A Question Regarding Anglo-Chinese (Imperial) Relations

I've been told variably by people that the primary reason that the British thought China was a weak target and easily influenced (though no one ever used the word trounced or annexed), was because the first British envoys to the Qing Dynasty's court got there in the latter life of one of the Qing Emperors, who was passed his prime and rather sickly. Any truth to that?

The Emperor in question was Qianlong, IIRC.
 

Maoistic

Banned
The British thought the Chinese were easily influenced because their navy was far inferior, their army was falling behind severely and Britain had just conquered several core territories of mainland India, whose civilisation was on the same level of development as China (no matter how much modern NGOs continue to violently propagate the image of the eternal tribalised India of primitive villages) and of similar size on top of that. Also, Britain defeated France and its global empire in the Seven Years War. The age of the Qing Emperor definitely had little to do with how the British saw China in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They thought China was inferior because Britain had become the almost undisputed top global superpower by then.
 
In no way, shape or form, was Britain an undisputed superpower, indeed the term did not yet exist, and Britain was challenged by France, who you mentioned, Russia, Germany, Austro-Hungaria, Ottomania and the United States of America simultaneously for the titulary of Great Power. All the same thanks for your input.
 
In no way, shape or form, was Britain an undisputed superpower, indeed the term did not yet exist, and Britain was challenged by France, who you mentioned, Russia, Germany, Austro-Hungaria, Ottomania and the United States of America simultaneously for the titulary of Great Power. All the same thanks for your input.

In 1793??

France was in the throes of violent revolution, America had only existed for ten years and was a non-factor in world affairs, Austria-Hungary was just Austria and was also involved in the French Revolution, Germany didn't exist yet, and the Ottomans were never a threat to Britain when either power was at its height. You mentioned Qianlong and the McCartney Mission, correct? That was 1793.
 
In 1793??

France was in the throes of violent revolution, America had only existed for ten years and was a non-factor in world affairs, Austria-Hungary was just Austria and was also involved in the French Revolution, Germany didn't exist yet, and the Ottomans were never a threat to Britain when either power was at its height. You mentioned Qianlong and the McCartney Mission, correct? That was 1793.

I meant the era, my apologies for forgetting the year.

Yes, I mentioned Qianlong and the McCartney mission (thanks for the name, I didn't know it).
 
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