Max Weber once mentioned that The Peking Gazette “has been noticed by British people for
decades”. In the 19th century, the Peking Gazette was not only taken seriously by the westerners in
China, but also influcenced Europe and America in sorne degrce. English newspapers in China helped
construct Sino-British relations through translating and making use of The Peking Gazette . This paper
takes a case study on English newspapers’ coverage of the Audience Question during five foreign
ministers’ audience with Emperor Tongzhi in 1873. It finds that although the key problem concerning
Kotow was settled, British people didn’t change their attitudes towards China. The British community in
Shanghai was optimistic about the audience in the beginning, yet it was disappointed at last. That change
is closely related with the Peking Gazette’s coverage of the audience.