The primary source I have selected includes the account of the opium war from the perspective of a Chinese government official Wei Yuan. The author E.H. Parker translated the last two chapters of Wei Yuan’s book Shengwuji in his book Chinese Account of the Opium War. Published in the Great Britain in 1888, the book came 40 years later than the original narrative from the orient, which was written immediately after the opium war between the Great Britain and China. The hard copy of this document can be found in Yale Divinity Library and I was able to gain its access through Hannon library’s digital archive.
Originally, the book Shengwuji consists of several different part as the author tries to summarize the course of foreign powers’ impact on China and share some of his own opinions regarding Chinese foreign policies. Wei Yuan recognized that the country is at a crucial point after the opium war for the world is changing with the forces from all over the world trying to open up the isolation created by the emperors of Qing Dynasty. However, Parker only translated the account of the Opium War; therefore, the …show more content…
Therefore, it explains why the opium trade is so important to the foreign traders that they were willing to wage war against an entire country simply trying to open up the trading opportunities. However, Wei Yuan is a Chinese government official and his goal of writing this particular book is vastly different from E.H. Parker’s purpose as an historian. As a government official and a patriot most of all, Wei Yuan wrote his book to suggest future policies regarding the increasingly urgent threat created by foreign powers. Thus, we should not view the book as historic analysis; instead, it represents the voice of a patriot trying to share his solution to save his beloved country in the verge of a crisis after the opium
Originally, the book Shengwuji consists of several different part as the author tries to summarize the course of foreign powers’ impact on China and share some of his own opinions regarding Chinese foreign policies. Wei Yuan recognized that the country is at a crucial point after the opium war for the world is changing with the forces from all over the world trying to open up the isolation created by the emperors of Qing Dynasty. However, Parker only translated the account of the Opium War; therefore, the …show more content…
Therefore, it explains why the opium trade is so important to the foreign traders that they were willing to wage war against an entire country simply trying to open up the trading opportunities. However, Wei Yuan is a Chinese government official and his goal of writing this particular book is vastly different from E.H. Parker’s purpose as an historian. As a government official and a patriot most of all, Wei Yuan wrote his book to suggest future policies regarding the increasingly urgent threat created by foreign powers. Thus, we should not view the book as historic analysis; instead, it represents the voice of a patriot trying to share his solution to save his beloved country in the verge of a crisis after the opium