92-464: Qiaopi (侨批) consisted of a letter and money sent by overseas Chinese to their families back in China. Remittance ( qiaohui ) or silver or money ( pikuan ) is sent together with a letter ( pixin ) in a single envelope. This differentiates a qiaopi from other forms of correspondence such as mail. Qiaopi is sometimes referred to as zhengpi (" main pi ") or silver letters ( yin xin 银信). On certain occasions such as
184-517: A British ship and still flew the British flag at the time of its detention, though its registration had expired. Its captain, Thomas Kennedy, who was aboard a nearby vessel at the time, reported seeing Chinese marines pull the British flag down from the ship. The British consul in Canton, Harry Parkes , contacted Ye Mingchen , imperial commissioner and Viceroy of Liangguang , to demand the immediate release of
276-430: A huipi (回批). Apart from being a form of acknowledgement, the huipi also serves as a reply, it would be delivered back to the sender of the qiaopi conveying a message on how things are back home in the village. The shuike would “help write the huipi” after staying to “find out what was going on in the village” and passing “on news from abroad”. Delivery by shuike was plagued by a number of problems. Delivery by shuike
368-422: A loophole which the qiaopiju exploited to deliver huipi or qiaopi letters at a relatively low cost was closed. Qiaopiju would send what would be termed as a “clubbed packet” which was an envelope which contained a lot of letters written on small pieces of paper. This was done to reduce postage cost. Colonial in authorities quickly patched the “clubbed packet system” and Chinese authorities were compelled to do
460-597: A notice of death, a qiaopi may simply be a letter without any money attached. In such a case the qiaopi would be referred to as " baixin (a letter without money)". Only in exceedingly rare occasions would a baixin contain some money. In 2012, qiaopi was added to the Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Register and in 2013, it was added to the International Memory of the World Register. Qiaopi arose out of
552-512: A population of over 1,000,000 by less than 6,000 troops, resulted in the British and French forces suffering 15 killed and 113 wounded. 200–650 of the defenders and inhabitants became casualties. Ye Mingchen was captured and exiled to Calcutta , India, where he starved himself to death. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, there was a possible attempt to poison John Bowring and his family in January, known as
644-453: A state directive. In 1979, people in charge of the qiaopi trade were assimilated into state-owned Chinese banks and banks took over the role of the qiaopi traders in facilitating remittances. Second Opium War [REDACTED] United Kingdom [REDACTED] France [REDACTED] United States The Second Opium War ( simplified Chinese : 第二次鸦片战争 ; traditional Chinese : 第二次鴉片戰爭 ), also known as
736-687: A treaty from the Qing court, and on 20 May 1858, captured the Taku Forts , stormed Tianjin , and threatened the capital Beijing . The Qing asked for peace, and signed the Treaty of Tientsin with Great Britain and France in 1858. However, the Xianfeng Emperor refused to ratify the treaty, after which the Qing general Sengge Rinchen restarted the war with the British and French that month. Allied reinforcements sailed from Hong Kong , and his troops were defeated. As
828-540: A year. As demand for qiaopi services surged and as trade routes became more established, shuike from Southeast Asia made trips more frequently, around “two to four times a year”. It has been highlighted that shuike from the Philippines made the journey to and from China much more frequently at “five or six times on average” a year. This was very dependent on the monsoon winds. In the case of Singapore, shuike would make use of monsoonal winds, sailing down to Singapore with
920-541: Is possible to trace the origins of the Qiaopi can be traced to the time of the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Jiajing. Some sources have argued that Qiaopi had existed even before the Ming Dynasty. Early Qiaopi were said to have originated from areas in the Philippines and Thailand, where letters were sent together with silver by overseas Chinese back to China. Overall, it is believed that qiaopi originated from “Southeast Asia in
1012-690: Is thicker than water ", and provided covering fire to protect the British convoy's retreat. The failure to take the Taku Forts was a blow to British prestige, and anti-foreign resistance reached a crescendo within the Qing imperial court. Once the Indian Mutiny was finally quelled, Sir Colin Campbell , commander-in-chief in India, was free to amass troops and supplies for another offensive in China. A 'soldiers' general', Campbell's experience of casualties from disease in
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#17328478953021104-460: Is to be remitted is indicated on the envelope. This envelope is also termed as a “pikuan” (“批款”). A piece of paper measuring “8cm wide and 12.5cm long” for the purpose of acknowledgment of receipt of the qiaopi by the intended recipient would be placed in an envelope. On the front of the envelope, there would be the stamp of the qiaopiju as well as the specific “dispatch code”. This envelope which measures “5cm long by 2.5cm wide” would be attached to
