Transcript Document
China in Crisis... The Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) •The Qing Dynasty (also known as the Manchu Dynasty) was the second time when the whole of China was ruled by foreigners, the Manchu. The first time was during the Yuan Dynasty when China was controlled by the Mongols. The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644-1911. •The Qing Dynasty became the last dynasty in 3,500 years of imperial rule in China. Qing Dynasty Territory -second largest in size (1st is Tang Dynasty) How Did the Qing Dynasty Rule? Resistance New Government Restrictions • As foreigners, Manchu initially faced resistance from Chinese subjects • Manchu rulers carried over much Ming government structure • The Manchu remained culturally separate • To win support, Manchu showed respect for Chinese customs, maintained Confucian traditions • Continued civil service exam system • Government positions distributed equally among Chinese, Manchu officials – Manchu not allowed to marry Chinese – Women forbidden to bind feet – Men had to wear hair in Manchu style • The Qing continued the Ming policy of isolation, restricting foreign trade • Like Chinese, Manchu saw Chinese civilization, products, as superior, expected foreigners to trade on China’s terms • Accepting terms, Dutch began thriving trade in Chinese goods • Obtained Chinese porcelain, silk, along with tea—which soon became main Chinese export to Europe Important Aspects of Economy & Society • Conservative approach to both eco. & soc. – Socially…. • Stressed hierarchy • Extended family still the central social unit • Women confined to the household – Economically…. • Lowered taxes, labor demands and improved public works • Attempted to control the landlord class to alleviate peasant burdens • Did NOT exercise much control over the commercial sector (and the # of incoming Europeans) THE OPIUM WARS (1839 – 1842) China is finally forced to recognize the power of the West The BEIC purchased Chinese goods - silk, porcelain, and tea - with silver bullion. To alleviate its considerable trade deficit it exported trade commodities - raw cotton, ivory, sandal-wood, and, increasingly, opium - to China. By the 1850s illegal opium sales accounted for c. 12 % of the BEIC's total revenues. Great Britain began to import opium, causing severe hardship for the Qing empire and its citizens. During the T'ang Dynasty, opium was used for medicinal purposes, now it was the cause for derelict behavior and the demise of the Chinese society as a whole during the Qing Dynasty. Eventually, the illegal trade of opium that could not be stopped, forcing China close to bankruptcy. Treaty of Nanjing the payment of an indemnity the abandonment of the Canton system the cession of Hong Kong trade concessions for 5 specified ports extraterritorial jurisdiction for all British citizens The Taiping Rebellion 1850-1865 The rebellion began under the leadership of Hong Xiuquan(1814–64), a disappointed civil service examination candidate who, influenced by Christian teachings, had a series of visions and believed himself to be the son of God, the younger brother of Jesus Christ, sent to reform China. European incursions spawned a massive rebellion in southern China. Led by cult leader Hong Xiuquan (shee-OH-chew-ahn) who wished to create a “Heavenly Kingdom of Peace.” Rebels offered called for social reform, land redistribution, and liberation of women. Traditional Chinese elite were attacked. Aristocracy rallied to the Qing and helped crush the rebellion. Western powers, fearing a the establishment of a newer, stronger dynasty, aided the Qing. 12 years of war and 20 million deaths weakened China, and gave foreign nations a stronger footing. The Marble Boat The Marble Boat is a legacy of the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908), one of the most reviled characters in modern Chinese history. Cixi entered the imperial household as a concubine before rising to serve as co-regent for her young son upon the Emperor’s death in 1861; when her son died in the mid-1870s, she installed her toddler nephew on the throne, assuring herself another regency period. Cixi, therefore, was de facto ruler of China for almost all of the latter half of the nineteenth century, an era when the country faced unprecedented foreign threats and mostly failed to handle them. Even before her death, which would come only three years before the Qing Dynasty fell, Cixi found herself the object of blame for the country’s troubles. The Marble Boat has long served as shorthand for all that was wrong with Cixi’s rule. A scenic spot for small parties, it was constructed with funds intended for the imperial navy, which Cixi convinced her nephew’s father to divert to the Summer Palace project. Cixi hoped that the palace would be completed in time for her sixtieth birthday in 1894. The celebration had to be canceled, however, when China became entangled in a war with Japan that year — a war that China would lose, in part, because the Japanese were the superior naval power. It makes for a good story: “We needed a navy, and all we got was this marble boat.” But it’s a simplistic narrative that draws Cixi as a onedimensional Dragon Lady, a demonic figure who seized power and then didn’t know how to wield it. Sino- Japanese War Sino-Japanese War, (1894–95), conflict between Japan and China that marked the emergence of Japan as a major world power and demonstrated the weakness of the Chinese empire. The war grew out of conflict between the two countries for supremacy in Korea. Korea had long been China’s most important client state, but its strategic location opposite the Japanese islands and its natural resources of coal and iron attracted Japan’s interest. In 1875 Japan, which had begun to adopt Western technology, forced Korea to open itself to foreign, especially Japanese, trade and to declare itself independent from China in its foreign relations. Spheres of Influence: European Imperialism in China In late 19th century, European states began to negotiate directly with local leaders for exclusive trading rights. Railroad and mining privileges Trade monopolies The Boxer Rebellion 1900 Dowager Empress Cixi encouraged rebellion of secret society against foreigners. Peasant uprising of 1900 that attempted to drive all foreigners from China. “Boxers” was a name that foreigners gave to a Chinese secret society known as the “Righteous and Harmonious Fists”. The group practiced certain boxing and calisthenic rituals in the belief that this made them invulnerable. International force, including Japan and the United States, crushed the rebellion and forced Qing to pay indemnity. Fall of the Qing 1905—Confucian exam system ends Resistance continues until 1911 In the form of secret societies, sons of scholargentry or compradors Fiercely anti-Western 1912—last Manchu emperor (Puyi) abdicates (he is 6 yrs old)