Treaties of Tianjin, 1858 and 1860

These very rare, and probably unique photographs, depict the exterior and the interior of the socalled Tianjin Treaty Temple, i.e. the site where the Tianjin Treaties of 1860 were signed. The temple, in fact a Buddhist temple by the Chinese Name Haiguang Si 海光寺 , or Ocean Radiance Temple, is located about one mile south of the Chinese city. It was constructed in 1706 and constituted a large compound of buildings. It is interesting to note that Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Tianjin was chosen for the signing of the treaties, and not an official building of the imperial government in the city itself. The temple no longer exists (it was destroyed around 1900 I was told), but the placename still does.

The first two photographs (entitled Towards Tientsin Treaty Temple and Treaty Temple Tientsin respectively) were very likely taken in the early 1860s, while the third photograph depicting the interior of the main hall was made around 1871 or 1872.

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The London Gazette Extraordinary from December 28, 1860.

This volumes includes all communication relevant to the 1860 Treaty of Tientsin, including the text of the Treaty itself. Attached are also listings of tariffs on goods imported into and good exported from China. Since the first Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, tobacco for example is duty free. Reproduced are letters by Sir Thomas Wade, the interpreter and advisor to the British embassy to China; by Lord Elgin, chief emissary, negotiator and signer of the text and terms of the treaty; by Sir Hope Grant, military commander of the British naval forces; and by Sir Harry Parkes, who had been detained in Beijing by imperial troops.

The text of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce, between Her Majesty and the Emperor of China, signed, in the English and Chinese languages, at Tientsin, June 26, 1858 [with ratifications exchanged at Peking, October 24, 1860] starts thus:

"Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and His Majesty the Emperor of China, being desirous to put an end to the existing misunderstandings between the two countries, and to place their relations on a more satisfactory footing in future, have resolved to proceed to a revision and improvement of the Treaties existing between them;..."

The Treaty was signed by Lord Elgin, Earl Kincardine and Prince Kung, the 27 year old brother of the emperor Xianfeng, who himself had fled Beijing and had left negotiations to the younger Prince.

Note: The text of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Empire of China, ratified June 28, 1858, can be found here.


Log of the Proceedings of H.M.S. Retribution 28 Guns .

Kept by H.J. Fairlie, Mid[shipman]. Commencing November 22 nd 1857, ending January 26 th 1859”. [Bound together with Log of H.M.S. Belleisle and H.M.S. Mars], 1857-1862.

A manuscript logbook compiled by Midshipman Fairlie, with standard daily navigational and sailing entries, a record of onboard routines, and ship actions. Part of the training of midshipmen was to keep such a log, which was reviewed by a ship's officer. Fairlie lists British and international vessels encountered, and mentions significant military and diplomatic individuals in the convoy. The entries recording the actions of individual war ships and gun boats gives a sense of British naval power in the Far East during the Opium Wars.

The Retribution was an early example of the gradual introduction of steam power in the Royal Navy. In open waters, the ship made way under sail; In shallow waters the ship proceeded under steam, with coal-fired boilers turning a paddle wheel. This hybrid system enabled large war ships to penetrate the Chinese interior by sailing up rivers like the Pei River near Tianjin (at high tide only) and the Yang tse Kiang.

Of particular interest is the record of events from June 1858 to January 1859 when the Retribution was involved in the British and allied actions against the Taiping rebels at Nanking. An almost hourly record details the attack on the Taku (Dagu) Forts in Tianjin on November 20 th and 21 st ,1858. Other warships besides the Retribution, such as the Furious and Cruizer, and the gunboats Lee and Dove, engaged in heavy shelling of the Forts, and later were joined by Imperial junks. The forts were heavily damaged, the rebels retreated and the Taku cannons were transported back to England as war trophies.

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A very detailed, cartographic account of the joint French-British military operation in China in 1860. The fortifications at the mouth of the Beihe river are the famous Taku Forts. Blue-White-Red rectangulars signal French encampments and troops; solid red rectangulars point to British troops, while yellow squares signify Chinese imperial forces (here called Camp Tartar). The battle and the ensuing victory of the allied troops led to the so-called second Treaty of Tientsin, which established the opening of more coastal cities to British trade, including Tianjin itself. That this expedition was heavily disputed at least in London can be highlighted by observations made by none other than Karl Marx, who - always the domestic economic aspects of international trade at the center of his attention - writes the following on what was then called the New Chinese War:

"The alternative is the more trying since the impending third China war is anything but popular with the British mercantile classes. In 1857 they bestrode the British lion, because they expected great commercial profits from a forcible opening of the Chinese market. At this moment, they feel, on the contrary, rather angry at seeing the fruits of the treaty obtained, all at once snapped away from their hold. They know that affairs look menacing enough in Europe and India, without the further complication of a Chinese war on a grand scale. They have not forgotten that, in 1857, the imports of tea fell by upward of 24 millions of pounds, that being the article almost exclusively exported from Canton, which was then the exclusive theatre of war, and they apprehend that this interruption of trade by war may now be extended to Shanghai and the other trading ports of the Celestial Empire. After a first Chinese war undertaken by the English in the interest of opium smuggling, and a second war carried on for the defense of the lorcha of a pirate, nothing was wanted for a climax but a war extemporized for the purpose of pestering China with the nuisance of permanent Embassies at its capital."

(Published Oct. 29, 1859 in the New York Daily Tribune).

Exact plan of the occupation of Tianjin by French and British naval troops, which numbered around 17.000 total. What is labeled "Tientsin" is the Chinese city surrounded by mud walls which date back to 1404. The cutaway sketches to the lower left constitute accurate representations of the structure of the wall, which was not as high as that of many other major Chinese cities. Also note the names of the ships at anchor in the Bei river, such as Staunch, Havock (British gunboats), and Mitraille, Algerine etc. (French gunboats), of which log books with precise entries as to day-to-day operations still exist, such as the log of the H.M.S. Retribution (a ship too large to enter the Bei River itself) displayed in the case. The Grand Canal, here called Canale Impériale , can be seen intersecting with the Bei River.

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