1196-561: The Arrow incident (and the British military response) became the subject of controversy. The British House of Commons on 3 March passed a resolution by 263 to 249 against the Government saying: That this House has heard with the concern of the conflicts which have occurred between the British and Chinese authorities on the Canton River; and, without expressing an opinion as to the extent to which
1288-641: The Convention of Peking with the alliance on 24 October 1860, thus ratifying the Treaty of Tientsin and bringing the Second Opium War to an end. During and after the Second Opium War, the Qing government was also forced to sign treaties with Russia, such as the Treaty of Aigun and the Convention of Peking . As a result, China ceded more than 1.5 million square kilometres (0.58 million square miles) of territory to Russia in its north-east and north-west. With
1380-514: The Esing Bakery incident . However, if it was deliberate, the baker who had been charged with lacing bread with arsenic bungled the attempt by putting an excess of the poison into the dough, such that his victims vomited sufficient quantities of the poison that they had only a non-lethal dose left in their system. Criers were sent out with an alert, preventing further injury. When known in Britain,
1472-651: The Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars , which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with
1564-488: The qiaopi sent were still handled by shuike and qiaopiju . Banks and postal services handled less than 20 percent of the qiaopi sent until 1937. While qiaopiju continued to survive, competition from banks and postal services increased starting from the third decade of the 20th century. The Chinese postal services had to copy the efficient ways by qiaopiju to find success in the qiaopi trade. Chinese postal services gradually expanded into rural villages which were often
1656-554: The qiaopi trade went back to the Singapore-Hong Kong route. There have been various attempts by both colonial and Chinese authorities to control the qiaopi trade. Various authorities had mixed success through various means such as “licensing”. Controls by various governments increasingly made the job of shuike or running a qiaopiju fraught with risk. “Interference, extortion, blackmail, prohibitions, fines, police raids, confiscations, expropriation, and arrest", were some of
1748-448: The qiaopiju . The qiaopiju would convert the money to the “national currency” of China “and provide the remitter with a receipt”. The personal particulars of the remitter would be registered with a serial number. At the same time, the remitter will provide the qiaopiju with a “family letter” and can seek help from the qiaopiju to help write the letter on behalf of the remitter should the remitter be illiterate. The amount of money that
1840-430: The 17th century.” It has been argued that the delivery of qiaopi arose independently and “fairly randomly” in various oversea Chinese communities. This was largely “opportunistic” in nature given how it leveraged on the convenience of fellow kinsmen travelling back to China to transport the qiaopi. In the early days of the qiaopi trade, most if not all of the shuike were “first-generation emigrants” who have close ties with
1932-592: The American and Chinese governments signed an agreement for U.S. neutrality in the Second Opium War. Throughout 1857, British forces began to assemble in Hong Kong, joined by a French force. In December 1857 they had sufficient ships and men to raise the issue of the non-fulfilment of the treaty obligations by which the right of entry into Canton had been accorded. Parkes delivered an ultimatum, supported by Hong Kong governor Sir John Bowring and Admiral Sir Michael Seymour , threatening on 14 December to bombard Canton if
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#17328478953022024-455: The Beijing convention of 1860. With the introduction of Western institutions such as the post office and Western banking technology, shuike increasingly opted for money transfers and letter delivery using the postal or banking services. The establishment of physical shop spaces presents an image of “stability” compared to roaming shuike which appeared when opportune. This laid the foundation for
2116-547: The British a day later. With the Qing army devastated, the Xianfeng Emperor fled the capital and left behind his brother, Prince Gong , to take charge of peace negotiations. Xianfeng first fled to the Chengde Summer Palace and then to Rehe Province . Anglo-French troops began looting the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) and Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) immediately (as they were full of valuable artwork). After
2208-462: The British bombarding at intervals, causing fires. On 5 January 1857, the British returned to Hong Kong. On 3 March 1857, the British government lost a Parliamentary vote regarding the Arrow incident and what had taken place at Canton to the end of the previous year. This defeat led to a general election in April 1857 which increased the government's majority. In April, the British government asked
