#303 - Qing 38: The Macartney Expedition
August 23, 2025
45 min
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Episode 303 · August 23, 2025
#303 - Qing 38: The Macartney Expedition
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History of China Episodes Around August 23, 2025
Episode 351 of 386 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
45:10This episode#303 - Qing 38: The Macartney Expedition
Summary
From London’s harbors to Canton’s bustling hongs and the Qianlong Emperor’s Dragon Throne, Lord George Macartney’s 1792-94 mission to Great Qing unveils profound cultural divides, shaping centuries of Sino-Western relations. This series explores a pivotal diplomatic clash that redefined global history.
Time Period Covered:
1792-1794 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Qing Empire:
The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796]
Chief Minister Heshen (1750–1799)
Wang Wenxiong, mid-level imperial bureaucrat
British Empire:
Lord George Macartney, ambassador extraordinaire [1737–1806]
Sir George Staunton [1737-1801]
William Alexander [1767–1816]
John Barrow, Comptroller [1764-1848]
Sgt. Maj. Samuel Holmes, 11th Lt. Dragoons
Major Works Cited:
Berg, Maxine. The Birth of the Modern World, 1780–1914: Global Connections and Comparisons.
Cranmer-Byng, John. “The Chinese Documents Relating to the Macartney Embassy.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1961.
Gao, Hao. Creating the Opium War: British Imperial Attitudes Toward China, 1792–1840.
Hevia, James L. Cherishing Men from Afar: Qing Guest Ritual and the Macartney Embassy of 1793.
Holmes, Samuel. Journal of the Macartney Expedition.
Macartney, Lord George. Journal of the Macartney Expedition.
Peyrefitte, Alain. The Immobile Empire: The First Great Collision of East and West. Knopf, 1992.
Qing Archival Records. Tr. in Presents and Tribute: Documents on the Macartney Embassy.
Staunton, George. An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China.
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