As a Chinese person (who lived very near the Summer Palace park, in fact my high school is right across the street), I must say, this is an extremely well-made video. It is very easy for people to know the ruin site, but the on-the-ground investigation on small, lesser-known British historical sites linked to China is something unique and invaluable. Subscribed! (Side note, when I visit museums abroad and saw a Chinese relic, I always wonder what its intended purpose was, what happened to it and how it is taken from its home, and somehow feel a sense of sympathy and homesickness with the lifeless relic. In this special case, because the Summer Palace was so close to my high school in Beijing, I felt that the relics and I are fellow townspeople. Such strange and sad feeling...)
Thank you for your comment - it really pleases me to know that you liked my video and found it educational, especially because you are someone who has a personal connection with the Summer Palace! Beijing is a wonderful city, and I actually previously lived there for 3 years, staying in the Hutongs next to 什刹海. It was whilst I lived in Beijing that I had the inspiration to create this channel. In two of my earlier videos I explore the history of two of Beijing's most famous landmarks, Zhengyangmen and Tianan'men (正阳门 和 天安门), through the examination of old photographs that I have collected of them - seeing that you are from Beijing, you might also find these videos interesting. One day in the future I hope to return to Beijing to create some more videos on the history of that incredible city. Thanks also for sharing your feelings on seeing Chinese relics in museums outside China. I often have the same feeling as you when I see them - that they have been removed from their home habitat and are now lost and disconnected from their homeland. I will try and uncover some more lost Chinese relics outside China in some of my future videos, to tell their untold stories.
Whoever is exhibiting "Chinese National Treasures" in their museums all over the world are proofs of their guilty crimes in looting China "dry"! Do the next honourable thing, in returning all illegally owned treasures back to their existing Natural Origins. Repent.. NOW!!! 😇
I not surprised, British did to Javanese palace to, we remember as 'Geger Sepehi" in 1812, the looting of treasure, gold, rare item, manuscript, jewelry, and burning and plunder of palace complex.
"...One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits..." Victor Hugo
Thr British Army too burnt down the Kangla Palace in Manipur, India during Anglo-Manipuri war of 1891.Manipuri Kingdom was used as buffer territory between British India and the Burmese Kingdom. And also Manipuri soldiers were useful as scouts and guides during the Anglo-Burmese War.. Seems burning down palaces of the defeated party was a regular norm. This leaves us with very little historical artefacts for posterity.
@@TerryBell1968 There are many disgusting things besides the british looting from the old summer Palace and India. A massive sum of 45 trillion siphon from India alone. From famine that killed millions of Indians to deindustrialisation and financing for the world's imperial army, fighting in Europe and asia territory expansion enough for you to wash your dirty linen. There are many points to talk about not to mention the atrocities and racism that they inflicted on the Indian people. The Sun never set in the British Empire. Even Satan could not trust them in the dark.
@@TerryBell1968 Look who's talking here: "You were complaining about British imperialism earlier", people tend to blame others for their own bad behavior, first complaining and badmouth about youtuber being half-chinese. This is a classic case of accusing others of their own shortcomings If they are lying, then they will accuse others of lying. They never take responsibility, and it’s always someone else's fault. It is obvious what is going on in your mind and that you are trying to hide your undesirable characteristics. We will not fall for your lies and deception.
No wonder we weren’t taught about this ignominious period in our history lessons! I wonder what the British press of the time was saying about the “threat” China represented to us, or perhaps they didn’t bother with attempts to justify their actions in those days.
Here is something that was also NOT taught!.....Try the Chinese Labour Corp. (C.L.C). Easy film version is "Tricks On The Dead!". Modern Book Version: "Betrayed Ally": China in the Great War. Book By: Christopher Arnander and Frances Wood. And this is about European History....
@@johncorrall1739 Excellent point. Actually, although what Britain did was wrong China itself is built on the backs of Genocide and war. This is evidenced by changing Dynasties and the fading out of over 300 different languages that came from the various different province that have been absorbed into 1 China. Before international bodies such as the UN (to which the PRC now has alot of clout) provided laws and policies which nations have to abide by many nations including China itself.
