The "Civilizational Complex" Great Qing Empire's Lost Paradise

Yuanmingyuan · Lee Hahyeong · Yonsei University

Introduction

The second morning of the Sarangbang study tour. Due to the previous day's rain, Beijing was shrouded in fog. In the fresh air and cool weather, we embarked on a journey back to the past. The first destination of our time travel was the late 19th century, when the East Asian traditional world order (天下秩序) 'clashed' with the Western modern international order (國際秩序). The seismic waves generated by the collision of orders formed in different times and spaces led to the collapse of the Great Qing Empire (大淸帝國), the last 'guardian' of the East Asian traditional world order.

There is a place that shared the rise and fall with the Qing, the last empire of the Sinocentric world. That is Yuanmingyuan (圓明園), our study tour destination.

Yuanmingyuan is a space that symbolically best represents the characteristics of the Great Qing Empire as a civilizational complex empire. Construction of Yuanmingyuan began in 1709 during the reign of the fourth emperor, Kangxi (康熙帝), who laid the foundation for the Qing's golden age, the so-called Kang-Qian Flourishing Period (康乾盛世). It was continuously expanded for about 150 years until it was looted and burned by the Anglo-French allied forces who occupied Beijing in 1860. The Qing, dreaming of revival, also restored Yuanmingyuan, but in 1900, it was damaged once again by the European Allied forces dispatched to suppress the Boxer Rebellion. The Qing eventually disappeared into history with the Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命) in 1911, and Yuanmingyuan was left in ruins for a long time. Thus, the construction and destruction of Yuanmingyuan paralleled the rise and fall of the Great Qing Empire.

Yuanmingyuan does not merely mirror the history of the Great Qing Empire. It was a space of civilizational complexity, blending Eastern cultures such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism with Western architectural styles. This is similar to the characteristics of the Qing as a civilizational complex empire. The Qing was founded by the Manchus (滿洲族), who were treated as 'barbarians' in the traditional world order, but it was not simply a conquest dynasty where a foreign people occupied China. The Qing aimed to be a world empire encompassing not only China but also the Manchus, Mongols, and Han Chinese, embodying the principle of Hua-Yi Yi Jia (華夷一家).

Yuanmingyuan was a garden (園林) that condensed the openness and inclusiveness of the Qing as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world empire.

While studying the history of the Great Qing Empire and Yuanmingyuan for this study tour, I pondered the following questions: Why did the Qing lose its existing openness and inclusiveness and adopt such a rigid stance towards Western civilization in the late 19th century? Could the Qing not have integrated Western civilization, just as it succeeded in integrating the cultures of the Manchus, Mongols, and Han Chinese? Why was Yuanmingyuan inevitably destroyed in the process of the Great Qing Empire's downfall? Gazing at the Western-style buildings (西洋樓) in the ruins of Yuanmingyuan, I sought to find the answers.

Yuanmingyuan, Remembered as a Symbol of National Humiliation

Li Dazhao (李大釗), who would later found the Chinese Communist Party and be revered as a father of Marxism, visited Yuanmingyuan with friends on November 1, 1913, at the age of 25. Standing on a hill and gazing at the desolate ruins of Yuanmingyuan, Li Dazhao composed the following poem:

Yuanmingyuan twice suffered barbarian calamities, 圓明兩度昆明劫， The thousand-year-old crane can hardly return. 鶴化千年未忍歸。 A mournful pipe tune cannot be fully played, 一曲悲笳吹不盡， Only the remaining ashes fly with the evening mist. 殘灰猶共晚煙飛。 Beautiful palaces and pavilions are covered in green dust, 玉闕瓊樓委碧埃， Only traces of beasts and birds roam the desolate land. 獸蹄鳥跡走荒苔。 Broken steles are buried, and the palace maids have grown old, 殘碑沒盡官人老， Only ashes are scattered in the wormwood and weeds. 空向蒿萊撥劫灰。

The 'barbarian calamities' mentioned here refer to the first destruction by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 and the second destruction, after partial restoration, by European powers such as Britain, Germany, and Italy during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Li Dazhao's poem strongly expresses the consciousness that Chinese civilization was invaded by Western 'barbarians' akin to beasts. This is also the basic historical perspective of the so-called 'century of humiliation,' which posits that the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China led the revival of Chinese civilization, which had fallen due to Western imperialist forces.

