The emperor’s anger was shared by Li Ciming, a Beijing resident and scholar of renown, who witnessed the collapse of the Qing army and the easy fall of the imperial capital and gardens, which caused him “deep shame” (1936, 9:51a) 去书内

  • 林勇辉 林勇辉

    This short extract effectively connects the imperial court’s rage over military failure to civilian intellectual grief, enriching the multi-layered emotional landscape of the crisis surrounding the Second Opium War. While the previous imperial edict condemned Generals Senggelinqin and Ruilin for cowardice and dereliction of duty, this passage shifts perspective to Li Ciming, a respected local scholar living through the chaos in Beijing. As a firsthand witness, he watched the Qing army crumble and the imperial capital and royal gardens fall effortlessly to foreign invaders, an experience that filled him with overwhelming humiliation. The value of this text lies in its contrast between official imperial judgment and private civilian sentiment. The emperor’s anger stems from damaged royal dignity and lost territorial authority, whereas Li Ciming’s “deep shame” arises from a scholar’s sense of national disgrace as a resident of the violated capital. By citing Li’s contemporary notebook as primary evidence, the author successfully balances top-down state views with grassroots intellectual feelings. Paired with records of fruitless peace offerings and harsh imperial rebukes, this quote completes a panoramic view of widespread despair across different social classes, serving as crucial material for studying ordinary literati’s trauma amid mid-Qing foreign invasions.

    2026-06-19 喜欢(0) 回复(0)