The destruction of the Summer Palace wasn't just a loss for the Chinese. It was a loss for the world in general Imagine if it's still standing today and people are able to go visit it, how magnificent it must be Truly a crime against humanity
@@BygoneChina Destruction itself is part and parcel of mankind's depravity - has always been and is set to continue. Fortunately preservation and the ever growing tendency to preserve and cherish continues to gain momentum with each passing day.
These types of biases are really quite something, like completely indulgent buildings and art works by a ruling elite are something to behold? And what lies in the wake of all this indulgence? How did the average Chinese citizen get on during these times? How much war and torture existed amongst the Chinese people themselves? Talk about completely stupid perspectives on History. Not that I am saying the English were any better but there are rarely any innocent nations and leaders throughout history.
@@BygoneChina Access to the Summer Palace was restricted to only the high Qing nobility. How could it be a loss for humanity when only a relative handful of people are allowed to see it?
As a Chinese watching this; my heart aches knowing how the Summer Palace and Chinese ppl were robbed. Cannot imagine how the Chinese ppl then must have felt seeing their emperor losing these treasures 😢
Not only the palace was looted, in which some of those treasures are still preserved today. The bigger crime was that they burnt down the royal garden named Yuan Ming Yuan.
And the biggest crime is that they're not interested in returning them to the hundreds of Chinese museums where they could be preserved appreciated in the hands of the descendants of those who created them.
Just imagine that China send a few million soldiers to de-colonised UK and get rid of generations of war mongers and retrieve all stolen treasures not only to China but to the rest of the countries that suffered under British colonialism. Then Birmingham Palace should also be burn down and all war mongers should be put on trial starting with Liz. Immediate referendum should be held in Scotland, Ireland and Wales if they want to seek independence. The citizens of UK will also be re-educated on the colonial history and sins of their forefathers.
@@tc2334 Would China CCP want these given that their false narrative is SO CALLED communism ? I don't know I'm just putting it out there. Another question at the risk of 'whataboutry' is: Should China still be on a "Developing Nations" list? China now have the largest navy in the world (albeit untrained and unorganised), they have regular space expeditions and programs but unfortunately still have abject poverty.
I appreciate how you guys feel that way. We Vietnamese feel the same way regarding our Vietnamese national treasure currently in the Chinese Museum. Back in the 17th century, the Ming invaded Viet Nam, and sacked our capital. So much history of Vietnam, books, treasures, relics, etc of ours were taken from us. We have been trying to negotiate with the Chinese government ever since to get those historical relics back to Vietnam; but the Chinese government refused it. What comes around goes around I guess.
@@lapprentice Ming invaded not in the 17th but 14th century, you liar! And they did not invade to conquer but to help the current ruler under invitation so lies again. They didn't loot but I stead impart a lot of culture that are still relevant till today. Lies don't make history and facts will never change.
My apologies for the long gap between this and my previous video - I aim to release more frequently in the future! I hope that you enjoyed watching, and please do let me know what you thought of the documentary here in the comments!
The British Museum holds the "Elgin Marbles" of the Parthenon Frieze of the Acropolis, Athens. A descendant of that Elgin holding the hereditary title of Lord Elgin looted then burned down Yuan Ming Yuan. A family line of plunderers and looters indeed. The British Museum also holds the loot of ancient Buddhist manuscripts from the Magao Caves, Dunhuang along the Silk Road, China - committed/facilitated by Hungarian Aurel Stein who was later knighted for his archeological plundering for the Museum.
the british museum safely preserves ancient artefacts that were disregarded by the people they came from. if someone picks up something you threw in a skip and them you discover it was valuable, you dont blame them - you blame yourself. get a life
@@GreoGreo the countries of origin didnt preserve their own things for the most part. They were neglected and often destroyed, it was the British that started to study the history of these regions not the locals. For example the Elgin marbles were being shot at as target practice by the ottomans, and protected by lord Elgin who bought them from the ottomans. People like you don't care about history, you only want to use artefacts from the past as tools for nationalism and as distractions from government failures to direct the hate at others. If your truly cared about history you would be enamoured by every scratch and crack on an item and marvel as to how it ended up where it is today.
Britain and French was full evil that period. In Denmark before napoleon wars, Britain stole the entire Danish/Norwegian fleet that was used for trading with therefore almost no canons equipped, and was second largest fleet in world. They also bombed Copenhagen with burning rockets and motars for no reason. Made Denmark go bankroupt. And Norway got forced seeded to Sweden without their will as they were just some object.
