The Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition (french: Médaille commémorative de l'expédition de Chine de 1860) was a military award of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...

to reward soldiers and sailors who participated in the

Anglo-French expedition to China The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Em ...

during the Second Opium War. It was created by imperial decree on 23 January 1861, by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. The

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

had been engaged in an ongoing conflict with the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

since 1856 over legalizing the

opium trade Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

, expanding

coolie trade A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

, opening all of China to British merchants, and exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties. Following the 1857 general election in the United Kingdom, the new

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

decided to seek redress from China based on the report about the ''Arrow'' Incident submitted by Harry Parkes, British Consul to Guangzhou. The French Empire, the United States, and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

received requests from Britain to form an alliance. France joined the British action against China, prompted by the execution of a French missionary, Father August Chapdelaine ("Father Chapdelaine Incident"), by Chinese local authorities in

Guangxi province Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ( ...

.''A History of Christian Missions in China'' p.273 by Kenneth Scott Latourette: "A casus belli was found in an unfortunate incident which had occurred before the Arrow affair, the judicial murder of a French priest, Auguste Chapdelaine

/ref> The conflict concluded with the 1858

Treaty of Tianjin The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Second French Empire, United Kingdom, and t ...

finally ratified by the emperor's brother, Yixin, the

Prince Gong Yixin (11January 1833– 29May 1898), better known in English as PrinceKung or Gong, was an imperial prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and an important statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was a regent of the empire from 1861 to 18 ...

, in the

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...

on 18 October 1860.

Award statute

The Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition was awarded by the Emperor to all who served in the China Expedition on propositions of the minister overseeing the service in which the potential recipient served. All recipients also received a certificate of award. A later imperial decree dated 25 March 1861 confirmed that all recipients were to adhere to the code of conduct as set by the Imperial decree of 18 March 1852 under the authority of the Grand chancellor of the

Legion of honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Award description

The Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition was a 30 mm in diameter circular silver medal designed and engraved by Albert Désiré Barre. Its obverse bore the left profile of Emperor Napoleon III crowned with a laurel wreath surrounded by the relief inscription "NAPOLEON III" "EMPEREUR" (English: "NAPOLEON III" "EMPEROR"). A 4 mm wide relief laurel wreath ran along the entire circumference of both the obverse and reverse of the medal. On the reverse, within the laurel wreath, the circular relief inscription EXPÉDITION DE CHINE 1860 (English: CHINA EXPEDITION 1860). At the centre, the relief inscription on four lines of the campaign's major battles TA-KOU, CHANG-KIA-WAN, PA-LI-KIAO, PE-KING. The medal was suspended from a 36 mm wide silk moiré yellow ribbon, at its center, the name of the city of

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

woven in blue Chinese characters.

Notable recipients (partial list)

*Admiral

Benjamin Jaurès Admiral Constant Louis Jean Benjamin Jaurès (3 February 1823 – 13 March 1889) was a French Navy officer and politician. Born in Albi, Tarn, he was a senator for life and active in Japan during the 1863 Shimonoseki campaign and the Bosh ...

*Admiral

Henri Rieunier Henri, Adrien, Barthélemy, Louis Rieunier (6 March 1833, Castelsarrasin – 10 July 1918, Albi) was a French admiral and politician, most notable for his involvement in Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Soc ...

*General Élie de Vassoigne *Colonel Charles-Louis Du Pin *Lieutenant (N)

Francis Garnier Marie Joseph François Garnier ( vi, Ngạc Nhi; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th ...

References

External links

Museum of the Legion of Honour
(in French) {{French medals Military awards and decorations of France Awards established in 1861 1861 establishments in France French campaign medals Second Opium War China–France military relations

Award statute

Award description

Notable recipients (partial list)

See also

References

External links