Written in 1839 by Christian missionary Reverend JR Morrison from Hong Kong to his sister and mother, this oldest known letter written from Hong Kong to the West captures the Sino-British conflict from the perspective of a civilian.
Morrison wrote that “the feeling of the Chinese is that we are protecting the opium trade” in his letter, sent to London while he was aboard a British naval ship that docked in Hong Kong waters as Sino-British tensions grew.
This letter was up for auction on Sunday by auctioneer InterAsia
Source: SCMP
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