I remember this was because Denmark allied itself with the French by obeying napoleon with his continental system ( Basically told everyone not to trade with Britain) so Britain destroyed their navy, and this was deemed adequate since it was after all a war. So it wasn't just for no reason they went to Copenhagen to destroy their navy and break away from the continental system this is very brief.
Hi Saibot; I believe the term U R looking for is:............."Avarice";..............Remember the Dutch and the Belgium also had vast Imperial Empires! What the Belgium did in the Congo under King Leopold II was simply unspeakable..... See Book: "Heart of Darkness." By: Polish-English novelist: Joseph Conrad. Which many modern scholars already know is what the1979 'Coppola' Film: "Apocalypse Now." was based on... One thing I must: Take-My-Hat-Off-To all Europeans; they are Masters at Raging War between themselves and inflicting on others.... Ask the Native Americans/First Nationers in the American Continent..... See: Kevin Costner's 500 Nations. 1995 ‧ Documentary. Remember the Philosophy of the time:- "Have Gun Will Travel!" And let's face it the West Certainly knows about GUNS!
You can read a brilliant account of this sacking of the summer Palace in one of the Flashman books by George MacDonald Frasier. A truly despicable event. The summer Palace was a staggering feat of engineering and beauty. Imagine if someone came and did the same thing to St Paul's cathedral and Buckingham Palace.
then many people today would cheer and claim it to be justice. Usually the same people who think they are brave for critizising King Charles but would never dream of critisizing Xi or Erdogan, even though both claim a long history of their nations. A history full of conquest, colonialism, looting, religious intolerance, slavery and of course genocide.
This channel's pioneering works and research on the above topic will be invaluable to future historians. And it might trigger the chinese government's interest in requesting the return of all those historical artifacts through international law
Thank you, I will continue conducting research into a range of topics and share them on this channel, so the world can learn more about many untold stories from Chinese history.
Nice to know that there was someone who was willing to pay for the return of one such item! Old deeds can not be undone...but there is always room for a better spirit to make amends...🙏🏼
Many rich Chinese are using their wealth to pay for the return of Chinese historical artefacts - The anonymous bidder referenced in the video was likely one such person.
Great video and great reporting on the visual documents, also thanks for your efforts investigating on chinese objects in british collections, well done!! educative, entertaining and high quality content!! 👏👌
This reminds me of the GENERAL who led the BURMA ROYAL FAMILY Out of their PALACE and asked the King if he could the BAG of their jewelry and he will give it back when they reached the destination He never gave it back 😂😂😂 The ganstanirism of it all is astounding
@@BygoneChina I even forgot his NAME the Genaral I mean …..I will look for it There is Documentary of it here on RU-vid,the Journalist visited the Royal Family in India,the journalist talked about the Big Stone the British General Stole
The old summer palace actually wasn’t destroyed only in this war. The rebuilt of the new summer palace, the boxer rebellion war and the war load looting in 1920s. Most importantly the local peasants kept opening up new farming lands in the old summer palace which was soon abandoned after the second opium war. This situation continued until the 1970s.
Fortunately, this event is well recorded, and people generally agree that it was wrong and the sacking should never have been allowed to occur. Moreover, many of the looted treasures have now been returned home to China, and more will surely follow. I prey that nothing like this ever occurs again in the future.
Anti-colonialism is always woven together with this history. It is better to tell it plainly without statements like it was the greatest act of cultural vandalism in the modern period. The Taiping Rebellion cut a huge swath of destruction across China, Yuan Shi-kai plundered plenty of imperial tombs to add to his treasury and Mao Zidong launched the Cultural Revolution which also involved wide scale cultural destruction. The Old Summer Palace wasn't particularly old and it could have been rebuilt but later emperors decided to build a new palace. It is really remembered because it is symbol of national humiliation.
Empress Dowager Cixi and her son Emperor Tongzhi would have wanted to rebuild the burnt Yuan Ming Yuan but it was too large, and too expensive to do so. Much later on and during the nominal reign of Emperor Guangxu, a much smaller scale and physically nearer to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing using a pre-existing lake site (one of a string of three lakes adjacent to the Forbidden Palace) was chosen for the "new summer place".