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, there has been an ongoing debate about whether to restore Yuanmingyuan. To this day, the Chinese Communist Party has not undertaken a full-scale restoration of Yuanmingyuan to its former splendor. Instead, it uses the ruins of Yuanmingyuan to remind the Chinese people not to forget the history of humiliation of the past century. Among the places we visited, Yuanmingyuan, along with the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, had a particularly large number of Chinese tourists. Perhaps many of them, looking at the collapsed buildings and the ruined site of Yuanmingyuan, are harboring indignation like Li Dazhao and dreaming of the 'revival of the great Chinese nation.'

The Yuanmingyuan is not being restored to its former resplendent state. Instead, by leaving it as ruins, China is urging its people not to forget the humiliating history of the past century. Among the places we visited, Yuanmingyuan, along with the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, had a particularly high number of Chinese tourists. Perhaps many of them, looking at the collapsed buildings and the desolate ruins of Yuanmingyuan, are swallowing their indignation, like Li Dazhao, and dreaming of the 'great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.'

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Two Spaces of Civilizational Complexity: The Great Qing Empire and Yuanmingyuan

Emperor Kangxi, who began the construction of Yuanmingyuan, was a highly curious emperor. He showed particular interest in Western science and technology, encountering Western astronomy, mathematics, and medicine through Jesuit missionaries. On one occasion, he personally participated in the dissection of a hibernating brown bear by a Jesuit missionary who was a physician. The French missionary Joachim Bouvet recorded Kangxi's great curiosity about Western civilization in his "Biography of Kangxi" as follows:

Kangxi showed an unusual interest in Western science, spending several hours with us each day... Sometimes he personally used geometry to measure distances or calculated the altitude of hills and the area of ponds. He also designated locations and precisely calculated them using various instruments... He was overjoyed when his measured results and figures matched (Yan Chongnian 2014, 113-114).

hours each day... Sometimes he personally used geometry to measure distances or calculated the altitude of hills and the area of ponds.

to measure distances or calculated the altitude of hills and the area of ponds.

He also designated locations and precisely calculated them using various instruments...

He was overjoyed when his measured results and figures matched (Yan Chongnian 2014, 113-114).

Kangxi also used an alarm clock and composed a poem admiring Western science and technology. In his poem titled "On the Alarm Clock," Kangxi expressed confidence in learning and applying Western science and technology, stating, "Its technology comes from the West. But we too can learn and master it" (Spencer 2001, 125). Thus, while recognizing the excellence of Western science and technology, Kangxi believed that by embracing it rather than rejecting it, he could further strengthen Chinese civilization.

Kangxi also used an alarm clock and composed a poem admiring Western science and technology. In his poem titled "On the Alarm Clock," Kangxi expressed confidence in learning and applying Western science and technology, stating, "Its technology comes from the West. But we too can learn and master it" (Spencer 2001, 125). Thus, while recognizing the excellence of Western science and technology, Kangxi believed that by embracing it rather than rejecting it, he could further strengthen Chinese civilization.

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Like Kangxi, the Qing emperors maintained an open attitude towards Western culture, but at the same time, they had to protect China from the 'Western barbarians' to rule the Sinocentric world. In other words, the Manchu emperors faced the dilemma of interacting with the West on one hand and acting as guardians of China on the other. The inherent 'flaw' of being of Manchu origin was a constant political burden for the Qing emperors.

The Nerchinsk Treaty, concluded by Kangxi with Russia in 1689, offers insight into the considerations and efforts made to resolve these issues. The Great Qing Empire and the Russian Empire concluded the treaty on a mutually equal footing. The traditional world order was hierarchical, with China at its apex, but in the Nerchinsk Treaty, both countries were considered equal. However, Han Chinese officials were strictly excluded from the treaty negotiations, and Kangxi received assistance from Jesuit missionaries. Therefore,

the Nerchinsk Treaty was written not only in Russian and Chinese but also in Manchu and Latin (Crossley 2013, 186).