2300-622: The British faithfully and cheerfully... At the assault of the Peiho Forts in 1860 they carried the French ladders to the ditch, and, standing in the water up to their necks, supported them with their hands to enable the storming party to cross. It was not usual to take them into action; they, however, bore the dangers of a distant fire with great composure, evincing a strong desire to close with their compatriots, and engage them in mortal combat with their bamboos." After taking Tianjin on 23 August 1860,
2392-629: The British were delayed by the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , they followed up the Arrow Incident in 1856 and attacked Guangzhou from the Pearl River . Viceroy Ye Mingchen ordered all Chinese soldiers manning the forts not to resist the British incursion. After taking the fort near Canton with little effort, the British Army attacked Canton. The capture of Canton, on 1 January 1858, a city with
2484-733: The Chinese capital. The Anglo-French forces insisted on landing at Taku instead of Beitang and escorting the diplomats to Beijing. On the night of 24 June 1859, a small group of British forces blew up the iron obstacles that the Chinese had placed in the Baihe River. The next day, the British forces sought to forcibly sail into the river, and shelled the Taku Forts. Low tide and soft mud prevented their landing, however, and accurate fire from Sengge Rinchen's cannons sank four gunboats and severely damaged two others. American Commodore Josiah Tattnall III , though under orders to maintain neutrality, declared " blood
2576-518: The Chinese diasporic community in Southeast Asia to continue to send qiaopi outside the Japanese-monitored qiaopi trade route. Due to the destruction of infrastructure along with the lack of bank transfers and postal services due to the war and Japanese occupation, delivery by shuike became relevant and important again. The Dongxing route would vanish rapidly following the end of the war as
2668-475: The Chinese emigrants gradually assimilated into new national identities, slowly losing their ties with China. Apart from demographic changes and political changes, the advancement of banking technology and the comparatively lower rates of inflation, prompted diasporic Chinese to remit money by bank transfer instead of using qiaopi . The stabilisation of the internal situation in China made sending letters by postal services easier. The qiaopi trade which started with
2760-563: The First Opium War is considered to have been the beginning of modern Chinese history. Between the two wars, repeated acts of aggression against British subjects led in 1847 to the Expedition to Canton which assaulted and took, by a coup de main , the forts of the Bocca Tigris resulting in the spiking of 879 guns. The 1850s saw the rapid growth of Western imperialism . Some of
2852-442: The First Opium War led him to provide the British forces with more than enough materiel and supplies, and casualties were light. The Third Battle of Taku Forts took place in the summer of 1860. London once more dispatched Lord Elgin with an Anglo-French force of 11,000 British troops under General James Hope Grant and 6,700 French troops under General Cousin-Montauban . They pushed north with 173 ships from Hong Kong and captured
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2944-487: The Government of China may have afforded this country cause of complaint respecting the non-fulfilment of the Treaty of 1842, this House considers that the papers which have been laid on the table fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent measures resorted to at Canton in the late affair of the Arrow, and that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the state of our commercial relations with China. In response,
3036-522: The Japanese or collaborated with the Japanese that were allowed to continue the qiaopi trade. Despite close Japanese monitoring on the flow of funds, qiaopi money was delivered to the intended recipients back home in China. Qiaopiju found a way to skirt Japanese control and monitoring. The occupation of Singapore and Hong Kong in 1941 meant that the Shantou post office could no longer deliver qiaopi using
3128-637: The Northeast Monsoon “in December” and returning to China with the Southwest Monsoon “in June the following year”. The delivery fee for qiaopi would cost around 10 to 20 percent of the amount remitted in the qiaopi depending on distance and the amount of money sent. “The rate” would “decrease to around 3 percent” as the number of shuike increased, but ultimately, “the rate” “depended on the remittance's size and
3220-574: The Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok in 1860. On 20 May, the British were successful at the First Battle of Taku Forts , but the peace treaty returned the forts to the Qing army. In June 1858, shortly after the Qing imperial court agreed to the disadvantageous treaties, hawkish ministers prevailed upon the Xianfeng Emperor to resist Western encroachment. On 2 June 1858,
3312-527: The Royal Navy blasted a hole in the poorly defended and inadequate city walls. The troops entered Canton, with the flag of the United States being planted on the walls and residence of Ye Mingchen by James Keenan, the U.S. Consul. Losses were three killed and 12 wounded. Negotiations failed and the city was bombarded. On 6 November, 23 war junks attacked and were destroyed. There were pauses for talks, with
