China

Isolated Beginnings to Imperial Power

Geography

• 3rd largest country in the world geographically

• Largest country in the world in population– About 1/5 of the world’s population lives in

China

• Isolated from the rest of the world– Saw no need to expand their empire– Sought little, if any, relations with external

powers (no trade, no diplomacy)

Zhongguo

• Translation: Central land, Middle Kingdom (what the Chinese call China)

• Refers to the Middle Kingdom belief that China was the geographic center of the universe and because of that, China was the only true civilization . . .everything else was inferior

• Self-sufficient

From heaven above . . .• Mandate of Heaven: Power given to

the emperor from above– Did however allow for challenge to their

rule: others not in power could argue the dynasty had deviated or lost the Mandate and therefore could (and should) be overthrown

– Leads to a series of dynasties that rise and fall, rise and fall

– Starts (at minimum) in 211BC and lasts until 1911 (definitely over 2,000 years!!!) . . .why??????

1. Governing Model

• 3-tiered model:Emperor

Advisors

Civil Service (known as Mandarins and they actually carried the

emperor’s decisions into practice)

• 2. Political effectiveness was underscored by economic innovations way ahead of their time, especially in agriculture (come up with irrigation)

• 3. Chinese social structure mirrored the political structure– Most of the population was rural– Peasants worked on land owned by a gentry

and while the gentry were an economic class, they worked in tandem with the Mandarins because they had the same objectives

• 4. Chinese society was influenced by Confucius who revered tradition and authority– Stress community over the individual– Deference to one’s elders and superiors – Cherish social harmony, even at the individual’s

expense

• 5. They were just that strong– For most of this time, China was the dominant

power in the known world• It either defeated its opponents flat-out or it co-opted

them

The Mongol’s are Coming! The Mongol’s are Coming!

• 1206—Genghis Kahn invades China from the North

• Captures Beijing and continued to press south

• Conquest completed by his grandson Kublai Khan in 1279

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

• Overthrow the Mongol rule• Re-established Chinese practices and cultures• Practiced tributary relations (system where

the outer edges of the Chinese empire and foreign countries would recognize Chinese superiority by paying tribute in the form of gold or silver to the emperor

Qing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644-1911)

• Takes China to its highest point of power and presides over it until its collapse

• Undone by internal factors and external pressures– Internally: caught in population explosion

• 1741: population about 143 million people• 1851: population about 432 million people• 1951: population about 850 million people**MEANT THE QING COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH THE

PACE OF POPULATION GROWTH—TOO MANY PEOPLE TO CARE FOR AND PRODUCTION COULD NOT KEEP UP AND THE DYNASTY BEGAN TO FALL INTO A RECESSION!

Under Pressure

• About the same time, Western powers began agitating for greater trade access

• Qing grudgingly allowed but restricted it to a single port city and only with a small number of merchants

• The West, particularly Great Britain was not satisfied (they saw the potential for enormous profits)

• On a crash course for disaster and someone had to give

1st Opium War (1839-1842)• By 1839, the Chinese

were tired of the unbalance in power with Great Britain (in early 1800’s they had the power, but Great Britain broke Chinese laws to reverse it)

• Raided British warehouses and destroyed the opium

• Britain responded with military and easily defeated the Chinese

Treaty Of Nanjing (1842)• Ends war• China must:

– Pay substantial fines for destroying the opium

– Had to open 5 more ports to British trade

– Gave Great Britain Hong Kong

– British citizens were no longer under Chinese rule but by British judges

*LEADS TO REVOLTS AGAIN THE QING DYNASTY!!!

Rebel, Rebel• Taiping Rebellion (1851-1870’s)

– Sought to eliminate the imperial dynasties and replace it with Christian/Western style model

– Successful throughout the 1850’s but fizzled in the 1870’s

CONSEQUENCE: The Qing Dynasty had to rely on regional war lords to survive and as a result of the bargain, the warlords became stronger and the Qing weaker

If that wasn’t enough . . .

• Besides fighting their own peoples, the Qing had another war with Great Britain– Second Opium War (1856-1860)

• Started when Chinese officials boarded a British ship and arrested the crew for smuggling opium

• Britain took the opportunity to try and take more from the Chinese

• The British attack again and occupy Beijing and burn down the emperor’s summer residence

Treaty of Tianjin• Opened up more ports to British

trade• China has to allow Western

migration into the heartland of China

• Forced to legalize opium• Allowed a maximum 5% tariff on

Western imports which meant China could not make enough money to modernize itself or protect its domestic industries from Western competition

*CHINA REFERS TO THE TREATIES AS THE ‘UNEQUAL TREATIES’ THAT WERE IMPOSED ON A WEAK CHINA (AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN)

Open Door Policy

• Other Western powers want the same benefits as Britain

• Collectively they agree to do whatever was necessary to keep the Chinese market open

The Boxer Rebellion

• 1900• The Boxers were an anti-Western

secret society which sought to drive the Western powers from China

• Launched a terrorist campaign in 1900 against Westerners

• The West quickly crushed the rebellion and expanded their influence in China to prevent further rebellions

With all the modern forces in the world working against

them, it was no wonder the imperial dynasties had little

time left . . .But what would take their

place and would it be better for the people?