However, the Manchu and Chinese versions of the treaty show discrepancies in content. The Manchu version indicates that the Qing and Russia were on equal terms, while the Chinese version conceals this fact (Gu Beomjin 2012, 163-168). In other words, the Nerchinsk Treaty was a result of the principle of sovereign equality, which began to form in Europe in 1648, spreading to the eastern edge of Eurasia. However,

because the Qing, with its identity as 'barbarian origin,' claimed to be the guardian of the Sinocentric world, it had to present the Nerchinsk Treaty domestically as an agreement within the traditional world order, not within the framework of modern international relations.

Yongzheng (雍正帝), who succeeded Kangxi, is regarded as the most ideal absolute monarch in Chinese history (Miyazaki 2001, 25). Yongzheng strengthened monarchical rule and actively pursued a policy of Sinicization (漢化). However, as Sinicization intensified, the Manchu identity as 'barbarians' could conflict with Sinocentric ideology, creating contradictions. Yongzheng's efforts to overcome this were the publication and dissemination of "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu" (大義覺迷錄).

"Da Yi Jue Mi Lu," which means "Awakening the Delusion of Righteousness to Dispel Confusion," was the Qing's response to the Sinocentric world from the perspective of the 'barbarian' Manchus. The text takes the form of the emperor personally attending a trial and interrogating a criminal who criticizes the Qing as a country founded by barbarians. The emperor systematically refutes anti-Qing sentiments. He rebukes those who still consider the Qing a 'barbarian' nation, and his arguments can be summarized as follows (Ishibashi 2009, 245-246):

Heaven, finding no virtuous person within China, appointed us barbarians from outside to be the rulers of China. Why do you call the inside China and the outside barbarians? Since our Qing dynasty became rulers and ascended the throne over the world, by annexing Mongolia, various tribes living on the borders have all submitted within our territory. This is no different from expanding China's territory far and wide. This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

barbarians from outside to be the rulers of China. Why do you call the inside

barbarians from outside to be the rulers of China. Why do you call the inside China and the outside barbarians? Since our Qing dynasty became rulers and ascended the throne over the world, by annexing Mongolia, various tribes living on the borders have all submitted within our territory. This is no different from expanding China's territory far and wide. This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

became rulers and ascended the throne over the world, by annexing Mongolia, various tribes living on the borders have all submitted within our territory. This is no different from expanding China's territory far and wide. This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

annexing Mongolia, various tribes living on the borders have all submitted within our territory. This is no different from expanding China's territory far and wide. This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

This is no different from expanding China's territory far and wide. This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

This is indeed a great fortune for the subjects of China, nothing more. Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

Why is there still a need to discuss the distinction between Hua and Yi (華夷) and between China and the outside (中外)?

Yongzheng asserted the 'Sinocentric legitimacy' of the Great Qing Empire. However, as the Qing solidified its position as the guardian of the Sinocentric world, its openness to the outside world diminished. Having occupied China's place as a ruler of both internal and external origin (中外), it became necessary to exclude other external entities to maintain that position.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong (乾隆帝), the peak of the Qing dynasty, the Qing had already lost much of its former flexibility towards the West and exhibited a rigid attitude. A prime example of this is the 'dispute' between the Macartney Mission and Qianlong over the issue of the "three kowtows and nine prostrations." Qianlong believed that the Macartney Mission was sent by the Queen of England, on the other side of the world, to celebrate his birthday. Therefore, he demanded that they show proper respect to the Son of Heaven (天子). Unlike Kangxi, Qianlong also believed that Western goods were unnecessary for the Qing. To Macartney's request for trade, Qianlong replied as follows:

The Celestial Empire, which rules all under heaven, concentrates on the administration of its own affairs and does not value rare and precious items. ... We do not treasure curious articles, and we have no need for your country's products (Elliot 2011, 305).

The Celestial Empire, which rules all under heaven, concentrates on the administration of its own affairs and does not value rare and precious items.

and does not value rare and precious items.

We do not treasure curious articles, and we have no need for your country's products (Elliot 2011, 305).

Qianlong also did not consider the Western powers as equal empires. He perceived them as 'barbarians' existing outside the Sinocentric order, offering tribute. In a poem, Qianlong boasted about the peak of his reign in the Sinocentric world, stating, "The Portuguese once paid tribute, and England now offers its sincerity" (Wang Longzhu 2015, 179).

Qianlong also did not consider the Western powers as equal empires. He perceived them as 'barbarians' existing outside the Sinocentric order, offering tribute. In a poem, Qianlong boasted about the peak of his reign in the Sinocentric world, stating, "The Portuguese once paid tribute, and England now offers its sincerity" (Wang Longzhu 2015, 179) .

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Although Emperor Qianlong told McCartney that the West had no need for any of its artifacts, it was precisely Emperor Qianlong who built large-scale Western-style structures within Yuanmingyuan. By constructing European-style palaces and gardens in Yuanmingyuan, Emperor Qianlong may have wished to boast that the Chinese civilization led by the Qing had incorporated Western powers into its world order. However, the Qing's golden age did not last long. After Emperor Qianlong's death in 1799, the Qing began to decline rapidly. Within just over 60 years, the Qing, once the world's most prosperous and powerful empire, was reduced to a situation where its capital, Beijing, was captured and the emperor was forced to flee.

59 Yuanmingyuan, which symbolized the Qing as a civilization-complex empire with a mixture of Eastern and Western architecture, was trampled by the boots of British and French soldiers and engulfed in flames in 1860. Emperor Xianfeng, who was on the throne at the time, was enraged upon hearing that Yuanmingyuan had been destroyed by the Anglo-French allied forces, and perhaps due to this sense of loss, he soon died. Subsequently, the Great Qing Empire was forced to sign 'unequal treaties' by Western powers and degenerated into a semi-colonial state. In this way, the Great Qing Empire and Yuanmingyuan, two spaces of civilizational complexity, shared a common fate of rise and fall.

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Concluding Remarks

When the news that Yuanmingyuan had been looted and burned by the Anglo-French allied forces reached Europe, a debate ensued among intellectuals. The most famous of these is the letter from the great French writer Victor Hugo to Captain Butler in 1861 (Hugo 1861). Victor Hugo emphasized that Yuanmingyuan was a common cultural heritage of humanity, like the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, and Notre Dame in Paris, and criticized the actions of the Anglo-French allied forces as acts of 'barbarism' committed in the name of 'civilization.' Victor Hugo's letter to Butler is engraved on a copper plate and displayed within Yuanmingyuan, alongside his bust. Even today, numerous Chinese tourists visit Yuanmingyuan and vividly witness through its ruins the 'barbaric' acts committed by the West in the name of 'civilization' 150 years ago.

The Great Qing Empire, which aspired to be a world empire of civilizational complexity, ultimately confined itself within the Chinese world in its endeavor to overcome the inherent flaw of its 'barbarian' origins and assert itself as the guardian of the world order. The Qing gradually lost the openness and inclusiveness towards other cultures it had shown in its early period and became increasingly rigid towards the outside world. Consequently,

61 it failed to respond flexibly to the approach of Western powers, who had succeeded in building up their national strength and military power by the mid-19th century. As a result, amidst the clash between the traditional East Asian world order and the modern Western international order, the 'encounter with the West' became a 'shock from the West,' leading to the collapse of the Qing. Thus, Yuanmingyuan, once a paradise on earth (樂園) that contained both Eastern and Western cultures, has now become a paradise (落園) where only ruins and dust are swept by the lonely wind.

In the Treaty of Tianjin signed in 1858 with the Great Qing Empire, the British Empire strongly demanded, and eventually succeeded in having, the term 'yi' (夷), meaning barbarian, removed from diplomatic documents. As this fact indicates, the battle in East Asia over the standard of who was civilized and who was barbaric entered a major turning point in the late 19th century (Liu 2004). The destruction of Yuanmingyuan on two occasions was a symbolic event where the clash of Eastern and Western worldviews manifested violently.

With the rapid rise of China, a competition for dominance in the standard of civilization between East and West appears to be re-emerging. To prevent the situation of the 19th century from repeating itself in the 21st century, Yuanmingyuan, a space of civilizational complexity in the 18th century, must be redesigned. In particular, we, living on the Korean Peninsula where East and West intersect and the past and present overlap, must create a 21st-century 'Yuanmingyuan' as a space-time that everyone will want to inhabit.

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