status thus assigned to them, and tacitly acknowledged the political supremacy and the Heaven-bestowed jurisdiction of the Chinese Government, things went on tolerably and trade continued in spite of all restrictions.
The Chinese were confirmed in this low estimate of foreign character and culture by the to them singular fact that, with very rare exceptions, none of those foreigners seemed able to learn the Chinese language nor even to conceive any appreciation of Chinese history, philosophy or literature, besides shewing utter incapacity to comprehend the principles of Chinese polity, morality and etiquette. Nor did these barbarians exhibit any symptoms of religious life, so far as the Chinese could observe, to whom they appeared to have no soul whatever above dollars and sensual pleasures. The more the Chinese saw of foreigners, the less they found themselves able to classify them with other nations like the Coreans, Japanese, Loochooans, Annamese or Tibetans, all of whom readily appreciated and adopted Chinese culture and Chinese forms of religion and etiquette. Hence they could only characterize the barbarians from Europe or America as 'foreign devils.'
The first intimation the Chinese received of a superior moral power, inherent in the character of foreigners, was conveyed to them by contact with officers of the British navy. When the first British man-of-war, the Centaur, arrived in Chinese waters (November, 1741), the Hoppo's officers pretended not to understand any difference between a ship of His Majesty, and an East India Company's trader. They insisted upon measuring the Centaur, and coolly demanded the usual trade charges. However, her commander, Commodore Anson, very quietly and good-naturedly resisted all pretensions and by sheer force of character, combined with judicious menaces, brushed all objections aside, and forced his ship without positive hostilities through the Bogue and up to Whampoa. On arrival there, he fairly took away the breath of the Chinese officials by notifying them that he proposed to call in person on the Viceroy
