APX 3.4.4 TEST UNIT 3!

2. Short-response prompt (15 points)

Read the following excerpt from "Letter to George III, 1793":

If you assert that your reverence for Our Celestial dynasty fills you with a desire to acquire our civilization, our ceremonies and code of laws differ so completely from your own that, even if your Envoy were able to acquire the rudiments of our civilization, you could not possibly transplant our manners and customs to your alien soil. Therefore, however adept the Envoy might become, nothing would be gained thereby.

Swaying the wide world, I have but one aim in view, namely, to maintain a perfect governance and to fulfil the duties of the State: strange and costly objects do not interest me. If I have commanded that the tribute offerings sent by you, O King, are to be accepted, this was solely in consideration for the spirit which prompted you to dispatch them from afar. Our dynasty's majestic virtue has penetrated unto every country under Heaven, and Kings of all nations have offered their costly tribute by land and sea. As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures.

QUESTION!!!

Interpret the implied meaning beneath the Emperor's words, citing a direct example from the excerpt. Then, explain how the message would have likely been received by the British imperialists, supporting your answer with evidence about the general imperialistic attitudes in Britain at the time.

Based upon this excerpt it seems as if Emperor Qian Long feels his culture is quite different and maybe even superior to the English culture so much so that an English envoy sent to learn about Emperor Qian Long's culture would be there in vain. This is so because he states that his culture is so different that even if the envoy is "able to acquire the rudiments," there are intricacies such as manners and customs that give the rudiments meaning, and customs and manners could never be transplanted. As such, it would be pointless to even to begin to try acquire or even learn about Emperor Qian Long's culture.