第66页 A Gift Over 200 years Old 一份两百年前的礼物

What you see today is a faithful replica of nine volumes of antiquarian British Illustrations in 16 books. The original copy has been in China's imperial court and then state archives for over 200 years.
今天展现在大家面前是九卷《钦藏英皇全景图典》的复制品，包括16本画册，这套画册已经先后在清朝皇宫和国家档案馆沉睡了两百多年。
The illustrations are recorded as the tenth of the 590 gifts King George III had chosen    for Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. In September 1792, he sent Lord Macartney to attend Emperor Qianlong's 83rd birthday celebrations and to establish brotherly relations as stated in the King's letter.His other gifts included a planeyarium, terrestrial  globe, telescope, alarm clock, chandelier, and model warships.
这套画卷是英王乔治三世为清朝乾隆皇帝精心挑选的590件礼物中的第十件。1792年9月，乔治三世派遣马嘎尔尼勋爵远涉重洋前往中国，为乾隆皇帝庆祝83岁大寿，并且，如国王信中所说，希望与中国建立兄弟般的联系。此行的礼物还包括天象仪、地球仪、望远镜、闹钟、挂灯和战船模型等。
文章中阐述两国的交往历史和两国君主的强势和专断，一方要开通商口岸，一方拒不接受，当今世界全球经济来而有往，大家彼此彼此，来而不往非礼也，但是这个往来的度就是要找到其中的平衡点，这是现代外交要迥异于古礼的重点吧？