Yongle Encyclopedia
The largest encyclopedia in history until Wikipedia took the record in 2007 was the 1408 Ming Dynasty Yongle Encyclopedia, and most of it was looted and destroyed by foreign soldiers, leaving only 3.5 percent surviving volumes today. The British, French and—thanks to the schemes of Ignatiev—the Russians were all granted a permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing (something the Qing Empire resisted to the very end as it suggested equality between China and the European powers). The Chinese had to pay 8 million taels to Britain and France. Britain acquired Kowloon (next to Hong Kong). The opium trade was legalized and Christians were granted full civil rights, including the right to own property, and the right to evangelize.