1. China’s Response to the Challenges from the West 1840-1949
Session 3

2. Table of Contents II. China’s Reaction
I. Challenges from the West
II. China’s Reaction
The Self-Strengthening Movement from 1860s to 1890s
Political Reform in 1898 & Revolution in 1911
The New Cultural Movement from 1919 to 1923
III. Struggle between socialism, liberalism & bureaucratic capitalism from 1921 to 1949
IV. Conclusion

3. I. Challenge from the West
Opium trade in China and Qing’s response
Consequences
Military defeats
Territorial loss
Self-sufficient economy disintegrated
Social disturbances
Diplomatic submission
Cultural attitude toward the West

4. I-1. The Opium trade and China’s response
China-Britain trade:
: 26 million taels of silver to China
: 10 million taels of silver out of China
Commissioner Lin Zexu took actions in 1839 and banned opium trade
Lin’s letter to Queen Victoria

5. Letter to Queen Victoria……
I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forbidden by your country; that is because the harm caused by opium is clearly understood. Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries—how much less to China!
Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused.

6. Discussion
Would Great Britain change its policy to invade China through military force if Commissioner Lin would not confiscate English merchants’ opium?
Do you think that Queen Victoria would accept Lin’s argument against opium trade?

7. Military Defeats The First Opium War from 1839-1842 Movie:

8. The Immobile Empire: the first great collision of East & West - Alain Peyrefitte
“The pastoral world of mills driven by donkeys was gone, and the horse gave way to the steam engine.” Great Britain became the most powerful industrial county in the world. In this way:
“He who controls trade controls the world’s wealth, and therefore the world itself.”
– Lord Walter Raleigh to Elizabeth.
“Shortly after 1763 Lord Clive, flushed with his recent victories over the Mogul Empire and the French, proposed that he be sent to conquer China by armed force.”

9. Continue:
“Every British citizen knew the words to the anthem of that ambition: Rule, Britannia/Britannia rules the waves.” As rulers of the waves, eight million Britons were confident that they could speak as masters to three hundred million Chinese.”
“The fact was that the East was going to have to open its doors to the West, whose masters now proclaimed, asserting their own power and interests, that the world was on and that they intended to travel it and trade in it freely.”

10. An indemnity of $21 million
The Nanking Treaty in 1842
An indemnity of $21 million
Abolish of the Canton trade system
Opening of five ports for trade & residence of English officials, merchants and their families
Concession of Hong Kong
“A great change in more than three thousand years of history” – Li Hongzhang

11. Military Confrontations
The Second Opium War from
The Sino-French War from
The Sino-Japanese War from
China vs. 8 Powers in 1900 (the Boxer Rebellion)
The Sino-Japanese War from

12. Foreign Powers in China

13. Territorial Loss Hong Kong Macao Taiwan Tributary states: Korean
Vietnam

14. Self-sufficient Economy Disintegrated & Domestic Rebellions
The Taiping Rebellion broke out from It ravaged 17 provinces, destroyed more than 600 cities, took an estimated 20 million lives, it weakened the Qing rule significantly.

15. Diplomatic Submission & Cultural Attitude Changes
The “most favored nation" status
Extraterritoriality
Custom House controlled by Robert Hart
Cultural Attitude Transferred from Superiority to Self-depreciation

16. II. Reaction & Solutions
II-1. The Self-strengthening Movement from
Weaponry & military Industry
Increase national wealth through industrialization
The North Ocean Navy
“Learn superior barbarian technique with which to repel the barbarians”- Wei Yuan
The Sino-Japanese War from
A whole navy was destroyed and the end of the self-strengthening movement
The navy fund and the South Ocean Navy’s neutral position

17. II-2. Political Institutional Transformation (1898-1912)
New thinking: it is far from enough only to learn western technology and industry. China needs to make political changes.
Political Reform : 100-Day Reform (6/11-9/21, 1898)
“The New Deal” - to transfer an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy
Empress Dowager Ci Xi vs. Emperor Guangxu (photo)
The consequence of the failure of the Reform

18. Empress Dowager Cixi & Emperor Guangxu

19. Sun Yah-sen’s Revolution in 1911
Overthrow Manchurian Rule internally and drive imperialist powers externally
Three People’s Principles
1)People’s National Consciousness / Nationalism
2)People’s Rights / Democracy
3)People’s Livelihood / Socialism
Results:
1) Republic of China was established in
2) War-lords competition and chaos followed

20. II-3. The New Cultural Movement from 1917 to 1923
“Down with Confucianism”
“Welcome Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science”
- Chen Duxiu
John Dewey vs. Bertrand Russel
Liberalism vs. Socialism

21. III. Victory of Socialism
World War I
The Paris Treaty in 1919
The May Fourth Movement in 1919
President Wilson’s dilemma
Lenin’s promise
The Birth of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921
GMD (Nationalists) vs. CCP (Communists)
Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) vs. Mao Zedong
Pro-American force vs. pro-Russian force
1949: Mao defeated Jiang and established People’s Republic of China.

22. IV. Conclusion
Facing the Challenges from the West after 1840, Chinese civilization declined significantly. In order to avoid the fate of destruction, Chinese people made radical changes economically, politically, and culturally. After one hundred years struggle from , China avoided the fate of colony or extinction and entered the world as an independent country with sovereignty .

23. Questions
What are the differences between the three changes in China from 1860s-1911? Why? Why Could Mao defeat Jiang even though the U.S. supported Jiang? What would happen between the US and China is Mao lost?

24. Thank you!
Questions?