Chapter 1: The fall of the Qing, Warlordism and Chaos 1900-34 Flashcards
(60 cards)
what was the place of origin of the qing dynasty?
Manchuria- outside of china
Who mainly ruled the country?
the Manchus- this fueled resentment towards them as 90% of the population were the Han
What were some of the strengths of the Manchu culture?
-self sufficient
-culture- saw themselves as superior to the world
-confucianism- made people obedient to rulers and class system (status quo
-Emperor had all the power
What were some of the weakneses of the Manchu culture?
seen as being foreign
Who were the mandarins
they were the social and political elite.
What were the internal weaknesses of the Qing dynasty?
-seen as being foreign
-large peasant class (poverty)
-qing government had not expanded enough to run china
-weak army
-drug addiction
-tax collection became more difficult
-size of peasant population doubled
Foreign threats towards the qing
-Humiliation by foreign powers who aimed to extend their power and wealth in china- opium wars
-britain gained great wealth due to victory in opium wars (1839, 1856
-Japan had defeated China in war in 1894
-France sized territory in the south
what was the domestic rebellion called during the Qing dynasty? dates?
1850-1864 Taiping rebellion
What happened during the first opium war?
-early 1800s- britain smuggle opium to china to get silver back due to a silver drain from its economy
-By 1820s millions were addicted
-By 1830s China ried to stop the opium trade
-1839- crackdown on opium in , seizes and destroys British opium → triggers the First Opium War
1882: China loses and signs the Treaty of Nanjing — pays a large silver indemnity to Britain.
what happened during second opium war
1856–1860: Second Opium War follows further trade disputes and ends with more Chinese silver payments and more ports opened to the West.
What were the consequences of opium wars
-emphasised how weak the chinese were against Britain
-china was open to foreign trade- china loses money and doesnt get anything in return- foreign influences in technology, religion and law
Why were the Qing failing to rule china effectively?
-sino-centric- china-focuses, hermit country
-mandarin system: system of government and hierarchy, selective about rules and changes
-Military weakness: Outdated weapons and strategies couldn’t match Western firepower during the Opium Wars.
what was the boxer rebellion
an attack on westerners that broke out in 1899 in Shandong northern China. The uprising spread to three of Chinas north-eastern provinces by 1900
Factors that led to boxer rebellion
-in 1898 Emperor Guangxu tried to modernise the government and end its policy of making concessions to foreigners- this was opposed by his aunt empress dowager cixi. reforms were ended
-the chinese hatred of ‘foreign devils’ included hatred of their religion as well as fear of their technology, especially railways and telegraph wires- fueled attcks on foreigners
-Cixi encouraged attacks on foreigners to avoid criticism of imperial rule
Events of the boxers rebellion
-By late 1890s a chinese secret group, (boxers) carried out attcks on foreigners and chinese christians
-These boxers were mostly peasants
-the attacks began in shandong then heibei, shanxi and henan in north east china
-burning of churces and schools and mrder of foreign and chinese christians
-german ambassador shot in beijing- the western population went to british legation which was surrounded by boxers for 55 days in a siege
-westerners raised an international force which broke the seige
-boxers were executed
impacts of the boxer rebellion
-as a result of the violence, 67 million pounds went to european coalition
-china was forbidden from importing firearms
-destruction of military
-long term: 1911 revolution + fall of Qing
-officials executed
-More foreigners, influence
-CIxi brings in a series of reforms
what were Cixis reforms - 1902-11
-1909- introduction of provincial assemblies with a limited right to vote- only some can vote
-1908-the establishment of new army under Manchu control
-1910-11- establishment of a national consultative council to be a cabinet with responsibility to advise govt.
-1905- reform of the civil service- removal of the traditional examination that had led to a mandarin domination of the civil service
-nationalisation of railways to provide greater control by Qing govt.
-educational reforms with the establishment of new naval and military academies and the introduction of scholarships for ppl to study abroad
what did cixis 1902-1911 reforms actually do overall?
negative impact on the Qing keeping power as almost all of them led to new ideas being brought in
What were the short term causes of the 1911 revolution
Weak Government
Emperor Guangxu and Empress Cixi died in 1908
New emperor Puyi was only 2 years old
Prince Chun ruled as regent – inexperienced
Failed Political Reforms (1909–1911)
Reforms were too limited and came too late to satisfy demand
Army Reform Backfired
Costly = higher taxes (wine, tea, salt, land)
Prince Chun fired Yuan Shikai (powerful general), who became bitter and later helped the revolution
Rise of Revolutionary Ideas
Sun Yat-sen promoted nationalism and republicanism
Argued Qing had to go for China to modernise – many agreed
Railway Resentment
Qing nationalised railways, angering provinces
To fund railways, they borrowed from Western powers, giving more control to foreigners – fueled anti-Qing anger.
who supported the boxers
Cixi who declared war on the foreigners. later cixi and guangxu fled to xian after the rebellion
long term causes of the 1911 revolution
-conflict between cixi and guangxu
-foreign powers infiltrating china
-taiping rebellion- costly, 15 years of fighting, taxes higher
-the manchus perceived as foreigners so resented
what happened in taiping rebellion?
A massive civil war in China led by Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be Jesus’ brother.
Qing, with help from Western powers, crushed the rebellion after 14 years.
events of the 1911 revolution
Oct 9: Accidental bomb in Hankou sparked rebellion.
Oct 10 (Double Tenth): Soldiers in Wuhan mutinied; revolt spread fast.
Southern provinces declared independence from Qing.
Yuan Shikai, a dismissed general, joined rebels for revenge.
He returned to Beijing and helped form a Han-led government.
results of the 1911 revolution
On 1 Jan 1912, Sun Yat-sen became president of the new republic.
On 12 Feb 1912, Emperor Puyi abdicated, ending over 2,000 years of imperial rule.
Yuan Shikai then took power and led a provisional government 1912-1916.
