The First Opium War was the beginning of China's modern history. Since then, China has entered a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The so-called semi-colony, from the national status, China's territorial sovereignty, judicial sovereignty, customs autonomy and other aspects have been destroyed, and it is no longer an independent and complete sovereign country. However, China was not completely colonized, and the Qing government still existed and was still exercising its power. The so-called semi-feudalism, from the economic point of view, the western capitalist powers tried to turn China into their commodity market, raw material market and labor market by virtue of a series of non-parallel treaties imposed on China, and brought China's economy into the chain of capitalist development, thus impacting the feudal self-sufficient natural economy. After the Opium War, the main contradiction in China society is not only the contradiction between the elderly and feudalism, but also the contradiction between the Chinese nation and colonialism. The latter often becomes the most important contradiction among various social contradictions. These great changes affected China's politics, economy, ideology and culture, and brought about an unprecedented situation in the Opium War.
(A) "a country within a country"-the emergence of concessions
Great changes have taken place in some cities along the southeast coast of China since the First Opium War. After Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, the population increased rapidly from 2,000 to 20,000, and reached 70,000 to 80,000 in the 1950s. Hong Kong became the base of British economic plunder and armed aggression against China. /kloc-After the Portuguese settled in Macao in the 6th century, China still has territorial, administrative and judicial sovereignty over Macao. After the defeat of China in the First Opium War, Portuguese colonists took the opportunity to drive away China officials in Macao and forced residents to pay taxes to Portuguese and Macao authorities, making Macao a Portuguese colony. Since then, Macau has not only continued to serve as another big warehouse for opium trade outside Hong Kong, but also become a base for western countries to plunder and sell Chinese workers. At the same time, in Shanghai, China, a strange political "landscape" that is rare in a sovereign country appeared, that is, the concession that later evolved into a "country within a country".
Shanghai was originally a county under Songjiang Prefecture in Jiangsu Province. Because it is located in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where the commodity economy is relatively developed, the geographical environment is superior and the transportation is convenient. Before the war, it was the first port in China. Susongtai Island, Jiangsu Province, located in Shanghai. After the Opium War, Shanghai developed rapidly. In the early years of Tongzhi, Shanghai replaced Guangzhou and became the most important trading port in China. Because of this, western colonists tried their best to seize greater rights and interests in Shanghai.
After the signing of the Sino-British treaty of nanking, Shanghai was about to open, and the British colonists immediately tried to establish a residential area for foreigners in Shanghai, and initially selected the address of the residential area. 1843, Shanghai officially opened, and the first British consul in Shanghai, G.Bal-four, rented a large courtyard as a consulate in Dongxi Street, the county seat of Shanghai. Baffo misinterpreted the relevant provisions of the Humen Treaty and blackmailed the Qing side, demanding that a residence be designated for foreigners' exclusive use. 1845165438+1On October 29th, Su Songtai Daoguan Mujiu issued a "Shanghai Lease Charter" in his own name. On the surface, there is nothing in this document that directly damages China's sovereignty, but in fact, many clauses reflect the aggressive intentions of British colonialists. According to this charter, the "residential area for foreigners" designated by Shanghai is still residential, not called "concession", and there was no such thing as "concession" at that time.
1March 848, the British consul in Shanghai, who took over from Buffel, used the Qingpu incident as an excuse to force Zhu Lin, a new platform, to agree to the request to expand the residence, which more than tripled the area of the residence (the original area was about 830 mu).
1848, American missionaries headed by Bishop William Jones ·W·j· Boone opened up wasteland to build houses at will in Hongkou area, and other Americans followed suit. At that time, although Daotaiwu agreed with Zhang Jian's statement, he did not specify the boundary. By the time 1863 officially demarcated the border, 7,856 mu of land had become an area occupied by the United States, which was much larger than the British residence.
The first French consul in Shanghai, L.C. Montigny, took office in 1848, and asked Wu to set up a residence in Britain the following year. Later, he coerced Zhu Lin, a new platform, to issue an announcement on April 6, 1989, making 986 mu of land the residence of the French.
