Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Volume 78

General Discussion on Maritime Planning, Part II

If the proper way is followed, then officials and clerks will contribute willingly, and those from the "Wilderness Domain" original: "Huangfu," a classical term for the most distant regions outside the emperor's direct rule will desire to emerge from the mire of their isolation. If the proper way of collecting revenue is lost, then the merchant-foreigners will harbor resentment, and treacherous scoundrels will peddle their greedy and cunning schemes.

Why is this? The capital and operating expenses of the merchant houses referring to the "Cohong," the guild of Chinese merchants authorized to trade with foreigners in Canton are almost entirely derived from the foreigners themselves. If the authorities are harsh toward the merchants, the merchants will, in turn, levy heavy collections from the foreigners. Once the foreigners are heavily squeezed, they respond with aggressive demands 忮求 (zhiqiu): stubborn or aggressive solicitation, usually born of a feeling of unfair treatment.

Those who levy these heavy collections use their official positions to treat the market as their own, while the merchants might profit from what little remains. Those foreigners making aggressive demands then draw the merchants to their side for support, and thus the foreigners find the means to give vent to their anger.

At first, they treat the regulations like discarded hair original: "qimao," a metaphor for treating something as worthless or obsolete, arrogantly violating them. Subsequently, their language becomes disrespectful and casual, and they look upward with glaring eyes to encroach upon authority. In minor instances, they display an array of various weapons 駮械 (boxie): a general term for diverse armaments or specialized military equipment, pretending it is merely for "protection"—an excuse reminiscent of the deceptive strategies of Jiang and Mou referring to historical figures associated with administrative or military duplicity. In major instances, their warships appear and disappear unpredictably, secretly harboring schemes of intimidation and empty threats.

The government wishes to punish this treachery but acts with hesitation, "fearing the head and fearing the tail." It wishes to strike a major blow but is paralyzed by the need to plan for provisions and mobilize troops. This is because when greed and encroachment are allowed to run rampant during days of peace, one is forced to resort to stopgap measures and appeasement in times of crisis.

The great scholar Su Shi a famous Song Dynasty poet and statesman, 1037–1101 said that the principle of "applying the square" 絜矩 (jieju): a Confucian concept of using one's own feelings as a guide for how to treat others; effectively the "Golden Rule" as a standard for fair administration is a minor matter for a wise man...