Qing China – a brief summary
For centuries, the Chinese felt satisfied that their civilization was superior to the barbarians
outside their empire. After all, their neighbors adopted many aspects of Chinese culture, and
European were traveling long distances just to buy silk, tea, and porcelain. As a result, the
Chinese placed strict limits on foreign traders. They allowed foreign ships to unload cargoes only
at a few ports (Macao, Canton, Guangzhou, Hong Kong), and foreigners could only sell their
goods to certain Chinese merchants. These limits worked well at first, because the early Qing
dynasty was strong enough to enforce these laws.
By the late 1700s, the tide of global power had begun to turn. In particular, two developments
were underway that would have major effects on China’s relations with the West. First, the Qing
dynasty entered a period of decline. Burdened with high taxes and limited land, the increasing
peasant population had a hard time growing enough food to survive. Second, the Industrial
Revolution was rapidly increasing the economic and military power of Europeans over their
global rivals.
As European power advanced (unbeknownst to the Chinese), Europeans were increasingly
frustrated by their subordinate trade position and restrictions. For example, by the late 1700s,
Europeans refused to kowtow to the Chinese emperor, a symbol which showed that foreigners
accepted their inferior status. Also, Europeans resented being restricted to only a few ports.
Europe wanted to be accepted as equal trade partners. In response to these demands,
Emperor Qianlong of China stated, “As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all
things. I set no value on objects strange and ingenious and have no use for your country’s
manufactures.” With these words, China firmly turned down Britain’s request for more trading
rights in the late 1700s.
Yet, with modern ships, the British could reach distant lands and use military strength to back
their demands, so when diplomacy failed to bring change, the British resorted to other means.
During the late 1700s, Britain began to sell opium that was grown in India to China. Other
Western nations also entered the opium trade. By the early 1800s, many Chinese had become
addicted to the drug. The opium trade drained China’s supply of silver, which was used to pay
for the drug.
The Chinese government tried to stop the illegal drug trade by passing harsh laws. The
importation of opium was banned, and smugglers who were caught faced the death penalty.
In 1839, as illegal deliveries from Britain continued, the Chinese destroyed a British shipment of
opium, and war broke out. In the Opium War, the Chinese were no match for the British. Even
though the Chinese had invented gunpowder and cannons, their weapons were outdated.
With their superior naval technology, the British soon defeated the Chinese.
The Treaty of Nanjing, which ended the Opium War, was the first of many “unequal treaties.” In
it, the Chinese had to accept British terms for peace. The emperor agreed to pay for the opium
that had been destroyed. He also agreed to give Britain the island of Hong Kong and to open
other ports to British trade. The Treaty of Nanjing showed that the Chinese could no longer set
the terms of trade. Before long, France, Russia, Germany, and the United States concluded
similar treaties with the Qing emperor.
By the late 1800s, the western powers had carved up China into spheres of influence. A sphere
of influence is an area in which a foreign nation has special economic privileges, such as the
right to build railroads and factories. Economic rights also gave westerners political influence.
Japan, too, expanded into China. During the late 1800s, Japan adopted western technology
and modernized its industries. By 1895, a strengthened Japan was able to defeat China in the
Sino-Japanese War. As a result, Japan won control of the island of Formosa (modern-day
Taiwan) and also extended influence over Korea. But, the loss of territory to foreigners was just
one sign of China’s weakness under the decaying Qing dynasty.
In addition to growing foreign influence, a series of revolts and reforms further weakened China
during the same period. Many peasant revolts in response to growing hardship erupted in the
late 1800s, but the most serious peasant uprising was the religiously inspired Taiping Rebellion.
Beginning in 1851, a young man, Hong Xiuquan, attempted to overthrow the Qing. Inspired by
his conversion to Christianity and failed civil service exams, the Taiping rebels took control of
large parts of southern China, and at its height, ruled about 30 million people. The Taiping
agenda included social reforms such as shared "property in common," equality for women, and
the replacement of Confucianism, Buddhism and Chinese folk religion with their form of
Christianity. After 14 years and more than 20 million killed, The Qing government eventually
crushed the rebellion with the aid of French and British forces. Even though the Qing crushed
the rebels, the fighting further weakened the dynasty. The Taiping Rebellion marked the
beginning of a long, slow revolution in China.
After the Opium War and Taiping Rebellion, some Chinese called for reforms in government and
society. One such effort, known as The Self-Strengthening Movement (c 1861–1895), was a series
of institutional reforms initiated by advisors in the late Qing Dynasty. Reformers wanted to
introduce modern technology to China. “Learn the superior technology of the barbarians to
control the barbarians,” they declared. Although the reformers saw the need for western
technology, they also wanted to preserve Confucian culture. Under pressure, the government
began a series of reforms. The Self-Strengthening Movement set up factories to produce
modern weapons, built dockyards to update China’s ships, sent young men abroad to study,
and hired foreign advisors to train Chinese artisans. It was believed that the intelligence and
wisdom of the Chinese civilization was superior to those of Western "barbarians", and thus China
would first learn from foreigners, then equal them, and finally surpass them. As such, the "selfstrengtheners" were by and large uninterested in any social reform beyond the scope of
economic and military modernization. But, the majority of the ruling elite, led by Ci Xi, a widow
of a former emperor, still subscribed to a conservative Confucian worldview. Conservatives’
opposition to reform ultimately undermined the Self-Strengthening Movement.
In 1898, a young emperor of China initiated a new program known as the Hundred Days of
Reforms. He issued sweeping laws aimed at social and institutional changes by updating the
civil service exams, organizing western-style schools, creating a constitutional monarchy, and
promoting industrialization and capitalism. Threatened by changes to the traditional Confucian
order, conservatives and Ci Xi opposed the reforms and engineered a coup to seize power.
With moderate reformers removed, conservative elements of society tightly gripped power.
Efforts at Western reforms and a growing number of foreign missionaries and business people
sparked a xenophobic hostility among conservatives to Westerners and their ideas. Anti-foreign
Chinese soon took strong action. They formed a group, called the Boxers by westerners, to expel
all foreign influence. Empress Ci Xi secretly encouraged the Boxers. In 1900, the Boxers attacked
and killed many Chinese Christians and foreigners. Boxer forces surrounded the foreign
diplomatic quarter in Beijing. The western powers then quickly organized an international army,
which crushed the Boxers. As a result of the Boxer Rebellion, China was forced to allow foreign
troops on Chinese soil and foreign warships in Chinese waters.
Ci Xi remained in power after the uprising, but radical reformers stepped up their demands to
end the Qing dynasty and the embarrassment that its leadership wrought in China. In 1911, after
years of decline and effective leadership, the dynastic system collapsed with no well-organized
government to replace the Qing. In 1912, China declared itself a republic, ending the ancient
system of imperial rule, but civil war raged between 1911 and 1928, with many people claiming
the right to rule China.