It must be pointed out that at the beginning, the China government had the right to intervene in the administration and justice, and it also safeguarded its territorial sovereignty, which was clearly stipulated. However, with the deepening of the capitalist powers' aggression against China, China's rights gradually lost in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. 1854, the consuls of Britain, the United States and France and Su Songtai Road concluded the Charter of Land Lease in the British-American-French Concession in Shanghai, which stipulated that foreign invaders enjoyed administrative, tax, financial and police rights and exercised judicial power in the Shanghai Concession. In order to exercise the above functions and powers, an organ translated as "Ministry of Industry" appeared in Shanghai Concession, which was divided into police, taxation, finance, educational administration and other institutions, as well as a court. Just like a municipal government, the Concession completely became a concession and became a "country within a country". 1in September, 863, the British and American concessions merged into public concessions.
After the establishment of the evil concession system in Shanghai, it gradually extended to other ports. From 1859 to 1904, foreign invaders successively set up concessions in Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Tianjin, Zhenjiang, Hankou, Jiujiang, Yantai, Wuhu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shashi, Gulangyu and Changsha in China. Concession became the bridgehead for capitalist powers to invade China and interfere in China's internal affairs. Of course, the concession is objectively a window to introduce western civilization, but it is also a paradise for western adventurers. An Englishman who once worked in China Customs has to admit that Shanghai "has become the real Huang Jinguo for lawless foreigners". ..... Many of them belong to this type: as long as it is profitable, it is forbidden to smuggle, regardless of anything, or even kill people. "("China Coastal Trade and Diplomacy "Volume I)
(B) the natural economy under the impact of capitalism
After the First Opium War, the western capitalist powers immediately began to dump goods into China and plundered a large number of raw materials from China, and China's self-sufficient natural economy suffered an unprecedented impact.
The total value of British goods exported to China (excluding opium) was over 900,000 pounds in 1837, increased to over1456,000 pounds in 1843, and reached over 2.394 million pounds in 1845. At the same time, the raw silk and tea plundered by western colonists from China also increased greatly. From 1838 to 1842, China exports more than 40 million tons of tea every year, and doubled to 1846, reaching more than 80 million tons. In the same period, the export of raw silk increased from 3,000 bales to more than18,000 bales, six times as much as before.
British exports to China are mainly cotton textiles, accounting for about 70% of the total value. Cotton accounts for more than 80% of American industrial products exported to China. The dumping of a large number of cotton textiles in the West is a great impact on the cotton textile industry, the most important sector of China's traditional handicraft industry. The original self-sufficient natural economy in the southeast coastal areas began to show signs of disintegration.
Jiangsu Songjiang, Taicang area, cotton textile industry has always been relatively developed. However, with the opening of Shanghai and the influx of western woven cotton fabrics, the market for loose cloth and tablecloth has been reduced by half. A large number of foreign yarns are flooding, and many villages with cotton textile industry have no yarn to spin. The cost of foreign yarn and foreign cloth is low, and many British businessmen are willing to dump it at a price 20% to 30% lower than the cost price, which has seriously impacted the cotton market. The home-made cloth of Zhangzhou Prefecture and Tongan County in Fujian Province was once sold by cloth merchants to Ningbo, Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaodong and Taiwan Province Province. After the opening of Xiamen, foreign textiles and foreign fabrics accumulated in Xiamen. Cloth dealers abandon home-made cloth and sell foreign cloth, which makes it difficult to export home-made cloth. The situation near Guangzhou is similar.
The export of silk tea and other products stimulated the production of these products. Producers sell these products to businessmen, who then sell them to big businessmen or comprador and then resell them to foreign countries. The export trade of silk tea is almost completely controlled by foreign businessmen, which makes the production and trade of silk tea in China have to rely on the world capitalist market.
With the development of import and export trade, a number of comprador businessmen have appeared in the five areas where trade is conducted. These businessmen sell goods (even opium) for foreign businessmen, buy silk and tea, collect information and handle other affairs, and their fate is increasingly closely linked with the fate of western colonists. Wu Yuan, a famous comprador, was a businessman in Guangzhou, and later came to Shanghai to serve as the comprador of American flag Changyang foreign firm. He also spent money to donate officials to serve as Su Songtai Road and concurrently serve as a customs officer in Jianghai. These comprador later became accomplices of China feudal forces and western colonialists in suppressing peasant uprisings.
After the Opium War, foreign capitalists set up some enterprises in China trading ports to facilitate economic plunder. At that time, such enterprises mainly included printing, wharf and berth repair. In these enterprises, China people are employed to varying degrees. In this way, the earliest modern industrial workers appeared in China. Of course, the number of industrial workers at that time was still very small.
(C) "China" social contradictions intensified.
