Zongli Yamen
In 1860, Qing China was defeated by Britain and France in the Second Opium War. This event, which led to the invasion of the capital of Beijing and the fleeing of the Xianfeng Emperor to Chengde and his subsequent death, as well as the burning of the grand symbols of imperial glory, the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace, created an urgent sense of crisis amongst the Chinese elite. A powerful faction of Chinese reformers began to call for political and educational change, calling for the shedding of old educational ways and an increase of dealing with and learning from the West in order to reform and save China. Following the Convention of Peking which concluded the Second Opium War, the Qing Empire created Zongli Yamen, the first Qing office for foreign affairs, in 1861, and one year later, founded the Tongwen Guan to supply the language skills required for the Zongli Yamen.