• Chinese rulers believed all nations outside China barbaric
• Wanted little contact with outside world
• Europeans pushed for trading rights, but China restricted trade to single city, Guangzhou
• Chinese wanted silver
• Pleased when tea became popular with British and British silver flowed into China
Tea Trade with Britain
• 1800, trade with European merchants profitable for Chinese
• Not important, Europeans just another set of foreigners who might pay tribute to emperor
• Little by little, though, Qing dynasty lost power, prestige, sovereignty over China
Qing Dynasty Loses Power
Western Nations Gain Power
Opium War• 1838, Chinese ordered destruction of British opium in Guangzhou• British sent naval force to launch attack; captured Shanghai, 1842• Forced Chinese to sign peace treaty—first of unequal treaties• Benefited European countries at expense of China
Trade Imbalance• British distressed by imbalance of trade• British discovered solution—opium; great demand for opium in China• Opium addiction large problem; Chinese government banned import• Foreign merchants continued to smuggle drug into China
Treaty of Nanjing
Opened five more ports to Western trade • Gave extraterritoriality to British
– British citizens accused of crimes had right to be tried in British courts, rather than Chinese
• China forced to sign more treaties with Britain, France, United States, Russia over next two decades
• Slowly but surely, Qing dynasty losing control over China to Western intruders
The failure of the Qing dynasty to resist the Western powers led some Chinese to believe that the dynasty had lost the mandate of heaven.
• Failure of dynasty led to series of rebellions starting in 1850
• Most serious led by Hong Xiuquan; believed he was brother of Jesus– Wanted to create “Heavenly
Kingdom of Great Peace” where no one would be poor
– Followers formed movement called Taiping Rebellion
Rebellions
• Hong, followers captured large southeastern China territories
• 1853, controlled Nanjing• Qing soldiers, British, French armies
attacked and defeated Taiping army in 1864
• Qing dynasty emerged victorious at great cost—20 million Chinese deaths
Great Toll
The Taiping Rebellion
Following Taiping Rebellion• Reform-minded officials of Qing dynasty tried to make changes• For example, pushed to build coal mines, factories, railroads• Encouraged government to make modern weapons, ships
Japan as Military Power• China struggled to reform• Meanwhile, Japan emerging as major military power• China went to war with Japan over Korea; was soundly defeated by Japan
Self-Strengthening Movement• Movement tried to introduce Western knowledge, languages to China• Ultimately movement failed• Strong resistance from traditional Confucian scholars, powerful officials
Foreign Influence Takes Hold
Noting the weakness of the Chinese military, Western powers rushed to claim more territory in China. Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France all carved out spheres of influence there.
• Late 1890s, United States got involved
• Americans feared European nations would divide China among selves
• U.S. could lose profitable trade in China
U.S. Involvement
• U.S. proposed Open Door Policy, allow free trade in Chinese ports under European control
• Allowed U.S. to continue trade in China
Open Door Policy
• End 1800s, China desperate
• War with Japan exposed military weakness
• Europeans controlled large portions of Chinese territory
Desperate Straits
Western Nations React
Time for Reform
Something had to be done for China to remain independent
• 1898, Chinese emperor enacted series of reforms
– Changed civil service examinations
– Built modern army
• Empress Dowager Cixi, most powerful person in China, stopped reforms
• Believed they threatened rule of Qing dynasty
• Reformers began to call for end to Qing dynasty
Nationalism • Humiliation of China by West
produced several nationalist movements
• Most important, Harmonious Fists, or Boxers
Escalating Violence• Boxer Rebellion began in 1899• Attacked missionaries, Chinese
converts to Christianity• Laid siege to foreign compounds in
Beijing
Secret Society • Martial arts training• Hatred of foreigners • Belief they were invulnerable to
Western weapons
Uprising Put Down• Foreign troops stopped uprising• Heavy fine imposed on Chinese
government for secretly supporting Boxers
• Humiliation for government
The Boxer Rebellion
• After Boxer defeat, Qing officials began to enact reforms• Eliminated system of examinations for officials• Tried to establish primary, secondary schools• Took steps to create national army• Created elected provincial assemblies
• Reforms too little, too late
• Radicals in Japan, U.S. called for overthrow of Qing dynasty, creation of new Chinese Republic
• Sun Yixian, known in West as Sun Yat-sen, most prominent of radicals
New Chinese Republic• Based revolutionary ideology on three
basic principles—nationalism, democracy, “people’s livelihood”
• Last of these involved equality in land ownership, often translated as socialism
Sun Yixian
The 1911 Revolution
Sun Yixian
Sun believed China should eventually become democracy.
