Asia in Transition The end of the last Chinese dynasty

Asia in TransitionThe end of the last Chinese dynasty

Japanese Warriors board Mongol ship

Sesshu painting

Tokugawa Japan

Daimyo procession

Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa Shogunate Shoguns had been military dictators in Japan for

centuries The last shogunate was the Tokugawa dynasty The Tokugawa attempted more political

centralization but ended up economically integrated Japan Actually, some argue it do not achieve political

centralization, though it was suppose to be a time of centralization

Increase in urban centers! Moved capital to Edo Samurai became part of the bureaucracy Shift from military society to civil society

Social crisis

Japan and the Europeans

• Japanese grew resentful of Christian missionary influence in Japan

• The Tokugawa Shogunate placed a ban on Christianity and in 1649 closed the country to Europeans (with one exception)

• Closed door policy intended to prevent spread of Religion

• Dutch allowed to have some trading contact– relegated to living on small island in Nagasaki harbour

Kabuki theater

Elite Decline and Social Crisis

Back to the Mongols (yes, the Mongols)

1368—Early MingReaction to Mongols

Remember Yuan?Zheng He

Voyages not overall profitable Technology less than SongCulture- novels, consumerism,

great wealth

The Early Ming Empire and its Allies, 1368-1500

The Qing Empire, 1644-1783

From the Jesuit Library at Beijing

Emperor Kangxi

(Confucian scholar)

Qing and Society

Qing = Manchus (territory in northern China) 1600s—Restoration of peace and stability Chinese population growth 1650-1800 Population pressure Sources of discontent

Minority peoples View of government Rebellions

China’s Population Growth

0

50100

150200

250

300350

400450

500

pre-1650 1650 1800 1890s

Population

Temporary agricultural revival after agricultural woes under Ming but that lead to population problems. In

turn, environmental problems.

Scholars taking

civil service exam

Qing more officially streamlined the process of civil service exams. First created by what Chinese

Dynasty?

First Han, then widely implemented by Tang and

Song

Tea Fields

Qianlong (“Chi an loan”) Emperor

at archery contest

The Qing Try to Deal with the Problem

Lin Zexu—sent to Canton 1. Addicts 2. Domestic Drug Dealers 3. Foreign merchants

Refresher on the Qing and trade What was the Chinese economy like in the 1500-1600s? What was the Qing view on foreign trade? What was the

result of the Macartney mission?

Islamic Wedding Present of Chinese Porcelain

OPIUM British and opium Chinese reaction Affect on Chinese

Opium Wars—Two Sides  China is a very old country with

ideals that have lasted more than two thousand years.

Tea, grown in China, had become a very popular drink in Great Britain.

The British decided they needed to "balance their trade." They decided to sell Opium.

The Chinese government outlawed the import of Opium because of the debilitating effects of the drug and because of the silver leaving China to pay for it.

In 1838, China ruled that anyone dealing in Opium would be put to death. Shortly after that, government official began to destroy any opium coming into their land.

Western Civilization has grown and prospered in the past millennium because of trade.

The Chinese government attempted to keep their people from finding out how advanced the rest of the world was.

Tea from China had become the national drink of Britain. Chinese made too much profit at the expense of the British people.

It is true that opium can be dangerous (although it has legitimate medical purposes), but the British felt the rulers in China had no right to keep opium from their people.

In 1838, Chinese officials confiscated and destroyed the opium held by foreign firms and refused to pay compensation.

Opium War 1839-1850 Began over the ban on the opium trade

Now Answer This…

Why did the British “need” the Opium trade?

What advantages did the British have over the Chinese?

What were the consequences for the Chinese? For the British?

If that weren’t enough…

Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864 Guangxi province Hong Xiuquan Military action—advance and

defeat Bloody civil war

Roger-Viollet/Getty Images

For years Qing and international troops attempted to break the Taiping hold of Nanking and by summer of 1864, had built tunnels leading to the foundations of Nanjing's walls and had planted explosives. The detonation signaled the final Qing assault.

Nanjing encircled (Qing), 1864

In inland conflicts, such as the Taiping Rebellion, the opposing armies were massive and slow moving. Battles on land were often prolonged attempts by one side to starve out the other side before making a major assault.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.

Conflicts in the Qing Empire, 1839-1870

‘View Show' to view and zoom map

Consequences for China

Decentralization Debt Tongzhi Restoration

Recovery Zeng Guofan Reform programs Disintegration

Seeds of destruction

The Qing Dynasty ruled China for over 250 years, but they were not always strong leaders. The Qing were unable to stop foreigners from taking over parts of the empire. They also had to withstand the Taiping Rebellion, a civil war that cost over twenty million lives and permanently weakened the dynasty.

     The rebellion began in southeast China, a region that never fully accepted the Qing, who came from Manchuria in northeast China. Hong Xiuquan had learned of Christianity from missionaries. In 1843, when he failed his examination for a government job for the fourth time, Hong exploded in rage at the Manchu domination of China. He read a translated version of the Christian Bible, which told the story of how a chosen group of people rebelled against their rulers with God's help. The stories seemed to explain visions Hong had during an earlier mental illness. Hong came to believe that he was the Son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. His mission on earth was to rid China of evil influences. They included Manchus, Taoists, Buddhists, and Confucians. Hong's religion combined traditional Chinese ideas with half-understood Christianity.

     Many famine-stricken peasants, workers, and miners were attracted to the new faith. The converts believed that God ordered them to destroy Manchu rule and set up a new Christian brotherhood. A small group of believers grew to more than one million disciplined, zealous soldiers. In 1851, Hong proclaimed a new dynasty, the Taiping, which means "Great Peace," and assumed the title "Heavenly King." Two years later, the Taiping army captured Nanking, a large city in central China.

     Leadership rivalries weakened the rebellion. Hong's top general, an illiterate former coal burner named Yang, plotted to overthrow him. Hong ordered the general of his northern army, Wei, to assassinate Yang. When Hong decided that Wei had become too powerful, he ordered his assassination as well. The soldiers who killed Wei feared for their own lives, so they abandoned the rebellion and escaped to western China.

     Local warlords led by Tseng Kuo-fan and adventurers from America and Britain combined to surround Nanking in 1862. When they defeated the city two years later, more than 100,000 rebels, including Hong, committed suicide rather than face capture.

     The Qing Dynasty was so weakened by the rebellion that they lost control of many parts of China to local warlords. Both the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists, two groups that later ruled the nation, claimed to have been inspired by the Taiping Rebellion.

Scholar-bureaucrat's study, Qing