How Did First Opium War Influence Chinese Culture In The 19th Century

From the 18th century to part of the 19th century, the nation of China had a great sense of pride as well as dislike for outsiders. The dislike of foreigners stemmed from the belief that China was the most superior culture in existence. Chinese culture was based off of Confucian theory at the time. This directly influenced the events leading up to the First Opium War. Once western traders arrived in China for the first time, foreign ideas infiltrated China and began to change the ways of life. The arrivals of westerners was essential to the tensions that rose leading to the First Opium War.
The Chinese thought of the world as a square and heaven as a circle. They also believed that the Chinese nation was situated under heaven, while the rest of the world was not. Any land that was not under heaven was seen to be barbaric, thus allowing China to believe that they were superior to all. The deep sense of cultural superiority and perceived pride China directly isolated it from the rest of the world by constructing a multi-layered governmental structure. It even isolated the Emperor and his chief consultants from diplomatic contacts. China had no foreign ministry. Although Britain had traded with China for many years, China refused to create …show more content…
He was given the task of eliminating the opium trade. Lin drafted and sent a letter to Queen Victoria, questioning the moral logic of the British government. Lin questioned how Great Britain could gain income from the drug in China if there was a strict ban of the trade within Great Britain. Unfortunately, the letter never reached the Queen. Lin made it clear that he would not allow anything to deter him from his missions. He was quoted saying, "If the traffic in opium were not stopped a few decades from now we shall not only be without soldiers to resist the enemy, but also in want of silver to provide an