History of China: The Importance of a Kow-Tow

November; a month filled with finishing off the last remnants of Trick-Or-Treating candy, a plethora of new and exciting games for us to play, and the realization that sometimes you really do have to be the bigger man and bend the knee. During our History of China class this past week, we looked at the major attempts by the Christian church to blend itself into China's culture. As we started off the unit, we read the story of George Macartney and the Qianlong emperor, and the importance of a Kow-Tow. During one of the largest negotiations between China and Britain, a somewhat reasonable request was made by both parties: give a Kow-Tow, or 'bowing of the head' to the respective rulers of each group. Macartney suffered from Gout, a disease that made it hard for him to bend the knee, and the Chinese refused on the basis of it being their land, as well as their divine right. We quickly saw the ramifications that this had; war, riots, and petty squabbles broke out all over China while Britain gobbled up as much land as they could through both war and treaties, such as the Unequal Treaties in the 19th century.

The Chinese government was set up for failure, with a government riddled with Manchurian officials, and a growing Western threat. The British government hardly even needed to fight China, with it's army consisting of almost completely ground forces. The previous Chinese government had decided that burning the massive naval fleet that China had amassed in it's age of exploration was a smart plan, and thus left themselves almost completely defenseless to Britain's Iron Ships, and forcing themselves into a position of surrender. The British, on the other hand, were in a very good position, despite having lost the American Colonies, mostly due to their Opium control, and the demand of it from China. When the time of war came around, China found itself outgunned, outmatched, and in a terrible spot to attempt to defend themselves. The Chinese had rebellions cropping up all over their provinces, as well as a thriving and rapidly expanding group that had become addicts to the drug Opium. And to think, all of this came about from a simple misunderstanding about how to pay proper respect. So, to sum my little entry up, this week we learnt that if you don't give respect where it is due, you may end up in a pretty tight situation.

Seeing as I am unable to post a picture, here is the link to what I believe shows a good example of the Kow-Tow.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Kowtow.jpg

This photo shows a Chinese official giving the Kow-Tow, and helps show that the Kow-Tow was not just for the Chinese emperors, but also for any Chinese officials in a position of power.

The Trilingual Inscription

1. How did Ceylon (Sri Lanka) treat Zheng He on earlier voyages? How did Zheng He react? How would Da Gama have reacted?
2. How many different religions were there in Sri Lanka during this time? Who were the main gods?
3. What was the Chinese reaction toward this religious diversity, based on the evidence of the trilingual inscription left by Zheng He?
4. How would the Christian explorers probably have reacted to this diversity?


1. They were unkind to him, and they wanted him to leave. Zheng He responded by leaving Ceylon as soon as he was able. De Gama would have possibly taken control of the area, and attacking the rulers.
2. There were at least three religions in Sri Lanka. Of these, the main gods were Buddha, Shiva, and the Muslim god Adam.
3. The Chinese were accepting that the other cultures were under the acceptance of different gods, and were able to adjust to this by appeasing all of the gods, as well as writing in languages that all the ethnicities would be able to understand. This is based on the fact that he left trilingual stones at each of the places he visited, offering peace and homage to the gods.
4. The christian explorers probably would not have been as accepting, as evidenced by the Crusades. From my person view on the Christian explorers at the time, this would have resulted in war unless the natives were willing to accept and take on their God, and Jesus Christ as their savior.