h the way in which it was done is not much to England's
credit. This was by the famous--or infamous--opium war. But in another
way England was the first to break through the traditional ceremonies of
the Chinese court. All who approached the emperor's throne, foreign
ambassadors as well as Chinese subjects, were required to perform the
_kotow_, which consisted in kneeling three times before the emperor, or
even before his empty throne, and each time bowing the head until the
forehead three times touched the marble flooring. This was done by the
Russians and the Dutch, but the Earl of Macartney, who came as English
ambassador in 1792, refused to perform the slavish ceremony, and was
therefore not permitted to see the emperor, though otherwise well
received.

The first event of importance in the nineteenth century, that century so
vital in the history of China, was the hoisting of the American flag at
Canton in 1802, which marked the beginning of American trade with the
Celestial empire. From this time the trade of Canton rapidly grew, until
it became one of the greatest commercial cities of the world, while its
mercantile activity gave employment to millions of natives in all parts
of the empire in preparing articles of commerce, particularly tea. It
was also of great importance to the imperial government from the revenue
it furnished in the way of duty and presents. It is of interest to note,
however, that the emperor and his court looked upon these presents as
the payment of tribute, and the nations that sent them, unknown to
themselves, were set down as vassals of the Chinese crown.

We have now an important feature of the Chinese trade to record. Opium
was a favorite article of consumption in China, and its use there had
given rise to an important industry in British India, in the growth of
the poppy. In the year 1800 the emperor, perceiving the growing evil in
the use of opium by his people, issued an edict forbidding its
introduction into China. This did not check the trade, its only effect
being to convert legitimate into smuggling traffic. The trade went on as
briskly as before, the smugglers being openly aided by venal officials
not only at Canton but at other points along the coast. By 1838 the
disregard of the law, and the quantity of opium smuggled into the empire
by small boats on the Canton River, had become so great that the Peking
government determined to take more active steps for the suppression of
the