The British colonialists' war of aggression against China brought endless sufferings to the people of China. All kinds of reparations, together with the huge military expenditure of the Qing government, amounted to more than 100 million taels of silver, which undoubtedly came from the working people. At the same time, after the Opium War, opium imports continued to increase. 184 1 At the beginning of the Sino-British negotiations, the British side submitted a memorandum to senior citizens, demanding that smoking be banned. The old citizen dared not promise, but he dared not offend the invaders. He just said that it is forbidden to enter, and whether foreign merchant ships carry opium, "China doesn't need to ask." (Mars: A History of the Foreign Relations of the Chinese Empire) This acquiescence made opium smuggling more serious. 1842, Britain imported more than 33,000 boxes of opium to China, and 1850 surged to nearly 53,000 boxes. Hong Kong has become an opium smuggling center, and Macao is another opium warehouse outside Hong Kong. Shanghai and Guangzhou are the two largest ports for opium import. Due to the large number of opium imports, the old problem of "silver is expensive and money is cheap" has not been alleviated during this period, but has intensified. Zeng Guofan also said in a memorial of 1852: in the southeast rice-producing area, stone rice sold for three thousand yuan. In the past, one tael of silver was exchanged for a thousand taels of silver, and one stone of rice was exchanged for three taels of silver. Nowadays, one or two pieces of silver are exchanged for two thousand pieces of paper, and one or two pieces of rice are only sold for one or two pieces of silver. In the past, you could pay the tax on an acre of land by selling three buckets of rice, but now selling six buckets of rice is not enough to pay the tax on an acre of land. In fact, in some places, the amount of money exchanged for every two pieces of silver has reached as high as 23400.
When the Qing government levied land tax and grain, there were always all kinds of blackmail, such as the so-called floating income, that is, the excess income beyond the quota, the so-called cost of distributing chemical fertilizer to officials, and various names such as "discount" and "increase consumption". After the Opium War, the government became more and more serious, and officials were like wolves. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Cao should match one stone, and two stones, five or six buckets, must be nanometer; At a discount, the price of rice is 2000 pence, but it is more than 7800 pence. Anhui collects taxes, and floating extortion exceeds the positive amount several times. Jiangxi's floating income is above two or three stones. The floating income of grass and rice per stone in Hubei is more than three times. In Hunan, Ding is one or two, and the people must accept two; Give Cao Cao a stone, and the people will have to pay several stones. When paying taxes, large families either try their best to escape or try their best to pass the burden on to small families, which makes farmers more miserable. A few people leave their fields because they can't afford to pay taxes. Even if the harvest is good, more people will be hungry and cold. In case of floods and droughts, they will go into exile one after another.
The exploitation of farmers by landlords is also increasing. The land rent rate is getting higher and higher, generally above 50%, forcing many farmers to go bankrupt and sell the land on which they depend, and the problem of land concentration is becoming more and more serious. According to statistics, in Zhili, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Hubei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Northeast China, 40%-80% of the land is concentrated in the hands of 10%-30%, while 60%-90% of the people have no land. ("Land Issues on the Eve of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution")
Sharp social contradictions lead to repeated social agitation. After the Opium War, farmers' struggle against grain and rent appeared constantly, and the scale became larger and larger. 1842, Zhong Juqun in Chongyang, Hubei Province, resisted grain, with a maximum of 10,000 people. The rebel army once captured Chongyang and Tongcheng counties, established the name of "Zhong", set up a handsome platform, and erected the commander-in-chief flag. The struggle lasted for more than a month and was suppressed. Since then, major cases have occurred frequently in Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Guangdong and other provinces. Anti-Qing struggles in ethnic minority areas have also come and gone. The people either want to reduce the land tax or refuse to complete the grain. Some of them gathered to petition, some forcibly demolished the Grain Requisition Bureau, and some openly resisted the officers and men who came to suppress them. According to official records only, during the ten years from 1842 to 1850, there were more than 90 armed uprisings and peasant riots in China. This is the product of social unrest, which in turn further aggravated social unrest.
(4) Open your eyes to see the world-the germination of the pioneer thought of landlord class statesmanship.
Before the Opium War, the Qing government kept the country closed for a long time, which seriously hindered China's economic development and scientific and cultural progress. The cannon of western colonialists knocked on the closed door of China and awakened people to know the world again. Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan were the first representatives who opened their eyes to see the world in the modern history of China.