• Thought Chinese people not ready yet
• Called for overthrow of Qing dynasty, replacement by ruling nationalist party
• Wanted party to act as guardian of Chinese people until they were ready for democracy
Other people in China began to call for the overthrow of the Qing dynasty.
• Revolutionary ideas took root among intellectuals, junior officers in military academies
• October 1911, group of young officers led revolt in city of Wuchang
• Support for revolt grew rapidly
• January 1912, revolutionaries declared a republic
Revolutionaries
• Qing wanted General Yuan Shikai to quash rebellion
• Negotiated peace instead• Convinced Chinese emperor to
abdicate• Event brought end to 268-year rule
of Qing dynasty• Yuan Shikai became first president of
new Republic of China
End of Qing Dynasty
Revolutionary Ideas
Find the Main Idea
How did European intervention in China contribute to the downfall of the Qing
dynasty?
Answer(s): Western actions in China led to nationalist movements and rebellions. In 1911 Chinese revolutionaries ended the 268-year Qing dynasty and declared the Republic of China.
World War I devastated much of Europe; postwar treaties and political unrest reshaped many nations. China also faced postwar unrest.
• 1917, China declared war on Germany
• Hoped Allied Powers would return German-controlled Chinese territories
• Treaty of Versailles gave Germany’s Chinese territories to Japan
• May 4, 1919, angry students began strikes, protests
May Fourth Movement• Guomindang nationalists had
support of some Chinese• Others believed communism best
way to modernize China• Communist Party of China formed,
1921• Communists, Guomindang formed
partnership, fought warlords who controlled much of China
Uneasy Partnership
China after World War I
The Long March• Mao Zedong, others survived Jiang’s attack, tried to rebuild
• 1934, Communists under Guomindang pressure, tried to escape
• Mao led 100,000 supporters on 6,000 mile trek through China
• Long March tried to find safe place for Chinese Communists; only 8,000 survived
Gains, 1920s• Jiang Jieshi, also known as Chiang Kai-Shek, led Guomindang
• Continued to fight warlords, soon controlled much of China
• Eventually turned against Communist allies, attacked in several cities
• This marked beginning of Chinese Civil War
Sequence
What happened in China after World War I?
Answer(s): 1919: strikes and protests; 1921: Communist Party of China formed; 1927: nationalists attack Communists; 1934: Long March
Reading Focus• How did the Communists take over China?
• What were the main events that took place in China under Mao’s leadership?
• How did China change in the years after Mao’s death?
Main Idea
China has undergone many changes since becoming a Communist nation in 1949. today, after making many market reforms, China has a rapidly growing economy.
Communist China
During World War II the Chinese Communists and the nationalist Guomindang put aside differences to fight Japanese invaders.
• Once Japan defeated, civil war resumed
• Guomindang forces outnumbered Mao’s Communists, but Communists had wide support among China’s peasants
• Rural Chinese peasants had long been oppressed by brutal landlords, high taxes, policies of Jiang Jieshi’s corrupt government
Civil War Resumes
• Communists promised to take land from landlords, distribute to peasants
• By 1949, Communists had driven Guomindang almost entirely from China
• Guomindang control limited to small areas on mainland, several islands, including Taiwan
Public Support
Communists Take Over China
• China faced many difficulties, including crippled economy, lack of functional government
• Some countries opposed to communism refused to recognize Mao
• Claimed Jiang’s government on Taiwan was true Chinese government
Opposition to Mao
• October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong stood before huge crowd in Beijing
• Announced formation of People’s Republic of China
• Mao’s strategy of guerrilla warfare in rural China
People’s Republic of China
Communists Take Over China
Summarize
Why did peasants support the Communist takeover of China?
Answer(s): because the Communists promised them land
Having defeated the Guomindang, Mao set about building a Communist China. His first concern was rebuilding a country that had been torn apart by years of civil war.
