ID terms Flashcards
1
Q
British East India Company
A
- monopoly formed for the exploitation of trade with East and SE Asia, focused in the Canton area in China
- 1720’s- Canton merchants established Cohong system- their guide to regulate foreign trade
- the British continuously violated Chinese guidelines and sailed into Northern/unauthorized ports
- began importing opium into Qing china in late 1700’s to offset their trade loses since China was not interested in British goods
- led to many problems with widespread addiction to opium and foreign presence in China following the edict that banned the product
2
Q
Opium
A
- caused lots of problems in Qing China
- its import by the company was a solution to the imbalance of trade goods with Britain
- accounted for 50% of imports in 19th century
- mass inflow cut inflow of silver and made taxes more expensive
- social problems with widespread addiction in countryside
- banning led to emergence of drug traffickers/mafias
- all this led to 1st and 2nd opium wars and marked the beginning of the gunman diplomacy and century of unequal treaties
3
Q
Treaty of Nanjing
A
- peace treaty that ended the 1st opium war between the British and Qing China in 1842
- marked the beginning of the era of unequal treaties
- China agreed to many things and got nothing from Britain in return
- resulted in 1) agreement to pay for flooded opium 2) open access to Hong Kong 3) allowing foreign trade/ reasonable tariff 4) making Britain the most favored nation 5) consular jurisdiction
- ended the Canton system
- Li Zhexu sunk opium
4
Q
Nian Rebellion
A
- revolt in Northern/Central China from 1851-1868 sparked by the Qing dynasty’s unresponsiveness to natural disasters, increased poverty, a lack of jobs and government support
- was an attempt to cast government control
- failed to topple the Qing dynasty but did put a topple on the economy
- Qing government put an end to this under the leadership of military officials Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang
- unlike other rebellions, it did not have a clear objective with what would happen next if the rebels won
5
Q
Hong Xiuquan
A
- Chinese leader of the Taiping rebellion
- representative of those who continuously failed the exams
- believed he was the Christian god’s Chinese son and younger brother of Jesus Christ whose mission on Earth was to cleanse China of the Qing and launch a paradise on Earth
- Wanted to refashion society according to an egalitarian ideology in which people left traditional practices (ex. ancestor worship) and took on stringent and radical ideals
- was a proponent of gender equality and seggreation, the banning of opium and recreational activities (including dancing and sex), land socialization, etc
- did not succeed because his ideals were too radical for the time and was suppressed by regional leaders
6
Q
Taiping Rebellion
A
- known as the mother of all rebellions, as it combined elements from prior Chinese uprisings and Western rebellions
- took place in Southern China from 1851-1864
- a civil/holy war under the leadership of Hong Xiuquan against the Qing empire
- moved northward towards Nanjing and made it its capital in 1853
- failed due to the disintegration of central leadership, the lack of enactment of land reforms, and the absence of the utopian society that was promised
- eventually led to warlord period
7
Q
Zeng Guofan
A
- Confucian scholar and Qing official who raised effective military forces against the Taiping rebellion in Southern China and later suppressed the Nian rebellion in the North
- restored order by restoring the Confucian education system, the exam system, and re-organizing agriculture
- set the scene for the Tongzhi restoration to arrest dynastic decline
8
Q
Li Hongzhang
pick another one
A
- leader of the self-strengthening movement who helped eradicate the Nian and Taiping rebellions following Zeng Guofan
(- passed all levels of exam, very bright man - supported the Chinese educational mission to send youth to study in the US- self-strengthening movement
- founded Tianjin military academy)
9
Q
Tongzhi restoration
A
- an attempt to arrest Qing dynastic decline by restoring traditional order
- led by empress Dowager CiXi, mother of young emperor Tongzhi
- was supposed to lower farm taxes, undertake water control projects, adapt western methods and education and technology
- yet it was not a legitimate program of modernization, as it applied practical knowledge but reaffirmed an old mentality
- the reforms that took place only benefited affected the upper class / elites
- Confucian officials hoped that adapting Western methods of education/technology could preserve China’s traditional culture from being destroyed by the West
