ABSTRACT
I n her book The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making , 1 Lydia H. Liu discusses a confl ict that arose between the English and Chinese governments, during the negotiation of the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, when the English insisted on translating the Chinese sign “yi” as “barbarian” and demanded the Chinese not use it to refer to the British government. 2 The Treaty of Tianjin was signed after the Chinese lost the “Opium War” in 1842 and a second war in the 1850s. The treaty after the loss of the fi rst “Opium War” gave the British the island of Hong Kong in perpetuity, access to fi ve Chinese ports, extraterritoriality (foreign jurisdiction over foreign citizens), indemnity (Chinese responsibility for damage to British assets), limits on tariffs and access to customs offi cials, most-favored-nation status, and freedom of trade with all participants. 3 The Chinese were coerced into signing the treaties after both wars and for this reason dragged their feet on implementation until the British and French occupied Beijing in 1860.
