14 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS The European tribute embassies which penetrated the veil of Chinese exclusiveness were relatively few and far between.After the first abortive Portuguese embassy of I520-2I there were only about seventeen Western Kq eqequzzoK missions,so far as we now know,which got as far as an audience with the emperor (see Table 2).They all occurred in the years between 1655 and Tw 1795,and six of them were from Russia,an Asiatic power in a somewhat pened pIoI 日 different category from the maritime West.There were four from Portugal, after the first one;three (or perhaps four)from Holland;three from the 866 Papacy;and one from Britain under Lord Macartney in 1793.All but the last appear to have performed the kotow.(The second British ambassador, Lord Amherst,in I816 failed to obtain audience.)Of these various embas- sies only four occurred after 1727 and the last one,that of the Dutch in 1795,fitted perfectly into the traditional tributary system.18 The estab- lished order was not challenged by this contact. 5 Russian relations with China had also fitted into the tributary pattern: (s the treaty of 1727 set up two trading posts on the Russo-Chinese frontier and allowed a caravan of two hundred merchants to visit Peking once in SC[OOIN nosoLW (uB two years.A permanent mission was allowed to stay in Peking and did so, very quietly,for more than a century until after 1858.In it a handful of 80 889. 66-8691 营 Russian Orthodox priests ministered to a secluded community of less than two hundred Russians(originally composed of prisoners of war)but made no effort to seek Chinese converts.The language students sent to study in the mission produced some results,like the dictionary of Archimandrite Palladius (1817-1878).But until the middle of the nineteenth century, Russian policy toward China remained quiescent and this rather mysterious little outpost in Peking continued inactive.20 The only other Western contact aside from trade was that of the Catholic UIOoH UEA aald missionaries.After 1725,however,the Jesuits'defeat in the famous rites controversy,and the Son of Heaven's denial of the Pope's oecumenical claims,had made them impotent at Peking,long before their dissolution in 蓝 Europe in 1773.The Lazarists who succeeded the Jesuits at Peking in the late eighteenth century did not become influential.As of r8oo the Christian converts in China,all Catholic,numbered somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of a million.Their priests (about thirty Europeans and eighty Chinese)still suffered spasmodic persecution:in I814 the Vicar Apostolic in West China was beheaded,in I816 a French priest was executed at Chang- sha,and in 1819 a French Lazarist at Wuchang.The scientific mission at between master and servant:"Boy,just-now missy have-got,no-have-got?"(Boy,is your mistress here ap [aouep now?)."Ye,no-have-got"(No,she Is not.)1 olgr -the feat would require "a head of oak,lungs of brass,nerves of steel,a constitution of iron,the patlence of Job,and the lifetime of Methuselah."The result was a compromise on pidgin,which still persists in Hongkong.14 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS The European tribute embassies which penetrated the veil of Chinese exclusiveness were relatively few and far between. After the first abortive Portuguese embassy of 152o-2I there were only about seventeen Western missions, so far as we now know, which got as far as an audience with the emperor (see Table 2). They all occurred in the years between 1655 and 1795, and six of them were from Russia, an Asiatic power in a somewhat different category from the maritime West. There were four from Portugal, after the first one; three (or per haps four) from Holland; three from the Papacy; and one from Britain under Lord Macartney in 1793. All but the last appear to have performed the kotow. (The second British ambassador, Lord Amherst, in 1816 failed to obtain audience.) Of these various embas￾sies only four occurred after 1727 and the last one, that of the Dutch in 1795, fitted perfectly into the traditional tributary system,18 The estab￾lished order was not challenged by this contact. Russian relations with China had also fitted into the tributary pattern: the treaty of 1727 set up two trading posts on the Russo-Chinese frontier and allowed a caravan of two hundred merchants to visit Peking once in two years. A permanent mission was allowed to stay in Peking and did so, very quietly, for more than a century until after 1858. In it a handful of Russian Orthodox priests ministered to a secluded community of less than two hundred Russians (originally composed of prisoners of war) but made no effort to seek Chinese converts. The language students sent to study in the mission produced some results, like the dictionary of Archimandrite Palladius (r8I7-1878). But until the middle of the nineteenth century, Russian policy toward China remained quiescent and this rather mysterious little outpost in Peking continued inactive.20 The only other Western contact aside from trade was that of the Catholic missionaries. After 1725, however, the Jesuits' defeat in the famous rites controversy, and the Son of Heaven's denial of the Pope's oecumenical claims, had made them impotent at Peking, long before their dissolution in Europe in 1773. The Lazarists who succeeded the Jesuits at Peking in the late eighteenth century did not become influential. As of r800 the Christian converts in China, all Catholic, numbered somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of a million. Their priests (about thirty Europeans and eighty Chinese) still suffered spasmodic persecution: in 1814 the Vicar Apostolic in West China was beheaded, in r8r6 a French priest was executed at Chang￾sha, and in 1819 a French Lazarist at Wuchang. The scientific mission at between master and servant: "Boy, just-now missy have-got, no-have-got?" (Boy, is your mistress here now?). "Yes, no-have-got" (No, she is noL),lO On the other hand, until late in the nineteenth century, it was considered practically impossible for foreigners in the treaty ports (except perhaps missionaries with divine assistance) to master Chinese - the feat would require "a head of oak, lungs of brass, nerves of steel, a constitution of' iron, the patience of Job, and the lifetime of Methuselah." 17 The result was a compromise on pidgin, which still persists in Hongkong. < H Ul Ul P ~ H N 6 N V) ... ~ o '" c.:J » .0 ...., ~ (I) ! "CI 5::.1 ...:I ..... 'D H C<) H