China background knowledge Flashcards
Geography of China
- 9.6mil sq km
- diverse climate - Nth = drought + floods vs Sth = wet (rice) but typhoons
- div into provinces = often in conflict by warlords → out of control of central govt
- 55 diff ethnic groups but 90% Han Ch
- Mt ranges cover 60% land → only 15-30% land suitable for farming → maj pop live in coastal area along Yangzi + Yellow rivers
Key aspects of Chinese culture
Confucianism:
- filial peity
- lower status must respect higher status but ruling class expected to care for those below them
- priority = maintaining harmonious society → challenges to auth = challenges to nat order
→ foster culture of obedience + respect
Daoism:
- ‘way of the truth’ = harmony w nature
- must balance complementary forces in life (yin/yang)
→ accept social order bc that is natural order
Buddhism:
- Four Noble Truths: Life entails suffering/Suffering is bc of attachment/Suffering can be overcome if attachment is given up/Leading a virtuous, discipline life thru meditation → enlightenment (Nirvana)
→ accept social order bc hope in suffering for eternal bliss
Landlords/officials pre-1912
Landlords/officials:
- lived in towns → rent land to tenant farmers = managed by bailiffs
- 1850s 60% land owned by wealthy
- 1930s 4% pop but own 50% land
- informal local admins → settle legal disputes/raised militias to fight rebels/maintained infrastructure
- very corrupt = bribery/pressured peasants → sell land/tax peasants above govt rates
Mandate of Heaven
E = ‘son of heaven’ → ruled by divine right + must be obeyed + revered
Mandate of Heaven:
- force for change or stability
- E virtuous + rule wisely → peace/harmony guaranteed
- E X virtuous + rule wisely → Heaven show disapproval thru nat disasters or rebellions
t/f successful coups/rebellions = justified bc demo Heaven’s approval
→ revolution = ‘geming’ = ‘to abolish the mandate’
Challenges facing the Qing Dynasty
Long-term pressures:
- pop growth/land shortage → severe peasant pov
- Q court = complacent + corrupt → exasperated tensions bw ethnic grps + soc classes
- Q dynasty = Manchu X Han → lacked understanding to address rise of Han nationalism
Foreign encroachment on sovereignty (Century of Shame)
- Opium Wars → Unequal Treaties → Ch land concessions to W col powers
- W col powers est spheres of influence → extraterratorialism → Ch X prosecute foreigners crimes committed in SoIs
Peasant rebellions:
- peasants angry bc foreign exports undermine local trade/land shortages → pov/nat disasters
- Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) → 30-50mil killed
- Boxer Rebellion (late 1890s) challenged foreign powers but resulted in harsher treaty 1901
Lack of modernisation/failed reform:
- Self-strengthening Movement = mod infrastructure esp railway → fail
- Hundred Days of Reform → resisted by officials → E Guangxu house arrest
- 1901-09 New Govt period → prog reforms but only served to further highlight prev inadequacies → inc animosity towards dynastic system
foreign encroachment on sov
modernisation
pop growth + econ crisis
Peasants pre-1912
Peasants:
- 80% pop
- valued above merchants bc Confucianism applauds role supplying food
- lived villages of 10-100 fams
- long hours in fields
- sometimes called in to work on large govt construction proj
- pop growth = 1700 200mil, 1800 300mil, 1850 450mil → inc land prices → become tenant farmers
- avg life expectancy mid C19 = 25yo
- X social mobility bc pov + debt
Townspeople pre-1912
- diverse = merchants/soldiers/tradesppl/labourers
- wealth range
- bottom of soc heirarchy bc merchants make $ off other’s hard work + soldiers kill ppl (h/e conscription + many poor join army)
Women pre-1912
- least valued → X hold official pos except Empress Dowager
- $$$ men had concubines
- fam pay dowry to marry daughters off → serve whims of mother-in-law
- food scarcity → daughters allowed to die from neglect
- often daughters = X named
- footbinding
