The popularity of British
arts and culture rocketed in China after the smoke of the Sino-British
Opium Wars (1839-1840 and 1841-1842) had vanished on the sea.
Through the post-war settlement and series of treaties the
Qing government tragically lost its political possession of
a few vital ports to Great Britain.
However, for the Chinese,
a brand-new way of life and brand-new views of the world
were rising on the horizon as the British flooded into this
culturally self-centred oriental nation.
Culture clashing and
mixing have continued ever since.
In the 19 th century Great Britain forced its
free trade policy, Western morality and legal system
onto the Orient while China tried to hold tightly
to its past. |
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In the wake of the Sino-British Opium Wars,
Great Britain acquired the island of Hong Kong
and extraterritoriality rights in China . This
post-war settlement and the later treaties formally
opened China to the West.
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Shanghai was a cosmopolitan city in the 1920's
and 30's. Luxurious Western lifestyles had been
introduced by foreign travellers . Golf, swimming,
ballroom dancing and horse riding grew significantly
in popularity among most upper-class Chinese.
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British architecture had been exported to
China when thousands of Europeans managed to relocate
their colonial lives to the Far East . Even today
a considerable number of British-built landmarks
still appear as icons of some important ports in
China .
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Western culture gradually tapped into China
following the end of the Cultural Revolution. In
the 1980’s, many artists from the British
music industry and the acting world became household
names to the Chinese public.
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The handover of Hong Kong in 1997 led the
UK and China to expand their association into a
whole range of areas, though perhaps inevitably
it stirred up a number of political and cultural
clashes between Britain and China .
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