PowerPoint Handout China: The Late Imperial Era

Major Dynasties of the Imperial Era

Xia 2100 BCE–1600 BCEShang 1600 BCE–1046 BCEW. Zhou 1046 BCE-771 BCEE. Zhou 771 BCE – 256 BCEWarring States 475– 221 BCEQin 221 BCE–206 BCEHan 206 BCE – 220 CEThree Kingdoms 220-265 CESui 581 CE–618 CETang 680 CE – 918 CESong 960 CE–1279 CEYuan (Mongol) 1279 CE–1368 CEMing 1368 CE -1644 CEQing (Manchu) 1644 CE -1912 CE

Dynasty – ruling family

Mandate of Heaven – The right to rule as granted from heaven. A dynasty kept the mandate of heaven so long as they ruled wisely, and in the interests of the people.

14th cent. Portriat Genghis,National Palace MuseumArtist Unknown

Rise of the Steppe “The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies, to ride their horses and deprive them of their possessions including their wives and daughters”. Scott Morton – China: It’s History and Culture

In the13th century, Chinggis (Genghis) Khan (1162–1227 CE) forged a confederation of steppe peoples into the Mongol Empire.

Later, the empire was divided into four khanates or divisions:

IL-Khanate (Persia)Chagadai (Central Asia)Golden Horde (Russia)Great Khan (Mongolia, Yuan China)

Parthian Shot

Khubilai Khan, 13th cent. C.E. anonymous, National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty1279 – 1368 BCE

“They (Mongols) sacked Beijing and left it burning for a month. More than 90 towns and cities experienced the same fate”. Source – China Regional Series.

Khubilai took Beijing in 1264, and proclaimed the Yuan Dynasty. By 1279, Khubilai had conquered the southern Song capital of Hangzhou and extended Mongol rule across China.

Marco Polo was in China from 1275 – 95.

Marco Polo,16th cent. PaintingSource Unknown

Chinese at the Yuan Court

An agonizing decision for Confucian officials and artists like Zhao Mengfu was whether to serve the Mongol court or not. In the late 13th century Zhao answered the call for service and completed this painting.

Nadam: Mongolia’s Biggest Festival traditionally featured competition in archery, horseback riding and wrestling.

The Ming “Restoration” Period (1368 – 1644 CE)

Noted for the tributary system, or process by which foreign nations paid tribute to China in the form of gifts and a kowtow, or bow before the Chinese emperor.

Also notable was the• Construction of the

Forbidden City in Beijing• Expansion of the Great

Wall • Sponsorship of maritime

expeditions

Chinese Architecture

Chinese architecture was influenced by the principles of feng shui. Physical characteristics included concave red/gold roofs with upturned eaves, decorated tiles, roof ornaments, weight supporting columns and complex joinery.

One important type of urban dwelling was known as a hutong. (See “The Last Days of Beijing’s Hutongs”) http://media.gfem.org/node/9463

The Peabody Essex Museum’s provides an online look of the interior of an 18th cent. Merchant home from Anhui Province. See http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/

(L) Zhu Di (Yong Le) ( R ) Zheng He

The Ming Voyages

From 1405 – 1433, the Ming sponsored a series of voyages intended to identify and recruit tributary states. Led by Admiral Zheng He, the size and scopes of the expeditions were impressive. Destinations included the Strait of Malacca, the west coast of India, the Arabian peninsula and the east coast of Africa. Controversial Reading: Gavin Menzies 1421: The Year That China Discovered America.

The Expeditions and Treasure Ships

The Ming expeditions often consisted of dozens of ships at times numbering as many as 28,000 people. Crews consisted of linguists, physicians and engineers.

The treasure ships themselves were up to 400 feet long and 180 feet wide, and had some nine masts and 12 sails. (Source – Joanna Waley Cohen)

Man with giraffe,Qing painter Chen Zhang,China National Museum

Map: Qing China

The Qing (Manchu) Period (1644–1911 CE)

The Manchus were from Manchuria, (i.e barbarians). Last dynasty to rule China.

Early Qing rule under Kangxi and grandson Qianlong, saw expansion of China into present day Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan.

Note Manchu hairstyles. The Manchus made all Chinese men wear their hair in pigtails known as queues.

Kangxi r. 1654-1722 (University of Oregon)

15th century vase, Jingdezhen Kiln, Jianxi Province Asia Society.

Trade with China

For centuries, trade with China had been conducted on Chinese terms. Tributary states paid tribute to China in the form of lavish gifts and ambassadors from abroad performed a kowtow, or ritual bow to the emperor to acknowledge the greatness of the Celestial Empire.

The most sought after goods were silk, tea and porcelain.

Overtime, this trade grew rapidly. Example: In 1684, Britain had imported only 5 chests of tea. By 1800, the number had increased to 23 million pounds.

