Robert Swinhoe writes an enthralling first-hand account of how during Second Opium War, French and British forces invaded northern China where they looted and destroyed the Summer Palace, the main imperial residence of the Qing dynasty. This vandalism would serve to fuel a Chinese grudge against Western powers that would endure to modern times.
Robert Swinhoe served as translator in the British actions against the Chinese in North China in 1860 during the Second Opium War, resulting in his book 1861 book "The North China Campaign of 1860," his personal account of the war pitting the United Kingdom and the French Empire against the Qing dynasty of China.
As the Anglo-French expedition force relentlessly approached Beijing, two British envoys, a journalist for The Times and a small escort of British and Indian troops were sent to meet Prince Yi under a flag of truce to negotiate a Qing surrender.
Later on, as news emerged that the negotiation delegation had been imprisoned and tortured, resulting in 20 deaths, the British High Commissioner to China, Lord Elgin, retaliated by ordering the complete destruction of the palace, which was then carried out by British troops. The palace was so large – covering more than 800 acres – that it took 4000 men 3 days of burning to destroy it. Many exquisite artworks – sculptures, porcelain, jade, silk robes, elaborate textiles, gold objects and more – were stolen and are now found in 47 museums around the world, according to UNESCO.
In moralizing about the reason for destruction of the Summer Palace, Swinhoe writes:
"'Good for evil,' is a hard moral for man to learn; but however much we regretted the cruel destruction of those stately buildings, we yet could not help feeling a secret gratification that the blow had fallen, and the murder of our hapless countrymen revenged on the cruel and perfidious author and instigator of the crime. The foul deeds committed on the prisoners had now, to a certain extent, been expiated by the retribution on the fair pleasure-grounds of the Emperor."
As The Economist noted in 2009, "Chinese schoolchildren are taught about the sack of the summer palace as a proof of western perfidy and the weakness of the last imperial dynasty, the Qing, which was unable to prevent foreign barbarians from wreaking terrible humiliations on the Middle Kingdom."
Later in 2019, the Chinese people still had not forgotten the destruction of the Summer Palace. When news reached China of the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in France, CNN headlines would report that "Some Chinese nationalists see justice for Summer Palace razing in Notre Dame fire."
About the author:
Robert Swinhoe (1836 – 1877) was born in Calcutta where his father, who came from a Northumberland family, was a lawyer. He attended the University of London, and in 1854 joined the China consular corps. He served as consul at Amoy, Ningpo, and Chefoo, all on the mainland of China. He at various times during his career served as 'roving consul' for the British plenipotentiary in China for Great Britain, Rutherford Alcock. He was described as "one of the most industrious and successful exploring naturalists that have ever lived."
