ABSTRACT
The initiative for treaty revision was taken by the Western countries rather than by the Chinese, so naturally it was the Western demands, backed by superior military force that prevailed over Chinese apprehensions. In 1867 and 1868, the Tsung-li Yamen took the initiative of formulating its own position on the question of Chinese representation abroad and then undertook to poll the opinions of provincial authorities. Most Chinese were alarmed by the expansion of trade and influx of businessmen and missionaries, material goods and ideas. The term "self-strengthening," which was to become the shibboleth of the small minority of progressive Chinese for the remainder of the 19th century, may well have originated right in the Tsung-li Yamen itself, possibly the coinage of the ebullient Wen-hsiang. One of the incidental provisions of the Burlingame treaty was that "the Emperor of China shall have the right to appoint consuls at ports of the United States.
