The 1840s and 1850s were a tumultuous time for the Qing Dynasty in China, largely as a result of the First and Second Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion. For centuries, China had adhered to the principles of Confucianism, and the nation remained very much inward looking, regarding the rest of the world, particularly the West, as barbarians. It was becoming clear to Chinese officials and intellectuals, however, that China had to enter the modern world, primarily through adoption of Western technology, science, mathematics, and military capability; the alternative was to remain vulnerable to the effects of Western imperialism. It was in this context that in 1860 Feng Guifen wrote and distributed Essays of Protest, which included “On the Adoption of Western Learning.” The purpose of the collection was to propose reforms that would strengthen China and render it less vulnerable to outside influences.