China Resists Outside Influence 12.1 Mrs. Stoffl

Setting the Stage Throughout history – Chinese have looked down on all foreigners 1793 – Qing emperor agreed to receive a British ambassadors, Brought gifts of the West’s most advanced technology (clocks, globes, hot air balloon) Emperor refused the gifts saying he was not impressed…

Objectives Understand how China pushed against Western influence and why. Understand how Western countries came to influence China.

China and the West China was self-sufficient ∴ didn’t need gifts from or to trade w/ the West Had a very healthy agricultural economy Rice (native), maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts (from the Americas) All helped to feed China’s huge population Large mining + manufacturing industries Salt, tin, silver, iron ore Textiles – beautiful silks, high quality cotton Fine porcelain

The Tea-Opium Connection China had a very favorable balance of trade Made much more $ on exports than it spent on imports Europeans were determined to find a good that the Chinese would trade w/ them Opium – Narcotic, Medical pain reliever used in China for 100s of years European merchants smuggled it in for nonmedical use in the end of the 1700s By 1835 – 12 million Chinese were addicted to smoking the drug

War Breaks Out Qing emperor angry about the growing supply of opium, Sent letter to Queen Victoria of England If opium is illegal in your country how dare you spread the harm to ours  asked to stop the trade Britain refused to stop ∴ Opium War (1839) Mostly sea battles b/w Br + China China’s ships were outdated and no match for the British steam- powered navy

Opium War China suffers a humiliating defeat 1842 – Treaty of Nanjing was signed to end the war Treaty gave Britain the island of Hong Kong 1844 – U.S. + other foreign countries gained extraterritorial rights Foreigners not subject to Chinese law at 5 Chinese ports The Chinese really resented these foreigners + the opium trade us/videos/opium-in-china us/videos/opium-in-china

Growing Internal Problems Chinese population grew rapidly in the mid 1800s. 430 million ppl by 1850 = 30% gain in only 60 years But food production barely increased = widespread hunger across China Ppl discouraged + turned to opium more than ever before Led to rebellion against the Qing Dynasty

The Taiping Rebellion Hong Xiuquan – young Chinese man gathered recruits to build his “Heavenly Kingdom of Peace” in China In the kingdom  all Chinese would share the wealth Hong’s mvm’t called the Taiping Rebellion (taiping = great peace). By the 1850s – Hong raised an army of 1 million+ ppl Taiping Army took control of much of SE China Named Nanjing the Taiping Capital

The Taiping Kingdom is Brought Down Hong put family + trusted lieutenants in charge of the gov’t and they constantly feuded Qing Army, British + French forces attacked the Taiping By 1864 – internal fighting w/in the Taiping gov’t combined w/ outside assaults = Taiping gov’t was brought down The Chinese in general paid a terrible price to put the rebellion down 20 million+ ppl died in the fighting  possibly 40 million

Foreign Influence Grows Taiping Rebellion + several smaller uprisings + foreign influence = pressure on the Chinese gov’t Debates w/in the gov’t about whether or not to move towards Western-style reforms

Resistance to Change The Dowager Express Cixi was in control of the Chinese gov’t from She was committed to traditional values but accepted some reforms 1860s Dowager Empress supported the self-strengthened mvm’t Updated the Chinese education system and military Set up factories to build steam powered gunboats + modern rifles

Other Nations Step In Foreign nations took advantage of China’s weakness Through several treaties they gained more and more influence over China’s economy Spheres of Influence: An area in China where the foreign nation controlled trade + investment

Open Door Policy U.S. = long time ally of China Americans worried they would be left out of Chinese trading if other foreign countries divided up China into colonies ∴ U.S. declared the Open Door Policy in China China’s “doors” would be open to merchants of all nations Due to the growing influence of the U.S., European nations agreed to the Open Door Policy China protected from colonization but not from foreign influence

An Upsurge in Chinese Nationalism Chinese began demanding reforms  ∴ new young emperor, Guangxu worked to modernize China Reorganized the education system Strengthened the economy Modernized the military Streamlined the gov’t

An Upsurge in Chinese Nationalism Qing Dynasty thought reforms were threats to their power ∴ they called the Dowager Empress back into power She arrested Guangxu and seized total power Reversed all of the reforms Chinese ppl very frustrated

The Boxer Rebellion Poor Chinese resented privileges given to foreign nations and Chinese Christians who practiced the Western faith ∴ they formed the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists aka the Boxers They staged the Boxer Rebellion to protest Dowager’s rule and foreign privilege

The Boxer Rebellion Spring 1900 – Boxers headed towards Beijing yelling “Death to the Foreign Devils” They surrounded the European part of the city and kept it under their control for several months Army of the foreign nations quickly defeated the Boxers Boxer Reb was a failure but created a strong sense of nationalism Must keep foreigners at bay Must make the gov’t more responsive to ppls needs

The Beginnings of Reform 1905 – Dowager Empress sent a group of Chinese officials on a tour around the world to study different gov’ts Went to Japan, U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia, + Italy 1906 – group suggested China base a new gov’t structure on Japan’s constitutional monarchy Took until 1917 for significant changes to be made Turmoil in the country for 4 more decades  didn’t respond to Western influence well at all.