China and Japan

IMPERIALISM IN EAST ASIA

IMPERIALISM IN CHINA• Manchu rulers – Chinese considered as

foreigners.• Superiors – the government of China• Inferiors – foreign countries were expected to

send lavish gifts/tribute, to the emperor as a sign of respect

• kowtow – to kneel on both knees & bow 3 times, touching his nose to the floor

• By the end of 18th century, Indo-British economic ties were so entrenched in a neo-mercantile system that India provide a stepping stone for British trade with China.• English wool and Indian cotton for

Chinese teas and textile• Hongs – act as agents for the government

FOREIGN MERCHANTS FOLLOW THE STRICT RULES:

1. No foreign warships may sail inside the inlet to the river.

2. Neither foreign woman nor firearms may be brought into factories warehouse.

3. Foreign factories shall employ no maids & no more than 8 Chinese male servants.

4. Foreign trade must be conducted trough the hongs merchants. Foreigners living in the factories must not move in & out too frequently, although they may walk freely w/in a 100 yards of their factories.

5. Foreigners may neither buy Chinese books nor learn Chinese.

6. Foreigners may not communicate w/ Chinese officials except through the hongs.

7. Foreigners are not allowed to row boats freely in the river.

8. Foreign traders must not remain in Canton after the trading season.

• By the 1830’s, Britain realized it could make up the trade deficit with China by selling Indian opium into the Chinese markets.

• Concerned with the sharp rise in opium addiction and the associated social costs and rise in criminal acts, the Chinese government, led by the aging Manchu dynasty, took action against the British.

• Opium – a narcotic drug made from poppies.

• Poppy – a flowering plant.

• In 1839, the Chinese destroyed British opium in the port city of Canton, sparking the Opium Wars of 1839-1842.

• The British expeditionary force blockaded Chinese ports, occupied Shanghai, and took complete control of Canton.

• 1842 -Treaty of Nanking

• Europeans maintained extraterritoriality inside thousands of Chinese port cities.

• The resulting lawlessness on the part of the Europeans, combined with the actuality of European economic, political, and military domination of the Chinese, contributed to a virulent anti-imperial sentiment.

• The Secret Societies are formed.• White lotus – one of the oldest secret society• Hsui-ch’uan – started a new society, a village

teacher who read some Christian missionary writings and Chinese classics. He was the “Heavenly Younger Brother” the savior of China & declared himself as “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Place.”

• Tie-ping – great peace• Open door policy – give all countries an

equal trading rights• In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion saw that

sentiment explode into mass social unrest and war.

• Beyond China, European imperialism in Asia remained strong. Britain moved into Hong Kong in 1842, into Burma in 1886, and into Kowloon in 1898. France took direct control over the provinces of Indochina--Annam, Tonkin, and Cochinchina (which together make up modern day Vietnam), Laos, and Cambodia.

CHINA AND JAPAN• In the context of a) the political chaos that follows the

fall of the centralized dynastic power of the Qing in the Republican Revolution in 1911 and b) the growing nationalism that crystallizes as the May 4th Movement after the 1919 Versailles Peace settlement— two political parties work and compete to reunify China and to modernize it to face the challenge of imperialist encroachment by the West and Japan. These are the Nationalist Party (Guomindang or Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party.

• Inadequate political control over the Japanese military, economic strains, and the worldwide Depression of the 1930s set the stage for the rise of the military in Japan and the pursuit of Japanese imperialist interests in Asia. Japan feels excluded by the West in the division of spoils in China. Japan pursues its own dominance of China by occupying Manchuria in 1931 and invading China in 1937 and remaining there until its defeat at the conclusion of WW II in 1945.

• In China, the army of the Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-shek (political heir of Sun Yat-sen), marches north in 1926 on the "Northern Expedition" from its base in southern China to establish a new government at Nanking in 1927 and to reunify part of China. This is sometimes called the Nationalist Revolution. The Nationalist government remained in power in Nanking until 1937 (1927-37 is known as the "Nanking Decade") when it is forced by the Japanese invasion to move inland and ultimately establish its wartime capital in Chungking (Chongqing) in 1938, where it remains until 1945. Japan captures the capital city of Nanking in 1937 in a brutal battle and subsequent reign of terror known as the "Rape of Nanking."

JAPAN

o By the early 1800s many other countries wanted the Japanese to open their ports for trade and Japan refused to allow it

o 1853 the U.S. sends four warships into Tokyo Harbor and the Tokugawa Shoguns realized he had no choice but to receive them

o A letter from the president of the US asked the Japanese to open tradeo One year later the US navy returned and Japan signed the Treaty of

Kanagawao Japan opened two ports where the US could trade and take on

supplieso Other Western powers soon followedo By 1860 Japan allowed foreigners from many countries permission to

trade at several ports and it extended extraterritorial rights to many nations

o Japanese were angry that the country was opened to foreigners and the Tokugawa shogun stepped down

o This ended the military dictatorship that had lasted for 500 years

o The new emperor was Mutsuhito, his reign lasted for 45 years and was called the Meiji Era

o The Meiji emperor knew that Japan had to modernizeo He sent officials to other countries to find western ways that

could be adoptedo Led reform of the government, military and education systemo Japan began to industrializeo Built railroadso Developed Silk and tea processing industries to give them

unique products to trade

Developed other industries to make them competitive with European countries

Barbarians – foreign people Sonno – honor the emperor Joi – expel the barbarians meiji – the enlightened government Samurai – Katana – a sword used by Samurai warriors

Imperial Japan• By 1890 Japan had the strongest military in Asia• As they gained economic, political and military strength they wanted to

get rid of the extraterritorial rights of foreign countries• 1894 all extraterritorial rights were abolished • Japan become more imperialistic and national pride increased• 1876 Japan attacked Korea to force Korea to open ports to foreign

trade• 1885 Japan and China signed an agreement to keep both of their

armies out of Korea• 1894 China breaks the agreement• Japan sends troops to Korea• The Sino Japanese War lasted only a few months and the Japanese

were the victors• Japan destroyed the Chinese navy, gained a foothold in Manchuria and

gained colonies in Taiwan

Russo-Japanese War• Russia and Japan were the two major powers in

East Asia• 1903 the countries went to war over Manchuria (a

region in northeast China)• 1904 Japan launched a surprise attack on the

Russian navy • Japan defeated Russian troops and destroyed

most of their navy• 1905 the Treaty of Portsmouth gave Japan

Manchuria and forced the Russians out of the region

• After defeating Russia Japan took more control over Korea• 1907 the Korean king gave up control of the

country and disbanded the army• 1910 Japan officially annexed Korea (put the

country under their control)• Japan shut down newspapers and replaced

the Korean language with Japanese in schools• They encouraged Japanese businesses and

forbid Koreans to go into business for themselves.