Europe meddles in the Far East China and Japan

The History of China in 1 slide Entered Neolithic age around 8,000 BC near Yellow River, a cradle of civilization Dynasty: ruling family Qin Dynasty- first to declare China an empire with an emperor (221 BC) Dark Ages?- not so much. Han, Tang and Song dynasties (with periods of lesser dynasties and disunion) lead China in golden ages from around 200 BC- 1271 AD, when they were conquered by the Mongols Mongols set up Yuan dynasty, after that falls, the Ming dynasty takes over

Qing Dynasty Conquers the Ming dynasty in 1683 First Manchurian dynasty; the rest were Han Reaches a population of 400 million people by 1850 Territorial base of modern China

Why is all of that important? Because, through much of world history, China is one of if not the best place on earth to live Stable, wealthy, powerful well organized empires This leads to an attitude among the Chinese that they are the greatest civilization in the world, and that they have nothing to gain from trading with other countries- Cultural Chauvinism Isolationist

Europe in China Marco Polo- first European to detail account to China, visited the court of Kublai Khan during Yuan dynasty Ming Dynasty- restricts European trade to islands near Guangzhou Qing Dynasty- continues to restrict Europeans Chinese believe they are completely self- sufficient They are right! Britain needs to find a product the Chinese will use…

Opium Addictive drug made from the poppy plant Can be eaten or smoked Grown by British in India; Chinese government banned recreational use among their citizens British smuggle it in to trade with them anyway By 1905, estimated 25% of China’s population is addicted

Opium War (1839) Chinese seize shipments of opium and detain British traders They want to control or eliminate opium trade Gives the British pretext for war. Naval battles are easily won by Britain Ends with the Treaty of Nanjing, which gives control of Hong Kong to Britain and establishes more “treaty ports”; places where Europeans can trade Second Opium War in 1856 legalizes opium trade as well as humiliating China in other ways

Civil Unrest Unrest at home caused by humiliation of opium wars Also natural disasters, famine, and ethnic conflict (ruling Manchus vs majority Hans) Hong Xiuquan, a poor Han from southern China, believes he is the brother of Jesus Christ He founds the “God Worshipping Society” or “Taiping Heavenly Movement”- believe in a strange mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism and other religions

Taiping Rebellion

Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) Begins fighting Qing Dynasty Taiping forces capture Nanking, murder all ethnic Manchus who they believed to be demons Anti-establishment; many landowners support government, Europeans send advisors to Qing but officially remain neutral The Taipings route the Qing in many battles, after Hong dies, the movement falls apart Ends up being the second deadliest war, behind only WWII

Aftermath Continues to weaken Qing dynasty and make it easier for Europeans to dominate; “Century of Humiliation”

Late 19th and Early 20th Century China is now dominated by foreign powers Technically maintains its independence, but is forced to allow European traders in cities and give trade benefits to them Country is in deep decline going into the mid 20th century Open Door Policy- US led initiative in 1899 to make China open to all traders. Meant to help China, doesn’t really

Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) Anti-Christian and anti-foreign uprising led by “Boxers”- martial artists who believed they were impervious to foreign weapons They murdered thousands of Chinese Christians and missionaries After hesitation, the Qing dynasty supports the Boxers and fights Europeans 8 allied European countries and Japan gang up and utterly destroy Qing, force terrible reparation payment on the country Eventually leads to breakup of Qing dynasty

“The Righteous and Harmonious Fists”

Consequences of the Boxer Rebellion Japan replaces Europe as dominating force in China China’s continued decline Destruction of Qing dynasty and forming of the Republic of China

Why did China fall to Europe? Reluctance to modernize Continuance of old traditions with refuse to incorporate new ideas Opium weakens population European greed Internal divisions- Han vs Manchu, Qing vs Taiping, Boxers vs Christians, ect

How is this different than Japan?