China in Crisis

China’s Population Explosion In many ways, China was the victim of its own success Amazing population growth 100 million people in 1685 430 million people in 1853.

Unlike Europe . . . China had no Industrial Revolution China’s could not produce enough food to feed all those people Chinese territorial expansion did not generate great wealth

by the early 19th century China experienced Growing pressure on the land Smaller farms for China’s huge peasant population Unemployment and impoverishment Misery and starvation.

The Chinse Government China’s centralized and bureaucratic state was too small   The state could not perform basic functions Tax collection Flood control Social welfare Public security. Provincial officials held the real power They were corrupt They treated peasants very harshly

Europeans penetrate China During the first half of the 19th century Europeans penetrated China. Established a military & economic presence This disrupted internal trade routes This created substantial unemployment This led to higher taxes on the peasants

The Taiping Uprising The Taiping Uprising 1850 - 1864 A peasant uprising Rejected Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism A unique form of Christianity

Hong Xiuquan The leader of the uprising Proclaimed himself the younger brother of Jesus Sent to cleanse the world of demons To establish a “heavenly kingdom of great peace.”

Leaders wanted revolutionary change in china The abolition of private property Radical redistribution of land The end of prostitution and opium smoking A reorganized society Sexually segregated military camps Men and women. Denounced the Qing dynasty as foreigners

The Taiping uprising In 1853, the Taiping rebellion begins Establish a capital in Nanjing Taiping leadership was divided Could NOT unite all of China’s rebel groups 1864, provincial military defeats Taiping forces Helped by pro-Qing western military forces

Qing dynasty severely weakened Provincial gentry consolidate power Civil war weakens China’s economy 20 to 30 million people dead China takes a decade to recover

Pressure from the West Middle of the 19th century External pressures from the industrializing West China’s becoming subordinate to Europe As evidenced by the famous Opium Wars

Opium Introduced to China by Arab traders Long been used as a drinkable medicine Regarded as a magical cure for dysentery

Opium becomes a problem in China Late 18th century England used opium to cover trade imbalance Western merchants made great profits Opium is a highly addictive drug 1773 - 1832: Chinese opium imports explode

Chinese authorities recognize the problems It led to corruption Opium importation was illegal Corrupt officials were bribed to let in into the country It created a serious trade imbalance Silver poured out of China Causing more economic problems Millions of Chinse men and women addicted court officials students soldiers common laborers

Lin Zexu In 1836 Lin Zexu led the campaign against opium Chinese seize 20,000 chests of British opium Britain outraged by this seizure of property

The first Opium War, 1839-1842 British sent a naval expedition to China To force the Chinse to accept opium The Treaty of Nanjing (1842) Restrictions on Chinese sovereignty Open five ports to European traders Hong Kong to the British First of the “unequal treaties” Eroded China’s independence

The second Opium War, 1856-1860 French and British vs. Chinese Treaty resulted in further humiliations. More ports were opened to foreign traders Foreigners allowed to travel freely & buy land in China, Foreigners allowed to preach Christianity Foreigners allowed to patrol some of China’s rivers.

Spheres of Influence By 1900 foreign nations had divided China Western nations plus Russia and Japan Carved out spheres of influence within China Granting themselves special privileges to Establish military bases Extract raw materials Build railroads. China part of Europe’s informal empire The Qing dynasty remained in power, but very weak

Spheres of influence

The Self-Strengthening Movement c. 1861 – 1895 A period of institutional reforms Qing Dynasty Mixing Eastern and Western ideas Overhauled their examination system Restoring rural economy Textile and steel factories Telegraph system Expanded coal production Modernized arsenals and shipyards “Self-strengthening” proved to be inadequate

The boxer rebellion, 1898-1901 An anti-foreign movement Throws northern China into chaos The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists The “Boxers” Boxers killed Europeans and Chinese Christians Boxers laid siege to the foreign embassies in Beijing

Western retaliation Western powers and Japan crushed the rebellion They occupied Beijing Imposed a huge payment on China as a punishment China clearly dependent country China substantially under foreign control

The End of the Qing Dynasty Growing disillusionment with the Qing dynasty It was foreign – Manchu It could not protect China. Reformers want to westernize Chinese politics Want to limit authority of the ruler Want to greater political participation among the public They continued to pressure the government for reforms In 1912 the last Chinese emperor abdicated – Pu Yi With only a modest nudge from organized revolutionaries