I don’t know if this is true but I heard that according to some historian the Chinese Summer Palace Yuan Ming Yuan was looted twice. The first time during the Second Opium War by both the British and the French, and the second time during the Boxer Rebellion by all the eight nations’ soldiers who took part in putting down the rebellion.
During WW2, 12000 Palestinians volunteered to serve in the British army. They fought against the Nazi German in Europe & North Africa. Many of them lost theirs life , others wounded & many still missing. The Gaza war & more then 30 K deaths of Palestinians is the " Best Gift" from the British Gov for the Palestinians. 🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭🇪🇭
there is a mistake in the video. the Old summer Palace is direktly north of the Imperial city and quite close unlike how its implied on the map. the place the map points to is where the new summer palace is locatet.
I tell my fellow countryman in China, British Museum is the best education for us Chinese, for now and for the foreseeable future. We will always be reminded how poor how vunerable how ignorant we were. Not knowing what's going on around the earth, defied our own ancenstral edification for in prosperity thinking of adversity(居安思危). Our civilisation were almost completely eradicated from the planet for hundres of years. But luckily, we were given a second chance, a chance to rebuild. We just have to remember one thing, never again, ever. We should never be cornered into such cul-de-sac. We can't afford to lose our civilisation again, our pride.
Looting is a sad but very common part of war and conquest. I don’t know why so many in the comments are acting as if it’s only the British who did this. When whatever country they are typing that from did the same at one point. Terrible, but not unique.
Yeah China terrorised it’s neighbours for thousands of years before the British arrived. How much of what was in the palace was “tribute”. China is only mad because for 100 years out of two and a half thousand the shoe was on the other foot. Even the video mentions they were executing prisoners.
After the discovery of gunpowder making and use, the Chinese during the Sung Dynasty period did use gunpowder explosive effectively as bombs, rockets (that fly) and canon/guns. These weapons were documented in military drawings. It was the lack of knowledge that later the West would maintain the myth that Chinese only used the gunpowder (that they themselves discovered) for firecrackers.
A lot of people complain about the British museum taking away these artifacts from mainland China, and it's understandable why they would be upset. But a lot of those people forget is that the Chinese government in the '60s and '70s actively made a point to destroy their own cultural artifacts. So what we have today at the British museum is a legacy that survived that.
@@Canseco666It's been widely commented that China is now a profoundly ugly country due to the devastation of anything classified as "old" during the Cultural Revolution. The modernisation of China post-Deng is finishing off what Mao started.
Somehow American participation seems to have been overlooked. The wife of the American Ambassador, with true New World enterprise , organised scouting parties to seize whatever desirable treasures they could identify for her personal loot.
It is really hard to reconcile what the British, French, and other Western countries did to third world countries. Despite Western Enlightenment it seems the European Imperial Powers used their military to make money unscrupulously. Either demanding unlimited market access for British opium or stealing Qing Imperial treasures. People of former colonies question the intent of their European colonizers. In China, European Powers took over many coastal regions. In South East Asia, Americas, and Africa, European Powers simply owned entire countries. I am sure many Chinese people are bitter and resentful. In Chinese history books this period is called 100 years of humiliation. I cannot reconcile what went on. I can say that a handful of Western European countries and their North American colonial descendants have created a better life for themselves. These countries underwent modernization and industrialization and they made a better life for their people. I hope China can move beyond what had happened and see that the countries of Western Civilization have created the modern world. If China wants to give its people a better life then China must also change just like the countries of Western Civilization. The old form of governance where the ruler had absolute power worked at the dawn of civilization (5000 years ago), but in the 20th century there is a better way. All modern industrialized countries have democratic republican governments and they use free-market capitalism to trade. Democratic republics are not easy, so the Chinese people will have to engage in trial-&-error and learn from their mistakes. The current Chinese Communist Government has absolute power just like the Qing Emperor. The 1912 Revolution was weakened by the Japanese invasion and hijacked by the Chinese Communist with help from Stalin. The absolute power of this restrictive government prevents China from moving forward. China must respect individual rights and free trade. Respecting individual property rights is capitalism. A free market trading system requires an open society that protects free speech. In order to trade freely people must be able to trade or share their ideas freely. There are people who distort the truth or lie, but that is the nature of a free society. People must be educated or sufficiently informed to know what is false and what is true. Chinese people want to move forward. The protest at Tiananmen Square in 1989 proves that China knows it must change.
