in the Chinese emperor's patronising letter to George III, he says that he held a banquet for the English ambassadors. Would the English diplomats have had the faintest idea how to conduct themselves in a polite manner at a Chinese banquet? Would they even have known how to use chopsticks?

by grapp
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Follow up: how did the Chinese respond to foreigners unfamiliar with Chinese custom in official meetings or banquets? (e.g. if they didn't know how to use chopsticks)

Freevoulous

follow up: is the supreme arrogance of the letter a normal response of the Chinese court towards foreigners at the time, or was this particular Emperor especially non-plussed about the actions of the ambassadors?

ryth

Could you please link the letter in question.