New Books Network Kerry Brown, "The Great Reversal: Britain, China and the 400-Year Contest for Power" (Yale UP, 2024)
Jan 1, 2026
Kerry Brown, a leading expert in Chinese studies and author of The Great Reversal, dives into the complex history of Britain and China spanning over 400 years. He reveals the failed missions of Queen Elizabeth I to connect with the Ming emperor and the role of the East India Company in early trade. The discussion explores the mixed outcomes of the McCartney embassy, British divisions during the 19th century, and the dramatic shifts post-1997 as China's rise coincides with Britain's decline. Brown urges a renewed understanding of this evolving relationship.
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Elizabeth I's Lost Letters
- Queen Elizabeth I sent several letters to the Wan Li Emperor asking for trade, but none of the ships carrying them arrived.
- This failed outreach marks the inauspicious beginning of four centuries of Britain–China relations.
China Was A Sideshow To India
- The East India Company focused primarily on India while China remained a peripheral, intermittent trade target.
- British presence in East Asia often ran through posts in Japan and sporadic stations like Xiamen before permanent expansion in the 18th century.
McCartney's Embassy Reframed Britain
- The Macartney embassy aimed to present a cultured, scientific British face rather than traders' rough image.
- Its failure mattered politically but produced seminal knowledge about China for Europeans.