This was one of the most disgusting cultural abominations in history… which PALES in comparison to what the Chinese did to their own culture during the cultural revolution. Were it not for the Taiwanese KMT removing and protecting cultural treasures from China and storing them at the Imperial Museum in Taipei, we’d have lost an enormous cultural heritage.
One thing, KMT probably dont want you to call them taiwanese because they are not born there. After Chiang fled to taiwan, he always lament how much he want to go back to China where he was born
I read once where a common soldier waving a huge string of pearls was offered 20 guineas by an officer and accepted because he did not know their true value.
The British took six Pekingese and I have one of their ancestors well actually throughout my life I’ve had 10 of them pure Pekingese Dogs direct descendants of those six that were rescued by the British from the summer Palace
Bias! In China they looted the emperor's palace as he was having British killed and fighting the British. Rather than punish the civilians as most people would have done in those days the British punished the emperor and his vast luxurious home which I think is quite restrained for the age we are talking about.
I was fortunate enough to play Lord Elgin in the CCTV10 documentary about Yuan Ming Yuan. An important point about the hostages was that they were members of Elgin's expedition (including his secretary) who had gone to negotiate with the Qing under a flag of truce. It was the detail of their having been detained while under a flag of truce that enraged Elgin. By the time the 8 power army got to Beijing, winter was about to set in and Elgin was under orders to strike a decisive blow against the Chinese to ensure their compliance with the treaties they had supposedly been breaking. Actually, Elgin himself abhorred violence and I have always thought that he chose to destroy Yuan Ming Yuan rather than the alternative of burning large swathes of Beijing and damaging the ordinary population. He could never have imagined that ony 50 years later the Xinhai Revolution would sweep away the Qing and make Yuan Ming Yuan the property of the Chinese people. When I lived in Beijing, I often used to walk in Yuan Ming Yuan (the park is still there) and I always felt it was far more useful to the locals as a wilderness than it would every have been as a museum, though I have to say that lot of my Chinese friends disagree on that point!
Really interesting comments, thanks for sharing your story and insights! What is the name of the documentary, if you don't mind sharing? I'd actually be really interested in checking it out.
why are you calling it the British loot? What about the French? And speaking of it, the troops were fairly mixed? I know of French, British, Bengali, Algerian and Punjabi looters. Shouldn't all of them be mentioned in the title as well?
This video focuses specifically on loot held in a museum in Britain, hence the title. I have considered doing another video on the French loot also, and will likely travel to France at some point to collect content for this, so stay tuned! You do raise an interesting point on the mixed nature of the British troops though, although they do all come under the banner of 'British' with regards to this invasion. Whilst I don't discuss the ethnicity of the troops, I do mention towards the end of the video that some of the loot did travel to India. Ultimately virtually all of the loot taken by the British side did end up in Britain though, so I believe that it is fair to call it British loot.
@@BygoneChina Well, I disagree, especially since this part of Chinese history is way too overblown (what your video contributes to, even though it palse in comparison to the Taiping Civil War and later the rampages of the CCP) and to often used for propaganda on both sides. Also, I think mentioning loot going to India in the end is a bad choice. That should have been mentioned in the start when most people's attention is still strong, just like mentioning the French and Chinese get their hands on loot especially when connected to the belief that the sacking was considered just punishment for the Manchu rulers. And keep in mind, this video came out 2 years ago and you only think about the French now and based on your channel there seems nothing on the darker sides of the Qing empire. So, and I have to be blund here, I think this did no one really a favor. You added a few things here and there that I would consider positive but apart from that, this is in my opinion just part of the old story where this serves both Chinese nationalism and ironically Anglo egos by making it more important than it is.
