User blog comment:IndigoOnIceCream/Chinese Westernization/@comment-1483327-20111120042430

As much as I would like to see this timeline, I have to agree with LG. Before the Opium War the Chinese were arrogant snobs who believed nothing the "inferior" west was of value to them, except for silver. The trade imbalance caused by Europeans paying out their silver for Chinese knick-knacks was one of the reasons the United Kingdom stooped to the shameful Opium trade that sparked the one-sided war. Besides, there is already a timeline that says basically the same thing.