Chapter 22 – Section 2
Revolution in China
The BIG Idea
Self Determination:
Reforms led to a revolution in China, and
the arrival of Westerners brought
changes to its culture and economy.
Lets Review
• For years the Qing Dynasty of China had
kept European countries at a distance by
only allowing them limited access to trade.
• As a way to encourage more positive trade
for themselves, the British introduced
Opium, which many Chinese became
addicted to.
• Tensions between China and Britain over
Opium trading led to the Opium war which
left China significantly weaker in the mid
1800s.
Lets Review
• After the Opium Wars, the
Chinese people called for reform
(changes) in government. This led
Guang Xu to launch a reform plan
known as “One Hundred Days of
Reform.”
• Traditionalist were afraid of
change, including Guang Xu’s aunt
Empress Dowanger Ci Xi, who
had Guang imprisoned and took
control of China.
Guang Xu
The Fall of the Qing
• China was suffering even more
after the Boxer Rebellion was
crushed by the Europeans.
• At this point, Empress Ci Xi was
forced to embrace reforms of
education, administration and
legal systems.
Empress Ci Xi
• Problems arose when the new elite class of
merchants and professionals found that their new
power meant nothing and Empress Ci Xi still held
all decision making power.
The Rise of Sun Yat-sen
• The first signs of revolution appeared during
1890’s when Sun Yat-sen formed the Revive China
Society.
• Sun believed that the Qing Dynasty was in a
state of decay, but he also felt that while China
should follow the pattern of Western Countries,
he knew that the Chinese were not ready to have
their own democracy yet.
• Instead of pushing for a new democracy right
away, Sun developed a three-stage reform
process.
The Rise of Sun Yat-sen
• Sun Yat-sen’s three-stage
reform process was as follows:
• The First Stage would be a
Millitary Takeover
• The Second Stage would be a
transitional phase where Sun’s
party would prepare the Chinese
for Democracy
• The Third Stage called for the
establishment of a constitutional
democracy.
Sun Yat-sen
The Rise of Sun Yat-sen
• Sun Yat-sen met with other radical groups in
Tokyo in 1905 and formed the Revolutionary
Alliance, which Eventually became known as the
Nationalist Party.
• At the meeting in 1905, Sun called for the
following changes:
“Establish the Republic: Now our revolution is based
on equality, in order to establish a republican
government. All our people are equal and all enjoy
political rights… Equalize land ownership: The good
fortune of civilization is to be shared equally by all the
people of the nation”
- Sun Yat-sen, 1905
The Rise of Sun Yat-sen
• Sun’s new organization advocated his Three
People’s Principles, which promoted:
– Nationalism
– Democracy
– The Right of People to pursue their own livelihoods.
• Sun’s organization was small, but it benefited
from the rising discontent generated b y the
Qing Dynasty’s failure to improve conditions.
The Revolution of 1911
• In 1908 the Qing Dynasty was near its end.
Empress Downager Ci Xi died only one day after
here nephew Guang Xu, a prisoner in the palace
died.
• This left China’s “last emperor” Henry Pu Yi as
emperor, despite the fact that Henry Pu Yi was
only Two years old.
• Seeing that there was a very weak emperor on
the throne, followers of Sun Yat-sen launched a
rebellion in October of 1911.
The Revolution of 1911
• Despite the fact that Sun was
traveling in the United States, the
rebellion started by his followers
was too strong for the weak Qing
Dynasty, which collapsed.
• Because Sun’s party was not
strong enough to take power the
made a deal with General Yuan
Shigai, who had been a powerful
general in the Qing Dynasty.
General Yuan Shigai
The Revolution of 1911
• General Yuan Shigai agreed to serve
as president of the new Chinese
republic and allow the elections of a
legislature.
• General Yuan was not popular with
Sun’s Revolutionary Alliance, and
though they needed him to keep
power, they did not trusted.
• Yuan did not understand the new
ideas that were sweeping through
China from the west.
An Era of Civil War
• General Yuan Shigai was not popular during his
time as president. Traditionalist believed Yuan was
disloyal to the Qing Dynasty which had made him a
General.
• He was disliked by the reformers because he used
terror and murder to destroy the new democracy.
• Sun Yat-sen’s group, which was now known as the
Nationalist Party, launched another rebellion when
Yuan tried to eliminate the parliament, but they
were defeated and Sun Yat-sen fled to Japan.
An Era of Civil War
• General Yuan Shigai was strong enough to
beat back a revolution from Sun Yat-sen, but
he was not able to outlast nature, as he died
in 1916.
• Yuan was immediately succeeded by one of
his officers, but the country slipped into civil
war as the power of the central government
disintegrated and military warlords seized
power in the provinces.
Cultural Changes
Western Culture had a
dramatic effect on many
Chinese people, especially
those living in Cities.
Society in Transition
• When European traders began to move
into China in the mid 1800s, Chinese
society was already in transition.
• The Growth of trade was especially
noticeable in the cities where a national
market for products like oil, copper, salt,
tea and porcelain were being sold to the
Chinese instead of being shipped to other
countries.
Society in Transition
• A Money economy began to spring up in
China due to two main factors:
– Faster and More Reliable Transportation
– More efficient Banking and Money.
• Foreign investments in China grew
rapidly and new crops brought in from
abroad helped increase food
production.
Culture in Transition
• In 1800, daily life for most Chinese was
the same as it had been for centuries.
Most were farmers, living on millions of
villages of rive fields.
• A farmer’s life was governed by the
harvest cycle, village customs and family
ritual.
• 125 years later in 1925, life looked very
different for the Chinese:
Culture in Transition - 1925
• By 1925 Confucian social ideas were
rapidly declining in influence and the new
European Ideas were on the rise.
• Culture was one of the firs places to show
signs of western influence as the new
Chinese middle class embraced Western
art and Literature.
Focus Question
How did China change
as a result of Revolution
and Western Influence
?