• Communist ideology shaped new government
• Change in China’s political, economic systems
• Government discouraged practice of religion
Rebuilding China• Also seized property
of rural landowners, redistributed among peasants
• Put in place Soviet-style five-year plans for industrial development
Development • 1957, first plan
doubled China’s small industrial output
• Early efforts to build economy successful
• Improved economy, reduced poverty
First Plan
China under Mao
Early YearsImprovements in literacy rates, public health • Chinese life expectancy increased sharply over next few
decades
• Improvements came at a cost– To consolidate Communist control over China, government soon
began to eliminate so-called “enemies of the state” who had spoken out against government’s policies
– Many thousands—including public officials, business leaders, artists, writers—killed, or sent to labor camps
The Great Leap Forward• 1958, in break from Soviet-style economic planning, Mao announced
program designed to increase China’s industrial, agricultural output• The Great Leap Forward created thousands of communes, collectively
owned farms, of about 20,000 people each• Each commune to produce food, have own small-scale industry
China Modeled on Soviet Union• Soviet Union provided financial support, aid in China’s first years • China modeled many of its new political, economic, military policies on
Soviet system• 1950s, territorial disputes, differences in ideology pushed China away from
Soviet ally
• Failure of Great Leap Forward led to criticism of Mao
• Soviet criticism, withdrawal of Soviet industrial aid widened rift between two Communist nations
• By early 1960s, relations had broken down completely; China virtually isolated in world community
China Virtually Isolated• Plan was disaster; small commune
factories failed to produce quantity, quality of goods China needed
• Combination of poor weather, farmers’ neglect led to sharp drops in agricultural production
• Famine spread through rural China; tens of millions starved to death between 1959 and 1961
Planning Disaster
The Great Leap Forward
New Movement• Mid-1960s, Mao tried to regain power, prestige lost after Great Leap Forward• Initiated new movement called Cultural Revolution, sought to ride China of old
ways, create society where peasants, physical labor were the ideal
Destruction of Society• Mao lost control; Red guards murdered hundreds of thousands of people; by late
1960s, China on verge of civil war before Mao regained control• Cultural Revolution reestablished Mao’s dominance, caused terrible destruction;
civil authority collapsed, economic activity fell off sharply
Red Guards• Campaign meant eliminating intellectuals who Mao feared wanted to end
communism, bring back China’s old ways• Mao shut down schools, encouraged militant students, Red Guards, to carry out
work of Cultural Revolution by criticizing intellectuals, values
The Cultural Revolution
Analyze
How did life in China change under Mao?
Answer(s): The failure of the Great Leap Forward and the isolation of China triggered the Cultural Revolution.
Reforms Begin• 1976, Mao died; his death followed by retreat from many of his policies• China began to end isolation from rest of world in early 1970s• 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China, meeting with Mao• During last years of Mao’s life, much power wielded by group of four people known
as Gang of Four
• Gang of four included Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing—responsible for some of worst features of Cultural Revolution
• After Mao’s death, more moderate leaders imprisoned Gang of Four
Gang of Four• Deng Xiaoping eventually became
China’s leader, helped put in place far-reaching market reforms
• Deng’s reform plan, Four Modernizations, sought to modernize: agriculture, industry, science and technology, defense
Four Modernizations
China After Mao
More Freedoms • Inspired by movement toward
economic freedom
• Chinese demanded more political freedom
Leaders Impatient• China’s leaders repeatedly asked
protestors to leave square
• Protestors remained, met with force
Pro-Democracy Protestors• Spring 1989, democratic reforms in
Eastern Europe
• One million pro-democracy protestors occupied Beijing’s Tiananmen Square
Freedom Had Not Arrived• June 1989, tanks, troops moved
into square
• Killed protestors in Tiananmen Square Massacre
Tiananmen Square
This has caused shortages and higher costs for these resources on the global market, as well as air and water pollution within China.
China’s economy has grown rapidly as market reforms have continued. Today, China’s economy is the second largest in the world, behind only the United States. As the economy has improved, so has the standard of living for many Chinese.
• Economic growth has not reached all China’s 1.3 billion people
• To prevent further population growth, Chinese government encourages families to have only one child
Economic Development
China Today
• Large population, rapidly expanding industries
• High demands on resources, environment
• Imports coal, iron ore, oil, natural gas to meet energy needs
Other Challenges
Human Rights IssuesHuman rights abuses another concern for critics of China
• Chinese government continues to limit free speech, religious freedoms
• Exercises strict control over the media
• Political protestors can be jailed
• Nation’s courts accused of failing to provide fair trials
• Critics increased calls for reforms after Beijing chosen to host 2008 Olympic Games