History Revision

1. History Revision The collapse of Imperial China

2. What are they doing??

3. Traditional Values 1 Confucianism Tradition and family values to maintai stability and harmony. Importance of respect and obedience for one’s parents, elders, rulers. Strict moral code of conduct- respect, loyalty, obedience, hard-work, generosity and politeness

4. Traditional Values 2 Emperor worship • The emperor was divine • Heaven gave him authority to rule – the mandate • He performed religious duties to ensure China’s prosperity • Famines and disasters were signs from heaven that the Emperor had lost favour

5. Conservatism • This is a very traditional system governed by customs and religion • No experience of adapting to other cultures • Belief in the superiority of Chinese civilization • Foreigners - barbarians • Peasant society

6. Kow Tow • Deep bow, head touching the floor • Sign of deep respect

7. What will we tell the Emperor? • Imagine you are eunuch or scholar advisors to the Emperor Your group must deal with one of the following 4 situations

8. Role Play • 1. Arrival of Catholic missionaries • 2. Arrival of Vietnamese envoys • 3. Arrival of British merchant ships • 4. Arrival of Japanese ambassador

9. The Qing/Manchu Dynasty • Manchurian conquest – 1644 • Adopted Chinese political system and values • Relative tolerance of Christian missionaries, especially Catholic Jesuits

10. The scholar class • Experts in Confucian and Buddhist texts • Exam based entry • Served as officials/civil servants of the Manchu dynasty • Announced government policies • Some corruption – money for degrees

11. Tributary States • Neighboring states that paid tribute to the all powerful Middle Kingdom • Usually gave gifts to honour the Emperor • Like a Confucian younger brother showing respect to the head of the family • The leader or ambassador of the must kow tow • Korea, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma

12. Problems • The empire was overextended

13. Arrival of European Powers • Viewed European nations as new tributary states • Europeans refused to kow tow • Failed to see the superiority of European military • Cultural misunderstanding

14. Arrival of the British • They want new markets • They want Chinese tea and silk and porcelain • First trading post – Canton 1699 • British confined to an island outside city walls

15. No interest in British manufacturing goods • Trade imbalance • British request trade liberalisation (free trade) in 1793 • Ships, guns and new products from the West showed the weakness of the Manchu

16. Western Imperialism • Did it bring new ideas to China? • Were the Christian missionaries agents of positive change? • Was increasing trade with the West inevitable? • Did the West impose its ideas on the Chinese? • Did Western imperialism merely accelerate modernisation? • Contact with the West – boon or bane? • See “World of History” pp. 613-14

17. Opium War 1839-42 • British trade imbalance • Solution – Opium from India • Manchu prohibition • 1839 crackdown on Opium trade • British traders forced to handover opium chests • British send in the Imperial Navy

18. British victory – Treaty of Nanjing 1842 • Chinese forced to open 5 coastal ports • Pay for the war • Liberalise trade • British subjects outside of Chinese law • Cede island of Hong Kong

19. Second Opium War 1856-58 • Continuation of the first • British and French demanded legal opium trade • More free trade • Humiliating defeat of Qing – destruction of the summer palace • 10 new ports opened

21. Qing weakened by civil war 1850s • Taiping Rebellion • A peasant revolt that nearly destroyed the Manchu • Leader of Taiping was Christian convert • Causes – corruption, population explosion

22. Reform or status quo? • Some officials wanted mix of East and West • Western technology + Confucian values • The military was modernised • Railroads built

23. Sino-Japanese War 1894-95 • Conflict over Korea • Overwhelming Chinese defeat • Modernisation was limited • Russians and Germans then demanded terroritory

24. 100 days of reform • Confucian scholar Kang Youwei – reformist • Use Japan as model of modernisation • Young Emperor Guangxu agreed

25. The real power behind the throne! • Empress Dowager Cixi • Supported by the army • Arrested and executed reformers • Emperor Guangxu lost power

26. Boxer Rebellion 1900 • Secret society –martial arts • Drought and unemployment blamed on foreigners and missionaries • Attacked railroads and murdered Christians • European expedition rescued besieged foreigners in Beijing 1900

28. The most dangerous moment for a bad government… • Is when it begins to reform • Early 20th century – adopted Western education • Regional elected assemblies • Empress Dowager died 1908 leaving child Emperor Puyi • The old regime collapses in 1911 revolution

29. Power Vacuum • Only the army is strong enough to hold the country together • No well developed political parties or institutions • Lacked a large merchant/business middle class • China enters 40 years of civil war and chaos • Breaks up into regions governed by warlords • No unity until Communist victory under Mao Zedong 1949

30. Impact of Western Imperialism • Missionary schools • New ideas – democracy, rights of women, socialism, nationalism • New products • Infrastructure – Western engineers built railways, telegraph, bridges

31. Essay themes • Why did reform fail in Qing Dynasty China? • What was the impact of contact with the West? For good or for ill? • What were the weaknesses of Imperial China? Why did it collapse? • What was the path of modernisation in China? Why was it different to Japan’s?

32. Causes of collapse • Bad leadership? • Conservative culture? • Manchus vs Han chinese? • Aggressive Western imperialism? • Failure to reform? • Geography and population factors?