1. L6 & L7: Expansion and Resistance in China
Agenda
Objective:
To understand…
The history of European intervention in China.
The troubled relationship between Britain and China.
How China attempted to resist European intervention.
Schedule:
Lecture & Discussion
Homework:
None

2. China under the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty
China was ruled by the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty since 1644
What do you remember about China under the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty?

3. Early Trade Between China and Britain
China was largely isolationist
Looked down on Europe and didn’t want to interact with them
Chinese restricted European
trade to a single port city:
Canton
British hoped to trade
manufactured goods for tea, porcelain, and silk from China
However, the Chinese were not interested in European goods. They only wanted silver or gold

4. Chinese Emperor Qianlong’s Letter to England’s King George III (1792)
In 1792 the King of England sent
an envoy to China to convince
the Chinese Emperor to open
up northern port cities to
British trade
In response, the Emperor wrote
this letter to the King
Task
Read the letter
Whole class discussion

5. The British Have a Problem…
They want to trade with China, but China doesn’t want to trade with them
If you were a British merchant, what might you do about this? How can you get the Chinese to trade with you?

6. Britain’s Solution: Sell the Chinese Opium!
Highly addictive drug derived from the poppy plant
British grew opium in colonial India
Use and sale of opium was illegal in China (and in Britain!)

7. The Opium Trade
British began to forge links with Chinese opium dealers
Started to illegally trade opium for Chinese goods
By 1820, 80% of all people living in Canton were addicted to opium
Britain essentially was a huge international drug dealer

9. The Opium Trade Discussion
What is your reaction to British actions?
We see the British encounter a similar problem in China to that which they have encountered in Africa and India: How do we get the goods/resources we want from this region? How did they deal with this problems in (1) Africa, (2) India?
Why did they choose the particular methods that they did in (1) Africa, (2) India, (3) China?

10. The Opium Trade: Discussion
How is the opium trade a form of control? What is being controlled?
Is this an act of chemical warfare?
Is this an act of cultural warfare?
Is this an act of economic warfare?
Is it terrorism more so than warfare?

11. Letter from Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria (1839)
Alarmed by the epidemic of addiction, the Chinese government attempted to end the opium trade
Lin Zexu (ambassador for the Chinese government) wrote a letter to Queen Victoria, the Queen of England demanding an end to the opium trade
It is unknown whether the letter ever reached the Queen
Task
Read the letter
Whole class discussion

12. The Opium Wars
Chinese government ordered British merchants to surrender all opium cargo to government officials
Britain agreed, but rather than hand it over directly to the Chinese government, the merchants gave their opium to British naval officers in Canton harbor
This made the opium
the property of the
British government
When Chinese officials
seized it and drowned
20,000 chests of opium,
Britain said they had committed an act of war

13. The Opium Wars War between Britain and China 1839-1842
British called it the “Trade War”
Chinese called it the “Opium War”
Chinese were no match for the British navy and were defeated, despite much fighting

14. Treaty of Nanjing (or Nanking)
Treaty which ended the First Opium War
Fundamental purpose of the treaty was to change the trade relationship between China and England
Task
Read the letter
Whole class discussion

15. China: Now What?
Following the Treaty of Nanjing, what problems is China facing?
If you were a Chinese government official, what would you advise China to do?
In short, how can China resist imperialism?

16. Resistance Three Efforts: Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864
Self-Strengthening Movement
Boxer Rebellion 1900

17. Taiping Rebellion
The Treaty of Nanjing was the first in a series of unequal treaties between China and the western powers.
Angered over the treaty and China's failure to industrialize many blamed the Qing government.
Christian missionaries’ message of a “Heavenly Kingdom of Peace” inspires Hong Xiuquan to lead a 14 year rebellion against the corrupt Qing Dynasty.
Peasants launched the Taiping Rebellion in an effort to topple the Qing. This only served to weaken China further.

18. Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864 EFFECTS
Combined British, French, and Qing forces crush the peasant rebellion and the Qing dynasty is restored to power
Fertile farmland is destroyed by the hungry armies
At least 20 million (some estimate 40 million) die.

19. Significance
How did the Treaty of Nanjing and the Taiping Rebellion weaken China?

20. Self-strengthening Movement: 1861-1895
Conservative Chinese cling to traditional ways and resist change
But…Dowager Empress Cixi sees the need to reform and modernizes education, diplomatic services and the military.
Aim was to modernize means, but keep traditional values and ideals

21. Self-strengthening Movement
Modernized Chinese economy and military
However, despites these modernizations, the persistence of traditional ideals and values prevented China from being ultimately successful at casting off European control—why?
What is the “lesson” of the Self-Strengthening Movement for resistance?

22. Boxer Rebellion (1900)
China embarks on a second wave of reform called the 100 Days of Reform
Initiated by a new young Chinese emperor
Fails when the Dowager Empress Cixi arrests him & executes his leaders.
In response to the failed reforms, and the resentment of foreign powers in China, a Chinese group, known as the “Boxers” arose in rebellion
Boxers (Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists) attempt to drive out all foreigners from China.
Kill hundreds of foreigners and Chinese Christians

23. Boxer Rebellion
In August they are defeated by 20,000 multinational forces.
A new sense of Chinese nationalism emerges.

24. Significance
The Boxer Rebellion swept across China in This was a nationalist movement which could be compared to the Sepoy Mutiny in India because both wanted to rid foreign influence from their territory. Armies from Japan and the West quickly put down the Boxer Rebellion and forced China to grant more concessions to the West.
How was the Boxer Rebellion similar to the Sepoy Mutiny?
Why wasn’t the Boxer Rebellion successful?

25. Closing Discussion
How would you characterize the nature of Western influence in China?
Why wasn’t China successful at casting off European influence through their three 3 reforms/rebellions?
Are there any ways in which China was successful at resisting imperialism?