Introduction
In 1792-93, George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, led England’s first embassy to China. The Emperor was obstructive throughout and haughtily declined King George III’s invitation to trade. ‘We entered Pekin like paupers’ wrote Macartney’s valet, Aeneas Anderson; ‘we remained in it like prisoners; and we quitted it like vagrants.’ But his farewell to his readers was intended to leave a favourable impression.
WE shall conclude this work with an anecdote of the present Emperor of China; one of the most beneficent and enlightened monarchs that ever swayed a sceptre.*
A merchant of Nankin had, with great reputation, acquired such a fortune as awakened the rapacity of the Viceroy of that province.* To avoid the danger that menaced him, he divided his fortune among his children, and was content to look up to them for support. Injustice, entrenched behind power, is not easily baffled; the sons of the merchant were sent to the army; the property was confiscated, under pretence that it had been too rapidly accumulated; and the merchant in vain solicited redress from this vile representative of a beneficent sovereign.
Despair gave resolution to a man conscious of his own integrity. The merchant was determined to lay his complaints at the foot of the throne.
* Chien Lung, or the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled from 1735 to 1796. This introduction echoes Anderson’s earlier assessment: “His person is attracting, and his deportment accompanied by an affability, which, without lessening the dignity of the prince, evinces the amiable character of the man.” Yet the cavalier fashion in which the Emperor managed the visit, and ungraciously bundled Macartney’s embassy out of China at the end of it, clearly disappointed him. “It is wholly irreconcilable to the common rules of political decorum and civility,” Anderson complained “as well as the principles of justice and humanity, that an Ambassador, of so much consequence as Lord Macartney, should be dismissed, under his peculiar circumstances, without the least ceremony. [...] In short, we entered Pekin like paupers; we remained in it like prisoners; and we quitted it like vagrants.” For an extract from the Emperor’s letter to King George III, see ‘Tremblingly Obey!’ by Jawaharlal Nehru.
* The Viceroy of Liangjiang, headquartered in Jiangning which is modern-day Nanjing, Nanking or Nankin.
Précis
To close his account of the Macartney embassy to China in 1792-93, Aeneas Anderson related an anecdote of the Chinese Emperor of the time. It seemed that a merchant of Nankin had amassed a fortune so great that the envious Viceroy of Nankin had confiscated it, and conscripted the merchant’s sons into the army just to make sure. (58 / 60 words)
To close his account of the Macartney embassy to China in 1792-93, Aeneas Anderson related an anecdote of the Chinese Emperor of the time. It seemed that a merchant of Nankin had amassed a fortune so great that the envious Viceroy of Nankin had confiscated it, and conscripted the merchant’s sons into the army just to make sure.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, besides, if, or, otherwise, until, whether, who.
Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Post Box : Ask Nicholas
Grok : Ask Grok
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Post Box.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