Before the Opium War, Lin Zexu served as a provincial judge, political envoy, governor and river governor. Before and after taking office, he urged to get rid of abuses, harness rivers and promote profits, and participated in the rectification and reform of salt and water policies, showing outstanding practical ability and clean style, which attracted people's attention.
Closing the country to the outside world has caused the ignorance and arrogance of the literati class, which is bound to be reflected in Lin Zexu. When he was appointed as an imperial envoy to ban smoking in Guangdong, he also thought that the western colonists were just "dogs and sheep" and the British soldiers were "wrapped up" (referring to wearing uniforms, wearing Sam Browne belts and tying leggings, etc. ), and their waist and legs are bound to be stiff and unable to fight again. This is not Lin Zexu's own fault, but the fault of the times. What is commendable is that once Lin Zexu's thought of practical application collided with western forces, it produced the idea of learning from the west on the basis of resisting aggression.
In order to resist the invasion of western colonialists, Lin Zexu quickly changed his blind contempt for the West after he arrived in Guangzhou. He organized people to translate Guangzhou Weekly in English to understand the enemy's situation. In order to get familiar with foreign countries, he organized people to translate the Encyclopedia of World Geography published in London in 1836 into Chinese and named it History of Four Continents. In addition, books such as Laws of Various Countries, Trade Crimes against China and Foreign Words in China Affairs have been selected and translated. After contact with the British army, Lin Zexu quickly changed his mind and saw that the British side was "strong" and "profitable" and had to learn. To this end, he organized the collection and translation of foreign warships and artillery aiming methods. This is in sharp contrast with the closed-door and arrogant thoughts and views of some bureaucrats in the Qing government at that time. They thought that foreign advanced science and technology, machines and weapons were "strange and brilliant" and that studying and understanding foreign countries was "amazing and dazzling".
In the anti-aggression war, Lin Zexu attached great importance to weapons and equipment, actively purchased cannons, copied clippers, and also attached great importance to the improvement of military quality. After the Opium War, he summed up the eight-character key words of defeating the enemy, namely, "well-equipped, skilled, courageous and United." (Lin Zexu: To Yao Chun and Wang Baixin) He realized that "people's hearts can be won" and proposed that if the British invading army entered the inland river of China, the people would be allowed to "kill people with knives".
When Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou, he saw the harm caused by the closed door policy. Therefore, he categorically denied the absurd proposition that some people "closed the sea" and cut off trade with other countries. He believes that the result of this is to expand the scope of attack and harm the interests of Chinese businessmen. He adheres to the correct trade policy and strategy of "those who abide by the law come and those who resist the law go" to protect and encourage legitimate trade. Lin Zexu's above ideas, of course, stood in the position of safeguarding the Qing Dynasty, but objectively conformed to the historical development trend and had a positive impact on the later reform movement.
In his early years, Wei Yuan entered the screen of He Changling, the minister in charge of Jiangsu Province, and edited The Imperial Classics Collection. Wei Yuan paid attention to practical learning and participated in the reform of salt policy. The Opium War had a great influence on his thoughts. 184 1 year participated in the anti-British struggle under Yu Qian. After the war, Wei Yuan made great efforts to write books, and compiled such great books as "The Story of Jihad" and "The Chart" to inspire Chinese people to make great efforts to learn from the West and resist aggression.
The Map of the Sea Country is an influential work in the history of China's modern thought. 184 1 year, Wei Yuan was entrusted by Lin zexu to compile this book in Zhenjiang. Shortly after the signing of treaty of nanking, Wei compiled a book "treaty of nanking" based on the translation of the annals of four states and Chinese and foreign documents. This book describes the geographical distribution and historical and political situation of countries around the world, analyzes the experience and lessons of the Opium War, and explores ways to make Qiang Bing rich.