3404-607: The Summer Palace. In a letter, he explained that the burning of the palace was the punishment "which would fall, not on the people, who may be comparatively innocent, but exclusively on the Emperor, whose direct personal responsibility for the crime committed is established". On 18 October, British soldiers burnt the Old Summer Palace, the French refusing to assist. The razing of the buildings took two days, with imperial property in
3496-404: The Treaty of Nanjing, British authorities granted the vessels British registration in Hong Kong. In October 1856, Chinese marines in Canton seized a cargo ship called the Arrow on suspicion of piracy, arresting twelve of its fourteen Chinese crew members. The Arrow , which had previously been used by pirates, was captured by the Chinese government and subsequently resold. It was then registered as
3588-456: The United States of America and Russia if they were interested in alliances, but both parties rejected the offer. In May 1857, the Indian Mutiny became serious, and British troops destined for China were diverted to India. which was considered the priority issue. France joined the British action against China, prompted by complaints from their envoy, Baron Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gros , over
3680-494: The Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis. On 8 October 1856, Qing officials seized the Arrow , a British-registered cargo ship, and arrested its Chinese sailors. The British consul, Harry Parkes , protested, upon which the viceroy of Liangguang , Ye Mingchen , delivered most of sailors to the British on 22 October, but refused to release the rest. The next day, British gunboats shelled
3772-649: The Whig Prime Minister Lord Palmerston attacked the patriotism of the Whigs who sponsored the resolution, and Parliament was dissolved, causing the British general election of March 1857 . The Chinese issue figured prominently in the election, at which Palmerston won an increased majority, silencing the voices within the Whig faction who supported China. The new parliament decided to seek redress from China based on
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3864-470: The Xianfeng Emperor ordered the Mongol general Sengge Rinchen to guard the Taku Forts (also romanized as Ta-ku Forts and also called Daku Forts) near Tianjin. Sengge Rinchen reinforced the forts with additional artillery pieces. He also brought 4,000 Mongol cavalry from Chahar and Suiyuan . The Second Battle of Taku Forts took place in June 1859. A British naval force with 2,200 troops and 21 ships, under
3956-461: The alliance's forces advanced toward Beijing, Parkes and a number of British and French officers were captured as hostages, and some were tortured or murdered. These events prompted Lord Elgin to order his soldiers to loot and burn the Old Summer Palace as soon as they captured Beijing. The emperor and his entourage fled to Rehe , while Prince Gong stayed to conduct the negotiations, signing
4048-487: The allied demands, the emperor having fled to Chengde on 22 September. British and French troops entered Beijing, where the Treaty of Tientsin was ratified by the Convention of Peking . At the time, the largest encyclopedia ever compiled in world history was the 1408 Ming Dynasty Yongle Encyclopedia , most of which was looted or destroyed by foreign soldiers during the sack of Beijing, leaving only 3.5 percent surviving volumes today. The British, French and—thanks to
4140-426: The back of the pikuan envelope which is bigger in size. Upon receipt of both the remittance and the family letter, the qiaopiju would purchase Chinese National Currency and conduct a “telegraphic transfer” of the funds to be remitted. The funds would be transferred to the qiaopiju branch in China. Concurrently, the family letter will be sent out via the postal service to the qiaopiju branch in China. When both
4232-413: The beginning of steam ship travel to and from China. Transport by steam ships meant that travel was less dependent on the winds in which sailing depended on. This resulted in the upscaling in the size of the business of transporting qiaopi. The speed and ease of travel with steam ships would allow shuike to make more trips than they normally would. The volume of qiaopi sent increased significantly after
4324-426: The case of Shantou province, none of the 75 qiaopiju had license to operate. “Smugglers” transported more huipi and qiaopi compared to traders that were licensed. Chinese authorities tried several times to gain control over the valuable qiaopi trade to no effect. For example, in the case of Singapore, British authorities “decided to set up a Chinese sub-post office” that would handle the qiaopi trade. Along with
4416-474: The city governor at his post in order to maintain order on behalf of the victors. The British-French alliance maintained control of Canton for nearly four years. The coalition then cruised north to briefly capture the Taku Forts near Tianjin in May 1858. The United States and Russia sent envoys to Hong Kong to offer military help to the British and French, though in the end Russia sent no military aid. The U.S.
