China--Treaty of Tiensin | Document outlining compensation to be paid by China, signed by the Earl of Elgin, 1858

China--Treaty of Tientsin

Document signed by the 8th Earl of Elgin ("Elgin & Kincardine"), as British High Commissioner to China, and with two Chinese signatures, almost certainly those of the Imperial Commissioners Guiliang and Huashana (but crossed through and partially erased)

confirming a separate article annexed to the Treaty of Tientsin, establishing compensation to be paid by China to Britain comprising "a sum of two millions of Taels, on account of the losses sustained by British subjects, through the misconduct of the Chinese authorities at Canton, and a further sum of two millions of Taels on account of the military expenses of the expedition which her Majesty the Queen has been compelled to send out", which will be paid by the authorities of the province of Kwang Tung, following which the British forces will be withdrawn from the Canton, with armorial seal of Elgin and woodblock seal of Chinese official, 5 pages, folio, on two bifolia affixed with original blue ribbon, Tientsin, 26 June 1858 (sixteenth day, fifth moon, of the eighth year of Hien-fung), light spotting and staining

AN ORIGINAL ARTICLE OF ONE OF THE "UNEQUAL TREATIES". The Treaties of Tientsin (or Tianjin) were intended to end the Second Opium War by opening China more fully to foreign trade (including imported opium). Separate treaties were signed between China and the four belligerents: Britain, France, the USA, and Russia. The war had begun when the British had taken advantage of a series of minor incidents - notably the Chinese seizure of a British-flagged ship, the Arrow - in order to demand access to Chinese markets by force of arms. The Chinese port cities of Guangzhou and Tianjin were soon taken and Qing forces once again showed themselves to be hopelessly outgunned by Western armies.

The Treaty of Tientsin established further treaty ports, opened the Yangtze River to foreign ships, increased the legal rights of citizens of the foreign powers, and opened Beijing to diplomatic legations. This document affirms an addendum to the main treaty by which China was forced to pay substantial reparations. It is signed by James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, British high commissioner to China. Elgin returned to Britain in triumph after the signature of this treaty, but when the Qing authorities proved deeply reluctant to comply with the terms of the treaty he was soon back in China at the head of a large army. His march on Beijing in the summer of 1860 culminated, infamously, in the sacking the Emperor's Summer Palace.

PROVENANCE:

Christie's, London, 26 September 1997, lot 100