Chinese Chronology and Cycles

of the world. Because of this imaginary and doubtful sense of superiority—which the Chinese have never tested against other cultures—their attitude tends to turn into arrogance, with all its unfortunate results. This arrogance becomes even more obvious because their claim to such superiority is either accepted through the apathy of others or is not firmly denied by the nations who deal with them. These foreign nations have too readily accepted and believed in the authenticity of Chinese history, science, and timelines original: "chronology".

Lord Elgin, in his letter to Lord Clarendon George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800–1870), served as the British Foreign Secretary during the mid-19th century. on July 9, 1857, expressed his opinion on this subject:

"I believe it must be obvious to everyone who has carefully studied our relations with China that the primary cause of our difficulties with that country is the Peking original: "Pekin," the older spelling for Beijing court's stubborn refusal to treat other nations as equals."

Sir Frederick Bruce Sir Frederick Bruce (1814–1867) was a British diplomat and the first British Minister to China following the Second Opium War., in a letter to Lord Malmesbury on July 13, 1859, wrote:

"Foreign citizens residing in China are portrayed as members of barbarian tribes who are lacking in civilization."

Many of the political conflicts that have emerged between China and other nations have grown from this very sense of superiority on the part of the Chinese. Furthermore, much of the difficulty experienced in resolving these conflicts has been caused by their unwillingness or inability to reasonably