4508-476: The city of Canton . The British government decided to seek redress from China and dispatched a naval force led by Michael Seymour , and France joined in the action, citing as its reason the murder of a French missionary in China. After coordination with each other, the British and French stormed Canton in December 1857. Ye was captured and the governor of Guangdong surrendered. The alliance then moved north to demand
4600-550: The command of Admiral Sir James Hope , sailed north from Shanghai to Tianjin with newly appointed Anglo-French envoys for the embassies in Beijing. They sailed to the mouth of the Hai River guarded by the Taku Forts near Tianjin and demanded to continue inland to Beijing. Sengge Rinchen replied that the Anglo-French envoys might land up the coast at Beitang and proceed to Beijing but he refused to allow armed troops to accompany them to
4692-735: The conclusion of the war, the Qing government was able to concentrate on countering the Taiping Rebellion and maintaining its rule. Among other things, the Convention of Peking ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to the British as part of Hong Kong . The terms "Second War" and "Arrow War" are both used in literature. "Second Opium War" refers to one of Britain's strategic objectives, legalizing the opium trade . China's defeat also opened up all of China to British merchants, and exempted foreign imports from internal transit duties. "Arrow War" refers to
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#17328478953024784-434: The crew, and an apology for the alleged insult to the flag. Ye released nine of the crew members but refused to release the other three. On 23 October, the British destroyed four barrier forts. On 25 October, a demand was made that the British be allowed to enter Canton. The next day, the British began to bombard the city, firing one shot every 10 minutes. Ye Mingchen issued a bounty on every British head taken. On 29 October,
4876-442: The desire of the oversea Chinese community to financially support the families they have left back home in China and to remain connected with their families. Qiaopi was transported by shuike (水客) who were also known as “parallel traders” or “couriers”. A shuike could be anyone travelling back to China. "Parallel traders" and "couriers" are different. A “courier” would be someone who was heading back to China and hence making use of
4968-410: The distance to be travelled by the courier”. Sometimes no fees were charged for the delivery of qiaopi. This could happen when a shuike is delivering for “family and friends”. Other times, shuike known as “commercial shuike ” appropriates the qiaopi money for business purposes.These shuike would then use the profits made from the business venture with the appropriated qiaopi money for the delivery of
5060-531: The established Singapore-Hong Kong route. While the postal services were no longer conducting qiaopi trade as a result of the war and Japanese occupation, qiaopiju sent qiaopi “via Móng Cái in Vietnam to the Dongxing route”. Thailand and French Indochina had governments independent of Japanese rule. Dongxing is “a small city located just inside the border between Guangxi province and Vietnam”. This allowed for
5152-418: The establishment of qiaopiju as shuike began to settle and form institutions. Following the introduction of Western banking technology and western institutions, shuike would remit the money using post offices or banks . The transport of qiaopi by shuike sailing to and from China would gradually be replaced with qiaopiju (“侨批局” “Chinese remittance shop” “Chinese remittance house”). Qiaopiju made use of
5244-452: The establishment of a Chinese sub-post office, it would be compulsory for all qiaopiju in Singapore to have all handled qiaopi to be “stamped and sent through the Chinese sub-post office”. While a small part of the qiaopi trade started going various postal agencies established in the 19th Century., the connections qiaopiju had with rural villages in China gave qiaopiju the edge over
5336-501: The execution of a French missionary , Auguste Chapdelaine , by Chinese local authorities in Guangxi province, which at that time was not open to foreigners. The British and the French joined forces under Admiral Sir Michael Seymour . In late 1857, a joint British and French army attacked and occupied Canton (today Guangzhou ). A joint committee of the Alliance was formed. The Allies left
5428-407: The family letter and the money reached the qiaopiju branch, both would be sent together to the intended recipient. Upon receipt of both the money and the letter, the recipient would reply or seek someone's help to reply on behalf of the recipient. The reply constitutes as acknowledgement or huipi. The process no longer involves the physical movement of shuike delivering qiaopi face-to-face with
