19^th Century China

• Kangxi and Qianlong

  • Well respected, hardworking and intelligent emperors of the previous century

  • In contrast to 19^th Century who were corrupt

• The Opium War was eminent

  • Monetary and fiscal decline

  • China relied on silver from South America

    • Supplies constrained with collapse of Spanish empire

  • Britain found it unsuitable to ship large amounts of silver from Europe

    • Instead began to ship opium from India in exchange for silver

    • Further constraining silver supply

  • Constraints of silver led to problems with tax collection

    • Farmers were unhappy to pay in silver, which was dramatically increasing in value

  • In response, the government began to sell official ranks in return for silver

    • Against the tradition of civil examination system

    • Broke trust and principles in the bureaucracy

• China conceded Hong Kong

  • Although it was only rocks in the ocean back then

• Also opened up treaty ports

  • China was previously very closed

• Chinas response to the opium/silver problem was slow

• China could not grasp the concept of western politics

  • Not used to warring nations and foreign competition

• 19^th century also so an increase in natural disasters and more frequent rebellion

The Challenge and Response Framework

• Most prominent framework of studying Chinese history since Opium war

  • Highly influential and effective

• “Western challenge and Chinese response”

• Advocated by John King Fairbank

• Modern Chinese challenge was to search for an ideology and institutional response to the Western imperialism

• Has some critics

  • Paul Cohen et al. argue that it neglects:

    • Internal dynamism

    • The backlash against Western influence

  • Overemphasizes external factors

  • Western influence had huge regional variation

    • Barely reached the Hinterland

    • Focused on treaty port areas

  • Chinas response was also economically rational and not just political or ideological

Liang Qichao’s 3 stages of reform in modern China

• 1^st stage: introduce Western technology

  • Primarily military

• 2^nd stage: institutional reforms

  • When 1^st stage failed

  • Introduce Western style government, law and modern enterprise

• 3^rd stage: cultural reform

  • Negation of Confucius ideology

Opium Wars

• Arrival of Western imperialism in China

• Britain had little appetite for colonization

  • Instead led to ‘free-trade’

• Treaty ports placed Western commercial and political institutions in China

The Taiping Rebellion (1850 to 1864)

• Started in Southern China

• Caused huge damage to central and lower Yangzi regions

• Two reasons for importance:

  • Human cost (from 20 to 100 million)

  • Qing government were bankrupted

    • Near hyperinflation

• As a result, local militia rebellions formed and mobilized

  • Took kelp from Westerners

  • Introduced guns and modern warfare to China

• Decline of Manchu military power

• Rise of local Han Chinese bureaucrats

The Tongzhi Restoration (1860 to 1874)

• A period of trying to restore China after the Taiping Rebellion

• Revival of traditional regime led by capable bureaucrats

  • Zeng Guofan

  • Li Hongzhang

  • Zuo Zhongtang

• Restoration of National Civil Service Examinations

• Reinstated orthodox Confucius ideology

• A conservative era

  • But experimented with reform

    • ‘Self-strengthening movement’

The Self-strengthening movement (Yangwu Movement) (1861 to 1895)

• Led by powerful bureaucrats of the Tongzhi Restoration

• Wanted to introduce:

  • Western military and heavy industry

  • Modern navy

    • Seen as primary cause of Opium war defeat

• But did not support private sector or public...

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