May I tell you a story? I lived for one year in 101 middle school as a foreign English teacher in the late 1990's. During that time some of Yuanmingyuan was closed for renovations. I noticed over time that they came in and created fake ruins to add to the drama of the looting. Maybe this isn't entirely wrong but it is a bit deceptive. It is true that the place was sacked but to add to the ruins isn't honest. Due to the closeness of my middle school I could go into the park in the evenings when it was closed. There was a small opening in a fence that anyone could go thru but most people didn't know. I went there so many times and often I was the only person there, maybe there would be some older people taking a walk but for the most part I was alone. It is really an amazing experience to think that I, an American young man (at the time), could walk around freely in a national park during sundown and just look at such a historic place. I remember sitting at the edge of the lake in the park watching the sun go down and I was the only person there. It's a fantastic memory that I will never forget. During the renovation the lake was drained for sometime and I could walk out to the little house situated on an island in the middle. I went out there a few times and it was so cool. The tall unkept grass and a slight breeze while I was just sitting there and thinking. I lived in China for 18 years and I do not regret it at all. Was it all great, no, but for the most part yes. The 90's was a great time to live in China. After the money started pouring in it started to lose it's charm. But I do love China.
Thanks for sharing the story Alan. You were so fortunate to be able to walk freely around the ruins, it must have been a very special experience. I couldn't imagine anyone being able to sneak in now unfortunately, although one of the 5 star hotels bordering the complex does have an exclusive entrance that they allow guests to use after dark sometimes. Interestingly, there are several historical sites that I have visited in China that have had additional artificial ruins built on top to add to the drama - although this is often just a method to attract more tourists and ultimately to bring more revenue for the local authority managing the attraction. One example is the Gaochang ruins in Xinjiang. During my visit in 2016 the tour guide was honest about it and told me that the ruins had recently been rebuilt in 2013. During your 18 years in China you must have witnessed a lot of change! I was there for only 7, but it felt like the country I was leaving at the end of it was a totally different one from when I arrived. May I ask, aside from Beijing, did you live in any other cities in China?
@@BygoneChina I only lived in Beijing but I traveled to many cities in my early years then later I just found the traveling to be too tiresome, so I stopped. I've been to Shanghai, Tianjin (many times) Dalian, Shenzhen, HK, Fuzhou, Nanjing, Huangshan, Shenyang and Pingyao. I went to Pingyao early on and it was very cool. I also slept on the Great Wall twice, which is forbidden but in the 90's it was much easier to do. Very cold to sleep there. Both times it was in November but one time it snowed over night and waking up early in the morning with the sun shinning and fresh snow covering the entire view of the wall was another memory lodged in my brain. I do regret not going to Xian or to Xinjiang. Before I left a friend offered me a job teaching on Hainan but I turned her down because I wanted to be back home for my mom. I taught in many top universities but the best (in my opinion) was Bei Ke da followed by BUAA. The lowest on the list was Zhong Ke Yuan. But all of them had great students. I went when I was 27 and came home when I was 45.
@@BygoneChina Sorry, yes I saw a lot of change. Too much. I remember when there was no 4th or 5th ring roads. I remember when there were more bikes then cars. Seeing people grabbing people off their bikes if they didn't have their yearly tag on the bike and making them pay for it right on the spot. They always ignored me, lol. I bought a new Giant bike my first year and my school (a middle school) was so worried about me having something so expensive so they took it to the police to get it registered and came back with an actual foreigners bike license plate on it. Nobody had ever seen one before. The plate got stolen and then a few years later so was the bike. I went thru 3 Giants in 18 years. The last one I gave to my student that helped me buy a lot of stuff on taobao before I left.
Deception or otherwise the fact remain unchanged that those pale face barbarian did destroy the summer palace. Trying to justify by saying they added renovated part is merely trying to justify the keeping of the stolen good. Buckingham palace and Windsor castle must be destroyed.. in the same premise.
friendly reminder that the british commander only decided to burn the palace after discovering the peace envoys sent were tortured to death by the chinese.
Hi Harry, you raise an important point that the burning of the Summer Palace wasn't simply wanton destruction, but was in fact a little more nuanced than that. I actually spoke about Lord Elgin's justification for why he ordered the destruction of the Summer Palace at length in the video, as I believe that it is important to highlight his reasoning, and to put the burning in context. These days a lot of history, especially history relating to the British Empire, is presented in misleading black and white terms, something that I try not to do in my documentaries.