Paying Tribute Traditional Kowtow

The Emperor QianlongMetropolitan Museum of Art

Map of China including Canton

Lord Macartney

1793 – The Emperor Receives a Visitor

By the late 18th century, British trading companies, like those from other nations were restricted to entering Guangzhou (Canton) harbor.

In 1793, Britain’s ambassador Lord Macartney came to China in search of more trade ports.

Spence: Macartney brought along 84 people, and 600 cases of goods including scientific instruments .

Canton

Canton was a large, densely populated Chinese city. Most of the buildings in thisca. 1800 view were two- or three-story buildings used both as residences andshops. The pagoda and five-story watchtower rise above the city, surrounded bythe mountains where country estates and guard houses were located.

Prominently featured in the foreground, with foreign flags, the area to which foreigners were confined was a tiny district of several acres on the banks of the river, wherethousands of boats collected for trade. Many cities along China’s southern coasthad created foreign quarters for much earlier generations of Indian and MiddleEastern traders. The Westerners were just the latest arrivals.

“Canton with the Foreign Factories,” ca. 1800unknown Chinese artist - Peabody Essex Museum

Opium Permeates Chinese Society

By the 18th cent., the British East India Co. had begun to export large quantities of opium (40,000 chests in 1838) to China to offset the imbalance of trade between Britain and China.

The Qing court appointed the official Lin Zexu (statue right) to stop the influx of opium into China. Lin employed a variety of methods to try and stop the influx of opium

The Nemesis, a paddle wheel ship that could operate by iron or steam destroyed many Chinese junks.

The Opium Wars (1839–42) and Treaty of Nanjing

The Opium Wars proved that the technological advantage once enjoyed by China had shifted to Europe, especially Britain. Decisive battles were fought at sea where British steam power and superior guns overwhelmed the weak Chinese navy.

In the Treaty of Nanjing China was forced to sign it had to:• Open four more trade ports• Pay $21 million in damages• Cede control of Hong Kong• Grant Britain

extraterritoriality.

The Dowager Empress Cixi From 1861 through her death in 1908 the Dowager Empress Cixi was the power behind the Manchu throne.

Cixi became a symbol of stagnation and obliviosness for the Qing dynasty. She was noted for blocking reform and cooperating with the very European powers who carved out spheres of influence within China.

The Taiping Rebellion(1850-64)

The Taiping uprising was inspired by the messianic visions of Hong Xiuquan who dreamt he was the half-brother of Jesus Christ. Hong preached a puritanical and socialist utopia and gained many adherents.

In time, the rebellion spread north, claimed some 20 million lives and shook the already fragile Qing empire.

The Boxer Rebellion 1899-1901This rebellion was spurred by anger toward the presence of foreign armies in China. Empress Cixi placed Qing support with the Boxers whom were badly defeated.

Map – St. Marten’s University

Late Efforts to Modernize China’s humiliating loss to Japan in the Sino-Japanese conflict, and subsequent partition by European powers led to various attempts at reform.

The “Self Strengthening Movement” advocated a response to the West based on adapting certain types of Western knowledge, while retaining Chinese moral and ethical principles. This concept was known as ti yong – “Western practicality with Chinese principles”.

Kang Youwei

China’s Last EmperorIn 1908, three-year old Puyi ascended to the throne

After the success of the 1911 Nationalist Revolution, Puyi was forced to yield power to the new Nationalist government.

In 1931 he became puppet emperor of Japanese “Manchukuo”

After the Communist victory Puyi was struggled against as a war criminal. He died of unknown causes in 1967

Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yat-Sen)

Warlord Chang Tso-lin“The Old Marshall”

Warlord Yuan Shikai

The Nationalist Revolution

In 1911, the Nationalist Revolution took place. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, a Cantonese revolutionary with a medical and Christian background spearheaded the revolution that ended dynastic rule in China.

Sun’s revolution was organized around the Three People’s Principles – Nationalism, Democracy and Livelihood. The goal was to replace the monarchy with a Western style government and modern industry.

While 1911–1949 is referred to as the Republican, Nationalist, or Guomindang (GMD) period, Sun was forced to share power with powerful warlords, thereby compromising the unity of China.

Chinese in America

In the 19th Immigration century, thousands of Chinese began to emigrate to the U.S, mainly to work on the laying of railway tracks that facilitated the Gold Rush in the West. From 1850 - 1882, some 300,000 Chinese came to the U.S.

In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which prohibited the immigration of Chinese to the U.S. By 1924, all Asian racial groups were restricted.

Anti-Chinese laws caused the decrease of the Chinese-American population from 105,465 in 1880 to 61,639 in 1920. The law changed shape several times, but Chinese could not immigrate again until 1943.