5520-544: The growth in qiaopi trade following an increase in migration of Chinese overseas. The increase in dishonest shuike greatly eroded the trust-based system and ultimately discredited the idea of a “personal connection” ensuring honesty. The Second Opium War resulted in the opening of “new treaty ports in China” following the unequal treaties by western powers and the Qing government abandoning its controls on foreign travel. Chinese migration out of China increased significantly with
5612-556: The home towns of the Chinese diasporic community. The postal services improved administration and organisation, and collaborated with banks to facilitate the delivery of money. Chinese postal authorities were gradually given more power. In 1914, China joined the Universal Postal Union (UPU) giving the Chinese postal authority more legitimacy although the Warlord Era meant that there was no central Chinese authority. In 1927, China
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#17328478953025704-415: The imperial emissary and word arrived that the British had kidnapped the prefect of Tianjin. Parkes was arrested in retaliation on 18 September. Also captured were a number of British and French officers, Sikh soldiers, and a journalist from The Times . Parkes and the others were imprisoned, tortured, and interrogated. The prisoners had been tortured by having their limbs bound with rope until their flesh
5796-486: The increasing establishment of trade routes over the years due to the advent of modern steam ships were highlighted as other reasons for the formation of qiaopiju . It has been argued that the qiaopiju would become “the most important institution for the qiaopi trade”. The Qiaopi trade is similar to how postal and remittance systems work today. It can be considered a "private mail delivery system". The system transcends national borders and various Chinese ethnic groups. It
5888-499: The legalising of the opium trade , the exemption of foreign imports from internal transit duties, the suppression of piracy, the regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing, and that the English-language version of all treaties takes precedence over the Chinese language one. To give Chinese merchant vessels operating around treaty ports the same privileges accorded to British ships by
5980-408: The many risks faced by people plying the qiaopi trade. In the 1930s, the Chinese postal services worked together with the customs authorities to clamp down on qiaopi smuggling by the qiaopiju . In 1914, legislation introduced made “licensing” of qiaopi traders mandatory and attempting to carry out the transport of qiaopi was seen as “smuggling”. Despite this, noncompliance was widespread, and in
6072-426: The men were not released within 24 hours. The remaining crew of the Arrow were then released, with no apology from Viceroy Ye Mingchen who also refused to honour the treaty terms. Seymour, Major General van Straubenzee and Admiral de Genouilly agreed the plan to attack Canton as ordered. This event came to be known as the Arrow Incident and provided the alternative name of the ensuing conflict. Though
6164-459: The money was sent by “bank transfer”. Qiaopi started as a means for the Chinese diasporic community to send money back to their home villages in China. With the political and demographic changes that were happening, qiaopi had lost its relevance and become obsolete. Its function would be replaced by the banks and postal services. In 1973, the People's Bank of China assumed control after the passing of
6256-411: The monopoly held by qiaopiju and shuike , the problems plaguing the postal services turned customers away from using the service. Migration of Chinese overseas decreased significantly following the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Additionally, the number of Chinese born overseas in diasporic communities increased. As the colonies of Southeast Asia gained their independence,
6348-494: The name of the vessel which became the starting point of the conflict. The war followed on from the First Opium War . In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to Britain, the opening of five treaty ports , and the cession of Hong Kong Island . The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–1860). In China,
6440-661: The opportunity by helping to deliver the remittance and letters by kinsmen back to the village. “Parallel traders” could travel to and from various diasporic Chinese communities back to China given the nature of their job. " Parallel traders" would also engage “couriers” to do the job of moving the qiaopi back to China. Apart from “couriers” and “parallel traders”, ship captains and ship crews can sometimes play this role of transporting and delivering qiaopi. Qiaopiju (“侨批局” “Chinese remittance shop”), also known as piju (“remittance shop”), began its existence as an institution in Malacca. It