- overlapped with the Self-Strengthening movement and stalled it due to conflicting interests (from the elites)
10
Q
Self-Strengthening Movement
A
- period of institutional reforms during the late Qing dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers
- Qing officials recognized the importance / need to strengthen China to fend off Western imperialists
- promoted industrial reforms in the provinces
- wanted to establish modern institutions, develop basic industries, communication, transportation, and modernize the military by implementing Western technologies
- main problem was the lack of focus in the movement and boycotting from within
- Conservatives and CiXi opposed adopting Western manners and slowed down the modernization projects
11
Q
Treaty of Shimonoseki
A
- an unequal treaty signed between Japan and Qing China in 1895 that ended the first Sino-Japanese war following a peace conference
- treaty solidified Japan’s status as the victor and forced China to cede large parts of its territory (Pescadores Islands, Liaodong Peninsula, and Taiwan) and made China agree to pay reparations
- marked China’s first major loss of territories
- proof of Japan’s expansion of their sphere of influence- turning point of power in Asia (shaped the world)
- a start for the Japanese to pursue a more aggressive stance in foreign policy and territorial expansion
- made Japan the most favored nation
- China’s loss triggered the need for modernization and Westernization
12
Q
Spheres of Influence
A
- guaranteed specific trading privileges to each nation within its respective sphere
- eventually, the US demanded equal trading status with China and announced the Open Door policy in 1899, allowing all nations to have qual trading rights regardless of influences. this did little to restore China’s sovereignty
- “Carving the Melon”- the Qing government feared the Westerns would take control of all the land
- Germany, France, and Britain all (semi-forcefully) leased regions in China
13
Q
Liang Qichao
A
- prominent intellectual leader in China during the early 20th century/late Qing dynasty
- reinterpreted Confucian classics in an attempt to utilize tradition as a justification for the innovations he prescribed for Chinese culture
- favored Darwinism
- believed there was a greater need for educational reforms over technological innovations (the focus of the self-strengthening movement)
- favored the abolishment of the exam system and encouraged the establishment of a national school system
- encouraged more elite participation and political reforms
- supported the 100 days reform and was forced to flee China following its failure
- also significant for introducing the idea of modern Chinese nationalism
14
Q
100 Days Reform
A
- 1898 103 day imperial attempt to reform the Chinese government, economy, education, and social system under young Guangxu emperor following the defeat with Japan
- abolished the examination system and adopted national schools/universities
- revamped government, changed law code, and reformed the military
- changes threatened the elites
- Empress Dowager Ci Xi and conservative elites engineered a coup d’etat and forced Guangxu into seclusion
- CiXi took over the empire and rescinded all the edicts + executed those that led/were in favor of the reforms (many fled China)
- only new institution kept was the University of Beijing
- - failure of 10 days reform marked the last attempt at a radical revolution by the imperial regime in China*
15
Q
Boxer Uprising
A
- peasant uprising originating in Shandong triggered by the scarcity of food & resources and Qing unresponsiveness and fueled by a strong anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiment
- blamed foreigners for the loss of the traditional Chinese way of life
- boxers represented the peasants’ superstition and violence that China needed to overcome to become a modern nation
- boxers practiced martial arts and entered a trance-like state, which made them feel invulnerable
- Empress Ci Xi’s attitudes towards reform shifted due to pressure from the uprising
- government was split between supporting the Boxers or favoring conciliation with foreign powers
- Ci Xi ended up declaring war on the imperial powers
- ended up needing to ask them for help to suppress the uprising
- help was contingent on the uprising being recognized as a rebellion
- uprising ended with Boxer Protocol of 1901- agreed to pay debt of relief mission, allowed stationing of foreign troops, razed fortifications
- resulted in an increase in anti-Chinese sentiment / Yellow Terror abroad
- elites began supporting reforms
