The second Opium War was due to the fact that after the first Opium War, the Qing government adopted the strategy of serving the sun and disobeying the yin, violated the contract and secretly stopped the trade with Europe, which made the trade between Britain and France impossible. Britain and France became angry from embarrassment and found two ways to go to war. Thus forcing the Qing government to sign the Tianjin Treaty. It was supposed to stop here. Emperor Xianfeng couldn't stand it anymore. He thought it had damaged China's face and instructed the green-hearted monk to ambush the British and French envoys who came to Dagukou to exchange contracts. Many people died on the spot, which is also a great victory in high school history books. More than a dozen envoys who went to negotiate were detained. The Qing court believed that as long as the bandits were caught, the rest of the troops would surrender without fighting. In this way, Britain and France landed and went straight to Beijing to kill. Xianfeng fled to Jehol, and only a few detained messengers were alive. Later, as we all know, Britain and France burned the Yuanmingyuan in order to demonstrate to the Qing government.

This war is a great shame. There are two aspects: on the one hand, the British and French allied forces are extremely cruel, and the people in the capital have been slaughtered in countless ways. The Yuanmingyuan and Wanshou Park (the predecessor of the Summer Palace), which were built in the Qing Dynasty with the essence of the people for hundreds of years, were burned down. What is even more distressing is that it is stored in two gardens, and most of the ancient calligraphy, painting, antiques and porcelain collected by the Qing emperors from the people are fine works. Many of China's national treasures lost overseas now belong to Yuanmingyuan. There are also a large number of handicrafts from Kangxi to Xianfeng, which cost nothing. To be honest, I don't like the architecture and handicrafts of the Qing Dynasty, especially furniture, decorations and clothes, although they are exquisitely made. Among them, the Forbidden City is the epitome, and most of the buildings inside are from the Qing Dynasty. It can be described as vulgar, and it is not comparable to the atmosphere of the Han Dynasty, the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, the elegance of the Song Dynasty and the simplicity of the Ming Dynasty. ) But they are all national treasures after all. After this burning, it can be described as a catastrophe of Chinese civilization.

The second aspect: the sneak attack and seizure of British and French envoys were extremely bad-faith, which made China a barbaric and faithless country in the eyes of foreigners. Even worse after winning, still vulnerable. It's a shame to negotiate at last. Therefore, the Second Opium War was a disgrace in many aspects, some of which were done by ourselves. Of course, Britain and France are not good people, but the sneak attack and seizure of ministers are also part of the stimulus. In short, the sharp decline in the impression of China in the West began here.

Sino-Japanese naval battle

Needless to say, this is a well-known shame. But what scares me is that before the war, Japan was actively preparing for war. Up to the royal family, Emperor Meiji went on a diet and the empress sold jewelry. Down to the common people, prostitutes donate money to sell themselves, and soldiers only eat two meals a day because of the emperor. They consciously only eat one meal and desperately save money to buy Yoshino. At that time, the slogan of Meiji was that Gou Jian, the King of Yue, could eat his bread and taste his courage, and he could do it. This reminds me of an apple story in the Chinese language books of primary schools during the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea.

After the First World War, Japan's small gangs rose rapidly, while the old empire accelerated its decline. However, the reform of the Qing court failed miserably, and some China people woke up and found that the only way to save China was to overthrow the Qing law. Later, after the Hundred Days Reform and the Boxer Rebellion, I was desperate for the so-called "New Deal" of the Qing court. Finally, the Revolution of 1911 broke out and overthrew the Manchu dynasty. To be honest, I think improvement is better than revolution, and gradual progress is always more stable and acceptable than mutation. However, the nobles in the Qing Dynasty were ignorant of the past, narrow-minded, short-sighted and obsessed with interests, which was unparalleled. The Revolution of 1911 was really a last resort. It can be said that it is the most in line with the standards of Tangwu revolution.