According to Wei Yuan's book, China's fiasco in the Opium War was not only due to inferior ships and guns, but also due to command errors and army corruption. Many generals in the Qing dynasty were "arrogant" and the army lacked training and discipline. "With such lawless and unprincipled soldiers, it is impossible to compete on the ocean." In terms of strategy and tactics, Wei Yuan put forward incisive opinions. He believes that the British army alone has advantages at sea and disadvantages on land. Therefore, against the British army, "it is better to keep Haikou than to keep Haikou, and it is better to keep Haikou than to keep inland rivers." In view of the corruption of the Qing army and the heroic resistance of the local people, he proposed that "it is better to practice soil soldiers, water courage and water conservancy." Wei Yuan also advocated "going deep into the British army, cutting off its export" and "clearing the field with strong walls" ... unexpectedly setting up an ambush, making it unpredictable due to mistakes in many aspects. He said that the enemy is the guest and I am the Lord. "The guest soldier is quick and the main soldier is heavy. He defeated the enemy without fighting, but he was deadlocked, walking with his peers and stopping at the same time. There is no fresh water to draw, no cattle and sheep to prey on, no nitrate to match, no iron to buy, no awning to repair, no smoked goods to sell, no rudder mast to repair, and water. (Atlas of the Ocean, Volume I)
The central idea of the book "The Rule of the National Chart" is to "learn from foreigners and master their skills to control foreigners". Wei Yuan criticized the Qing government's closed-door policy, pointing out that for many years, the Qing government did not understand the world, was not allowed to translate western books, did not learn the technology of strengthening guns by western ships, and even did not know how to use the complex contradictions of western countries and their colonies, which led to the failure of fighting and defense. He clearly pointed out: "If you want to control foreigners, you must first understand the situation of foreigners." Only by understanding and being familiar with "foreigners' feelings" can we attack foreigners with foreigners, pay foreigners with foreigners and control foreigners with foreigners. (Atlas of the Ocean, Volume II)
Wei Yuan thinks that there are three western skills: one is warships, the other is firearms, and the third is training methods. In this regard, China should seriously learn from the West and use it for us. He advocated building a shipyard and firearms bureau in Guangdong, hiring French and American technicians to teach technology, and sending craftsmen to China to study manufacturing. In addition, 30 thousand elite sailors were compiled, and westerners were invited to coach in driving, artillery and fighting. "If people learn technology, they won't have to rely on foreigners in a year or two." (same as above)
After the Opium War, Wei Yuan was dissatisfied with the autocratic feudal monarchy and admired some systems of western capitalism. Of course, his understanding of the western capitalist system is extremely limited, and he is in a state of little knowledge. Wei Yuan thinks that the western countries are "politically complicated, each from its own degree". There are "Baliman" (transliteration of the English Parliament, later translated as Balemen) in Britain, and there are five meetings of the House of Lords (the House of Lords) and the squire meetings (the House of Commons). He said that the western parliament is similar to the military department of China. He praised the American presidential election every four years, saying that it "changed the bureaucratic situation in ancient and modern times, but the people's hearts suddenly lost, so it can't be called public"! For parliamentary elections, the minority is subordinate to the majority, and he lamented: "This is not a matter of weeks!"! Wei Yuan also praised the constitution of the American federal system "can survive in the world without being harmed". He praised Switzerland for "no throne", "no princes", "the country has no politics, frugal customs and servants, and there has been no military action for hundreds of years", saying that "sincerely, the land to the west is also the peach blossom garden"! (Postscript to the National Map)
Although the starting point of Wei Yuan's comments is that you can't raise a distant future without understanding the feelings of foreign countries, his introduction is serious and has set a precedent for others. Wei Yuan's Atlas of Sea Countries played an important role in the emergence of modern China's reform thought. After this book was spread to Japan, it was quickly translated into dozens of versions. Many Japanese historians believe that the spread of Oceanographic Atlas in Japan promoted the Meiji Restoration in Japan.
(V) Changes of traditional academic culture
1840 the opium war caused a strong social shock. Accordingly, the ideological field has developed from practical application to learning from foreigners to control foreigners, and the sense of hardship has also brought about important changes in China's traditional academic culture.
The traditional study of Confucian classics has developed to a new stage. Although Song studies (that is, Neo-Confucianism) and Qing Sinology (that is, textual research, which belongs to the study of ancient Chinese classics) were designated as official studies and orthodox studies by the Qing rulers, they fought for orthodoxy and eventually declined because they were far from social reality, and they had no vitality. Confucian classics, which were revived during the Ganjia period, formed a climate around the Opium War. Relatively speaking, the form of Confucian classics can accommodate some new ideas. Gong Zizhen, who foresaw the decline of the Qing Dynasty, devoted himself to the study of Confucian classics and expressed his social critical thoughts. But he still adopts Han and Song, which is compatible with today's ancient prose. When he arrived at Weiyuan, there was heavy security. His works such as History and Shu are bound to completely subvert China's ancient Confucian classics.
