1. The Opium War: Watershed between Ancient and Modern China
Session 2

2. Table of Contents I. Britain’s Efforts to Open China’s Door for Free
Trade before the Opium War
Diplomatic action
Opium trade
Military force
II. The First Opium War
III. The Second Opium War
IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War
V. The Consequences of the Opium War
VI. Deep Roots of the Opium War
VII. Discussion
III. Struggle between socialism, liberalism & bureaucratic capitalism from 1921 to 1949
IV. Conclusion

3. I-1. London’s Efforts to Open China’s Door before the War
The Macartney Mission in 1793
To acquire a place near the tea & silk-producing area
To negotiate a commercial treaty
To release abuses at Canton
To create a desire in China for British products
To arrange diplomatic representation at Beijing
To Open Japan, Cochin China to British commerce
Amherst Mission in 1816
Failure of the mission because of refusal to comply to China’s ritual ceremonies

4. I-2. The Opium Trade Favorable trade imbalance to China
90% of East India Company’s shipment to China is gold and silver, and only 10% were commodities.
From , 16.4 million taels of silver flowed into China, and from , 26 million.
The opium trade
Britain took a lead in opium trade from 1773
Favorable trade imbalance to Britain
: 26 million taels of silver to China
: 10 million taels of silver out of China

5. The Opium trade and China’s response
Young men from rich families-officials, merchants, soldiers, literati, women, servants, even monks, nuns and priests
If opium was not suppressed, China would have no soldiers to fight the enemy and no fund to support the army. 数十年后中原几无可以御敌之兵，且无可以充饷之银
Commissioner Lin Zexu took actions in 1839 and banned opium trade

6. I-3. Military Force- II. The First Opium War from 1839 to 1842
The abolish of the monopoly of East Indian Company in 1834 escalated conflict between Chinese government and British government. British government coordinated the China trade by appointment of Superintendent of Trade in China. Individual private business became a state affairs.
Lin’s determination & actions to stop opium trade
Under pressure from Lin, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of Trade, agreed to submit Lin 21,306 chest of opium on behalf of the British government.
Lin’s letter to Queen Victoria in January 1840

7. 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.
This letter was carried by Captain Warren in Jan., 1840

8. 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?
Watch the movie: The Opium War

9. 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.”

10. 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.”

11. II-2. Military Defeats
May 24, Elliot urged London to take action and Palmerston informed Elliot to dispatch an expeditionary army to China
June 1840, the British Expeditionary army arrived in China
The First Opium War from
Movie:

12. II-3. 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

13. II-4. The Wangsha Treaty & Huangpu Treaty
The Wangsha Treaty with the US in July 184
The Huangpu Treaty with France in October 1844
Extraterritoriality allowed foreigners to have exempt from the jurisdiction of Chinese laws
The Most Favored Nation to allow all the foreign countries to share benefits and privileges from any treaties
The right to maintain churches and hospitals in the five port cities

14. III. The Second Opium War 1856-1860
In an effort to expand their privileges in China, Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanking (signed in 1842), citing their most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchants, legalising the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing and for the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese.
The Qing rejected the demand of Britain. An Anglo-French force invaded China from

15. III-2. Treaties of Tianjing
Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. would have the right to establish diplomatic legations (small embassies) in Peking (a closed city at the time)
Ten more Chinese ports would be opened for foreign trade, including Hankou, and Nanjing
The right of all foreign vessels including commercial ships to navigate freely on the Yangtze River
The right of foreigners to travel in the internal regions of China, which had been formerly banned
China was to pay an indemnity to Britain and France in 8 million taels of silver each.

16. III-3. Treaty of Aigun
On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River, pushing the border back from the Argun River. The treaty gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on the Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok in 1860.

17. 瑷珲条约中中国丧失的领土

18. III-3. Yuan Ming Yuan Was Looted & Destroyed

19. IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

20. IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War
The Sino-French War from
China lost Vietnam to France
The Sino-Japanese War from
China recognized the independence of Korea
ceded Taiwan to Japan
Pay an indemnity of 263,176,701 taels of silver (about 150 million U.S.dollars )
Offered most favored nation trade status and
opening of Shashi, Chungking, Soochow and Hangzhou.
China vs. 8 Powers in 1900 (the Boxer Rebellion)

21. IV-2. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

22. V. Consequences of the Opium War
Politically, China became a semicolonial country because of the loss of the three national rights: fixed tariff, extraterritoriality and the most favored nation
Militarily, foreign gunboats were allowed to navigate freely in Chinese inland waterways.
Economically, the fixed customs rates deprived China of a protective tariff, which damaged China’s self-sufficient economy.
Socially, the collapse of China’s agrarian economy led to caused social disturbances and rebellions.
Diplomatically, China took the first step in its long journey to membership of the international society

23. V-2. 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. The Nian Rebellion from The Moslem Rebellion from

24. VI. Deep Roots of the Confrontation
Conflict of the Chinese claims of universal overlordship with the Western idea of national sovereignty.
Conflict between self-sufficient agrarian China and the expansive and industrial Britain.
Conflict between the Chinese tributary relationship with the Western system diplomatic intercourse.
Conflict between Smithsian idea of free trade and China’s contempt for trade

25. Questions What are the consequences of opium trade in China?
What were Chinese rulers and elite' attitude to challenges from the West?
What were China's strategies to deal with challenges from the West?
Any other questions?

26. Thank you!
Questions?