The Qing Dynasty
Chinese censorship
The Manchu create the Qing Dynasty 1650
 The Manchu elite adopted Chinese ways in
bureaucracy and court ceremonies.
 The Qing dynasty ruled an area larger than
any previous dynasty had (except the Tang).
Manchu Rule
 Retained much of the political
system of the Ming, but assumed a
more direct role in appointing local
officials, and reduced their tax
exemptions.
 Chinese and Manchu officials were
paired at the highest posts.
 The examination system continued.
 The rulers were generous patrons
of the arts and employed scholars
to compile great encyclopaedias of
Chinese learning.
Society in the Early Centuries of Qing
Rule
 Maintained the social system of the




Ming.
Rank and the acceptance of
hierarchy were emphasized.
Extended family remained the core
unit among the elite.
Women continued to be subservient
to men.
 Their lives centered on the
household.
 Daughters were less wanted than
sons.
 female infanticide rose.
Lower-class women continued to
work in fields and markets.
Economy
 Commercial and urban expansion increased during the first




century of Manchu rule.
The influx of silver in payment for exports created a favorable
balance of payments.
European traders came to Canton, and Chinese merchants
traveled overseas.
A new group of merchants, the compradors, who specialized in
the import-export trade were a major link between China and the
outside world.
Population quadrupled to approx.
420,000,000. why?
Qing Decline
 The exam system was riddled by cheating and
favoritism.
 Positions in government service were seen as a
method of gaining influence and building family
fortunes.
 Revenue loss weakened the military and dikes
deteriorated along the Yellow River.
 By the middle of the19th century, flooding left
millions of peasants without resources.
Qing Decline
 Banditry increased.
 The existing Chinese social and economic
systems couldn’t cope with the changes
stemming from the greatly increased population
resulting from the introduction of American
crops.
The Opium War: Causes
 The Manchu continued to treat Europeans as
barbarians
 Advances by Europeans in science and industry
made them serious rivals to the empire.
 British had lacked commodities to exchange for
Chinese goods.
 The importation of opium from India into China,
reversed the trade balance in their (British) favor.
The Opium War: Causes
 Chinese saw the trade as a
threat to their economy and
social order.
 Silver left the country.
 Opium addiction became
rampant.
 Initial government efforts to
check the problem failed.
Immediate Cause of the Opium War
 In 1830s, an important official, Lin Zexu, was
appointed to end the trade at Canton.
 European trading areas were blockaded and
opium destroyed.
 British merchants demanded and received
British military intervention.
The Opium War 1839-1842
 Chinese technology had fallen far behind the British
as a result of industrialization.
 Chinese were defeated on sea and land and sued for
peace.
Treaty of Nanjing 1842
 First in a a series of unequal treaties.
 Awarded Hong Kong to the British
 Opened more ports to European trade and
residence.
 Won the right to extraterritoriality.
Legacy of the Treaty
 By the 1890s, 90 ports were open
and foreigners had gained longterm leases over ports and
surrounding territory.
 Opium continued to pour into
China.
 By mid-century, British officials
managed China’s foreign trade and
customs, and the court had to
accept European ambassadors.
The Taiping Rebellion 1850-1865
 European incursions spawned a massive rebellion in






southern China.
Led by cult leader Hong Xiuquan (shee-OH-chew-ahn)
who wished to create a “Heavenly Kingdom of Peace.”
Rebels offered called for social reform, land redistribution,
and liberation of women.
Traditional Chinese elite were attacked.
Aristocracy rallied to the Qing and helped crush the
rebellion.
Western powers, fearing a the establishment of a newer,
stronger dynasty, aided the Qing.
12 years of war and 20 million deaths weakened China,
and gave foreign nations a stronger footing.
The “Self-Strengthening” Movement
 Led by provincial leaders.
 Aimed at countering the challenge of the




West.
Encouraged foreign investment in
infrastructure and military modernization.
Wanted only to preserve the existing order,
not to transform it.
The Manchu and the scholar-gentry resisted
reform and opposed the movement.
Empress Cixi (zoo shee) she crushed a
serious reform effort in 1898.
Spheres of Influence: European
Imperialism in China
 In late 19th century, European states began to
negotiate directly with local leaders for
exclusive trading rights.


Railroad and mining privileges
Trade monopolies
The Boxer Rebellion 1900
 Cixi encouraged rebellion of secret society against foreigners.
 Members of the Daoist-martial arts society known as the
Righteous Fists of Harmony attacked foreign quarters in
Beijing.
 International force, including
Japan and the United States,
crushed the rebellion
and forced Qing to pay
indemnity.
The Chinese Revolution of 1911
 Chinese students worked to
overthrow the Qing after the
Boxer Rebellion.
 Revolutionary Alliance was led
by Western educated Sun Yatsen (Yixian)
 Sun's goals were outline in his
Three Principles of the People.
Three Principles of the People
 Nationalism: self-determination for China
 Democracy: self-rule with a constitution
 Socialism: state-directed modernization and
land reform
Qing Overthrown
 Military mutinied against the Qing.
 Revolutionaries elected Sun president of






the Republic of China in 1911.
Pu Yi, the last Emperor, abdicated.
Without military backing Sun had to resign within
weeks.
Assembly elected Yuan Shilai, a regional warlord,
president.
Sun organized his followers into a nationalist
political party known as the Guomindang (National
People's Party), but was crushed by Yuan.
Foreign influence in China continued.
Imperial, Confucianist China was no longer.