Editing Convention of Peking (section)

==Background==
On 18 October 1860, at the culmination of the [[Second Opium War]], the British and French troops entered the [[Forbidden City]] in [[Beijing|Peking]]. Following the decisive defeat of the Chinese, [[Prince Gong (Qing dynasty)|Prince Gong]] was compelled to sign two treaties on behalf of the Qing government with [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros|Baron Gros]], who represented Britain and France respectively.<ref name="Harris">Harris, David.  Van Slyke, Lyman P.  [2000] (2000).  Of Battle and Beauty: Felice Beato's Photographs of China.  University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-89951-100-7}}</ref> Although Russia had not been a belligerent, Prince Gong also signed a treaty with [[Nikolay Ignatyev]].

The original plan was to burn down the Forbidden City as punishment for the mistreatment of Anglo-French prisoners by Qing officials.  Because doing so would jeopardize the treaty signing, the plan shifted to burning the [[Old Summer Palace]] and [[Summer Palace]] instead.<ref name="Harris" /> The treaties with France and Britain were signed in the [[Ministry of Rites]] building immediately south of the Forbidden City on 24 October 1860.<ref name="Naquin">Naquin, Susan.  [2000] (2000).  Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400-1900.  University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-21991-0}}</ref>