China and Japan Encounter
the Western World
SSWH14 The student will analyze the Age of Revolutions and
Rebellions.
d. Examine the interaction of China and Japan with westerners;
include the Opium War, the Tai Ping Rebellion, and
Commodore Perry.
Chapter 22, Sections 1 and 3
Decline of the Qing Dynasty
• In 1800, after a long period of peace & prosperity,
the Qing were at the height of their power.
• A little over a century later, humiliated & harassed
by the Western powers, the Qing dynasty collapsed.
• Reasons for decline: Intense external pressure
applied by the modern West; Internal change
including corruption, peasant unrest, &
incompetence
• Ships, guns, and ideas of foreigners highlighted the
growing weaknesses and probably hastened the end.
Background of the Opium War
• By 1800, Europeans had been in contact with China for
more than 200 years.
• Restricted however to the island of Guangzhou
• The British did not like this arrangement
• British also imported more goods from China than they
exported to China including tea, silk, and porcelain.
• At first, they tried to negotiate. When that didn’t result,
they turned to Opium.
Background Continued…
• Opium grown in northern India and shipped
directly to Chinese markets. (India is a colony of
Great Britain.)
• Demand for opium (a highly addictive drug) in
South China jumped dramatically.
• Silver was flying out of Chinese hands and into
the pockets of the British East India Company
• British were not the first to trade opium; China
had seen its dangerous qualities and made it
illegal
The Opium War
• Government appealed to the Queen on
moral grounds; British refused to stop
Opium Trade
• Chinese blockaded the port at Guangzhou to
force traders to surrender the Opium
• British responded with force starting the
Opium War.
The
Opium
War
Continued…
1839 – 1842
•
• Chinese were no match for the British
• Treaty of Nanjing in 1842
– Chinese opened 5 coastal ports to British trade
– Limited taxes on British goods
– Chinese would pay the cost of the war
– Chinese would give the British the island of
Hong Kong
• Marked the beginning of the establishment of
Western influence in China.
Tai Ping Rebellion
• 1850 – 1864
• Failure of the Chinese government to deal with
pressing internal economic problems led to a
peasant revolt
• Led by Hong Xiuquan, a Christian convert
who viewed himself as a younger brother of
Jesus Christ
• Convinced God gave him the mission of
destroying the Qing dynasty
Tai Ping Rebellion Continued…
• Joined by crowds of peasants, captured the town of
Yongan, and proclaimed a new dynasty, the
Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace
• Appealed to people because of its social reforms
– Giving land to all peasants
– Treating women as equals to men
– Called for people to give up private possessions
– Outlawed alcohol and tobacco
– Eliminated foot binding
Impact of Tai Ping Rebellion
• Europeans came to the aid of the Qing dynasty
after rebels seized Xianjing, the second largest
city and massacred 25,000 people
• Treaty of Tianjin in 1858
– Legalized Opium trade
– Opened new ports
– Surrendered Kowloon Peninsula
• In 1860, British seized Beijing
JAPANESE CONTACT WITH
THE WEST
An End to Isolation
• By 1800, the Tokugawa shogunate had ruled the
Japanese islands for 200 years
• They drove out foreign traders & missionaries and
isolated the country from virtually all contact with
the outside world
• To the Western powers, Japanese isolation was a
challenge
• West convinced global trade would benefit all
nations
• First foreign power to succeed was the U.S.
U.S. Gain Entry to Japan
• Summer of 1853: An American fleet of 4
warships under Commodore Matthew Perry
arrive in Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay)
• Sought to bring a singular & isolated people
into the family of civilized nations
• Perry brought letter from President Millard
Fillmore asking for better treatment of sailors
shipwrecked on Japanese islands
• Requested opening of foreign relations
between the US and Japan
About 6 Months Later…
• Tokugawa Shogunate continue discussions on
the pros and cons to American intervention.
• Commodore Perry returns with a larger fleet
for an answer.
• After weeks of negotiations, Japan realized
they were in no position to defend themselves
against a foreign power and could not retain
isolation with risking war.
•
•
•
•
•
Treaty of Kanagawa
March 31, 1854
Return of shipwrecked American sailors
Opening of two ports to Western traders
Establishment of a U.S. consulate in Japan
Friendly relations between the two countries ;
marked the beginning of Western interaction
with Japan
Resistance to the New Order…
• Highly unpopular in parts of Japan,
particularly among the samurai in the southern
territories
• 1863: Sat-Cho alliance forced the shogun to
promise to end relations with the west
• Jan 1868: Armies attacked the shogun’s palace
in Kyoto & proclaimed the authority of the
emperor had been restored.
• End of the Tokugawa Shogunate