One of the major changes in the field of historiography is to change the style of studying ancient history since Ganjia. Contemporary history has attracted great attention of scholars and a number of influential works have emerged.
The failure of the Qing government in the Opium War and the rampant western colonialists greatly stimulated Wei Yuan. 1842, he wrote the book Wu Shengji in the first edition of the chronicle. This book introduces the military achievements in the early Qing Dynasty in detail, aiming at inspiring the people of China to build up their courage and confidence in defeating the western invaders. Wei Yuan's other history book, The Collection of Daoguang Foreign Ships, is the history of the Opium War written after Britain invaded China for the first time. In the narrative process of this major historical event, the book exposed various crimes of Britain from smuggling opium to launching a war of aggression against China. Praise the people of Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen, Guan Tianpei, Sanyuanli and other places for their struggle against Britain, and sum up the ignorance of the Qing court and the corruption of the government, especially the cowardice of Qishan and Yishan. The book also discusses some problems exposed by China in the Opium War, and puts forward some ways to save them.
The Story of a Foreign Country written by Liang traces the whole process of the Opium War from the beginning of the ban on smoking in the early years of Daoguang to the end of the people's resistance to the city in 1849. The book praised the achievements of Lin Zexu and others in resisting Britain, exposed the ugly acts of Qishan, Yishan and Yijing, and recorded several major anti-aggression struggles of the people of Guangzhou in detail. Because the narrative quality of the book is straightforward, there are many taboos when it is violated, and there is no signed author in the engraving.
Faced with the harsh reality that western colonialists invaded China, people of insight began to pay attention to the exploration of western geography and history. In addition to the above-mentioned Annals of the Four Seas and Atlas of the Seas, there are also works in this field, such as A Brief Introduction to Yinghuan Annals and Four Theories on the Seas and Countries. Xu Jishe's Biography of Ying Huan systematically introduces the customs, geographical evolution and social changes of nearly 80 countries in the world. A rough map is attached to the beginning of each volume. After this book was introduced into Japan, it had a great influence.
After the Opium War, some people of insight realized that there would be a crisis in China's border areas and began to pay attention to the study of border geography. Yao Ying's Journey to Kang was written after a trip to Tibet. He proposed to be alert to the British invasion of Tibet and strengthen the defense along the coast and frontier. He believes that Britain, France, the United States and other countries are separated from China by Wan Li. They have studied China for many years and are familiar with the geography and personnel of China, but no one in China knows them. This is the reason why China failed. Because of this, Yao Ying recorded a lot of historical and geographical knowledge about Britain, France, Russia, India and other countries in his book. Zhang Mu's Mongolian Nomadic Story (edited and printed by He) studies the geographical position of Mongolian ministries and the facilities of the previous generation in this area. He attached importance to the study of frontier geography, and thought that there should be special works to study the border between northern China and Russia. So he collected relevant information at home and abroad, and after identification and textual research, he wrote the North Ring Compilation. The secretary talked about the history and geography of Mongolia, Xinjiang and Northeast China from the Han and Jin Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty, and paid attention to Sino-Russian relations. After reading it, Emperor Xianfeng gave the book the title "North Side for Riding".
Before and after the Opium War, some changes also took place in China's literary world. Gong Zizhen's brilliant and innovative writing style had an important influence not only on that time, but also on later literary circles. The emergence of a large number of patriotic literary works reflecting the people's anti-aggression struggle in China is a particularly noteworthy thing in the literary world in this period. Such works enthusiastically reflect and eulogize the anti-aggression struggle of the people of China, and castigate the atrocities of the British invaders and the compromise and surrender of the Qing government. In the anti-aggression struggle, there have been many discussions and denunciations among Guangdong people, such as "All Guangdong's Justice, Justice for the People" and "Sanyuanli Residents' Instructions Should Be Righteous". These written languages are concise, short, sharp and vivid, which played a role in inspiring the people to fight against the enemy at that time. It also left vivid information for us to study this history. Some patriotic poems are widely circulated. Jinshi Zhang Weiping's long poem "Sanyuanli" eulogizes those who resist Britain and rebukes Yishan and others for flattering the Japanese and begging for peace. "Three yuan before a loud thunder, thousands of people coming at the same time. Qi Xin, a villager, worked together to urge him because he was righteous and angry. "These poems can easily make readers feel the patriotic enthusiasm and majestic momentum of the masses.