China and Japan
Deirdre, Reagan, Ryan, Nik, Alex, and
Sean
China
Weakness of the Qing Dynasty
(1644 to 1911)
• Sino-centric philosophy, inability
of ruling class to modernize to
keep up with rival powers
• No access to outside world,
population felt no nationalism
• Isolationist policy/lack of trade
increased poverty and hurt foreign
relations
• Population explosion brought
need for recourses, reforms, and
modernization, Qing refused to
address the needs of the people
http://www.history-ofchina.com/qing-dynasty/
Weakness of the Qing Dynasty
(1644 to 1911)
• British led opium trade lead to inflation
and unease of peasants due to
addiction
• Boxer Rebellion reparations paid to
foreign powers, who carved up and
divided China
• Lost Korea and Taiwan, proving ruling
dynasty incapable of protecting
territories
• Sun Yat-sen led Republican Revolution
in 1911, creating central government,
and emphasizing nationalism,
democracy, and livelihood
Sun Yat-sen
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/13/chi
na-reflecting-on-100-years-since-the-xinhairevolution/
Background to the Opium War
• China utilized isolationist
policy prior to 1830
• British companies bought
huge amounts of opium to
smuggle into China
• 90% of male population
under 40 along the coast
was addicted
• 3,540,450 pounds of opium
imported to China in 1832
First Opium War
• Chinese officials
arrested Western
merchants and
confiscated huge
amount of opium
• 1840 - Britain invades
China
• By 1841 Britain easily
won against
technological inferior
China
• 1842 - China forced to
sign Treaty of Nanking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Destroying_Chinese_war_jun
ks,_by_E._Duncan_(1843).jpg
Second Opium War
• 1857 - Great Britain, USA,
France, Russia invaded
China for trivial matter
• 1858 - crushed China into
signing Treaty of Tientsin,
which China did not ratify
• 1860 - Anglo-French
invades China again, forces
China to sign Treaty of
Peking
Open Door Policy
• 1899 & 1900
• All nations allowed equal access
to open trading ports
• Only Chinese government
allowed to collect taxes on trade
• No great power exempt from
paying harbor dues or railroad
charges
• Scramble for spheres of influence
after 1st Sino-Japanese Ware
(1894-1895)
Open Door Policy
• American interested in Chinese
market for cheap cotton goods
• U.S. late to imperialistic growth in
China
• All nations except Japan
acknowledged the importance of
keeping China’s territorial and
administrative integrity
• Re-circulated notes again in 1900
• Overall led to Manchurian crisis of
1931 and war between China and
Japan in 1937
Boxer Rebellion
• Anti-foreigner uprising in Qing, China
• Lasted between Nov. 1899 and
Sept.1901
• Ended with the signing of the Boxer
Protocol, which mandated the
execution of several high-ranking
Boxer officials
• Occurred under Empress Tsu Hsi of the
Ch'ing Dynasty's rule
• Reasons include exploitation of natural
resources and the splitting of China
through the powers of many foreign
countries
The Boxers
• AKA "Fists of Righteous
Harmony," a secret society
with thousands of followers
• Wanted to rid China of all
foreign countries, especially
Western nations
• Killed thousands of
foreigners and surrounded
foreigner compound for 2
months until international
forces got involved
Japan
The Meiji Restoration (1868)
• 1800s - Japan was ruled by the
Tokugawa Shogun
• European treaties limited Japan
economically
• 1868 - Emperor of Japan was
restored to power
• Resulting social and economic
reforms became known as the
Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Emperor
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkin
s/meiji.htm
The Meiji Restoration (1868)
• Samurai privileges were
revoked
• Utilized the zaibatsu system
• Established a national army
and national education
• 1899 - the government
created a new constitution
Samurai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai
Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)
• Japan is a major, expanding, and
industrializing nation
• China and Japan fight for
influence in Korea
• Tonghak rebellion in Korea leads
to Chinese troop interventionwar is declared
• Japan successfully invades vital
provinces and fortifications
• Treaty of Shimonseeki ends
conflict
• China goes through reform
movement as a result
http://www.cityofart.net/bship/sino-jap.html
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
• Russia vs. Japan rivalry in Korea and Manchuria
• Japan is greater than Russia in terms of ground
troops in far East
• Feb. 8, 1904-Japanese fleet sieges Port Arthur
• Russia has poor leadership
• Japan’s victorious in the Battle of Mukden(land)
and Battle of Tsushima(sea)
• Russia loses-Theodore Roosevelt=mediator at
Treaty of Portsmouth
• Results: Japan gains land,
Russia gives up land, and
creates constitutional charter
Citations
• www.afe.easia.columbia.edu
• http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/meiji.html
• http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opi
umwars1.html
• www.u-s-history.com
• www.britannica.com
• www.smplanet.com/imperialism/fists.html
• www.militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1900s/p/boxer
eb.htm
• www.asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryae/g/GlosBoxerRebe
ll.htm
• www.larevuetoudi.org/en/story/quing-dynasty