Group 1

Historical Context: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and Start of the Chinese

Civil War

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, founded in 1644, was overthrown, ending thousands of years

of dynastic rule in China. The event below contributed to the weakening of the dynasty and the

increasing Chinese frustration with their government.

Imperialism (1793-early 1900s) The Qing Dynasty, founded by Manchurian clans in 1644, expanded China’s borders to their farthest reach, conquering Tibet, Taiwan and the Uighur Empire. However, the Qing then turned inward and isolationist, refusing to accept Western ambassadors because they were unwilling to

proclaim the Qing Dynasty as supreme above their own heads of state. For decades, Europeans

could do business only at the port of Canton. Starting in the 18th

century the Portuguese and then

other nations began pushing for China to open more ports up to trade. China refused to open

other ports to foreigners because they regarded European goods as inferior to their own and

bought few goods from the European merchants at Canton. European merchants were

determined to find a product the Chinese would buy in large quantities, but eventually force the

Chinese to trade.

1. Write 2-3 sentences summarizing the text and describing the political cartoon.

2. Explain how this imperialism might have weakened the Qing Dynasty, frustrated the

Chinese with their government, and led to the overthrow of the dynasty?

Group 2

Historical Context: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and Start of the Chinese

Civil War

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, founded in 1644, was overthrown, ending thousands of years

of dynastic rule in China. The event below contributed to the weakening of the dynasty and the

increasing Chinese frustration with their government.

Opium Wars (1839-1842)

The Qing Dynasty, founded by Manchurian clans in 1644, expanded China’s

borders to their farthest reach, conquering Tibet, Taiwan and the Uighur Empire. However, the

Qing then turned inward and isolationist, refusing to accept Western ambassadors because they

were unwilling to proclaim the Qing Dynasty as supreme above their own heads of state. For

decades, Europeans could do business only at the port of Canton. Starting in the 18th

century the

Portuguese and then other nations began pushing for China to open more ports up to trade. China

refused to open other ports to foreigners because they regarded European goods as inferior to

their own and bought few goods from the European merchants at Canton. Starting in in the mid-

1700s, the British began trading opium grown in India in exchange for silver from Chinese

merchants. Opium — an addictive drug that today is refined into heroin — was illegal in England,

but was used in Chinese traditional medicine. Starting in in the mid-1700s, the British began

trading opium grown in India in exchange for silver from Chinese merchants. Opium — an

addictive drug that today is refined into heroin — was illegal in England, but was used in Chinese

traditional medicine. However, recreational use was illegal and not widespread. That changed as

the British began shipping in tons of the drug using a combination of commercial loopholes and

outright smuggling to get around the ban, the Chinese attempted to stop the British and it

resulted in the opium wars. The British ships had far superior weapons and easily defeated the

Chinese leading to the Treaty of Nanjing

1. Write a 2-3 sentence summary on the event in the text and describe what is happening

in the image above?

2. How might the opium wars have weakened the Qing Dynasty, frustrated the Chinese

with their government, and led to the overthrow of the dynasty?

Group 3

Historical Context: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and Start of the Chinese

Civil War

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, founded in 1644, was overthrown, ending thousands of years

of dynastic rule in China. The event below contributed to the weakening of the dynasty and the

increasing Chinese frustration with their government.

Treaty of Nanjing (1842-1843) and Other Unequal Treaties

After the Opium Wars, the Chinese were forced to sign “unequal” treaties with

Europeans and Japan that gave imperial powers control over sections of China. The Treaty of

Nanjing was signed on August 29, 1842. This was the treaty that ended the first Opium War, and

the first of the unequal treaties between China and foreign imperialist powers. China paid the

British an indemnity (money that goes to the victor in a war), ceded the territory of Hong Kong,

and agreed to establish a “fair and reasonable” tariff. British merchants, who had previously been

allowed to trade only at Guangzhou(Canton), were now permitted to trade at five “treaty ports”

and with whomever they pleased.The treaty was supplemented in 1843 by the British

Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, which allowed British citizens to be tried in British courts

and granted Britain any rights in China that China might grant to other countries.

1. Write 2-3 sentences summarizing the text and describing the political cartoon?

2. How might this event have weakened the Qing Dynasty, frustrated the Chinese with

their government, and led to the overthrow of the dynasty?

Group 4

Historical Context: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and Start of the Chinese

Civil War

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, founded in 1644, was overthrown, ending thousands of years

of dynastic rule in China. The event below contributed to the weakening of the dynasty and the

increasing Chinese frustration with their government.

First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)

The first Sino-Japanese War involved conflict between Japan and China that marked the

emergence of Japan as a major world power and demonstrated the weakness of the Chinese

empire. The war grew out of a rivalry between the two countries for supremacy in Korea. Korea

had long been China’s most important client state, but its strategic location opposite the Japanese

islands and its natural resources of coal and iron attracted Japan’s interest. In 1875 Japan, which

had begun to adopt Western technology, forced Korea to open itself to foreign, especially

Japanese, trade and to declare itself independent from China in its foreign relations. War was

finally declared on Aug. 1, 1894. Although foreign observers had predicted an easy victory for

the more massive Chinese forces, the Japanese had done a more successful job of modernizing,

and they were better equipped and prepared. Japanese troops scored quick and overwhelming

victories on both land and sea. By March 1895 the Japanese had successfully invaded Shandong

province and Manchuria and had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing.

The Chinese sued for peace.

1. Write 2-3 sentences summarizing the text and describing the political cartoon.

2. How might this event have weakened the Qing Dynasty, frustrated the Chinese with

their government, and led to the overthrow of the dynasty?

Group 5

Historical Context: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and Start of the Chinese

Civil War

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, founded in 1644, was overthrown, ending thousands of years

of dynastic rule in China. The event below contributed to the weakening of the dynasty and the

increasing Chinese frustration with their government.

Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901)

In 1900, in what became known as the Boxer Rebellion (or the Boxer Uprising), a

Chinese secret organization called the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists led an

uprising in northern China against the spread of Western and Japanese influence there. The

rebels, referred to by Westerners as Boxers because they performed physical exercises they

believed would make them able to withstand bullets, killed foreigners and Chinese Christians

and destroyed foreign property. From June to August, the Boxers besieged the foreign district of

Beijing (then called Peking), China’s capital, until an international force that included American

troops subdued the uprising. By the terms of the Boxer Protocol, which officially ended the

rebellion in 1901, China agreed to pay more than $330 million in reparations.

1. Write 2-3 sentences summarizing the text and describing the cartoon.

2. How might this event have weakened the Qing Dynasty, frustrated the Chinese with

their government, and led to the overthrow of the dynasty?

Collapse of the Qing Dynasty

Causes

Events

How did it lead to the Collapse of

the Qing Dynasty?

1. Write 3-4 sentences describing the Long March. Make sure to include why it took

places, the obstacles the CCP faced, and the outcome.