6532-453: The outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in Tongzhou (also romanized as Tungchow). On 21 September, at Baliqiao (Eight Mile Bridge) , Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops, including the elite Mongol cavalry, were annihilated after doomed frontal charges against concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces. The French army arrived at the Summer Palace outside Beijing on 6 October, followed by
6624-486: The port cities of Yantai and Dalian to seal the Bohai Gulf. On 3 August they carried out a landing near Beitang (also romanized as "Pei-t'ang"), some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Taku Forts, which they captured after three weeks on 21 August. Southern Chinese laborers served with the French and British forces. One observer reported that the "Chinese coolies", as he called them, "renegades though they were, served
6716-411: The postal services and banking services to move qiaopi back to China. The headquarters of the various qiaopiju could be centred in “Singapore and Southeast Asia” with “branches” back in China. These branch offices would be located in coastal cities like Shantou , Xiamen , or in the town areas of coastal provinces like Fujian and Guangdong . A remitter would give the money that is to be remitted to
6808-572: The postal services. Qing China established its own postal service in the period of 1896–1897 with a regional branch established in 1892 in Xiamen . The Xiamen branch would be dedicated to the transport of qiaopi in 1896. In the early part of the 20th century, Chinese postal services continued to face challenges in wresting control of the qiaopi trade from the shuike and the qiaopi despite having physical spaces at over 1300 locations across China. Most of these “branches” would be in urban areas away from
6900-421: The purpose of connecting the Chinese diasporic community back with their home villages in China gradually lost its importance and relevance. In the years of 1958 to 1964, the amount of money sent annually by the diasporic Chinese community in Singapore and Malaya was “14 million RMB ” on average. It has been highlighted that the smallest amount of money sent was in the years of 1961 and 1962. In this period, most of
6992-574: The release of Parkes and the surviving prisoners on 8 October, the extent of their mistreatment became apparent. The destruction of the Forbidden City was discussed, as proposed by Lord Elgin, to discourage the Qing Empire from using kidnapping as a bargaining tool, and to exact revenge on the mistreatment of their prisoners. However, an attack on Beijing was ruled out, as this had already been presented as threat for other terms. Elgin decided on burning
7084-408: The remittance. Business ventures include “speculating on exchange rates” and selling overseas goods bought using qiaopi money in China for a profit. At the height of the qiaopi trade, “thousands” of shuike were plying this trade. Upon receipt of the qiaopi by the intended recipients, an acknowledgement would be sent back to the sender of the qiaopi. The acknowledgement of receipt of a qiaopi is called
7176-626: The remitter's family back in China and write the huipi. Despite the shift, shuike continued to remain relevant even in the 1960s especially in areas lacking modern infrastructure. The qiaopi trade during wartime was facilitated by “the Yokohama Specie Bank, the Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), and the qiaopiju in Chaoshan”. Under the Japanese occupation, it was the banks and qiaopiju that were not hostile to
7268-546: The report about the Arrow Incident submitted by Harry Parkes. The French Empire , the United States , and the Russian Empire received requests from Britain to form an alliance. In June 1858, the first part of the war ended with the four Treaties of Tientsin (Tianjin), to which Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. were parties. These treaties opened 11 more ports to Western trade. The Chinese initially refused to ratify
7360-461: The rural areas of China where many Chinese migrants come from. Likewise, banks faced problems taking over the role of shuike and qiaopiju in controlling the qiaopi trade. The complex procedures for remitting money through banks discouraged would-be remitters from using the service. The qiaopiju continued to survive due to their rich expertise and long-established good standing with the customers. Sending qiaopi with existing qiaopiju or shuike
7452-472: The same as well. The postage rate for sending huipi was slowly increased and the postal service in Guangdong province made a huge income of 100 000 Yuan in 1932. Despite the “reform”, Chinese postal services were plagued by corruption, dishonest misappropriation of qiaopi money, inefficient overlapping of job roles, and pressuring customers for favours. Despite the breakthrough made by the postal services into
