A Letter from Wu Sangui to Dorgon
Written by Wu Sangui, the Chief Commander of the Liaodong garrison, this letter is addressed to Dorgon, the Regent of the Manchu. In this letter Wu details a rebel attack on the capital which resulted in the emperor of China loosing the Mandate of Heaven and committing suicide. The letter then turns to extolling upon the Regent’s virtues, and requesting that he send aid to help Wu. Wu also offers all of the wealth and women that the rebels have as payment for the Manchu’s aid. However, Wu’s purpose for requesting said aid from a former enemy is unclear.
Wu’s letter begins with a very humble tone, which carries throughout the letter as he describes himself, his army, and the situation they face. However, when referring to the Regent from whom he is requesting aid Wu uses language that seems intended to flatter. He then uses an almost pleading tone as he bargains for the Regent’s aid.
The letter was written in 1644, the year of the Ming dynasty’s fall and the rise of the Qing dynasty. Because of the Liaodong garrison’s position in the far north it can likely be assumed that the Wu’s garrison was not involved directly with the rebellion or its immediate outcome at the capital.
Dorgon's Reply to Wu Sangui
This letter was also written in 1644 and is the response to a letter sent from Wu Sangui, the Chief Commander of the Liaodong garrison. In this letter Dorgon, the Regent of the Manchu, begins by describing the less than pleasant past relationship between the two dynasties. He then pardons past indiscretions and agrees to aid Wu Sangui. Within the letter Dorgon’s word choice conveys several different tones. In the beginning of the letter his word choice is quite strong and gives the impression...
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...when Qing China had become one of the world’s largest empires and was prosperous. The two Edicts begin by expressing the ways in which Qianlong was lenient and hospitable with Lord Macartney and his party. There are also sections that commend the king on his humility of his actions and requests. However, the remainder of the document proceeds to list the demands that Qianlong was presented with and the reasons why each were denied. This rejection of demands was likely a way to protect China from the British Empire, who was known to colonize other nations.
The beginning of the document is worded in such a way that it has an almost patronizing tone as the emperor praises the king’s humility. However, as the document progresses it becomes much firmer and in the final lines the tone becomes very harsh as the emperor warns the king to never act on his denied demands.
... phrases, such as "the judgment of God" and "forfeit" (551) to make the reader feel seriousness about what is happening. Emotional appeal depends on the use of strong words. King knows this, and uses this to help get his idea across. The emotional appeal of the letter is his best accomplishment.
Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.
Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.
Bokenkamp, Stephen R. “A Medieval Feminist Critique of the Chinese World Order: The Case of Wu Zhao (r. 690–705).” Religion, 28 no 4, (1998): 383-392, DOI: 10.1006/reli.1998.0147.
King's letter, written while in jail, is in direct response to a letter written by a group of "fellow clergymen". His letter clearly and effectively responds to each of the five examples given by the clergymen. He opens his letter by recognizing that he believes their complaints to be "sincere" and of "genuine goodwill". The respect given to these men in the first few sentences immediately present King as a man of equal standards and beliefs. It also has a subtle and maybe subconscious affect as he asks for the same respect in return. The letter is noticeably divided into 6 major components. The first five sections are in direct response to the letter from the clergymen, and the last is his final plea for justice. He opens each section by conceding to the clergymen, and uses direct quotes from their letter to support is argument. Following this opening, he uses a...
King begins his letter with an appeal to ethos. By saying “My dear Fellow Clergymen,” King forces himself to be
During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, under the circumstance of which the absolute monarchy reached its peak progressively, two trends of thoughts appeared in China:
Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 55, House of the Marquis of Liu.
King begins his letter by establishing his credibility to the clergymen in order to assist in making his arguments stronger. His first words to the clergymen are “My Dear Fellow Clergymen.” By addressing the men in this way, King is implying that he is equal ...
"Chinese History - The Qing Dynasty ( AD 1644-1911 )." Chinavoc.com. 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. .
Over the entire period of the Qing dynasty, there have been many other rules and reforms. Some of those rules had to do with education. In China at that time, the main subject in schools was the “Sayings of Confucius”. These “sayings” had to be memorized and were taught almost every day. Other subjects, that were taught at schools in other countries, included math, science, logic, and foreign languages. Those subjects were forbidden in the Qing dynasty. The people weren’t really learning anything. Books weren’t given ...
In the introductory paragraph, King introduces his reason for writing the letter and details who the audience is to be. He explains that he rarely answers criticisms and gives his reasons for answering this particular one. This grabs the reader's attention in the first three sentences of the letter and establishes the importance of the document, intriguing the reader to keep reading what becomes a gripping and moving letter.
In 1911, a nationalist political party was founded by Sun Yat-sen, but was governed in China by Chiang Kai-shek. Sun wanted to make China free, strong, and successful by following his three principles. “Our Party [the Guomindang] takes the development of the weak and small and resistance to the strong and violent as our sole and most urgent task. This is even truer for those groups which are not of our kind if they are not our kind, their hearts must be different”. What Zuo Zhuan is trying to say is that we, the Guomindang, take in the defenseless, hopeless, and feeble and transform them into powerful figures. If you don’t join our organization than you would be considered a weakling. This caught the Hui peo...
In his poem, “Notes from the City of the Sun”, Bei Dao utilizes obscure imagery consistent with the Misty Poets and veiled political references to illustrate the struggles in Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. The poem is sectioned into fourteen short stanzas containing imagery that are symbolic of the cultural hegemony in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. Bei Dao, born Zhao Zhen-kai, is an anti-revolutionary poet and one of the founders of a group known as the Misty Poets. The Misty Poets wrote poems that protested the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong. Therefore, a lot of Bei Dao’s poems speak out against the Cultural Revolution and the restrictions that it placed on any form of art. Bei Dao’s poetry is categorized as “misty” because of the ambiguity in its references to Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. An obscure imagery that occurs twice in “Notes” is the sun imagery. Another imagery that depicts the injustice of the Cultural Revolution is the description of freedom as scraps of paper. In the poem, Bei Dao also equates faith to sheep falling into a ditch; this is a depiction blind faith during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how Bei Dao’s use of the Misty Poet’s ambiguous imagery and implicit political context in the poem “Notes from the City of the Sun” to illustrate the cultural hegemony in China under Mao.
Moreover, they had to formally apologize to the foreign powers. These apologies were especially painful to the Chinese, who believed that they were the ones who held utmost power – and might have even considered themselves divine. This was a blow to their ego and their reputation. They also had to suspend violence against foreigners (and those who did not would be punished). Empress Cixi began some of the other reformations after the Protocol, including the elimination of examinations.