Letter: Chinese emperor

Saturday 19 December 1998 00:02 GMT

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Sir: I was surprised to see Martin Jacques (Wednesday Review, 16 December) refer to a "popular apocryphal tale" of a Chinese emperor who rebuffed a European monarch's invitation to trade. In fact it was the Chinese Emperor Ch'ien-Lung who wrote to none other than King George III in 1793: "Strange and costly objects do not interest me. ... As your ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures."

KATHERINE TANKO

Bristol

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