of serving the sun and disobeying the yin, which violated the contract and secretly stopped the trade with Europe, making the trade between Britain and France impossible. Britain and France became angry from embarrassment and found two ways to go to war. Thus forcing the Qing government to sign the Tianjin Treaty. It was supposed to stop here. Emperor Xianfeng couldn't stand it anymore. He thought it had damaged China's face and instructed the green-hearted monk to ambush the British and French envoys who came to Dagukou to exchange contracts. Many people died on the spot, which is also a great victory in high school history books. More than a dozen envoys who went to negotiate were detained. The Qing court believed that as long as the bandits were caught, the rest of the troops would surrender without fighting. In this way, Britain and France landed and went straight to Beijing to kill. Xianfeng fled to Jehol, and only a few detained messengers were alive. Later, as we all know, Britain and France burned the Yuanmingyuan in order to demonstrate to the Qing government.

This war is a great shame. There are two aspects: on the one hand, the British and French allied forces are extremely cruel, and the people in the capital have been slaughtered in countless ways. The Yuanmingyuan and Wanshou Park (the predecessor of the Summer Palace), which were built in the Qing Dynasty with the essence of the people for hundreds of years, were burned down. What is even more distressing is that it is stored in two gardens, and most of the ancient calligraphy, painting, antiques and porcelain collected by the Qing emperors from the people are fine works. Many national treasures lost overseas in China now belong to Yuanmingyuan. There are also a large number of handicrafts from Kangxi to Xianfeng, which cost nothing. To be honest, I don't like the architecture and handicrafts of the Qing Dynasty, especially furniture, decorations and clothes, although they are exquisitely made. Among them, the Forbidden City is the epitome, and most of the buildings inside are from the Qing Dynasty. It can be described as vulgar, and it is not comparable to the atmosphere of the Han Dynasty, the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, the elegance of the Song Dynasty and the simplicity of the Ming Dynasty. ) But they are all national treasures after all. After this burning, it can be described as a catastrophe of Chinese civilization.

The second aspect: the sneak attack and seizure of British and French envoys were extremely bad-faith, which made China a barbaric and faithless country in the eyes of foreigners. Even worse after winning, still vulnerable. It's a shame to negotiate at last. Therefore, the Second Opium War was a disgrace in many aspects, some of which were done by ourselves. Of course, Britain and France are not good people, but the sneak attack and seizure of ministers are also part of the stimulus. In short, the sharp decline in the impression of China in the West began here.