[
    {
        "id": 209256,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1981",
        "page_number": 159,
        "title": "RAS-1981",
        "content_text": "JUAN YUAN'S MANAGEMENT OF SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS IN CANTON, 1817-1826\n\n# 1\n\n145\n\nsupport the militia and educational institutions, and make all manners of presents and contributions to the authorities far and near\". Although leadership of the foreign merchants resided in the Select Committee of the British East India Company, each foreign firm licensed to transact business in Canton, as well as each of its ships coming into the port, had to be secured by a hong merchant, who had to guarantee the good conduct of officers and crew of the ship while in port, and to assure the Chinese authorities that the ship was not carrying contraband. Under this system, the security merchant also served the important role as intermediary between Chinese officials and foreigners.\n\n# 2\n\nDespite accusations by the Chia-ch'ing and the Tao-kuang Emperors that Juan Yuan was expending more time and energy on compiling books and founding academies than on affairs of state, a sentiment echoed by the twentieth-century historian John K. Fairbank, both British and Chinese historical records show that Juan Yuan had taken the conduct of foreign affairs at Canton very seriously. He adhered strictly to the protocol established under the Canton system, handling negotiations with foreigners through the hong merchants and the Select Committee, refusing \"to establish direct communications between the local government and [the foreign community]\". Although contemporary foreigners at Canton complained about Juan Yuan's “inflexibility”, they remembered him later with respect. \"His conduct... was both firm and conciliatory, and his memorials were admired by foreigners for their polite and dignified style...\"\n\n+6\n\n# 3\n\nJuan Yuan saw the British as a serious threat to Chinese security, and considered them the most difficult among foreigners at Canton to keep under control. This was consistent with the general attitude of the Ch'ing court that the British were pressuring for further expansion of trade with China beyond Canton, thus challenging traditional Chinese policy. In 1818, however, his proposal for a repressive policy towards the British, outlined in a secret memorial to the Chia-ch'ing Emperor, was not accepted by the Emperor, who exhorted moderation. The Emperor restrained Juan Yuan with this rescript: “Adopt a policy showing both strength and kindness simultaneously. Do not over-react under any circumstances and avoid rash actions.” \"Appointed to Canton in the wake of the Amherst crisis, only four days after his arrival at Canton, Juan Yuan embarked on an inspection tour of the Pearl estuary outside Boca Tigris in the company of the provincial commander-in-chief of the Kwangtung marine force. They visited fortifications and gun batteries along the shores and on the islands, and paid a visit to Macau.7",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 209257,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1981",
        "page_number": 160,
        "title": "RAS-1981",
        "content_text": "146\n\nWEI PEH-TI\n\nNavigation channels were so situated that the passage into Canton foreign ships had to take because of their deep drafts was well protected, Juan Yüan thought. \"The western channel of the Pearl estuary from Macau [where the barbarians live] to Canton is too shallow for foreign vessels because they have a deep draft. They, therefore, must use the Lantao Channel into the estuary, then proceed northward between Lintin Island and the Nan-t'ou Peninsula, straight up to the Boca Tigris and into the Pearl River.\"8\n\nJuan Yuan had found the military installations outside the Boca Tigris generally satisfactory. Fortifications inside the Boca Tigris, on the other hand, were found by Juan Yüan to be less than tolerable. Immediately upon his return to Canton, he sent a memorial requesting the Emperor's approval for construction of several forts. Apparently he was so impressed with the forts at Macau, especially Fortaleza da Santiago, built in 1629, that he copied its design for a fort on Tiger Island, situated at the entrance to the Bogue.\"Juan Yuan was proud of this fort, financed by the merchants of the co-hong to the tune of 60,000 taels, both for its strategic location and for its equipment.\"\n\nThe Co-hong (kung-hang) was a guild organized in 1720 by the hong merchants of Kwangtung and Fukien. It adopted a code of thirteen articles to regulate trade at Canton. After 1782, its members controlled the foreign trade at Canton altogether. Business firms engaged in foreign trade, the hong (yang-hang), as well as individual hong merchants (yang-shang), rose and fell during the era when Chinese foreign trade was confined to Canton.\n\nThe unique functions served by the hong merchants gave them certain privileges. These privileges carried with them certain obligations without necessarily exempting them from government prosecutions should they fall afoul of the law. Several hong merchants had been awarded honorary official ranks with all the attendant status symbols. In addition to subscribing to programmes usually expected of members of the gentry, these hong merchants had to assume financial responsibilities for other public projects during this period as well, such as coastal defense. Even more than the officials, they were subject to imperial pleasure and ire. The second merchant by the name of Howqua, also known as Puiqua, Wu Tun-yüan, for instance, enjoyed the honoraria of a third-rank official in happier days, including the status symbol of wearing the sapphire (clear, blue stone) button of the third rank on his hat.1 He had worked closely with Juan Yuan on several controversial cases involving jurisdiction over foreigners from 1820 to 1823. Even then,\n\n12",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m",
        "rank": 0
    }
]