Lesson Two

Rise & Fall of the Canton Trade System – Lesson 02

A Tale of Two Cities: The China Trade in Canton & Hong Kong

Background Notes

In the late 1700s, the nexus of Western trade with China shifted from the island of Macau to the city of Canton (Guangzhou). Located upstream on the Pearl River, Canton’s access could be controlled by the Chinese government; it thus presented a preferred port, in Chinese eyes, for interactions with the West. Trade through Canton was tightly regulated by Chinese authorities from the capital in Beijing, reflecting the power of the Qing government at that time. The regulated trade system that developed was known as the Canton or “old China” trade system. Under this system the Chinese state restricted Westerners’ access to the interior of China, but allowed them to conduct trade. This commercial exchange system operated until China’s defeat in the First Opium War (1839 to 1842), which resulted in Chinese treaty concessions, including new treaty ports. The collapse of this system in the mid-19th century marked the beginning of long decades of China’s decline and humiliation as a great power.

With the opening of the treaty ports, Sino-Western relations entered a new chapter that saw the complete reversal of power. Now, Western nations dominated the terms of the diplomatic and economic interaction. Western nations “carved up” China, claiming spheres of influence and special privileges that flaunted their power over the increasingly weak, decaying Qing government.

In the aftermath of the First Opium War, Canton continued as a trading port. However, because the Chinese were forced to open other, more convenient ports and to offer “free” trade in them, Canton’s importance declined. For the British, who had been the dominant Western presence in Canton, commercial interests shifted to Hong Kong, which Britain had acquired as part of a treaty. They could control their new colony as they wished.

Artists of the time captured, in paintings and drawings, both Canton and Hong Kong and the interaction of Chinese and Westerners in these two port cities. This artwork was created largely by Western artists. Whether by Western or Chinese artists, however, the works were created for Western consumers. The scenes captured what Westerners perceived about each of these cities, their own places/roles there, and their perceptions of the Chinese around them. As such, this artwork provides a window on a changing economic and power relationship between China and the West, and Westerners’ changing perceptions of Chinese.

Table of Contents | Lessons: