In 65438+65438 0840+65438 10 +08, Lin Zexu issued the Letter to the King of England. This letter is not easy to write. Lin Zexu has long wanted to write a letter. Later, after consulting with the emperor, it was interrupted, so there was the so-called first letter to the king of England misinformed by 1839 in March. According to the customary practice in China, if the imperial edict involves foreigners, the governor will jointly address the king. In view of the fact that the newly promulgated Ordinance on the Prohibition of Opium Smoking in China has special provisions for foreigners to carry opium, it is necessary to announce it to foreigners. Lin Zexu believes that opium traffickers mainly come from Britain and the United States, but he heard that there was no king in the United States and he could not preach, so he had to preach to the king of England. Although I heard that the king of England is a little woman, she is a king after all. Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen and Yi Liang wrote a note to the king of England, and then gave Daoguang a red letter. Daoguang saw it, thought it was appropriate, and agreed to send it. Lin Zexu translated the manuscript of Note to Yuan Dehui into English, and asked william hand, an American businessman, to translate the English version of Yuan Dehui back into Chinese to check whether there were any mistakes. Still not at ease, he asked peter parker, an American doctor, to translate another English manuscript, and compared it twice to see if there was anything wrong.

Finally, in February of 1839 and 16, Gong Lin received a group of foreigners for the first time. They boarded the wrecked British ship, the Yamada. In view of the need to know about foreigners, Lin Zexu is not ashamed to ask questions about them, and his attitude is very kind, although he still belittles them as always in his diary. Hill, the ship, described the reception in detail. During this meeting, Lin Zexu handed the English version of Notes to the King of England to Hill for review. Hill said: He submitted a letter to the Queen of England. The rhetoric is still the usual high-sounding tone, which makes me laugh. As soon as he saw this situation, he asked if it was inappropriate. We said that we were only laughing at some mistakes in wording. So he told us to take this letter to the back room, where we would correct all the mistakes we found and have tea there.

Why is Hill laughing? We read this letter and laughed: First of all, we boasted that our great emperor had no boundaries: Hong Wei, my great emperor, cared about China and foreign countries equally. The benefits are made public in the world, and the harm goes to the world, with the heart of heaven and earth as the heart. Second, praising the king of England with the gesture of digging a well is like praising your grandson: your king has been handed down from generation to generation, which is called respect. Looking at the words in the previous tributes, such as "All the citizens who trade in China are fairly favored by the great emperor", I secretly like your king's deep understanding of righteousness and gratitude. Because China is soft and profound, the benefits of trade have lasted for 200 years.

Third, some bad guys in foreign businessmen are selling opium, and the king should take care of it, because the laws in China are very scary: if your king devotes himself to China, he will of course instruct all foreigners to abide by the law consciously, but he will be aware of the interests and know that the laws in China cannot be ignored. Fourth, in Sino-British trade, China goods are beneficial to people, and the British cannot do without it; British goods are all for fun, dispensable and harmful to people. If it weren't for the public interest, China would have closed the door and stopped playing with you: what China does in a foreign country is not good for others: delicious, easy to use and better to sell. Has anything ever hurt foreign countries in China? Conditions are like tea rhubarb, and foreign countries cannot live without it for a day. If China values profit over harm, how can foreigners make a living? While foreign feathers and serges can only be woven from China's silk. If China is also profitable, how can the Yi people make a profit? The rest of the food comes from sugar and ginger, and the things used come from silks and satins and porcelain. It is necessary to have countless things abroad. And foreign things, but for fun, dispensable, neither China's demand, why not close the door! It is China's destiny to let the goods of tea silk be trafficked and circulated, which is beneficial to the public all over the world.

Fifth, if your king can wipe out those opium-producing areas, there will be many blessings: if your king can uproot all the plants, hoe all the land and use these places to replant food, those who dare to grow opium again will be punished again. This is really a benevolent policy. It is unique and unique, and it will definitely do so. (Lin Zexu doesn't know that when he wrote this letter, my girl was not married. Later, the so-called Happy Queen, Happy Woman, and descendants who live to be a hundred years old all had-190 1 year. Victoria died suddenly surrounded by two sons, three daughters and a grandson, with a life span of 82 years. Sixth, once again scare the king of England and cooperate with the Qing Dynasty to ban smoking. Otherwise, in the end, I gave an order to the Queen of England, as if I were facing the magistrate of a county in China: After receiving this article, I will put an end to the rapid transfer of opium and don't blame it.

1840, 65438+ 10, 18, Lin Zexu's note to the king of England was entrusted to Dan Muskego, the owner of the British ship, to take it to London. The problem is that the British Foreign Office refused to accept such a bluff letter. Gong Lin was so cautious and experienced many twists and turns. Britain was right to refuse. People have their own official representatives in China, and China should be passed on by non-governmental representatives. Absolutely not as arrogant as China, Britain, of course, is unwilling to accept it. Besides, the letter was sent by my uncle to his grandson, and when Britain replied, it was tantamount to admitting that I was a grandson. However, although the uncle's letter was rejected by the British authorities, it is an excellent material for the British media. The British published the full text of this letter for the British people to make fun of. Travis hanes III and Frank Losa Nye commented on this letter: Lin Zexu's pale language and weak threats look ridiculous. This event was put on the stage and became a popular comedy, in which the experience of British businessmen in Guangzhou was used for fun. They disguised themselves as pirates by waving funny and exaggerated pistols. The Opium War in distant China became a joke and entertainment in London.