@@BygoneChina I think the fact that it was not wanton destruction and a calculated move makes it even more horrendous. Wanton destruction by individual young, thoughtless soldiers would be terrible, but perhaps understandable. Calculated destruction by an experienced "diplomat" who essentially wanted to "bring the barbarians to heel" is far, far worse. China didn't send ships to Great Britain inviting them to come - this act by Lord Elgin is essentially like an uninvited guest who refuses to leave your house and insists you swap your plasma tv for their shitty radio, and when you try to forcibly remove them, they decide to burn your garage down to make you do what they say. I mean, I'm not a lover of modern China by any means, but implying "oh it was ok that he burned it down DELIBERATELY because it was payback for the torture of envoys" is flabbergasting.
@@BygoneChina It was a calculated act by Lord Elgin and his French counterpart to teach the arrogant Chinese emperor a lesson. To put it in a bigger context, the Chinese had always considered itself as the center of the world; its empire was the only universal state on earth. All foreigners were considered as barbarians . In official correspondence, the British were called "Ying Yi" "英夷" , the English barbarians . Foreign countries were all considered vassal states (藩國) of the Qing Empire. This had been the case since the British sent the Macartney Embassy in 1790, and it was still pretty much the same after the first opium war. Two years prior to Lord Elgin's force landing, in 1858, a treaty had been agreed. In this treaty was a clause that allow the British and French to setup their permanent embassies in Peking. The XianFeng Emperor was horrified by this as it would put him and the monarch of England on the same level. When the British diplomatic mission tried to go to Peking in 1859 to formalize the treaty , the XianFeng emperor secretly ordered an ambush on the mission. This was what caused an even bigger invasion force led by Lord Elgin in 1860. After Elgin's force had successfully captured, the Chinese attempted to negotiate peace, and it was this peace envoy sent by the British that was captured and tortured to death.
It's funny: all of this stuff would have been thrown into the fire during the cultural revolution less than a century later. Stop whining, at least some of it still exists.
Mere accusations and claims without evidence and proof except from hearsay are not facts. Show proof when making claims that "all this stuff would have been thrown into the fire during the Cultural Revolution" - when it mostly didn't happen as many of the treasures can still be seen in their museums in Shanghai, Beijing, etc. Otherwise, claims such as yours will be nothing short of lies and slander and worth nothing less than squat but salacious misinformation intended to cause harm to others.
And then take vengeance once the buildup of forces is strong enough. We shall burn down every single historical site in the UK. We'll see who's facing the sharp edge of the sword in this century.
Why does it feel like all these vids about western culture/history take the negative view. Just to mention one positive. At the same time the Brits did this, and this was bad, they were the first nation in history, not only to ban slavery within their borders, but to actively fight it abroad, at great costs to them selves. Then we can talk about "small" politically incorrect things, like capitalism and industrial revolution, the basis for all good things we have to day.
It would obviously not be possible to make a video about this topic positive, but other videos on my channel have explored some of the more positive aspects of British engagement with China. Please check out my video on Robert Hart - he was a British subject who made significant contributions to the Qing Dynasty. I am also in the process of creating a documentary on Chinese Gordon, who again had many positive impacts on China. Gordon was also involved in the banning of slavery which you cite.
@@BygoneChina Thnx 4 the reply, dont get me wrong, ur vid was interesting 2 watch. its just that the best (and I mean best) culture hitherto "invented" as measured by positive impact on humankind everywhere, science, living standards etc, people are always putting the west down. The free exchange of goods and services (capitalism), property rights, rule of law etc, all came together in the very culture that the internet loves to denegrade. Just the idea that state power is something to critisize is a right- wing idea. Yeah, what a shocker. But thnx 4 ur vid
abolish the word slavery chnage the word slavery to indenture labour. Rohinga people were brought to the arakan region of Burma by British in 1825 as slave to work in the plantation just like Indians were brought to Malaysia to work in the rubber plantation. Indians were brought to fiji to work in the Sugar plantation. Around 1860 a group of british bandit and sea pirates named British east india company found Oil in this same region. Those british bandits and robbers saw the natives in this region using black liquid for cooking and buring. This is one of the early source of Oil in the world. British bandits establish a company with the help of rohinga named ‘’ Syndicate of british east india Company’’ in 1865 with head quarter in Chittogong sadarghat area. In 1870 The name changed to ‘’Rangoon Oil company’’. Later in 1886 Name again changed to ‘’Burmah Oil company’’. This burmah oil company used these Rohinga slaves to further expand oil business in south and south east asia. The burmah Oil Company was also the Mother company of ‘’ The Anglo_Iranian Oil company in 1901 in Iran. This Burmah oil company was renamed again in 1980 as “ British Petroleum”( BP) for short. BP is the Seven sisters of the world along with Exxon, Texaco, Shell,Chevron, Mobil, Gulf Oil. British Further used the rohingas as a canon fodder against Japanese in 1942 during WW2. The whole Rohinga Crisis was Created By the British . So the responsibility of the Rohingas should be with the British Government who enslaved them at First place.
