China’s Response to the
Challenges from the West
1840-1949
Session 3
Table of Contents
I. Challenges from the West
II. China’s Reaction
1.
2.
3.
The Self-Strengthening Movement from
1860s to 1890s
Political Reform in 1898 & Revolution in
1911
The New Cultural Movement from 1919 to
1923
III. Struggle between socialism, liberalism &
bureaucratic capitalism from 1921 to 1949
IV. Conclusion
I. Challenge from the West
1. Opium trade in China and Qing’s response
2. Consequences
 Military defeats
 Territorial loss
 Self-sufficient economy disintegrated
 Social disturbances
 Diplomatic submission
 Cultural attitude toward the West
I-1. The Opium trade and China’s response
 China-Britain trade:
 1800-1810: 26 million taels of
silver to China
 1831-1833: 10 million taels of
silver out of China
 Commissioner Lin Zexu took
actions in 1839 and banned opium
trade
 Lin’s letter to Queen Victoria
Letter to Queen Victoria
• ……
• I have heard that the smoking of opium is very
strictly forbidden by your country; that is because
the harm caused by opium is clearly understood.
Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own
country, then even less should you let it be passed
on to the harm of other countries—how much less
to China!
• Suppose there were people from another country
who carried opium for sale to England and
seduced your people into buying and smoking it;
certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate
it and be bitterly aroused.
Discussion
 Would Great Britain change its policy to invade China
through military force if Commissioner Lin would not
confiscate English merchants’ opium?
 Do you think that Queen Victoria would accept Lin’s
argument against opium trade?
Military Defeats
 The First Opium War from 1839-1842
 Movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44wJZqy6W8
The Immobile Empire: the first great collision of
East & West - Alain Peyrefitte
“The pastoral world of mills driven by donkeys was gone,
and the horse gave way to the steam engine.” Great
Britain became the most powerful industrial county in
the world. In this way:
 “He who controls trade controls the world’s wealth, and
therefore the world itself.”
– Lord Walter Raleigh to Elizabeth.
 “Shortly after 1763 Lord Clive, flushed with his recent
victories over the Mogul Empire and the French,
proposed that he be sent to conquer China by armed
force.”
Continue:
 “Every British citizen knew the words to the anthem
of that ambition: Rule, Britannia/Britannia rules
the waves.” As rulers of the waves, eight million
Britons were confident that they could speak as
masters to three hundred million Chinese.”
 “The fact was that the East was going to have to
open its doors to the West, whose masters now
proclaimed, asserting their own power and
interests, that the world was on and that they
intended to travel it and trade in it freely.”
The Nanking Treaty in 1842
 An
indemnity of $21 million
Abolish of the Canton trade system
 Opening of five ports for trade &
residence of English officials, merchants
and their families
 Concession of Hong Kong

 “A great change in more than three
thousand years of history” – Li Hongzhang
Military Confrontations
 The Second Opium War from 1856-
1860
 The Sino-French War from 1883-1885
 The Sino-Japanese War from 1894-1895
 China vs. 8 Powers in 1900 (the Boxer
Rebellion)
 The Sino-Japanese War from 1931-1945
Foreign Powers in China
Territorial Loss
 Hong Kong
 Macao
 Taiwan
 Tributary states:
 Korean
 Vietnam
Self-sufficient Economy Disintegrated &
Domestic Rebellions
The Taiping Rebellion broke out from 1850-1864.
It ravaged 17 provinces, destroyed more than 600 cities,
took an estimated 20 million lives, it weakened the
Qing rule significantly.
Diplomatic Submission & Cultural Attitude
Changes
The “most favored nation" status
Extraterritoriality
Custom House controlled by Robert
Hart
Cultural Attitude Transferred from
Superiority to Self-depreciation
II. Reaction & Solutions
II-1. The Self-strengthening Movement from 1861-1895
 Weaponry & military Industry
 Increase national wealth through industrialization
 The North Ocean Navy
“Learn superior barbarian technique with which to
repel the barbarians”- Wei Yuan
The Sino-Japanese War from 1894-1895
A whole navy was destroyed and the end of the selfstrengthening movement
 The navy fund and the South Ocean Navy’s neutral
position
II-2. Political Institutional Transformation
(1898-1912)
New thinking: it is far from enough only to learn
western technology and industry. China needs to
make political changes.
Political Reform : 100-Day Reform (6/11-9/21, 1898)
“The New Deal” - to transfer an absolute
monarchy to a constitutional monarchy
o Empress Dowager Ci Xi vs. Emperor Guangxu
(photo)
o The consequence of the failure of the Reform
o
Empress Dowager Cixi & Emperor Guangxu
Sun Yah-sen’s Revolution in 1911
 Overthrow
Manchurian Rule internally
and drive imperialist powers externally
 Three People’s Principles
1)People’s National Consciousness /
Nationalism
2)People’s Rights / Democracy
3)People’s Livelihood / Socialism
Results:
1) Republic of China was established in
1912
2) War-lords competition and chaos
followed
II-3. The New Cultural Movement from 1917 to 1923
 “Down with Confucianism”
 “Welcome Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science”
- Chen Duxiu
 John Dewey vs. Bertrand Russel
 Liberalism vs. Socialism
III. Victory of Socialism
World War I
The Paris Treaty in 1919
The May Fourth Movement in 1919
 President Wilson’s dilemma
 Lenin’s promise
The Birth of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921
GMD (Nationalists) vs. CCP (Communists)
Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) vs. Mao Zedong
Pro-American force vs. pro-Russian force
1949: Mao defeated Jiang and established People’s
Republic of China.
IV. Conclusion
Facing the Challenges from the West after 1840,
Chinese civilization declined significantly. In
order to avoid the fate of destruction, Chinese
people made radical changes economically,
politically, and culturally. After one hundred
years struggle from 1840-1949, China avoided
the fate of colony or extinction and entered the
world as an independent country with
sovereignty .
Questions
What are the differences between the
three changes in China from 1860s-1911?
Why?
Why Could Mao defeat Jiang even though
the U.S. supported Jiang?
What would happen between the US and
China is Mao lost?
Thank you!
Questions?