7544-523: The schemes of Ignatiev—the Russians were all granted a permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing (something the Qing Empire resisted to the very end as it suggested equality between China and the European powers). The Chinese had to pay 8 million taels to Britain and France. Kowloon was ceded to the British owned Hong Kong. The opium trade was legalized and Christians were granted full civil rights , including
7636-627: The shared goals of the Western powers were the expansion of their overseas markets and the establishment of new ports of call. The French Treaty of Huangpu , and the American Wangxia Treaty , both contained clauses allowing renegotiation of the treaties after 12 years of being in effect. In an effort to expand its privileges in China, Britain demanded that the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842), citing its most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchant companies,
7728-577: The treaties. The major points of the treaty were: On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River , pushing the border south from the Stanovoy mountains . A later treaty, the Convention of Peking in 1860, gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on
7820-594: The various oversea Chinese communities related to their clan or ethnic group. Some shuike did not have such ties to a diasporic community or a community back in China and would need to have someone who would guarantee their conduct. Ties of kinship were very important given that shuike were unwilling to bring shame to the name of their clan by conducting themselves improperly or illegally. Shuike would sail to and from China delivering qiaopi physically “in person”. Delivery trips made by shuike were few and far between, trips were made every other year, but not more than once
7912-445: The vicinity also destroyed. Most accounts say that the Old Summer Palace was burnt for three days and three nights. Both Britain ( Second China War Medal ) and France ( Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition ) issued campaign medals. The British medal had the following clasps: China 1842, Fatshan 1857, Canton 1857, Taku Forts 1858, Taku Forts 1860, Peking 1860. On 24 October, the emperor's brother, Prince Gong , conceded to
8004-428: Was reunified allowing for the consolidation of power and authority. This greatly weakened the position of the qiaopiju . In 1935, mandatory licensing with mandatory yearly renewal of the license was enforced with the postal authorities granted oversight over the issuing and renewal of licenses. Qiaopiju that previously smuggled qiaopi could be denied licenses. In addition to increasing control by Chinese authorities,
8096-427: Was comparably faster and more dependable compared to the banks and postal services. Small sums saved by individuals could be remitted with ease. Over 80 percent of the remittances were small sums of money below “300 yuan”. Even smaller sums of money below “100 yuan” constituted over a quarter of remittances, while larger sums of money over “400 yuan” only constituted a tenth of all “family-maintenance remittances”. Most of
8188-459: Was established in 1757 by Chen Chenliu as “a trading company to handle remittances”. In 1778, another person by the name of Li Kan, following the example set by Chen Chenliu, set up a similar company in Singapore. However, the general consensus is that qiaopiju “in the modern sense first formed in the early to mid-nineteenth century in various regions in China and in Chinese diasporic communities. The ties between shuike and physical shops along with
8280-588: Was involved in a minor concurrent conflict during the war, though it ignored the UK's offer of alliance and did not coordinate with the Anglo-French forces. In 1856, the Chinese garrison at Canton shelled a United States Navy steamer, and the U.S. Navy retaliated in the Battle of the Pearl River Forts . The ships bombarded then attacked the river forts near Canton, taking them. Diplomatic efforts were renewed afterwards, and
8372-412: Was lacerated and became infected with maggots, and by having dung and dirt forced into their throats. Several were executed by beheading, their corpses fed to animals. Captured coolies who had worked for the allies were buried up to their necks and left to dogs. The Anglo-French forces clashed with Sengge Rinchen 's Mongol cavalry on 18 September at the battle of Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward
8464-430: Was very slow and it could take months to complete a delivery. The use of qiaopi in trade which entailed the handing the qiaopi from trader to trader increases room for error and mistake. There was a risk of failure arising from business ventures. Handling large sums of money tempted shuike to misappropriate the money despite the trust-based system and the idea of personal and clan honour. This temptation grew along with
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