By Rausey Mason, Sebastian De Aristegui, and Ruhena Choudury

  The Qing Empire was in shambles after a series of wars decentralized government, emptied treasuries, caused millions of Chinese casualties and gave European powers firm control of China.  Social unrest was growing in China among poor and displaced indigenous peoples along with resentment of increasing European influence.  The Opium War w/ Britain resulted in the extremely one sided treaty of Nanking that gave Britain a “Most-favored-nation-status” and access to new treaty ports as well as denying China tariff control of some of its borders and forcing them to cede Hong Kong. (700)  The Taiping Rebellion came shortly after. Led by a Christian Hakka Hong Xiuquan, the rebellion started as a result of tensions between them and the Manchus and the foreign rulers of China. They sought to create a new kingdom “The Heavenly Kingdom of Peace”.( ) In the Beginning

 Constant Struggles with Japan:  Beginning in 1894, The Sino-Japanese war took place over who would control Korea and was swiftly won by the Japanese in 1895 due to their superior weaponry that the Chinese would later develop partly due to this encounter.  In 1915, Japan presented China with the 21 demands, which wanted to exploit some of China’s natural resources, but heavy protest ensued with large anti-Japanese boycotts and riots breaking out across China. (815)  On May 3, 1928, nationalist forces lead by Chiang Kai-Shek embarked on an expedition to the North of China where Japanese forces were stationed in the province of Shandong. When they arrived fighting between the forces began and 12 Japanese civilians were killed and 18 Chinese officials were killed. Tensions mounted but Kai-Shek was able to negotiate out of it blaming it on a commanding officer in the 3 rd Army Group.  Fought against them in WWII until 1945 when they were forced to surrender by the U.S.  Did not trade or interact with them at all and tension still exists today with issues surrounding the South China Sea. The first Continuity

 Foreign Influence:  Beginning with the Opium wars which ended in 1842 China was heavily influenced by the British and were forced to grant them Hong Kong as a colony and 21 million ounces of silver as a payment for starting the war. (701)  In Canton, Shanghai and other costal cities, American and European companies employed common people to use as menial laborers. (701)  Between , the British and French began the arrow war which lead to the capture of Beijing. (704)  British did not stop the free import of Opium until 1917, but Chinese common people who had served terrible laborious jobs such as making charcoal began nationalist movements. (Page 765) The Final Continuity

 1 st Signs of true Nationalist Movements  In 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi opposed railways and other foreign technologies that could carry foreign influences throughout China. She also encouraged the Secret Society ‘The Boxers” to attack foreigners and there establishments. This rallying against foreigners was one of the 1 st signs of Nationalism in China. (764)  The young Chinese men living in the ports saw no advancement with old exam system and were educated in Christian Missionary schools or abroad. The sharp contrast between the life of urban squalor for the common Chinese and the luxurious lives of Foreigners and the Rich in treaty ports further united the masses against foreigners. (813) The First Change

 The Qing Dynasty ended in 1911 and led to the creation of the Republic of China and later the Spread of Communism in  In 1908, Nationalist Revolutionary Sun Yat-sen led attempted to gain control after mustering a strong along with his patriotism, ambition, and tenacious spirit gained many followers and attempted to overthrow the Qing Government but was thwarted by the military. (813)  Then in 1911, Yuan Shikai, the most powerful of regional war generals refused to defend the Qing and shortly after was elected president of the new Chinese Republic. (814)  Then in 1925, Chiang Kai-Shek allied with communist forces only to stab them in the back once they had captured Shanghai; Once this occurred the government under the dictator developed a strong sense of nationalism and proposed plans to build railroads, develop agriculture and modernize China, although failed terribly as Mao Zedong did with the Great Leap forward due to poor administration, lack of resources, and overuse of land. (815)  When communist forces lead by Mao Zedong in 1935 after the Long March arrived in Shaanxi where a new series of nationalist reformation movements began, but failed as explained. (842) The Final Change

  Between 1935 and 1949 Mao Zedong along with his army of supporters, which was made up of mostly peasants and other optimists, fought for control of the Chinese government and eventually gained it in October of 1949 when Mao was named Chairman of the People’s Republic of China  He designed further reformation movements such as the Five Year plan in 1953 and the Great Leap forward in 1958, which both in fact brought the people together until they began to run out of food and the system collapsed. In the End

 Map of Qing Empire

 Map of China After Communists Take Over

 Bibliography "The History Guy: Sino-Japanese Wars (Chinese-Japanese Wars)." The History Guy: Sino- Japanese Wars (Chinese-Japanese Wars). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar "Jinan Incident." WW2DB RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar "Mao Zedong." Mao Zedong. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle. Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, Print.