It needs to be said that the British profitted hugely from the transAtlantic slave trade. In fact the British monarchy profitted directly. The Industrial Revolution started the historical production and accumulation of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere now contributing to climate change - global warming crisis. These are facts. The Industrial Revolution coupled with Western colonisation, imperialism and empire building to conquer foreign lands, grab natural and mineral resources and markets for mercantilism were factors leading to WWI, the world machine and mechanization (with machine guns, tanks, planes, chemical gas produced by Industrial Revolution) of the first modern world war.
@@frankyong2607 All that is true. And none of it was new. Conquest and cruelty was the norm. But I think U need to check a little up on how life was before the industrial revolution. I wouldnt even want to be the richest person back then.
Why is it just the British Museum that has to return objects or pay fines? No mention of the French paying anything, or the other European powers, just the British
Interesting emphasis on the British whilst the French involvement barely gets a mention. And there is no 'allegedly' - the French instigated the looting.
I am focusing on the British involvement in this video as I had better access to British sources during its production (the Museum which I visit for example). In the future, I would also like to do one of the French involvement, but that requires me to visit France.
Then you should ask why the British did the looting. It is better to let people to know the whole story. At the start of the war, the British and French send between 30 to 40 emissaries negotiate with Beijing. All these emissaries were captured by Beijing and kept as hostages. They were kept inside a very small prison with their own poops and tortured by all terrible means. When finally the British evacuated these hostages were tortured only few were alive. Some of them were dismembered. Many of them has their arms and legs cut off. The poorest ones were even eaten alive by maggots. The remaining few has lost their minds because they were tortured so badly. Comparing to the torture done by Beijing, the looting and burning was already a very mild punishment, especially when you compare with the Mongolian’s massacres to the captured cities!
Ffs lol. Vases and linen haven't developed these countries. How could the europeans have conquered so much in the first place if they only advanced through looting?
Just imagine if each artefact is priced at 500 k...that would be 750 billions.. Not even counting the scrolls and calligraphies which were burnt . And finally the palace itself
Yes, it would be interesting to attempt to calculate the exact amount that the artefacts would be worth - but I believe ultimately many of the treasures are both unique and priceless, and cannot be replaced for any amount of money
thats a meaningless and stupid thing to do. afterall ,the value added is only in todays set of value that was set by the result of british emperialism 300 years ago
Imagine, one day someone who is far more evil and competent than Xi step into power, solo the living daylight out of EU and take every thing from Buckingham Palace, make Irish ruled supreme over all of England and make Scotland an independent country. The ultimate revenge.
Yes, and that fortunately helps to keep the memory of the event alive. Many other similar acts throughout history have been largely forgotten because the history was not passed on generation to generation.
I not suprised, British did to Javanese palace to, we remember as 'Geger Sepehi" in 1812, the looting of treasture, gold, rare item, manuscript, jewerely, and burning and plunder of palace complex.
The British Museum should be congratulated for taking good care of antiquities and guading them against destruction in their homelands. Especially saving Chinese antiquities from the cultural revolution and the Elgin marbles from the Greek war of independence.
@@alvanrigby6361 Twisted logic. I knew the Brits are a greedy lot. I didn't know they had powers of clairvoyance as well. How about foreign countries now send their armies to the UK and loot whatever is valuable and claim they're guarding them against destruction in the future?
@@Deepak_Dhakad unfortunately stolen wealth is legal if committed by members of the present G7. Otherwise, it has to be returned to the rightful owner. Sorry to say this bluntly.
@@Deepak_Dhakad that is a fake statistic look it up. It's the same way in which a stamp increases value. P.s why hold the British to a different standard, when if a rajah from another kingdom took the treasure it would be okay?
